6/5/17

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.

14 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Humphreys (ticker symbol HMPR) is the hottest stock in the Mets' minors portfolio right now.

I also saw the Orioles traded for Ruben Tejada - so if you don't like the Mets in Queens root for the O's, with Verrett, Ynoa, Pena and Tejada in their system.

I think it is getting mighty, mighty close to "sell" time for the Mets. I think they want to see (if he returns this weekend) how Cespedes does along with Matz and Lugo before tossing in the towel. My guess is the towel will get tossed soon.

Jake is my favorite Mets pitcher....if we only had a bullpen for him. Maybe adding Gsellman to it will bring it close to average.

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

If this team keeps 'waiting for the next weekend' to decide what to do, they just will not get a jump on something that is coming soon anyway.

Have you looked now the Nats are pulling away?

This is over.

That Adam Smith said...

A couple of. It's to pick with your plan, Mack (what else is there to do on an off day in a lost season?). I would trade Cabrera and Bruce if there are any takers. Cabrera looks finished, particularly defensively, and Bruce is what he is (and the nearly non-existent market for one dimensional sluggers this past offseason let's you know that they are not seen as very valuable by league execs). The only guys on expiring deals that I'd think about keeping are Duda and Reed. Yeah, I'd also keep Rivera around as a backup C.

My infield next year would be Duda at 1B (I'm a long way from convinced that 22 year-old Dom Smith is near ready to be an improvement over him), Flores, who is finally proving his worth as an offensive force, at 2B, Rosario at SS, and a free agent (or trade target) to be named later at 3B. TJ Rivera would be my plan B at 3B. Put Conforto in RF, leave Ces in LF (when he's healthy) and either commit to Lagares or go get yourself a CF who can go get it. Good riddance Grandy and Bruce, and good luck with your new teams (though I think that Grandy will retire due to lack of interest. That leaves us looking for a starting C, some bullpen help, and a couple of serviceable SP's who can take 15 starts each over the course of the season.

It's a lot to need, but that's the result of some awful roster construction and pipe dreams on guys who are never healthy to stay healthy. We have lots of money, supposedly, to spend, so it should be mostly do-able. Cecchini and TJ would be my backup IF, with Wilmer moving to 1B (or Smith available if he's not traded) in case of Duda injury. The defensive improvement at SS and CF alone should be a big help, not to mention getting a lot of useless bats out of the lineup.

Tom Brennan said...

Mack, I totally agree - I just think they won't throw in the towel until they see if the 3 returnees give them a jolt similar to July 2015's moves.

But the poor pen will prevent that from becoming reality, as will any fantasies that Harvey is one start away from turning it around.

Whether they start selling this week, they should be starting to plan to.

Trade Reyes back to the Marlins (who BTW already now have 6 team no hitters) - just tell Jose not to buy a house. Or trade him for the younger (29) Jordany Valdespin who is hitting .356/.458/.505 with Olmecas de Tabasco (my favorite team after the Mets, since I first heard of them 5 minutes ago) in Mexican AAA ball. We need a bad boy to really mess things up in Queens.

Tom Brennan said...

Adam - if you keep Duda, give Smith an OF glove and start him on speed drills. But seriously, don't forget Nimmo, who has been red hot of late in AAA after a comatose post-injury return. He could be a decent OF vs. righty pitchers. If the outfield were not crowded like now, but looked like it did in early 2015, he would be up here and starting now.

Of course, if better is available on the trade or FA market, we should consider that - just get a guy who understands Principle # 1 in baseball (you can't help the team if you miss half the season with stupid injuries).

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

Olmecas is hot!

Mack Ade said...

Adam -

I agree with a lot you are saying.

I will continue to 'build' my 2018 team in my Thursday morning report.

Tom Brennan said...

Mack, I can only imagine. I know Valdespin would never be back here, but the 29 year old is most likely a better player now than Reyes. Valdespin is not coming here, but Reyes must go NOW. He'd be a BIG attraction in Olmecas.

bgreg98180 said...

I don't see a compelling reason to keep Cabrera or Bruce around.

I would add them to the list of trade chips.

Zozo said...

I would first off go with a six man rotation and keep Gsellman in there. He is starting to do well and might get some trade interest?

Mack- I believe we have $8.5 mil option on Cabrera, but I would trade him now and just go with Rosario.

Once anyone has a hot week trade them ASAP!!! My list of trade candidates would be

Bruce
Duda
Rosario
Walker
Reed
Harvey
Lugo
Gsellman
D'arnaud
Lagares

Ship them all out

This offseason sign
Lucroy 5 yr $75 mil
Lorenzo Cain 5yr $90 mil
Moustakas 5year $90mil

That's adding. $51 mil per year for the next 5 years.
Since we only have Wright, Cespedes and Lagares signed for long term deals this should be doable. With plenty leftover for a bullpen and a 5th starter.

Unknown said...

Sunday was just plain god awful and there's nothing worse than awful AND boring. Look if we're not gonna make it to the post season I'd much rather we tank which is just what were doing and not hear the FO BS about "when so and so comes back" we'll turn this around. Hopefully this will lead to promotions and trades and some optimism looking ahead to 18' because not only are we the biggest disappointment in baseball but the biggest surprise team in baseball is just across town...how perfect. Major changes are needed from the front office on down and no time like the present to get started.

Unknown said...

oh I forgot...Grandy's just about to turn it around

Tom Brennan said...

Zozo, how would we get rid of Lagares and replace his 2 RBIs. He is the one untradeable guy on this team...imagine if he had THREE RBIs?

How do the mets always have guys with #'s like this? That alone tells me something is wrong beyond what we see with our eyes.

eraff said...

Asdrubal is covered by a Team Option for 2018...no need to Extend Him