The Morning Report – December 5 – Matt Reynolds, Brooklyn Cyclones, Dilson Herrera, Lucas Duda, Eric Young Jr.

Mack’s Mets writer Ernest Dove has been named Editor in Chief of Gymunity, Inc.  Please check out the websites at www.gymunity.com  and www.unitybymacdecker.com .

Toronto signs ex-Mets Ezequiel Carrera to a minor league contract with an invite to Big Boy camp. I’ve written in the past that I thought Carrera would have made a good 2015 5^th outfield option. He hit .261 (69-AB) for the Tigers last year and .307 (6-HR, 41-RBI) for their AAA affiliate.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal  - Sources: Chad MacDonald expected to join #Braves’ scouting department. Previously was #Padres’ assistant GM in charge of amateur scouting. MacDonald was Mets scout that convinced Sandy Alderson to draft Brandon Nimmo, and he then quit a few days later to take the San Diego job

Richard Justice on Matt Reynolds [i]-

            Here's a name to remember: Matt Reynolds.

Reynolds is a 24-year-old shortstop and former second-round pick out of the University of Arkansas coming off a season in which he split time between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas. He had success at both, compiling an overall .859 OPS.

As the Mets have checked out the inventory of available shortstops, they keep coming back to Reynolds. Is he ready?

Mack – Another beat reporter jumps on the Thomas Brennan bandwagon. 

What’s that, three now?

Bob Freitas Award Short-Season Winner: Brooklyn Cyclones[ii]

Fans stood in the July heat waiting for their Keith Hernandez “magic loogie” bobblehead. MCU Park was renamed Vandelay Industries Park, the Cyclones took batting practice in pirate puffy shirts, a fan reeled in a slice of marble rye bread with a fishing rod from the suite level and a guy named George Costanza drove down from Rhode Island to throw out the first pitch. Once inside the cozy park right off the beach, fans were “entertained” by an Elaine Benes dance contest.

For Cohen and his staff, the Seinfeld promotion was just the latest in a long list of wacky promotions. A few seasons ago the team changed its name to the “Baracklyn Cyclones” for one game in honor of the president, wi th fans receiving an Obama bobblehead. And then there was the “Salute to Pregnancy,” otherwise known as “bellies and baseball” by a front office staff member. The night included a “seventh-inning stretch mark.”

Robert Emrich on Dilson Herrera[iii] –

Dilson Herrera, St. Lucie (67 games), Binghamton (61 games), New York (18 games): After spending all of 2013 at the Class A level -- most of which was in the Pittsburgh organization -- Herrera went from the Florida State League to the Major Leagues in just four months. Along the way Herrera was third in the organization with a .323 batting average and fifth with 71 RBIs. It appeared that the jump to Double-A at the age of 20 didn't faze him either, as Herrera compiled a .967 OPS in 241 at-bats with Binghamton, more than 200 points higher than his OPS with St. Lucie. "I'd say he exceeded our expectations," he said. "We were excited about him when we traded for him the year before -- thought he had a good chance to go to Double-A at some point during the course of 2014, but I don't think any of us imagined he'd be as productive as he was when he got to Double-A and then be able to make the jump all the way to the big leagues. It was a huge year for him and he had a great, great year. We have very high hopes for him."

Anthony DiComo on Lucas Duda[iv] –

           He is still a quiet person, moving about Japan with a beanie slung low over his mop of light brown hair. When a picture of Duda grinning ear to ear next to a Japanese geisha hit Twitter, Vic Black joked that he could hardly believe his teammate's smile. Wright received the photo in an email and simply laughed; he, like Daniel Murphy, is one of Duda's better friends on the team, which tends to mean quiet dinners on the road vs. boisterous nights out.

Teammates marvel at Duda's wry sense of humor, even if for the most part he keeps quiet. In Japan, on the nights when his father watched batting practice from the field, Duda would greet him with a quick hug, maybe a fist bump. Then he would move on his way, back into an All-Star clubhouse increasingly suited to him.

Eno Sarris on Eric Young Jr.[v] –

           Eric Young - The speedy Mets outfielder was actually worth a win last year, despite his obvious flaws. Only his left-field defense and speed were above-average skills for him, and that probably wasn’t going to be worth almost the almost three million dollars he was due this year in arbitration. Well, maybe that’s too harsh — Young is projected to be worth about a half win by Steamer this year, and that’s maybe worth three million. So this is probably just a case where the fit wasn’t right. Since Michael Cuddyer is only getting $6.5 million from the Mets this year, they got back half his salary by letting Young go. The Angels currently have the right-handed Collin Cowgill in the fourth outfielder role. It might make sense for them to get a switch-hitter there instead. The Tigers may want a cheap guy to platoon with Rajai Davis in left. The Blue Jays could maybe use an outfielder. He’ll probably get signed, and should probably get signed.

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[i] http://m.mets.mlb.com/news/article/103063240/richard-justice-shortstop-upgrade-could-put-mets-over-the-top

[ii] http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/bob-freitas-award-short-season-winner-brooklyn-cyclones/

[iii] http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20141204&content_id=101833982&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb

[iv] http://m.mets.mlb.com/news/article/102967716/rising-in-fame-lucas-dudas-quiet-manner-the-same

[v] http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/which-non-tenders-are-most-attractive/