Latest Mets News On Skubal, Coaching Search, Bichette and More! | Straight Outta Flushing

How we doing everybody? It's Tyler Ward and that is Dexter Henry and in the latest episode here straight out of Flushing breaking down all things New York Mets here on the New York Post Sports YouTube channel. We have a lot to get into today Dex because there's been a lot happening even with the New York Mets not playing baseball. We're officially in World Series time. It's Brewers, it's Rays, but listen there's a lot of rumblings going on surrounding of course the coveted South Paw and Eric Scoubo that we're going to get into as well as the future of Bo Bichette. what David Sterns is likely plan is versus maybe what the plan isn't versus recent years looking into the offseason as a whole a lot of get into in this one Dex but before anything else how are you doing today my friend doing good man doing doing good it's been a long and busy week um looking forward to a good weekend and uh always a pleasure to talk some baseball with you my friend oh of course yeah pleasure is all mine and when we talk about the New York Mets i think let's hop into a topic that we didn't get a chance to talk about a couple days ago in our last episode that I hope you guys make sure to check out as we have been continuing to break down the Mets' individual positions this offseason as to what they should do internally versus externally. Our latest conversation was on second base a couple days ago, and we'll get back into the conversation on those respective positions in future episodes here on the New York Post Sports YouTube channel or wherever you get your podcasts. But Dex, there's some news that's happened over the past couple days, and I think it's fitting. Carlos Mendoza a former Mets skipper now has not only been re-signed by i shouldn't say re-signed but signed by a new club but by a team that is opposite of beloved by us Mets fans the new third base coach of yes the Philadelphia Phillies is Carlos Mendoza what was the immediate reaction to that news i gotta hear look on a human level i was really happy your boy bounced back right like that's on a human level no i mean in all seriousness you know listen Mendy's a great guy i have no personal ill will yeah and i liked him i did like him generally overall as a manager i didn't come around to the point where i felt like it was time for a change um so on a serious human side i'm happy to see that he's back working in baseball i do think he's a good baseball guy um and i do think there's some chance he probably gets another opportunity to manage a major league baseball club down the road um to see him go to the rival phillies you know you know you never like that uh i guess it could be worse he could be the braves but no happy to see him back in um the game i wondered what role he would come back to the game in you know sometimes the managers they'll have to work their way back where they're a base coach and then they get to be a bench coach and they come back in that sort of fashion so good to see mendy come back again i think he will get an opportunity when that does happen wardy what i'll be very curious is what did he learn from his Mets opportunity that'll then take to his next opportunity? And then also, I will say this, for the Phillies, things ever get dicey for Mr. Don Mattingly there, they have somebody on their coaching staff that has major league experience coaching. so, you know, the seat gets hot for Don Mattingly, they might say, Mendoza, we're bringing you in out the bullpen. It's possible. So something to watch. You're smirking in a way that I feel that's like, you're happy for him, but also kind of happy He's not managing the team you root for anymore. The first thought that came to mind when I saw the news was Willie Rojas, Carlos Mendoza, what do these guys have in common? The Mets managers that are now third base coaches for teams that this fan base despises, whether it's across the town of the Bronx or a little bit of a hike there to Philadelphia. Either way, it's kind of fitting. It really is. And yeah, again, I'm happy for Mendoza, but I think it's going to be really interesting to see how Mets fans react, especially when the Phillies hit Citi Field for the first time this year and they see Mendy at third base I think you're going to see a combination of Mets fans like you know what's good Mendy you know like happy to see you as well as you know other fans are going to kind of be a bit more blunt in their statements regardless of Mendy being a follower or not as manager the past couple years because we just know how this fan base is so um separate from that though uh it's interesting because it looks like there's a great reality that the Mets and the Phillies have a coaching swap on their hands because while the Phillies hired Mendoza for infield and third base that goes in hand because of the firings that the Phillies made for Don Mattingly to build more of his staff yes that does in fact mean that Don Mattingly kind of handpicked Carlos Mendoza to be in his coaching staff think of that however which way you will um but the people who are part of it by the Philadelphia Phillies include former Mets hitting coach and Kevin Long now Now, Kevin Long, according to Mike Puma here at The Post over the past 48 hours, interviewed with the New York Mets. So it begs the question, is Kevin Long going to return to the Mets? And what can he provide to the club? So would you like me to rattle off everything that there is to know about Kevin Long's ex? Or would you like to share your initial opinion on this first? Let me share my initial opinion on this first. Go ahead. I am someone who I think sometimes a hitting coach can be a little overrated. A little bit overrated in the sport. I don't put as much stock into it. I think the hitting post, here's my thoughts, though. For veterans, when I say overrated, for veterans. Guys have been in the league a long time and have hit. For young players, I do think it's important. And so my question then would be, do we believe that he can help the young players on this roster? Talking specifically about A.J. Ewing, Carson Bench, okay? And then, you know, I'll even add Jared Young in this as well, too, okay? If we think he's going to be in the mix, even if it's to be a bench player, I do think it matters. I think his expertise, how old is Kevin Long? is what 59, 60 years old, I believe he's worked in this game for quite some time, um he's 59, uh so he's worked in this game for quite some time I do think his experience can really help the young players, how adaptable he is with the young players, we've seen him work with other young players being up before, whether it was Brett Baty, uh who overlapped with Vientos as well too so do I think, sure, I think he can help them am I gonna get, I don't get too excited about the hiring of hitting coaches, I don't get too excited about the firing of hitting coaches when we have somebody to blame, uh players have to execute but I will watch the development with young players and then I also will add all the players we've been talking about, how does he help a Jefferson Rojas if he comes up, how does he help a Mitch Void or a Million Petrie, um guys that we think can eventually in the next year or so come up and help this major league roster, that's what I'd be looking to go for, if the Mets bring back Kevin Long, do I think it's a fine hire? Sure, I think it's fine, I didn't have a problem with the way players approached hitting when he was here before so i'm okay, he also knows how to handle coaching players in this market, you bring that up all the time, Wardy, i think that matters here too even for coaches, so yeah for me i'm i'm good with it, what do you think so there's a lot that i think regarding Kevin Long and the big debate surrounding him is mainly with the more analytically driven crowd that you'll see on social media of the ones being opposed to Kevin Long, um everyone that's been in favor of Kevin Long are people that i've spoken to in the industry around the team and people who also have known Kevin firsthand as former players that have worked with him and it's interesting there's some people that i know that are very much in favor of Kevin and there are some people or one individual in particular and they know who they are who's very much not in favor of Kevin um and this is a former player, um so kind of figuring out why that is, in the pros versus the cons, I look at the track record here, right? And everywhere that Kevin Long has been as a heading coach, from his time with the Yankees in the late 2000s, to then afterwards being with the Washington Nationals, to then being with the New York Mets, then the Nationals, then the Phillies, and now a current free agent potential met again, he's made it to the World Series every stop he's been, and he's won it twice, okay? So while hitting coach isn't everything in a position, obviously, it is absolutely having a level of value, especially if you're changing the direction and how your team's hitting philosophies. So when you look at him helping the Yankees win, be a factor in that behind them winning the World Series in the late 2000s to then first year with the New York Mets as hitting coach. Matty, this was a garbage lineup for the Mets in 2015. Okay, let's call it how it is until they acquired Yoenis Céspedes, Willmer Flores said the emotions, they weren't doing a damn thing. Thinking he was traded, to not think he was traded. It was a piss poor lineup And that had a lot to do with the fact that it just wasn't a good lineup built by the organization. It wasn't that it was, oh, my God, these players are just falling so short as to what the expectation was. It just wasn't that good of a lineup. You know, Mets were heavily carried by their pitching that year with the young stallions in the rotation. So then after they made the trades for the Cespedes, the Uribes and the Johnsons of the world, that was really the plug that they needed to get them going to take them to new heights. And then Daniel Murphy just being, you know, the best thing since, you know, I don't even know what, uh, looking like Bonds out here in the playoffs was amazing, but here's the thing though. When you think about Daniel Murphy and that connection with Kevin Long, that is directly in hand with Daniel Murphy, finding his swing because Murphy then continued that after his time with the Mets and then did it with the Nationals and he was with them with the Nationals. Oh yeah. Kevin Long. Um, just want to remind you guys there for a period of time. And then what do we see Juan Soto rookie year with Kevin Long? They're together multiple years. Soto loves Juan so much that not only do they want to World Series together in 2019, but who's the bullpen? Pardon me, not bullpen, but who is the pitcher to Juan Soto in the 2021 Home Run Derby when Soto won it? Repping DC. Oh, yeah, it was Kevin Long. OK, so when we look at these connections I forgot about that. You know, it's important because Juan, I think, has more say than anyone in the organization, even more than David Stearns because Juan's the $765 million man. So if you got a guy like Juan, who's already in great relationship and rapport with Kevin Long, who advocates for him as a factor behind his success, which is important because he's a future Hall of Famer already, I think that's important stock to weigh, you know I also look at him who won a World Series with the Yankees, got to a World Series in just a two-year span with the Mets, was part of it, yes, but that's more in him because the Mets under the old ponds, you know, still with Cohen to a degree, changing coaching staffs every couple of years, right? You know, we had Terry for a bit, but then it changed when he went to Calaway and then so on and so forth from there. So needing to shake things up, needing to change staff, you know, I firmly believe that Kevin Long and having any type of solid lineup is going to do great things for an offense. We've seen that year after year. And with the Phillies, you know, it just, it fell on deaf ears after a while. That's normal. Like any other coach, like any other staff, it's only going to work for so long, especially in the Phillies case with the veterans that they had, Like Schwarber, Harper, all had great immediate impacts with Kevin. Their first year there in Philly, everyone did. But then it started to trend downward because they weren't making proper adjustments. The veterans, it was a little harder. Also, veterans aren't the types to really need the hitting coach as much because they're already so good. Brandon Marsh, when you look at his resurgence, Kevin Long has hands all over that the past year plus, especially after he had a couple down years. You look at just all the success the Phillies had with their offense. He was a fixture behind that the past number of years. and now he's someone that you could pry away from Philly, add to this Mets staff, and be the hitting director as Jeff Albert is no longer in that position for the Mets. So you could have him ahead of Troy Snicker instead of working below him because that's something that the Mets have pondered reportedly. Do they want to hire someone above or below Troy who's going to stay as hitting coach, who I honestly don't have much problems with. I think that you just want a guy like Kevin who has the experience and I think is a perfect blend for Troy who's known for the analytics, known for the advanced metrics, during his numerous years in Houston where he won a World Series against Kevin Long, mind you, in 2022 between the Astros and the Phillies. So, yeah, I can go on and on about Kevin, but I just think there's I think there's enough there just in what's on paper to justify doing what it takes to land him, and I'm very happy that the Mets at least had an interview with him at the time of us talking right now. It's funny. I'm glad you went over that timeline because I had my timeline mixed up, and I completely forgot about his stint with the Nationals and working with Soto I completely actually forgot about that um with him I think that familiarity matters too because when you have veterans that even though as much as I said I think it matters more for the young players and I still stand by that I think having veterans that he's also worked with that he has a relationship that also translates to the young players because you know young players are looking and seeing how Juan Soto has worked and how he carries himself and then what is his relationship like with his hitting coach even that was the one thing I was blanking on when I was talking to Phillies he was all over Trey from his time in DC obviously at a young age to then continuing with Phillies he was there like majority of his career so you know I think we should like that he's worked with guys in different spots right just I think that's another good point too there Wardy um when you look at Kevin Long's career look I think he's a good hitting coach again I think sometimes hitting coaches they go because of you know you might change the staff or whatever sometimes when the team doesn't hit I think they take too much of the blame personally but yeah it's it's it'd be fine move like if someone's totally against this and maybe you're right it's the more again we love we look at analytics here it's not like we don't ever talk about analytics so we're not anti analytics but i would say the hardcore analytics crowd if they're against it then i guess what i would say is okay who do you think out there is definitively better and are you sure they're going to be definitively better for this group that is trying to win in 2027 that would be my question right and i don't exactly know who that is uh the only other person reportedly that we know that the mets are at least trying to interview i don't believe that they've secured an interview yet but they're pursuing it as the assistant head coach for the cubs and uh mr Maylie uh because he has been a massive fixture behind PCA becoming the mvp that he now is and funny enough he was actually the hitting coach for the cubs a decade ago when they won the world series in 2016 and was with them in 2015 when daniel murphy killed them in playoffs um so it's it's an interesting thing as well um that that is now an individual added into the mix he's had a lot of good success with the cubs last couple years with not only pca but other of their young hitters i mean the cubs have the best offensive baseball this year pretty much across almost every single statistic um so acquiring someone from council staff um wouldn't be something that i'd be opposed to and i think andy green who just has so much relationship and rapport from chicago during his time as uh pardon me as bench coach there um too is probably hearing a lot of great things through the grapevine so that's an interesting one uh should that come to fruition and that while he's a veteran in the game um is probably more in line with some of those out there who want someone that maybe is a bit more analytically sound um it may be driven a bit more on the numbers than someone like Kevin Long who i think still is but you know at the end of the day kevin Long is he's been around the game for a while so naturally there's this there's this pessimism at times that comes with coaches strictly because of age not even because of success versus lack thereof at times it's just literally because we're kind of doing age discrimination out here as fans which is not always ideal because you know like look at all the remarks regarding Buck Showalter and while buck maybe didn't age well in the sense of you know long term as mets manager he really brought a jolt back to the organization in 2022 that you know meant something um all things considered and them falling short that yeah it's look i want to say this because you bring up a good point we don't need to be ageist on this stuff all the time i think we have to look at how people adapt and if they are adapting, right? Because Kevin Long's 59 years old. If he's adapting and is using some combination of analytics with maybe a little bit more, I'm going to call this old school feel in his teaching approach. I'm cool with that. I think we should always use the data and advanced analytics to ask ourselves, does it match the eye test? You need a little bit of the eye test and feel and you need the data. I think the best work is when you put it all together you can't just rely on one or the other and so you know i i just i i look at that and i i'd see how he's handling everything with that before i judge it just on age he's 59 he's old, the games we like to say the game's passing by, yeah the game didn't pass Buck Showalter by in 2022 when he turned this Mets this Mets program around now look that was sort of Buck's mo, he come into a place turn it around maybe like the Tom Thibodeau baseball coaches but yeah i i i think that i think that we shouldn't be quick to dismiss Kevin Long again i'd be fine with the hire i don't really have much complaint with that with their that's a crazy comp Tibbs and Buck but you see it though you see i've seen the parallels i am that's weird yeah yeah granted i i don't think Tibbs i don't think Tibbs was away as as a coach for as long as Buck was from when Buck was with the O's last one the Mets hired him but yeah but besides that though you're you're on the nose yeah you see you see what i'm you see what i was putting down there so yeah no i'm picking up what you're putting down for sure so yeah i think to just put a bow on it um the Mets have good candidates right now in my humble opinion the opinions of many in the industry um Kevin Long would be a great hire for anyone who gets to the luxury of acquiring him so he doesn't go to the Mets i assure you he's going to be going to a different contending team no doubt about it um so to go on from Kevin who's had success with the Mets albeit it was short stint success for a couple of years. Let's now get on to what is potentially happening with the New York Mets and acquiring talent this offseason. And there's no bigger fish that the New York Mets could go ahead and try to land than obviously in the dominant southpaw, Tarik Skubal. And of course, in a usually poetic fashion, a comedic fashion, Scott Boras has spoken to media over the past couple days on the topic of Tarik Skubal and has basically instead of referencing you know uh Scooby-Doo he basically you know i think he says something along the lines of like Scooby done because like Tarik has done everything he's proven everything already at the major league level like he's a polished product you know okay so when it comes to you know buying in on him there's nothing to sell like he he is exactly what you want and you know a dominant ace and as we all know uh Skubal is likely pursuing a contract north of 400 million dollars in a market that's oh so fascinating given the fact that there will likely be a lockout it's inevitable pretty much um you know i'm at the start of december and if we look back as to how Skubal's offer was declined four years ago the last time we had a lockout it was a lot right at the deadline right at the final basically at the final hour or so making those big deals happening including Max Scherzer signing a record-breaking AAV deal with the New York Mets as well as you know the Mets making a flurry of other moves in a couple hours span um there's going to be a flurry of moves that happen potentially sooner than later once the World Series concludes and Skubal is trying to sign before the lockout kicks in and the new CBA will be agreed upon entering 2027 which it won't kick in yet until after the 2027 season but the point is is that this is their final time to sign or make moves under this initial agreement and it's important for teams like either the Mets or to a degree the Dodgers and others that maybe want to take advantage of what this current structure is either in the ability to do deferred payments the way that they do or obviously to um maybe even as egregious as the Steve Cohen tax is that like 110 once you reach a certain threshold over 300 million dollars um it might even be more egregious you know post um what this new CBA is going to be especially there's say a cap so for those reasons there's an adamancy from Boris especially to maximize this dollar amount as best as they can and what's been widely reported out there through SNY as well as others here at the post is that pretty much um the expectation throughout the industry is that Steve Cohen is going to do whatever it takes and this is going to be a player that the Mets are going to have you know the biggest bid on in the end it won't be for lack of effort and there's industry belief as well from Alan Gonzalez um our Dodgers camp that in his respective opinion and from what he's hearing that the Dodgers are not going to really go you know full bore um heading into you know making big splashes on a mega deal for Shohei before the lockout because of the uncertainty with the upcoming CBA they have so much payouts that they have to do over the next number of years um so that they're really not positioned to do that for Shohei unless he really wants a team friendly deal uh with very unique deferments i'm sure or again team friendly more than anything as a Scott Boras client we know that isn't going to happen regardless of him having been with the Dodgers. So it's prime time for the New York Mets to go after the talented Shohei with no qualifying offer attached. So it really just comes down to spending the hard dollars and seeing what he can provide for this Mets team. Now my question to you, Dex, is when you hear all that on the latest that the Mets already appear to look like an early favorite for him that we talked about over the past week here on the platform. um, how do you feel about the New York Mets doing whatever it's going to take to land him? B, do you think those efforts will be justified in the end because they will land him or do you think he is going to kind of take a page out of the Yamamoto playbook and some others where even when he gets a gorgeous contract or even Kyle Tucker even maybe get better guaranteed AAV the first couple years in a unique opt-out of a deal you know they say no thank you because they want to be in sunny LA with the reigning champs you know or were the reigning champs wrap um well what's your thoughts on this Shohei especially with how emotional we saw he was when he left Detroit traded from Detroit since he left on his own um i don't know if he's just like dying to go to sunny LA now we know Scott Boras is more wants to get his clients paid the most money that they can get here do I the first part of your question was do I think do I like what I think about the Mets being a favorite um my thing on the favorite at this point and you're right I'm glad you set up the fact that this is a unique situation of free agency with a client like Shohei that the upper echelon of free agent clients here and there's not that many Shoheis sort of basically in a tier by himself he's he's the Ohtani of this free agent yes so yeah the urgency for him to get a deal done particularly with his who his agent is is different and i think it's going to be a limited amount of bidders that are really going to get in on this the Mets have the money if the Dodgers are hesitant and i do always question what this is my thing and people learn this about me on this show when it comes to rumors i always think about who's putting that out and why when it's coming out who's putting it out why is what i always say fans pay attention to that so i'm not saying the are the favorites but who does it benefit that it's out there now to put it out this early you know what benefits more than anybody it's the it's Scott Boras and Tariq Stewart because if the Mets are the favorites you can maybe get another team to jump in and say all right we got to drive up the price and this is what Scott Boras and Tarek Scoville want for sure so i i i wonder about that i hope that it's true that the Mets are all in on this and are going after Tarek Scoville i know he doesn't fit exactly into what Stearns likes in paying a pitcher who's not at the start of his prime like Yamamoto was and the Mets were all in on that till the final hour right they were all in on that till the final hour and they just got out they were all they were all in here's what happened steve said all right 325 decade deal basically it's yours right and i'm pretty sure that they were also giving the opt-out after i want to say that they were going to give it after like the fourth or fifth or sixth seasons wanted to um but anyways Yamamoto takes this and brings it to Andrew Friedman and says match this and i'm yours it's all really came down to you You know, he always wanted to be with Ohtani and be in L.A. with the Dodgers after Ohtani went in there. He just needed to get the number to where he wanted. And then as long as Friedman was going to okay, you know, basically as far as Cohen was, you know, not as far as Cohen, because Cohen probably would have went farther. But Yamamoto just wanted to get to his personal price point. You know, it didn't necessarily need to be the literal highest number. Imagine, well, he just had to get where he was comfortable, and then he could say to himself, okay, if you're willing to give me that opt-out, basically halfway through the contract you know we're good and i don't even know if he went back to the mets and gave them that option for the opt-out because I, I again I don't believe he wanted to be a New York Met with the Dodgers always having the level of interest that they had you know right I think all things considered and he wanted to go to LA this is what makes this interesting this is obviously it was a connection Yamamoto you've got Ohtani out there there's the Japanese connection out there, wants to be familiar, a little closer to that market as well too. Get all that. Doesn't feel like the same thing with Scherzer. The unknown here with Scherzer is how much did he enjoy his time in LA? How much did he enjoy his time in LA? Was that enough to sell him on staying there? Would he take less to stay in LA? I wouldn't be inclined to say no because that is not how Scott Boris ever gets down. Now, Scott Boras has also wrongly evaluated the market we saw this with Pete Alonso a couple of years ago so we've seen that too where sometimes he's wrong not even just Pete Alonso we can talk about Jordan Montgomery his response he was right in my head right away Montgomery there's somebody else so many there's so many players there's a couple other there's a couple other players I'm figuring where he didn't gauge the market now those even even Blake Snell's market he failed initially when he had to sell for the one year with the Giants one yeah you take the one year deal with the Giants right so when you look at all that you want you that also is something to think about fans in terms of the negotiation negotiating here I just wonder what Scherzer wants also at first I thought about him when he was in Detroit okay can he handle a big market but he pitched well in LA uh it was and was fine does he want New York I think the Mets have to do whatever to get him I I look at this very much i'm gonna put it like this I thought the Mets had to be all in on Yamamoto they did not lose Yamamoto for a lack of effort that was as you just pointed out that wasn't the case I thought the Mets had to be all in on Soto and they won that because of the state of where this pitching staff is and there's some upside from some young arms that we like I would prefer I would love it more if Scuba was two years younger but he isn't you got to go and add this premium ace to your staff because where else is this coming from you have to go get this done especially if the Dodgers don't have the stomach to maybe go all in for this again especially with the lockout coming up Be aggressive, Steve Cohen, like you were with Yamamoto. He'll get it done. Am I confident the Mets can get it done? Yes. I think there'll be a player down to the end. I think they should get this done. But deals are sometimes, it's not just about money. As we saw with Yamamoto, as can be the case with Skubal. Sometimes there are other factors. So we'll see. Now, I think if you get the bag thrown to him early, Scott Boras sees a good deal, he's going to be like, let's take that. We'll see. Depends what he wants. The Mets have to heavily be in the mix here. Have to. if it's not the Dodgers, and of course you always have to be concerned about LA, especially after not winning a third consecutive year, does that impact how they approach the market at all? I certainly wonder that with them in a win-now stage of a window. Now, there is one team out there that I'm most concerned with on the pursuit of Tarik Skubal. National League team? No, it's not a National League team. Can you guess this team? It's an American League team. American League East team? No. No, there's nobody in the Central, so it's American League West team Astros? No, don't see him having them no way, oh I don't know, this is obvious, how am I missing this? The Angels, correct, exactly with their influx of new cash that they'll have, exactly, yeah, that was kind of obvious. Skubal's even spoken on this and said how you know that's going to be a desirable destination for many many top players moving forward, um I think he said this either before or just after the deadline, one of the two, um yeah, no, with the ownership group that they have now with the success that they've had obviously from the Denver Nuggets to Arsenal, to Detroit, to you know the Colorado Avalanche, there's one more in there that I'm blanking on right now terribly, I don't know why, oh the LA Rams, there we go, um that you know they they have success everywhere that they go and uh Mike Trout's amped up, uh there's these stupid Mike Trout trade proposals I've seen out there right now, I'm like this guy's been through the literal rainier with this organization, now he finally has good ownership, he's he's not going anywhere, you know, I promise he's not going anywhere um but Skubal can probably see the upside with you know you know playing in sunny Anaheim with the Angels enjoying the weather and actually having a team that's building to compete in 2027 and in a weak American League you know I understand that you're facing off against teams like the Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros but what do all these teams have in common? None of them are like oh my god I'm shaking in my boots like the Mariners have an electric rotation which we know, but their offense continues to labor because they don't spend and they don't develop as well with their hitting as nearly as well as teams like the Rays do are more analytically driven in the American League. You look at, you know, the Houston Astros, they're always a problem, but they've hit their peak and they're in this retool kind of phase with seeking a new manager and kind of going about a different approach with their offense and their rotation after an up-down year. And then you have the Texas Rangers there. They're not getting any younger they're going to look to retool heading into next season too but they still leave quite a bit to be desired so I think there's an open lane for the Angels here to really make an impact so that for those reasons that's why I feel the way that I do I think the Angels are the team to watch throughout this entire offseason process I like that call with the Mets I think kind of like you know when Noah Snydergaard you know for like two more years so went to the Angels and Aaron Loup got an overpay after his one done dominating with the Mets. I think we're back kind of fitting, too, because I think that was around the time of the lockout the last time we had it that we see a kind of a battle this time yet again between the Mets and the Angels for talent in the offseason. Yeah, Angels are going to want to look to make the splash, too. Of course. It's funny. It's funny with the Mets, too, right? Because in LA and here in New York, they're the two franchises. They're the second team in those cities. And sorry, Mets fans, we understand what it is they need to splash more than obviously the Dodgers or Yankees do so it's very interesting where both franchises are with their ownership and the money they have and also the motivation of trying to get a deal like this done before uh the potential lockout so yeah very it's good the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes is going to be very very fascinating uh and i think you'll start to see little tidbits and leaks and news coming out in the next couple of weeks so as we get into November definitely something to keep your eye on no doubt now we talked Skubal so let's talk you know a bit briefer here on Bo Bichette because Bo as we know had a terrible start to the season for the Mets as was the case with everyone their mother felt like so it's not just Bo here you know adjusting new team for the first time his professional career all that really made a logical sense when you just break it down and you know how you slice it how the year started versus as we got a month and a half in and like Ben, she really burst on the scene from May onward. So did Bo, pretty much a month and a half in the year and he was a .300 hitter for the majority of the season, leading to finishing the year around there, closer to at least and then having around a 700 OPS. Bo has $42 million that he can opt into for next year or he can opt out and the big counter as to why he should not opt in is because it's such a top heavy market for hitters that Bo should he make himself available becomes arguably the most attractive hitter in this market now when looking at Bo's up and down a year a lack of power and a fluctuating team is that the right route for Bo and when we look at why should Bo opt in well it's 42 million dollars gross regardless of the taxation to New York that's a lot of effing money um it's been on record reportedly i believe here through the post and others that his wife loves it here as well as he has been stated already that in just a couple months sample size Andy Green is essentially the best manager he's ever had in his career his favorite I mean talk about glowing words from a veteran hitter that's one of the bigger paydays in all of recent history in Major League Baseball I mean that's that's a remark that I think carries a level of weight here so when we kind of evaluate you know should Bo opt in versus opting out as we reach closer to that decision that he will inevitably make how do you feel about the situation overall i think the situation is just so unique it makes a lot of sense for him to opt in um it depends what his age we were talking about this before we started recording what his agent will say to him and the fact that he could if he has a better year um especially in terms of getting that OPS at 800 or above he could definitely cash in next year and feel really good about it just because of the way this market is unless you're Tarek Scoupl who's just talked about who you know is absolutely getting the bag somewhere everybody else is on that next tier down like i talked about so you're not playing the same game now you bring up a good point if he did choose to test the open waters he would become the premier hitter but he might be not necessarily better he's betting on himself but it's also like the market so volatile what's the value going to be there for him is somebody going to even be willing to pay him as much as the Mets paid him and i think if you're Bob Chet it's why you signed the deal you did last year so you gave you it's very friendly for you you have a lot of the control in this situation and he knew a lot that would be coming a year later yeah known this for multiple years right that's why you signed the deal that's why you signed the deal yeah give yourself this optionality in this year so i think the situation is fascinating i think he could benefit for another good year with the Mets i like the way he spoke at the end of the season you talked about the Andy Green comments uh you like seeing some of the leadership that he can hopefully develop onto this team as a leader in the clubhouse. I think that's good for him. Listen, when I spoke to Bob Chet last year at his introductory press conference, he sounded like a guy who wanted to be here. He was excited for the challenge to be here in Queens. And, you know, I think he's, he struck me as somebody who wants to see this through, right? It's a new challenge for him, obviously coming over from Toronto, but this other time is I get players. And I always say this, I defend players. It's on all my shows. They want to get paid and they should get paid because they have a very short time to play this sport at a high level so I think he's going to factor all that in but I think Bo knows if the Mets are going to have the 2027 that they believe they can have assuming there's baseball and he believes he can produce in a way that he can I think he can cash in and get himself a longer term deal with the Mets so my prediction would be I think Bo opts in and I think he will look to sign a long-term deal after the 2027 season assuming that there will be one I'm with you. And listen, if that doesn't happen, if Bo opts out, we're going to have a big reaction to it because we're going to be genuine in saying that we really didn't expect it, even when we should expect the least expected, I suppose, each and every year. I mean, it's a shame on me for thinking otherwise, truly. But separate from that, we'll have a big reaction to it nonetheless, but I'm currently looking at Boba Shett as a starting third baseman for Mets next season as basically a lock right now until proven otherwise. For all the things that's been out there, what we've relayed and, you know, especially with the urgency of where there isn't this long period of time to drag out negotiations. I don't know how that necessarily would benefit someone like Bo. A level of urgency, sure, but at the same time, with a player like Bo, after having the year that he had, I think for the way that you could look at it and say, oh, it's so beneficial for him to opt out, I think there is a bit more risking him opting out versus opting in especially with the uncertainty of next season like think about it like think if there is say God forbid a worse scenario we have like an 80 game season next year and Bo plays solid ball but nothing crazy kind of mediocre ball you think he's going to get a bag better than like what the Mets gave him probably not so I don't think a team is going to go out there and give him close to the AAV that he's currently scratching and if they do then I'll power to them because I think that the Mets are fine with or without Bo Bichette. I think he's a solid fit for them at third. Brings some stability there. I think he is a balance for the youngsters and the Benjes and the Ewings. He's raved about them this year. This rotation too. To obviously when we look at Rojas, Petrie, as well as Voight as options at second and or third next season. Those are all encouraging things, but yeah, time will tell, but I'm looking at Bo returning to the New York Mets. So to be any final remarks on Bo that you'd like to share next? No, no, no, that's it. One thing I'll say is, you know, because for the Mets, you saying that they'll be fine without him, it's still a good deal for both sides. You make a great point if the season was reduced, how he still has another opt-in that he could trigger after next season. So he's got the control as a player. And also that's probably why I think he will opt-in. So, to put a bow on this conversation entirely, on all the latest in Mets land, let's get into our last but not least topic here. And that's just the overall approach that David Stearns is having this offseason. Because there's been, from industry belief, from respected reporters, you know, talking heads right now, whether it's, you know, to a degree people here at The Post, you know, SNY, The Athletic, you know, other YouTube channels, different podcasts, what have you. um there's been you know a back and forth going on that we've seen recently of what the Mets are going to do in the sense of how are they going to approach certain things are the Mets going to go with the stereotypical David Stearns way the way that he has operated are they going to deviate away from that finally and there's been a contingent of people who are under the belief that you know i'm anticipating that David to operate as he usually does meaning to put a valiant effort in on a top player but you know kind of slim pickings from there um first base will be more of a platoon next year and they're still going to look at Polanco as an option maybe not as a certainty but still as an option and they're not going to do really anything of drasticness with the lineup nor are they going to do anything drastic for the rotation if the exception in Terrence Scoville is not met meaning that he signs here meaning that there won't be a true plan B that is I think attractive to the fan base in a way that maybe some of the more proactive thinking fans and talking heads out there, myself included, are under the belief Then you have the contrast, which is, you know, to my point of people who believe that David is going to make a change because you think about him being on the hot seat. Is David Stearns really going to be president of this organization if he flops yet another offseason? There's more than enough reasons to believe that he won't be unless this really is a bit of a Steinbrenner-Cashman situation, which we would be utterly pissed about, which is that regardless of result, if there's enough satisfaction from ownership down, that's all that's going to matter at the end of the day, right? I don't think that's the case. I think Steve has an adamancy in winning. I think he has been unbelievably embarrassed by the Mets shortcomings under David Stearns for a guy that he advocated for as much as he did. And while he understands more about the industry now than he ever has in understanding the game of baseball and how it operates, what's true is that you're paying David the big bucks to win and to win yearly. And the Mets have failed miserably to meet that regard. So when you look at Stearns and what role he has every next season, not only do you look at his ass, you know, essentially being on the hot seat a little bit here, but you also look at how imperative it is to deviate away from the previous thought processes, right? Dex, you know, we think about the remarks that David made throughout the course of the year. Once his failures really reared its head, as well as the conclusion of the year in which he stated how, yes, there are processes that we'll be doing differently, you know, from player evaluations, you know, especially, you know, know the investment in a risk over reward because of a lack of availability from health of players among other things uh we need to operate in a different fashion because our fashion obviously hasn't led to success and it's important to recognize that but recognizing something and acting upon are two different things um i think it it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it's probably time for David to act on these things and i i do believe he will do that um how do you feel on that front are you more oh we're gonna get the David Sterns as we have seen or do you think that this is finally a time with Derrick Falvey and others out of his front office to maybe make a bit of a change yeah i i think that David Sterns is a smart man at least he appears to be i i don't i think he knows the fire's been lit under his ass with Derrick Falvey coming in with how the fan base has been talking he hears it he sees it um he's listen i think the one thing though we should caution against is i don't want you know how sometimes when people know they need to make a change but then whatever it could be personally professionally but then you try to become something so much that you're not you don't want this to go too far where he's trying to change so much i think there's certain yeah you don't want to 180 this completely yeah you don't want to and i don't think there's the need to right like i think there's i think there's a need for him to tweak things and maybe he is not rigid on things I don't think because for example I generally agree with a lot of his philosophies and how he looks at pitching and paying for pitchers I actually agree with him on that I agree with him more than on previous regimes with the Mets of how he's approached to bring his approach has been excuse me to bringing up young players as we saw this year where we disagree is always trying to bargain basement hunt I say always that's a little strong but at times trying to bargain basement hunt and maybe big braining it for lack of a better term thinking that you're going to outsmart somebody with this value signing instead of going for a proven commodity that part right there that's the biggest thing i'm going to be watching this off season and then i guess the other part of it are you going to be stubborn on the big brain risk that you took that didn't work are you going to be willing to cut ties that's because that's what's going to tell me a lot about the approach if the answer is oh let's see what we got in Jorge Polanco. Nah, man. Ain't nobody trying to hear that. That's just not where they are. Nobody's trying to hear that. Media fans... You might as well just put a nameplate on that that says Brody Van Wagenen, and then while we're at it, we should just have Steve Cohen wear a Wilpon mask because... Because you'd be like, same stuff. It looks like the same stuff. What would the difference be? Because there are already people that are making arguments that while, oh, you know, the hospitality is greater, both for the players and for the fans of the stadium, besides the fact that everything's rising fantastic there's all these little perks that are great in this and that what's changed from an output standpoint not a whole lot you know like maybe player development's been better i don't necessarily disagree there i think so certain things are scouting or getting better i'm excited about how the mets approach the draft yearly transparently i think that they do overall solid job um but you know where's the butt where's exactly come on where's the actual on-field product that's satisfactory for us fans and it hasn't been there year in and year out No different than how it has been there year in and year out with a fraction of the payroll with the bullpen Right. At the end of the day, what is the goal, my friend? To win. And the Mets have been waiting. We're going on 41 years to see them win. So the hospitality can be dope The players, I'm going to be, I'm just keeping it a buck The players, and this is where I ride with the fans on this The fans, excuse me, that come to Citi Field. Yes, they care about the hospitality. Yes, they think the ceremonies have been dope for, you know, the retired players and all this other stuff. But you know what fans want to see? Winning. They want to see the sustained success that Steve Cohen talked about. They want to see their front office be proactive. And again, nobody bats 1,000 I don't expect David Stearns to bat 1,000 I don't expect him to bat 1,000 this offseason What I ask for is logical moves where you're being proactive and also willing to say, hey, we made a mistake on this This doesn't work. What we did for the 2026 offseason, 2025 going to 2026 doesn't work for us here don't double down on a Jorge Polanco don't try to sell the fan base back on bringing back Mark Vientos Stevie Wonder can see that that ain't working we don't have to do we don't have to do this anymore the people don't need this anymore that's going to be my thing is he going to change his approach on certain things and is he not going to double down again this is the problem about making moves in offseason trades free agent signings whatever maybe you're not going to know if it's going to work or not till the season starts now if the season starts or if he doesn't do anything that is the one thing you can't know before if nothing changes then you know nothing has been done so for me it's going to be what's the approach, what's the stuff we're hearing about the players are going for, are they trying to make trades, are they willing to trade prospects, do they want to develop prospects more and bring them up we'll see, do i think it'll be different? yes i do, i'd be stunned if it wasn't different and and if it wasn't different, there's going to be outrage for the fans, now how much outrage, like people not buying tickets and showing up, i don't know but there will be outrage because people are expecting different, i think if you're expecting drastic differences i think your expectations are a little unrealistic is what i would say if you think David Stearns is going to go out and like not that the Mets need to, but sign like four free agents for big time, i don't see that happening if he does, Scubal gets a first baseman and let's say they say hey we're letting the kids battle out for second base, okay, does some tweaks and getting some arms for the bullpen, okay i think that's a damn good off season i think, get it look i'll put it like this just to bring it back to the top, i know we got to wrap, if he lands Scubal it's a major feather in his cap, it's a major display to the fan base that you're serious about winning in 2027 and fortifying this rotation that would be a major win, the other thing to me would be upgrading first base that right, if he goes, if he takes care those two things pretty much, i think fans will be fine if he then says the kid let's let the kids battle it out for a second, i think fans will rock with that too a lot of fans seem from my last episode to be rocking with that they want to see that yeah yeah that'll go a lot of a lot of fans are even perplexed on the notion of acquiring that we were even talking about free agents yeah no but like i understand though just because they're looking at there being such a clear path for the young players which we agree with you know let's make that that's why we explained thoroughly in our past episode how there's there's unique exceptions if the Mets want to deviate from that plan i'm just saying you know that shouldn't be completely written off when the reality is is that the Mets are approaching a very uncertain off season where you know players that they maybe thought weren't available could become available and maybe after you know you failed to acquire player A you go after player D and that player D warrants maybe an infield shakeup like Bobbo for example like that was not the plan for the New York Mets that Bobbo Sheff as their third baseman for a good chunk of last offseason until they finally pulled the trigger um you know conveniently uh right after falling short on Kyle Tucker it's almost like that there was an obvious reason for that right so um that's the point here is that plans can change they've they've continued to change including Andy Green saying oh i'm not going to be manager more than just the next couple months no right you know like who saw that who saw that coming we ain't and we're told there's gonna be a coach search no i i agree and we'll see look i don't care how you want to cut it not you Wardy specifically but anyone out there this is a big off season for David Stearns i don't i don't think we have to say that this is a big off season and he's got a hit he's got it he's got to get it he's got to drive in a couple of runs he's got to get some home runs here right you can't be you can't be striking out with the Jorge Polanco's of the world it's just that can't happen this offseason he's got to get it done i think the man knows the pressure i think he's someone who's aware and i think he's got some help and some other voices that encourage me to think he can get it done now is that going to turn him into a World Series contender i have no idea i think the goal is get back to the playoffs let's let's uh crawl before we can walk and then run get back to the playoffs and then you'll see big off season for David Stern's big off season yeah no big off season indeed and i'm looking forward to covering every step with you here dex it's going to be going from nothing to everything to then likely nothing again so uh throughout what i'm sure is going to be a roller coaster next month and a half of coverage with you um you know thank you so much again for a great conversation as always and thank you to everyone who watch and listen make sure rate review wherever you get your podcast this is the latest straight out Flushing episode. Myself, that is, of course, Tyler Ward. You guys know me as Wardy. Check me out, WardyNYM, on YouTube as well for more Mets coverage. That is Dexter Henry, who will be doing a fantastic job with watch party coverage tonight at the time I was reporting against Mitchell Robinson and the Celtics between the Knicks and Boston. Make sure to check that out and all the fun content that Dex has upcoming. Dex, before we let everyone go, any final remarks from you, my friend? No, man. It's going to be a fun offseason. We're starting to get deep into it. You'll see it with some of the videos and stuff the award and I planned hopefully some live shows coming up for the people as well too so a lot of good stuff that uh we'll be excited about and you know I say this for all the fans out there I think for us for all the fans out there I know some people are worried about the lockout um we looks like there will be one but hopefully it doesn't last too long that's that's my hope either way we'll still be here delivering you great content on Straight Up Flushing that's what we'll be doing awesome all right dex thank you guys again so much for watching and we'll see you all on the next one peace out