Good morning, Mets fans! Happy New Year!
It’s 2024, and spring training will be here in less than two months. The Mets still have quite a bit of work to do before then; the click is really ticking now with the turn of another calendar year. They’ve made a plethora of small moves this offseason, but have yet to do much of anything significant. They could use a major free agent as a late Christmas present, though the options are dwindling by the day. But with a new manager and president of baseball operations, there’s at least some reason for hope.
Now onto the morning briefing!
Photo via New York Mets
After losing out on Shohei Ohtani, the Blue Jays are no longer waiting for Cody Bellinger and have turned their attention to Joc Pederson, as noted by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The left-handed hitter is drawing serious interest as the team seeks offensive solutions. Competition for Pederson includes the Diamondbacks, Angels, Giants, and possibly the Cubs, depending on their pursuit of Bellinger. Pederson, who played with the Giants in 2023, could fill the designated hitter position left vacant by Brandon Belt‘s departure.
In a sudden turn of events at the end of 2023, the Red Sox made significant moves, signing pitcher Lucas Giolito and trading Chris Sale to the Braves for infielder Vaughn Grissom. Despite reshaping the roster with additions like Giolito and Grissom, and departures including Sale and Alex Verdugo, more changes are expected before the 2024 season, potentially involving free agents Justin Turner, James Paxton, and Adam Duvall, writes Chris Cotillo from MassLive.com.
Baseball America examines how all 30 major league farm systems ranked based on advanced statcast pitching data with their 2023 MLB Farm System Statcast Pitching Rankings.
Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes about the Chris Sale trade to Atlanta along with how their final rotation spot will be filled out.
The MMO staff recalls their favorite moment of the 2023 season on the latest edition of MMO Roundtable.
James Villani profiles free agent pitcher Mike Clevinger.
What are the betting markets saying about the 2024 New York Mets?
Birthdays: Fernando Tatis (49)
The post Morning Briefing: Mets Hoping For Better Fortune in 2024 first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
