Mack - Yoenes Cespedes, T.J. Murphy, Bartolo Colon, Howie Kendrick

Good morning.

Fangraphs on Top 50 Free Agents - Link

1. Yoenis Cespedes, OF

Contract Estimate

Type  Years AAV  Total

Dave Cameron      5        $24.5 M       $122.5 M

Avg Crowdsource  5        $24.0 M       $118.4 M

Median Crowdsource       5        $25.0 M       $125.0 M

2017 Steamer Forecast

Age    PA     BB% K%   AVG  OBP   SLG   wOBA         wRC+         Off     Def    WAR

31      595    7.3% 21.1%         .272   .330   .494   .346   116    12.4   -2.2    3.0

A year after getting rejected by the league, Cespedes is considered by most to be the best player on the market this winter. He followed up his 2015 offensive breakout with another strong year in Queens, and while his defensive performance took a dive while playing through a quad injury, his recent power spike shouldn’t be viewed with as much skepticism as it was last year. Of course, he’s still built like a linebacker and lower-half injuries are the kinds of things you don’t want to see from a guy who relies on athleticism for a good chunk of his value. So there’s still risk here, which is why we all seem to agree that a five-year deal is the best fit here, even for the top player available.

Mack – I have had plenty to say recently about Cespedes and I just thought you would enjoy reading this piece. They rank him as the  number one free agent on the market. That is why this guy is this important to our team.

Fangraphs on T.J. Murphy –

          One relatively unknown player with Murphy-like qualities is T.J. Rivera. The 28-year-old career minor leaguer used an aggressive approach to combat a high whiff rate. The end result was a 2.7 percent walk rate, 15 percent strikeout rate, and 12.1 percent swinging strike rate. Rivera offers very little by way of speed or power, but he did hit a career best 14 home runs last season. The Mets will do what they can to ensure he starts the season on the bench. Treat him as a very deep sleeper. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/out-of-nowhere-breakout-candidates-at-second-base/

          I’m so glad we seem to be beyond the ‘is T.J. a real baseball player and does he have what it takes to make it in the majors’? Sometimes we make mistakes about the players we either draft late or not draft at all. Mike Piazza is a great example of this. So is Murphy.

          I had about the same amount of non-confidence in Murphy that I had in Juan Lagares. I was wrong about both of them.

          Playing in major league baseball as a utility player takes a certain mindset. You spend most of your time sitting in the dugout and you are called on the perform at 150% without a single practice swing in the batter’s box. Both Murphy and Wilmer Flores seem to have this perfect mindset. Murphy never thought he would ever get this far and Flores had to pray in the corridor that leads to the Mets clubhouse that, if God allowed him to remain a Met, he would accept whatever that role would be.

           What does this do for the chances of Amed Rosario and Gavin Cecchini making this team?

          My guess is that Rosario is basically guaranteed a September promotion and a starting position in the infield in 2018. This wouldn’t be the same plan for Cecchini who just may be the odd man out here.

Free agent Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon has signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves for $12.5mil/2017 season.

          Mack – I will miss Big Sexy but I wouldn’t have paid him twelve five for another season.

          Health is always an issue when it comes to the Mets starters, but having the likes of Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman on your staff, there should be enough quality pitchers to live with the loss of Colon.

          It also takes ten mil off the books for 2017 and reduces the current money committed in 2017 to $61,257,500. There now will be ample money to either pay Yoenes Cespedes or pay for a comparable replacement.

          Colon’s departure on Veteran’s Day is an eerie development.

We wish all our veteran’s and Big Bart thank you for their service.

The Phillies have acquired infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick from the Dodgers, per a club announcement. First baseman Darin Ruf and second baseman/outfielder Darnell Sweeney will head to Los Angeles in return. 

Link

Mack – From @FightinPhillies - Wow.. 9 HR and 54 RBI last season, hope it's just a one year deal. Averages 10 HR and 67 RBI per year... 

These numbers aren’t exactly something to write home about.

What this does do is give the Dodgers the slot needed to go after Yoenes Cespedes during the Hot Stove season.

I truly expect Yo to be wearing Dodger blue come spring.