2/19/19

Mack – New Weekly Post




Good morning.


Twitter correspondence between myself and Mets pitcher Andrew Church:

Andrew Church - @PapaChurch36 - I guess the word is out now. I will be back and ready to work as hard as I can to not only be the best player I can be, but to win. I have taken full advantage of my time away from the game to better understand myself as a baseball player and as a man. Now I’m ready.

Mack - @JohnMackinAde - you get em'

Andrew Church - Will do!!

PC - Ed Delany
Andrew came to the Mets straight out of high school in the second round of the 2013 season. We are now in 2019. He has spent six seasons in the Mets chain and this would be the year needs to step up. Frankly, so far he hasn’t. A 4.73/1.41 career stat line with only 289-K in 427-IP is not good enough and Andrew is the first to realize this. A lot of people had this guy either released or retired after last season, but that’s the plan here.

I wish Andrew all the best.


I want to write a little about the International signing period that is quickly coming upon us.

PC - Ernest Dove
It was reported this past week that the Mets are the odds-on favorite to sign uber-prospect, 16-year old Alexander Ramirez, on July 2nd, during the International signing period. The 6-3 outfielder will ink a seven-figure bonus, similar to the one given out to catcher Francisco Alvarez and outfielder Freddy Valdez last year.

This ‘raising of the bar’ by the Mets internationally seem to begin in 2015 with the signings of shortstops Andres Gimenez ($1.2mil) and Gregory Guerrero ($1.5mil). This continued with the signings of OF Adrian Hernandez (2017: $1.5mil) and SS Ronny Mauricio (2017: $2.1mil), Alvarez (2018: $2.7mil) and Valdez (2018: $1.45mil).

The educated rumor regarding Ramirez only goes to prove that this increased Mets international presence will continue under Omar Minaya and  Allard Baird.

Remember… this is not the domestic draft. If you sign a player here, you don’t have to wait until 29 other players are picked by other teams. Think of it like high school seniors deciding what college to commit to. Every school is up for grabs.

The Mets have finally figured out that the only limit here is what the league allows you to spend and they are investing in the scouting needed to secure the respect of the players, their parents and the representative/agent that has much of the power here.

Eventually, all this cream will rise to the top and, coupled with excellent domestic drafting, you will have the kind of organizational depth that will allow you to determine your own fate.

The first thing they did was build a state- of-the-art facility in the Dominican Republic, similar to the one in Port St. Lucie Florida.  Then came Omar, followed by Baird.

Let’s hope Ramirez isn’t the only stud that will be signed this year.


Speaking of stadiums…

(this was written prior to last night's announcement that the Mets and the town have agreed to a new deal that stretches past 2040...)

There was a story written this past week in the Port St. Lucie newspaper that the Mets may be looking to (jump ship ) if they can’t get their renovation deal with St. Lucie County back on course.

I watched from afar a similar dust up between the Savannah (GA) powers to be and the Sand Gnats that eventually cost the Coastal Empire a minor league franchise.

As for Port St. Lucie and the Mets, I can’t see things not being settled here. I have been there a number of times and can speak from experience that this entire community is built around the team and its players. The residents are retired Mets fans from the New York area and the rest of the homes are owned by the Mets players that house down there when they are rehabbing or during spring training. Throw in all the restaurants and you could imagine how much of a ghost town this would become if the team was to leave.

An example of this is just one exit north on I-95. Here’s an old story I wrote about it:  Dodgertown

The vast majority of people still living in Vero Beach are 90+ year olds, driving at 20 miles per hour back and forth to their doctors and drug store. The team is gone, the restaurants have closed, and the heart was ripped out of this community when the Dodgers moved their spring training operation westward.

I just don’t see this happening to Lucy.



Lastly…

PC - Ernest Dove
The chatter war on Twitter about Jacob deGrom, Mets beat writers, fans, and the Mets front office is getting more heated every hour. The latest salvo comes from Jake’s agent who says that if a renegotiation deal isn’t done before the end of spring training, he will end any contact with both he and his client (Jake).

I have always been a proponent of negotiating deGrom’s contract, but I have to tell you, I have made a 180 on this. I predict that baseball will basically see the end of the 7-10 year contract extensions and there will be a tremendous amount of pitching talent available to us over the upcoming seasons.

I look for General Managers to tell agents that they need to bring their clients to them for a three year extension, with an additional 4th year team option.

We have two more years of control over deGrom, who will then be 32 years old. Are we supposed to give, let’s say, a 5-year additional extension to deGrom on top of this commitment? That means we would end up with a 37-year old pitcher.
 
If I told you that the Mets agreed to a $35mil one year deal for a 37-year old pitcher, you would storm their executive office.

Yes, our pipeline could use a little more depth and talent but I’d rather see them concentrate any extension effort on Zack Wheeler who becomes a free agent after this season. Zack turns 29 in May. A 3-year extension would be just fine here.

8 comments:

Mack Ade said...

Half of this post is dated material and I apologize for that.

I had confusion on the posting times and forgot to check this up to five minutes before I posted it with an addendum line on the St. Lucie post.

I will be better next week.

Mack

Jim said...

Good, let's talk about Jake.

The media is trying so hard to make this into a huge issue, fanning the flames, but I'm just not seeing the urgency.

First: Sandy Alderson blew this one. Last winter, some of us were calling on him to extend Jake. Sandy, as was typical, did nothing. He kicked the can down the road. How much did that cost the Mets? $50 million? More?

I love Jake. I think he should be a long-term Met. I'd be happy with a 5/$125 deal, that takes effect immediately. Some people are talking $30+ per. Why should the Mets do that?

They control him for two more years. For the Mets to extend him now, they are taking on considerable risk. Along with that risk, must come some benefit: a lower annual cost. If the price is going to be $30 million per, Mets might as well wait a full season, see what happens, and sign him then. Price might go down. Price might drop from the sky if he walks off the mound holding his shoulder. And if he's great again, that's wonderful.

Do you want to negotiate with the guy coming off a Cy Young season? Not ideally, no.

I don't see why the Mets need to do this deal now, today, if it's on Jake's terms.

The interesting move would be to lock up Noah for 4 years in a Severino type deal. Because if you wait, and he does well, the price is going to double, or triple. Wheeler, too. Matz, too.

My feeling is that Wheeler wants to have a big year and become a free agent, signing with Atlanta. I personally would be shy to sign Matz; I don't believe in him deep down in my heart.

Noah, on the other hand, would be worth discussing. Here's 4/$60. Would he do that deal?

Jimmy P

Anonymous said...

Jimmy, I’m not so sure Wheeler wouldn’t take a nice offer from the Mets. Craig Kimbrel wants to go to Atlanta and yet we see nothing. Too, the Braves have over 20 50-valued prospects according to Fangraphs, so they don’t need to sign anyone. I’d think 3/$50 gets Wheeler to sign early in the season. If it goes into August, he might wait.

TexasGusCC

Mack Ade said...

So...

Are you guys saying we should only deal with Thor long term?

Viper said...

The way free agency for expensive players is going lately, it would be to both Jake and the Mets interest to do a 5 years 125M where 2019 becomes the first year. So Jake would still make 17M this year and get 27M for the next 4 years.

This gives the Mets needed funds to see if Wheeler would take a 3 year 45M extension. Given his health history, he may very well take it and secure his future.

Nothing needs to be done for Syndergaard and Matz this year. Wait and see how 2019 goes and if they both stay healthy for a change.

As I often said, Omar is doing what he was meant to do, find talent.

Mike Freire said...

Good Morning, Mack.....I hope you are feeling better.

I like the photo, too (it looks like a scene from the Great Gatsby).

As far as the post goes, I was selfishly hoping the Mets would skip town and return to
St Pete, but that was simply a desire of convenience (I live much closer). But, in truth,
the St Lucie location is a good one and you are right, it would die on the vine without
Spring Training and minor league baseball, etc.

I am very encouraged at the increased aggressiveness in the "foreign market", since player
selection and development should come from multiple sources, thereby increasing your odds
of signing a good player. You could argue that we have done better in that market then the
actual draft.

Lastly, on Jake....I see your point, but I also am also having visions of the Tom Seaver debacle at the
same time. Jake has less mileage on his arm then the average 30 year old, but he is also going to be
in his mid-30's during his next contract (i.e. injury risk goes up). I don't see any urgency to get a deal
done this year, since he has two years of control left.

Viper said...

Is it necessary for the Mets to do deGrom's contract this year? no, but, do you want to mess with the face of the franchise, reigning Cy Young winner? That's not a winning hand either.

Getting the contract done is the right thing. Jake has earned it and is better for all involved. The Mets, Jake, fans, Severino, etc

Jim said...

Gus,

Yes, I could see Wheeler being very tempted by an offer like that. Set for life, done and done. They've all watched Matt Harvey's trajectory. He was going to be the $200 million man. Wheeler himself has never been healthy, except for last year. How long will it last?

I'd have that conversation. The ship may have sailed.

Again: Sandy did nothing to lock any of these guys up. Zippo. Risk averse. Do nothing and you don't make any big mistakes.

And I'd have that conversation with Thor, too.

My guess is that it's an ongoing dance that takes place in subtle ways. Signals are sent. Message received.

I'd personally shoot for a four-year deal with Thor. Then move to lock up Jake. Dominos need to start falling.

Jimmy P

Jimmy P