Korner Konfidential — Mets Hot Stove Report: Day 9
Day 9 — Saturday, November 7, 2026. A quiet Saturday on the stove — and we will say so plainly rather than dress it up. No Mets signing, no new Skubal offer reported, nothing on the waiver wire. The day's real Mets news happened off the field, at the network that carries the team: SNY gutted its studio and editorial operation on Friday, a dark day for a lot of good baseball people. Down in the details, Friday's Robert Stock signing got its fine print, Nolan McLean talked about his Gold Glove, and the calendar is now loaded — the Fall Stars Game is tomorrow night, Carson Benge's Rookie of the Year verdict lands Monday, and the GM meetings open Monday in Las Vegas, where this winter should finally start moving. Sorted, as always, into what's reported and what's just talked about.
🔥 THE BIG BOARD — Reports
Tarik Skubal, dealing for Detroit. Photo: Jeffrey Hyde, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
A dark day at SNY. The Athletic's Marc Carig and Andrew Marchand reported Friday — and the Post confirmed — that SportsNet New York has cancelled “Baseball Night in New York” and “SportsNite” effective immediately, laid off most of its editorial staff, and shuttered its website operation, which will relaunch as a promotional and informational platform rather than a news site. Among those let go, per The Athletic: “Baseball Night” host Sal Licata — yes, the same Sal Licata whose Skubal doubts we filed on the Speculation Desk yesterday, now out of a job the next day — and “SportsNite” host Eamon McAnaney; SNY contributor Jon Alba called it “an incredibly tough day” on X, and writer Danny Abriano was among the editorial staff confirming he was part of the layoffs. What survives matters to Mets fans: the network will keep producing Mets and Jets pregame and postgame shows, “Mets Hot Stove” and the WFAN “Carton Show” simulcast were unaffected, and on-air contributors Chelsea Janes, Ian Begley and Connor Hughes remain. The game broadcasts themselves are untouched — Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling remain under contract, and SNY's exclusive Mets rights run through 2035. SNY's own statement called it “part of our regular review of our business, operations and programming.” This is not a rumor item; it is the Mets' media ecosystem changing shape in the middle of hot stove season, and a lot of talented people losing their chairs with no warning. We note it here because this column has quoted SNY's writers and voices all winter — and will miss several of them.
Sources: New York Post · Awful Announcing (The Athletic)
The Stock fine print. MLB Trade Rumors' full write-up of Friday's Robert Stock signing landed Saturday morning and adds the two details that decide what happens next. First, the split contract Anthony DiComo reported means Stock earns differing salaries depending on whether he is on the active roster or in the minors. Second — and this is the leverage point — Stock is out of minor league options, so the only way the Mets can try to send him to Triple-A Syracuse is to designate him for assignment first and hope he clears waivers, exactly the sign-and-designate path Kyren Paris and Christian Cairo are still travelling. MLBTR's read is that putting Stock on the 40-man gives the club “a bit of extra leverage for future roster maneuvers this winter.” The AP's line on the comeback stands: thoracic outlet surgery in March, eight minor league games building up in June and July, a September ended early by finger numbness — a byproduct, Stock said, of the surgery — and a 1–3 record with a 5.93 ERA in 30 1/3 innings. Depth with a story, and a roster spot that can move.
McLean on his Gold Glove. A small Saturday pleasure: Nolan McLean, in an SNY video interview published Saturday, framed his National League Gold Glove for pitchers around a habit from long before the majors — “I've always taken pride in my defense.” The numbers behind it, per the award coverage: four Defensive Runs Saved, tied for fourth among major league pitchers, in a 12–10, 3.16 ERA rookie season across 31 starts. McLean is the first rookie pitcher ever to win the award, the first Met at any position since Juan Lagares in 2014, and the first Mets pitcher since Ron Darling in 1989 — one of the few unambiguous bright spots of a last-place season, and a reminder that the rotation the Mets are trying to build around Tarik Skubal already has a young cornerstone in it.
Sources: Sportskeeda (SNY interview)
Housekeeping, and a loaded calendar. Still nothing on the wire: no waiver resolution has been reported for Kyren Paris or Christian Cairo for a fifth straight day since the sign-and-designate gambit, and no Stock follow-up move either — we will move the Tracker the moment the wire does. No other Mets transaction was reported Saturday. From here the week accelerates: the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game is TOMORROW, Sunday, November 8 at 8 PM ET on MLB Network, with Mets pitchers Irving Cota and Ryan Lambert in it; the National League Rookie of the Year winner — Carson Benge is a finalist — is announced Monday, November 9; the GM meetings run November 9–12 in Las Vegas, where ESPN's Jorge Castillo reported the game's people expect the offseason action to start; qualifying-offer answers and the Rule 5 protection deadline land November 17; the tender deadline is November 20; and the December 1 lockout clock hangs over all of it.
Sources: MLB Trade Rumors
🗣️ THE SPECULATION DESK — Talk, Not News
The deGrom reunion argument. Rising Apple's Saturday case is the most romantic Speculation Desk item of the winter so far: if the Mets whiff on Skubal, their best backup plan is not Michael King — it is a trade reunion with Jacob deGrom. Keep the layers separate, because the piece itself mixes them. The reported layer underneath is real and already in our Tracker: Dallas Morning News insider Evan Grant believes the Rangers, carrying an estimated $182 million payroll against a roughly $190 million target, will have to shop at least one highly paid star, with deGrom front and center alongside Corey Seager and, perhaps, Nathan Eovaldi. The argument layer is Rising Apple's: deGrom, 38, is owed $37 million for 2027 with a $20 million club option for 2028 and no buyout; his 4.20 ERA in 2026 undersells him (3.11 FIP, 97.5 mph average fastball, 30.1% strikeout rate, 31 starts after 30 in 2025); his full no-trade clause — which he used to block Atlanta at the deadline — both kills Texas's leverage and might be waivable for a Queens homecoming; and a Brett Baty-plus-lottery-ticket package with Texas eating money could land an ace for one year without a record contract. It is a well-built argument. It is not a report of Mets interest, talks, or an offer — none has been reported. Filed here, enjoyed here, believed nowhere yet.
Sources: Rising Apple
The bidding war “will get ugly” — and a $405 million projection. EssentiallySports' weekend wrap of the Skubal race adds one number worth filing as a projection, not a price: Katie Woo, speaking on Dodgers Territory, cited The Athletic's projection of a nine-year, $405 million deal for Skubal — which would clear Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325 million pitcher record. The rest of the piece is the shape we have tracked all week, framed for the fight it is becoming: Mets and Dodgers as the industry favorites, Scott Boras working a roughly 25-day window before the December 1 freeze, the Cubs badly wanting him per ESPN's Jeff Passan, and the Yankees and others keeping tabs. A projection is a smart guess with a masthead on it — MLBTR's own staff guessed nine years and $425 million on Tuesday — and the only number that will matter is the one on the contract. Until then, every figure on this Desk is talk.
Skubal among the likeliest early signers. NBC Sports' early-signers survey makes the timing case we have been hearing from Heyman and Castillo all week: Skubal, normally the last man you'd project to sign early, has every incentive to beat the lockout — a new CBA could rewrite the rules for top-end deals, and the handful of clubs that can pay a record price may treat November as their last unrestricted chance. NBC lists his best fits as the Mets, Dodgers, Angels, Cubs and Cardinals. Analysis and prediction, not reporting — but it lines up with the reported expectation that the GM meetings, opening Monday, are where the action starts.
Sources: NBC Sports
Beat Tweets
The beat is quiet today. A Saturday sweep of the 13-handle roster — DiComo, Puma, Sammon, Britton, Martino, Gelbs, Ragazzo, Heyman, Sherman, Goodman, Albanese, Mastracco and Pantorno — produced no news-bearing posts with verifiable status IDs since yesterday's edition. The day's biggest Mets story, the SNY layoffs, broke through The Athletic's national media reporters and the Post's news pages, not through the beat's timelines. We don't fabricate embeds; when a signing breaks with a clean, verifiable post, this section will carry the iframe itself.
WINTER BALL & FALL LEAGUE WATCH
The stove isn't the only thing still warm. A small army of Mets — big leaguers, top prospects, and a few names only the true sickos know — is playing real baseball right now in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Arizona. This section stays in the Korner all winter, updated as the numbers move, because on the slow news days this IS the baseball. No newer Metsmerized winter recap had been published by press time Saturday than the November 5 recap of Wednesday's games, so today's lines run through Wednesday — stated plainly, as always — with the Fall Stars Game now ONE day away.
PUERTO RICO (LBPRC). The Puerto Rican Winter League opened Wednesday, and three Mets prospects are on the Leones de Ponce roster: Jacob Reimer, John Bay and Eli Serrano III (Mike Mayer, Metsmerized). Reimer got the first headline: looking to rebound from a groin-complicated season at Double-A Binghamton (.232/.335/.384, eight homers in 80 games; MMO's No. 6 prospect to start the year, No. 12 by August), he went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts in Ponce's 4-1 Opening Day loss. Bay, the 25-year-old center fielder who hit 16 homers with a .789 OPS across Binghamton and Brooklyn this year, went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. Serrano is the third Met on the roster; no line for him on Opening Day. (Metsmerized)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (LIDOM). Ronny Mauricio's second game was as loud as his first: 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a stolen base, a walk and a strikeout for the Tigres del Licey — one night after homering in his Dominican Winter League debut. The No. 1 prospect, Jefferson Rojas, went 0-for-2 for the Gigantes del Cibao and is now hitless in his last two looks after the 0-for-3 on Tuesday (7-for-34 overall this winter); the two homers came in his second game — a 401-footer at 106 mph and a 429-footer. His Gigantes teammate Eddinson Paulino went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Also in the league this winter: Christopher Morel (Águilas) is off to a .200 start with a homer between first base and the outfield corners; Vidal Bruján (Escogido) sits at .214/.343/.464 and is now a Brave on a minor league deal; and Ofreidy Gómez has thrown scoreless innings. (Metsmerized)
VENEZUELA (LVBP). Luis Torrens played right field for the second day in a row on Wednesday — the catcher's winter tour of the diamond continues — and this time the bat came with him: 1-for-5 with a double and two RBIs in Magallanes' 8-7 win. Francisco Alvarez, DH'ing again, went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts, a quieter night after Tuesday's patient 1-for-2 with three walks and Saturday's game-winning grand slam. Saul García allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout in one inning — his first earned run of this stretch after Tuesday's scoreless, win-earning inning. Joander Suarez (four appearances, 5.79 ERA) rounds out the Magallanes Mets. (Metsmerized)
MEXICO (LMP). A mixed Wednesday in Obregón: Marco Vargas, playing third base, went 1-for-4 with a strikeout and made his second error of the winter; shortstop Kevin Villavicencio went 1-for-3 and also made an error, cooling a touch after Tuesday's 2-for-4, three-RBI night had him at .313. The night's best Mets line in Mexico belonged to catcher Alejandro Urías: 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and three runs scored for Los Mochis. Urías, 24, went 5-for-12 with a homer in three games for Brooklyn this year — a name for the depth chart. (Metsmerized)
ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE. No new Surprise line since Tuesday's action — tomorrow is the story now. Irving Cota (15 strikeouts in 12⅔ innings, 0.87 WHIP) and Ryan Lambert (still no hit or earned run allowed in six innings, 10 strikeouts) are Fall Stars, and the Fall Stars Game is TOMORROW, Sunday, November 8, at 8 PM ET on MLB Network, in a game that also includes 10 of MLB's top 100 prospects. The rest of the Surprise ledger stands: Calvin Ziegler threw two-thirds of a scoreless inning Tuesday (he has allowed 10 earned runs in 4⅔ AFL innings), Peyton Prescott's ERA sits at 6.52, Brendan Girton has yet to allow a run in 4⅓ innings, Boston Baro's OPS is .778 and Bruin Agbayani's is .440. The AFL wraps up November 14. (Grand Central Mets)
Full winter ball stats for every Mets farmhand, updated weekly, live at Baseball America. If a Met does something down there, you'll read about it here.
📋 RUMOR TRACKER
Tarik Skubal — Heyman (via MLBTR) — some in the industry expect him off the board early; Castillo (ESPN) — the action starts at the GM meetings (Mon Nov 9). The Athletic's projection, via Woo: 9 yrs/$405M (projection, Speculation Desk). Snell is publicly recruiting him to stay a Dodger. Bowden: Cohen's No. 1 priority. Status: unsigned; Mets vs. Dodgers, expected before Dec 1.
Jacob deGrom — NEW Sat Nov 7 (Tracker): Grant (Dallas Morning News) believes the Rangers will shop a highly paid star, deGrom front and center ($37M for 2027, $20M club option for 2028, full no-trade). Rising Apple argues a Mets reunion is the best Skubal backup plan (talk only). Status: availability reported; NO Mets talks reported.
Robert Stock — UPDATE Sat Nov 7: MLBTR's full write-up — one-year Major League split contract; out of options, so any trip to Triple-A requires a DFA and waivers first. 36, 5.93 ERA in 30⅓ IP in 2026 after TOS surgery. Status: FIRST Mets signing of the winter — depth arm on the 40-man, with roster leverage.
Teruaki Sato — Britton/Sammon (The Athletic): Mets unlikely to make a big splash; less inclined with Bichette at 3B and Benge in RF. Posted Sun Nov 1; window runs to Dec 1. Status: cooled — pursuit downgraded, not closed.
Michael King — Post pricing — expected at least 3 yrs/$80M; San Diego could keep him; Ellis hire gives Mets added insight. Mets met with him last winter. Status: top consolation prize; circle back.
Clay Holmes — Post pricing — pegged at 2–3 yrs, $40–50M after declining his $12M Cubs option. SNY's Janes: both sides open to a reunion at the right price. Status: reunion watch, price now framed.
Shoki Oda — 18-year-old Japanese RHP (97 mph, fastest ever at Koshien) met with the Mets, Phillies and Rangers this week (Yakyu Cosmopolitan); a dozen clubs interested; Dodgers considered the favorites; expected $3–5M bonus as an international amateur, signable Jan 15. Status: meeting held — long-term play, not 2027 help.
Kaima Taira — Posted Sun Nov 1; Mets among the clubs that scouted him. Status: on the market; negotiations open.
Hiromi Itoh — Posted from Japan (Hokkaido) Sun Nov 1. Status: posting watch — no Mets link reported.
Si Hwan Roh — KBO third baseman posted by Hanwha; 30-day window ends Dec 1 (Sherman). Status: posting watch — no Mets link reported.
Drew Rasmussen — Rays exercised his $20M option — NOT a free agent; Neander reiterates he intends Rasmussen to lead Tampa Bay's 2027 rotation. Status: trade watch at a known $20M price, Rays saying not available.
Nathan Eovaldi — Grant (Dallas Morning News) — Rangers will search for trade partners for Seager and deGrom, and perhaps Eovaldi ($24M owed for 2027; turns 37 in Feb). Status: availability reported; no Mets talks reported.
Alec Bohm — The Phillies' third baseman is a free agent (Wed Nov 4). Status: on the market; no fresh Mets link reported.
Sonny Gray / Nick Martinez — Both free as of Fri Oct 30. Martinez also named in the Post's next tier (2 yrs/~$40M, with Gausman). Status: veteran fallback tier.
Nick Pivetta — Padres declined his $14M club option (Acee). Status: veteran-arm tier; no Mets link reported.
Emilio Pagán — Declined his $10M player option with Cincinnati (Romero); 25 saves, 3.38 ERA. Status: bullpen tier; no Mets link reported.
David Bednar / Adrián Morejón — Both received $23.15M qualifying offers. Answers due Nov 17; rejecting and signing elsewhere costs the new club a draft pick. Status: bullpen market, with a QO price tag.
Kenley Jansen — Free agent after Detroit declined his club option. Status: veteran closer on the market; no Mets link reported.
Luis Robert Jr. — Orioles declined his $20M option ($2M buyout). The ex-Met is a free agent. Status: on the market; no reunion reporting.
Dustin May — Free agent: declined his $20M mutual option with Milwaukee. Status: veteran-arm tier; no Mets link reported.
Jeff McNeil — Free agent: the A's declined his option and the Mets cover the $2M buyout. Status: ex-Met on the market; no reunion reporting.
Sean Manaea — Sportsnaut predicts he's the Met dealt before Opening Day. Status: speculation only — no shopping reported.
Rafael Devers — MLBTR lists him as a trade candidate in San Francisco; the Mets link is an idea piece only. Status: watch, don't believe yet.
Devin Williams — Rising Apple argues for restoring him to a setup role with added closer competition. Status: opinion only — no club move reported.
Trevor Megill / MacKenzie Gore / Spencer Torkelson — Floated as trade fits by Rising Apple/FanSided. Status: fits list only — no talks reported.
Jack Anderson / Pierson Ohl — Claimed off waivers Mon Nov 2 (Anderson from Minnesota, Ohl from Colorado). Status: depth arms with options.
Kyren Paris / Christian Cairo — Signed major league deals for 2027, then designated for assignment in the sign-and-pass gambit (MLBTR). Status: STILL no waiver resolution reported at press time Sat Nov 7 — fifth day on the wire.
Bo Bichette — ✅ RESOLVED. Opted in for 2027 — see the Korner column, “Bo Knows: 42 Million Reasons.” His return at 3B reshaped the Sato pursuit.
Sandy Alcantara — ✅ OFF THE BOARD: the Marlins exercised his 2027 club option. Status: staying in Miami.
Vidal Bruján — ✅ RESOLVED Sun Nov 1: signed a minor league deal with the Braves, with a spring-training invite.
40-man roster — ✅ RESOLVED Mon Nov 2, churn continuing: Paris and Cairo designated, still unresolved Sat; Stock added Fri Nov 6 on a one-year split deal. Next churn: Rule 5 protection deadline Nov 17.
That's the stove for today. Same time tomorrow — if the Mets do something at 11 PM, the Tracker hears about it first.
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