CUTNPASTE: - Ch-Ch-Ch Changes, Rod Baraja, Francouer for Arias, Henry Blanco... and Matt Harvey

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes:



link  - And that was the point of the changes. The Mets aren’t a contender, so they shipped Francoeur to the Rangers, where Texas hopes he can be a spare part and help their run. The Mets moved a step toward the future by promoting Jenrry Mejia, who will be here in Atlanta today and will almost certainly start Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Also coming is Lucas Duda, who had a breakout power year, belting 23 homers in the minors this year including 17 in 70 games for Class AAA Buffalo. The Mets may not say it out loud, but they took a step toward the future. It may not be pretty there, but it’s coming

Rod Barajas:


link  - Rod Barajas was in the starting lineup for the Dodgers again Tuesday, and why not? The catcher absolutely kills the Phillies. Since he departed Philadelphia after the 2007 season, Barajas is hitting .514 (18 for 35) with eight home runs and 19 RBIs in 11 games against the Phils. That’s a 1.314 slugging percentage. His eighth bomb came off Roy Halladay on Monday night. “I knew he had some,” Manuel said. “I didn’t know he had that many.” Barajas has 34 home runs in 297 games against everyone else. He has cemented his status as Phillie killer

Francouer for Arias:


link -  - The Texas Rangers traded Joaquin Arias to the Mets for Jeff Francoeur. I love this reaction to the trade: It doesn’t seem like a good trade on its face. Do the Mets really need another middling utility infielder? Yes, the Mets have too many outfielders at the moment, but couldn’t the Mets get a better player for Francoeur? Now that I’m off the floor and the laughter has subsided, I’ll point out that Arias is a replacement player, with a -0.2 WAR this season according to FanGraphs. So is Francoeur, with a WAR of 0.0. So no, the Mets could not get a better player for Jeff.

Henry Blanco:


link  ~ 2010 salary $.75M: He signed a one year deal in the offseason and it doesn't look like the Mets will bring him back. Josh Thole will be the starting catcher in 2011 and the back-up catcher will either me Omir Santos or some other free agent.

Matt Harvey:

 link  - Top Pick: Matt Harvey - RHP - UNC. 1st - 7 Overall. $2,525,000. Harvey had top 10 talent coming out of a Connecticut H.S. in 2007, but his high bonus demands, Boras Corp advisor and UNC commitment caused him to slide to the 3rd round (Angles). He didn't sign and went to Chapel Hill where he was strong as a freshman, ultimately working his way to the back end of the weekend rotation on a team that advanced to Omaha. Harvey struggled in his sophomore year to the point that he was no longer considered a consensus 1st rounder but he regained his dominance in 2010. However, I wouldn't have picked him in front of other college pitchers (Deck McGuire - 11th - TOR, Chris Sale - 13th - CHW).