Mets Morning News: Zack Wheeler turns down qualifying offer

Meet the Mets

Zack Wheeler turned down the qualifying offer which means he is now officially a free agent.

With his free agency the Mets now have a hole in their rotation that they will need to fill before Opening Day next season.

At the GM Meetings, Brodie Van Wagenen again reiterated that Noah Syndergaard is not for sale.

The GM also downplayed any concern about his new manager getting caught up in the Astros cheating scandal but unfortunately for the organization they are now wrapped up in it whether they like it or not.

Carlos Beltran, for his part, continues to deny any wrongdoing on his part but there is some evidence to suggest he received stolen signs in 2017.

Both Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom took home hardware this week, but they both also received some votes on the National League MVP ballot as well.

Around the National League East

The Braves signed lefty reliever Will Smith to a three-year deal worth $40 million. Josh Donaldson rejected Atlanta’s qualifying offer. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman cracked the top ten in MVP voting while Donaldson finished just outside.

Around Major League Baseball

Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger were named the Most Valuable Players of their respective leagues.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Twins’ pitcher Jake Odorizzi both accepted the $17.8 million qualifying offers from their teams.

The Blue Jays increased the salaries of those in the minors last season and it made a huge difference to those trying to play baseball for a living.

While nothing earth-shattering came of the GM Meetings there were some hints as to how this offseason could possibly play out.

The time has come for Major League Baseball to suspend Jeff Luhnow.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

For Episode 31 of A Pod of Their Own, it was a live recording of the Cy Young announcement with joyous screams included.

Brian Salvatore reveiwed Tyler Bashlor’s unfortunate season.

Francisco Alvarez was the second-best hitter Steve Sypa saw in the minors last season.

Lukas Vlahos announced the finalists for the AAOPs.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1988, Darryl Strawberry was robbed of the MVP losing out to Kirk Gibson.