New York Mets continue to spend money in free agency

It feels as though not a day goes by without the New York Mets signing another free agent.

The Mets added to their starting rotation on Friday by signing right-hander Kodai Senga to a five-year deal worth $75 million. For those not familiar with Senga, he's a 29-year-old who has pitched 11 seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, going 104-51 with a 2.42 ERA over 275 starts.

Earlier this offseason, the Mets signed AL Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander and veteran left-hander Jose Quintana. With ace Max Scherzer and right-hander Carlos Carrasco also in the rotation, New York seems set on the starting pitching front -- even though Jacob deGrom is now a member of the Texas Rangers.

This offseason, the Mets have also retained outfielder Brandon Nimmo on a eight-year, $162 million deal, and closer Edwin Diaz on a five-year, $102 million deal. They also added veteran reliever David Robertson for one year and $10 million.

New York's estimated payroll is now about $345 million, which would be an all-time high if they don't shed salaries in trades between now and the start of the 2023 season. If the payroll holds, Mets owner Steve Cohen will have to pay $76.2 million in luxury tax penalties. With the way that team is spending, it seems as though he doesn't care.

Must be nice as a fan.

In case you were wondering, the biggest free agent contract the White Sox have ever handed out was to catcher Yasmani Grandal, who is entering the fourth and final year of a $73 million contract.

In other words, Cohen could pay more in luxury tax penalties in 2023 than Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has ever paid to a free agent.

Trea Turner to Phillies; Justin Verlander signs with Mets

Trea Turner

“I really philosophically believe that you win with star players."

It's hard to argue with Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations with the Philadelphia Phillies, because he's built a lot of winning teams throughout his years in baseball.

The Phillies came up just short in 2022, losing to the Houston Astros in the World Series. On Monday, the first day of the Winter Meetings in San Diego, Philadelphia moved to address one of its holes by agreeing to terms with superstar shortstop Trea Turner on a 11-year, $300 million deal.

Turner is 29 years old, and I'm sure by the end of that contract, he probably won't be worth his salary. But that's a problem for another day. The Phillies are looking to win in 2023, and that's commendable. Opportunity only presents itself so often, and it's important to push chips into the middle of the table when the time comes.

Philadelphia has a lot of big contracts on its books. Bryce Harper ($26 million), Zack Wheeler ($24.5 million), J.T. Realmuto ($23.9 million), Nick Castellanos ($20 million), Kyle Schwarber ($20 million) and Aaron Nola ($16 million) are raking in the money with the Phillies. Add Turner's $27.3 million AAV to that list. 

But you know what? Harper, Turner, Realmuto, Wheeler and Nola are all blue-chip players, and you win with those types of guys. And while I'm not a fan of "three true outcome" batters as a rule, credit Schwarber for leading the National League with 46 home runs last season.

I wish my favorite team had All-Star talent like the Phillies do. They are giving themselves a chance in the rugged NL East.

Verlander signs with Mets 

Speaking of the NL East, Justin Verlander is signing with the New York Mets, agreeing to a two-year, $86.7 million contract.

Verlander, the Cy Young Award winner in the American League in 2022, leaves the Astros and basically takes the place of Jacob deGrom at the top of the New York rotation.

The Texas Rangers signed deGrom to a five-year, $185 million contract over the weekend, and you figured the deep-pocketed Mets would respond quickly.

Indeed they did, as Verlander will join former Detroit Tigers teammate Max Scherzer to form a 1-2 punch with the Mets.

I think this is a win for New York because even though Verlander is 40 years old, I trust him to stay healthy more than I would deGrom. Verlander gave the Astros 28 starts and 175 innings last season, going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA.

Meanwhile, deGrom has totaled only 26 starts and and 156.1 innings over the past two seasons combined. He's still one of the best in the league when he takes the mound, but at age 34, you have to wonder what the Rangers are getting there. I'm not a huge proponent of signing pitchers with long injury histories.

Granted, you never really know with pitchers, but I think the Mets are getting a little more certainty with Verlander.

Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom are 2019 Cy Young winners

Justin Verlander

After watching the playoffs unfold, I think Gerrit Cole is a better pitcher than Justin Verlander right now. But voting for the Cy Young Award occurs when the regular season ends, and postseason play is not a factor.

Through that lens, it's not a surprise that Verlander edged Cole -- his teammate with the Houston Astros -- for the American League honor, because Verlander's regular season was slightly better than Cole's.

Verlander got 17 of the 30 first-place votes, while Cole got the other 13 to finish second. Tampa Bay's Charlie Morton placed third in the voting, while the White Sox's Lucas Giolito finished sixth.

Verlander led the Major Leagues in wins (21), innings (223), batting average against (.171) and WHIP (0.80). He had a 2.58 ERA in a league-high 34 starts and finished with exactly 300 strikeouts. He also threw a no-hitter Sept. 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cole led the league in strikeouts (326) and had a better ERA than Verlander (2.50), while going 20-5. Cole gave up the same number of earned runs as Verlander (66) in 10.2 fewer innings, but the win total, the innings count and the no-hitter were enough to sway voters toward Verlander.

Really, whichever voters went here, they weren't wrong. I would have voted for Cole, but I can't say Verlander didn't deserve the award -- the guy was 21-6, that's a helluva year.

In the National League, Jacob deGrom's won-loss record over the past two seasons is nothing special. He was 10-9 in 2018, and he went 11-8 in 2019. But he won the Cy Young in both years because his peripherals are out of this world.

His WHIP was 0.97 this season, and that makes him the only qualified NL pitcher with a WHIP below 1.00 in each of the past two years.

This year, deGrom led the National League in strikeouts (255) and ranked second in ERA (2.43) and WHIP. He was third in innings with 204, and posted a 1.89 ERA over his final 23 starts, covering 152 innings.

That was good enough to dominate the voting, as deGrom totaled 29 of the 30 first-place votes. Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers got the only other first-place vote and finished second. Washington's Max Scherzer placed third.

Mookie Betts, Christian Yelich win MVP awards

Christian Yelich

The MVPs this season are both first-time winners, and neither of them is a surprise: outfielder Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox in the AL and outfielder Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL.

At the halfway point of the season, Yelich was not the front-runner for the award. But from July 8 on, he hit .367 with a .444 on-base percentage. His .770 slugging percentage after the All-Star Game was baseball's best in 14 years, and over 74 games, he totaled 25 home runs, 22 doubles and a 1.171 OPS.

The Brewers overtook the Cubs in the NL Central in a Game 163 and finished with a league-best 96 wins. Obviously, they do not accomplish that without Yelich's red-hot second half.

Yelich won the batting title with a .326 average. He finished tied for third in the league with 36 home runs, and his 110 RBIs ranked second.

Really, he was darn close to a Triple Crown, which made this vote obvious.

Yelich earned 29 of the 30 first-place votes -- the other went to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom. The Cubs' Javier Baez had 19 second-place votes and finished second. Colorado's Nolan Arenado, who led the NL with 38 home runs, placed third.

As for Betts, he became the first player in MLB history to win a batting title in the same season in which he also had at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. The right fielder's slash line was .346/.438/.640, and simply put, he was the best player on the best team -- the 108-win and World Series champion Red Sox.

Betts finished with 47 doubles, 32 home runs, 129 runs scored and 30 stolen bases. He's also the best defensive right fielder in the game, earning his third consecutive Gold Glove at the position this season.

Twenty-eight of the 30 first-place votes went to Betts. Runner-up Mike Trout appeared first on one ballot, and he got 24 second-place votes. Cleveland infielder Jose Ramirez placed third.

Jacob deGrom, Blake Snell win Cy Young awards

Jacob deGrom

Here's a fun fact, courtesy of Sarah Langs' Twitter account, on NL Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom:

"deGrom: MLB-best 1.70 ERA. Mets went 14-18 in his starts & he went 10-9

Lucas Giolito: 6.13 ERA, worst in MLB. He went 10-13 & White Sox were 14-18 in his starts

That’s the same number of pitcher wins and same team record ... for the best and worst pitchers in MLB."

How about that? If that doesn't show you that wins is a lousy way to evaluate a pitcher, I don't know what does.

No pitcher has ever won a Cy Young with fewer than 13 wins until now, but New York's deGrom is deserving despite having only 10 victories in 2018.

He is a true ace, having made all 32 of his starts, throwing 217 innings and striking out 269 against only 46 walks. In those 32 starts, deGrom allowed three runs or less in 31 of them -- there was one start in April where he allowed four runs.

He set records for quality starts and consecutive starts allowing three runs or fewer. It was a dominant season for deGrom, and he totaled 29 of a possible 30 first-place votes, win-loss total be damned. He had one of the best seasons I've ever seen from a starting pitcher in my lifetime. Too bad he played on a crummy team. He pitched well enough to win 25 games, at least.

Washington's Max Scherzer got the other first-place vote, and he was listed second on the other 29 ballots. Philadelphia's Aaron Nola received 27 third-place votes and finished third.

On the American League side, Tampa Bay's Blake Snell got the honor on the strength of a 21-5 record.

Snell is interesting, because he pitched only 180.1 innings, or 33.1 innings less than the second-place finisher in the voting, Houston's Justin Verlander. A good case can be made for Verlander because he, like deGrom, shouldered an ace workload for his team.

But, ultimately, voters liked Snell's 1.89 ERA and 221 strikeouts pitching in the offense-heavy American League East.

We can say this for Snell: He was really, really good against top teams. In 12 starts against the five AL playoffs teams (Boston, New York, Cleveland, Houston and Oakland), Snell went 9-2 with a 2.00 ERA.

Snell was not getting fat on crummy competition, and that most have impressed voters, who gave him 17 of the possible 30 first-place votes. The other 13 first-place votes went to Verlander. Cleveland's Corey Kluber finished third.

Yoenis Cespedes signs three-year deal to stay with Mets

Yoenis Cespedes

Yoenis Cespedes was the last of the impact free-agent outfielders on the board this offseason, and he had to wait until late January to sign a contract.

But, what a player-friendly contract it is.

Cespedes will stay with the New York Mets, after agreeing Friday on a three-year deal worth $75 million. The Mets front-loaded the deal -- Cespedes will make $27.5 million for the 2016 season, and the contract includes an opt-out after one year.

Given next offseason's weak crop of free agents, Cespedes is in position to go back on the market next year and cash in with an even bigger contract -- if he performs at a high level this season in New York.

Cespedes was acquired by the Mets midseason last year, and he hit .287 with 17 home runs and 44 RBIs in 57 games. During that stretch, New York went 36-21 and transformed itself from a middling team into NL East Division champions. They went on to make the World Series before losing to the Kansas City Royals.

Give the Mets credit. This move solidifies them as one of the top teams in the National League. Quite possibly, they are the favorite to make it back to the World Series. It's hard to bet against them with the pitching staff they have in place. Their rotation includes Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and one of Bartolo Colon or Zack Wheeler.

Find me another team in baseball that can match that kind of quality and depth in starting pitching. I don't think there is one.

There's every reason to believe Cespedes, 30, will continue to be productive as a cleanup hitter. The only real problem for the Mets here will be their outfield defense. Cespedes is a plus defender in left field, but on the Mets, he'll need to play center field in between Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson. As a center fielder, Cespedes is adequate at best. That could hurt New York at times, but I think the benefits of this signing far outweigh the drawbacks for them. They are one of the teams that has a shot to win it all in 2016.

What does this mean for the White Sox? Well, back to the drawing board. I'm not sure the Sox were ever serious contenders for Cespedes, and certainly, they were not going to hand out a contract like the one Cespedes signed.

The Sox got caught a little bit here, slow-playing the outfield market, believing somebody's price would eventually come down into their range. That never happened, and for now, they are stuck with the status quo in their outfield. We'll find out in the next few weeks how much they really believe in Avisail Garcia. Will they give him another year in right field, or will they make a trade to replace him?

Mets complete NLCS sweep of Cubs

Daniel Murphy is the first player in baseball history with at least four total bases in six consecutive postseason games. That's probably because he's first player to hit a home run in six consecutive playoff games. The New York second baseman took Cubs reliever Fernando Rodney deep in the top of the eighth inning Wednesday night to set that record, as the Mets beat the Cubs, 8-3, to complete a four-game sweep of the National League Championship Series.

New York will face the Kansas City-Toronto winner in the World Series.

It's getting late, so I'll just offer a few bullet points from this game:

• Why on earth did Cubs manager Joe Maddon start Jason Hammel in a do-or-die game? Granted, Jon Lester on short rest is no sure bet, but nobody should be surprised that Hammel got pummeled. He gave up five runs, all earned, in just 1.1 innings. The Cubs were behind 4-0 just six batters into the game, and the crowd at Wrigley Field was full of long, ashen faces. That was a nightmarish start for the Cubs, and a dream come true for anyone cheering for the Mets. Maddon is considered a genius by many in the Chicago media, but starting Hammel is this game was a terrible move, an indefensible decision.
• Power pitching will always beat power hitting. The Cubs have a lineup full of dangerous hitters, but they can't score if they don't hit home runs. The Mets outhomered the Cubs, 3-1, on Wednesday and 7-4 in the series. The Mets have four quality pitchers in Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz. Those power arms in the New York rotation gave up a grand total of six runs to Cubs hitters in four games. For the most part, they kept the Cubs in the park and off the scoreboard. As a team, the Cubs hit just .164 in the four-game series.
• Enough with the silly Cubs narratives, man. A lot of people ask me why so many White Sox fans (such as myself) refuse to cheer for the Cubs. Well, there are a couple reasons, but most of all, I'm weary of the storylines that seem to follow the Cubs. I'm tired of hearing about omens and curses and black cats and "Maddon magic" and various other hocus-pocus. Movie scripts that were written decades ago should not be taken as prophecy. The Red Sox rallying from 3-0 down in the 2004 ALCS has nothing to do with the 2015 NLCS. Nothing. There are no dead people looking down from heaven to make a ball disappear in the ivy. None of these extraneous factors have any impact on the outcome of ballgames.

Remember, the Cubs did not lose to the Mets because they are cursed. They lost because New York is a better team than they are. In fact, the Cubs are not cursed at all. They haven't won the World Series in 107 years because they've never fielded a good enough team to get the job done. 

Yoenis Cespedes' steal of third base: Most overlooked important play in NLCS Game 3

The Cubs played a lousy defensive game Tuesday night in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. The New York Mets took advantage of most of their opportunities and got strong pitching from Jacob deGrom to earn a 5-2 victory at Wrigley Field. The Mets now have a 3-0 stranglehold on the best-of-seven series.

Here in Chicago, some of the postgame laments are focusing on a couple misplays in left field by Kyle Schwarber, and a wild pitch by Trevor Cahill in the top of the sixth inning that allowed New York's Yoenis Cespedes to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run. Cubs shortstop Javier Baez made an error on the first play of the game, and right fielder Jorge Soler also had a horrible misplay in the sixth inning, so there were no shortage of defensive gaffes by the Cubs.

But the most overlooked important play in the game proceeded Cahill's wild pitch. With Cespedes on second base and one out in a 2-2 game, the Cubs' middle infielders, Baez and Starlin Castro, fell asleep. They were not holding Cespedes close, and he got a huge jump on Cahill and stole third base with ease.

The Mets successfully stole third base just five times during the regular season, but this is the fourth time one of their baserunners has swiped third in the postseason. New York is being more aggressive in the playoffs. The Cubs should have caught on to that by now, but apparently not.

That stolen base put Cespedes at third with just one out, which is always crucial. As it turns out, Cahill made the big pitch he needed to get the second out. Travis d'Arnaud grounded out to third base, and Cespedes could not advance. Michael Conforto then struck out swinging on a pitch in the dirt, but the ball skipped past Cubs catcher Miguel Montero all the way to the screen. Conforto reached first safely on the dropped third strike, while Cespedes raced down the line to put the Mets up 3-2.

They tacked on two more in the seventh, with help from a Schwarber misplay, but do you think that steal of third base was crucial? You bet it was. That wild pitch means nothing if Cespedes is still standing on second base.

Jose Abreu wins AL Rookie of the Year; Jacob deGrom wins NL honor

The American League Rookie of the Year voting, as expected, offered little in the way of drama.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu became the ninth unanimous winner in the history of the award, earning the first-place vote on all 30 balllots (150 points). Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker (40 points) finished a distant second, while New York Yankees reliever Dellin Betances (27 points) placed third.

Abreu had one of the best offensive seasons ever for a rookie. He hit .317/.383/.581 with 36 homers and 107 RBIs. That's good enough to win the award just about every year, and let's face it, the competition for this honor was not particularly stong this season. It was Abreu and everybody else among AL rookies, especially after Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka went down with an injured elbow midseason.

In fact, if you look at the first-half numbers, you'd have to say Abreu and Tanaka were at one point in a tight race for Rookie of the Year:

• Abreu: .292/.342/.630, 29 HR, 73 RBI
• Tanaka: 12-4, 2.51 ERA, 129.1 IP, 19 BB, 135 K

But, the injury limited Tanaka to just two starts the second half of the season. While Abreu managed just seven home runs the second half, he hit .350 and raised his overall batting average by 25 points. That made Monday's announcement a foregone conclusion.

Abreu becomes the sixth White Sox player to win Rookie of the Year. The others are Luis Aparicio (1956), Gary Peters (1963), Tommie Agee (1966), Ron Kittle (1983) and Ozzie Guillen (1985).

In the National League, New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom won Rookie of the Year. He picked up 26 first-place votes (142 points) and finished comfortably ahead of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton (92 points). St. Louis Cardinals infielder Kolten Wong (14 points) was third.

The 26-year-old deGrom had a monstrous second half, compiling a 1.99 ERA in his final 15 starts. For the season, he finished 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA. He recorded 144 strikeouts in 140 innings.