Mets Morning News: As the rumor mill turns

Meet the Mets

The Mets reportedly remain close to signing catcher James McCann but it is not a done deal just yet.

While J.T. Realmuto is a superstar, Joel Sherman argues that the Mets might be better off with McCann as their backstop.

There continues to be smoke around the team and George Springer but again nothing has been confirmed.

According to Andy Martino, the Mets are also interested in ace reliever Liam Hendricks.

Of course having a lot of cash helps, but it isn’t always the determining factor when trying to lure free agents.

Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner appeared on SNY to discuss his pitching staff and he believes Marcus Stroman has Cy Young potential.

Both Jacob deGrom and Michael Conforto were named to the 2020 All-MLB Team.

Dominic Smith’s foundation in Los Angeles continues to reach underprivileged youth who might not have gotten a chance to get involved in the game without his help.

Thirty-six years ago, the organization traded for Gary Carter and his presence forever changed the franchise.

The organization announced its minor league affiliates for the 2021 season.

Around the National League East

In addition to winning the MVP, Freddie Freeman was named to the All-MLB Team at first base. The Braves did some shuffling to their minor league affiliates.

The Marlins also did some reshuffling to their minor leagues.

The Phillies still do not have their front office solidified, and despite having a down season the organization does not seem to be in any rush to fix the glaring issues facing the team.

The Nationals restructured their minor league affiliates since they were forced to be in Fresno after the Mets bought Syracuse.

Around Major League Baseball

Al Michaels was voted as this year’s winner of the Ford C. Frick award for broadcast excellence and will be honored in Cooperstown in July.

With all of the restructuring of the minor leagues, forty minor league teams did not make the cut and lost their MLB affiliation.

Former Met Chris Flexen signed a two-year deal with the Mariners after excelling in Korea.

Dick Allen sadly passed away before being given the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame, and MLB needs to act quickly and learn from this so the same instance doesn’t happen to other deserving former ballplayers.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Elizabeth Muratore from Rising Apple joined A Pod of Their Own to discuss Trevor May and the Winter Meetings.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets made quite a few deals on this date in their history. The two most notable are when they traded away Nolan Ryan in 1971 and when they traded for Gary Carter in 1984.