00:00Joel Sherman back for three things. I'm still in Los Angeles, wrapping up this portion of the World Series. And we're wrapping up our five-part series on the main free agents for the two New York teams. We hit the major ones, Alonzo Diaz, Mets, Bellinger, Grisham for the Yankees.
00:20And now we're going to use today three things to kind of go through the cases for a lot of the rest of the second and third level guys who are about to become free agents for the Mets and Yankees.
00:33And number one, I find that the relievers who probably thought they were going to get a lot more money than they're going to in March, the reality of today are interesting.
00:45So number one, let's make the case for Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and Ryan Helsley.
00:53Essentially, the case is it's a volatile job. And six months ago, these guys were all looking at multi-year deals.
01:02I think in the case of Devin Williams, a really big multi-year deal. And there are narratives you could create on all of them.
01:11Let's start with Devin Williams, who finished actually strong for the Yankees, but had by far his worst seasons.
01:17He had a lot of still good underlying numbers, top of the sport, strikeout rates, top of the sport, swing and miss rates, stuff that organizations like and pay for.
01:27So he has that. Luke Weaver, for most of the last two years, was the Yankees' best relief pitcher.
01:34He had really bad lulls this year. And you could believe that he was pitch tipping and that that's correctable.
01:42If you do, maybe Luke Weaver's in line for something. Ryan Helsley was good, pretty good for the Cardinals.
01:49The problems all came in New York. If you think this is a guy, you're a market, a much smaller market than, say, New York or L.A.,
01:57Boston, Philadelphia, and you want to go for a big arm, perhaps you could think Ryan Helsley's problems were really centered about the big city.
02:07Number two, let's do the case against those three guys.
02:12I said it before, relief pitching is volatile. It's possible that these guys are now in a bad funk.
02:21Williams, whatever his underlying numbers were, they were still worst strikeout rate of his career and lots of other issues that were worst of his career.
02:32Helsley was not great in St. Louis the way he had been in previous years.
02:37And then it just cratered in New York. So perhaps you don't love him because of that.
02:43And Luke Weaver, I think, even at his best, is going to be very home run susceptible, and he was really home run susceptible this year.
02:52I think all of these guys are looking at one year, make good contracts.
02:56Why don't we do this for number three? Do them and some of the other New York guys.
03:00I think all these guys, would I be shocked if someone got a two, maybe even a three-year deal?
03:05I don't do shock that well.
03:06You know, in baseball, I'm always prepared for the unexpected.
03:11But traditionally, these kind of relievers, I think, do one-year deals, try to prove that they were the guys they were in the past,
03:18and then go back in the market next offseason and try to kill it a little bit.
03:22They end up, I think, on teams that are willing to roll the dice, that need late-inning help,
03:28and are willing to roll the dice that these guys still have it.
03:32If I'm making a cursory list, and I think those teams would want to be contenders,
03:37teams like, say, Arizona and Texas, who fancy that they could and maybe should make the playoffs next year
03:43and go into this offseason without big budgets but with needs late in the bullpen,
03:49those are the kind of teams I could see rolling the dice on this.
03:52Let me roll through some people who I do like on the New York teams in free agency,
03:58not specifically maybe for the New York squads, but in general and maybe for the New York teams.
04:04They were all Mets last year.
04:06Tyler Rodgers was the one reliever.
04:10Soto and Helsley didn't pitch well for the Mets.
04:12Rodgers did.
04:13And I think Rodgers is who Rodgers is.
04:16He's perhaps the most durable reliever in the sport.
04:19I know one day that will stop.
04:21But if you're gambling on who will throw 50, 60 games next year, he's a good gamble.
04:28He doesn't walk anybody.
04:30He doesn't give up home runs.
04:32And he was miscast with the Mets because the Mets infield wasn't very good.
04:36If you're signing Tyler Rodgers, who has top of the sport ground ball numbers,
04:41to me, to me, you have to have a strong defense.
04:46And if you do, I think you get the best out of Tyler Rodgers.
04:48Griffin Koenig, you might have forgotten about him late June.
04:52He ruptured his Achilles tendon.
04:56His agents are telling me he's going to be a full go for the season.
05:00I thought he was making strides towards a consistent mid-rotation guy
05:06and that there might even be a little more ceiling to grow there.
05:10My concern is he's kind of a springy athletic type, and this is an Achilles injury.
05:15But still, this might be the kind of guy you could do a two-year deal with
05:19and think of that first year as a build-up, back-up after the Achilles injury
05:26and you're really going for it in 27.
05:28I think he is a worthwhile gamble.
05:32Number three is Starling Marte.
05:34I know he just turned 37 earlier this month, but he's a pro.
05:39He's always in shape.
05:41He handled a switch to a lesser role, I thought, well this year
05:46and was one of the leaders of a MET team that had some leadership issues.
05:51If you're willing to understand, this is a 300 to 400 plate appearance guy.
05:57He might have an IL stint or two during the year, but he can still really hit.
06:03If you're going to use him as a DH, you've got to have power elsewhere in your lineup.
06:08But I still think he could hit, I think he could come off the bench,
06:12and I think he helps you in a depth capacity if you're a good team.
06:17Among Yankees, I want to point out to close this off two guys who I think are interesting.
06:23One is Ahmad Rosario, who they acquired at the trade deadline.
06:29Rosario has never hit less than 284 in a full season against lefty pitching.
06:34He didn't this year. It was up over 300, 302, up over 800 OPS versus lefties.
06:40He can play second or third.
06:42He can go to the outfield if you desperately need it.
06:46And he is a guy, if you think about the Yankees for next season,
06:50they're going to have to add a player or keep a player in Rosario's case
06:54who hits right-handed, who can play a few positions.
06:57I think it was heightened by the fact that Jose Caballero is probably going to begin the season
07:04as their shortstop, unless they surprise us and sign somebody or make a trade for a shortstop.
07:09Anthony Volpe is going to miss the beginning of the season after shoulder surgery.
07:13So Caballero's depth as that right-handed move-around guy isn't there.
07:19Oswaldo Cabrero will be coming back from his traumatic leg injury.
07:23But Rosario is the kind of guy who can, you know, against the tough lefty,
07:28he fills in for Ryan McMahon, etc.
07:31So I could see that he's at least going to be on the Yankees shortlist of people to do that.
07:37Is others like somebody like Rob Refsnyder who plays the outfield,
07:43you know, to be the guy against left-hand pitching,
07:46and you have Cabrera as the guy who moves through the infield as a switch hitter.
07:49He could be the righty guy, that kind of player.
07:53And the last guy I'll mention is Ryan Yarborough.
07:57He was on a good roll as a starting pitcher with the Yankees when he hurt his oblique.
08:02By the time he came back September 1st, he never really got it rolling again, never got a roll.
08:08But just as I think about the Yankees, and again, like Volpe,
08:11they have some injuries in Rodon and Cole where they don't have starters to begin the season,
08:16but they think they're going to be back like Volpe at some point early-ish in the year.
08:22And in that situation, they're going to need to sign somebody or trade for somebody this offseason who could start.
08:31Now, that could be somebody who just starts.
08:33But I do remember in Aaron Boone saying in his postseason press conference,
08:38I think it was Boone, Boone and Cashman both talked that day,
08:40and in my mind's eye, it's Boone, that you've got to be careful because when Rodon and Cole come back,
08:47they're going in the rotation.
08:49And if you've signed, say, somebody who can't move to the bullpen or doesn't have options,
08:55you start to deal with a numbers issue.
08:58And obviously, Yarborough has spent a career flexing between the rotation and the bullpen,
09:04and he had some success with the Yankees last year.
09:06And I wonder if he ends up being a target for them to fill that role,
09:13you know, kind of a hybrid role for them again in 2026.
09:17Anyway, that's the wrap-up of this.
09:19I appreciate everybody who joined us on three things as we went through the major New York free agents.
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