{"id":112851,"date":"2026-01-25T11:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T16:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=112851"},"modified":"2026-01-26T13:20:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:20:39","slug":"sunday-mlb-notes-the-new-york-teams-are-active-valdez-market-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/25\/sunday-mlb-notes-the-new-york-teams-are-active-valdez-market-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday MLB Notes: The New York Teams are Active, Valdez Market and More"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The MLB Offseason is in full swing. The biggest stars on the market are slowly but surely coming off the board, with the secondary-type players still lingering on the market. This week alone, the free agent and trade markets have swayed the landscape of the 2026 season outlook.<\/p>\n<h2>Mets Moves<\/h2>\n<div class=\"sf-preview-content-holder\">\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px;\"><smartframe-embed customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBGX3j5fq7\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 6016px; aspect-ratio: 1.49801 \/ 1; --canvas-wedge-error-size: 6016; --sf-original-width: 6016; --sf-original-height: 4016; --sf-is-portrait: 0; --sf-is-landscape: 1;\" preview-mode=\"\" tabindex=\"0\"><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Mets have made a lot of changes to their roster this offseason. While throughout the offseason the Mets plan was unclear, the past week and a half, David Sterns and co. have made that plan clearer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\" align=\"center\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Mets so far this offseason:<\/p>\n<p>Additions:<br \/>\nBo Bichette<br \/>\nFreddy Peralta<br \/>\nMarcus Semien<br \/>\nLuis Robert Jr.<br \/>\nJorge Polanco<br \/>\nDevin Williams<br \/>\nLuke Weaver<br \/>\nTobias Myers<br \/>\nLuis Garcia<\/p>\n<p>Subtractions:<br \/>\nPete Alonso<br \/>\nEdwin D\u00edaz<br \/>\nBrandon Nimmo<br \/>\nJeff McNeil<br \/>\nTyler Rogers<br \/>\nCedric Mullins<br \/>\nRyan Helsley<br \/>\nGregory Soto\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UnderdogMLB\/status\/2014171006487953672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Mets were rumored to be in on the Cody Bellinger sweepstakes. Tuesday night, the interest was called into question. The Mets and White Sox <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/21\/mets-trade-white-sox-luis-robert\/\" target=\"_self\">completed a blockbuster trade<\/a> for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/roberlu01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Robert Jr.<\/a>. Robert Jr. is a buy-low, sell high option for the Mets. At worst, it&#8217;s a one year, $20M contract who can&#8217;t hit. At best, Robert Jr. thieves back to his all star potential.<\/p>\n<p>The next day, the Mets completed another blockbuster trade. This time, for a starting pitcher. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/21\/mets-acquire-brewers-ace-freddy-peralta-trade\/\" target=\"_self\">The Mets acquired<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/peralfr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Freddy Peralta<\/a> for two top 100 prospects that will surely make an impact with the Brewers. For the Mets, they needed a starter and still might not be done in that department. They got arguably the best starter available this offseason. Peralta provides the Mets with a proven ace with postseason experience. Pair him with young <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcleano01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nolan McLean<\/a> &#8212; who celebrated his wedding this week &#8212; and you have one of the better one-two punches in the National League.<\/p>\n<p>The Mets still need to look to improve their bullpen. They might be able to use <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/myersto01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tobias Myers<\/a>, who came in the Peralta deal as a swingman in the &#8216;pen with him having experience in both roles.<\/p>\n<p>The Mets got better this week and are my pick in the NL East. Is what the Mets did sustainable for the long term future of the team, that&#8217;s a story for another day.<\/p>\n<h2>Belli in the Bronx to Stay<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB354zqrIp\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 2902px; aspect-ratio: 2902\/1947;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>The inevitable came to head this week. Cody Bellinger <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/21\/cody-bellinger-re-signs-with-the-yankees\/\" target=\"_self\">re-signed with the New York Yankees on a five-year, $162.5M contract<\/a>. There are opt-outs after the second and third seasons.<\/p>\n<p>While Yankees fans might not be excited with the team&#8217;s offseason given the only external addition has been <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/weathry01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ryan Weathers<\/a>, they are better than most think. FanGraphs currently projects the Yankees as the best team in the American League, and their offseason is not finished.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-dnt=\"true\" align=\"center\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2026 Projected WAR by Team &#8211; Fangraphs Depth Charts <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Fbi9DmSzXL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Fbi9DmSzXL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TJStats\/status\/2014459718652117137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Yankees will turn their attention to pitching. They were in the Peralta and MacKenzie Gore markets, but found the prices a bit too high. It&#8217;s important to note the Yankees farm system is not as good as most teams, so the hit to their system would be greater giving up those prospects.<\/p>\n<p>Where the Yankees really need to turn their attention is the bullpen. The Yankees bullpen is looking like the weakest unit of the team, according to FanGraphs. The likes of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=winque000cad\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cade Winquest<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/blackpa01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Blackburn<\/a> won&#8217;t be enough to win a championship.<\/p>\n<h2>Framber Valdez Still on the Market<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBd5PDCUTL\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3500px; aspect-ratio: 3500\/2800;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>The best free agent remaining on the market is southpaw <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valdefr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Framber Valdez<\/a>. Valdez is still projected to receive a nice payday, but his market has taken a hit. When Valdez crossed up catcher <span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/salazce01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">C\u00e9sar Salazar<\/a>, I don&#8217;t think he knew just how much it would cost him in this market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">There\u2019s speculation that Astros pitcher Framber Valdez purposely crossed up his catcher Cesar Salazar and hit him with this pitch after Salazar told him to step off before allowing a grand slam <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ds3c9MzQV6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ds3c9MzQV6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JomboyMedia\/status\/1963075307961012578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Right now, the Baltimore Orioles are the leader in the Valdez sweepstakes. No deal is done yet, but I would assume that Valdez would want to be signed prior to Spring Training. Valdez is exactly what the Orioles are looking for. It seems like a match made in heaven. The O&#8217;s need a big time starter with postseason experience and Valdez needs a team like the O&#8217;s that will be in contention.<\/p>\n<p>I would suspect that Valdez takes a short-term, high-AAV offer to test the market once again in his pitching prime.<\/p>\n<h2>Around the League:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gorema01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">MacKenzie Gore<\/a> trade to the Texas Rangers was a bit out of the blue. The Rangers are trying to remain relevant in 2026 with the Mariners the clear favorites to win the AL West. The Rangers have been on a downward spiral since their 2023 World Series win. When the Rangers are counted out, it seems they are at their best.<\/li>\n<li>The San Fransisco Giants and the Washington Nationals had trade conversations surrounding <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/abramcj01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">C.J. Abrams<\/a> and another position player. Though talks are ongoing, the two sides have yet to found common ground. Speaking of the Giants, keep an eye on <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/baderha01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harrison Bader<\/a>, as he interests the Giants and his market should be moving post-Bellinger.<\/li>\n<li><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/skubata01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tarik Skubal<\/a> is not expected to be traded this offseason, per Jon Heyman. The Tigers are asking for the world in their proposals for Skubal like this is fantasy baseball. Things could change post-arbitration with the two sides already on thin ice, but as of now the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner will remain in MoTown.<\/li>\n<li>The Red Sox are looking for an infielder, preferably a right-handed hitting infielder. They project <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mayerma01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marcelo Mayer<\/a> to be a third baseman coming off injury.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>(Top Image Credit: Dave Kallmann \/ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>\/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The MLB Offseason is in full swing. The biggest stars on the market are slowly but surely coming off the board, with the secondary-type players still lingering on the market. This week alone, the free agent and trade markets have swayed the landscape of the 2026 season outlook. Mets Moves The Mets have made a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5663,"featured_media":112855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,22,5],"tags":[28245,2671,899,2359,2514,1253,6391,1327,3662,164,41,29224,28490,38],"class_list":["post-112851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-mets","category-yankees","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-cj-abrams","tag-cody-bellinger","tag-framber-valdez","tag-freddy-peralta","tag-harrison-bader","tag-luis-robert-jr","tag-mackenzie-gore","tag-milwakee-brewers","tag-new-york-mets","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-san-fransisco-giants","tag-tobias-myers","tag-washington-nationals"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112851"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112928,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112851\/revisions\/112928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}