Mex17

Looking at the Mets needs, and also looking at some of the people that they traded this year who are going to be free agents, it seems that you quite a bit of them could still be still fits for the team in 2018. But I am wondering if the fact that they were a part of this season's complete dumpster fire makes it disadvantageous for them to come back? Is it important to bring in "new" veteran faces/voices into the clubhouse (ones who had nothing to do with the 2017 Mets), or can you get away or maybe even benefit better from bringing back Grandy or Bruce or Walker or whoever else?

http://nypost.com/2017/08/26/it-could-be-a-long-time-before-michael-conforto-plays-again/ Forget about merely firing Barwis, can a case be made for suing the guy for damages based upon professional malpractice? I'm not joking.

Hitting .287 in AA right now. No power but MLB.com states that he has a good knowledge of the strike zone and is able to make contact. And the defense is supposedly off the charts good. No guarantees, but I'm thinking that there is a chance that he is the full-time second baseman starting in 2019 and it's him and Rosario up the middle for years to come (provided that he is not completely invisible at the plate).

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm not so sure that Cabrera is "absolutely gone", nor that Dominic Smith is a sure thing at first base for 2018. But, we'll see... Regarding Smith and Rosario, the performance level is certainly not a sure thing but their roles most definitely are. They are going to roll them out at first base and shortstop respectively every day, I'm sure of that. Regarding Cabrera, if the reports are to be believed there is enough interest in him that he is sure to be moved in the next few days.

It's a little early, but the Ramos trade sort of kicked my brain into gear. Let me try to sort the 2018 team (as of right now) into a few categories. . . Stone cold lead pipe blocks (barring injury or lack of recovery from existing injury): Cespedes in LF Conforto in one of the other two outfield positions Syndergaard and deGrom at the top of the rotation Familia as the closer Ramos in the eighth inning Blevins in a prominent bullpen role Dominic Smith at 1b Rosario at SS Certain to be on the team (barring trade) but not certain of role/performance level: Harvey/Wheeler/Matz/Lugo/Gsellman T.J. Rivera Flores Sewald Edgin Uncertain to return or be retained: Bruce Walker Reyes d'Arnaud Lagares Rene Rivera Montero Robles Nimmo Reynolds Goeddel Smoker Pill Plawecki Wright Absolutely gone: Reed Cabrera Granderson Salas Milone Question Marks/Needs: Catcher 1/3 of outfield Second Base Third Base Makeup of rotation following Syndergaard/deGrom Rounding out of bullpen Waiting in the wings: Drew Smith Flexen

Not that this is a big deal, but it looks like the Mets actually have two spring training jerseys this year. One has no name on the back, no numbers on the front under the "Mets" script, but a number on the left sleeve in the same way that the Phillies have. The other is almost exactly like the one from last year, only with the name and number on the back in white instead of orange. What gives on this? Which one are they going to use in Grapefruit League games?

Frayed Knot wrote: who'll just be turning 35 at the tail end of a two-year deal (or 36 in Sept of a three-year) So the 2nd year of the deal would count as his "age 34" season and the 3rd would be the "age 35" season.

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Travis d'Arnaud has appeared in the majors in four straight seasons, so I have no reason to believe he has options. Years on the ML roster alone don't automatically tick off option years. If d'Arnaud hasn't been optioned in some or all of those years than there can still be options left despite the amount of ML service time he's accrued. I think that it's five years of uninterrupted Major League service time that needs to accrue before you can refuse an option in spite of there being options left on the table?

Edgy MD wrote: Travis d'Arnaud has appeared in the majors in four straight seasons, so I have no reason to believe he has options. http://tpgmets.blogspot.com/p/options.html

Two nitpicks. . . Assuming Bruce is not traded (which is ultimately unlikely I think, but then again it has not happened yet), do you really want Conforto rotting on the bench (and, more importantly, earning Major League service time which will get him to arbitration and free agency all the more sooner) or would you rather keep him sharp playing in Vegas? I support the latter. Also, I believe that d'Arnaud has one more minor league option remaining (although he can no longer be outrighted off of the 40-man without the choice of free agency). That matters considering his 2016 performance. The way I see it, if both d'Arnaud and Plawecki can both be shipped out, then it is then the two of them competing for one spot on the team (along with them also competing with Rivera for playing time, even though Rivera has a guaranteed spot on the roster). If I were TC, I would make it clear to Travis that he has to make this team.

Assuming that the Bruce trade happens and it is for a controllable righty for the bullpen with a live arm who has at least one year of success on the major league level and multiple years left of team control, My next move would be to go against the Alderson "book" and offer 3 years/$18 million to Blevins. I know and have heard everything that they have been saying about them experiencing more success with regard to rounding out the bullpen by going with shorter term deals later in the winter or into the season as opposed to multi-year deals, but I think that the difference is that Blevins has already been on this team, so that might make his case different from those of, say, D.J. Carrasco and Antonio Bastardo. They know him already, they know his working habits and they know how he fits on the team and in the clubhouse. That can make the three year commitment worth the risk, and $6 million a season for a lefty who can get both leftys and rightys out should not be a back breaker. I am also warming up to the idea of letting Gsellman be the fifth starter and letting Lugo and Wheeler pitch out of the pen. Lugo has experience doing it already whereas Gsellman has not, and Wheeler in the pen reduces the innings that he will pitch coming off a two-year Tommy John surgery rehab. Who knows, maybe Wheeler turns out to be the Isringhausen of this bunch (ie, the vaunted rotation prospect who winds up having a long and productive Major League career out of the bullpen instead). With all that in mind, I think that the primary 2017 bullpen could end up like this (notwithstanding any sort of Familia suspension). . . Familia Reed Blevins Robles Lugo Wheeler Guy that they get for Bruce who fits the above referenced description Then, in reserve, are the likes of Edgin, Smoker, Goeddel, Montero, Ynoa, Gilmartin, Sewald, and any veterans that they can bring in on minor league contracts.

deGrom and Syndergaard are both represented by Cespedes's agent, who the Mets apparently have a good relationship with. As we all know, Harvey is represented by Boras, who the Mets have not so much of a good relationship with. A pretty good indicator of who they are going to lock up and who they aren't. The question is, if Harvey has a lights out year, can they get a Chris Sale-like return for him?

I think that teams right now are trying to see if Sandy is going to panic and sell low on Bruce because they think that Sandy is afraid to go into Spring Training with both Bruce and Grandy on the roster. Sandy, in turn, needs to be willing to show that he is ready to play out the whole year with both of them (Grandy in CF and Bruce in RF). If that means that Conforto needs to get his playing time in Vegas this year, so be it. That's not ideal, but it's better than getting crud for a guy who has consistently displayed 25-30 HR and 80-100 RBI potential and who is still just 29 years old.

He was cut by the Nationals, and no one picked him up. Now he is not even being mentioned anywhere on the Hot Stove. I don't think that he was injured, are people just sick of his act and now he is done?

Vance Worley could be an option for the Mets, no?

This has been rolling around in my head for awhile so I thought that I would share. These are the folks who I think ought to be locks or at least should be discussed. . . Should have happened already: Nelson Doubleday -Frankly, since his passing I think that there has been an really unacknowledged black mark on this organization for not recognizing him and what he meant to the Mets. No sleeve patch when he died, as far as I can remember no real official mention of it at all, and a complete snub really altogether (including a non-induction to this point to the HOF). Unless there is something that we do not know about where the Wilpons did reach out only to have the Doubleday family somehow slam the door in their faces, The Three Stooges (Fred, Jeff, and Saul) should really be ashamed of themselves here. Can happen anytime they want at this point: Edgardo Alfonzo, Al Leiter -Career .292 batting average for Fonzie as a Met. . .120 homers, over 500 RBI. Solid defensive play. Memorable moments (That one game in Houston, Game two of the 2000 Division Series). All around good guy and team ambassador -Leiter. . .Staff workhorse for seven seasons. The big performance in the play-in game against Cincinnati. Clubhouse leader. -Both were prominently mentioned by Piazza during his Cooperstown victory lap as teammates that were a big part of his journey. Can't happen yet because they are still active players: David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran -I don't think that I need to articulate much of a case for any one of these three. And yes, forgive Beltran for the non-swing against Wainwright. Down the line: Howie Rose, Gary Cohen -They are not at Kiner/Murphy level just yet as far as legends go, but give it time. The one additional thing that I would mention is that, as far as I am concerned, a World Series championship should automatically result in the presiding GM/Field Manager combo getting in. . .there is already a precedent with this in Johnny Murphy/Hodges and Cashen/Davey. So let's hope that Sandy and TC gets their plaques someday too.

Edgy MD wrote: Also, if Duda isn't healthy and adequately performing, and Wright is, I expect the latter might see some time at first. This makes sense, but I surprisingly have heard nothing on that front at all (whereas we have with regard to Conforto, which makes less sense than asking Wright to do it).

Ceetar wrote: Also: It's Flores. I was thinking about the "next man up" after Flores. What if Flores (or Duda) gets hurt earlier in the season and they feel that they don't want to call up Smith yet because he does not yet have enough ABs in AAA?

This is super-duper fine detail for December 2nd, but since Eric Campbell signed with a Japanese team (good for him. by the way) I think that we need to have someone else who bats righthanded and can play first base to stash away at Vegas just in case. I would agree that I am getting ahead of myself, but when I was putting this together I found out that people are already signing off on minor league contracts (with spring training invites). . .I would have thought that this market does not even start up until January. Anyway, I looked for people who fit the above bill and who also have major league ABs and who are technically "minor league" free agents (Baseball America has this list) and came up with these names. Two of the three are not as bad as you think and might even be an improvement over Campbell. . . Jesus Montero: http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/29448 Tyler Moore: http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/30635 Xavier Scruggs: http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/32215/xavier-scruggs If I am not that much mistaken, if we can hold off until after the Rule V draft on Wednesday, we can ink one of these guys and not even have to put him on the 40-man until we need to. Is it too much to ask that one of them goes on Sandy's shopping list? I would think that maybe the Mets would be a preferred destination because they might get a ring out of the deal (hopefully) and also hitting in Vegas could pad their AAA stats. The one question though is how you get innings at first for both one of these and Dominic Smith? My guess is that DH would be the answer to that.

So what I have heard (paraphrasing) is that Bautista is the "Plan B" if the market for Cespedes goes to five years, right? Riddle me this then. . . You figure that Bautista will want at least a two year deal, which would cover his age 36 and age 37 seasons. This coming off a year where his stats regressed. And there is no DH option for him (a quick glance informed me that his games played were greater than his games played in the field for at least the last few years) Conversely, an extra year for Cespedes (assuming that the Mets are comfortable with four and not so much with five) would take Cespedes into his age 35 season. So in what world is a shorter term Bautista commitment less risky at this juncture than a five year Cespedes commitment?

And so it starts. . . https://www.sny.tv/mets/news/mets-have-inquired-about-bautista/208354368 I had no idea that the Mets actually had Bautista for five minutes before including him in the Kris/Anna Benson trade. Funny thing is that was the deal that day that I actually liked. I was actually in Minneapolis that day visiting a friend and we were in a bar pre-gaming for a Twins-Red Sox matchup when then Kazmir-for-Zambrano trade was announced on ESPN. . .it put me in such a bad mood that my one and only experience of the Metrodome was ruined.

I know. . .I disappear all season and then resurface only to fret and complain over the Hot Stove. It's just how I roll. BUT, without further ado, if one of the following six is not a Met in 2017 then we are in for a long season. Cespedes, obviously. But how long do you wait him out before pursuing other options? http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/32080/yoenis-cespedes Edwin Encarnacion. How many years do you give to a guy going into his age 34 season? http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/5904 Mark Trumbo. Would he be willing to sign earlier and for less years than Cespedes? http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/29322 Ian Desmond. This is where the drop-off starts. Less power but still productive. Would probably be a little cheaper. http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/29646 Jose Bautista. Age risk coming off a down year, but probably will not reduce his price in spite of that. Realistically, he might even really just be a platoon-level player with Conforto at this point, but do you actually think he would accept that role? http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/5890 Matt Holliday. At this stage, a Cuddyer-like signing, but hopefully cheaper than Cuddyer actually was. Veteran presence. Probably his a little bit left in the tank. Would platoon with Conforto. http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/5940 Discuss. . .

What happened to Below?

Are the Mets being forced into playing with just 24 guys against KC? Something I read on Metsblog today seems to indicate so. . . Based on what I read, there is going to be a six-man bench (including Campbell and Reynolds) with only a 5 man bullpen (minus Robles and Henderson) for the two games. That, conbined with the 8-man lineup and the 5 man rotation, only adds up to 24. Then (and only AFTER the two game Robles suspension) do the Mets get to 25 by demoting Reynolds and adding Robles and Henderson. Is that the rule? Teams always play a man short when a suspension needs to be served? When did this become hockey, and why then were the Yankees (just to cite one example) allowed a full 25 roster for all of 2014? Why did the Mets get to play with 25 men last year when Mejia was suspended?

Apparently, this is the battle for the 25th man. Count me in for Team Tejada. Ruben's career average is about 20 points higher than Campbell's and over a much larger sample size. Plus, he is also the only other natural defensive shortstop with major league experience on the roster other than Cabrera. I'm not counting Flores as a real shortstop here. . .he is more of a nomadic infielder/utilityman who is really on the roster for his bat and who has been played at SS as more of a shotgun marriage. It's easier to hide him on the corners than to make him the primary backup shortstop, I think the latter exposes a weakness more than it plays to a strength.