Jorge Rivero, Travis d’Arnaud, Matt Cerrone, Shaun Marcum

There really wasn’t that much good that came out of the 2012 Kingsport Mets season. They finished the season 23-43, hit only .236, and had the highest ERA (5.31) in the league. That being said, their one highlight film was Jorge Rivero, another of the many talented shortstops in the system. The 23-year old came out of Cuba and hit .292 in 2011 for the DSL-Mets. Rivero finished the season in Brooklyn where he is projected to play in 2013. Both age and talent depth within the system will most probably turn Rivero into a AAAA player. Still, the Mets seem to feel you can’t have enough talent at shortstop. Wilfredo Tovar, TJ Rivera, Phillip Evans, Gavin Cecchini, Leon Canelon, and now Ahmed Rosario. Who knows, maybe June brings Oscar Mercado?

From BNS

8. Travis d’Arnaud, New York Mets - The top catching prospect in baseball, d’Arnaud has now been traded twice for aces. First, he was shipped from Philadelphia to Toronto in the Roy Halladay deal, and this offseason he was packaged to the New York Mets for R.A. Dickey. The 23-year-old d’Arnaud boasts the rare combination of a catcher who is exceptional behind the plate (with his arm, agility and athleticism) and a run producer at the plate. In 2012, he hit .279/.380/.595/.975 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI in 279 at-bats at Triple-A Las Vegas. His season was shortened by a knee injury, but he is expected to be fully recovered in time for spring training.

From Matt Cerrone re: Hairston:

6:15 am: According to people familiar with the situation, Hairston was asking for two years and $8 million guaranteed. The Mets were offering a one-year deal worth up to $3 million. The Cubs offered the same, but added a second year. So, good for him.  Hairston always wanted to lock in the most money, even if it meant being a platoon player. If no one offered a two-year deal, people say he would have accepted just a one-year contract, but the choice would have been based on playing time not money. The Mets, Braves and Yankees were said to be offering him one-year deals. Now, the Mets are telling people this situation was more about playing time than money, which may have been true at one point. However, the Cubs eventually jumped and guaranteed a second year, which Hairston accepted, despite knowing he’ll get less at bats. So, it pretty much seems this ended up being ALL about money, from what I can tell. If the Mets (like the Braves and Yankees) just didn’t think Hairston was worth committing to for two years, that’s fine. They weren’t alone in that thinking. But, to pretend it wasn’t about him taking the most cash (which is totally understandable) just doesn’t seem accurate anymore. In other words, if the Mets really wanted Hairston, they could have had him by offering what the Cubs offered. They didn’t, because they obviously didn’t want him that bad… which is surprising, given their outfield.

On the surface, it seems to me that the wait on Shaun Marcum was worth the wait. In the past three seasons, with Milwaukee and Toronto, he went 33-19 in 85 starts without posting an ERA above 4. Marcum is known as a finesse pitcher with a go-to change-up, which supports stats of 332-Ks in 520-IP. It’s just a one year deal which is perfect. What will be interesting is which slot he goes into, SP4 or SP5. Let’s assume that Zack Wheeler joins the rotation in July and no one is hurt. Who steps down?  Good problems.