New York Mets

New York Mets

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don't use Spotify or Apple for podcasts. This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss...

Well Miami Marlins fans, are you of the glass half-full or glass half-empty persuasion? Or to put it more simply, just how much do you hate the New York Mets. For there's no question that the suffering that started with Miami eliminating them from the playoffs in the final weekend of the season has continued into the offseason for fans of the Metropolitans. Pete Alonso? Gone. Edwin Diaz? Not just gone, but a bleeping Dodger.

Not too concerned just yet. There's a lot of winter left, and the Mets are going to make moves. They have the money and the prospects to add elite talent. It's clear that Stearns believes the Mets' core wasn't good enough after such a disappointing season. Losing Díaz and Alonso -- on top of trading Brandon Nimmo -- is certainly tough to swallow for Mets fans because those three players were so beloved. The Mets aren't going to stand pat.

For the past several cycles, despite our population's size, economic and cultural importance, and deep diversity, New York's role in picking our nation's presidential nominees has been relegated to the sidelines by a primary date that arrives too late to matter, said Skoufis, whose district is based in Orange County in the northern suburbs. With this bill, our votes will count.

Amongst the Mets' lengthy to-do list this winter is to address a starting rotation that needs a significant overhaul after last season's collapse. So anything linking former Houston Astros ace and free agent Framber Valdez to Queens would be understandable. According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, the Mets are trying to get a six-year, $200 million deal over the finish line for the veteran right-hander, who is coming off a down year in which he went 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA.

That means significant interest in two of the top talents in Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, both of whom will cost a pretty penny. Bellinger, who spent last season with the Yankees, is projected to receive a shorter-term deal of five to six years, which will come in at a value north of $140 million. Tucker, meanwhile, could secure a decade-long deal worth over $400 million.

But there's another level the Blue Jays 'pen can reach and Toronto seems ready to dish out some cash to make it happen. They have previously been linked to Edwin Diaz, while they were also in talks with Raisel Iglesias before he re-signed with the Braves. Now, a Blue Jays beat reporter says Toronto is interested in a reliever who was one of their targets at the trade deadline this past season.

Will anyone speak up for Jewish New Yorkers against brazen antisemitism and hatred in our midst? Where is the anger and revulsion over the rhetoric used in Wednesday night's demonstration outside the historic Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side, where pro-Palestine protesters converged to rally against a presentation from Nefesh B'Nefesh, an organization that assists with Jewish immigration to Israel.

A more consistently robust, perhaps less finicky team Hall of Fame - the kind of institution that steps to the forefront with some regularity before mysteriously fading from view between releasing its intermittent puffs of orange and blue smoke - would have already included the three members the Mets recently announced as their 2026 inductees.

President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that he plans to meet with New York City's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and said they'll "work something out," in what could be a detente for the Republican president and Democratic political star who have cast each other as political foils.

I've been one of, if not the, legislature's leaders on legislation to fight back against Trump,

Thursday was a busy night around the league, and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. joined in on the fun, taking home the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award. After returning from a major ACL injury, Acuña got back in the swing of things pretty quickly. He ended 2025 with a .290 batting average, cranking 21 home runs and even stealing nine bases.

According to team president David Stearns, rookie center fielder Carson Benge is legitimately in the mix for a spot on the 2026 roster. While the Mets navigate decisions around their veteran roster and long-term core, they are also clearly committed to creating opportunities for younger talent. SNY reported that Stearns emphasized that the club must remain cognizant of rising young players when shaping the major-league team, signaling a shift toward youth development as a key part of the organization's plan.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked who are the most hateable teams from a Braves fan perspective. The Phillies and Mets are run away favorites. So much so that they have already advanced in the bracket. The question now is who joins them in next Sunday's playoff. Your top two vote-getters will advance. I'm starting to feel the annoyance at the Dodgers. The Red Sox, Yankees, and Astros are good choices. I'm voting for the Marlins.

Mamdani and Lurie have a tremendous amount in common. Both are scions of privilege who bring little political experience to their jobs. The 34-year-old Mamdani, the progeny of a noted academic and an accomplished filmmaker, has been a state lawmaker for all of four years. Lurie, 48, grew up wealthy after his mother married Peter Haas, an heir to the Levi Strauss blue jeans dynasty. Before becoming mayor in January, Lurie had founded an anti-poverty nonprofit but had never held elected office.

Why would longtime New York political scion, ex-Clinton Cabinet member, former state attorney general, and three-term governor reduce himself to mayor, in the year of our Lord 2025? Well, the opening was apparent. The current mayor was a mess. Liberals sought guidance after Donald Trump's reelection. Other sex pests were making career comebacks. So why not? At least the city remembered his name. Sure, maybe its residents associated it with the infamous "I'm Not Perverted, I'm Just Italian" Fox News chyron.