Adam Rubin | ESPN New York- If the surging New York Mets have one major vulnerability, it is in the bullpen leading into Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia. And it is particularly related to left-handed relief. With Jerry Blevins having refractured his left forearm in a fall, the Amazin's have become dependent upon recently acquired Eric O'Flaherty to retire lefty batters. After getting charged with three runs in the eighth inning of the Mets' 9-4 win on Wednesday, lefty batters are now hitting .474 (9-for-19) against O'Flaherty as a Met. “We’ve got to get that shored up,” Collins said. “No question about it."
(Chris Soto: O'Flaherty has been terrible since coming over to Queens and is quite frankly doing more harm then good right now. With the team only 4 days away from expanded rosters, they will likely take advantage of the opportunity and call Dario Alvarez back up. We could also see the potential addition of Josh Smoker to the 40 man roster and then see him subsequently called up as well.)
(Chris Soto: Wait...when did Eric Young Jr end up back on the Mets? He could be quite the valuable weapon down the stretch as a pure pinch runner in the late innings. Of course adding him would require a 40 man roster move as well. For the first time in a while it doesn't seem that the club is going to calling guys up for showcases, rather, they are going to call up useful pieces that can improve the team's chances of winning games.)
Mike Puma | New York Post- Jose Reyes told the Denver Post he would welcome a trade from the last-place Rockies. “I’m at the point in my career that I want to win,” Reyes said. “I say it over and over. I want to win. I don’t want to spend the rest of my career on a last-place team. That’s not the kind of player I feel like I am. “We’ll see what happens here. But in the next couple years, I don’t want to waste my time like that.” Reyes is still owed more than $56 million through 2017.
(Chris Soto: No...No....A thousand times....No. Why are some so adamant about bringing Jose Reyes back? He's not even 75% of the player he used to be when he was originally a Met. Yea he's still hitting .278 on the season, but the speed is greatly diminished [Only 20 steals in 2015], he's horrid defensively [-10 Defensive Runs Saved in 2015], and his power is slowly disappearing [6 HR's vs 15 per year as a Met]. That's not even taking into account that he hasn't had a fully healthy season since 2012.)
Promote Gee, EY, and Smoker? Where do we get three 40-man slots from?
ReplyDeleteBy next year, Flores will beat Reyes in a foot race. Embrace Wilmer. He will hit .280, 25, 90 next year. Or better.
ReplyDeleteEY JR: steal us some bases, buddy. Terry, Conforto plays, not EY.
Dario is better than O'Flaherty. Work Dario in. Heck, call up Alex Torres. He's done fine in AAA since his demotion. 5 innings, 4 hits 1 walk six Ks. Do it quick before we find ourselves saying, OH NO...FLAHERTY.
* O'Flaherty has to go. It's obvious.
ReplyDelete* I don't think Jose Reyes has a prayer of landing back with the Mets. In fact, he's my counter selling point in any conversations with Cespedes. Yes, maybe he can get more elsewhere, but all the pieces are in place in NYC. Sign here, for huge money. Or go for the most money, like Jose. But you'll never find a better situation than NYC with this team.
QUESTION:
* Doesn't a player have to be on the 25-man roster by the end of August in order to be eligible for a place on the post-season roster. Exceptions are that he's currently on the DL (say, Duda) or is a replacement for an injured player. If I'm right about that, don't the Mets need to act now if they are intent on adding a LOOGY?
* Other thought: Is Steven Matz the bullpen guy in the postseason? And if so, don't they need to train him in that role during the last few weeks of the year (if possible)? I think he solves any need for a LOOGY, especially alongside Clippard, who also slays left-handed hitters. The Matz issue will be interesting to watch.
James Preller
It isn't hard to find 40 man spots:
ReplyDelete- Monell
- Mu no
For starters with O'Flaherty not far behind
Perhaps we've become a little too spoiled by all the great starting pitching this year. Our studs are now pitching more into the 6th instead of the 8th and recent clunkers have caused all kinds of use out of gilmartin and robles, while also burning out the two top guys on back end.
ReplyDeleteBuf have no fear Sept 1 is almost here.
Would be nice especially when Mets go nuts with 10+ runs in a game to pitch a completely different guy and rest everyone
James -
ReplyDeleteRe: QUESTION:
* Doesn't a player have to be on the 25-man roster by the end of August in order to be eligible for a place on the post-season roster. Exceptions are that he's currently on the DL (say, Duda) or is a replacement for an injured player. If I'm right about that, don't the Mets need to act now if they are intent on adding a LOOGY?
Correctomundo....
No, I thought it was you have to be on the 40 man roster by the August 31st to be eligible for the playoffs?
DeleteAlso, yes, Christopher, you hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't about showcases, so fans need to rethink any old notions about September call-ups.
This season it is strictly for guys who can seamlessly fit into the clubhouse and contribute in some meaningful way, even if it's only a small-but-clearly-defined role.
Kirkkkkk makes sense & given all these years, deserves to hang around. EY, absolutely. And they could use a couple of fresh arms in the pen. Plawecki so d'Arnaud can PH on his rest days, and possibly rest a little more often if the race allows it.
No need for Herrera or anyone else that I can think of. The entire calculus has changed.
James Preller
I agree with Lew. No worries with the 40-man roster, easy to lop off a few names without regret.
ReplyDeleteJames Preller
Good morning gents -
ReplyDeleteO'Flaherty, like Parnell, has clearly struggled for an extended period of time post-TJ. He should be used for no more than one LH batter, if at all. Remembering him in his Brave days, he was nasty. Ironically, there is a chance that he regains more bite on his pitches down the road, and he can be the perfect non-roster invitee for 2016 camp, but now is not the time to work out kinks.
Regarding Jose, it is clear he is diminished. I tend to think that motivation is still an issue, and there is a good chance he would play better returning to his favorite team. However, his money makes that impossible. I don't blame him for taking the most money, but some of these back-loaded deals should be lessons to guys that also want to win. They can really hurt the quality of life at the end of a career, without no-trade or 10/5 protection. Now, a guy that has been blessed with his talents and earned more than $150 million doesn't deserve too much sympathy, but he should be an example to others. He could wind up on the Dodgers or Yankees, perhaps as a 2B, if the Rockies will eat most of that $$$.
I wouldn't make room for Gee on the roster, he stunk it up all year. Just because he had on 1 good outing recently doesn't mean he can relieve, I would rather give it to Smoker.
ReplyDeleteFee is only an emergency option - he has been passed by Verrett
ReplyDeleteJames is spot on with Cespedes. An opportunity to be part of a dynasty. Sign with the Mets, man. Or end up like Jose.
ReplyDeleteI'd bring up Herrera, even if he hardly plays. If you get into a 20 inning game, for instance, why run out of resources? Or if a game is a blow out, let him sub a few innings. He also has pop, and might be right for a few pinch hitting spots. He could run for Wright if EY was used already.
Im curious as to why Colon didn't come out for the 8th last night. He just dominated the 7th. Was finally pitching well after months and his entire purpose of being here for two years is to eat innings.
ReplyDeleteDo remember that Las Vegas is leading the El Paso Chihuahuas in the PCL for the divisional lead. That means playoffs for the AAA personnel. I don't think they will strip the roster bare as a courtesy to the few crazy fans who like attending games in the Las Vegas heat.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the minors, Mr. Matz threw 6 innings of one-hit ball, 6 Ks and no walks.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_rosters
ReplyDeleteSeems like if spent 1 day on mets mlb team before Sept 1 can make playoff roster even if not on active roster by september 1.. this would include gee and torres but not alvares or black
Reese, assuming Bingo is in playoffs, and you can't mess with their roster, they can raid St Lucie for a few players, like they did when they called up Lawley in 2013 from St Lucie for AAA playoffs. Let's see what a few of those Lucie relievers (say Regnault and Secrest) can do in Vegas. Colton Plaia to replace a catcher. McNeil to replace Herrera.
ReplyDeleteI think they'd do OK.
There's no doubt that Eric O has stunk up the joint, but it's much too early to overreact. Lots of players before him have started off badly, then adjusted, and probably just as many have had hot starts and disappeared afterwards.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the reason was that Sandy got him probably still exists. Just as Terry said "if you hit you play", the same applies to pitching. For now, he should only appear in mop-ups, like yesterday. If he improves, he stays. If not, he's history.
As to the 40, yes, we can move Monell and Muno (and Eric), but we also will need spots by early December so we can add players who need to be protected from the Rule 5.
But let's worry about the present for now, and the future later.
O'Flaherty has been bad all season. When he arrived with the Mets, RH hitters were already hitting above .400 against him.
ReplyDeleteJames Preller
Before a possible release the Mets should at least consider trying to use O'Flaherty in his actual role. Have him pitch to ONE lefty hitter in a game. Not against switch hitters. Not to start an inning against a righty because the next two guys are lefties.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem appears to be that ever since he got here the Mets have found themselves in numerous games where they need multiple innings from the bullpen. So they simply can't waste an arm on one batter regardless of how terrible the splits are.
Last night Collins could have.
DeleteHe decided to pitch O'Flaherty more and to start him against the righty.
We do not see Avarez pitch, but in his last 24.1 IP, 7 hits allowed. My guess is his splits vs. both Lefties and Righties are passable:)
ReplyDeleteI think the issue is the concept of the LOOGY itself. Having a "one-out guy" in a 6-0 game is pointless and wasteful of a roster spot.
ReplyDeleteUsing O'Flaherty for one batter last night would have been absurd.
He's a guy with an incredibly specialized, limited skill . . . and still gets questionable results.
Give me a Goeddel, a Verrett, a Matz and they can get it to the 8th or 9th. In addition, Clippard has great splits against LHP, and Mets also have Gilmartin.
Keeping O'Flaherty puts a hardship on the rest of the pen.
James Preller
I think I'd offer Cespedes 2 years at whatever the market would be--$20 million per, I'm guessing, or a bit more. I think that's best for him and for us. If it doesn't work out, he'll still be young enough to make buck in free agency after two years. And we do have some prospects on the way. Throw in lots of incentive crap (extra dough for making the All-Star team, or whatever).
ReplyDeleteStill, he's a Boras client so I don't see him signing with us before the deadline, unless we offer stupid money, A-Rod money. I don't see us doing that and nor would I really want to. I call it "stupid money" for a reason. Bobby Bonilla and Jason Bay, anyone? So that leaves us trolling the Winter Meetings for a free agent bat or a decent trade for an established one.
For the moment, I'm just enjoying the ride.