Mets Morning News: Mets introduce new GM Jared Porter

Meet the Mets

The New York Mets introduced Jared Porter as the 14th General Manager in franchise history yesterday. As part of his iopening remarks, Porter called New York “the greatest city in the world” and Citi Field “the best ballpark in the Major Leagues”.

When speaking of the hire, Sandy Alderson said that, “Jared has a vision that is very closely aligned to mine and that of Steve Cohen in a variety of different ways.”

In case you’re worried about the team trading either Pete Alonso or Dominic Smith, Porter stated that having both on the roster is a “huge plus” even without a DH.

Porter sees “a difference between depth and quality depth”. You mean to tell me that Tim Tebow doesn’t count as ‘quality depth’?

He also wants to immediately upgrade the club’s player development department.

The newly-hired GM is interested in the Mets winning the season, not the offseason.

After the press conference, Porter joined Howie Rose and Wayne Randazzo for a conversation about the 2021 season.

Marc Carig views the Mets hiring Porter as another break from the past. (Paywall Alert)

Porter is motivated by Cohen’s eagerness to see his new team win a World Series soon.

The new GM’s introduction was substance over style. (Paywall Alert)

The Mets are fully convinced that Porter is well equipped to handle the job.

The Mets’ GM will have his hands full with George Springer and Trevor Bauer.

Ken Davidoff advocated for New York making their fans’ wildest dreams come true and sealing the deal with Springer.

During the press conference, Alderson cited timing as a reason for going with James McCann over J.T. Realmuto, despite having “great conversations” with Realmuto.

When pressed about the top free agents available, Alderson said that he doesn’t see that part of the market moving quickly.

In addition to the Mets, the Astros, Dodgers, and Blue Jays have expressed interest in free agent closer Liam Hendricks.

Keith Law talked about the two big Mets moves so far in his MLB notes. (Paywall Alert)

Bleacher Report imagined ten win-win trades, one of which had the Mets dealing Steven Matz to the Padres for reliever David Bednar.

Mets Legend David Wright surprised superfan Daniel as part of Autism Speaks’ “Kindness Connections” program.

The “You’ve Heard of Elf on the Shelf, but...” meme has taken over Twitter, and Curtis Granderson got in on the fun.

Around the National League East

CBS Sports looked at some pieces that Phillies’ newly-hired President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski could try to move.

Dombrowski’s approach to bullpen-building has changed over time, but he will face his biggest challenge yet in Philadelphia.

The Nationals need a catcher, and the market for the position is thinning, so where does Washington go from here?

In the meantime, the Nationals have signed Former Mets Great Luis Avilan to a minor league deal.

Tomahawk Chop explored whether change may be on the way for the Braves after Cleveland announced that they would be changing their name.

Around Major League Baseball

The Cleveland Baseball Team has committed to changing its offensive name, but will, inexplicably, still use the old moniker through next season.

Jeff Passan argued that it is stupid and tired to blame Cleveland removing its team name on “cancel culture” or wokeness, and that the practice of sports teams switching names has been a practice for 50-plus years.

Michael Rosenberg believes Cleveland can set a good example by embracing the name change.

It appears ESPN and MLB are close to a deal that will give the network exclusive rights to a three-game first round. Now all that’s left is for MLB to formally change the playoff format.

With the Mets out of the running for Realmuto, here’s how his market is shaping up.

The Royals are bringing back reliever Greg Holland on a one-year, $2.75 million deal.

The Red Sox inked outfielder Hunter Renfroe to a one-year deal.

Former Future Mets Closer Jacob Rhame will join the Padres on a minor league deal with a spring training invite.

The consensus seems to be that the Yankees and free agent D.J. LeMahieu are more than $25 million apart, and he will begin seriously considering other suitors.

Joel Sherman attempted to make sense of the gap between the two sides, and the potential implications.

Padres’ GM A.J. Preller thinks his team stack up well against almost any National League team, but still believes the team has a ways to go catch the Dodgers.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

David Capobianco recapped the Porter press conference.

Lukas Vlahos graded the James McCann signing.

On Episode 92 of From Complex to Queens, the crew looked at baseball in Australia.

This Date in Mets History

The Mets signed Pedro Martinez to a four-year deal on this date in 2004.