Mets Morning News: Marte had surgery, Astros take World Series lead with Game 5 win

Meet the Mets

Starling Marte had core muscle surgery to address an issue that had bothered him during the 2022 season, and the Mets say he’s expected to be ready for spring training.

Jake Mangum had a nice 2022 season in the Mets’ minor league system, and Will Sammon profiles him while pondering whether he might be added to the team’s 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

If you have high hopes for the Mets’ potential pursuit of Aaron Judge in free agency, Andy Martino would like to dash those hopes while reminding you that Francisco Lindor already has “a gargantuan contract” with the Mets. This is your Mets Morning News reminder that Lindor had an excellent 6.8 fWAR season and that team owner Steve Cohen has an abundant supply of money.

Also over at SNY, Danny Abriano took a stab at ranking the Mets’ top priorities in free agency this offseason.

Around the National League East

Having been no-hit the night before, the Phillies only managed to score two runs against the Astros in their Game 5 loss, and they head to Houston trailing 3-2 in the World Series.

Noah Syndergaard got the start for the Phillies in Game 5, and his path back to that stage was a unique one.

The Marlins put $16 million into their new facility in the Dominican Republic and have renovations planned for their shared spring training and minor league complex with the Cardinals in Jupiter.

Around Major League Baseball

The Astros are just one win away from winning the World Series thanks to their aforementioned win in Philadelphia last night. Just Verlander got the first World Series win of his career in the game.

Yuli Gurriel hadn’t struck out in his first 48 postseason plate appearances but finally did during Game 5, which he also left early because of knee discomfort.

Regarding that no-hitter in Game 4, David Lennon wrote about the approach to pitcher usage in the modern game, which saw Cristian Javier’s excellent start come to an end long before he had a shot at completing the no-hitter himself. Javier’s parents were in the stands for that game, the first one that his dad saw him pitch in the big leagues.

You’ve probably noticed by now that former Mets pitcher Rafael Montero has had an important role working out of the Astros’ bullpen this year.

Jon Heyman rounded up some best guesses as to where the top free agents in baseball might land and how much their contracts might be worth. Also, Zack Greinke is expected to pitch again in 2023.

Rob Manfred issued a statement on the current postseason and the future of the league.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vas Drimalitis took a look at what Tomás Nido did for the Mets during the 2022 season.

This Date in Mets History

The first baseball offseason that featured free agency got started on this date in 1976, but the Mets didn’t wind up landing their top priorities.