Mets free agency and trade buz...

Here's the latest Mets free agency and trade buzz during the 2023-24 MLB offseason...

Nov. 30, 4:30 p.m.

The Mets have made an addition to their bullpen, signing right-hander Austin Adams to a one-year Major League, non-guaranteed split contract, according to the team.

Adams spent last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but his season was cut a bit short after landing on the 60-day IL due to a fractured ankle in early August.

When he was on the mound he struggled a bit, pitching to a 5.71 ERA and 1.38 WHIP across just 17.1 innings of work. 

The 32-year-old right-hander could be an intriguing bounce-back candidate for New York, as he has been able to enjoy some success over his seven-year big-league career.

Adams struggles with command at times but he generates a ton of strikeouts (27.7 K-rate) and posses a wicked slider which he throws around 90 percent of the time.

Nov. 30, 8:53 a.m.

In a wide-ranging article about David Stearns' acclimation to the Mets job -- and the financial resources he now has at his disposal -- Joel Sherman of The New York Post spoke with rival executives regarding the Mets' offseason plans.

And one executive said his perception is that the Mets are going "full bore" in trying to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, and others.

"They’re not messing around," the exec told The Post. "I don’t think they have the stomach for a year or two to get the ship turned around.”

Sherman noted that "many executives spoken to think the Mets have an advantage with Yamamoto" since Steve Cohen has the ability to let Yamamoto's camp know he'll simply top any offer.

The Mets' strong interest in Yamamoto has been reported by SNY's Andy Martino.

Nov. 29, 8:45 p.m.

SNY's Andy Martino reports that the Mets are in agreement with utility man Joey Wendle pending a physical.

Wendle's deal is reportedly for roughly $2 million plus performance bonuses.

Wendle, 33, is an eight-year veteran who has spent time with the Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins. Last season, Wendle slashed .212/.248/.306 in 112 games with the Marlins.

His best season came in 2021 with the Rays when he slashed .265/.319/.422 with 11 home runs and 54 RBI en route to his first and only All-Star selection.

The appeal of Wendle is his flexibility around the field. Wendle has experience at every infield position, aside from first base, as well as left and right field, albeit in limited time.

Nov. 29, 4:48 p.m.

Trade talks for Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease have “intensified in the last 48 hours,” according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi. The Atlanta Braves – his hometown team – are among the finalists.

Morosi noted that some close to the negotiations believe that a trade before the MLB’s Winter Meetings begin Monday, Dec. 4 is “increasingly possible.”

Cease had a disappointing 2023 campaign, pitching to a 4.58 ERA (3.72 FIP) in 177.0 innings over 33 starts. The righty, who turns 28 in late December, still had 214 strikeouts (his third-straight season of over 200 Ks) for a 10.9 strikeout per 9-inning ratio, but walked 79 batters (4.0 walks per nine) to contribute to a 1.418 WHIP on the year.

Nov. 28, 8:44 a.m.

Star Japanese LHP Shota Imanaga has been posted by his NPB club, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, starting the clock on his 45-day window to sign with an MLB team.

The 30-year-old is coming off a fantastic season for Yokohama, as he posted a 2.77 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 159 innings pitched.

Imanaga's walk rate was also minuscule -- a career-best 1.4 per nine innings.

In eight seasons in Japan for NPB, Imanaga has a 3.18 ERA and 1.11 WHIP while averaging 9.2 strikeouts per nine and 2.5 walks per nine.

Imanaga does not have the upside fellow NPB pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto does, but there is expected to be strong interest in the southpaw.

Nov. 27, 9:40 a.m

Right-hander Sonny Gray and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a three-year, $75 million deal, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Gray is the Cardinals’ third foray into the starting pitching market this offseason after agreeing to deals with Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. This could indicate that St. Louis is no longer in the race to sign Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The 11-year MLB veteran was an All-Star for the Twins last season, pitching to a 2.79 ERA (2.83 FIP, best in MLB) in 184.0 innings over 32 starts. Gray struck out 183 batters with 55 walks and his eight home runs allowed gave him the lowest homers per nining rate in baseball (0.391). The 34-year-old one-time Yankee had a 5.3 WAR last season, the fourth-highest in the game.

The Mets' interest in Gray likely cooled after the Twins extended him a qualifying offer, and would end up costing New York draft capital.

Nov. 26, 8:15 p.m.

The Detroit Tigers have secured the signature of right-hander Kenta Maeda on a two-year, $24-million deal, according to multiple reports.

The 35-year-old pitched for the last three seasons of Detroit’s division foes in Minnesota. In 2023, he had a 4.23 ERA (4.02 FIP) in 104.1 innings over 21 games (20 starts) with a 1.169 WHIP. He struck out 117 batters with just 28 walks after missing all of the 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Maeda has a 3.92 ERA over 866.1 innings and 190 games (155 starts) in his seven-year big league career.

Nov. 20, 5:00 p.m.

The Mets announced on Monday afternoon that they’ve reached an agreement with right-hander Cole Sulser on a minor league deal with an invite to MLB spring training.

Sulser made just four appearances at the big league level last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing four earned runs across 5.1 innings. He landed on the IL with a right shoulder strain and then struggled his way through 18 minor league outings.

The 33-year-old has enjoyed some MLB success, having pitched to a 2.70 ERA back in 2021 with the Baltimore Orioles. He’s regressed mightily since then but will look to turn things around with New York.

Sulser relies on a three pitch mix of a fastball, slider, and changeup.

Nov. 20, 12:05 p.m.

Free agent relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, a potential target for the Mets this offseason, has agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal with the Atlanta Braves.

Lopez will make $4 million in 2024 and $11 million each in 2025 and 2026. There is a club option for the 2027 season for $8 million with a $4 million buyout, Atlanta announced.

Over the last three seasons, Lopez posted a 3.14 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 201 strikeouts in 189 innings over 149 appearances (including 10 starts) for the Chicago White Sox.

Chicago dealt Lopez and starter Lucas Giolito to the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline before releasing him a month later in a salary dump. He finished the 2023 season – his first as a full-time reliever – with the Cleveland Guardians, who claimed him on waivers.

Overall, he pitched to a 3.27 ERA in 66 innings over 68 outings for the three teams last year.

Nov. 18, 10:10 p.m.

After the non–tender deadline, the Mets have around a dozen spots to fill on the 40-man roster and one pitcher who they are showing interest in is former Yankee Luis Severino.

The Athletic's Will Sammon reports the Queens club is among the teams to have shown interest in the right-hander and "plan to soon meet" with him.

Severino is coming off a rough 2023 campaign marred by several injuries and some struggles on the mound, the final year of a four-year, $40 million extension he signed with the Yanks ahead of the 2019 season. He pitched to a career-worst 6.65 ERA (6.14 FIP) in 89.1 innings over 19 outings (18 starts).

But the righty, who turns 30 in Feb. 2024, has had success in the past, pitching to a 3.18 ERA over 102 innings in 2022 after missing nearly all of the prior three seasons with injury. (He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020.)

Nov. 17, 8:22 p.m.

The Milwaukee Brewers opted to non-tender starter Brandon Woodruff at Friday's 8 p.m. deadline.

Woodruff, who was projected to make $11.5 million if he was tendered, is now a free agent. Before the non-tender deadline, Woodruff was being shopped around by the Brewers to "multiple teams" according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

Woodruff recently underwent right shoulder surgery and is expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2024 season and was set for free agency after next year.

It's unclear if teams will look to sign Woodruff to a contract prior to the 2024 season or wait until he's ready to return but the Mets are among the teams in need of multiple starters for the upcoming campaign.

Nov. 17, 10:43 a.m.

It's unclear what the Brewers will do with pending free agent Corbin Burnes this offseason, but they've made his co-ace available.

Milwaukee is discussing Brandon Woodruff in conversations with "multiple teams," reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

Woodruff, who -- like Burnes -- is set for free agency after the 2024 season, had shoulder surgery in October and is expected to miss most (if not all) of this coming season.

The above obviously clouds the situation, and would seriously blunt any return the Brewers got for him via trade.

Woodruff, 31, is projected to earn roughly $11.5 million in 2024 during what is his final season of arbitration.

Nov. 16, 10:45 a.m.

A trade for Manuel Margot this offseason reportedly seems likely, and the Mets are among "at least five teams" including the Yankees that have have shown interest in the outfielder, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post.

Coming off a down year in 2023, Margot is set to make $10 million in 2024 with a $12 million option the following year that has a $2 million buyout.

The 29-year-old is a plus defender, and would provide the Mets with insurance in the outfield for Starling Marte, who is coming off an injury-plagued year and is entering his age-35 season.

Nov. 14, 2:41 p.m.

Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow "is out there and available today and this week" for teams interested in trading for him, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

Glasnow, who will be entering his final season of arbitration in 2024, is expected to earn roughly $25 million.

The Rays often trade players who are extremely expensive and on the verge of free agency, so dealing Glasnow this offseason would make sense.

Glasnow missed almost the entire 2022 season and the first two months of 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

When Glasnow returned this past season, he did so with fastball velocity that was right around his career norm (an average of 96.4 mph), continued to strike out batters at a prolific rate (12.2 per nine), and had advanced numbers that were mostly elite.

Since coming into his own in 2019 during his age-25 season, Glasnow has posted a 3.03 ERA (2.89 FIP) and 1.01 WHIP with 462 strikeouts (12.5 per nine) over 332.2 innings.

The issue has been Glasnow's availability, but with a reconstructed UCL, perhaps his injury troubles are in the past.

Nov. 9, 10:57 a.m.

The White Sox are "open for business," GM Chris Getz told reporters this week at the GM Meetings, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noting that Chicago is open to trading right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease, outfielder Eloy Jimenez, and others.

Cease could be of interest to the Mets, who are looking to add two or three starting pitchers this offseason.

Entering his age-28 season, Cease is under team control through 2025. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2022 after a strong 2021 campaign, but regressed in 2023 while posting a 4.58 ERA.

A look at Cease's advanced stats from last season show that he remained elite when it came to his whiff rate, strikeout rate, and ability to prevent hitters from barreling the ball up -- so he could be due for a bounce back in 2024.

Nov. 7, 4:04 p.m.

David Stearns discussed the money vs. prospects debate, and whether New York was willing to deal from a farm system that is on the upswing and features several potentially high-impact players who should start to contribute in the majors in 2024 and 2025.

"I think where we are as an organization I've been very explicit about this, and certainly Steve (Cohen) has been explicit about this," Stearns said. "We're aiming to get to a place where we can compete consistently at a championship-caliber level for a long time. You generally don't do that by continuously raiding your farm system.

"Does that mean we're never gonna trade prospects? Of course not. Does it mean we're gonna be cautious when we do? Yeah. Does it mean that we're going do it maybe a little bit judiciously, and make sure it's the right moment or 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."