The Mets Are Cooking Something BIG...

The Mets are cooking something big. Nolan McLean was just awarded the National League Pitcher Gold Glove Award at a perfect time when the Mets are pitching themselves to top free agent Tarek Skubal. Will Nolan McLean and Tarek Skubal form a nasty one-two punch in what is already a promising Mets rotation? We're going to find out real soon, and we'll get into all of that and the implications of how Nolan McLean's award and the perception around the Mets is substantially. Improved at this juncture with this timing and we are just a few hours away from free agency officially beginning and if you want to stay in tune with all the updates, please do consider subscribing to Mets digest if you are not already and thank you to everyone who has been watching engaging with the content. It really does mean a lot. So let's get into a congratulations to Nolan McLean because he has won the NL Gold Glove Award. Not really a surprise if you've been watching this guy. You know that not only is he an extremely talented pitcher, but he is gifted with the glove. He makes a lot of extremely athletic plays. Not really all that surprising when you consider the fact that this is a guy who was a position player, a guy who could both hit and pitch, and was a two-way player in the Mets organization for some time as an outfielder. So the fact that he can handle his own with the glove is nothing to be super shocked about, But to see it so seamlessly transition to him on the hill. It's certainly a sight to behold, and this was a figure, an award, I should say, that was very much deserved, and Nolan McClain is a dog. I think the vast amount of discourse surrounding McClain in terms of the trepidations or just the arguments is... Has he done enough to prove himself as a legitimate ace in the major leagues? And I'm going to say no, but by no means does that mean he's been a disappointment or that he's been underwhelming. I think he came into the major leagues and he had immediate success in the later section of the 2025 season. And I think because of that, he was getting an immense amount of hype surrounding him, which I understand. And also keep in mind at that point in that season. The Mets weren't getting any good starting pitching, so it felt like Nolan McLean was somewhat of a savior every time he slowed the tab. So, coming into 2026, we know he started in the World Baseball Classic for Team USA, and he had already defined himself as the most electrifying talent in the Mets rotation. So, there were immense, immense, you know, expectations for him. And through a couple shaky first months, he really kind of hit that expectation. Now it's about, can the Mets kind of take on what they have to bestow upon them in the rotation already and use that as a selling pitch? to Tarek Skubal because everything is going to be surrounded about that. We know that the Mets number one priority at this point in time is to do whatever they can to sign Skubal. McLean is the first rookie to win a gold glove at any because Mets rookie to win a gold glove at any position and he's the first Met to do so at all rookie or not since Juan Lagares in 2014. And look, dude, McLean is doing exactly what we need him to do. And whether he's an ace or not right now, I think a lot of people realize he's not a finished product. He's only going to get better. And who better to have him pitch with in the rotation and learn from than Tarek Skubal? And again, Tarek Skubal is the ace the Mets still need. Just because McLean had this great season. Doesn't mean that the Mets don't need him. Just because the Mets have Christian Scott, who did very well. Just because the Mets had Zach Thornton, who did very well. In fact, this heightens the importance of bringing in Tarek Skubal, who can, you know, learn, or I should say teach, and provide tutelage to a Mets rotation that's on the younger side. I think this is going to be how the Mets need to win. They need to pivot. From their lineup carrying them, which I believe was kind of the idea in the past where you felt confident about the offense and the rotation, well, it was a little bit more of a question mark. Now, especially if the Mets do execute on this push for Scooble, they are situating themselves in a circumstance in which the rotation is going to be expected. appropriately so to carry this team and as MLB.com points out on their free agent profile of Tarek Skubal, Skubal isn't just the best pitcher available this offseason, he's the best player by a wide margin and that's why I believe it's going to all develop very quickly. I understand the long-talked-about, highly-mentioned concerns regarding... The possibilities of this lockout, I totally understand, and, you know, I obviously hope that it doesn't really throw a wrench into this offseason, but one thing I am confident about is that I don't think it's going to play much of a role in the Tarek Skubal decision, because I believe that will be settled well before any lockout comes to fruition. Which is also great to see because how many recent off-seasons have we seen things in Major League Baseball kind of move in slow motion? Of course, that is also one of the tension points leading up to this lockout because teams are just not willing to spend, or I should say 70% of teams are not willing to spend nearly as much as the top 20 or 30%. Which kind of leads to slower developing markets, but here we already have the Mets have been named by Juan Castillo today as the favorites. They're the favorites on Kalshi to land Tarek Skubal, not that that means everything, but The Mets are there. They are right there, and every question about them is, is Tarek Skubal willing to go from the Dodgers, where it's a practical guarantee he's going to win, to more of a question mark in an organization with the Mets that hasn't proven that they can put together a consistent winner. So... Noel McLean winning the Gold Glove Award and the Mets just bestowing this really quality young rotation is a major selling point and the timing of this could not be better because it highlights a point of optimism, a point of encouragement to say, hey, we have young guns in this rotation that are ready to win. We didn't have the results we wanted last year, but if you look at the second half, the team played better and it was led by the young guys, not just in the rotation. But in the lineup, too, the Mets have one of the best young cores in all of Major League Baseball. And the question is, will that be enough to sway Scooble away from the Los Angeles Dodgers, who he said, talking about them, they're an incredible organization, incredible teammates, incredible fan base, honored to wear the L.A. across your chest and on the hat. He clearly liked it there. If we look at Tarek Scooble's numbers. I mean, this was just yet another ho-hum season for him. He was fantastic. He put up an ERA well under three, a whip under one. He's the crown jewel of this year's free agent class. Uh, and... McLean can help the pitch here, certainly, but he is not the end-all, be-all. The Mets must finish the job. Looking at more quotes here, I mean, let's point it out. Chelsea Janes, the Mets need starting pitching. They've needed it for several years now. You can never have enough starting pitching. While I think it's honestly a position group where it can be a strength, you look at how inconsistent and variable things can get. In pitching these days, with the sheer amount of injuries, and also combined with the fact that pitchers are going shorter and shorter into games on average, and you need to stockpile. You can never have enough starting pitchers. You also run the risk of putting too much of a burden on these young pitchers and expecting them to replicate, if not improve upon, each one of their respective performances from 2026, which, as much as I love Scott, Thornton, Tong, you know, and McLean, of course, One or multiple of those guys is probably going to regress, whether it be by, God forbid, injury, but we all know it's a long, like, it is a good possibility just with what happens these days, and also just the fact that Baseball is unpredictable. It's variable. And, you know, batters are going to have more of a scouting report on these guys. So that's what makes bringing in a guy like Tarek Skubal. I mean, for obvious reasons, he's amazing. But also he is shown year in, year out that he can deliver. So you know what you're getting from him. And, you know, that is fantastic. And the Mets have an opportunity here to parlay the good PR from McLean and just, you know, kind of razzle dazzle that sprinkle in. A little bit more of an appealing selling point because money's not going to be an issue here. It's going to be about can the Mets sell themselves as a winning, you know, viable organization to put out a championship product. Can they sell that to Tarek Skubal? That question will be answered shortly. But would McLean's breakout help convince Skubal to sign with the Mets? What do you guys think? Yes, the young core is a real selling point or no, only if the Mets prove they're ready to win. How they do that? It's going to be tough because Tarek Skubal is probably going to sign before the Mets make any other key moves. And if we're going just purely based on recent performance, the Mets have not proved that they are ready to win because they have not made the correct decisions in getting them to that point. But let me know what you guys think down in the comments below. And as always, guys, let's go Mets.