What’s next for Mets’ rotation, Joey Wendle’s role and other offseason notes
In agreeing to a one-year deal with Luis Severino , per league sources, the New York Mets on Wednesday night merely got started with retooling their rotation.
A lot of work remains as New York continues to gauge the market to fill a rotation that featured only two pitchers — Kodai Senga and José Quintana — locked into roles.
The Mets should be in the hunt for a high-impact starter. Within the top tier of free agency, Jordan Montgomery and Yoshinobu Yamamoto continue to linger as sensible targets. But the Mets are also expected to look for someone who can consistently cover innings. And keep in mind: Beyond free agency, more pitchers of different varieties can be accessed through trades.
From a financial standpoint, Severino, who will receive $13 million and could earn up to $2 million more in performance bonuses, presents the Mets with a risk-reward opportunity they can afford. In the past, Severino has pitched like an ace, but injuries have recently robbed him of time. Some within the Mets believe that bad luck, in addition to health issues, played a role in Severino’s poor 2023 (6.65 ERA in 89 1/3 innings). Given all the context, Severino looks like a worthwhile gamble for the Mets. It’s not as if he’s expected to headline their rotation.
Source confirms: Free-agent infielder Joey Wendle in agreement with the Mets. First: and .— Ken Rosenthal November 30, 2023
From here, expect New York to target pitchers who can provide stability. That can take on a few different forms. They can get an ace with a reputation for making starts. They can get a high-impact pitcher and another one who eats innings. They can add a couple more solid, mid-tier pitchers. The options go on.
The Mets, like all teams, generally need around 10 starters to get through the season. With David Peterson (left hip) likely out for six or seven months, the Mets’ depth options are down to Tylor Megill , Joey Lucchesi and José Butto . In addition to searching at the top of the market, the Mets should make a couple of lower-tier moves as insurance plays.
It’s way too early to tell what to make of the Mets’ rotation except that it requires more work. The group has potential if Severino slots somewhere toward the back end, stays healthy and performs well. But a doomsday scenario for the Mets pitching staff also already exists. It includes Senga regressing as the league adjusts to him plus Quintana, who turns 35 in January, failing to execute within his smaller margins for error and Severino missing time as a high injury risk. A full evaluation requires more time and more moves.
What the Severino signing did demonstrate, however, was president of baseball operations David Stearns’ willingness to take a calculated shot — one he couldn’t attempt in Milwaukee — that comes with medium risk and high reward. At best, Severino helps the Mets become a competitive team. At worst, they are done with the experiment in one season and all it took was money.
Where Joey Wendle fits in
The Mets also added a veteran infielder to their bench. On Wednesday night, they agreed to a one-year deal worth $2 million with Joey Wendle, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
In adding Wendle, the Mets may have essentially replaced Luis Guillorme, whom they non-tendered a couple of weeks ago. Like Guillorme, Wendle, 33, bats from the left side and provides insurance at shortstop with an ability to also play second base and third base (a position of uncertainty for the Mets). Wendle is known for being an expert base runner and a good clubhouse presence, but he’s coming off the worst offensive season of his career (.212/.248/.306 slash line with two home runs and seven stolen bases in 318 plate appearances).
Scouts weigh in on Vladi Guerrero
The Mets are expected to sign Vladi Miguel Guerrero — a brother of Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — during the 2024 international free-agency period, league sources confirmed. Metsmerized first reported the news on Tuesday. The international free-agency period begins in January.
— Mo Sports December 8, 2021
Vladi, 17, hails from the Dominican Republic like his father, Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. He projects as an outfielder/first baseman.
Scouts who have seen Vladi play describe him as a physical left-handed hitter with the potential to hit in the middle of a lineup. They checked off pitch recognition and bat speed as “plus skills,” adding that he possesses raw power that shows up in games, especially with pitches on the inner half of the plate.
When asked to compare, a couple of scouts suggested Vladi is better than Pablo Guerero — another slugging son of Vladimir Guerrero — who signed with the Texas Rangers in January 2023 and received a signing bonus of $97,500, according to the Associated Press.
How the trade market shapes up
The Mets want to strike a balance between continuing to build a good farm system while fielding a competitive team, which can make things tricky in the trade market.
A couple of rival evaluators described the Mets’ farm system as improving. But they say it’s not a system ready to absorb a major hit and still stay on track for “sustainability,” which is the repeated goal under Stearns and owner Steve Cohen. The rival evaluators said the Mets’ farm system remains short on depth and starting pitching as it relates to having enticing assets for a blockbuster trade involving a superstar while trying to build strength throughout the organization. Although nothing should be ruled out, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Mets make mid-level or smaller deals involving the minor leagues.
“Where we are as an organization — I’ve been very explicit about this and certainly Steve has been explicit with this — we’re aiming to get to a place where we can compete consistently at a championship-caliber level for a long time,” Stearns said in mid-November at the GM meetings in regards to a question about where he leans on trading prospects. “You generally don’t do that by continuously raiding your farm system. Does that mean we’re never going to trade prospects? Of course not. Does it mean we’re going to be cautious when we do? Yeah. And does it mean that we’re going to maybe do it a little bit judiciously and make sure it’s the right moment and the right time for our organization to do that? I think that’s probably fair.
“But we’re never going to shut down a conversation. So to say that we are only going to focus on one of those areas of currencies, I don’t think that’d be the right thing to do. So we are certainly going to have trade discussions. We’re certainly going to have free-agent discussions. And we’ll make the best moves that we think we can to improve the team.”
Ronny Mauricio ’s next step
Ronny Mauricio is expected to begin his winter ball season in the Dominican Republic on Friday. He’s slated to play for Tigres del Licey for at least a few weeks. He will likely spend a lot of time at third base.
Mauricio’s breakout in 2023 started with a strong stint in winter ball. He captured the league’s most valuable player award after finishing first in several offensive categories and producing five home runs, 10 stolen bases and a .803 OPS. Also, for the first time in his professional career, Mauricio — who came up through the Mets’ farm system as a shortstop — saw extensive action at third base.
The strong offense and positional versatility carried over into Triple-A Syracuse, where he dabbled in left field, second base, shortstop and third base before earning a September call-up with the Mets. For New York, Mauricio played 21 games at second base, five at third base and two at shortstop.
Along with Brett Baty , Mauricio profiles as an internal option for the Mets at third base or in some type of utility infield role. Either way, the Mets hope Mauricio, 22, shows improvement defensively. Some club officials last year wondered if Mauricio tired during the second half of the minor-league season due to so many games throughout the calendar year. Thus, there is a balance to be struck in managing his workload and getting him sufficient experience at third base, which remains a fairly new position for him.
“We’ll make sure he gets sufficient recovery time prior to spring training,” Stearns said at the GM meetings. “But I also think, especially for some of these younger players, reps matter. And so if you can play at a high-level winter ball league sometimes with some significant pressure on you, that’s not a bad thing.”
(Photo of Luis Severino: Cliff Welch/)
