Mets sign Joey Wendle to one-year deal to bolster infield depth

After coming to an agreement with right-hander Luis Severino on Wednesday night, the Mets added to their lineup depth by landing infielder Joey Wendle on a one-year, $2 million deal plus performance bonuses, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported.

The versatile, left-handed-hitting Wendle was an All-Star with the Rays in 2021 but is coming off a rough season with the Marlins.

The 33-year-old hit .212 with a .554 OPS in 112 games this year.

After the Mets non-tendered Luis Guillorme, who was projected to make $1.7 million in arbitration (per MLB Trade Rumors), Wendle could essentially fill his role on the roster.

Former Yankee Luis Severino agrees to 1-year, $13 million deal with Mets: reports

Luis Severino is moving across town. The former Yankee has agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal with the New York Mets, according to multiple reports.

The right-handed pitcher spent the past eight seasons with the Bombers and now will join new manager Carlos Mendoza in Flushing.

The two-time All-Star has had a roller coaster of a career and last season was certainly a low-point. The 29-year-old posted a 6.65 ERA in 19 games with the Bombers.

Injuries have played a large role in the starter’s career as he hasn’t made more than 19 starts since 2018.

Mets get permission to interview Craig Counsell

The Mets have received permission from the Brewers to interview Craig Counsell for their managerial opening. Andy Martino of SNY first reported the news. Martino notes that the Mets will interview Counsell soon.

The Brewers had previously indicated they would make interested teams wait until Counsell’s contract officially expired at the end of October to interview him….

With his current Milwaukee contract set to expire on October 31, Andy Martino of SNY reported today that Counsell would “welcome the challenge” of managing in New York, per two league sources.

Latest on Mets’ manager search: Joe Maddon would ‘love’ the job, wants to interview

Joe Maddon is “telling friends he’d love to manage the Mets, and is hoping to at least interview for the opening,” reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Maddon, 69, was fired by the Angels in June of 2022 after two-plus seasons as manager.

His tenure in Los Angeles included a power struggle with GM Perry Minasian over how he should manage, as documented in The Book of Joe, which was co-authored by Maddon and Tom Verducci and released last October.

Maddon’s issue with front office input while with the Angels would seemingly make him a poor fit for the Mets’ managerial job.

During his introductory news conference, David Stearns said one of the key traits for any prospective manager would be the ability to form a partnership with the front office.

Before his time with the Angels, Maddon managed the Cubs (where he won the World Series in 2016) and Rays.

Billy Eppler resigns as Mets GM in shocking move

The Mets’ new era has begun with a dash of familiar chaos.

In what amounts to a stunning development, the organization’s leader over the past two seasons will not see a third.

Billy Eppler resigned as Mets general manager on Thursday, three days after he attended the news conference of his new boss, president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Stearns and owner Steve Cohen had signaled that Eppler was expected to remain with the club, Stearns even stating he was “looking forward to working with him.”

Instead, Eppler announced through the Mets that he would step aside.

“I wanted David to have a clean slate and that meant me stepping down,” Eppler said in a statement. “I hope for nothing but the best for the entire Mets organization.”

Mets fire Buck Showalter after disappointing season

For the fifth time in six years, the New York Mets are in the market for a manager.

Buck Showalter was fired Sunday after a disappointing season in which baseball’s highest-spending team tumbled from contention by midsummer.

The 67-year-old Showalter said before the 2023 finale against Philadelphia that he will not return next year, and a few minutes later the Mets announced the club had decided on the change.

New York plans to introduce David Stearns as president of baseball operations on Monday, placing him above general manager Billy Eppler. Showalter’s departure with a year remaining on his three-year contract clears the way for Stearns to pick the next manager.

“When hiring a president of baseball operations, they’re entitled to bring in their own people,” owner Steve Cohen said during a brief postgame news conference. “It became clear he wanted to go in a different direction and that’s certainly his right and I gave him that right. It’s no different than when a CEO comes into a new company. They bring in some of their own people.

“This is not a reflection on Buck,” Cohen added. “Buck did everything we wanted him to do. Obviously, the season was a disappointment, but it’s not Buck’s fault, OK? It’s spread across the organization.”

Marlins-Mets ends night with rainout, frustration and a massive question mark in NL wild-card race

9:41 p.m.: After a couple of minutes of strong rains, the umpires suspend the game with men on first and second and two outs in the top of the ninth, with the Marlins leading 2-1.

It was at this point that a wild scenario was in play, as rule 7.02 (b)(4)(A) dictates that if a game is called due to rain and unable to be completed, the score is reverted to the last completed inning, which would give the Mets a 1-0 win.

Fortunately, MLB very much did not want that to happen. The league proceeded to wait 2 hours and 40 minutes, hoping for a break in the rain.

12:21 a.m.: The Mets grounds crew starts moving the infield tarp, inspiring hope that the game might finally finish before the break of dawn. That tarp was moved to left field, where it remained until ...

12:37 a.m.: The tarp is put back on. It was around this time that Marlins manager Skip Schumaker started getting very angry — or at least started showing his anger.

At another point, the Marlins X account (née Twitter) officially changed its bio to “We have a roof.”

12:59 a.m.: The game is officially suspended.

The Athletic: How the $445 million Mets crashed and burned

As Tommy Pham, the perpetually intense veteran outfielder, bluntly put it in a recent interview, “We had a terrible f—ing June.”

Often after games or during meals on the road, players discussed how they could turn things around.

After a devastating sweep in Atlanta, Pham, infielder Eduardo Escobar, catcher Francisco Alvarez and star shortstop Francisco Lindor talked about small things that the Mets needed to improve in between bites of food at a Brazilian steakhouse, Fogo de Chão, in Pittsburgh. Pham, 35, has played on seven teams, and organizations know when negotiating with him that he brings an edge, strong work ethic and little tolerance for lackadaisical effort.

For weeks ahead of the dinner, Lindor had held himself accountable after every crushing loss during a prolonged slump of his own, answering every question from every reporter every day. Pham respected Lindor’s accountability as a leader, how he worked hard and never placed blame on others. As The Athletic reported earlier this month, the conversation started with Pham explaining that he wanted New York to roll out more than one batting-practice group because he used the time to work on live reads in the outfield. With Lindor, Pham felt comfortable sharing something that roamed in his mind after observing how often some players in the clubhouse played games like pool.

Pham says he told Lindor, “Out of all the teams I played on, this is the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with.”

Sources: Mets hiring David Stearns as president of baseball operations

The New York Mets are hiring David Stearns as their president of baseball operations, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, tabbing the architect of multiple division titles in Milwaukee to help deliver the first World Series championship to Queens in nearly four decades.

Stearns, 38, has long been rumored to take over the Mets after stepping down as Brewers president after the 2022 season and will officially begin in early October, after the regular season ends, sources told ESPN.

A New York native who grew up a Mets fan, Stearns was denied permission by the Brewers to talk about the Mets’ top baseball operations job after the 2021 season.

Is Pete Alonso toxic? ‘Ridiculous.’ But Mets, Polar Bear in need of cold compromise

“Mets staffers familiar with Cohen’s thinking don’t expect negotiations with Alonso to be handled much differently than other star players around the league just because the boss upstairs has a net worth of $17.5 billion. They’ve learned while working under the third-year owner that he operates within a line of reason.

In Flushing, baseball is a business, too. Those that have gotten to know Cohen say it’s important to him not to get emotional or sentimental with player contracts — like the Polar Bear’s. So, Cohen might not overpay for Alonso or aggressively approach his asking price if he and his brain trust determine the parameters of such a deal are unreasonable. There is a limit to everything, though the line that Cohen has demarcated when it comes to the most prolific slugger the Mets franchise has ever produced remains unclear.

What I can confidently report, without any doubt, is that Alonso is not toxic to the Mets’ clubhouse, as one recent report suggested. Bench coach Eric Chavez asked that his thoughts on the subject be printed.

“That’s ridiculous,” Chavez said. “Whoever said that is dumb. It’s just B.S.”

Mets to retire numbers of Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry next season

Dwight Gooden’s No. 16 and Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18 will be retired by the New York Mets in separate pregame ceremonies next year honoring players who were keys to the team’s most recent World Series title in 1986.

New York will have retired nine numbers of players and managers following the decision announced Friday, up from four before Steve Cohen bought the team in November 2020.

Gooden and Strawberry were integral parts of the 1986 Mets, who went a major-league-best 108-54 and beat Boston in a seven-game World Series, then the players derailed their careers with drug problems.

Rosenthal: Pete Alonso was center of trade talks with Brewers. Will Mets make move in offseason?

The Milwaukee Brewers made a significant push to acquire New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso before the trade deadline, according to sources briefed on the discussions. Opinions differ on how close a deal was to fruition, but one thing is clear: Alonso’s future with the Mets remains a major question.

The Mets traded closer David Robertson before the deadline, along with two high-priced starting pitchers, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, and two outfielders, Mark Canha and Tommy Pham. While they kept Alonso, they could entertain offers for him this offseason, when he will be entering his final year of arbitration before becoming eligible for free agency.

The Brewers, who entered Tuesday ranked last in the majors in OPS at both first base and DH, spoke with the Mets about Alonso before and after acquiring Carlos Santana from the Pirates on July 27. Brewers officials understood they would need to part with at least one of their top five prospects for Alonso. One Milwaukee source said the talks advanced to the point where the teams were within “field-goal range” of a trade.

Justin Verlander’s ‘diva’ attitude didn’t sit well with Max Scherzer and some Mets

A Met told Puma that Verlander was a “diva” who was detached from his Mets teammates and complained about how the team’s analytics department was not at the level as the one he worked with during his first stint with the Astros.

And it was that “diva” attitude caused Scherzer to grumble some about Verlander.

It was a different vibe than last year’s rotation had, The Post’s Mike Puma reported, as Scherzer and Chris Bassitt were free in offering information to the team’s other, younger pitchers.

Nevertheless, the Mets let Bassitt walk in the offseason to the Blue Jays as the club brought in Verlander, Jose Quintana and Kodai Senga.

Personal drama aside, Verlander and Scherzer largely didn’t live up to expectations this year as they each had ups and downs before the Mets shifted to sell-off mode.

The Mets, who were seventh in all of baseball with a 3.57 team ERA last season, haven’t seen the same success this year as they entered Saturday with a 4.38 ERA, closer to the bottom than the top.

Verlander, the 2022 American League Cy Young award winner did not throw a pitch for the Mets until May 4 as he suffered a teres major strain shortly before Opening Day.

And when he did get back on the mound, he didn’t get off to a hot start for the Mets, going 2-2 in May with a 4.80 ERA over five starts.

“We kind of got off on the wrong foot. Everything that could go wrong did early,” Verlander, as a member of the Astros, told reporters at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 3. “Even though we started playing some good baseball at times, we never really hit our stride where we were kind of banging on all cylinders. I can’t answer exactly why that is.”

Pete Alonso’s Mets Future Complicated Amid Large Gap in Valuation

Sherman’s look into why he thinks the Mets and Alonso haven’t found common ground on a contract, especially in light of Pete’s popularity and Cohen’s willingness to spend money.

ESPN Insider: How the Rangers went all-in—and ignited an AL arms race in the process

Everything had lined up right. Last year’s free agent signings, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, were in their primes, others on the team in the midst of career years. Three-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy had come out of retirement to shepherd the Rangers. Yet on Saturday night, four days ahead of the 2023 deadline, as bright as their future suddenly looked, they couldn’t gaze into the distance. Right in front of them was a window, wide open.

“If we’re not going for it now,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said, “when would we?”..

Later that day, when the Mets traded reliever David Robertson to the Miami Marlins, Scherzer sought a meeting with Cohen for clarity about the team’s plans going forward. On July 28, Cohen informed him the team was not planning a free agent spending spree this winter—certainly, nothing like the $498.1 million they guaranteed in the 2022-23 offseason—and was targeting 2025 as the beginning of its next window. At that point, Scherzer decided he would not stand in the way of a deal that landed him in a desirable spot.

The Legends of the 1988 Mets and the Heartbreak That Started It All

[John] Shelby walked, barely checking his swing on a 3-and-2 heater. Gooden kicked the mound, angry with himself. Mike Scioscia stepped to the plate. Strong and stocky, the Dodgers catcher was not a power threat. He had three home runs that year in 452 plate appearances. He had hit 35 home runs across nine seasons and 2,837 at-bats.

“He just walked Shelby,” Scioscia said to himself as he dug in. “He wants to get ahead here.”

“Have to throw strike 1,” Gooden said. “Have to go with the cheese.”

Gooden checked Shelby at first. He came to a halt in the stretch.

“I need to start my swing early,” Scioscia thought.

Gooden delivered.

It wasn’t just uber-confident Mets fans who expected good things to happen. It was the city behind them, and the sport. If you had told a Mets fan — or any of the 25 men wearing Mets uniforms — on Oct. 9, 1988, that within five years they were going to surrender the city to the Yankees and were going to spend the next 30 living in their shadow …

Mets acquire Flexen, Gott in trade with Mariners

The Mets and Mariners agreed to a trade on Monday that would send right-handers Chris Flexen and Trevor Gott to the New York in exchange for lefty Zach Muckenhirn, according to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The teams have not confirmed the trade.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Flexen, who was drafted by the Mets in the 14th round in 2012 and made his MLB debut for New York in 2017. He made 27 appearances (11 starts) for the Mets before they released him in December 2019. He re-established himself with a 3.01 ERA in 21 starts for the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization in 2020 before returning to MLB with the Mariners in 2021.

His first two seasons with Seattle were strong, with a 3.66 ERA over 317 1/3 innings, but he struggled this year (7.71 ERA) and was designated for assignment on June 27.

Gott, 30, owns a 4.70 ERA in 214 2/3 innings in parts of eight seasons with the Angels, Nationals, Giants, Brewers and Mariners. He has a 4.03 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 29 innings this year.

The Mets will designate newly acquired pitcher Chris Flexen for assignment, per source.

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) July 3, 2023

Mets ace Max Scherzer could waive no-trade clause for ‘right situation,’ per report

Still, the Mets are 36-43 and a long way from a playoff spot (they were 8 1/2 games out of the last wild card entering play on Tuesday). With all the big contracts and big names there, we’re bound to see plenty of speculation as to a possible sell-off. One of the bigger names there is three-time Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer. He has a no-trade clause on his deal, but MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo suggests that it’s possible that won’t be a problem:

Regarding Scherzer’s no-trade clause, he’s 38 and looking to win another title. Several industry sources have suggested he would waive it for the right situation. 

DiComo later clarified that Scherzer’s top priority is winning with the Mets, but that if things continue to go badly for the Mets, the waiving of the no-trade clause might be possible.

Mets’ sinking ship has hit a new low after ugliest loss of the year

After the embarrassing loss, Showalter used an exaggerated display of smugness and quippy responses to defend his bullpen management and decision-making. He said he was saving Robertson for the bottom of the ninth inning that never came, which is why he didn’t use him to stop the meltdown in the eighth. Robertson threw just 13 pitches the night before, and had appeared in just two games in the past 11 days. Also going unused was right-hander Adam Ottavino, who has only pitched twice in the past seven days.

Failing to use Robertson, his top reliever, and Ottavino, his second-best arm, after Walker loaded the bases with nobody out was unjustifiable for Showalter. Instead of owning that decision, and showing some accountability that would go far with the Mets’ fed-up fan base, the Mets skipper continued to defend his decisions while asking reporters what he should’ve done. The unsatisfying answers coming from the man who made those decisions was another reminder that, for the Mets, rock bottom has no floor.

“I don’t get it,” Showalter jeered. “What am I missing?”

Everyone else seems to understand.

The Mets need to win right now, right this minute, rather than overthinking and planning for the future.

Angels Acquire Eduardo Escobar

The Mets and Angels pulled off an unexpected swap Friday night. New York dealt veteran infielder Eduardo Escobar and cash considerations to the Halos for pitching prospects Coleman Crow and Landon Marceaux. New York is reportedly paying Escobar’s salary down to the $720K league minimum.

Escobar, 34, spent a year and a half in Queens. The amiable infielder signed a two-year, $20MM free agent contract over the 2021-22 offseason. He worked as New York’s primary third baseman last year, starting 125 games and tallying 542 plate appearances. He put together a decent .240/.295/.430 showing, compensating for the mediocre on-base mark by connecting on 20 home runs.

Roger Craig, Teacher of an Era-Defining Pitch, Is Dead at 93

Roger Craig, who pitched or managed in five World Series and changed the face of pitching in the 1980s as the guru of the split-fingered fastball, died Sunday. He was 93.
...
A lanky 6-foot-4 right-hander who, it was often noted, bore a remarkable resemblance to President Lyndon B. Johnson, Craig pitched in three World Series for the Dodgers in the 1950s and another with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. In managing the Giants to the 1989 N.L. pennant, he implored his players to hustle with the mantra “Humm baby” and taught his pitchers to throw the split-fingered fastball.

Craig spread the gospel of the split, thrown with the same motion as a traditional fastball but able to confound batters because the pitcher gripped the baseball with his index and middle finger spread widely apart, and parallel to the seams instead of across them.

Howard Johnson, Al Leiter headline Mets hall of fame class

Howard Johnson and Al Leiter were inducted into the New York Mets hall of fame prior to the team’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

Johnson played for New York from 1985 through 1993. He ranks third in team history with 202 stolen bases and fourth in homers (192) and RBIs (629). Leiter grew up a Mets fan in New Jersey before pitching for the team from 1998 through 2004.

The 62-year-old Johnson played his first big league game in 1982 for the Detroit Tigers and his last one with the Chicago Cubs in 1995.

“There’s probably not a day goes by that you don’t think about that—being able to play the game that we did when we were 25, play at that level,” Johnson said. “Every time you get out of bed is a reminder that was a long time ago. It’s almost like two different people. And the older we get, that person goes further and further away.”

Johnson and Leiter were joined in the 2023 class by broadcasters Gary Cohen and Howie Rose, who have called the team’s games on radio and television since 1989 and 1995, respectively. Longtime media relations executive Jay Horwitz also was honored with a hall of fame achievement award.

Barra: How Does The Mets 1962-2012 All-time Team Stack Up to The Yankees?

Barra, pulling pages out of his Bobby Meachem Pfeil!

What struck me after studying the list is how well the Mets’ all-time team matches up against the Yankees’ best over the past half century.

1st base: Mattingly was a very good hitter and probably as good a fielder as Hernandez, but the difference is slight.

2nd base: I had forgotten how good Alfonso; he had a .284 career batting average, .292 with the Mets, both numbers well ahead of Willie Randolph, .276 and .275 respectively. He also hit more than twice as many home runs as Randolph.

SS: Jeter, of course, at shortstop, but at their respective peaks, not so much over Reyes as you might think.

3rd base: Ditto with A-Rod and Wright. It may well be that after a couple more seasons we’ll conclude that Wright was the better ballplayer, that is when we compare him with Rodriguez’s New York years.

CF: Beltran was a better hitter and better all-around player than Bernie.

RF: If you consider only Reggie Jackson’s season with the Yankees, it’s a close pick with Strawberry at his peak - too close for me to call without doing a comprehensive study. Off the top of my head, though, I’d take Darryl. So much of Mr. October’s postseason reputation centers on the ‘77 Series when he hit 5 home runs and that one game when he hit 3. (Jackson had no particular reputation as a postseason hitter before then.)

NYT: Q. & A. With Tom Seaver

Q. Ryan has campaigned against pitch counts. Do you agree?

A. There’s nothing wrong with pitch counts. But there’s an addendum to that. I presume Nolan thinks the same way. But it isn’t a blanket pitch count. People say, “I bet the pitch count drives you nuts.” Heck no. I had a pitch count. My pitch count as a general rule was 135. And I knew how many pitches I had when I went to the mound for the last three innings. And I wasn’t going to spend eight pitches on the No. 8 hitter. On the second or third pitch, he should be hitting a ground ball to shortstop. It might not work like that all the time. But theoretically, you have an approach about how you’re spending your bullets.

There’s nothing wrong with pitch counts. But not when it’s spit out by a computer and the computer does not look at an individual’s mechanics. And you can’t look at his genes. It should come from the individual and the pitching coach and the manager.

Q. Will your former manager Gil Hodges, a former Dodger, ever get into the Hall of Fame?

A. I don’t know. Everybody in the New York area wonders why he’s not in. His numbers are high middle. But what else did he do? He was the leader on that ball club that went to the World Series and beat the Yankees. He was the leader of a ball club and franchise that went to the World Series. If you look at his body of work I say yes. Absolutely.

Q. Should steroid users be allowed into the Hall of Fame?

A. The commissioner and baseball has to figure that out. They’re going to have guys that have great numbers not in the Hall of Fame. They have to figure that out.

Thanks to Wrecki.

SI.com: Economic considerations at heart of Carmona’s decision

An interesting analysis of signing ages, signing bonuses, and success rates in the Dominican Republic, by Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated ...

Teams pay premiums for 16-year-olds for two primary reasons: One, because teams often want to be the first to sign a promising player and, thus, avoid bidding wars with other teams; and two, clubs prefer to develop their players’ skills under the watchful eyes of their own club personnel rather than under those of unqualified and unaffiliated coaches or trainers.

But are 18-year-old Latin American players really worth 70 percent less than their 16-year-old counterparts? Here’s another data analysis that calls into question the industry practice of placing a premium on youth. Let’s assume the most basic marker of a successful signing is making it to the majors. We’ll make it simple and look at the 79 players who have made their major league debuts from 2008-2011 from Carmona’s Dominican Republic. Of those 79, only six were signed as 16-year-olds. The debuts suggest older players were more likely to advance to the majors. ...

[...]

What’s more, SI tracked down the bonus data for 60 of the 79 players. Fernando Martinez, signed by the Mets in 2005 for $1.3 million, was the only one to receive a seven-figure bonus. Only nine others signed for six figures and one — the Rockies’ Juan Nicasio — received nada to sign, according to the data obtained by SI. The median signing bonus among them tallied a paltry $35,000.