7/17/18

From The Desk.... 7.16





Good morning.


      1.    Roster Moves – RGP Joshua Torres was transferred from AAA-Las Vegas to AA-Binghamton. Torres has done everything right at the AA level this year (23-games, 1.23) and very little done right at AAA (4-games, 17.05)… OF John Mora landed on the Binghamton DL.


      2.    The 17-20 DSL-2 team was no hit in an abbreviated 6.5 inning game. The team had hits from… oh yeah… they had none!


      3.    Fansided - According to StatCast, Peter Alonso’s 7th inning moonshot home run was the first ever recorded home run of 113+ mph and a launch angle of 40+ degrees. That is a pretty incredible feat considering StatCast has been around for over three years and has recorded thousands of baseball games. Mack – did all of you catch the ‘first ever’ part of this paragraph? That’s not first ever in the minors. It’s first ever IN BASEBALL. It’s going to be pretty tough to keep this kid down on the farm much longer.


      4.    Keith Law - @keithlaw - Pete Alonso just hit an absolute moonshot to left. I can’t wait till the Mets bench him for Jose Reyes


      5.    There’ something going on policy wise down in the Kingsport affiliate. In the past, things have been pretty loosy-goosy regarding whether or not fans can approach the players, either before or after the game. Now, the team seems to be on a kind of lockdown. This is sad. It’s a small town in Tennessee, not Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. I hope the front office will take a look at this turn in policy and return the fans to being able to ask one of their heroes for an autograph. A Twitter message to the Kingsport Mets regarding this remains unanswered.


      6.    Anthony DiComo - @AnthonyDiComo - Yoenis Cespedes crushed his simulated game today. He hit two home runs in seven plate appearances. Cespedes also singled, walked and played five innings in left field. He could return as soon as Friday.


      7.    Las Vegas RP Chris Beck stat line Sunday:  0.1-IP, 5-ER, 135.0-ERA.


      8.    Jacob deGrom’s agent went off on the Mets link - “Jacob has expressed interest to them about being part of a long-term future and a long-term plan,” Van Wagenen said during the player availability at the All-Star Game. “They have expressed some interest in that same level of commitment, but if that’s not their interest then Jacob understands this is an environment where they may be better off moving him to accomplish their long-term plan.” – Mack – Remember. This is agent speak. Agent speak is where an agent can say what a player wants to say but can’t. Boy, this is a tough call. You want to keep him around forever, but you just don’t know how long that golden arm will stay around. You also know that you will never be able to get more of a return than this month for said arm. At least two, probably three Top 100 prospects. Try to imagine you can get your hands on your long term catcher, third baseman, and new closer. Boy, am I glad I don’t have to make this call.

14 comments:

Bob Gregory said...

DeGrom's value will never be greater than right now.

Unbelievably Met like however..... reports this weekend had the Mets waiting until the off season to trade him!

Mike Freire said...

Agreed that it is a tough call on JD......I know 30 isn't OLD, but I would feel better giving him a four or five year extension versus a longer deal.

Pitchers don't age particularly well and committing anything longer then that puts you in his mid to late 30's.

I only deal him this month if I get bowled over with a monster offer (as it should be).

Bob Gregory said...

In the post steroid era.... 30 yrs is old for baseball players.

Pablo Grullon said...

Mack I understand your trepidation with giving Degrom a long term contract because of his age but i feel like jake is the rare case where he would be worth the gamble. Degrom is a great athlete with less mileage on his arm because he was a SS through college so he wasn't abused by his high school and college coaches to the extent that other young pitchers are. Degrom also seems like the classic competitor type who would stay hungry and disciplined even after signing a big contract. He's got great makeup. I feel the Mets should pay the man and keep him long term. Look at the effect he's had on Zack wheeler this year. Wouldnt we want degrom being the type of pitcher and leader that sets the example for the rest of our staff and young pitchers coming up the pipeline? I know I do

Bob Gregory said...

How did deGromeffect Wheeler this year in any different way than the past couple of years?

I haven't seen any reporting on deGrom doing something different to help Wheeler's training, strategy, or any baseball related area that would influence Wheeler's performance.

Tom Brennan said...

Broken Record from me: keep Jake unless we get son, moon, and stars. (SON, as in Vlad Jr quality).

Like a top 5 prospect, plus another in the top 25, plus another in the top 50, plus another in the top 100.

Forget the Mets' stupidity in the trade they made to remove Seaver...Jake is Seaver II - if he goes, the package has to be geometrically better than Seaver I.

Frankly, if I had to choose between Seaver 1975 and deGrom 2018, I might take deGrom. He is that GREAT!

Hey, folks, don't read about the Alonso titanic blast - WATCH IT. One video is worth a million words.

Tom Brennan said...

Bob, that may be true, but Max Scherzer is I believe about to turn 34, and he is still a beast.

Bob Gregory said...

All the more reason to promote deGrom as the next Scherzer in a trade to maximize return while knowing the odds are against any pitcher remaining healthy through their 30-34 yrs.

I've mentioned before aiming for Andujar, Frazier and Sheffield in a trade with those darn yankees.

deGrom's value to the Mets for the next 4 years vs the value of Andujar and Frazier (who can enter the Met lineup immediately) and Sheffield's potential.

Mack Ade said...

Pablo -

Here's the problem.

You don't sign an extension with the player. You sign with the agent.

DeGrom's agent is not going to let Jake sign for 3 more years.

And five is just too many for a 30 year old

Viper said...

The difference here is that trading Jacob is the right move and keeping him is the right move only if the Mets open up the wallet and spend like a big market club while getting rid of all the dead weight regardless of money owed.

That means no more Dancing Jose, no room for mediocre Vargas, no room for useless Warzak and homer happy Blevins.

They have to go out and sign (overpay) either Machado or Harper to become the next face of the franchise. Then build around that player.

You can only build a great team drafting well and paying the high price for the right players when they become FA or trades. The Mets can't seem to do this well and when they make a mistake, they want to wait for those contracts to expire before they take another chance.

So it seems the Mets want to wait for the Cespedes and Wright contract to expire before doing anything big. By then, who cares if Jacob is here or not? The crickets will be chirping at stands.

Bob Gregory said...

Between eating the dead money and paying for the offense and additional pitching needed (along with depth that the upper Met minors does not offer), payroll would have to move over the $200 million level.

Tom Brennan said...

Tebow is a winner in romance, too - Miss Universe:

https://nypost.com/2018/07/16/tim-tebow-confirms-romance-with-miss-universe/

I will say this, and to not be a contrarian - Cespedes can still earn his keep from here on out if he can get the wheels healthy. Or he can get hurt and torpedo the next two seasons also - but it looks like he will be back Friday.

TexasGusCC said...

3. Alonso is not quite hitting .200 yet. Also, he struck out twice in the same game.

4. Love Keith Law, the originator of #LOLMets. I'm surprised that he's a former Blue Jays fan the way he beats on the Mets front office. Sounds more like us.


8. If I'm going to get a Top 100 prospect, I don't want a closer. Catcher, third baseman, and how about an outfielder, of which we have very few?

Pablo Grullon said...

@ Bob Gregory- last week it was reported in I believe it was either the NY Post or Daily News that this year wheeler has taken to watching Degrom's bullpen sessions and picked up a few things namely regarding making adjustments to make his fastball run in on righties and it's made a big difference for him