SNY's The Warm-Up: The first domino falls at MLB's Winter Meetings

Also: The return of Eli Manning TWEET OF THE DAY --------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Tuesday! This is the relaunch of SNY's newsletter, now called The Warm-Up. My name is Sam and I'll be your host every weekday, Monday through Friday. You can expect a healthy mix of SNY original writing, graphs, Tweets, quizzes, GIFs, jokes, and other interesting sports stuff, all on your favorite New York teams, all delivered daily to your inbox. Without further ado... Today's viewing guide... - Knicks at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m., MSG - Rangers at Kings, 10 p.m., MSG2 Today's word count: 738 P.S.: The Islanders avoided a losing streak last night with a 5-1 pounding of the Lightning. [Highlights here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The New York Minute - Carmelo Anthony [spoke Monday]( about Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's choice to play in Brooklyn. - Leonard Williams, [on the potential]( of testing the open market this offseason: It's "definitely a logical possibility." - [Here are the details]( of another possible Patriots cheating situation. - Gerrit Cole is still available, but [maybe not for long](. - Is Mookie Betts really [available via trade]( 1. Monday at the Winter Meetings, by the numbers $245 million Scott Boras foreshadowed that the 2019 Winter Meetings could be "fast and furious." On Monday, he and client Stephen Strasburg settled on the largest contract for a starting pitcher in MLB history. The Nationals retained their World Series MVP with a seven-year, $245 million deal worth $35 million annually. The only question is, when will that record be broken? One main competitor Who will win the privilege of paying more than $300 million for Gerrit Cole? It appears the one team fully in the mix, alongside the Yankees, is the Angels. "I don't think money will be an issue, it'll come down to if Gerrit Cole wants to play for the Angels," [said SNY's Andy Martino yesterday](. $100 million Free agent starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner, now of more value across the league with Strasburg off the board, [is reportedly looking for a nine-figure deal](. It feels like Bumgarner's been around forever, but he's still only 30, and less than a year older than former Met Zack Wheeler, who signed for $118 million with the Phillies. $14-$15 million Didi Gregorius's open market value will be in the $14-$15 million range, reported MLB Network's [Jon Heyman yesterday](. If that's the case, the Yankees might [let him walk](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Five quotes from Brodie Van Wagenen (Brodie, mid admission of sweatpant guilt.) While the Mets didn't make any moves on Monday, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen had plenty to say during his media availability. 1. He thought Zack Wheeler received an above market contract: - "I think the value for what we thought the investment [was] didn't line up. The projections that we had for Zack, both short term and long term, didn't quite match up to the market that he was able to enjoy." 2. It's the same story, priority-wise, in San Diego: - "I think the priorities, still, are to gain some starting pitching depth, create some bullpen depth as we've talked about before." 3. [On not owning any sweatpants:]( - "That is a true statement. I do not own a pair of sweatpants." 4. On the recently announced plan for a change of ownership: - "I'm not going to get into anything regarding the ownership situation, we're here to focus on baseball. ... Business as usual, from my perspective." 5. On where Yoenis Cespedes is at: - "He's resumed baseball activities. He's been swinging the bat now for several weeks, and we're hoping that he can continue his progression and hopefully make progress as we head to spring training." On SNY.tv: [Scouts weigh in on 3 potential trade package scenarios for Mets' Dom Smith]( --------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY TRIVIA Before Strasburg agreed to his $245 million contract on Monday, which starting pitcher had the largest contract in history? 3. The latest on Gerrit Cole As of Tuesday morning, Gerrit Cole is still available, but some late night Yankees activity on Monday may serve as a hat tip if and when Cole does end up in pinstripes. As reported by SNY's Andy Martino, [the Yankees are shopping J.A Happ and the $17 million remaining on his contract,]( presumably to clear space for the mega offer Cole is in line to receive. Happ signed a two-year, $34 million deal with New York last year, but compiled just a 4.91 ERA in 161 1/3 innings in 2019. On SNY.tv: [Aaron Boone says Yankees have 'elite roster' with or without Gerrit Cole]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 4. It was fun while it lasted For a fleeting moment last night, Eli Manning drew the attention of the New York sporting scene from San Diego to Philadelphia. Starting for a hobbled Daniel Jones, Manning had a throwback first half, which the Giants ended with a 17-3 lead over the Eagles. He was: - 11 of 19 for 179 yards and two touchdowns, both to Darius Slayton The rest of Manning's comeback game, though, was less inspiring: - 4 of 11 for 24 yards The Eagles tied the game at 17 with a late touchdown. After a three-and-out for the Giants in the final two minutes, Philadelphia scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, handing the Giants a franchise record-tying ninth straight loss. - "I would have liked to have had one today," [Manning said](. Still, it was fun while it lasted. FYI: The SNY Giants' Twitter account [was on fire]( the entire game. On SNY.tv: [The Giants need to stop seeing the glass half full when it's almost completely empty]( --------------------------------------------------------------- TRIVIA ANSWER David Price, who signed a seven-year, $217 million contract with the Red Sox in 2015. --------------------------------------------------------------- That's the buzzer, folks. Enjoy your Tuesday. This email was sent by: SportsNet New York (SNY) 150 Greenwich st 50th floor New York, NY, 10007, US [Unsubscribe](