Edgy MD

Ten years is still necessary, but in the past, ten years (mostly) automatically qualified you for the ballot. They'd take a guy or two off that was lucky enough to cruise along for 10 years as a backup catcher or mopup reliever, but they were committed to erring on the side of inclusiveness, and the voters did the winnowing. Now a small group winnows out 10-year guys like Andy Benes, and even though Benes went 14 years, made an All-Star team, and got some down-ballot Cy Young support, he didn't get his chance to face the electorate. I think that's too bad. Such candidacies are (or should be) part of the story. More importantly, their absence makes the ballot smaller, and voters even more miserly with their votes, and more serious and credible candidacies are disappearing from the ballot after one year before anybody has given them a good look.

The rule about anyone with 10 or more years automatically qualifying for the ballot is no longer in effect. They now winnow many such players from the ballot before the BBWAA gets a crack at it. It was a good rule and should have remained.

Such is the state of contemporary pitching management that pitchers are, for varying reasons, getting a lengthening leash when they are pitching poorly, and a tightening leash when they are tearing through the opposing lineup. Neil Allen, we cry to you. Transactions, 6/27/2026 GOING COMING Released Released Sent to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Infielders John Valle Tyler Burch Jorge Polanco Zack Short R/R DoB: 38315 High Level: Rk (2026) R/R DoB: 35675 High Level: AA (2024) S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 34848 High Level: MLB (2026) Mystery Cuban John Valle was a 2023 pick out of a Florida High School, but his career was quickly detoured through Tommy Johnville, and he didn't debut until he was 20 years old in 2025. His 11.77 ERA in 13 innings that year was followed by a 7.30 mark in 12 1/3 this year. Tyler Burch has gotten the same bad news, but at the end of a much longer minor-league odyssey. After a full collegiate career, Tyler has been laboring with Philadelphia and Baltimore since 2019. After getting Rule V'd to Colorado, Burch missed a full season with elbow surgery. He must've been considered a real bounceback candidate by big-league teams, because the Mets went out and offered him a very rare two-year, minor-league free agent contract. That bounce-back never materialized as Burch gets sent home mid-season without throwing a pitch in a game. It is illegal to release a guy on the Injured List, but maybe there is an exception at the half-season mark or something. Either way, with that two-year deal, hopefully he takes some money home with him. The real June 27 is the second attempt at a 2026 rehab by Jorge Polanco, who has spent most of the campaign bedeviled by chronic Achilles tendonitis. He was initially intended to be the Mets new firstbaseman following the departure of Pete Alonso, but it is a pretty safe assumption that, should he indeed return to the big-league club, it will primarily (or more likely, exclusively), as a designated hitter. Either way, that would be expected to cut deeply into Mark Vientos' opportunities, and likely Brett Baty's as well, but he would probably be taking Eric Wagaman's roster spot. But that is all speculative, as it will be a minor victory just to get his name onto a major-league lineup card at this point. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the first game of his assignment. Transactions, 6/29/2026 GOING COMING Demoted to Syracuse Promoted from Syracuse Relief Pitchers Tobias Myers Joey Gerber R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026) And here we come to the theme that leads off this post. In the Mets most recent series with Philadelphia, they demonstrated some resolve against a team going in the opposite direction of them in the standing. Knotted into a 1-1 tie going into the seventh, with rookie starter Zach Thornton utterly cruising since the first, they pulled him after 78 pitches (54 for strikes) and prematurely turned the game over to the bullpen, and lost. They won the second game, but in the third, felt it necessary to give Tobias Myers a 59 pitch outing despite his in-effectiveness. They are reportedly "stretching" him so they can deploy him as a starter in the near future. Letting his effectiveness dictate the length of his outing is apparently not their idea of a winning approach For some nebulous, always out-of-reach future concern, they pulled an effective pitcher, rode an ineffective one, and lost two of three to a strong team when all three games were winnable. I hope that future comes soon. In the meantime, for far too many Met fans, these games were perhaps their very first, or their very last. The present matters. In the meantime, Mets Roster Central recalls former Mets closer Neil Allen. Later in his career, with the Yankees, Allen found himself one day to be the only available reliever in an otherwise pretty gassed bullpen. He was told to be prepared to be called on, and if he was, to be prepared to finish no matter what. The worst-case scenario ensued. Rookie starter Al Leiter came up injured after giving a leadoff single to Carney Lansford. Allen came in and closed out the first. Then he closed out the second. And inning after inning he remained effective, and damned if his continued effectiveness didn't dictate his continued deployment, and he finished the game, allowing no runs on three hits and no walks — against Oakland A's, no less, destined to win 104 games and the pennant that season. In a quirk of the rules (that still stands), by recording all 27 outs, Allen was credited with a shutout, despite not getting credit for a complete game. Now, Allen's manager Billy Martin was not known for his kind curatorial care of pitchers' arms, but from someone who invests hope in these games, sticking with pitchers who are effective and lifting pitchers who are ineffective, in games that are very much winnable, sure seems like an idea that we might want to be getting back to.

Such is the state of contemporary pitching management that pitchers are, for varying reasons, getting a lengthening leash when they are pitching poorly, and a tightening leash when they are tearing through the opposing lineup. Neil Allen, we cry to you. Transactions, 6/27/2026 GOING COMING Released Released Sent to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Infielders John Valle Tyler Burch Jorge Polanco Zack Short R/R DoB: 38315 High Level: Rk (2026) R/R DoB: 35675 High Level: AA (2024) S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 34848 High Level: MLB (2026) Mystery Cuban John Valle was a 2023 pick out of a Florida High School, but his career was quickly detoured through Tommy Johnville, and he didn't debut until he was 20 years old in 2025. His 11.77 ERA in 13 innings that year was followed by a 7.30 mark in 12 1/3 this year. Tyler Burch has gotten the same bad news, but at the end of a much longer minor-league odyssey. After a full collegiate career, Tyler has been laboring with Philadelphia and Baltimore since 2019. After getting Rule V'd to Colorado, Burch missed a full season with elbow surgery. He must've been considered a real bounceback candidate by big-league teams, because the Mets went out and offered him a very rare two-year, minor-league free agent contract. That bounce-back never materialized as Burch gets sent home mid-season without throwing a pitch in a game. It is illegal to release a guy on the Injured List, but maybe there is an exception at the half-season mark or something. Either way, with that two-year deal, hopefully he takes some money home with him. The real June 27 is the second attempt at a 2026 rehab by Jorge Polanco, who has spent most of the campaign bedeviled by chronic Achilles tendonitis. He was initially intended to be the Mets new firstbaseman following the departure of Pete Alonso, but it is a pretty safe assumption that, should he indeed return to the big-league club, it will primarily (or more likely, exclusively), as a designated hitter. Either way, that would be expected to cut deeply into Mark Vientos' opportunities, and likely Brett Baty's as well, but he would probably be taking Eric Wagaman's roster spot. But that is all speculative, as it will be a minor victory just to get his name onto a major-league lineup card at this point. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the first game of his assignment. Transactions, 6/29/2026 GOING COMING Demoted to Syracuse Promoted from Syracuse Relief Pitchers Tobias Myers Joey Gerber R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 High Level: MLB (2026) R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026) And here we come to the theme that leads off this post. In the Mets most recent series with Philadelphia, they demonstrated some resolve against a team going in the opposite direction of them in the standing. Knotted into a 1-1 tie going into the seventh, with rookie starter Zach Thornton utterly cruising since the first, they pulled him after 78 pitches (54 for strikes) and prematurely turned the game over to the bullpen, and lost. They won the second game, but in the third, felt it necessary to give Tobias Myers a 59 pitch outing despite his in-effectiveness. They are reportedly "stretching" him so they can deploy him as a starter in the near future. Letting his effectiveness dictate the length of his outing is apparently not their idea of a winning approach For some nebulous, always out-of-reach future concern, they pulled an effective pitcher, rode an ineffective one, and lost two of three to a strong team when all three games were winnable. I hope that future comes soon. In the meantime, for far too many Met fans, these games were perhaps their very first, or their very last. The present matters. In the meantime, Mets Roster Central recalls former Mets closer Neil Allen. Later in his career, with the Yankees, Allen found himself one day to be the only available reliever in an otherwise pretty gassed bullpen. He was told to be prepared to be called on, and if he was, to be prepared to finish no matter what. The worst-case scenario ensued. Rookie starter Al Leiter came up injured after giving a leadoff single to Carney Lansford. Allen came in and closed out the first. Then he closed out the second. And inning after inning he remained effective, and damned if his continued effectiveness didn't dictate his continued deployment, and he finished the game, allowing no runs on three hits and no walks — against Oakland A's, no less, destined to win 104 games and the pennant that season. In a quirk of the rules (that still stands), by recording all 27 outs, Allen was credited with a shutout, despite not getting credit for a complete game. Now, Allen's manager Billy Martin was not known for his kind curatorial care of pitchers' arms, but from someone who invests hope in these games, sticking with pitchers who are effective and lifting pitchers who are ineffective, in games that are very much winnable, sure seems like an idea that we might want to be getting back to. Your 2026 New York Mets Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Sean Manaea Nolan McLean Freddy Peralta Christian Scott Huascar Brazobán R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 R/R DoB: 2001-07-24 R/R DoB: 2996-06-04 R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 R/R DoB: 1989-10-15 Relief Pitchers Joey Gerber A.J. Minter Cionel Pérez Brooks Raley Kodai Senga Austin Warren Luke Weaver R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 R/L DoB: 35176 L/L DoB: 1988-06-29 L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 R/R DoB: 1993-08-21 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Devin Williams Francisco Alvarez Luís Torrens Bo Bichette Brett Baty Francisco Lindor Ronny Mauricio R/R DoB: 1994-09-21 R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 R/R DoB: 1996-05-02 R/R DoB: 1998-03-05 L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 Infielders Outfielders Mark Vientos Eric Wagaman Carson Benge A.J. Ewing Juan Soto Tyrone Taylor Jared Young R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 R/R DoB: 1997-08-14 L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 L/R DoB: 2004-08-10 L/L DoB: 1998-10-25 R/R DoB: 1994-01-22 L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 Also on 40-Player Roster Starting Pitchers Relief Pitchers Clay Holmes Tylor Megill Zach Thornton Jonah Tong Alex Carrillo Daniel Duarte Reed Garrett R/R DoB: 1993-03-27 R/R DoB: 1995-07-28 L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 R/R DoB: 1993-01-02 Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders Justin Hagenman Tobias Myers Dedniel Núñez Jonathan Pintaro Dylan Ross Hayden Senger Jorge Polanco R/R DoB: 1996-10-07 R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 R/R DoB: 2000-09-01 R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 Infielders Outfielders Marcus Semien MJ Melendez Nick Morabito Jared Oliva Luis Robert, Jr. R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 R/R DoB: 2003-05-07 R/R DoB: 1995-11-27 R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 Your Mets Coaching Staff Interim Manager Bench Coach Pitching Coach Hitting Coord. Third Base Coach First Base Coach Bullpen Coach Ass't Pitch. Coach Andy Green Kai Correa Justin Willard Jeff Albert Tim Leiper Gilbert Gomez José Rosado Dan McKinney DoB: 1977-07-07 DoB: 1989-07-14 DoB: 1990-09-09 DoB: 1992-08-16 DoB: 1996-07-19 DoB: 1992-03-08 DoB: 1974-11-09 DoB: 1989-06-06 Hitting Coach Strategy Coach Catching Coach Coaching Assistant Bat'g Pract. Pitcher Equip. Manager Bullpen Catcher Bullpen Catcher Troy Snitker Danny Barnes J.P. Arencibia Rafael Fernandez Kevin Mahoney Kevin Kierst Eric Langill Dave Racaniello DoB: 1988-12-05 DoB: 1989-10021 DoB: 1986-01-05 DoB: 1988-08-03 DoB: 1987-05-11 DoB: 1964-07-09 DoB: 1979-04-09 DoB: 1978-06-03 Your Mets Training Staff Director of Player Health Head Athletic Trainer Assistant Athletic Trainer Recond. Coordinator Recond. Therapist Head Performance Coach Assistant Performance Coach Performance Coordinator Soft Tissue Specialist Brian Chicklo Joseph Golia Bryan Baca Sean Bardanett Josh Bickel Dustin Clarke Tanner Miracle Jeremy Chiang Hiroto Kawamura DoB: 1972-07-17 DoB: 1978-??-?? DoB: Circa 1980 DoB: 1988-06-23 DoB: 1996-??-?? DoB: 1987-??-?? DoB: 1991-??-?? DoB: ????-??-?? DoB: 1962-07-19 View full article

That turned out to be only the first bizarre quasi-injury to a catcher on the day, as Alvarez got hit by Mauricio's bat when he inexplicably wandered too close to the on-deck circle.

Stone Garrett spent parts of three seasons with the Diamondbacks and Nats and certainly got his hitting done in his limited time in the bigs. He spend last year in the KBO and never really got untracked, appearing in only 22 games, and now seems to be out of baseball. But he has a story.

Toronto breaking pitches yield no New York riches.

Some desperately wrong challenges tonight.

Lindor gets with the program and opens the inning tattooing a ball right into an outfielder's glove.

Joey Gerber, today you have become a man.

Alvarez was getting good looks at and good swings on Rogers before that double.

Mets are whacking each other with bats now.

Under my hit-by-pitch reform rules, AJ Ewing would get two bases there for being hit by ball four.

Cool to see Eric Langill going into a crouch to warm up a reliever in the bullpen, and then look up and catch Lindor's homer, while scarcely moving.

That said, Warren ain't my first choice. We may need to convene a commission to examine Green's selection, but I'm not sure what we should call it.

This is a good hook. Manaea shlubbed that last pitch in there.

Challenge that shit, Carson.

Well, in fairness, Soto has caught a few rips too. Springer's challenge has to be one of the worst cases I've seen appealed yet.

This is a game of hard rips by both teams finding outfielders' gloves.

It is. Apart from the break for ear surgery, this game is moving along quickly.

Ernie Clement is from Rochester, which is a pretty Canadian place. Except, of course, it's colder.

Who among us hasn't gotten a pitch-com earpiece jammed in our ear canals?

I didn't think Myles Straw could be doubled up.

Sorry to delay the posting of the lineup, but Toronto players have long names. METS Starting Pitcher Sean Manaea LHP 1-2, 4.87 ERA, 60 SO NYM Lineup Carson Benge (L) RF Juan Soto (L) LF Bo Bichette (R) 3B Francisco Lindor (S) SS Jared Young (L) 1B A.J. Ewing (L) CF Mark Vientos (R) DH Brett Baty (L) 2B Francisco Alvarez (R) C TORONTO Starting Pitcher Trey Yesavage RHP 3-3, 3.56 ERA, 58 SO TOR Lineup George Springer (R) DH Nathan Lukes (L) RF Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B Kazuma Okamoto (R) 3B Ernie Clement (R) SS Brandon Valenzuela (S) C Luis Urías (R) 2B Yohendrick Piñango (L) LF Myles Straw (R) CF