Soothsaying for Sixteen: Nevin Ashley

[Edgy MD]

Hey, man. I may sound like a handsome-but-wispy British expatriate film star of a certain vintage, but I'm a burly catcher whose been given a minor league deal with the Mets, along with an invite to camp. I'm 31, fringy, bearded, and my wife has a cooler name than your wife. Well, a more memorable name, anyhow.

If there's anything I like better than catching baseballs, it's the great tradition of getting high on picture day.

[fimg=350:1h1vn47c]http://pengosports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Nevin_Ashley_sm.jpg[/fimg:1h1vn47c]

I'm backing up two young guys, but one of them gets hurt a lot, and I'm DUE, Bro! I think 2016 is going to be awesome! What do you think?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I hope he likes Las Vegas, because barring injury to d'Arnaud or Plawecki, he'll spend the much of the season there.

[Edgy MD]

Sure, but how do you bar injury to your catching staff? Sign me up for that action!

He'll get 28-30 trips to the plate, hit .225, one homer, five RBI.

[Centerfield]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: because barring injury to d'Arnaud

In other words, he should start looking for apartments in NY now.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I know.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I wonder, does he rank ahead of or behind Johnny Monell on the catching depth chart?

[Ceetar]

Won't see him.

[Benjamin Grimm]

In that photo it looks like he's doing a Ben Carson impression.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Hope you like New York New York (and the Venetian and the Wynn and Bellagio), Ashley Ashley!

[seawolf17]

Pretty sure you made him up.

And I remember the Ashley Ashley discussion and I STILL think you made him up.

[MFS62]

Backs up Monell at Las Vegas, and takes over the full time job there when Monell is called to the majors.

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Career high in home runs for Las Vegas. That's right he's gonna hit 10. No callup unless there's a real big emergency, and I'm hoping there isn't.

[Edgy MD]

Checking now, and he hit 12 in the Sally League back in 2007. He added 20 stolen bases that year also. Ranked the 26th best prospect for the Rays that year! (And in fairness, the Rays were pretty stacked at the time.)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Alright, he hits 12 in Vegas. Fuck it, he gets 13.

[Lefty Specialist]

If he sees any time in NY, means there's Trouble in River City. That's trouble with a T, that rhymes with P, which stands for....Please Play in Las Vegas for the entire season.

[Guest d'Kong76]

No Nevin, unless Mets are in deep d'oo d'oo.

[Edgy MD]

Nevin Ashley indeed failed to escape the International League, but after backing up Monell and/or Plawecki most of the year, he did escape Vegas, with the Mets pulling off a HIGHLY improbable August 31 deal with Texas, who found themselves heading to the post-season, but with a small hole in their catching emergency plan that they thought Nevin was the exact guy to fill.

Yeah, it was probably just loose change, but who gets any value at all for a free-agency bound AAA backup catcher on August 31? Sandy Alderson, that's who. And to think, I was impressed by the Rey Sanchez trade.

This might have been the most unlikely late-season flipping of an expiring asset in team history.

[ashie62]

He'll have better luck with Ashley Madison.