Mack’s Morning Report – 6-5 – Sell, Mr. Met, Fernando Pena, Jacob deGrom,

Good morning.


Sell

We've been kicking around the idea of beginning a sell off of the existing Mets contracts that run out at the end of this season.

Jose Reyes ($600K?), Neil Walker (17.2mil), Curtis Granderson ($15mil), Addison Reed ($7.75mil), Lucas Duda ($7.25mil), Fernando Sales ($3mil), and Tommy Milone (1.25mil) all have no future on the 2018 Mets.

There is plenty of money here to work out extended deals for Jay Bruce, Astrubel Cabrera, and Rene Rivera, if desired. I would go for a 2-year deal for Bruce, a 1-year extension for Cabrera if I couldn't find a better option at third base in 2018, and at least a one year deal for maybe the best backup catcher in baseball.

This would leave me $30-35mil to find myself a new third baseman, a young starter, and a center fielder that can hit.

And that's without even making a trade.

I'll have more on this in my next report.

Mr. Met

Is this something we should care about. I mean, it’s not even a Kathy Griffin moment.

And how can you flip a middle finger when you only have four fingers?

The Mets have a lot bigger problems to address than firing an anonymous guy in a uniform for losing his one second cool while he was walking away from rowdy fan during an embarrassing loss to Milwaukee.

Offer an apology up, make the guy where a Phillies costume for a week, and let’s get back to baseball.

Fernando Pena

Ex-Met catcher Fernando Pena was promoted by the Baltimore Orioles from AAA-Norfolk. I remember Pena well in Savannah. He was signed as a 16-year old and bypassed the DSL squads, probably some agreement the Mets made with his father. Pena was so green and it made me realize right away that analyzing a person of this age playing professional baseball was an impossibility.

He also was a defensive nightmare behind the plate and would look over to the dugout every time he screwed up there, looking to see if Manager Tim Teufel was going to ground him.

However, as limited he was talent wise, he was one of the nicest member of the team and worked harder than anyone to improve at his profession.

Jacob deGrom

Fangraphs has written a really interesting piece called ‘Underthrown Pitches and the Pitches They Underthrow’. Jacob deGrom is featured in the article -

Jacob DeGrom: by whiffs, grounders, and pop-ups, DeGrom has had the best four-seamer in baseball this year. He’s throwing it about 43% of the time, which is league average, so while he could definitely throw it more often, it’s difficult to foresee an extreme surge in frequency. But with a 39% whiff per swing rate, DeGrom’s four-seamer is as whiffy as Wainwright’s is heavy.

Check the article out.

          Jordan Humphreys –

 Baseball America on Humphreys –

The 20-year-old Crystal River (Fla.) High product has pitched nearly flawlessly at low Class A Columbia this season, going 8-1, 1.40 with just seven walks in nine starts. The Mets drafted Humphreys in the 18th round in 2015 based on his lively low-90s fastball and advanced feel for pitching. Those traits have served him in pro ball, where he has touched 96 mph, while carving up South Atlantic League competition this season with rates of 11.4 strikeouts and 1.1 walks per nine innings. Humphreys leads the minors with a 0.66 WHIP.

Mack – You all know what I feel about this guy. I want prospects moved to the next level when they have proven that there is nothing left for them to do at the current level they are playing at. Humphreys is there now. The only reason to keep him in the Sally League is to let him start the All-Star game.