The LTJ Report - Harvey Pitches Again, More Trade Rumors, Mejia to Relief, and How Syndergaard will Light MLB on Fire!

Earlier this week, New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey threw a simple 20 pitch session in Spring Training and experienced no difficulty whatsoever. He is showing good progress after having successful Tommy John surgery and is doing well in rehabbing his throwing mechanics for his return in 2015. Keep in mind the Mets don't want the spotlight to be on his small pitching sessions during Spring Training since he definitely won't be playing anytime soon. I also don't see Harvey coming back this season as the Mets wouldn't want to deal with a nightmare if he gets hurt again and sets him back even further from a full recovery. Expect to see him back in the starting rotation come 2015.

Mets first baseman Ike Davis is still a hot topic these days as his name continues to come up on trade rumors and the fact that even though he’s in Spring Training with the team, he is still not a lock to stay on the team for too long. The latest now is the Baltimore Orioles have a strong interest in bringing in Davis to primarily be their Designated Hitter. According to the New York Post, Davis to become a DH in the American League could actually happen if the Mets pull the trigger on such a deal. While no draft picks would be involved, perhaps the Orioles can intrigue the Mets with some positional/utility players if a deal is reached. There is no denying Davis has a good bat when he’s not in a funk and could be stellar in a DH kind of role with a new team and ballpark. It’ll be interesting to see if a deal can be reached since even though Davis wants to remain a Met, I can imagine he’s probably frustrated with how this entire situation has unfolded throughout the offseason and into Spring Training. I personally think his name is a popular headline for every possible trade proposition you can think of since he knows he is on borrowed time. Expect to see Davis traded before Opening Day.

Reports are surfacing that the Seattle Mariners have been in talks with the Mets to see if a trade could be made between some extra players on both sides that the other side needs. At the moment, the Mariners are interested in trading shortstop Nick Franklin for possibly some of the younger pitching prospects in the Mets minor league system as they have plenty of arms to spare. Franklin would be a nice acquisition for the Mets since last season, he hit.225 with 12 HR’s and 45 RBI’s. He is a good utility baseball player since he has experience as a second baseman and shortstop. I think bringing him in would be a great idea so we don't have to deal with Ruben Tejada and his inconsistency. While Franklin won't exactly have the great impact a guy like Stephen Drew would make, Franklin would be ideal to hold down the starting shortstop position.

The Mets are once again considering converting Jenrry Mejia from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher and quite honestly, I agree with it. Even though Mejia is currently doing his best to win the fifth spot in the Mets starting pitching rotation, manager Terry Collins hasn’t completely ruled out turning him into a bullpen option. It might happen obviously if he doesn’t get that starting spot but I think if he’s fully converted to a relief pitcher, it’ll help him recover from his bone spur surgery he had on his elbow last season. That way he can still contribute to the team in a relief kind of way while also not adding on anymore wear and tear. If Mejia were to adjust just a few of his pitches to help gobble up outs, I think he would thrive in this sort of situation, at least for this season. We’ll see how Spring Training goes for Mejia since I personally predict he's going to win that fifth spot in the Mets starting rotation. If healthy, Mejia will be outstanding this upcoming season.

Starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard has absolutely lived up to his top prospect hype so far in Spring Training. He was showcasing his amazing pitching magic this past Monday in a bullpen session where he was hitting 97+mph fastballs around a crowd of people. People were amazed at his velocity and were said to be incredibly impressed. I know I can’t wait to see him finally get that call up to the majors so we can see the damage he will cause at the major league level. He’s really tall too, coming in at 6’6, I can imagine what opposing batters will think when he has his eyes set on that strike zone!

Luis Tirado Jr. has been a Sportswriter for over 14 years. He is the founder of TheNYExpress.com and writes for RantSports.com, Mack's Mets, and GiantsGab.com. Please follow him on Twitter @LTJ81, "Like" his page on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.