Mets News and Morning Links - 1/16/2024

 

Good Morning.  Happy Birthday former Mets Coach Dave Jauss.  Mets sign 20 International players including a top catching prospect and  son of Vlad Guerrero. 

Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, Winter Baseball, and This Day in Mets History.

Mets Links: 

Press Release: Mets sign 20 International Players "The class is highlighted by Yovanny Rodriguez, a 17-year-old catcher from Guarenas, Venezuela. The 5-11, 180-pounder is ranked as the fifth-best international prospect according to Baseball America and as the seventh-best prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 50 Internationals Prospect List."

NY Post: Mets sign catcher Yovanny Rodriguez, Vladi Miguel Guerrero to open international signing period. "The Mets, working with a bonus pool of $5.284 million, also signed two other prospects who were included in MLB.com’s Top-50 international free-agent rankings: switch-hitting shortstop Yensi Rivas (signed for $500,000, per MLB.com) and outfielder Edward Lantigua ($950,000), both from the Dominican Republic."

The Athletic: Mets sign 20 international prospects, hope for another Francisco Alvarez. "In Venezuela, Yovanny Rodriguez, now 17, started attracting interest from Ismael Perez, the Mets’ national scout for the country, a few years ago because of his potential as a catcher who could hit and who owned a powerful right arm...Mets scouts have graded Rodriguez’s arm as “double-plus,” which loosely translates as pretty damn strong." (Subscription required)

Yovanny Rodríguez signing with the New York Mets. $2.85 million bonus is the largest this year for a catcher.https://t.co/QAgHVIXcIa pic.twitter.com/6unf5KNl9Y

— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) January 15, 2024

Vladimir Guerrero Sr. posted about Vladi Miguel Guerrero’s signing with the Mets:

“Another professional baseball player in the family, congrats to my son Vladi Miguel (My Lefty Version) on signing with the New York Mets. Let’s keep working hard!”

(via IG/supervlad27) pic.twitter.com/THyzOrv8FX

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) January 15, 2024

Mets.com: 

• Another one! Vladi Guerrero signs with Mets
• Mets land 3 of Top 50 international prospects

Metsmerized: 

• Mets Sign 3 Top 50 International Free Agents
• Free Agent Profile: Hector Neris, RP
• Mets Madness Series Preview: 1973 Mets vs. 1998 Mets
• Hall of Fame Case: Francisco Rodríguez

Amazing Avenue: 

• Mets announce international free agent signings
• Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2024: Ronald Hernandez (16)
• From Complex To Queens: Why are we ranking this guy here again?

Faith and Fear in Flushing: 

• Lookin’ for the Lights (That Silver Lining)

Mets360: 

• The Mets should consider Joey Votto to add to their collection of one-year deals
• Remembering the Mets on MLK Day

Mack's Mets: 

• Tom Brennan: Willie Montanez & Fences; & Int'l $$ and Players
• Paul Articulates – The Allure of 2025
• Reese Kaplan -- Less Than a Month to Go With Unanswered Questions

SportSpyder Mets Links: 

Winter Baseball:

No Games in the Dominican.  They return to action tonight.  

In Venezuela -

• Wilson Ramos C 0 for 3, 2 walks;
• Ex-Syracuse Met David Rodriguez DH 0 for 4, 1 K;
• Wilfredo Tovar 3B 1 for 4; 

MLB Links:

MLB.com:

• When your longtime baseball rival marries your sister ...
• Here's where the top international prospects are headed
• Another one! Vladi Guerrero signs with Mets
• Padres sign No. 1 international prospect for second year in a row
• 'I vow to make my dad proud': DREAM Series pitcher presses on after tragedy
• Going, going, gone: The best farewell moments in MLB history
• Dusty to reunite with Giants as special assistant in front office (source)
• MLB star and DREAM Series alum hosts prospects at his home
• Lynn, Contreras form a spitfire battery
• How likely is a Fried extension with the Braves this offseason?
• Is there a new suitor in Snell sweepstakes?
• At least 6 teams reportedly interested in All-Star slugger
• Which active players can reach 500 HRs?
• In Stroman, the Yanks are getting more than just an arm
• Cubs to add elite No. 4 international prospect

MLB Trade Rumors: 

• Sacramento Among Potential Home Venues For A’s In 2025 "Their planned 33,000-seat stadium on the Vegas strip won’t be ready until 2028. With the team’s lease at the Coliseum in Oakland expiring at the end of next season, they’re still sorting through possibilities for the intervening three years."
• Giants Hire Dusty Baker As Special Assistant
• Notable International Signings: 1/15/24
• Rays Sign Jacob Waguespack To Minor League Contract
• Athletics Re-Sign Carlos Pérez To Minor League Deal
• White Sox Sign Joe Barlow To Minor League Deal
• Nivaldo Rodríguez Signs With CPBL’s Fubon Guardians
• Submit Your Questions For This Week’s MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!
• The Opener: Bellinger, International Signing, Spring Training

Yahoo Sports: 

• Report: Giants hire former manager Dusty Baker as special assistant
• Phillies land high-priced OF as international signing period opens, per report
• Ex-MLB GM pegs Giants as best free-agency fits for Snell, Hoskins

CBS Sports: 

• Mets sign Vladimir Miguel Guerrero, half-brother of Blue Jays star, in 2024 international free agent class
• 2024 MLB international free agency: Top players, bonus pools, what else to know as Padres land No. 1 prospect
• Kansas City Royals top prospects 2024: First-round pick Blake Mitchell trying to follow Joe Mauer's path
• Why this overlooked Yankees signing could be a sneaky-good addition to replenished pitching staff
• MLB rumors: Blake Snell on contender's radar, Rangers, Yankees want to beef up bullpen with workhorse reliever

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com: 

Born on this date:

• Ron Herbel (1938)
• Dave Jauss (1957)

Died on this date:

• Tom Hausman (2019)

Transactions:

New York Mets traded Billy Beane, Bill Latham and Joe Klink to the Minnesota Twins for Tim Teufel and Pat Crosby on January 16, 1986.

New York Mets traded Ronn Reynolds and Jeff Bittiger to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ronnie Gideon and Rodger Cole on January 16, 1986.

Minnesota Twins signed Randy Niemann of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 16, 1987.

New York Mets signed free agent Pedro Astacio of the Houston Astros on January 16, 2002.

New York Mets signed free agent Jorge Sosa of the St. Louis Cardinals on January 16, 2007.

New York Mets signed free agent Scott Schoeneweis of the Cincinnati Reds on January 16, 2007.

New York Mets signed free agent Casey Fossum of the Detroit Tigers on January 16, 2009.

New York Mets signed free agent Adam Wilk on January 16, 2017.

New York Mets signed free agent Jay Bruce of the Cleveland Indians on January 16, 2018.

New York Mets signed free agent Jed Lowrie of the Oakland Athletics on January 16, 2019.

National Pastime: 

2002	Pedro Astacio (8-14, 5.09) agrees to a one-year, $5 million incentive-laden free-agent deal with the Mets. The 32-year-old right-hander, after being traded to the Astros by the Rockies last season, developed shoulder problems.
2003	Gary Carter will become the first player, and most likely the only one, to wear an Expos hat on his Hall of Fame plaque. Although the former catcher had expressed his wish to be immortalized as a member of the Mets, the team which presently employs him, and the franchise he helped win the 1986 World Series, Cooperstown decided the 'Kid' should enter the Hall with a Montreal logo.

 

2020

The Mets and recently-hired skipper Carlos Beltrán announced they have "agreed to mutually part ways," due to his role in the Astros' cheating scheme of using electronics to steal signs. The move follows the dismissal of Red Sox manager Alex Cora, Houston's bench coach in 2017, when Beltrán, the only player mentioned by name in the Commissioner's nine-page report, played for the team.

Baseball Reference:

1986 - The Minnesota Twins trade Tim Teufel and Pat Crosby to the New York Mets in exchange for Billy Beane, Bill Latham, and Joe Klink. Minnesota also trades Dave Engle to the Tigers for Chris Pittaro and Alejandro Sanchez. Teufel will platoon with Wally Backman during the Mets' championship run this season.

1996: Major League Baseball's executive council approves a history-making first: interleague play for the 1997 season. The Players' Association will also give its approval, enabling geographic rivals like New York's Mets  and Yankees,  Chicago's Cubs and White Sox, and Los Angeles' Angels and Dodgers to play each other during the regular season.

2020: Carlos Beltran becomes the third manager to lose his job as a result of the sign-stealing scandal linked to the 2017 Astros. He is dismissed by the Mets after being the only player named in the investigation report made public by the Commissioner's office. His firing follows that of A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora a few days earlier. Having been named to the position after the 2019 season, he never had an opportunity to actually manage a game.

Centerfield Maz: 

• Carlos Beltran: The Mets Years (2005 - 2011)
• Ronn Reynolds: 1980's Mets Backup Catcher (1982 - 1985)

Want more?  

Don't miss Around the Majors with Mets News - All the latest headlines from every MLB Team, and the Top MLB Headlines Now.  Both update 24 hours a day.