- 10 hours ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid. Always great to catch up with our friend Max
00:03Goodman from NJ Advanced Media, covering the New York Mets on the beat with them now all
00:08season long. So he'll be parked in Port St. Lucie in less than a month from now. And knowing
00:14that the way that it works, it's going to be a couple of weeks from now because the guys
00:17report early. They send Max down there. He's not going to complain going to Florida, I'm
00:20assuming. Max, great to see you again. And, you know, it's definitely the hottest team
00:27in baseball right now, as far as the hot stove, happen to be the Mets. They make a trade
00:33yesterday, which I think happened right after a press conference with Bo Bichette, where
00:38they acquire a very good pitcher in Freddy Peralta. So that is absolutely keeping you busy with
00:44all of these acquisitions. Dare I say the Mets carved out a new team in the offseason. Sure
00:49feels like it. It's been a whirlwind of an offseason for sure. It reminds me of one of
00:54those old like house makeover shows where they they got out the kitchen, they redo the
01:00master bedroom. The house is pretty much unrecognizable at the end. And for the Mets, they dismantled
01:06the core that really just wasn't working for much of the last decade. You know, moving on
01:11from fan favorites and longtime people fixtures in their lineup and pitching staff. And then
01:16they brought in a lot of new pieces. And I think that it required a lot of patience for
01:21Mets fans this offseason in the sense that this offseason has been very backloaded. You
01:25mentioned that they made a lot of moves within the last couple of days and weeks, other than
01:30Jorge Polanco and Devin Williams, Luke Weaver. Those those moves went down a little earlier
01:34this offseason. But within the last what is it five days now you bring in Bo Bichette, you
01:41trade for Luis Robert Jr. And you go out and trade for Freddy Peralta. That's that's an entire
01:47offseason for some teams if they're lucky. And the Mets did that to kind of cap off what's
01:52been a really remarkable turnaround this winter. Yeah, definitely so. And give credit to David
01:57Stearns. A lot of this, I think, to people not inside the building, Max, would feel like
02:03this is a lot of pivoting because certainly it's almost February here and they could have
02:08made other moves in November, in December and even into January. So is it the end result
02:15really? That matters, Max? I suppose so, because when you add those names to a team and we could
02:20start with Peralta here, which just happened in the last 24 hours, a guy who could be an
02:25ace of any team in baseball, all of a sudden, you know, I guess the bigger question is, Max,
02:29why now? Why did they wait so long to do something like this? Or should we just say,
02:33hey, end result? That's all that matters. I think there's always going to be so many different
02:38iterations of what an offseason can look like. And I'm sure that David Stearns, the Mets president
02:44of baseball operations and that entire front office have been working through all kinds of
02:49different ideas and pathways. They gave up a lot to get Freddy Peralta. And I know that a lot of
02:55teams were in on him this offseason as Milwaukee tried to decide if they're going to move him and
02:59they're weighing their options. I don't think that this was a, you know, one phone call last minute
03:06to say, hey, we want to get him. But things do change like that. And Craig, you're more than familiar
03:12with that kind of process in the sense that one text and one phone call can push a deal over the
03:17edge. So I think that, you know, Stearns spoke at the Bichette press conference yesterday and said,
03:23if you asked him if they were going to trade for Luis Robert a few days ago, he would have said,
03:27I don't know. And I think the same logic would have applied to Peralta too. But this just this last
03:33week has put them in such a better position to be a true postseason contender. And that was the goal
03:39this offseason because they haven't consistently been a World Series caliber club for four years
03:44in Mets world. Yeah. And this year, definitely a new look team. You mentioned Bo Bichette,
03:50who had an 840 OPS last season. The Mets are saying right now that he will play third base for
03:56them, which gives them a completely new look infield outside of Francisco Lindor. No reason to move him.
04:02But Simeon at second. Polanco maybe at first. I mean, I guess Bichette at third here. You know,
04:12defensively, it's a massive upgrade from where they were. I guess the only question is,
04:16how will Bichette play third base? I'm guessing pretty good. If he could play second and he could
04:20play short, give him a month in the spring, he should be ready to play the position pretty well.
04:25Right. It is intriguing that for a team that was so hyper focused on run prevention this winter,
04:30that they're going to roll out an infield with four shortstops at the four infield spots.
04:35There are risks involved there. I mean, I agree with you. I think Bichette can make that move
04:39pretty easily. Maybe Polanco is more of a challenge, not with fielding ground balls,
04:44but knowing where to stand with, you know, pickoff plays and positioning and footwork.
04:49But when you have Carlos Mendoza as your manager, you bring in Kai Correa to the coaching staff,
04:54and you've got all of spring training to make these moves, if not these last couple of weeks
04:59of the winter too. I mean, Polanco has known that this change is going to be happening for a while
05:03now. Bichette said yesterday that he's already taken ground balls at the hot corner. So I think
05:07they're in a good spot. And up the middle, Semien is elite at second, and then Robert is elite in
05:13center field. And that's how you want to build your team up the middle. I also think it's worth noting
05:17that Brett Beatty was displaced at third. He's not going to start there when that was probably what
05:21would happen with how he finished last season. They're going to kind of use him,
05:26it seems, in more of a Jeff Mendoza type of utility role where he could start and left.
05:30He could also mix in at first. So I do think that he's going to get a lot of playing time this year
05:34too. Yeah. And look, they also could move him and do a prospect for prospect kind of deal because
05:40they just traded a couple of prospects in the trade last night. They traded Luis Angel Acuna
05:46and Truman Pauly to the White Sox for Luis Robert Jr. And I think that's maybe the most polarizing deal
05:54of them all, Max, because they're betting on a player that just really hasn't been all that good
06:00over the last couple of years. So they're, I guess, making the assumption that we're going to see the
06:04guy from 2020-21 as opposed to the last couple of years who has been stuck in a pretty rough losing
06:10situation. That's what I'm guessing. Well, you see the numbers right there. 2023, he was one of the
06:15best players in the American League. And that talent, those tools, they haven't disappeared.
06:20It's just the White Sox haven't been able to figure out how to get him back to that form. So that's the
06:25challenge. Also keeping him on the field too, because he's been hurt quite a bit over the last
06:28two years. But I like that move a lot. I mean, I don't think Acuna was really going to factor into
06:34the playing time picture that much. So you give up a 12th round pick who barely has played in
06:39professional ball, and you've got a chance to bet on the upside here. And the Mets can certainly afford
06:44the contract, which is $20 million with a $2 million buyout for next season. I really like
06:50that move. Obviously, it could not pan out for them, but you take that risk if you're the Mets.
06:55Yeah, I think you have to. And again, they needed a center fielder and an outfielder,
06:59by the way, going into the season as well. Max, we'll catch up during the season. Hopefully,
07:03I'll see you sometime in spring training. Thanks again for coming on Newswire. Really appreciate it,
07:07and enjoy the rest of your week.
07:09Thanks for having me, Craig. Always a pleasure. I hope you're doing well.
07:12All right. I am Max Goodman joining us, New Jersey Advanced Media, covering the Mets all
07:17season long. Make sure you give him a follow on social media and read about him as well.
07:21And welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid. Tom Vecchio back with us,
07:25and I'm sure in just a couple of weeks, Tom's focus will be a lot on Major League Baseball here
07:29as we wrap up the NFL season with the AFC and NFC Championship, the week off, the Super Bowl,
07:34and then that's it. Pitchers and catchers report, spring training time, and then baseball right
07:38around the corner. NBA, of course, going on as well as college basketball. For me, though, it's baseball.
07:42So, Tom, the landscape has changed drastically for the Mets. They had a very active beginning
07:48of the offseason. They went to sleep for about three months, and then all of a sudden, it feels
07:54like, I don't know to me, that it was like, we're going to get Kyle Tucker, and if we don't get him,
07:59we're just going to do a lot of other stuff. I mean, that's just putting it in the simplest way
08:03possible, because how else can you explain after making those trades and getting Simeon for them to
08:09get Bo Bichette, who didn't really fit with them, throw him at third, all of a sudden recognize,
08:14wait a second, we didn't get any pitchers. Let's make this trade too. Feels like one big pivot. And
08:20by the way, the Luis Robert trade, I mean, this couldn't have come out of nowhere here. I'm sure
08:24they had some sort of plan going in, but if they were going to execute this plan, I would say, Tom,
08:29they could have did it in December or at the beginning of the month. But here they are. It feels like a
08:33grand pivot to me. Yeah, I would say this is definitely like a plan B, where it's not just
08:40signing one player, because one of these moves on their own wouldn't have been enough. And they
08:45need to put them all together. So the fact that they were able to get all three done, essentially
08:49the signing and then the two trades, that is a big step for them. You know, I still look at it as
08:54it's a very tough road ahead for them in their own division. It's we can make the argument that
08:58they're not the best team or they're tied for the best team when it's all said and done,
09:02which obviously puts them a step behind things that they could be going into the playoffs and not
09:06having home field advantage. And then also a part of me, like I hate to phrase it this way,
09:11is like they make these moves, but like to what end? Because we already know that you're trying to
09:15win the division just to have home field, just to still need to play the Dodgers when it's all said
09:21and done. So great moves for the Mets, like in a bubble, these are all beneficial moves to their
09:26roster. They are actually better today than they were yesterday or last week, but it's still like a big
09:31mountain to climb essentially. Yeah, definitely so. And going through some of the names, you know,
09:36Bo Bichette now at third, Lindor is the familiar name at short, Marcus Simeon is the big ad to put
09:42him at second, and Jorge Polanco, they signed him as well to play first base once Pete Alonso
09:46left as well. So that's the new look infield to go along with the trade that they made with Freddie
09:51Peralta and to add Luis Robert. They also got Luke Weaver earlier in the offseason and right away
09:57signed David Williams. So we thought that that would be a very active offseason for the Mets.
10:01It turned out to be they just waited until the very end. So before we look at the odds, Tom, which
10:06move of the Mets do you think FanDuel recognized to put them as favorites now in the division? Because
10:13naturally, they were not there a week ago. Now they are. So which of the moves do you think made
10:18them the favorite? I would say it's not the Robert move. It might be the Bichette move just because of
10:24the stability that he brings to the lineup. And it's really just being able to insulate Lindor
10:29and Soto just a little bit more. Like it's not the Simeon move. The Peralta move, you know,
10:34I know he's been up there in terms of Cy Young voting and some of his numbers last year were
10:38absolutely fantastic. But if you give me a top three or maybe not exactly top three of Lindor,
10:43Bichette, Soto, like that is something that can put up runs every single night. And if some of their
10:48young players step up a little bit more, if Alvarez behind the plate stays healthy, like that is a
10:53dangerous, dangerous lineup. I can really compete with any other lineup in the NL. The pitching is
10:58still the issue for them. So getting Freddy Peralta is a huge move, but I still think it's Bichette.
11:04Mets right now, plus 165 over on FanDuel, followed by the Braves at plus 175. The Phillies,
11:09who you thought may have been the favorite, are two to one. They, of course, struck out on Bichette.
11:14Also probably won't have Zach Wheeler for an extended period of time. Lost Ranger Suarez as well. Still feel
11:19like the Phillies are right there. Marlins are going to have a good season. They had a great season
11:23last year. I think they'll be good this year again. Washington, unfortunately, though, going through a
11:27rebuild, new GM, new manager, and everything else. All right. So now let's go to the hot topic of
11:32baseball, which is the Los Angeles Dodgers. Famously, Dave Roberts said earlier in the offseason,
11:38he's like, yeah, I think we're good. And then the next day they signed Edwin Diaz. And then two months
11:43later they signed Kyle Tucker. So yeah, of course they're good. But from a sports betting perspective,
11:48Tom, I always caution people. Their win total is 1-0-4 and a half. I mean, pounding it over like
11:55this is just so silly. So many things can happen over the course of the season for this to push
11:59an under. I always warn people of this. Not to mention that if the Dodgers are as good, Tom,
12:04as they say, they won't even play their guys in the last week of the season. So it's not that it's a
12:09definitive under here. I'm just saying that there's much better odds to find, I think, in baseball this
12:14season than just immediately rushing to be a prisoner of the moment, even though the Dodgers
12:19obviously on paper are as good or better than anybody else. Right. And a part of it for me would
12:24be not only their win total, their division odds, which are unbettable, the NL odds or the World
12:30Series odds. You know, frankly, a two to one number on the World Series or two and a half to one. Like
12:35I personally, I don't want to keep that locked up for 10 months at this point when you're getting such
12:40short odds on it. And frankly, the Dodgers are going to be, I'm going to say, largely unbettable
12:45on a day in and day up basis. They're going to be minus 250, minus 300. Now, there are alternate
12:49ways to go about it. A run total is always going to be interesting. Can they go over four and a half,
12:53five and a half runs? And more often than not, if they do go over five and a half, it's going to be
12:5779, 10 runs, whatever it might be. So there's better ways to bet the Dodgers than having some type of
13:02season long future on them. And then to your point, you know, they're going to have at some point,
13:06they get an eight game lead come September. And then they do ease off of guys, you know,
13:10Freddie and Mookie dealt with a ton of injuries last year. And then they're just healthy to go
13:13into October. And then, yeah, they fall short of their win total, but they won the division handling.
13:19Is there any team in particular, Tom, that you've been watching as the season gets closer? And
13:24generally speaking, I know that these win totals are out way earlier than they used to be. I remember
13:29they used to come out in like March and February, but is there a team or two that either had a really
13:33good off season or a poor off season that you've been focused on?
13:36Uh, I don't know if it's maybe from last year, but I'm still interested in what the Rangers are
13:42doing. And I still think that there's a path in that division for them forward them. And I would
13:48say a Sacramento at Oak, not Oakland, the athletics, you know, they have a ton of young talent and just
13:54that hitting ballpark is so good. Now the pitching will always be a bit of an issue for them, but the
13:58offensive upside that they have with Kurtz and Soderstrom and Wilson, I'm always going to be interested
14:03in them from a run scoring perspective. And if there's still public bias against them and saying
14:08like, Oh, the athletics are bad, there's going to be a path to finding value on them.
14:14Interestingly enough. And the Skip Schumacher, new manager of the Texas Rangers going into the season
14:18as well. All right, Tom. Well, I'm sure we will check back soon. Thanks again for coming on Newswire
14:23and giving us a lot of your time, by the way, today to really appreciate that. Have a great rest of your
14:27week. Of course. Thanks for having me.
Comments