Cowtipper

I like the continuity on this team. Lot of familiar faces. Twenty of the 25 guys on the 25-man roster played with the club in '24.* *I included Max Kranick, he got shafted.

I hope the Mets win.

0-7, 7.42 ERA.

Jaylen Palmer signed to play in the Cubs chain. Yolmer Sanchez signed with the Angels. Mets signed a young'un named Georwill Rodriguez. They also signed some fella named Cesar Acosta. There was a mysterious signing of an Arturo, known only as Arturo ???, but it has been revealed that he is Arturo Sevilla.

Jim Breazeale died. https://www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/former-braves-first-round-draft-pick-passes-away-2046866 Who was Jim Breazeale? James Leo Breazeale Jr., born on October 3, 1949, was an American professional baseball player who played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox. A highly regarded amateur player at Sam Houston High School in Houston, Breazeale was drafted by the Braves in the first round of the 1968 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut in 1969 and played for three seasons with the Braves (1969; 1971–1972) before joining the White Sox in 1978. Breazeale’s career was impacted by a severe ankle injury in 1973, resulting from a car accident that kept him on the disabled list until June of that year. Despite being expected to become the starting first baseman for the Braves, the injury hindered his development. Over the course of his career, he played in 89 MLB games, with 179 at-bats, recording a .223 batting average, three home runs, and 33 RBIs. His final game in the majors was in 1978 with the White Sox. Throughout his career, Breazeale also spent significant time in the minors, where he hit 124 home runs across eleven seasons, including seven seasons with the Richmond Braves. He briefly played winter ball in the Venezuelan League, but his career was slowed by injuries, including a severe leg injury after he learned to play catcher. Breazeale’s MLB career was brief, but he did manage a memorable moment in 1978, hitting two home runs in a game against the Seattle Mariners. After his MLB career, Breazeale continued to live with health challenges, suffering heart failure in 2021 and using a left ventricular assist device until his death on March 13, 2025, at the age of 75.

The Mets traded for a minor leaguer Troy Schreffler, formerly of the Phillies. They traded away minor leaguer Michael Hobbs to the Mariners. They released minor leaguer Rocky Solano. Also, not sure if it was reported, but one of the Luis Morenos was brought back, but I'm not sure which. I'm pretty sure it is the 1999-born one. Also, it looks like Mateo Gil signed with the Charros de Jalisco.

Mike Vasil is on the move again, having been claimed from the lowly Rays by the even lowlier White Sox.

3 games, 3 at-bats, no hits. The Mets will Cancel him quicker than Robinson.

120 G, 390 AB, 15 homers, 52 RBI, .264 BA.

Madrigal isn't expected to be back this season per RotoWire. If he didn't get hurt, I would've predicted he'd be a Danny Mendick clone (~30 G, <.200 BA). He's not important enough for the Mets to want to bring back, so he'll disappear without ever donning a Mets uniform.

Maybe a couple late-season relief outings. Then in 2026: 2-5, 4.99 ERA, another injury that'll make him miss the rest of the year, then he'll be quietly dismissed after the season and fans in 10 years will be asking, "whatever happened to Christian Scott?".

I have a hunch he'll have a couple .260 BA, 500 AB seasons elsewhere, but his big league career won't even be 10 seasons.

34 saves, yet a 2-8 record, a 3.50 ERA, a K/9 that's down but not terrible (I'm thinking 12.5 K/9) and headaches every outing, but he'll have a lot of vehement supporters here even as he continues to make us shake our heads.

1. I predicted 91 wins for New York last year. The bullpen didn't lose much gas over last year and though it is still pretty weak, it might actually be stronger over '24 if Butto continues to impress and AJ Minter performs. I'm nervous about Stanek-Garrett (and Diaz to a lesser degree), but the bullpen has decent C-level depth in Nunez and Megill. If the Mets don't use Megill as their fill-in starter and trade him, as I predicted in his dedicated thread, I think he'll move to the bullpen full time and potentially flourish. That's just a hunch. It should also be noted that their Triple-A club is actually quite solid. Adbert Alzolay, Genesis Cabrera, Chris Devenski and Sean Reid-Foley have all had some success at the big league level. And let's not forget, the Mets still have the once-touted Dom Hamel, as well as Brandon Sproat and Blade Tidwell waiting in the wings. Joander Suarez could be a dark horse. The rotation is following the 2024 mold—no superstars, but a good number of C- to C+ names. Senga's not a star in my mind—he has to reclaim the title—but I foresee Manaea-Holmes-Peterson being very solid, and perhaps Montas being a surprise (though more than likely 2025's Adrian Houser). As they have had these past few years, they have A LOT of decent fill-in depth to choose from—Megill, Butto, Canning, Blackburn. All of whom could theoretically be decent-to-good pitchers if the cards play right (and unfortunately that usually means going to another team). Because Holmes is unproven, Senga's coming back from injury and Peterson has yet to perform at a high level over a full season, I'll dock 2 wins from my 2024 prediction. So, right now, it stands at 89. BUT, the offensive is looking good. The catcher crisis isn't that bad, the Mets managed a similar thing last year. Their depth chart has three potentially big names at first—Alonso, Vientos and Baty—which is a big plus. Second has McNeil at #1 on the depth chart, but two top prospects—Acuna and Mauricio—are also there, which offers a lot of hope. Shortstop is anchored by Lindor, nothing to worry about. Third is anchored by Vientos, who I'm bullish on now. All that alone would bump my prediction up to 90 wins. But they also have Nimmo and Marte still, Taylor's still there, Winker—a big late-season sparkplug—thankfully came back and the big name, of course, Juan Soto, is a huge addition. But, this is also the Mets, so I'm not going to add a lot of wins to my prediction still. With Soto and the aforementioned, I'll add another 2 to my prediction, putting them at 92. A big benefit is having two solid players at DH, not an end-of-career dog like J.D. Martinez. Winker and Marte are the top two on the depth chart and having them there might be enough to add another win. But I'm not confident they will, so I'll stick with my 92 wins, therefore they will go 92-70. 2. They'll finish second in the NL. Pretty much the same standings as last year. 3. Yes. 4. NLCS. 5. Who cares if it's not the Mets. 6. Pete Alonso is on the way out, I think, but he's not done yet. I predicted 30 home runs in his dedicated thread, but for this I'll say we'll see a repeat of last year—34 home runs—with a poor .235 average. 7. A brown and white rabbit that sneaks into Citi Field on June 14th and becomes a cult hero like that squirrel that one year or the rally monkey.

That fella the Mets signed out of college not a month-and-a-half ago, Andrew Carson, has been released. They also released Hayden Cooper and Eldridge Armstrong.

Last year was a step up, if you can believe it. I think he'll be their go-to fill-in for injured guys, going 4-2 with a 4.37 ERA in 8 starts, then he'll get traded in July.

He didn't come out of nowhere a la Mike Baxter, Andrew Brown and Eric Valent, so I'm not expecting a huge regression. I'll say about the same as last year: 10 HR, 35 RBI and he'll get that average to .250.

Dilson Herrera coming in at #46. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=herrer000dil

He was briefly in the Mets system last year, too.

Cool you should feature this guy. I check on him from time to time as he's one of the guys I think has potential. I'd like to see him reach the majors, if only to validate my assessment that I think he might be able to be a big league contributor. I'm guessing a mid-August call-up, in which he will go 3-for-17 and never be seen again.

I remember the hype around Herrera. He was a top-50 prospect going into 2015.

Mauricio gives off massive Dilson Herrera vibes for some reason. Supposed to be a big piece then just gone. That's what I'm getting from Mauricio.

Stanek: 6.06 ERA, 69 ERA+ with the Mets Maton: 2.51 ERA, 150 ERA+ with the Mets Yeah, I can't see why Maton would be a better pick than Stanek, either.

I'm thinking .275/15/65 with 40 steals and 81 runs scored. Jeff McFlop will lose his starting job and throw a hissy fit, as is his wont. He has the genes, but he has to overcome being a Mets phenom, which historically means he'll let us down. But I'm feeling optimistic this morning.

As mentioned in another thread, Bob Gallagher died in 2024. https://phpbb3.ultimatemets.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34232 Who was Bob Gallagher? Bob Gallagher was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1972 to 1975 with the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, and New York Mets. Born on July 7, 1948, he was the grandson of former MLB player and manager Shano Collins and the son of minor league player Charles Gallagher. He attended Bellarmine College Preparatory and Stanford University before being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round of the 1968 draft. In his four-season MLB career, Gallagher played in 213 games, recording a .220 batting average with 56 hits, two home runs, 13 RBIs, 34 runs, a triple, and a stolen base. After retiring from baseball, he spent 25 years teaching high school social studies at Santa Cruz High School in California, later working as a substitute teacher following his retirement in 2010. Gallagher passed away on August 14, 2024, in Santa Cruz. Also, Morrie Steevens died in 2024. https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=steevmo01 Who was Morrie Steevens? Morrie Steevens was a left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs in 1962 and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1964 to 1965. Born on October 7, 1940, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cubs in 1958 and spent a decade in professional baseball. Steevens made his MLB debut in 1962 and had a strong start in relief before being sent back to the minors. He returned to the Cubs later that season and made his only career start on September 19 against the Philadelphia Phillies, taking the loss in a rain-shortened game. After spending 1963 in the minors, he was traded to the Phillies, where he was called up during their 1964 playoff push. His most memorable appearance came on September 19, 1964, when he entered a tied game in the 16th inning but lost when Willie Davis stole home before he could record an out. He split 1965 between the Phillies and the minors, struggling in his final big-league appearances before spending two more years in the minors and retiring in 1967. In 22 career MLB games, he posted an 0–2 record with a 5.75 ERA over 20⅓ innings, allowing 20 hits and 16 walks while striking out 11. And Eric Wilkins died. https://neptunesociety.com/obituaries/lynnwood-wa/eric-wilkins-12082830 Who was Eric Wilkins? Eric Lamoine Wilkins was a right-handed pitcher who played one season in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians in 1979. Born on December 9, 1956, in St. Louis, Missouri, he attended James A. Garfield High School in Seattle before playing college baseball at Washington State University from 1975 to 1977. Wilkins made his MLB debut on April 11, 1979, and appeared in 16 games for the Indians that season. His final big-league game was on July 23, 1979. After his brief major league career, he did not return to the big leagues. He passed away on November 17, 2024, in Everett, Washington.