New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler is looking forward to the 2019 season. He is also looking to have a good year, especially since he will be pitching in a contract year.
He will not allow his upcoming free-agent status to be a distraction, because he will worry about that after the season. He just wants to focus on spring training and be prepared for the upcoming season.
Wheeler went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts last season. He
really stepped up during the second half of the season. His last eleven starts
consisted of a 9-1 record with a 1.68 ERA and 73 strikeouts over
75 innings. If he pitches like this in 2019 it would enable him to have a very
good contract after the season is over.
Wheeler is coming off his first full
healthy season since 2014. He has come along way after having the Tommy John
surgery and being out for two years, then the stress reaction in the arm. That
is why he is really excited about being in spring training right now.
If
Wheeler picks up where he left off from the second half of last season along
with the pitching of deGrom and Syndergaard plus with the improved bullpen, the
Mets can be very tough, and can be winners of the NL Eastern
Division.
Moving on, the Mets signed another infielder, former Washington
National Danny Espinosa to a minor league contract with an invitation to
major-league spring training.
He played 7 years with the Nationals and
played mostly at second base and shortstop. He appeared in 63 minor-league
games last season with the NY Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles
Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
The Mets also re-signed catcher
Devin Mesoraco to a minor league contract with an invitation to major-league
spring training. He was popular and greatly respected among the pitching staff
last year.
He played in 66 games with
the Mets after coming over from the Cincinnati Reds in the trade for Matt
Harvey. Brodie Van Wagenen is hoping that Mesoraco can contribute this season.
These
two deals have increased the positional depth, which has been one of the goals
since the beginning of the off-season.
2 comments:
Espinosa's bat was so weak the past 2 years, I hope we never see him as a Met. We've seemingly had a guy (or 3) like this every year. I want a new rule for Mets' hitters: you can't hit, you don't belong here.
Wheeler wants a Cy Young award in 2019 - I'm not saying he can't - he isn't smoking whatever AO Cortez is, his aspiration has real possibility in reality after his great 2018 finish - and that is a great hope for him and us to have. I'd love to see the Cy Young vote ranking be # 1 Wheeler, # 2 deGrom, # 3 Syndergaard, and somewhere in the top 10 Matz. Having all 4 in the top 10 is possible - if it happens, we'll be smiling!
Of course, Edwin Diaz might be in the top 10 for the Cy, too.
I think Mesoraco could help. .221/.303/.397 last year...do that again as a back up and I wouldn't be too upset. TDA really should be a better hitter, though.
I don't mind guys not hitting if they are in the minor leagues. After all, bigger names like Espinosa draw more people to the ballpark than the likes of a Colton Plaia.
Where I have an issue is when someone is clearly not getting it done but having their name penciled into the lineup every day e.g. Ruben Tejada, Rene Rivera, Anthony Recker, James Loney, etc. Sometimes it's paycheck in the case of guys like Jason Bay and Todd Frazier. Other times it's manager stubbornness or stupidity.
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