Earlier this offseason, the Mets were frequently in adding a bat to their DH mix after parting ways with Dan Vogelbach at the non-tender deadline back in November. It now appears the club may have other priorities, however. According to a recent report from , the club intends to stick with its internal options at DH rather make a splash on the free agent market for a player such as or , at least without prices falling dramatically. Sammon goes on to note that the club did not aggre sively pursue deals with outfielder or first baseman before the duo signed with the Dodgers and Brewers last month. The news isnt nece sarily a surprise given from president of baseball operations David Stearns last month, which indicated that the club wasnt interested in taking opportunities away from young players with veteran additions this winter. To that end, Sammon indicates that the likeliest use of the DH in Queens this year figures to involve plenty of playing time for 24-year-old slugger , with and also getting time at DH in addition to occasional reps in the outfield. Vientos has struggled to a .205/.255/.354 slash line to this point in his big league career, but has just 274 trips to the plate in the majors under his belt. The youngster crushed Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .306/.387/.612 slash line in 61 games at the level last year and owns a career .247/.377/.499 line acro s six seasons in the minor leagues. The 30-year-old Stewart, meanwhile, spent parts of five seasons in a part-time role with the Orioles to roughly league average results at the plate but showed a bit more promise after joining the Mets on a minor league deal last year. Stewart slashed a solid Al-Farouq Aminu Jersey .244/.333/.506 with 11 homers in just 185 trips to the plate acro s 58 games with the club last year, though that strong power production came with a hefty 30.3% strikeout rate. Marte is a much more established hitter at the big league level than the other two likely members of the Mets DH mix. The 35-year-old veteran of 12 major league seasons boasts a career slash line of .287/.343/.445 and posted a 134 wRC+ as recently as 2022, but struggled badly in 341 trips to the plate last year amid groin, neck, and migraine i sues last year. While Marte figures to be penciled in as the clubs everyday right fielder, the presence of both Stewart and as other corner outfield options figure to give the Mets flexibility to utilize the DH spot for Marte on a semi-regular basis in hopes of keeping him healthier throughout the 2024 campaign. While the Mets appear to be stepping away from the DH market in favor of internal options, it appears that the Red Sox still have interest in adding a right-handed bat to their lineup to replace the production of , who recently signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year deal. Boston was heavily connected to Hernandez before he signed in L.A. and was reported as a for last month. More recently, opines that a reunion with Duvall still makes for the Red Sox even though his free agency isnt as close to a resolution as those past reports seemed to indicate at the time. Should the 35-year-old slugger ultimately land elsewhere, Cotillo suggests that the likes of , , , and could be potential fallback options for the club. Recent reporting has also Boston to veteran outfielder . Its worth noting that each of those suggested options has a defensive home outside of DH. While the presence of at first base leaves the likes of Cooper and Cron likely to spend a majority of their time at DH if either were to sign in Boston, Solano has experience all around the infield and could fill a similar role to that of Turner last year as a right-handed hitter who can fill in at first, second, and third base while also getting regular at-bats out of the DH slot. Duvall and Grichuk, meanwhile, have experience at all three outfield spots and could join as a right-handed complement to the clubs lefty-swinging outfield bats such as , , and . Pham would likely fill a similar role, though hes largely confined to the corner outfield spots and DH at this point in his career. While Cotillo indicates that a bat that fits more around the margins of the clubs roster is the most likely addition for Boston to make to its lineup at this point in the winter, he doesnt completely rule out a more significant addition. Cotillo cautions that a larger addition to the clubs roster is unlikely at best given the clubs recent comments, but nonethele s suggests that Soler could be a fit for the club if the club manages to clear payroll space. Reporting last month indicated that the club has on both Yoshida and veteran closer , though a deal involving Jansen appears more likely than one involving Yoshida as things stand. If the Red Sox can find a way to fit a Soler signing into their budget, hed likely provide a major boost to the clubs lineup. The slugging outfielder is coming off a phenomenal season with the Marlins where he slashed .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and 24 doubles. That sort of production could be transformative for a Boston lineup that got just a .242/.305/.393 line out of its right-handed hitters last year. That slash line is good for a wRC+ of just 86, a bottom-four figure among major league clubs in 2023. By contrast, Soler posted a 126 wRC+ and owns a cumulative 117 wRC+ dating back to the 2018 season. One bat of significance the Red Sox have no plans to pursue this winter, Cotillo notes, is Martinez. The veteran slugger slashed a strong .292/.363/.526 during his five-season tenure in Boston and crushed 33 home runs in just 117 games for the Dodgers last year, but Cotillo reports that the Red Sox have no interest in a reunion with their long-time DH. While Martinezs bat is undeniably valuable, he lacks the ability to play the field demonstrated by other options Boston is reportedly considering and, per Cotillo, the veterans approach was not universally loved in the Red Sox clubhouse and contrasted with the style of leadership exhibited by Turner that made the 39-year-old so popular among his teammates last year. Vic Law Jersey
