Today's NY Back Pages and Mets Headlines: 2/3/26

Good Morning.  Happy Birthday Lucas Duda and 2025 Mets Draftee Frank Camarillo.

SNY on YouTube:

Johan Tong on Brandon Sproat Trade, Meeting Freddy Peralta

Nolan McLean Highlights:

Freddy Peralta Highlights:

Ty France Interest:

• Mets, Yankees showing interest in Gold Glove first baseman (NJ.com) 
• Mets Showing Interest in Free Agent First Baseman (SI.com)

 

News & Analysis:

• The retooled Mets bullpen: No Diaz, but lots of upside (MLB.com)
• Departed Mets closer Edwin Diaz’s World Baseball Classic status confirmed (NJ.com)
• Mets Cap Odd Offseason With Pair Of Reasonable Win Now Moves (Forbes)

Born on this date:

• Lucas Duda (1986)
• Frank Camarillo (2004)

Died on this date:

• Bob Friend (2019)
• Willard Hunter (2021)

Transactions:

New York Mets signed free agent Ed Hearn on February 3, 1983.

Minnesota Twins signed Jeff Innis of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 3, 1994.

St. Louis Cardinals signed Shawon Dunston of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 3, 2000.

New York Mets signed free agent Kyle Farnsworth on February 3, 2014.

New York Yankees signed Luis Avilan of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 3, 2020.

Per National Pastime.com:

1999

The Mets tell a surprised Tim McCarver that he will not be returning to the team's broadcast booth. The franchise's pitching legend Tom Seaver, who was in the television booth for the Yankees from 1989 to 1993, will replace the highly regarded, but outspoken 57 year-old broadcaster, who spent 16 years with the team doing local telecasts.

2002

Yankee catcher Jorge Posada (.277, 22, 95) signs a five-year, $51 million contract with a club option for a sixth season. The 30 year-old Bronx Bomber backstop, with an average annual value of more than $10 million, is the second-highest among major league catchers, trailing only the receiver Mike Piazza, who signed a seven-year, $91 million deal with the Mets in 1998 that averages $13 million annually.

2009

Oliver Perez agrees to a $36 million, three-year deal to stay with the Mets. The 29 year-old inconsistent southpaw, who has posted a 26-20 record with New York since being obtained from Pittsburgh during the 2006 season, will be part of the team's starting rotation.

2011

A lawsuit brought by the victims of Bernie Madoff name Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, contending the Mets owners' enriched themselves with many years of profitable investing in the Ponzi Scheme while ignoring many warnings that the payoffs might have been fraudulent. Speculation concerning the sale of the team, to meet the financial obligations caused by a possible $1 billion settlement, has started circulating in the sports and banking industries.

Baseball Reference.com:

2010: Nelson Figueroa strikes out 8 in a complete game 7 - 1 victory, leading Escogido over Hermosillo on the second day of the 2010 Caribbean Series. A solo home run by Carlos Valencia is the only blemish on Figueroa's record, while his teammate with the Mets last season, Fernando Martinez, hits a two-run homer for the winners.