John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 1/13/2020

Winter league updates below and Mets news from around the web.

Rising Apple had three predictions for Jacob deGrom in 2020: Writer Tim Boyle says that “Jacob deGrom wins 19 games, Jacob deGrom gets a pair of shutouts, and Jacob deGrom sets an even higher strikeouts per nine rate.”  I hope he is right. 

Metsblog’s Matt Cerrone looked at what to expect from Pete Alonso in year 2 with the Mets. “Experts in baseball that I know expect he'll have fewer home runs this season than he hit in 2019. And, while they all expect him to cut down on his strikeouts, they also expect a decrease in walks and OBP.”

Call to the pen had the top 10 projected first basemen in 2020.  Pete Alonso was ranked #6.

Mets 360 said that “The 2020 Mets need their bottom half of the roster to just not suck.” As always author Brian Joura does a very thorough analysis of Mets compared to the other teams in the division.  The simplest takeaway that I got: “Nimmo played 140 games in 2018 and put up a 4.5 fWAR. A year later, injuries limited him to 69 games and a 1.3 fWAR. On top of that, his replacements put up a (-3.4) fWAR.”

MLB.com previewed the next 4 free agent classes: Here are just a few - 2020-21: Catcher: J.T. Realmuto; Outfield: Mookie Betts, George Springer, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Brantley, Joc Pederson, Jackie Bradley Jr., Giancarlo Stanton (opt-out); Starting pitchers: Corey Kluber (club option), Robbie Ray, Masahiro Tanaka, Jake Arrieta (club option), Marcus Stroman, Jose Quintana; Relievers: Andrew Miller (vesting option); Notable free agents for 2021-22: Catcher: Salvador Perez, Wilson Ramos; Third base: Nolan Arenado (opt-out), Kris Bryant; Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Javier Báez, Carlos Correa; Outfield: Michael Conforto, Starling Marte, Kyle Schwarber, Christian Yelich (club option; Starting pitchers: Noah Syndergaard, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander; Relievers: Kenley Jansen, Brad Hand, Jeurys Familia, Zack Britton (club option). 2022-23: Aaron Judge, Trea Turner, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino (club option), Aroldis Chapman, Edwin Diaz, Sale (opt-out), Jacob deGrom (opt-out).

Related to that, Elite Sports NY said “New York Mets and Noah Syndergaard: Why a 5-year extension makes sense.”

And as we linked yesterday: Metsmerized said that the Mets should look to extend Michael Conforto.

MLB.com reviled the results of its pipeline poll, a survey to general managers, scouting directors and executives across all 30 teams.  Results include: Which team has the best farm system? 1. Rays (48%); 2. Padres (36%); Also received votes: Braves, D-backs, Dodgers, Mets.  Yes, I was surprised the Mets were listed here as well.  Which team uses the Draft best? 1. Dodgers (28%); 2. Rays (20%); 3. Cardinals (12%); T4. Padres (8%); T4. Rockies (8%); Also received votes: Astros, D-backs, Mets, Rangers, Red Sox, White Sox.  Hope this isn’t a case of the Mets voting for themselves. 

Metsmerized had “Early Draft Outlook: Four Prospects the New York Mets Could Target”. Writer Kyle Newman profiled:  J.T. Ginn, RHP, Mississippi State; Zac Veen, OF, Spruce Creek (Fla.) HS; Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Harvard-Westlake (Cal.) HS; Max Meyer, RHP, Minnesota;

Metsmerized also asked if the Mets eliminated enough “What ifs” this Winter?

Reflections on baseball asked “Is Tom Seaver the first and last legitimate NY Met to make the HOF.” 

90 percent Mets looked at who may get into the Hall of Fame this year.  Besides the obvious choice of Derek Jeter, the writer likes Larry Walker, Scott Rolen, and Billy Wagner.

MLB.com had “7 strange milestones to look out for in 2020.” These include ”Anthony Rizzo and Shin-Soo Choo -- Top 20 all-time hit-by-pitches; Pujols -- First to ground into 400 double plays (Albert is already the all-time leader in double plays grounded into with 395. He's the only player to ever exceed 350 double plays -- Cal Ripken Jr. is in second with exactly 350); Miguel Cabrera -- Climbing the GIDP leaderboard (Cabrera currently sits in seventh all time with 318 double plays grounded into); Ron Gardenhire -- Top 5 in managerial ejections; Joe Maddon and Kevin Cash -- Race to the 300th career replay challenges; Dee Gordon -- 100 times caught stealing; Pujols -- Top 5 career sacrifice flies.

From a couple of days ago on MLB.com, “Babe the Brave? The weirdest faces in new places”. This link is well worth clicking because it shows Willie Mays getting a standing ovation when he returned to the Bay area in the 1973 World Series.  Wish SNY.TV showed more highlights from the 1973 post season but I guess because the Mets lost in the World Series, they don’t.  Oh and it was not Yogi’s fault.

Yahoo Sports had how the Yankees and Brett Gardner finalized their $12.5M, 1 year contract.

The NY Post reported: “To make room for Gardner on the roster, Stephen Tarpley was designated for assignment. The 26-year-old Tarpley appeared in 21 games for the Yankees last season and was mostly ineffective. He allowed six homers in just 24 2/3 innings and had an ERA of 6.93.”

MLB Trade Rumors reported that the Rangers signed Todd Frazier. “Frazier will collect a $3.5MM salary in 2020 with a $5.75MM option for 2021 that comes with a $1.5MM buyout, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.”

MLB Trade Rumors reported that the Dodgers signed Alex Wood.

MLB Trade Rumors says that the Cardinals and the Rockies have had preliminary Arenado talks.

Last night in the Dominican Republic, the Aguilas Cibaenas beat the Leones del Escogido 2-1 (box). 

Cesar Puello went 1 for 3 with a run scored, walk and a strikeout.

Carlos Gomez went 2 for 4 with a strikeout.

Dario Alvarez pitched a scoreless 7^th inning to get the win giving up 2 hits while striking out one.

In the other game, the Toros Del Este beat the Tigres del Licey 6-1 (box).

Arismendy Alcantara was the only Met related player to appear.  The 2019 Syracuse Met came in to play right field as a defensive replacement and went 0 for 1. 

In Puerto Rico, the Indios de Mayaguez beat the Gigantes de Carolina 2-1 (box) in 12 innings.  In that game, former Binghamton Rumble Ponies Pitcher Joshua Torres pitched a scoreless 11^th inning and got the win.  

Mack’s Blast From The Past comes from January 2012: Mack on Baseball Chapter 8.  Mack talked about the 1962 NY Mets and how the “four year period of 1958-1961 was very strange for old Dodger fans”. 

UltimateMets has the date in Mets History:

Born on this date:

• Kevin Mitchell (1962)
• Elmer Dessens (1971)
• Mitchell Senger (1998)

Transactions:

New York Mets selected Francisco Estrada in fifth round of free agent draft on January 13, 1971.

New York Mets selected Herm Winningham in first round (ninth pick overall) of free agent draft on January 13, 1981.

New York Mets selected Randy Milligan in first round (third pick overall) of free agent draft on January 13, 1981.

New York Mets traded Mike Davis to the Boston Red Sox for Mike Torrez on January 13, 1983.

Los Angeles Dodgers signed Lee Guetterman of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 13, 1993.

New York Mets signed free agent Rob MacDonald on January 13, 1996.

New York Mets signed free agent Masato Yoshii on January 13, 1998.

New York Mets signed free agent Ronny Cedeno of the Pittsburgh Pirates on January 13, 2012. 

New York Mets signed free agent Dario Alvarez on January 13, 2013

Want more?  Check out https://sportspyder.com/mlb/new-york-mets/news. 

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