Mack – Neil Walker, St. Lucie, Tim Teufel, Frank Viola, Andrew Barbosa

Good morning.

Neil Walker has accepted the one-year qualifying offer from the New York Mets.

          Mack – As I have said in the past, I am very happy about this.

Adam Rubin estimates the current Mets payroll is now $123,915,000.

Starting Rotation - Jacob deGrom $4.225M, Matt Harvey $5.325M, Steven Matz $500K, Noah                                          Syndergaard $500K, Zack Wheeler $1.0M

Bullpen - Jeurys Familia $7.375M, Addison Reed $7.9M, Josh Edgin $725K, Hansel Robles $500K, Josh Smoker $500K, Seth Lugo $500K, Erik Goeddel

Starters - Travis d’Arnaud $1.9M, Lucas Duda $7.315M, Neil Walker $17.2M, David Wright $20M, Asdrubal Cabrera $8.25M, Michael Conforto $500K, Curtis Granderson $15M, Jay Bruce $13M

Bench - Wilmer Flores $2.9M, Rene Rivera $2.3M, Jose Reyes $500K,               Juan Lagares $4.5M, Brandon Nimmo $500K

For me, the middle of the Mets infield is now set for years. The Mets can opt in on the 2018 portion of Cabrera’s contract, or go with Amed Rosario. As for second base, my choice for Walker’s replacement in 2018 would first be Wilmer Flores, followed by T.J. Rivera or a converted Gavin Cecchini.

St. Lucie County will provide $55 million in renovations to Tradition Field for the Mets, who have agreed to stay there another 25 springs.

Mack – This makes so much sense. I have never been to a town that looks so-New York like Lucy does. The New York Post and Daily News are sold outside the stadium and the food inside is very close to the New York quality you get in CitiField. I can’t imagine a Mets minor league system without a foothold in this town where so many retired New Yorkers have moved just to be close to their beloved team. Leaving here would be tantamount to the Dodgers leaving Vero Beach, A.K.A. ‘Dodgertown’.

The Mets demoted third base coach Tim Teufel on Tuesday, replacing the former ’86 infielder after his performance this past season was littered with subpar baserunning decisions.

          Wow, I was surprised when I got back home after dinner out on Tuesday and read this.

I got to know Tim very well when he was the manager of the Savannah Sand Gnats in 2007. I greeted him when he came out of his car on the first day he arrived at the stadium and he allowed me access to the clubhouse before and after every home game.

I thought he did a great job (with what he was dealt with) with what might have been the worse roster ever put together by the Mets organization. Yes, this team did produce Juan Lagares (then SS… .210), but they finished dead last going 41-94.

Still, I thought he did a great job and worked his ass of with these kids, especially doubling as the third base coach.

He also has a wonderful wife and two great daughters.

I wish him well.

Frank Viola reportedly is a candidate for Orioles pitching coach. He has been serving in that capacity with the Mets at Triple-A Las Vegas.

          Mack – God, I hope we don’t lose this guy.

I got to know him when he was in Savannah and he was very cordial to me during my two interviews with him, but he then did everything to avoid me after that. I must have written something that bothered him or he could have just been sick of seeing me hang around the pitchers.

Viola always had the back of his pitchers and I particularly remember standing near the dugout one afternoon around five hours before game time. We were discussing the depth of talent he had on the team and a new kid walked by that I had no idea who it was. Viola stopped dead in the middle of the sentence he was saying and said to me ‘boy, wait till you see how this shortstop pitches…”, which really confused the hell out of me. That turned out to be Jacob deGrom.

Hey Sandy… make this guy the Vegas manager.

 Fangraphs lists Andrew Barbosa as the #2 minor league pitcher to keep an eye on –

2) Andrew Barbosa, LHP, 1.8 WAR - As a 29-year-old who’s made just one appearance above Double-A, Barbosa looks to be completely irrelevant at first glance. But a closer look at his 2016 performance reveals utter dominance. In 72 innings as a starter in the Mets system, Barbosa pitched to a 1.51 ERA and 2.57 FIP with a 26% strikeout rate. It’s been a long and winding road for Barbosa, but the 6-foot-8 lefty could make a big-league impact sometime soon.

          Mack – Boy, I sure hope the Mets resign this guy.