Tomoyuki Sugano has a January 7th deadline to sign with a major league team, and Jon Morosi has said that the Giants, Padres, and Mets are a few of the teams in hot pursuit of this Japanese pitcher. Now 31, after seasons of 183, 187, and 202 innings, he’s been throwing 136 and 137. I know the Mets have some international money to throw around, but this isn’t the move. Yusei Kikuchi has struggled and he’s only 29. He pitched 162 innings, but he’s been largely ineffective. This is a tough way for any team to obtain a #3 pitcher on a good team or a #2 on a team with a pitching staff that’s desperate for some help. Somebody will pay him; some team always does.
Ha-Seong Kim is an infielder from the KBO that the Mets have an interest in. If reports are true, that he wants $7 million for more than 3 years, that’s a no go as well. Put Jeff McNeil at second base and get a third baseman with MLB experience. One that is much younger than Todd Frazier. He was a third baseman I thought the Mets should get five or more years ago. Kim is 25, and while this doesn’t look like bad money from the start, it could be over the term of the deal. Kim hit 30 homers last year but was right around 20 otherwise, at Citi Field, that means 15 a year at best. Don’t ask John Ricco, or he’ll show you a graph that says otherwise. I think he makes more sense for the Padres. They’re interested, and they need to sure up their batting order.
When the Mets owner says, “Not much going on out there due to the holidays, Conversations hopefully pick up next week.” Then you realize that the market is waiting for the Mets to get George Springer, or Trevor Bauer before other players will start to sign, it makes the prospect of the hot stove a fantasy that won’t heat up until 2021.
Kike Hernandez could be on the move. These days, after a team wins a World Series, they will inevitably lose players. He’s been with the Dodgers the past six seasons and he has a ring, so now he’s looking to get paid. He hit .308 in the NLCS and drove in a few runs in the World Series. He’s a good contributor, but he’s no Justin Turner, who is also looking to get paid. Will this pave the way for the Dodgers to sign their third baseman, or will they lose him too? Manager Dave Roberts isn’t sure that Turner is coming back. Let’s see how the Dodgers look in February because they’re going through some changes for sure.
There’s no reason to think that spring training won’t happen with it set to start in late February (February 27th is the tentative date) or early March. Baseball in 2020 was weird. We can all hope for better things this upcoming season, like being able to attend games. It will be a 60-game season but that’s ok. Teams need the revenue, and the country needs a shot in the arm for normalcy.
