3-2-13 – Upton Trade, Eric Goeddel, Rafael Montero

P Tim Byrdak returned to camp.

Andy Martino ‏@MartinoNYDN

RT @NYDNHarper: Mets' person told me they re-signed Quintanilla in Jan. because were worried about SS if traded Tejada in deal for Upton. One problem in Mets' pursuit of Upton was that they could offer Murphy/Tejada, but didn't have a player of OF Martin Prado's caliber. Why is this interesting? Because it tells you what we didn't know before, that Alderson willing to move Murphy and Tejada for OF.

This was an interesting series of tweets I picked up on Twitter the other night. I assume Mr. Martino is turning this into an article in the Daily News, which might be out by the time you read this here.

                        So much happens in baseball that never happens.

The last thing you want is for one of your key players to find out that then were expendable. This is the part I always hated about being a Mets writer. Exactly where do you cross the line when it comes to privacy? Technically, I was a “beat reporter” in Savannah for three years. Not the biggest beat, but it was a newspaper (Bluffton Today) for a large newspaper chain (Morris Communication).

Was it my job to write that a certain Mets pitcher was fucked around so bad by the Mets doctors that it cost him his career? Wasn’t it first the player’s responsibility to expose that? Yes, he shared the information with me but I could still “fill a page” without this crap

Does it make for good reading? Sure it does, but did Murphy and Tejada have to read this on Twitter yesterday?

                        Feel free to go ask Martino.

Eric Goeddel –

“Word of advice: don't try to catch a baseball with your face. Broke two bones but don't need surgery. Should be fine, just gotta wait for the swelling to go down.”

Rafael Montero

Montero, who has a first-grade education, had played recreationally growing up in Higuerito, but never in a structured format. He was aware of the uphill climb. It fueled him to work harder. Every morning he would wake up at 6:30 to train with his brother. When the brother went to work at a hardware store, Montero would go to the local park to train some more.  He arrived in Santo Domingo with a fastball that topped out at 89 miles per hour. By the time he was 20 years old, it was at 94. When the Mets discovered Montero, they found a finished product, a rare talent that had slipped through the cracks. Bidding was minimal and they signed him on Jan. 20, 2011, for $90,000.

Rafael Montero seems to be this year’s rave pitcher. No one expected him to be showcased in spring training this early and everyone, including me, had him returning to Binghamton for the beginning of the season. Now, you have to wonder about that and is there a chance he could join Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia in the Buffalo rotation. He’s obviously old enough to pitch there and, after reading what he has gone through in life, I think he’d have no trouble handling it.