The Mets tried for Willson Contreras before he went to the Red Sox. That was new Cardinals honcho Chaim Bloom’s third trade with Boston, which makes sense since he’s familiar with their system. … 

The Mets along with the Giants and Orioles are among teams that met with star free agent pitcher Framber Valdez.

The Mets would do long deals for star pitchers in occasional circumstances (they offered $325 million for Yoshinobu Yamamoto) but generally prefer to avoid them.

Boston has made 10 trades but is still looking to sign its first free agent. They are hoping to bring back Alex Bregman. The Diamondbacks, Cubs and Jays also are interested in Bregman.