John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 1/19/2020

Two biggest Mets stories this morning involve rumors that the Mets are interested in Dusty Baker and that talks with the Pirates regarding Starling Marte have apparently resumed. 

Per SNY.TV: The Mets and Pirates have recently reopened trade talks concerning Starling Marte, sources have told Robert Murray. However, no deal between the two sides appears to be imminent.

Also Per SNY.TV: “Veteran manager Dusty Baker is reportedly in the discussion for the Mets managerial job, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.” “In addition to being mentioned as a candidate for the Mets managerial job, Baker is also reportedly set to interview with the Astros on Monday, according to MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi. The Astros have pegged Feb. 3 as their target to hire a new manager, at which point they will focus on hiring a new general manager.” 

More on the sign stealing scandal:

Mike Lupica in the NY Daily News says the Astros got what they deserved: About whether or not the recently fired have a chance to come back, Mike points to Alex Rodriguez – “You know where Rodriguez is now, five years after serving his one-year Biogeneis suspension: He 's the mayor of baseball, with regular jobs on both ESPN and Fox. If he can come back, so can Luhnow, so can Hinch, so can Cora, so can Carlos Beltran, who never got to manage a game with the Mets because what he did with the Astros finally caught up with him.”

Ken Davidoff looks where MLB goes from here.  He talks about the upcoming MLB report on the Red Sox portion of the scandal and the possibility that Carlos Beltran may return to baseball.  He also notes: “the greatest certainty might be MLB adding staff to its Department of Investigations. Looking into alleged baseball crimes represents a growth industry!”

Larry Brown Sports had the story that apparently Astros players “also wore electronic buzzers inside their jerseys and would receive information via a buzzing sequence. A Twitter account claiming to be Carlos Beltran’s niece tweeted on Thursday that they had proof it was happening.”

The Spun had this quote from Jose Altuve on this manner: “I have never worn an electronic device in my performance as a major league player.”

Reflections on Baseball asks about the Mets “Are they stupid, naive, or lying through their teeth – which is it?” Steve Contursi notes: “Brodie Van Wagenen had told us we are expected to believe it never dawned on him to ask Carlos Beltran about his complicity in the sign-stealing enterprise when he was with the Astros.”

Tomorrow the 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees will be announced. 

Cooperstown Cred does a great job running down the pros and cons for all candidates.  Chris Bodig’s latest post notes that the “Hall of Fame is still out of reach for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens”.

Mets 360 looked at Jeff Torborg, the previous shortest-tenured Mets manager.  Among other things writer Dayton Allison notes: “With the arrival of Torborg (in 1992) also came the arrival of Bobby Bonilla…They finished with a record of 72-90, and the dubious moniker of ‘The Worst Team that Money Could Buy.’”

Per MLB.com, MLB Networks had the top 10 Right Fielders and top 10 First Basemen right now.  Michael Conforto was ranked # 9 on the Right Fielder list and Pete Alonso # 3 on the First Basemen list.  Here are the other Right Fielders: #1 Mookie Betts, #2 Christian Yelich, # 3 Aaron Judge, #4 Ronald Acuña Jr., #5 J.D. Martinez, #6 Bryce Harper, #7 Jorge Soler, #8 Joey Gallo, # 10 Nicholas Castellanos.  Other First Basemen: #1 Freddie Freeman, #2 Max Muncy, #4 Anthony Rizzo, # 5 Paul Goldschmidt, # 6 Matt Olson, #7 Luke Voit, #8 Carlos Santana, #9 Josh Bell, #10 Edwin Encarnación. 

Also per MLB.com, they listed an “Alternative Gold Glove” award winners using Statcast’s new infield defense metric.  No Mets made the list.  Here are the players listed in the article: 1B: Matt Olson, Athletics (+12 OAA); 2B: Adam Frazier, Pirates (+11 OAA); SS: Javier Báez, Cubs (+19 OAA); 3B: Nolan Arenado, Rockies (+17 OAA); C: Austin Hedges, Padres; LF: Mike Tauchman, Yankees (+9 OAA overall); CF: Victor Robles, Nationals (+23 OAA); RF: Aaron Judge, Yankees (+8 OAA).

Jacob Resnick in Metsmerized online looked at the defensive metric related to the Mets and had these great takeaways: Amed Rosario continues to improve; J.D. Davis was serviceable — even slightly above-average — at the hot corner; Robinson Cano’s diminishing range; Pete Alonso still has work to do.

Amazing Avenue says that The Mets still have a pitching problem. Despite Brodie Van Wagenen’s boasting, the team’s rotational depth leaves a lot to be desired.  Writer Maggie Wiggin pointed out how: “The 2019 squad had its fair share of warts, but pitcher health was not one of them. Their top four starters—Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, and Steven Matz—each made at least 30 starts, with Jason Vargas and Marcus Stroman combining for 29…Yet despite this exceptional run of luck, the 2019 Mets still had to dig into their reserves and trotted out Wilmer Font, Walker Lockett, and Chris Flexen for starts.”

213 Miles from Shea continued to look at their 2019 projections versus performance for Mets players with Wilson Ramos.

Last night in the Dominican Republic, they finished the game that was suspended Friday after 12 and a half innings as the Tigres del Licey beat the Aguilas Cibaenas 6-5 in 13 innings (box). Final stats for ex-Mets:

Carlos Gomez went 2 for 5, 1 RBI, a double, run scored, a walk and a strikeout. 

Jonathan Niese 0 innings, 2 hits, 1 run.

Dario Alvarez 1.1 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits with 2 strikeouts.

Just one game in Puerto Rico as the Cangrejeros de Santurce lost to the Indios de Mayaguez 4-3 (box). 

Mike Antonini pitched 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits with 2 strikeouts.

Mack’s Blast From the Past comes from January 2015: Mack looked at prospect Robert Whalen.

UltimateMets has the date in Mets History:

Born on this date:

• Jon Matlack (1950)
• Anthony Young (1966)

Transactions:
Seattle Mariners signed Brent Mayne of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 19, 1997.

New York Mets signed free agent Allen Watson of the Anaheim Angels on January 19, 1999.

Colorado Rockies signed Steve Reed of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 19, 2003.

New York Mets signed free agent Darren Oliver on January 19, 2006.

Seattle Mariners claimed Chasen Bradford of the New York Mets on waivers on January 19, 2018.

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

Want something else tracked here each day?  Please leave a comment below.