Outfield Options

[Edgy MD]

The Mets are down two outfielders, and have a full week before their next game off. Last I heard, they planned on taking Juan Lagares to Pittsburgh, and then evaluating him after the series when they get back to New York. I suppose that ... could ... make sense, but I sure haven't figured out how yet.

They go two deep in centerfield, and Ty Kelly is their emergency outfielder if their margin-of-error of zero gets exceeded. So, unless they have a good reason to expect the health fairy is coming to bless them, they probably want to take a good look at what's available to them.

Roger Bernadina
Hitting .301 / .373 / .444 // .817 in 41 games at Vegas. Has hit two homers and driven in 17, including hitting a game winner in the 10th inning a few nights ago. Has plenty of big league experience and is strong like bull. Has stolen nine bases and would be the first Mets player from Curacao since 1990s designated pinch runner Ralph Milliard. Hits left. Not on 40-man.

Kyle Johnson
Hitting .239 / .333 / .345 // .678 in 41 games, 30 at Bingo and 11 at Vegas. Probably wouldn't merit any consideration at all, but he is primarily a center fielder, for what that's worth. Hits righty. Not on 40-man.

Brandon Nimmo
Going .305 / .391 / .463 / .854 in 46 games at AAA. Bats lefty, first rounder, has stolen four of 10 bases (boo!). Four triples. Forty appearances in center(!). On the 40-man.

Eric Campbell
There's little I can tell you about Eric Campbell that you don't already know.

Travis Taijeron
Likely the team's best hitter last year, and he's putting together a pretty similar season this year at .297 / .388 / .547 // .935. Has eight homers, but has also whiffed 65 times, which almost makes him an honorary 2016 Met already. Only plays center in emergencies. Rocks a mullet. Bats righty.

[Frayed Knot]

Last I heard, they planned on taking Juan Lagares to Pittsburgh, and then evaluating him after the series when they get back to New York. I suppose that ... could ... make sense, but I sure haven't figured out how yet.

Rubin is saying that Juan will be seeing NYC doctors on Monday and that he expects to be back in Pittsburgh for the start of the series.
I suppose that timetable could still make him doubtful for Monday's game even if there's no bad news on the thumb -- he claims there's no pain, just a little swelling -- but probably for Tuesday. Of course if the diagnosis is worse than that then the discussion for a replacement kicks in.
Cespedes sounds like he'll be back starting on Monday or Tuesday at the latest, especially seeing as how he was OK to PH today.



And, just on a side note and because I have it on TV, the Yanx & O's have resumed after a lengthy rain delay and, with Chapman on the mound, the O's turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead with a two-out bases-clearing single by Matt Weiters on an 0-2 count.
Watching the Yanx lose (still top 9 to go) a game they've led for about five hours of innings and delays (and on a get-away day too) because of their vaunted back-end of the bullpen would be almost too good for words.

oe: Thaaaaaaa Yanquis lose!!

[nymr83]

its time to find Nimmo.

[Zvon]

Nymr83 wrote: its time to find Nimmo.

That would make things interesting. Or more interesting. If anyone's pressed it's going to be him, right?
I do like the info on Bernadina though. And he's a bit more seasoned.

[Fman99]

Edgy MD wrote: The Mets are down two outfielders, and have a full week before their next game off. Last I heard, they planned on taking Juan Lagares to Pittsburgh, and then evaluating him after the series when they get back to New York. I suppose that ... could ... make sense, but I sure haven't figured out how yet. They go two deep in centerfield, and Ty Kelly is their emergency outfielder if their margin-of-error of zero gets exceeded. So, unless they have a good reason to expect the health fairy is coming to bless them, they probably want to take a good look at what's available to them. Roger Bernadina Hitting .301 / .373 / .444 // .817 in 41 games at Vegas. Has hit two homers and driven in 17, including hitting a game winner in the 10th inning a few nights ago. Has plenty of big league experience and is strong like bull. Has stolen nine bases and would be the first Mets player from Curacao since 1990s designated pinch runner Ralph Milliard. Hits left. Not on 40-man. Kyle Johnson Hitting .239 / .333 / .345 // .678 in 41 games, 30 at Bingo and 11 at Vegas. Probably wouldn't merit any consideration at all, but he is primarily a center fielder, for what that's worth. Hits righty. Not on 40-man. Brandon Nimmo Going .305 / .391 / .463 / .854 in 46 games at AAA. Bats lefty, first rounder, has stolen four of 10 bases (boo!). Four triples. Forty appearances in center(!). On the 40-man. Eric Campbell There's little I can tell you about Eric Campbell that you don't already know. Travis Taijeron Likely the team's best hitter last year, and he's putting together a pretty similar season this year at .297 / .388 / .547 // .935. Has eight homers, but has also whiffed 65 times, which almost makes him an honorary 2016 Met already. Only plays center in emergencies. Rocks a mullet. Bats righty.

My favorite guy on this list is "not Eric Campbell."

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Every time I get a little excited about the numbers on someone in AAA, I remember, this is a place where Eric Campbell can dominate pitching.

[Centerfield]

It looks like the Mets will, as they have many times this season, go with no one at all.

Ron was pretty outspoken about how he thought the Mets should have had Lagares checked out ASAP and a replacement brought in just in case.

He didn't come outright and say it, but I get the feeling he is frustrated by the Mets lack of urgency on this sort of thing. I feel like the Mets have been playing with a short bench the entire season.

On Edit: Before the game, Terry was talking about using Syndergaard as a pinch hitter. I wonder how much of that was real and how much of that was to send a message to the FO, "Hey dickheads, get me some players".

[Edgy MD]

Outfielders recently designated for assigment:
[list:yg8fdiot][*:yg8fdiot]Carl Crawford, LA Dodgers[/*:m:yg8fdiot]
[*:yg8fdiot]David Lough, Philadelphia Phillies[/*:m:yg8fdiot][/list:u:yg8fdiot]

[Vic Sage]

i remember when Crawford was a forum FA/trade favorite; we lusted after him.
Now we can have him, and we don't want him... right?

[Frayed Knot]

Centerfield wrote: It looks like the Mets will, as they have many times this season, go with no one at all. Ron was pretty outspoken about how he thought the Mets should have had Lagares checked out ASAP and a replacement brought in just in case.

Well the initial story was that Lagares wasn't going to see a doctor while in Florida. MLB rules require that a doctor, provided by the home team, be on hand at every game but apparently the Marlins had only a GP at Saturday's game but no orthopedist (lousy cheap-ass Loria spending it all on fish tanks) so no exam was done at the park that day. Turns out however that he did see an outside doctor on Sunday where X-Rays revealed no break with further testing to be done by their own guys in NY today.

The problem with the immediate replacement (beyond the time squeeze of getting someone across the country for a day game) is that it requires an immediate DL or some separate move. If it just turns out to be a couple day thing -- like say with Cespedes and his hip -- then going a day or three minus a guy is often better than having a regular miss the minimum 15 even though he'll likely be healthy for maybe 10-12 of them. If all DL trips were apparent immediately such calls would be easy but it doesn't always work that way.
I think they'll probably know on Lagares either today or tomorrow and make a call then.

[Lefty Specialist]

Vic Sage wrote: i remember when Crawford was a forum FA/trade favorite; we lusted after him. Now we can have him, and we don't want him... right?

Right. He's terrible and has been almost from the moment he signed the contract.

[Frayed Knot]

There's a lesson there about relying on 'speed' players as they age into their 30s

Crawford had a 781 OPS with Tampa (806 in his prime age 22-28 seasons) over ~5,000 ABs
He's most of 100 points lower (717) since signing with Boston and the subsequent trade to LA (ages 29-34 years - turns 35 in August) but even more than that is that he's had only one season where he played over 120 games.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: The problem with the immediate replacement (beyond the time squeeze of getting someone across the country for a day game) is that it requires an immediate DL or some separate move. If it just turns out to be a couple day thing -- like say with Cespedes and his hip -- then going a day or three minus a guy is often better than having a regular miss the minimum 15 even though he'll likely be healthy for maybe 10-12 of them. If all DL trips were apparent immediately such calls would be easy but it doesn't always work that way. I think they'll probably know on Lagares either today or tomorrow and make a call then.

It's almost like part of having a 25 man roster is the flexibility to do things like this.

Terry should still pinch-hit his backup catcher over deGrom or Syndergaard though.

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: The problem with the immediate replacement (beyond the time squeeze of getting someone across the country for a day game) is that it requires an immediate DL or some separate move. If it just turns out to be a couple day thing -- like say with Cespedes and his hip -- then going a day or three minus a guy is often better than having a regular miss the minimum 15 even though he'll likely be healthy for maybe 10-12 of them. If all DL trips were apparent immediately such calls would be easy but it doesn't always work that way. I think they'll probably know on Lagares either today or tomorrow and make a call then.

One thing every roster needs in such situations is Fungible Interchangeable Backend RelieversTM.

You send down Verrett, call up Nimmo, live without a seven-man bullpen for a day or two (the horror!). If the injury, after that day or two, turns out to be serious, Lagares hits the DL, Nimmo stays, and Verrett returns. If the injury turns out to be much ado about nuttin', then Nimmo returns to Vegas, and Verrett returns to New York.

If it's too soon for Verrett to return within the rules, then the team calls up one of Verrett's fellow FIBRs, Sean Gilmartin or Rafael Montero, both already on the roster and big-league experienced, for whatever that's worth.

I don't know about you, but my life has seen a vast improvement since I switched to a high-FIBR diet. It's changed my outlook and allowed me to do things I never could before. I'm never changing back.

[Centerfield]

Edgy MD wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: The problem with the immediate replacement (beyond the time squeeze of getting someone across the country for a day game) is that it requires an immediate DL or some separate move. If it just turns out to be a couple day thing -- like say with Cespedes and his hip -- then going a day or three minus a guy is often better than having a regular miss the minimum 15 even though he'll likely be healthy for maybe 10-12 of them. If all DL trips were apparent immediately such calls would be easy but it doesn't always work that way. I think they'll probably know on Lagares either today or tomorrow and make a call then. One thing every roster needs in such situations is Fungible Interchangeable Backend RelieversTM. You send down Verrett, call up Nimmo, live without a seven-man bullpen for a day or two (the horror!). If the injury, after that day or two, turns out to be serious, Lagares hits the DL, Nimmo stays, and Verrett returns. If the injury turns out to be much ado about nuttin', then Nimmo returns to Vegas, and Verrett returns to New York. If it's too soon for Verrett to return within the rules, then the team calls up one of Verrett's fellow FIBRs, Sean Gilmartin or Rafael Montero, both already on the roster and big-league experienced, for whatever that's worth. I don't know about you, but my life has seen a vast improvement since I switched to a high-FIBR diet. It's changed my outlook and allowed me to do things I never could before. I'm never changing back.

Exactly.

And either way, you have Lagares checked immediately on Saturday. If it is a break, or a tear, or some other serious injury, you bring someone in right away for Sunday.

[Lefty Specialist]

And either way, you have Lagares checked immediately on Saturday. If it is a break, or a tear, or some other serious injury, you bring someone in right away for Sunday.

And this is what I can't understand. It's an almost pathological resistance to checking players out immediately, while they stay on the 25-man roster unable to play. They had Wright hang out for almost a week this way.

The roster doesn't have a lot of flexibility to begin with, without operating short-handed.

[Centerfield]

Lefty Specialist wrote: And either way, you have Lagares checked immediately on Saturday. If it is a break, or a tear, or some other serious injury, you bring someone in right away for Sunday. And this is what I can't understand. It's an almost pathological resistance to checking players out immediately, while they stay on the 25-man roster unable to play. They had Wright hang out for almost a week this way. The roster doesn't have a lot of flexibility to begin with, without operating short-handed.

Don't forget Steven Matz, where they waited FIVE DAYS to check his elbow. And thank god it turned out to be nothing, but this is just a foolish way to operate.

[Edgy MD]

In fairness, Wright was examined, treated, and evaluated.

It just turned out that the hopes for the initial, lesser treatment to be effective were not fruitful.

[ashie62]

Mets might have been waiting for swelling to go down before the MRI.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy MD wrote: I don't know about you, but my life has seen a vast improvement since I switched to a high-FIBR diet. It's changed my outlook and allowed me to do things I never could before. I'm never changing back.

Oh, it makes sense. Our guys apparently just prefer to live full of crap.

The priority is the major-league team, right? So, y'know, as soon as you get a prelim diagnosis-- hell, he was injured in the afternoon on Saturday in a major American city, right?-- you make a decision and make a move.

[Lefty Specialist]

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Juan Lagares has been diagnosed with a partially torn ligament in his left thumb. He will rejoin the team and not be placed on the disabled list.

[Centerfield]

How fucking stupid is this?

[ashie62]

Pretty much what I expected. Long term injury.

Nimmo!

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: The problem with the immediate replacement (beyond the time squeeze of getting someone across the country for a day game) is that it requires an immediate DL or some separate move. If it just turns out to be a couple day thing -- like say with Cespedes and his hip -- then going a day or three minus a guy is often better than having a regular miss the minimum 15 even though he'll likely be healthy for maybe 10-12 of them. If all DL trips were apparent immediately such calls would be easy but it doesn't always work that way. I think they'll probably know on Lagares either today or tomorrow and make a call then. One thing every roster needs in such situations is Fungible Interchangeable Backend RelieversTM. You send down Verrett, call up Nimmo, live without a seven-man bullpen for a day or two (the horror!). If the injury, after that day or two, turns out to be serious, Lagares hits the DL, Nimmo stays, and Verrett returns. If the injury turns out to be much ado about nuttin', then Nimmo returns to Vegas, and Verrett returns to New York. If it's too soon for Verrett to return within the rules, then the team calls up one of Verrett's fellow FIBRs, Sean Gilmartin or Rafael Montero, both already on the roster and big-league experienced, for whatever that's worth. I don't know about you, but my life has seen a vast improvement since I switched to a high-FIBR diet. It's changed my outlook and allowed me to do things I never could before. I'm never changing back.

Well either way you're still down a man on the roster; your way just means that you're a man short in the pen rather than on the bench. Sometimes that will be the better option, but not always.
The major question still remains whether being short a man (whether hurler or position player) for 1-3 days is worse than maybe being without a key player for most of two weeks unnecessarily.

Not trying to pretend that there's one blanket answer for these situations, but there seem to be a whole lot of people with internet medical degrees who already know how long Lagares is going to be out.

[Zvon]

Welcome to rain delay theater, already in progress:

[fimg=500]http://theredlist.com/media/database/films/tv-series/police-and-crime/1960/columbo/011-columbo-theredlist.png[/fimg] "I don't think the thumb is connected to the back, no sir. I'm going to have to widen my scope. So now the centerfielder has a torn thumb? So in what way is he NOT disabled? *shakes head* This is a strange team sir. A very strange team."

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: Well either way you're still down a man on the roster; your way just means that you're a man short in the pen rather than on the bench. Sometimes that will be the better option, but not always.

Well, you don't really have to teach me the math.

Frayed Knot wrote: The major question still remains whether being short a man (whether hurler or position player) for 1-3 days is worse than maybe being without a key player for most of two weeks unnecessarily.

Well, I've declared a third way around that, to be short in a place of much greater redundancy, much less likely to represent a one-day pinch.

Frayed Knot wrote: Not trying to pretend that there's one blanket answer for these situations, but there seem to be a whole lot of people with internet medical degrees who already know how long Lagares is going to be out.

Well, I ain't one of them. But if the team decides to keep Lagares active, maybe that's the move to make. If he can get his glove over his thumb, anyhow.

[Centerfield]

And your 26th man for game 2 of the DH is...Eric Campbell.

[Guest themetfairy]

Centerfield wrote: And your 26th man for game 2 of the DH is...Eric Campbell.

Shit....

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Well, he knows where the bathroom is.

Which is good, because his game plays well there.

[ashie62]

Our OF option may be Lagares himself. He spoke today.

http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2016/06/mets_juan_lagares_1.html#incart_river_index