“You don’t win the World Series with prospects”

The pipeline from the New York Yankees to the New York Mets will continue with international prospect Wandy Asigen, who will sign with the Mets after the official international signing period opens on January 15.

As freelance reporter Francys Romero reported Friday, the Yankees had guaranteed Asigen a contract worth nearly $4 million before their international scouting department underwent significant changes. The team fired Danny Rowland, who was in charge for fifteen years, last month.

According to former Mets general manager Jim Duquette on MLB Network, the Mets came in and welcomed Asigen to their tryout. Their deal for Venezuelan outfielder Josue Chacoa fell through and they were willing to put the $2.7 million and more on Asigen.

“Well, Wandy Asigen is her name,” Duquette said. “He’s a 17-year-old on the international market. He’s a top-ranked — he’s like a top-two, well, player — but he’s a shortstop. The Yankees had a deal done, and those aren’t official deals until Jan. 15.

“They fired their director of international scouting. Now there’s some uncertainty as to whether they still wanted to commit to that amount of dollars. The Mets came in; they brought him into their academy, they’ve worked him out from what I’ve heard and reports, and they have the inside track.”

However, fans on social media weren’t happy with the Mets’ approach, despite securing a top prospect. They wanted more from management.

Here are some reactions from X:

“You don’t win WS with prospects. You need solid major league players up and down the roster. That said, I wouldn’t mind debuting 1-2 rookies this year,” wrote one podcaster.

“It’s actually pretty sad,” one fan wrote.

“Whatever the Yankees let go.!! The Mets are right behind waiting to get them… without even realizing why…! Don’t go down that road…” one fan said.

“When he gets to the major leagues, the Mets could be relevant again,” said one fan.

“More leftovers for the Mets,” said one Yankees fan.

“I can’t wait to see all the people confused about this signing because the Mets have Lindor,” one fan added sarcastically.

Steve Cohen blasts media for falsifying Mets payroll claims

Mets owner Steve Cohen directly addressed claims by Mike Puma of The New York Post that president of baseball operations David Stearns is looking to cap the team’s payroll below $320 million. Cohen called them to X:

“As usual, the usual morons misinterpret a Post article about the ’26 Mets payroll. I can’t imagine our payroll being any lower than last year. It’s always hard to predict, but that would be my best guess,” he wrote.

Fans are getting restless as the Mets have yet to land a major free agent. Years saw core members of their roster, Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz find new destinations. His $320 million payroll would be down from the $342.3 million payroll for the 2025 season.