The Rundown: Rangers Shedding Salary, Mets May Target Bellinger or Tucker Next, Helsley Drawing SP Interest

Among its more heralded positives, one of the things I love most about Thanksgiving is that it’s always on a Thursday. While other holidays fall on different days of the week each year, many of us can always count on a short work week. Even better, many bosses/clients/coworkers take advantage of the already truncated week to take more time off. Believe it or not, I also enjoy the way baseball’s offseason typically grinds nearly to a halt, which allows me to relax without feeling beholden to the call of the content mines.

I’m not sure those are part of the curriculum at Colorado School of Mines, which I just got an email from as I’m typing this. My son gets a lot of college recruitment stuff — not for baseball, just schools in general — and his interest in engineering means the schools tend to lean that way. Did you know that Mines employs two burros named Pepsi and Winkie to represent Blaster, the school mascot? Now you do.

You’ve probably noticed an increasing degree of algorithmic targeting in online ads and social media, the latter of which has turned into an increasingly cacophonous echo chamber. My X timeline is basically all college recruiting, baseball mechanics demonstrations or instructions, and weightlifting. The latter really blew up after a high school kid posted a video of himself doing reverse lunges with 500 pounds on the bar.

While I admire the young man’s drive, this has to be the most irresponsible thing I’ve ever seen from a strength coach. Not only is there zero value in a one-rep max for that movement, but the kid’s knees slam into the ground and it’s very clear that the coach spotting him is doing much of the heavy lifting on the way up. The kid shared this video because he’s obviously proud of his accomplishment and doesn’t know how potentially harmful his actions were.

The subsequent flaming of the coach, who I believe should be fired for putting kids at risk of irreparable damage, was maybe the most unified I’ve ever seen people online. It was a great reminder to me that the goal of any coach should simply be to help kids play or lift as well as they can for as long as they can. Pushing them to the point where they suffer avoidable injuries early on is a good way to reduce their quality of life down the road.

And now, back to baseball…

Big Trade on Sunday

I’ve known for a while that the Rangers were actively looking to shed salary as principal owner Ray Davis pinches pennies to prep for the CBA battle, and we got the first outward indications of that when they non-tendered Adolis Garcéa and Jonah Heim. No word yet on what they’re doing with Jonah Feldman, which is a terrible joke that I hope at least one person finds funny.

Sunday brought a much bigger move, as the Rangers sent second baseman Marcus Semien to the Mets in exchange for Brandon Nimmo and $5 million. Semien is still owed $72 million ($24M AAV) over three seasons while Nimmo has five years left at $101.25 million ($20.25M), and the extra cash means Texas trimmed $4.75 million from its books. They also replaced García in right field while moving to more of a contact-based offensive approach.

The 35-year-old Semien has not produced at a league-average level with the bat over the past two seasons, but he’s still a premium defensive second baseman who could rebound a little with a new club. This was kind of a challenge trade, as both teams swapped for positions of need while betting on change-of-scenery bumps.

Next Steps for Mets

Many view the Mets as a cautionary tale after they burned massive amounts of payroll and luxury tax penalties only to miss the postseason, but owner Steve Cohen is apparently unfraid of either the past or the future. His massive nest egg will easily survive whatever comes in 2027, so he could be looking to take advantage of other teams pulling back the reins this winter.

The acquisition of Semien should push either Jeff McNeil or Juan Soto to left, and Pete Alonso‘s likely departure leaves a hole at first base. As such, the Mets could target a former Cubs outfielder to fill at least one of those gaps. Jon Heyman reported earlier in the month that they are interested in Cody Bellinger, who can play either right or first, and there has been recent speculation about Kyle Tucker as well.

Even with their willingness to spend whatever it takes to build a winner, Bellinger’s versatility and a price tag that should be much less than half of Tucker’s seems like a far better way to go. At a projected salary of five years and $140 million, he’s about six years and $260 million under where Tucker could land. As good as Tucker has been and could still be, I really question how well he’ll age over the length of such a deal.

At just 18 months older than Tucker and for $8 million less AAV over a much shorter duration, not to mention his ability to play first, Bellinger might be more valuable. That’s particularly true if the Mets opt not to trade McNeill, a possibility that has come up this winter. They could put McNeill in left while keeping Soto in right and having Bellinger take over for Alonso.

Whatever they end up doing, the Mets and Dodgers are leading the way when it comes to what could be a pitched battle among owners next year. Perhaps as important as the union versus the league, there are very strong disagreements between the billionaires when it comes to how much of their money they should have to spend. The implementation of a salary cap figures to be the biggest sticking point in the upcoming CBA negotiations, and for good reason.

I’ll save further discussion about that for another time, but I’ve noted before that the only way I can see it working at all is if they do it like the NFL. By that, I mean forcing teams to spend within 89% of the cap over a four-year period. Some of the cheaper MLB owners no doubt want a significantly lower floor than that, making any cap argument simply about reducing overall spending.

Other notes

• Much like Brad Keller, teams are having conversations with former Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley as a starter. He hasn’t started since 2019 in Triple-A and he’d need to expand a repertoire that is almost exclusively slider/four-seam, but he’d be able to make more money if teams believe he can impact their rotation.
• The Mets are still in touch with Edwin Diaz, but they’re also kicking the tires on both Devin Williams and Robert Suarez.
• Jim Bowden listed the Braves, Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, and Giants as potential trade partners if the Brewers move Freddy Peralta.
• The Cubs may still be shopping in the second tier of the reliever market, but we know they’re going to have to fill in with cheaper depth. One option there is righty Evan Phillips, who was non-tendered by the Dodgers as he recovers from elbow reconstruction. He isn’t likely to get his projected $6.1 million arbitration salary since he may not be ready until the second half, so stashing him on the 60-day IL maintains roster flexibility while providing a de facto mid-season addition.
• Phil Maton‘s deal has still not been officially announced and we’ve yet to see the financials.
• The Pirates and Marlins may actually be targeting some top free agents, with Pittsburgh again being connected to Kyle Schwarber and Miami reportedly talking to Michael King.
• The Athletic also reported that the Pirates never made an offer to Josh Naylor, which contradicts an earlier report from Jeff Passan.

What I’m Watching/Reading

It’s funny to me how we’ve gotten back to appointment viewing after streamers realized how detrimental binge-watching was to their bottom lines. My family loves gathering around the TV for Ink Master (Paramount+ through Prime) on Wednesday nights, then my son and I try to catch It: Welcome to Derry (HBO Max) on Sundays after 9pm ET. I also enjoy The Chair Company (HBO Max) and Landman (Paramount+), with I Love LA thrown in when I’m out of other options.

As for books, I just finished The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. It’s a fantastic read that ratchets up the stakes and the horror — most of which is rooted in oppression, helplessness, and inequality — while remaining grounded in historical accuracy. The oldest daughter of civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due and civil rights lawyer John D. Due Jr., Due brings a different perspective from other horror writers I’ve previously enjoyed. Next up is probably a Jack Reacher book.