Conner & Joe, thank you for answering my question. I have another one. Again, feel free to edit this question for next week's show. Hypothetically, Juan Soto and the Mets agree to a 14-year, $700 million deal that would pay him $50 million/year. Would it make sense for Soto and the Mets to actually sign a 20-year contract that added 6 more years at $10 million/year? That would lower Soto's AAV for Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) purposes to $38 million. That could reduce Steve Cohen's annual CBT payments by as much as $13.2 million/year (given a top Cohen tax rate of 110%). More importantly, from a Mets fan's perspective, reducing the AAV could help avoid non-financial CBT penalties. Worse case scenario, the Mets need to eat that $60 million, but even then, Cohen would have saved significantly more than $60 million over the life of that contract. Of course, Soto would be under no obligation to play those last 6 years, as he could always just retire. Would it make a difference to CBT calculations if Soto had an opt-out after year 14? (End Of Question) While the Dodgers are clearly the favorite to sign Roki Sasaki, I think the Mets might have a better chance at signing him than many people think. I read somewhere that Shohei Ohtani earned more from endorsements this year than he made from his Dodger salary. The only way Sasaki going to MLB now, instead of 2 years from now, makes any financial sense is if Sasaki expects to make up the lost salary by starting to earn higher endorsement payments 2 years earlier. If he signs with the Dodgers, he might be only the third-best Japanese player on that team. On the other hand, NYC is the media capital of the world. Obviously, all those factors apply to the Yankees as much as the Mets, plus the Yankees have the advantage of being the most historic professional sports team in the world. However, the Mets do have other things going for them. Sasaki would almost certainly be the best Japanese player on the Mets (Sorry, Kodai), but he would also have a Japanese teammate who could help him adjust to pitching in the major leagues (Thank you, Kodai). The Mets also have one of the best pitching labs in the world. Even without signing Sasaki, the Mets have been considering adopting a 6-man rotation. Obviously, that would help Sasaki given that so many fewer innings are thrown by pitchers in Japan. Finally, the Mets have Steve Cohen and that means that the Mets will always have the resources to be competitive. If the Mets sign Sasaki and then win a World Series or two, his endorsement opportunities would explode, especially if he strikes out Ohtani a bunch of times in the NLCS. That's my pitch to Sasaki.
And Ohtani did show feet of clay this postseason as did Soto & Judge. While the Mets ascended from heart-stopping to miraculous with every series. Only the pitching proved too hard to maintain in those final games.
@@brucemarmy8500 One thing Sasaki should keep in mind is that if he signs with the Dodgers, he won't have any opportunity to strike out Ohtani. That is a matchup that the Japanese public will want to see. However, if he signs with the Mets, he's likely to face Ohtani during most post-seasons. He should really want to face Ohtani since he would always have the lefty-lefty advantage when pitching to him, but he would never have to hit against him. If I were putting together my Mets rotation, I'd sign Sasaki (of course). I'd resign Sean Manaea to a 3 (or, if necessary) 4-year deal. I'd also go as high as 5 years for Blake Snell. Snell, Senga, Manaea, Sasaki, Peterson, and Megill, as a 6th starter, would be a bit heavy with Southpaws, but that is still a really awesome rotation. Plus, because I didn't trade for Garret Crochet (what is it with the southpaws?), the Mets would still have all those nice right-handed pitching prospects like Brandon Sprout, Blade Tidwell, and Nolan McLean, who can come up during the season. The Mets have seem to have been focusing on obtaining center fielders who play good defense. The one center field option I never hear being discussed is the one I would prefer and he's already on the team. If it were up to me, I'd pencil in Luisangel Acuna in center batting 9th. He is an elite defender with decent offensive stats. If he manages to hit, the Mets get a second leadoff hitter with great speed. If he doesn't hit, Jett Williams and Drew Gilbert are only a phone call away. One of those three is probably the Mets centerfielder of the future.
Hey guys love the show, Connor fan of the fantasy show with Matthew Beery. But am I the only Mets fan hoping the Mets don't sign Soto? I get Sterns has only been here for one offseason and he hit it out the park. But don't you guys think with the $ Soto is looking for he (Sterns) would field a way better team instead of just giving it to Soto? Don't get me wrong Soto is one of a kind player and especially since he still so young. But that money could be spread around better? Thoughts?
Hypothetically, Juan Soto and the Mets agree to a 14-year, $700 million deal that would pay him $50 million/year. Would it make sense for Soto and the Mets to actually sign a 20-year contract that added 6 more years at $10 million/year? That would lower Soto's AAV for Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) purposes to $38 million. That could reduce Steve Cohen's annual CBT payments by as much as $13.2 million/year (given a top Cohen tax rate of 110%). More importantly, from a Mets fan's perspective, reducing the AAV could help avoid non-financial CBT penalties. Worse case scenario, the Mets need to eat that $60 million, but even then, Cohen would have saved significantly more than $60 million over the life of that contract. Of course, Soto would be under no obligation to play those last 6 years, as he could always just retire. Would it make a difference to CBT calculations if Soto had an opt-out after year 14?
Hey guys I’m a big fan of the show. Do you guys think it makes more sense for the Mets to trade for a great controllable starter (crochet, Castillo, etc.) compared to signing a Corbin burnes who has been declining as of the recent years who wants a long term deal?
I too wonder the same thing like @samueldeleon3867. I understand Soto is a generational talent and the kind of impact he can bring to this line up if Mets do sign him. However, instead of signing Soto to a 600~700 mil contract, wouldn’t Mets be a more complete team if we spend the money that is planned to dish out anyways on more pitching and perhaps a bat or two? We can sign not just one or two, but a few starting pitchers from free agent pool, like Burnes, Fried, Flaherty, Buehler or Manae; and sign a few more cost controllable/optionable relief pitching. We all know every team needs tons of pitchers to go thru a whole season. Good pitching usually wins post seasons too, in my opinion. Imagine a pitching staff includes Burnes, Fried, Senga, Manaea, Buehler and Peterson. I’m still all for bring Alonso back if the price is right, and let Betty, Acuna and Mauricio prove themselves this year; and maybe call up Williams and Gilbert sometime mid to late 2025 and let them play. Hope Vientos doesn’t have too bad a sophomore slump, if there’s any. I think Alvarez is going to hit 25+ bombs this coming season. Unless uncle Steve wants to sign all players in this free agency including Soto and hit the Cohen tax again, then more power to him, who am I to say no? Love this pod, keep up the good work! Mets fan from Taiwan.
I too wonder the same thing as @samueldeleon3867 stated. I understand Soto is a generational talent and the kind of impact he can bring to this line up if Mets do sign him. However, instead of signing Soto to a 600~700 mil contract, wouldn’t Mets be a more complete team if we spend the money that is planned to dish out anyways on more pitching and perhaps a bat or two? We can sign a few starting pitchers, from free agent pool, like Burnes, Fried, Flaherty, Buehler or Manae; sign a few more cost controllable/optionable relief pitching. We all know every team needs tons of pitchers to go thru a whole season. Good pitching usually wins post seasons too, in my opinion. Imagine a pitching staff includes Burnes, Fried, Senga, Manaea, Buehler and Peterson. I’m still all for bring Alonso back if the price is right, and let Betty, Acuna and Mauricio prove themselves this year; and maybe Williams and Gilbert sometime mid to late 2025. Hope Vientos doesn’t have too bad a sophomore slump, if there’s any. I think Alvarez is going to hit 25+ bombs this coming season. Unless uncle Steve wants to sign all players in this free agency including Soto and hit the Cohen tax again, then more power to him, who am I to say no? Love this pod, keep up the good work! Mets fan from Taiwan.
Top of the Mets lineup with Alonso and Soto as the only 2 big ticket offense signing. 1 Lindor 2 Soto 3 Vientos 4 Alonso That's a potential of 130 - 160 HR's right there! Spend the rest of the money PITCHING! 5 McNeil 6 Nimo 7 Alvarez 8 DH 9 Siri?... not necessarily in this order.
@@patpozzuto4809 I'm sure giving him a rest every once in awhile at DH is not going to be a problem, of course he's going to play the majority of games
Question about QO. Say we sign Soto and one of our current three QO players but lose 2 of them. Am I correct in believing the Mets gain no draft picks? Also has anybody been drafted as a QO pickup and become a big league major contribution?
Let’s talk Pete Alonzo: Do you think that Pete will want to accept a contract with fewer years than Brandon Nimo got in 2022? Do you think that Pete would accept an 8 -year, 184m contract…an AAV of 23.25 (3m AAV above the Brandon Nimo dea)l? Pete Alonzo is two-playing-years younger than Nimo . Why shouldn’t Pete be offered the relatively same deal as Nimo? Give Pete some love and respect. If Steve does, my feeling is that Pete Alonzo will be a Met for Life.
No one owns the future. The Mets punched far above their weight in '24. Did the Yankees do the same? To whom much is given; much is expected. If Soto wins as a Yankee, will much of the glory redound to him? Or will they be expected to be great, Soto just a piece, not the main cog. Greatness and recognition for it will only come in a Met uniform. Who's closer to next year's greatness, the Mets or Yankees? That is the Juan Soto pitch to land a prospect.
It would be a perfect Christmas for the Mets to snag Burnes as a proven Ace. Outbid the Yankees for Juan Soto for his Ted Williams-like talent. Lock up Alonso with a decent contract offer and then sign Sasaki for the future. That would be unreal!!
They start the day by getting a guy with the initials JS, a 4-letter first name and a 4-letter last name containing two of the same vowel. How can we be anything but over the moon?
Conner & Joe, thank you for answering my question. I have another one. Again, feel free to edit this question for next week's show.
Hypothetically, Juan Soto and the Mets agree to a 14-year, $700 million deal that would pay him $50 million/year. Would it make sense for Soto and the Mets to actually sign a 20-year contract that added 6 more years at $10 million/year? That would lower Soto's AAV for Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) purposes to $38 million. That could reduce Steve Cohen's annual CBT payments by as much as $13.2 million/year (given a top Cohen tax rate of 110%). More importantly, from a Mets fan's perspective, reducing the AAV could help avoid non-financial CBT penalties. Worse case scenario, the Mets need to eat that $60 million, but even then, Cohen would have saved significantly more than $60 million over the life of that contract. Of course, Soto would be under no obligation to play those last 6 years, as he could always just retire. Would it make a difference to CBT calculations if Soto had an opt-out after year 14? (End Of Question)
While the Dodgers are clearly the favorite to sign Roki Sasaki, I think the Mets might have a better chance at signing him than many people think. I read somewhere that Shohei Ohtani earned more from endorsements this year than he made from his Dodger salary. The only way Sasaki going to MLB now, instead of 2 years from now, makes any financial sense is if Sasaki expects to make up the lost salary by starting to earn higher endorsement payments 2 years earlier. If he signs with the Dodgers, he might be only the third-best Japanese player on that team. On the other hand, NYC is the media capital of the world. Obviously, all those factors apply to the Yankees as much as the Mets, plus the Yankees have the advantage of being the most historic professional sports team in the world.
However, the Mets do have other things going for them. Sasaki would almost certainly be the best Japanese player on the Mets (Sorry, Kodai), but he would also have a Japanese teammate who could help him adjust to pitching in the major leagues (Thank you, Kodai). The Mets also have one of the best pitching labs in the world. Even without signing Sasaki, the Mets have been considering adopting a 6-man rotation. Obviously, that would help Sasaki given that so many fewer innings are thrown by pitchers in Japan. Finally, the Mets have Steve Cohen and that means that the Mets will always have the resources to be competitive. If the Mets sign Sasaki and then win a World Series or two, his endorsement opportunities would explode, especially if he strikes out Ohtani a bunch of times in the NLCS. That's my pitch to Sasaki.
And Ohtani did show feet of clay this postseason as did Soto & Judge. While the Mets ascended from heart-stopping to miraculous with every series. Only the pitching proved too hard to maintain in those final games.
@@brucemarmy8500 One thing Sasaki should keep in mind is that if he signs with the Dodgers, he won't have any opportunity to strike out Ohtani. That is a matchup that the Japanese public will want to see. However, if he signs with the Mets, he's likely to face Ohtani during most post-seasons. He should really want to face Ohtani since he would always have the lefty-lefty advantage when pitching to him, but he would never have to hit against him. If I were putting together my Mets rotation, I'd sign Sasaki (of course). I'd resign Sean Manaea to a 3 (or, if necessary) 4-year deal. I'd also go as high as 5 years for Blake Snell. Snell, Senga, Manaea, Sasaki, Peterson, and Megill, as a 6th starter, would be a bit heavy with Southpaws, but that is still a really awesome rotation. Plus, because I didn't trade for Garret Crochet (what is it with the southpaws?), the Mets would still have all those nice right-handed pitching prospects like Brandon Sprout, Blade Tidwell, and Nolan McLean, who can come up during the season.
The Mets have seem to have been focusing on obtaining center fielders who play good defense. The one center field option I never hear being discussed is the one I would prefer and he's already on the team. If it were up to me, I'd pencil in Luisangel Acuna in center batting 9th. He is an elite defender with decent offensive stats. If he manages to hit, the Mets get a second leadoff hitter with great speed. If he doesn't hit, Jett Williams and Drew Gilbert are only a phone call away. One of those three is probably the Mets centerfielder of the future.
I was so psyched you guys answered! Thanks, and keep doing your thing
One of the best Mets podcasts… I wonder if Gary, Keith and Ron will start one eventually 😂
You guys are awesome keep up the great work
Ask your question for the next show's mailbag below ⤵
Hey guys love the show, Connor fan of the fantasy show with Matthew Beery. But am I the only Mets fan hoping the Mets don't sign Soto? I get Sterns has only been here for one offseason and he hit it out the park. But don't you guys think with the $ Soto is looking for he (Sterns) would field a way better team instead of just giving it to Soto? Don't get me wrong Soto is one of a kind player and especially since he still so young. But that money could be spread around better? Thoughts?
Hypothetically, Juan Soto and the Mets agree to a 14-year, $700 million deal that would pay him $50 million/year. Would it make sense for Soto and the Mets to actually sign a 20-year contract that added 6 more years at $10 million/year? That would lower Soto's AAV for Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) purposes to $38 million. That could reduce Steve Cohen's annual CBT payments by as much as $13.2 million/year (given a top Cohen tax rate of 110%). More importantly, from a Mets fan's perspective, reducing the AAV could help avoid non-financial CBT penalties. Worse case scenario, the Mets need to eat that $60 million, but even then, Cohen would have saved significantly more than $60 million over the life of that contract. Of course, Soto would be under no obligation to play those last 6 years, as he could always just retire. Would it make a difference to CBT calculations if Soto had an opt-out after year 14?
Hey guys I’m a big fan of the show. Do you guys think it makes more sense for the Mets to trade for a great controllable starter (crochet, Castillo, etc.) compared to signing a Corbin burnes who has been declining as of the recent years who wants a long term deal?
I too wonder the same thing like @samueldeleon3867.
I understand Soto is a generational talent and the kind of impact he can bring to this line up if Mets do sign him. However, instead of signing Soto to a 600~700 mil contract, wouldn’t Mets be a more complete team if we spend the money that is planned to dish out anyways on more pitching and perhaps a bat or two? We can sign not just one or two, but a few starting pitchers from free agent pool, like Burnes, Fried, Flaherty, Buehler or Manae; and sign a few more cost controllable/optionable relief pitching. We all know every team needs tons of pitchers to go thru a whole season. Good pitching usually wins post seasons too, in my opinion. Imagine a pitching staff includes Burnes, Fried, Senga, Manaea, Buehler and Peterson.
I’m still all for bring Alonso back if the price is right, and let Betty, Acuna and Mauricio prove themselves this year; and maybe call up Williams and Gilbert sometime mid to late 2025 and let them play. Hope Vientos doesn’t have too bad a sophomore slump, if there’s any. I think Alvarez is going to hit 25+ bombs this coming season.
Unless uncle Steve wants to sign all players in this free agency including Soto and hit the Cohen tax again, then more power to him, who am I to say no?
Love this pod, keep up the good work! Mets fan from Taiwan.
I too wonder the same thing as @samueldeleon3867 stated.
I understand Soto is a generational talent and the kind of impact he can bring to this line up if Mets do sign him. However, instead of signing Soto to a 600~700 mil contract, wouldn’t Mets be a more complete team if we spend the money that is planned to dish out anyways on more pitching and perhaps a bat or two? We can sign a few starting pitchers, from free agent pool, like Burnes, Fried, Flaherty, Buehler or Manae; sign a few more cost controllable/optionable relief pitching. We all know every team needs tons of pitchers to go thru a whole season. Good pitching usually wins post seasons too, in my opinion. Imagine a pitching staff includes Burnes, Fried, Senga, Manaea, Buehler and Peterson.
I’m still all for bring Alonso back if the price is right, and let Betty, Acuna and Mauricio prove themselves this year; and maybe Williams and Gilbert sometime mid to late 2025. Hope Vientos doesn’t have too bad a sophomore slump, if there’s any. I think Alvarez is going to hit 25+ bombs this coming season.
Unless uncle Steve wants to sign all players in this free agency including Soto and hit the Cohen tax again, then more power to him, who am I to say no?
Love this pod, keep up the good work! Mets fan from Taiwan.
Top of the Mets lineup with Alonso and Soto as the only 2 big ticket offense signing.
1 Lindor
2 Soto
3 Vientos
4 Alonso
That's a potential of 130 - 160 HR's right there!
Spend the rest of the money PITCHING!
5 McNeil
6 Nimo
7 Alvarez
8 DH
9 Siri?... not necessarily in this order.
Marte and Soto will share RF and DH
@ronkonkoma4223 No way that a $700,000,000 player will platoon or be replaced in late inning... unless Soto wants a break from playing defense.
@@patpozzuto4809 I'm sure giving him a rest every once in awhile at DH is not going to be a problem, of course he's going to play the majority of games
@sny why arnet there any tabs or chapters in this video to see what each segment is talking about?
Question about QO. Say we sign Soto and one of our current three QO players but lose 2 of them. Am I correct in believing the Mets gain no draft picks?
Also has anybody been drafted as a QO pickup and become a big league major contribution?
David Wright was a compensatory pick when Mike Hampton left for the wonderful school systems of Colorado
@ let’s repeat that pick! Thanks for the info.
You guys are great. Why only 124K subscribers????????
Let’s talk Pete Alonzo: Do you think that Pete will want to accept a contract with fewer years than Brandon Nimo got in 2022? Do you think that Pete would accept an 8 -year, 184m contract…an AAV of 23.25 (3m AAV above the Brandon Nimo dea)l? Pete Alonzo is two-playing-years younger than Nimo . Why shouldn’t Pete be offered the relatively same deal as Nimo? Give Pete some love and respect. If Steve does, my feeling is that Pete Alonzo will be a Met for Life.
Thanks Peter. I, too, want Pete a Met for life. Our Ed Kranepool.
Alonso
Lindor soto alonso vientos 120 plus home runs wow
No one owns the future. The Mets punched far above their weight in '24. Did the Yankees do the same? To whom much is given; much is expected. If Soto wins as a Yankee, will much of the glory redound to him? Or will they be expected to be great, Soto just a piece, not the main cog. Greatness and recognition for it will only come in a Met uniform. Who's closer to next year's greatness, the Mets or Yankees? That is the Juan Soto pitch to land a prospect.
It would be a perfect Christmas for the Mets to snag Burnes as a proven Ace. Outbid the Yankees for Juan Soto for his Ted Williams-like talent. Lock up Alonso with a decent contract offer and then sign Sasaki for the future. That would be unreal!!
Nice 1st comment given to me
I personally believe METS should try to get Vladimir Guerrero instead of Pete Alonso .
What do you think ?
They start the day by getting a guy with the initials JS, a 4-letter first name and a 4-letter last name containing two of the same vowel. How can we be anything but over the moon?
You guys are leaving out how you can transform Merengue Night into Juan Soto Heritage night being that he is Dominican
And sweeten the deal with a family proprietorship in one of those soon to be packed trendy joints at Citi
Connor Joe is awful, he's brutal to watch.
You guys are awesome keep up the great work
You guys are leaving out how you can transform Merengue Night into Juan Soto Heritage night being that he is Dominican