The Morning Report 12.7.2015 | Jon Niese on the Trade Block, Mets Focusing In on RP Market, Flores Pulled from Winter Leagues, Hot Stove Heating Up

Brian Devine | Metsmerized Online- While the Mets have no intention of trading any of their top pitchers this offseason, one starter they’ll consider dealing is Jon Niese if something interesting were to materialize.“We haven’t been actively shopping Niese, but other than the four guys, we’re going to be looking for ways to improve the team,” Assistant GM Ricco said. “If there’s a deal that involves him and makes us better, I think we would definitely consider it.” 

(Chris Soto: Jon Niese has been a solid cog in the Mets rotation for a few years now and he's on a team friendly contract, but the fact is, that with these young arms that are here now, he's the 5th best SP on the roster. That doesn't hold much value to the team which makes him very tradeable. He could certainly be a solid #4 guy in another team's rotation that is looking for a left handed SP.)



Adam Rubin | ESPN New York- The reported signings of relievers Darren O’Day and Ryan Madson have little bearing on the New York Mets' winter bullpen activity, assistant GM John Ricco said Sunday. “We didn’t see ourselves playing in that top end where O’Day was, But, I think that next tier, we’re going to be keeping an eye on. We’re going to meet with a lot of the representatives for the relievers here over the next couple of days. If they start to go away, that could affect us.”

(Chris Soto: It is never wise to lock up a chunk of your annual payroll in the bullpen. Guys performance can vary far too greatly from year to year. The O'Days and Millers of the world.....sure they are consistently solid pieces....but they are just 1 man. An effective bullpen has 3-4 guys that you can heavily lean on to perform admirable week in and week out. $12M per season is better spent across 4 above average RP than it is across 1 GREAT RP and 3 average to below average league minimum guys.)


Maria Guardado | NJ Advance Media-  Mets infielder Wilmer Flores will likely miss the rest of winter ball after suffering an ankle injury on a hit by pitch. Assistant general manager John Ricco said Sunday that Flores was diagnosed with a left ankle contusion and will likely refrain from further competition as a precautionary measure. "I think the last thing I saw, he was probably going to shut it down and not risk anything further," Ricco said. "There's a chance we fly him to New York and just have him checked out to make sure completely. Wilmer has, in the past, come and worked out in Florida with Mike Barwis and that group. I expect he'll do that again this January.

(Chris Soto: Quite unfortunate for Flores. He was looking to really get some more work in around the diamond in an effort to show the Mets that no matter where they put him, that his bat should remain in the starting line-up no matter what. Now he is going to be at the mercy of whatever off-season moves the Mets make. Flores can very easily find himself riding the pine for most of April until an injury occurs somewhere.)



HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• While the Mets aren't really dabbling in the SP market,  A ton of names signed over the weekend. 
• RHP Zack Grienke signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for 6yrs/$34.42M per season.
• RHP Jeff Samardzija signed with San Francisco for 5 yrs/$18M per season
• RHP Hisashi Iwakuma signed with Los Angeles for 3 yrs/(unknown $)
• After failing to bring back Grienke, the Dodgers are now in trade talks with the Miami Marlins to possibly acquire RHP Jose Fernandez. Talks are not yet serious as the asking price is said to be ENORMOUS.
• The Mets are rumored to have some "lukewarm" interest in Pittsburgh 2B Neil Walker as a guy who could provide solid value but not cost too much via trade. The 29 yr old 2B hit .269 last season with 16 HR and 71 RBI while posting -2 DRS at 2B.
• The club also continues to have heavy interest in bringing back LHRP Jerry Blevins as their primary LOOGY as well as RHP Bartolo Colon as their swingman. Both players have expressed interest in returning to the Mets as well.

(Chris Soto: Man...the dollars being shelled out to free agent SPs is just ridiculous. Grienke is now the highest paid player in the MLB coming off of 1 GREAT season.....count it....1! Is he a solid SP?.....of course.....but is he the best SP on the planet? Heck no....his FIP was a full run better than his ERA. No SP in the MLB should be making more money than Clayton Kershaw's $30M valuation cause HE is the best SP on the planet right now. That said, good job by the Diamondbacks grabbing a front-line SP. They came into the off-season as a darkhorse to become better and be a solid team in 2016. They already have a Top 5 offense and good young SP developing. They just needed an Ace at the top to lead the young guys to the promise land. Grienke can certainly do that.)