6/15/15

The Morning Report 6.15.2015 | Surprising Roster Moves, Syndergaard to the Bullpen?, d'Arnaud's Impact Return, Ceciliani Earning His Spot.



Roster Move Surprises Chris Soto 

     Alright, first thing's first, the Mets surprised the whole world this weekend with a flurry of transactions  no one saw coming. First, the team decided to hold onto Kevin Plawecki and optioned Anthony Recker down to AAA. The team gave off the impression that this would be temporary, for at least the next 10 days, as the club continues to ease Travis d'Arnaud back into the 5-6 day a week catching role. Once he's settled we will likely see Recker and Plawecki switched to get Plawecki more consistent playing time. 

     Second, the Mets announced that they will be promoting RHRP Akeel Morris to the MLB straight from Port St. Lucie. While Morris certainly deserves a look at the MLB level, this promotion was more out of necessity than actual desire. With Gee's stinker last night burning 5 guys last night and the next off day still 7 days away, the club needs some additional support in the pen. A quick look at the 40 man roster will show that the Mets only have 3 RP left in the minors eligible for promotion (Vic Black, Dario Alvarez, and Morris). Black is dealing with an new injury he sustained last week and Alvarez is both left handed AND has not been good down in Binghamton. That said, Akeel Morris has been SUPERB down in A+ ball and could potentially hold his own. Now the really important thing is....who gets demoted? Gee?


Mike Puma | New York Post- The fragile state of the bullpen has the Mets concerned to the point there was recent discussion within the organization about Noah Syndergaard’s viability as a reliever.
But team brass remains committed to Syndergaard in the rotation and is unlikely to make the radical switch that would have involved promoting stud lefty Steven Matz to take Syndergaard’s rotation spot, according to an industry source.

(Chris Soto: What? No No No NO NO! How could anyone in the organization even think of this as a possibility? You ruined Jhenrry Mejia once, then you dicked around with Rafael Montero and look what happened to him! Whatever low level executive thought of this idea should be fired on the spot by Sandy Alderson for his incredulous thinking. Parnell is back now and is slowly being eased back in, the club just promoted Morris, and [even though he's dealing with another minor issue] Black should also be right around the corner.)


Bill Madden | NY Daily News- Amid all the trade speculation involving Milwaukee third baseman Aramis Ramirez and, to a lesser extent, Oakland’s soon-to-be-available handyman Ben Zobrist, the best “trade” Alderson made of late was a week ago when he activated Travis d’Arnaud from the disabled list. It is becoming more and more apparent the Mets are a different team when d’Arnaud, the center piece of Alderson’s Met rebuilding job, is in the lineup. As Mets manager Terry Collins said, just having d’Arnaud back and hitting cleanup behind Duda enables him to stretch out his lineup.

(Chris Soto: Man...having Travis d'Arnaud back just completely changes the whole look of this team's offense. Your talking about a guy with  .280 AVG, 15-20 HR power potential guy just suddenly reappearing in your line-up everyday, any team would kill to have that happen to them. When Daniel Murphy gets back, All of a sudden,  the line-up looks formidable again. Especially when you recognize the fact that the MLB average stat line right now is a .252 AVG with a .708 OPS. Everyone is close to or above that line outside of Lagares and the hodge-posh of guys who have been playing 3B. Lagares had been dealing with an injury so I'll give him a pass there and the front office is actively trying to upgrade at 3B with Wright out.

Granderson: .249 AVG, .350 OBP, .745 OPS
d'Arnaud:  .310 AVG, .901 OPS
Duda: .278 AVG, .876 OPS
Cuddyer: .268 AVG, .725 OPS
Murphy: .283 AVG, .749 OPS
Flores: ..249 AVG, .716 OPS
Lagares: .278 AVG, .674 OPS
Tejada: .268 AVG, .727 OPS


James Newman | Mets 360- Last season, it seemed that the Mets had plenty of depth for the outfield, as Matt den Dekker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis were given chances to play in the majors, but struggled to take advantage. Ceciliani [on the other hand] has the chance to be a special player for the Mets, even if it is off the bench. Hopefully he continues to improve and experience success when he is given the opportunity.

(Chris Soto: Ceciliani has been a god send for the bench since he was called up. Since his call up he is hitting .270 AVG with a .730 OPS, 1 HR, 3 SB, and a +4 Defensive Runs Saved Metric. This is EXACTLY what the Mets need from the classified "4th OF" bench guy. Someone who can provided both speed and defensive value off the bench as well as handle himself well when needed for a spot start.)

25 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Akeel got here so fast we should call him Mercury Morris.

Ceciliani stole a ton of bases in the minors and is a good hitter with good size. Hopefully he continue the great play.

Recker and Monell now on equal footing in AAA. Plawecki may stay all year - stranger things have happened - but if Recker struggles in AAA and Monell keeps hitting .370+, who would you recall in a few weeks If Plawecki is sent down?

Tom Brennan said...

With Matz on the doorstep and Morris here, even if briefly, Gee likely to be dumped in a minor trade IMO.

Christopher Soto said...

@Tom

I'm still in the camp that says to just option his butt to AAA to maintain SP depth then once the season is over non tender him.

At this point I doubt we can get anything in return for him.

eraff said...

d'Arnaud and Herrerra ----- that's a nice upgrade 8-10 ab's per game!!!

Mack Ade said...

Chris -

Morning.

I have a long day today with the grand kids that include that dinosaur movie. I also have my own thoughts coming up at 10am.

I like your idea on Gee better than mine (DFA him). Send him to AAA and keep him there for emergency rotation duty. Frankly, I'd like him out of the clubhouse right now.

Mack Ade said...

eraff -

especially considering the 'bottom of the lineup' automatic outs we had in there

Tom Brennan said...

Probably right on Gee, Chris. was not clear he had options left. If Recker can work out his hitting in minors, why not Gee and his pitching. Time for Matz to get up here, and Gee is one more obstacle.

Zozo said...

I don't think Gee has options left. They would have to DfA him and if no one takes him he can then be sent down, I believe.

Ernest Dove said...

From what I understand Gee does have options left because he still hasn't hit 5yrs service time yet.

Unknown said...

Gee's poor performance yesterday was 95% attitude and 5% his pitching ability. One way or the other he has to go. I prefer for him to go to AAA. Next would be to trade him but you would get very little for him now. I would trade him to Minnesota just for the right to Gilmartin. If they can't do any of those. Have his bags packed for him when he arrive and tell him he's a free agent.

Next is Neise. Matz is likely the Mets 3rd best starter at this point. I don't want to see them mess with Syndergaard. They need Matz up now if they are serious about contending. You can't have your 3rd starter wasting innings in AAA.

They need to stretch out Gilmartin and use him as the emergency starter. Once Blevins comes back. Another option is to use Mejia as an emergency starter once he is back. I don't want to give Mejia any type of regular role anyway. He isn't going to be available for the playoffs.

Mack Ade said...

Richard -

I just don't see Gee being part of the clubhouse atmosphere that is going to be needed to keep this team going with less than a full tank

Mack Ade said...

Richard -

Right now, the Mets do not have that dominant second reliever that can pitch the 8th ahead of Familia in tight games they are leading.

In my book, that would be Mejia and I really don't care right now that he can't pitch in the playoffs. Let him redeem himself by helping the team get there.

Unknown said...

Any updates on Montero
His status would also come into play for moves concerning Neise and Gee.

Also Meija is just a little over 2 weeks from being back. Is he aloud to make rehab appearances before then?

bgreg98180 said...

Please, lets not start putting Mejia back on the starter-reliever yo-yo again.

Let his performance and attitude when he comes back determine his place in the bullpen.

Christopher Soto said...

@Zozo

Dillon Gee has all 3 of his option years remaining and has not reach 5 years of MLB service time yet. So per MLB rules he CAN be optioned to AAA and CANNOT refuse the assignment.

@Richard Jones

Mejia has already begun pitching in Extended Spring Training Games. As soon as the 80th game has passed on his suspension, he will be ready to rock and roll.

Christopher Soto said...

Jhenrry Mejia's official reinstatement should occur on July 3rd when the Mets go to Los Angeles.

Tom Brennan said...

If Mejia is healthy,and My guess is he is, he can and should be the 8th inning guy. Black and Parnell are David Wright on a pitchers' mound. Even if they get back to a high level, will they stay healthy? Kiss and make up with Mejia, unless he is a piece in a blockbuster trade. Lot of teams might want a closer like him.

Unknown said...

I would be against putting Mejia in the 8th inning role. From what I understand he is not eligible for the playoffs. I would not want to have players switching roles when the playoffs begin. I see Mejia as a spare part. Maybe the rest of 2015 in AAA. If a starter goes down then he is the emergency starter. If our closer goes down for a short time then he can close.
He screwed the Mets and their fans. Saturdays game would have been a win. Familia's going on leave wouldn't be the major issue it will be.
He doesn't deserve any role and giving him any consistent role will hurt the Mets in the playoffs.

Christopher Soto said...

@Richard Jones

You need to get to the playoffs first, in order to worry about the bullpen configuration in the playoffs.

Mejia has proven to be a valuable piece in late inning high leverage situations.

I'm not sure why you WOULDN't want to leverage his abilities to help the club win games.

Your opinion is emotionally short sighted.

bgreg98180 said...

Richard

So, you would rather punish Mejia and send him to the minors than place your best major league players on the major league roster?

The kid is young. He made a selfish mistake. Give him the chance to prove that he has learned. Give him a chance to prove just what his career as a major league baseball player means to himself.

Unknown said...

Bob-

It is not as a punishment but I also would not be bending over backwards to fit him into a role.
I would use him at the MLB level to fill in for players on leave or with short term injuries. Maybe even as the 6th starter if trades or injuries happen. I would not make him the 8th inning guy not to hurt him or to punish but to keep from hurting the Mets. If I'm wrong and he can play in the playoff then I'm fine with him being the 8th inning guy.
I do not want to go into the playoffs and give the 8th inning to someone who is not use to that role.

bgreg98180 said...

Richard

ok, I guess I misread what you wrote. Sorry.

Still though, relax, don't worry about the playoffs yet. Plenty of things can happen.
The 8th inning may be in the form of Black or Parnell later in the season.
Or others. Or combinations.

Tom Brennan said...

Jerry will want to reestablish himself. I really liked him before his bonehead move. He had swagger and looked fearless. A month ago, I felt like exiling him.

But Black and Parnell are high health risks. If Jennry is healthy, he makes them a tougher pen. Perhaps one of the best.

If, before the end of July, Parnell, Black and Mejia are all pitching well, we can trade from valuable surplus. And get alot back.

My guess with Gee is he knows if he pitches poorly, he'll be gone quickly and start elsewhere. Bad form, move him out fast.

Unknown said...

"Your opinion is emotionally short sighted."

Chris- both parts of that quote are false. I'm may be wrong on this issue as a whole. A valid point about needing to get to the playoffs before worrying about what to do once you're there. If anything I'm too long sighted. Also I'm almost all left-brained. A math teacher with very little emotions. I have been wrong more than my share but not because of emotions.
Still think Mejia can help as a spare part and he doesn't have to mess with established roles. I can be wrong but that is the position I take.

I hope Gee to AAA is the move to make room for Morris.

Anonymous said...

Tejada has a higher OPS than Lagares, Flores AND Cuddyer? WOW!