The Mets wasted little time trying to reconnect Derek Falvey with a few familiar faces.
According to sources, Jeremy Zoll reached out to Falvey almost immediately after the Mets hired him and floated a trade idea built around Royce Lewis, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner. It was a quick reminder that some baseball relationships never really disappear, even when people move on to new jobs and new teams.
Falvey said Zoll beat the Mets email setup by a mile.
“Jeremy called me pretty quickly,” Falvey said. “I didn't even have my Mets email set up yet. I thought it was David Stearns calling me about onboarding.”
Instead, Falvey said, it was Zoll.
“Derek,” Zoll allegedly said, “how do you feel about bringing a few old friends to New York?”
The three names make sense as a package because each has flashed real talent, even if none has settled into a perfectly smooth track in Minnesota. Lewis has the kind of upside that keeps teams interested through the setbacks.
Larnach has put together stretches that looked like middle-of-the-order production. Wallner has the sort of power that makes you wonder what he could do with a long runway.
And if there’s any place built for a fresh start, it might be New York. The Mets have spent the last several seasons serving as a reminder that a massive payroll does not automatically translate into a massive win total.
Falvey, at least in the version presented here, sounded like someone who knows exactly what those players bring to the table.
“I know those guys,” the fictional Falvey said. “I know what they can do.
I know what they can't do. I know what their strengths are.
I know what their weaknesses are. And I know exactly how many times each of them has made me think, 'We should probably give him another chance.'”
There is also the question of what Minnesota would get back. The source material doesn’t pin that down, only that the Twins would presumably want something in return. That could mean prospects, cash considerations, a player to be named later, or something less traditional but equally useful to a front office trying to make the deal work.
The Mets, for their part, at least seem open to the idea.
“We asked Derek if he had any players he really believed in,” an anonymous Mets executive said. “He gave us three names.
We asked if they were available. He said, 'Well, technically.'
So here we are.”
One Mets source also expressed confidence in the risk.
“We've had worse ideas,” the source said.
When asked for an example, the source declined to comment.
There’s a real symmetry in the concept. Falvey gets players he knows.
Lewis, Larnach and Wallner get a new organization. And Minnesota gets the chance to see whether its former baseball operations chief can help unlock them somewhere else.
That, more than anything, is the twist in the whole thing. If Lewis turns into an All-Star in New York, Larnach settles into the middle of the order and Wallner starts launching balls into a 40-homer cult following, Twins fans will not need long to ask why those players weren’t kept in the first place.
If it goes the other way, Minnesota can point to the move and say it cashed out three uncertain assets. Either way, baseball usually finds a way to make everybody feel half right and half foolish.
Zoll, though, sounds convinced the logic holds.
“I think Derek would appreciate what we're doing here,” Zoll said. “We're giving him three players he knows, three players he believes in and three players he can now be blamed for.”
The Mets are still working through the details. Reportedly, part of the delay is figuring out whether Wallner’s bat is actually included or whether the team is just acquiring the rights to discuss how good he could be. There’s also some uncertainty over whether Lewis, Larnach and Wallner are being treated as players or as part of a larger Derek Falvey nostalgia package.
Either way, the Mets are interested. And in New York, that usually means the conversation is just getting started.
In Other News...
Twins Fans Can Trace This Collapse To Three Brutal Moments
The Twins 2026 season did not unravel in one clean, dramatic stretch so much as in a handful of moments that kept piling up until the playoff path looked almost gone. A familiar name was part of that story, as former Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak turned in back-to-back strong outings against Minnesota in less than a week, a reminder of how quickly momentum can slip away when an ex-player is on the wrong side of the matchup.
From there, the damage only deepened. An extra-inning loss to Detroit on Sept. 2 cost Minnesota a chance to hold onto third Wild Card position, and four days later the Twins were beaten badly by the White Sox in a result that made the slide feel a lot more like a collapse than a rough patch. By then, the seasons direction was hard to miss, even if the final details were still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]
Twins First Offseason Pitching Move Says Plenty About Their Depth
The Twins have started their offseason pitching housekeeping by bringing back a familiar arm, re-signing right-hander Chris Vallimont to a minor-league contract for 2027. It is the kind of move teams make when they are thinking about organizational depth first, adding a pitcher who knows the system and gives the club another option to stash in the upper levels if the need arises.
Vallimont has already taken the long road through recent seasons, with stops in minor and independent leagues after his lone major league look with Baltimore in 2023. For Minnesota, the signing does not point to a rotation battle or a bullpen lock, but it does underline how much value the front office places on keeping experienced arms in the pipeline while bigger offseason decisions are still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Rocco Baldellis Next Opportunity Could Reframe His Twins Legacy
Rocco Baldellis time away from the dugout may not last long. The former Twins manager, now working in the Dodgers front office as a special assistant to Andrew Friedman, has surfaced in the conversation for Seattles managerial opening as the Mariners begin sorting through a disappointing season and looking for a new voice to lead the club forward.
For Twins fans, it adds another layer to Baldellis already complicated legacy in Minnesota. He spent seven seasons in charge, went 527-505 and won the division three times, leaving behind a rsum that still prompts debate about how his tenure should be remembered. A move to Seattle would not just be a fresh start for Baldelli, it could also offer another chance to reframe what his run in Minnesota ultimately meant. [Read more 🡒]