Michael King meets with Mets + Yanks chat with Brad Keller at Winter Meetings | The Show - video Dailymotion

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Watch Michael King meets with Mets + Yanks chat with Brad Keller at Winter Meetings | The Show - New York Post on Dailymotion

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00:00Joel Sherman back with three things from the winter meetings in Orlando.

00:05The first full day was completed Monday.

00:08No big news yet.

00:10Why don't I go through three small items I reported about and what they might mean.

00:15Number one, the Mets recently had a video conference with Michael King,

00:23just so you fans know what that means.

00:26These teams are sharp.

00:27The really good teams pretty much, they have these presentations they do,

00:31and it usually involves for a pitcher, the manager, the GM, the pitching coach,

00:37they'll probably have some people from their medical side go through it,

00:41some people from their analytic side.

00:43Hey, Michael King, we noticed this about your spin rate.

00:47We could do X or Y, and they go through it, and the player asks questions, et cetera.

00:52It is not the only video conference the Mets have done.

00:56It is not the only video conference Michael King has done,

00:59but it does exemplify that this is a player the Mets are interested in.

01:03You don't kind of, there's a professionalism of let's not waste each other's time

01:07to get to this point for these conferences, which could last 60, 90 minutes,

01:13maybe even more, and not be serious with each other to at least want that curiosity

01:19scratched about one another.

01:22What does Michael King bring that really interests the Mets?

01:26It's pretty clear that if you're in your 30s, David Stearns does not want to do long contracts

01:32with you.

01:33Michael King's going to take probably a three- or four-year deal to get done.

01:38It comes with the understanding that he can handle New York.

01:41He played with the Yankees from 2019 to 23, by the way, years where Carlos Mendoza was a coach

01:50for the major league team, so he knows Michael King really well.

01:55King had two IL stints last year.

01:57One was a shoulder issue, but he did finish the year healthy and the postseason.

02:02He has very, very good stuff.

02:05The kind of guy who, if he's right, you can pitch in a playoff game.

02:09So he is obviously a player of interest to the Mets, but to many other teams.

02:18Number two, the Yankees are interested in Brad Keller, who last year broke out as a relief

02:26pitcher with the Cubs.

02:29He was a somewhat successful starter with the Royals earlier in his career, fell apart after

02:36that, needed thoracic outlook syndrome surgery, ended up last year as a full-time reliever

02:44for the Cubs, had great ground ball rates, strikeout rates, low ERA for a playoff-bound

02:51Chicago team.

02:53Keller is being talked about in this market as both a reliever and a starter.

02:59There is curiosity.

03:02He clearly has learned some stuff over time as he's gotten healthy.

03:07He's added three miles per hour to his fastball.

03:10It's up at about 97 miles per hour on average now.

03:13And he refined his sweeper and slider.

03:17The question is, could he hold that as a starting pitcher for five, six, seven innings with regularity?

03:22Or is he a reliever?

03:24One inning, maybe two.

03:25What is attractive about him for the Yankees is the Yankees know they're going to go the

03:32beginning of next season, at least April, maybe parts of May, of all of May, without

03:38Carlos Rodon and Garrett Cole.

03:40Rodon had chips removed from his elbow.

03:45Cole has to finish off rehab after Tommy John's surgery.

03:49They are right now at five starters, counting Ryan Yarborough.

03:53But that could, you know, you just can't believe that you're going to get through certainly

03:57the first 30, 60 games needing just those five starters.

04:01Right?

04:02Freed was pitched more than he ever has in his career innings-wise last year.

04:08So as professionals did Warren and Schlittler.

04:12Yarborough's a hybrid guy.

04:15And Luis Hill is a constantly injured pitcher.

04:18They could kind of use another Yarborough.

04:21Yarborough, the idea with Yarborough is he's going to start and then when and if Rodon and

04:27then Cole return, he could always fold into the bullpen.

04:31The hope would be with someone like Brad Keller is he would start the season in the rotation

04:37and if need be, they know he could always fold back into the bullpen.

04:43The one thing that would be the curiosity there is he would begin in the rotation.

04:48Like, it's understood what Ryan Yarborough's ceiling is.

04:51He's, if you have somebody else from that group, the Rodon-Cole thing, he's going to

04:56go to the bullpen and be the long man in the bullpen.

05:00But when it comes to Keller, if he were able to hold the stuff, it could be a Clay Holmes

05:07situation where he just stays a starter the rest of the year and you figure it out.

05:12I mean, if he, you got to start throwing 97 with wipeout sliders and sweepers, uh, sinkers

05:18and sweepers, you, you, you just stick with that.

05:20Uh, so, so it's kind of like an upside play there for the rotation with the downside being

05:25he just becomes part of your unit that helps you close games.

05:29So he's a interesting guy in that way.

05:32But again, he is a player who has a lot of interest in this marketplace.

05:36Uh, so it isn't like, oh, he's going to be a Yankee.

05:39It's just that they are interested in him and they have an interesting way to potentially

05:43use him next year.

05:46Um, finally, let's talk about number three, uh, about a Milwaukee pitcher, which generally

05:51when you've talked this off season is Freddie Peralta.

05:54And there's no doubt Peralta is definitely available.

05:57It is a very high standard, but the Brewers have traded an ace before recently.

06:02Corbin Burns, uh, when he was entering his walk year, Peralta will be entering his walk

06:07year.

06:07He has one year at just 8 million, uh, comparatively low figure, especially for someone as talented

06:12as Peralta.

06:13So every team that envisions itself contending next year that needs starting pitching could

06:19and probably should be on in on Freddie Peralta.

06:22So, uh, they, they, you know, maybe they will meet that market, but the pitcher I want to

06:26talk about is Trevor McGill.

06:28It's Tyler, Tyler McGill's, uh, older brother who, since he came to the Brewers, uh, two and

06:34a half years ago has become one of the better relief pitchers in baseball, a throw hard guy

06:39with a knuckle curve ball.

06:40That's a wipeout pitch.

06:42Uh, he's got two years left until free agency and the Brewers are getting a lot of calls on

06:46him, including from the Mets and the Yankees.

06:48So again, it's not like it's just the Mets or just the Yankees.

06:52A lot of people are interested and part of that is they've seen the sticker price on

06:56some relief pitching, uh, this off season, uh, Devin Williams, I know what the underlying

07:02numbers are, but he was still, uh, you know, that was his worst season last year and he

07:06just got a three year, $51 million contract.

07:09Uh, Edwin Diaz is going to kill it in this marketplace.

07:12Probably Robert Suarez is going to do very well.

07:15There's others.

07:16And there might be teams out there that are saying, I'd rather not pay that much.

07:19I'd rather see if I could move a couple of prospects and get a guy like Trevor McGill

07:24who is still two, has two arbitration years, uh, and will not, you know, what will that

07:30be?

07:30Will that be like for 12, $13 million over, uh, the course of these two years maybe?

07:36Uh, and he's got high end stuff and the, the, the Brewers clearly are open on Trevor

07:42McGill and I would not be surprised therefore if they ended up trading multiple pitchers in

07:47this marketplace.

07:49Thank you for listening.

07:54Bye.

Michael King meets with Mets + Yanks chat with Brad Keller at Winter Meetings | The Show

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