Mack's Apples - Minny/Mets Trade Proposals, Dave Howard, Miami Fire Sale, Shane McClanahan, Negro League Stadium

Good morning.

 Puckett’s Pond’s suggested trades between the Mets and the Twins:

           

Possible Trade Interest -

Mets may want: 2B, 3B, relief pitching, veteran starting pitching, center fielder, leadoff hitter

Twins may want: A power bat for the DH position, starting pitching, relief pitching

Trade proposals

With those needs how could the Twins and Mets match up? Here are three ideas:

Trade proposal #1: Twins trade IF Eduardo Escobar and OF Zack Granite to the Mets for RHP Marcos Molina and IF Mark Vientos. Vientos was one of my favorite players in the 2017 draft, and he can truly be a guy to jump up the system in a hurry in 2018 as the “prize” of this deal. However, moving a quality player like Escobar that could really solve a ton of needs for the Mets along with a guy like Granite should bring a high quality arm as well. Molina might be a swing-for-the-fences arm, especially paired with Vientos, but he’d be an excellent target for the Twins.

Trade proposal #2: Twins trade LHP Tyler Jay and RHP Jake Reed for IF Gregory Guerrero and RHP Gerson Bautista. The Twins would be giving up two near-ready bullpen arms for a high-ceiling young infielder and a high-velocity young arm that’s not gotten out of A-ball thus far.

            Thoughts?

Brightline CEO Finds Inspiration In The New York Mets And Henry Flagler Henry Flagler -

Dave Howard's background is in sports. He ran business operations for the company behind Madison Square Garden, and spent more than 20 years as an executive with the New York Mets, overseeing the design and development of the team's Citi Field.

So when he was offered the CEO job at Brightline, the high-speed rail service set to run from West Palm Beach to Miami, Howard says he was a little skeptical. But only briefly. He soon discovered lessons from the business of baseball apply to the business of Brightline.

I made a proposal, in writing, to the Wilpons to create, set-up, and manager a new web site that would combine key bloggers, beat reporters, and direct links to the Mets organization. It was turned down, but I did receive a telephone call from Dave with a gracious ‘thanks but no thanks. He didn’t have to do that. He could have either ignored it or have a secretary send off a form letter. He is a class act.

How the New York Mets can benefit from the Miami Marlins  fire sale -

                   

    The Miami Marlins firesale this offseason needs to attract interest from the New York Mets. They aren’t in on the Giancarlo Stanton sweepstakes, and it must be difficult for Mets fans to see the proposed offer from the San Francisco Giants and not cringe. If the Mets weren’t the stingy organization that they are, they could have made a competitive offer at Stanton who clearly loves hitting at Citi Field. Usually teams don’t trade superstars within the same division, but I don’t think that’s a factor for Miami. They are trying to unload payroll and they will trade Stanton to whoever he will waive his no-trade clause and take on the bulk of his contract.

If money was no object, trading for Stanton would be a no brainer. They could get a deal done without mortgaging the farm, and he would plug into right field and be a lynchpin in the middle of the lineup. Since the Mets clearly cannot afford that contract, it’s not even worth dreaming. That is not to say that the Marlins don’t have something to offer the Mets. I’ve already called for the Mets to make a play at Dee Gordon, but the Marlins have even more than Gordon to entertain the Mets with.

An update on my mock drafts…

                  

     Five more mocks have come in, less than needed for a full mock update, but enough to recognize some movement near the top of the draft, especially the Mets pick.

                       We had OF Jarred Kelenic as the Mets pick at six, but the top lefty in the draft has moved up nine slots -

1.                   (1.)     RHP    Brady Singer           Florida

2.                   (2.)     SS        Brice Turang           Santiago HS (CA)

3.                   (7.)     RHP    Ethan Hankins        Forsyth Central HS (GA)

4.                   (4.)     RHP    Kumar Rocker         N. Oconee HS (GA)

5.                   (3.)     2B       Nick Madrigal        Oregon State

6.                   (15.)   LHP     Shane McClanahan   USF

The 6-1 McClanahan went 15-starts, 3.20, 76-IP, 104-K ofr USF last season.

From Perfect Game –

Shane McClanahan is a 2015 LHP/ with a 6-2 165 lb. frame from Cape Coral, FL who attends Cape Coral. McClanahan has a long lean build with room to fill out and add strength. Short arm action to a mid 3/4 slot. Slight pause after rocker step, stays balanced and online with delivery. Repeats delivery well. Pitches to both sides of plate with fastball, fastball has good life when down in zone. Has good arm speed on fastball, will slow it a bit on developing change up with run. Slider shows tight spin and good tilt to it. Gets good extension and creates a down hill angle to plate. There is more velocity to come.

Plans to rehab old  Negro League baseball park  taking shape –

                   

    Officials are making moves toward a plan to renovate the historic Hamtramck Stadium (MI), a still-standing relic from a past when sports were segregated by race.

Hamtramck hired Smith Group JJR for $76,900-plus to create a pre-development plan as a precursor to any construction, city planners announced Monday.

Hamtramck received a $50,000 National Parks Service African American Civil Rights grant to offset the bulk of the cost.