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7/14/18

From The Desk… 7/13




Good morning.   



     1.    Roster Moves: -  RHP Chris Beck cleared waivers and the Mets resigned him and assigned him to AAA-Las Vegas. So far this season he has pitched in 20 Mets games, to a 4.50-ERA… IF Phil Evans and RP Kevin McGowan came off the AAA-Las Vegas DL. The 51’st wasted little time and put Evans on second base Thursday night, bumping Jeff McNeil to that position ‘he never has played’, third… 17/yr. old Holy Cross HS (NY) Jaylen Palmer played his first game for the GCL Mets today… SP P J Conlon was optioned to AAA-Las Vegas to make room for Noah Syndergaard… the Orioles signed P Sean Gilmartin


      2.     There are reports that the Mets are considering demoting 1B/OF Dominic Smith back to AAA-Las Vegas. I agree that this is probably a good move. Sure, we could have given him more at-bats in Queens, but he has showed no hint that he is ready to hit major league baseball. Sometimes, there are baseball players that dominate all affiliate levels but just can’t hack it against major league pitching. I call it the ‘Anderson Hernandez’ factor. Smith seems to be one of these players. For now, I would return him to AAA-Las Vegas and let him work on his outfield game. I also would keep Peter Alonso there through August and let him straighten out his bat there. Lastly, I would play Wilmer Flores exclusively at first through the month of August. Who knows past that.


      3.    Jon Heyman, of FanCred, is reporting that the Mets are now “in excellent financial health”. He said this is based on ‘multi investments’ but we all know that the majority of revenues here comes from playing baseball and charging fans to watch it. The Mets are a profitable business and that is what this ownership team will concentrate on in the future. I’m happy for the investors here. I’m thrilled that you all are making money. I just wish we had a better team to cover here.


      4.    Statler - @statler13 - They won’t say it, but the Mets are totally keeping Reyes on this team to play a few games with Wright later in the year. It’s a PR dream and they'll fill the stadium with nostalgic fans


      5.    Mike Puma - @NYPost_Mets - Mets are fairly confident they will deal Asdrubal Cabrera, which would open 2B for a Jeff McNeil audition. Mack – this makes complete sense to me. Cabrera is the best expiring contract chip we have and will not only bring the best return, but will also make room for the arrival of our ‘new Daniel Murphy’. Wouldn’t be great if we could get a solid catcher or third base prospect out of this as well?


      6.    It’s great to see Noah Syndergaard return to the Mets rotation. If you listen to John Ricco, the Mets are not going to be a complete rebuild. Instead, Ricco wants to compete in 2019. You can’t compete without a workable rotation and there is no better start here than Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom. If a 2019 only sort of rebuild is in the cards than we must keep both Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler. Who is left? Of course, there is Jason Vargas, which is a stretch at best. Pipeline wise, the only starter that could possibly be ready on opening day 2019 is Nabil Crismatt (2018: 16-starts, 8-5, 3.58 at AA-Binghamton). Both Justin Dunn and Anthony Kay are at least a year away and David Peterson is going the wrong way. Now, trade away either Matz or Wheeler and it gets even worse. 


      7.      I usually save my kudus regarding the starters in the pipeline to my Monday recap post, but I have to break from tradition and talk about two of the guys that stood tall last night. Nabil Crismatt shook off a difficult first AAA start and put up six shutout innings in Las Vegas’ 6-0 win vs. Albuquerque. Yes, that’s right… a Las Vegas shutout! Crismatt lowered his AAA ERA to 3.27 and is back in line as the #1 senior SP prospect in the chain… The other is Willy Tavares, who had his first Kingsport start last night. Tavares has been lights out for the GCL team this year and kept it up last night for K-Port: 5-IP, 5-H, 1-ER, 4-K, 0-BB, 1.80…. You remember these names. Crismatt could be in the Mets rotation next year while Tavares could make it by 2022.



19 comments:

  1. McNeil could struggle when promoted, but I think the Daniel Murphy comparison could be more like it. He is nova hot in the minors.

    Smith should go to AA, and rake the way McNeil is raking in AAA right now. Fight his way back.

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  2. I am leaning towards keeping our 4 top pitchers and rebuild everything else, all on the table except Nimmo and Rosario. Those 4 pitchers could tide us over until Dunn and Peterson are ready, and perhaps Crismatt.

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  3. Tom

    Re: SPs

    I am leaning that way also.

    1. You know I have always believed that a winning team starts with 5 starters that average less than 3 ER in 7 IP

    2. Only Crismatt could be ready on OD 2019

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  4. Alonso has been cold, but he still has 23 RBIs in 23 Vegas games, and 75 in 88 games this year. He is still rising, just more slowly than McNeil..

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  5. and he was cold the last 11 games in Binghamton

    has hit decently in the last two games...

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  6. Why doesn’t it seem like the catcher at Kingsport - Capra getting much playing time ?

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  7. I just cant find a good enuf trade or reason to deal thor or degrom. I mean if it was really there youd do it. However, i think they will trade wheeler. Wheeler is kind of perfect for the teams with luxury tax implications, he cost 1.9mm and even the mets could eat that if need be. There are so few true aces anyway so the price will be reasonable high.

    Trade value to me of who might actually be traded
    1. wheeler
    2. Familia (adding a second closer is the smartest move a playoff team can make outside of a true superstar)
    3. Cabrera

    Its hard to get younger then syndergaard who is 25 and has 3 years of control left.

    If torres was on the table from the yankees I would legit consider Degrom.

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    Replies
    1. What about Andujar, Frazier, and Sheffield?

      Wouldn't that be worth talking deGrom or Syndergaard?

      Delete
  8. Rusty -

    I will check with my K-Port sources.

    Check back here later.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Robb -

    I'm not traded either one.

    I am not a fan of trading Matz either.

    I would dangle Wheeler out there, but only for two chips, 1) a AAA/MLB ready starter + either a C, 3B, or RP

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  10. Rusty -

    My source says:

    "Seems they are splitting the time between the three catchers there. Senger is on fire and Martinez has had a bit of a resurgence at the plate this year. Seems he's the odd man out"

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  11. Bob -

    I would have to sit back and take a long look at that offer... for either one.

    Especially since you have Sheffield in the deal

    ReplyDelete
  12. I agree with most of you here that we are not likely to get "fair" value back for either one of our aces.......so, you may as well keep them and add them to your foundation pieces for 2019 and beyond.

    However, that closes the trade avenue for impact talent......which means you have to draft well and/or use free agency (spend some cash) to get better and that hasn't worked so far with this management crew.

    A true dilemma.

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  13. Again...

    Target your success on the 2020 or 2021 season.

    Clear bad money

    You could have a pretty damn good team by then:



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  14. Rusty -

    your catcher will get his play time now

    Hayden Senger was just promoted from Kingsport to Brooklyn

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    Replies
    1. I hope he makes an impact .. it’s always nice to see a kid from the college by me succeed

      Delete
  15. 1. McNeil was signed as a 3B. Played 45 games there in 2013, 105 in 2014, and 48 in 2015 as they started transitioning him to second base.
    2. If you really want to learn something about Flores these last two months, he belongs at second base, his best position in the minors. Dominic Smith looks bug-eyed at the major league level, but he wasn’t last year. His brain farts are bringing him down and it seem his mentality needs the most work.
    3. Jon Hayman has always been a mouthpiece for The Coupons. How the heck does he know their financial shape? Who showed him?
    4. Sham; no one will go. If they do a nostalgia night - big deal, one night. #LOLMets at it again.
    5. Position players aren’t a big deal at the deadline, and middle infielders are aplenty. Look low minors outfielder possibly a third baseman, but can’t expect a catcher.

    This is a must listen for a Mets fan:
    https://art19.com/shows/statcast-podcast/episodes/5532811c-3468-4f57-86e3-3d9b8c3311ac

    ReplyDelete