Earlier this season, the Mets were reportedly interested in adding a bat to their DH mix after parting ways with Dan Vogelbach following the November offer. But now it seems the club may have other priorities.According to a recent report from Will Samon of The Athletic, the club plans to stick with their internal options at DH to impress J.D. Players like Martinez or Jorge Soler on the free agent market, at least without a price drop. “dramatic.” Sammon points out that the club did not aggressively sign outfielder Teoscar Hernandez or first baseman Rhys Hoskins..The news may not come as a surprise to director of baseball operations David Stearns’ comments last month, which indicated the club was not interested in taking away opportunities from young players with veteran additions this winter. To that end,
Sammon figures the most likely DH usage in Queens this year will mean plenty of playing time for 24-year-old slugger Mark Vientos, with DJ Stewart and Starling Marte getting DH in addition to occasional reps. on the field.Marte is a much more established hitter at the big league level than the other two likely members of the Mets DH mix. The 35-year-old veteran, who has played 12 major league seasons, has a career . and 134 wRC+ in 2022, but struggled mightily in 341 plate appearances last year. groin neck and migraine problems last year. While Marte is considered the club’s everyday righty, having Stewart and Tyrone Taylor as other corner outfield options gives the Mets the flexibility to use Martelle’s DH spot on a semi-regular basis in the hopes that it holds. healthier than him for the 2024 campaign.While the Mets appear to be moving away from the DH market in favor of in-house options, the Red Sox appear to continue to have interest in adding a right-
handed bat to their lineup to replace the production of recently signed Justin Turner. On a one-year contract with the Blue Jays. Boston was heavily linked to Hernandez before signing in Los Angeles and was reported as a likely landing spot for Adam Duvall. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo recently opined that Duvall’s reunion would still make the Red Sox, even if his free agency isn’t as close to a resolution as previous reports made it seem at the time. Should the 35-year-old slugger eventually end up elsewhere, Cotillo suggests Garrett Cooper, C.J. The likes of Cron, Donovan Solano and Randal Grichuk could be potential backup options for the club. Recent reports have also linked Boston to veteran outfielder Tommy Pham.It’s worth noting that all of these suggested options have a defensive home outside of DH. While Triston Casas’ presence at first base leaves the likes of Cooper and Cron likely to spend most of his time at DH should he either sign with Boston, Solano has experience all over the field and could fill a similar role as Turner did last year. right-handed hitter capable of filling in at first, second and third base while also getting regular at-bats from the DH spot. Duvall and Grichuk, meanwhile, have experience in all three outfields and could join Tyler O’Neill as a right-handed complement to the club’s left-handed swinging bats like Masataka Yoshida,
Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran. Pham would likely fill a similar role, though he is mostly limited to corner outfield and DH at this point in his career.While Cotillo notes that a bat more suited to the fringes of the club’s roster is Boston’s most likely addition to its lineup at this point in the winter, he isn’t completely ruling out a more significant addition. Cotillo warns that a major addition to the club’s roster is “unlikely at best” based on the club’s recent comments, but suggests Soler could be a good fit for the club if the club can free up some salary cap space. boundary space Information released last month indicated the club had announced trades for Yoshida and veteran Kenley Jansen, although a deal for Jansen seems more likely than Yoshida’s.If the Red Sox can find a way to fit Soler into their budget, he would likely provide a significant boost to the club’s lineup. The lanky outfielder is coming off a phenomenal season with the Marlins, slashing .2 with 36 home runs and 24 doubles. That kind of production could be game-changing for a Boston lineup that hit just . last year among right-handed hitters. That slash is only good for a wRC+ of 86, which is in the top four in the major leagues in 2023.
Soler, on the other hand, posted a wRC+ of 126 and owns a cumulative wRC+ of 117 for the 2018 season.One key bat the Red Sox aren’t looking to extend this winter, Cotillo notes, is Martinez. The veteran slugger slashed over five seasons in Boston and had 33 home runs in just 117 games for the Dodgers last year, but Cotillo reports the Red Sox have no interest in a reunion. with long-term DH. While Martinez’s bat is undeniably valuable, he lacks the outfield ability shown by other options Boston considered, and Cotillo said the veteran’s approach was “generally unloved” in the Red Sox clubhouse and inconsistent with the management style. screen Turner, who made the 39-year-old so popular with his teammates last year..
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