Andrew Gould | Amazin Avenue- The Mets have named Dick Scott their new bench coach. He takes the place of Bob Geren, who had been in the position until he recently accepted the same one with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although this marks his first role in an MLB team's coaching staff, Scott has spent decades around the game. Among other past positions, Scott was a minor league manager for the Athletics and Diamondbacks. With the Mets, he previously worked behind the scenes as the Mets' director of player development, a position he had held since 2013.
(Chris Soto: Very interesting choice here as I thought for sure that 3B coach Tim Teufel or Binghamton's Manager Pedro Lopez were the primary candidates. Dick Scott is no slouch however as he is very highly regarded within the baseball circles. When times were really bad for the Mets, there was a lot of talk about Scott taking over for Collins. Scott is a true J.P. Riccardi guy as he is heavily into the analytics side of baseball. As good as Geren was at understanding statistical matchups, Scott is viewed as just as good or even better. This is a worthy replacement.)
Michael Baron | Just Mets- On Tuesday, Terry Collins said he would like the Mets to procure a left-handed complement to Juan Lagares in center field, and also some right-handed depth for the roster as well. One of the right-handed bats the Mets are connected to is free agent Ryan Raburn. He hasn’t been a full-time player since 2011, serving mostly in a super-utility role capable of playing in the outfield as well as first base, second base and third base. He has been up and down over the last couple of years but he’s a disciplined hitter who gets on-base and has some pop, although he doesn’t have much speed.
(Chris Soto: Raburn is certainly an interesting target. He is a guy who is very versatile with the ability to play every position except SS, although his IF play is shoddy at best. Offensively, he is a guy who doesn't have significant L/R splits so he could be used in any situation. He does produce more power against Lefties though. His AVG between L/R is only a 14 point difference but his SLG carries a 91 point difference. There could be some lost cost value here.)
HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)
(Chris Soto: Raburn is certainly an interesting target. He is a guy who is very versatile with the ability to play every position except SS, although his IF play is shoddy at best. Offensively, he is a guy who doesn't have significant L/R splits so he could be used in any situation. He does produce more power against Lefties though. His AVG between L/R is only a 14 point difference but his SLG carries a 91 point difference. There could be some lost cost value here.)
HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)
- The Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, and LA Dodgers executed a 3 team trade yesterday that involved star 3B Todd Frazier. Reds will send Frazier to Chicago, the White Sox send SP prospect Frankie Montas, AAA speedster 2B Micah Johnson and OF prospect Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers, and the Dodgers will send speedster 2B prospect Jose Peraza, AA utilityman Brandon Dixon and OF prospect Scott Schebler to the Reds.
- The Washington National are expressing interest in former Mets 2B Daniel Murphy. However, at this point he seems like the back-up option, as the club is also discuissing a potential trade with the Cincinnati Reds for 2B Brandon Phillips. Phillips could be on his way out after the Reds acquired the MLB ready 2B prospect Jose Peraza from the Dodgers.
- The market for top OF'ers Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton seems to be very quiet right now. The Angels are one such team that is in need of corner OF help, but owner Arte Moreno indicated that his club hasn't made any offers to them nor are they even in discussions.
23 comments:
What does our panel of experts think of the Todd Frazier deal? All I know is Joe Frazier gave it 2 thumbs up.
All Quiet on the Yoenis Front. Time for the Mets to launch an offensive.
Scott sounds like a quality choice.
I can't wait for Bartolo Colon Batting Glove Night.
RE: Scott.
1) Who do you think made that hire? Doesn't seem like it was Terry.
2) I was quietly hoping for a Spanish-speaking coach.
3) Word was that Geren made the moves on the bench and TC handled the media and clubhouse. Scott seems like Geren 2.0. I have to smile when I read about someone being good at figuring out statistical matchups. That stuff is simple and obvious. The trick is knowing -- or sensing -- who to integrate those facts with a team of real human beings. Otherwise you become a robot and all you do is make platoons all over the place, ultimately making players more vulnerable, not better. But, sure, yes, by all means know the numbers on Ryan Howard and bring in the LHP. Unless he sucks. Then stick with your RHP. And so it goes.
James Preller
By the time the game starts the statistical match-ups are on cue cards similar to the ones you see along the sidelines of football games.
TC came to the Mets clubhouse after having a similar role in the organization.
As for the Frazier deal, not one we would have (3B) been interested in
Im all for fancy stats to try to gain an advantage if possible but when it leads to guys like Mayberry jr. Starting baseball games because the pitcher is a lefty......................................
Play your best. Win or lose with your best..........sign better players.........
I know nothing about Rayburn but if he hits .300 and accepts his role I say sign/trade for him immediately. ...like yesterday.....
In regards to the Frazier deal.....
I HATED the return the Reds got for him.....quiet frankly the package the White Sox sent to the Dodgers would have been better value for them.
The centerpiece of the deal, Jose Peraza, is a nice prospect but his skill set is primarily in his speed/contact abilities. He's a guy with no power who can hit .270-.280 and doesn't strike out. That said, he doesn't take walks either which limits his OBP to around the .310-.320 range. When he is on base though, he could steal you 40-50 bases a year.
This sounds like a nice guy to have as your SS, but those skills have diminished value as a 2B where the league average offensive production is expected to be higher. This also now gives them 2 speedsters in Peraza and Hamilton but neither can carry the OBP needed to be an effective lead-off guy.
As for the other guys....Brandon Dixon is a AAAA guy, very unlikely he will make an MLB impact. Schebler is an interesting guy though....he has above average power and excelled at the prospect wall known as AA. However when he jumped to the offense happy AAA Pacific Coast League....he disappeared. His OPS dropped from .921 in AA to .731 in AAA. Was he pressing? Maybe.... but his splits indicate that he was really struggling against older more experienced pitchers. If Peraza and Schebler were suppose to be dual centerpieces, there is just too must risk in Schebler for me (if I were a GM) to accept.
I definitely feel like the Reds could have gotten much better for Frazier.
As for the Mets comparable deal, there is none. The organization currently does not have any high contact burners in the middle infield. If you go by comparable ceilings.....
SS Gavin Cecchini
OF Brandon Nimmo
IF Jeff McNeil
The Mets collective braintrust was once again asleep at the international wheel when the Orioles swooped in and signed the Korean outfielder Hyun-Soo Kim for 2 years at $7 million. That's Ryan Raburn money for a 28 year old who last year hit .326 with 28 HRs and 101 walks and 121 RBIs.
I couldn't agree with you more chris. All the guys you mentioned are expendable for us and could of moved wright to first base(which would of probably better for his back). Then we could of tradednDuda for prospects or Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies.
I can't speak to Kim, particularly, but the Mets just spent $11.25 million on Colon and Blevins. A #5 guy and a loogy. Which is fine, I guess, as long as they address the real needs at CF, Bench, and Bullpen.
If money is tight, however, and if they fail to bring in the necessary talent, I'll be concerned.
I think a bench of Plawecki, Flores, Rayburn, Lagares and Kelly Johnson would be solid. This assumes we bring in a CF pushing Lagares to bench and signing Kelly and Rayburn.
Another scenario I've pondered is getting Evan Gattis from Houston. In this scenario, I'd bring in the best defensive catcher possible. d'Arnaud would be my everyday starter and I'd get Gattis 30 games behind the plate a year while also using him at 1B against lefties. My defensive catcher in an ideal situation (no DL for d'Arnaud). Wouldn't start at all. This would allow us to use Gattis off the bench.
There was talk about Houston non-tendering him earlier in the offseason. Moving Gattis would open another spot for Houston to use their plethora of OFs in Gomez, Rasmus, Spring, Tucker and Marisnick everyday. Maybe the deals are Plawecki for Gattis and one of their many high-end prospect (thinking 3B J.D. Davis - .889 OPS in A+ last year).
Bench would become Gattis, Lagares, Flores, Johnson & catcher.
Just a thought.
Kevin S -
One thing... you can never consider the backup catcher as part of 'the bench'. He will never pinch hit because he is needed to stick around in case there is an injury to the catcher that is playing.
James -
I still consider the process early.
I see only two more people needed... the CF you sign will alternate with Lagares thus creating an additional bench player.
The reliever you say could come from someone like Montero.
But, I expect that is two more moves.
Reese -
You forgot to finish the sentence.
... in a league similar to AAA.
That' why I'm bringing in a 3rd catcher so we can use Gattis as we wish. He would simply get 30 games behind the dish plus another bunch of starts at 1B (maybe LF in a pinch). My backup catcher (fake name Joe Glove) doesn't get any ABs or playing time the entire season (if this were a video game).
Essentially we're playing a man short on the bench, which most teams are with a backup catcher anyway.
Hey Zozo:
Nice shout out to Casey Stern yesterday on Sirius XM. You should open up that free dinner for karaoke to Mack for all his hard work. What song would anyone sing for a free dinner?
Mets need a CF, are we really sure that YC can be the everyday guy? I'm still on the Span bandwagon assuming (big assumption) that the medicals check out and it is only a 2 year deal with maybe a vesting option. Give him a Boras special with a 1 year opt out.
Cespedes did just fine in centerfield last year, until he was hurt.
Imagine by John Lennon
Lol yeah that was too funny yesterday with Casey Stern. The next time Maxk is on Long Island he can come I. For a free dinner and he doesn't have to sing Karaoke...
Yeah I believe Cespedes will do fine in center. He did fine up until those 2 miscues in center, one of which might have had been a better chance of Conforto getting too(the inside the park HR). If that ball didn't hit off his knee it would have been a double and he might not have scored. The rest of regular season he actually impressed me with his athleticism and gun of an arm out there.
They play him in Center for a year(if they Grandy next year) or two and then move him to right.
There is no one out there that fits our needs more than Cespy. He is middle of the order right handed bat that can handle playing in NY, and doesn't cost us anything more than $$$$'s. No need to give up a prospect or a draft pick. Span would just be another number 2 hitter which this lineup has plenty of.
You could see it the whole time that Cespedes was here that he wanted to be the alpha dog in CF. There were multiple times where he would call for a ball that was easier for the corner OF to grab. Granderson never seemed to be bothered by it but sometimes you could see Conforto being a little timid not wanting to mess up, possibly leading to him getting sent down. I think he'll be over that next year and will have a voice on a ball he can get.
We've just gotten used to having a rifle in CF with Lagares and Cespedes that it would be a shame to put Span out there and have weak arms in CF & RF.
Bring back Ces!!!!! Give the people what they want.
Kevin - Zozo:
Re: Cespedes
Give the process some time...
Mack--- Will Rogers never met a man he didn't like. Reese never met a Korean, Japanese or Cuban player he wouldn't sign. 🤑
I note that Walker started his MinL career as a catcher. I don't expect (or wish) him to catch a single pitch, but it does mean a Plawecki (or Monell) could ph.
For now, I expect Flores to back up 1B and 3B this season and get his at bats that way.
Plawecki needs to be sent back to AAA to be repackaged either as a full time catcher with a decent stat line, or a 1B there.
We need karaoke night at Citifield. Do it when the Nats come in. I can hear Harper now: "That's a clown song, bro'".
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