New York Post - USA (2020-11-15)

New York Post, Sunday, November 15, 2020

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Sources: Mets may target free agent Tanaka

By DAn MArtIn

One of the first major tests of

Steve Cohen’s ownership will be

the Mets’ pursuit of Trevor Bauer,

the top free agent pitcher available.

But with a team that has a rota-

tion of Jacob deGrom, Marcus

Stroman, a rehabbing Noah Syn-

dergaard and little else behind it,

even adding Bauer might not be

enough to make the Mets contend-

ers.

At least some people outside the

organization believe Masahiro

Tanaka could be a fit, if he leaves

the Yankees. The 32-year-old right-

hander just completed his initial

seven-year, $155 million deal that

brought him to The Bronx, and

though Tanaka had an unusually

tough postseason, he was solid

again during the abbreviated regu-

lar season and could slide into the

middle of the Mets’ rotation.

“We don’t know much about

what their strategy is going to be,

since [Cohen] has never done this

before,” one AL executive said.

“And we have to wait and see what

they do with the rest of the front

office, but I don’t think you can

rule them out on anything, and tak-

ing a known quantity who’s

pitched in New York to a short-

term deal, I think, would make

sense, along with some other

things.”

A player agent noted Tanaka’s

comfort level pitching in New

York.

“He’s not someone you’d have to

worry about in making a big ad-

justment or getting used to pitch-

ing in the spotlight,’’ the agent said.

“And we all know he’s not the ace

everyone expected when he left Ja-

pan, but he’s durable and reliable,

and there’s a lot to be said for that.’’

All those traits are also why Tan-

aka would still make sense for the

Yankees, but his faltering in the

postseason may have made an

eighth season in The Bronx less

likely.

The starting pitching market

should start to take shape soon, as

Stroman ($18.9 million) and the Gi-

ants’ Kevin Gausman ($18.9 mil-

lion), both 29-year-old right-hand-

ers, accepted their qualifying of-

fers and lefty Robbie Ray, also 29,

signed a one-year, $8 million deal

to stay with the Blue Jays.

As the AL exec said, how the

Mets fill the president of baseball

operations and general manager

spots will figure prominently in

whatever Cohen and Alderson do

in their first offseason.

And with interviews already un-

der way for the president job —

former Marlins head of baseball

ops Michael Hill met with Alder-

son about the same job with the

Mets — they should have a clearer

idea of how they will deal with free

agency and trades soon enough.

Other possible candidates in-

clude Chris Antonetti, Mike Cher-

noff, Derek Falvey and David

Stearns, among others.

The Mets are expected to make a

hire in the next week or so.

[email protected]

By GeorGe A. KInG III

The Yankees have a little

over two weeks to see if

there is a trade market for

Gary Sanchez following a

disastrous 2020 season,

during which the two-time

All-Star catcher batted .147

and lost his starting job to

Kyle Higashioka in the

postseason.

Dec. 2, which is San-

chez’s 28th birthday, is the

deadline for teams to offer

pre-arbitration and arbitra-

tion-eligible players a con-

tract for next season. Any

player who isn’t tendered,

and there a lot of industry

types who believe Sanchez

won’t be, is a free agent.

Because of the financial

baths MLB teams took due

to COVID-19 preventing

fan attendance, the list of

non-tenders is expected to

be deeper than normal and

littered with talented play-

ers who are too expensive

for teams to retain.

Had the pandemic not

shortened the 2020 season,

Sanchez would have made

$5 million. Should the Yan-

kees tender Sanchez, he

would likely get a slight

raise through arbitration.

Do the Yankees, who need

to re-sign DJ LeMahieu,

add at least one pitcher

(Masahiro Tanaka?) and

possibly find a shortstop if

Gleyber Torres is moved

from shortstop to second

base, want to invest that

type of money on Sanchez?

Finding a trading partner

will be difficult because of

Sanchez’s defensive defi-

ciencies and a miserable

year at the plate — where

he struck out 64 times in

156 at-bats and posted ca-

reer-low .618 OPS. Yet, as a

free agent, there should be

teams willing to believe

Sanchez can bounce back.

He did hit 10 homers and

drove in 24 runs in 49

games this past season.

With the Mets needing a

catcher, and if they fail to

sign J.T. Realmuto, would

the Yankees have to hold

their breath should San-

chez move to Queens as a

free agent? That’s likely to

happen more so than the

Phillies having an interest

in Sanchez should Real-

muto not return to Philly,

even though Sanchez

played for Joe Girardi in

2016-17.

“[Steve] Cohen could sign

[George] Springer, LeMa-

hieu and a catcher,’’ an in-

dustry executive predicted

of the new Mets owner.

When the Marlins were

shopping Realmuto fol-

lowing the 2018 season,

they engaged the Yankees

about Greg Bird and San-

chez but then dealt the

catcher to the Phillies for

catcher Jorge Alfaro, right-

hander Sixto Sanchez,

lefty Will Stewart and in-

ternational slot money.

Now, with Alfaro and

Chad Wallach behind the

plate, would Derek Jeter,

general manager Kim Ng

and vice president of

scouting and player devel-

opment Gary Denbo make

a play for Sanchez? Denbo

ran the Yankees’ player de-

velopment system from

2014-17 when Sanchez

made the jump from high-

end prospect to a feared

right-handed bat in

2016-17.

Should Sanchez, an All-

Star in 2017 and 2019, get

dealt or leave as a free

agent it doesn’t mean the

30-year-old Higashioka au-

tomatically becomes the

Yankees’ No. 1 catcher. He

has just 72 big league

games of experience and,

though he put on a pitch-

blocking clinic in Game 4

of the ALDS and is consid-

ered a defense-first

catcher, Higashioka has

never played more

than 93 games in a

season at any level

of professional

baseball. The right-

handed hitting Hi-

gashioka has some

power (three ho-

mers on Sept. 16

against the Blue Jays)

but is a career .186 hit-

ter. He hit .278

(5-for-18) in the post-

season.

As for whom the Yan-

kees would chase if San-

chez isn’t in the picture,

future Hall of Fame

catcher and free agent

Yadier Molina has been

linked to the Yankees but a

two-year deal the 38-year-

old is reportedly seeking

might not be in the Yan-

kees’ best interest. James

McCann, 30, is a free agent

and was an All-Star in 2019

for the White Sox.

[email protected]

FALL FROM GRACE:

After All-Star seasons

in 2017 and 2019, Gary

Sanchez’s miserable

2020 season in which

he batted .147 has

made the catcher — a

defensive liability —

expendable. Corey Sipkin