Centerfield

So what's the rule? He has to stay on our 25 man the whole year? And if not we give him back? Sorry, this is meant to apply to the Dowdy guy. What's the rule for minor league Rule 5 guys?

I'm starting to come around on Steve Gelbs. Was pretty awkward at the beginning, but he's starting to grow on me a bit. It's tough, because he followed Kevin Burkhardt. But I guess he's ok as a local guy. I really don't like Andy Martino though. Way too smug and full of himself. I don't see that he brings anything to the table. I don't think he can understand anything from a fan's perspective. Enough of this guy already. Really gonna miss Taylor Rooks.

It feels so weird to be happy about a Mets transaction. I can't remember the last time I felt that way. Other than re-signing Cespedes a bunch of times, I can't remember being happy about a trade or signing. I didn't like any of the Bruce/Vargas crap from last year. Maybe trading to get Addison Reed? I must be forgetting someone right? On Edit: The Niese for Walker trade. I liked that one.

I love it. Arguably the best relief pitcher we have ever had. Home grown kid. Only 29 years old. Compared to the deal the older Kimbrel is supposedly looking for this is a good bargain. Like any relief pitcher, it comes with risks, but I think this is a solid bet. Love that he is ok with being a setup man and that the addition of Diaz didn’t deter him. We still need a lefty or two but this is shaping into a potentially great pen. Inevitably some reporter will get this wrong. He doesn’t have a domestic violence taint. He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and then a court affirmatively ruled that none had occurred.

Meanwhile, Jason Vargas remains our 5 starter with absolutely no depth behind him. Our top pitching prospect is in Seattle. Basically we have to hope that szapucki kid heals from TJ. Shit. We even released Montero.

I can understand Realmuto for Rosario. Realmuto has already met his potential but has fewer years of control. Rosario hasn’t met his, but has shown good signs, and is young with five years left. Realmuto is more valuable to a contender, Rosario to a rebuilder. For a team like the Mets, it comes down to plugging one hole or another. They have no internal options at either position. If you trade Rosario, how do you replace him? Other than Machado, which I don’t see them doing, there are few options. Cabrera I guess. Or some of those glove guys from the other thread. But at catcher, you have Grandal, and Ramos and maybe others available via trade. A true “win now” club would seriously consider these. The Mets are not serious about contending, so it is what it is.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Vic Sage wrote: and, as i said, i'd rather keep Rosario and sign Grandal. That just costs money, and it doesn't create another hole to fill. In agreement with you there. I don't trust catchers in general, they seem to me to be hard to develop, hard to predict, fragile and even for the good ones, so much rides on defense. I'm not saying we can't or shouldn't upgrade but if the Marlins drive too hard a bargain then there's options still out there, and we still got guys who can fake it till July when maybe you've got a better idea if Gimenez is anything, if Rosario shows the ability to improve (as he did over the 2nd half last season) and whether the team that traded for Realmuto is ready to do their own flipshow. And even if Realmuto is at his best, he's not someone that scares you in the middle of the lineup. Trade packages like the ones the Marlins are asking for are the ones you put together for game changers. Nolan Arenado. Kris Bryant. Even Paul Goldschmidt. Realmuto doesn't hit over .300 (Ok he hit .303 once), doesn't eclipse an OBP of .350, and has hit 20 HR's once (21 as a career high last year).

smg58 wrote: If you forced me at gunpoint to pick one it would be Rosario, but I do not believe giving up five years of him, or four of Nimmo, or three of Thor or Conforto is worth two years of Realmuto. I'd vote none of the above. This.

Vic Sage wrote: Or we could just sign Machado! You have a funny way of spelling "Reyes".

BVW: Wanna bet I can get the fan base to celebrate Martin Maldonado? JW: No way dude. Like how? BVW: So first, I leak that we're going to sign Maldonado, and they get all "No, he sucks, sign someone good." JW: Right... BVW: Then I'm all like "Ok fine. Then I'll trade Nimmo and Conforto for Realmuto..." JW: Wait, but you're not really gonna... BVW: Of course not! And then I throw around the name Conforto and they really freak the fuck out. JW: OMG OMG LOLOL BVW: And wait, then I say I'm going to trade Syndergaard... JW: Stop Brodie, omg, that's too much! BVW: ....and send him to the Yankees in a three way! JW: (stunned silence) BVW: And then boom. I sign Maldonado, and those motherfuckers fucking celebrate! JW: You're a genius. I love you.

A guy who doesn’t crack the top tier in OPS cannot be a franchise player.

I go back and forth. Sometimes I’m convinced Brodie just wants us to appreciate what we have already. Other times I’m convinced he’s a moron and will trade him. Either way he’s a dickhead.

Found the article. It kinda sucks that Sandy is in town to watch the core he assembled get ripped apart right in front of him. https://www.sny.tv/mets/news/former-mets-gm-sandy-alderson-could-join-another-front-office-soon/301490530/

41Forever wrote: Phillies spending wildly -- sign Andrew McCutchen for three years, $50 million https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2796872-report-andrew-mccutchen-phillies-agree-to-3-year-50m-contract Ben Grimm predicted that McCutchen would end up a Met. A pretty good guess in my opinion. How many outfielders do the Phils need? I wonder how this affects their Bryce Harper chase.

So I'm guessing he's soon going to be on the Mets radar. Missed all of 2018 with a heel injury, and was hurt for most of 2017. He's still only 34 years old and was just released outright by Toronto. I'm guessing he ends up someplace where they offer him a regular role.

My proposed Three Team Trade: Mets: Keep Noah Syndergaard Yankees: Go fuck themselves. Marlins: Who fucking cares.

So I get it. Van Wagenen is a salesman. He'll dangle Syndergaard for Realmuto, and everyone will freak the fuck out, and when he signs Martin Maldonado everyone will breathe a sigh of relief.

If I could pick any pitcher in baseball to slot in behind Jacob deGrom, there are few I would pick over Noah Syndergaard. And I get that there is a good deal of Mets bias in here, but if you factor in everything. Performance, age, talent, salary, years of control, stuff, upside. The guy had a 3.03 ERA in a down year. Fuck everyone. You can make a case for Blake Snell. Or Aaron Nola. That's about it. Not Patrick Corbin, or Zack Grienke, or even Cory Fucking Kluber. Scherzer for Syndergaard straight up? Nope. We're talking about trading Noah Syndergaard for a guy who isn't even in the top 40 in OPS. Holy fuck guys.

Centerfield wrote: Jeff Wilpon has every opportunity to say “When Sandy recovers, we fully expect him to resume his position as the General Manager of the Mets. He is our guy and has our full support.” Instead, he stood by and deflected as Sandy fell on his own sword. Sandy Alderson was fired today. Make no mistake of that. Sandy did a terrible job but is a good man. It’s terrible that his cancer has recurred. It’s an absolute fucking travesty that his dickless employer is using this illness to skirt taking responsibility. One thing I read on twitter (though I can't find it now) is that Sandy Alderson is in LV, cancer-free, and looking for work. Good for Sandy. Kicking cancer's ass is the most important thing. If Alderson really is looking for work, then I stand by my position that the leave of absence was just a cowardly way of firing Sandy.

This is what happens when you allow the Mets to be viewed as "aggressive" without actually spending money. Stupid, foolish moves will be made in the name of a BOLD AND CREATIVE AND AGGRESSIVE APPROACH!!! Jeff Wilpon views trades as a way to public acceptance without opening up the wallet.

Latest rumors talk of Syndergaard to the Yankees. Hey shittiest offseason ever. Let’s cut it out.

I'm not sure how to embed the twitter like some guys do. But exact quote from Joel Sherman: Mets remain in on Realmuto because Van Wagenen determined that his version of NYM always pursue best players. But internally still see as a long shot. Someone like Martin Maldonado remains more likely to emphasize defense. So many things in that statement. Clearly the Mets are not pursuing the best players. The two best players on the market are not even on their radar. Also, if you don't get Realmuto (and at that asking price you should not), then what about Ramos/Grandal? Why does it then fall to the guy who can't hit?

Mets beat writers continue to use words like "aggressive" and "bold" to describe Brodie. They mirror his line that they are going after all the best players. Ignoring completely that the Mets are out on Harper and Machado. Sometimes I wonder if baseball is one big practical joke and I'm not in on it.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Will: Actually, the Hall is filled with undeserving players who did next to nothing on the writers ballot. This is one of the main reasons why I have so little interest in the Hall of Fame anymore. The list of who's in and who's not in is such a hot mess that I just can't really care like I used to. Sure, I was happy for Mike Piazza when he got in, and of course I'll be delighted when or if True Met Robinson Cano makes it, but Harold Baines is in, but Pete Rose and Barry Bonds are not? (And for the record, I don't disagree with their exclusion.) It's just a big fat mess, for a variety of reasons. I agree it's a mess. And like the baseball record books, I don't see a good fix for that mess. For me, my moment of realization came in 2009, the year Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were voted in. Rickey received just under 95% of the votes. Meaning that 5% of the voters didn't believe Rickey Henderson was a hall of famer. This boggled my mind. Most of the writers never justified their omission, while others used "he's not a first ballot guy" or "I figured Rickey would get in anyway, so I used my votes for others" argument. And then it struck me, that these guys are too dumb to vote within the rules. Or just too dumb to understand baseball. So if they are too dumb to realize Rickey is a hall of famer, why should I waste my time on other opinions they might have? Life has been more pleasant since.

Mets Hot Stove just wrapped up. Their first report from the Winter Meetings. They described Realmuto as the number one target not only for the Mets, but across baseball. A real franchise changing player. They discussed A.J. Pollack. Gary Apple pushed Andrew McCutchen. Nelson Figueroa, to his credit, pointed out that the metrics say he’s declining. So Apple switched to what good leadership he supplies blah blah blah. From watching this broadcast, you’d never know Harper and Machado were free agents. Their name was not mentioned once.