John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 1/31/2020

Happy Birthday Nolan Ryan and Bob Apodaca and Jeurys Familia has been working hard this off-season.

Per SNY TV: Mets' Jeurys Familia weight change makes him hopeful for bounce-back season. "It was a tough season for me," Familia told The NY Post. "I've never had a year like that. Gaining weight affected my delivery to the plate and messed up my rhythm, which is why I started...training to take the weight off this offseason." Familia says he's down 30 pounds, from 270 to 240 since he began working out with personal trainer Dave Paladino at Impact Zone in New Jersey.

Per the NY Post: “Jeurys has been a man on a mission this offseason,” general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said. “He has worked with our health and performance department to improve in every aspect of his preparation. In addition to losing weight, he has spent time with [pitching coach] Jeremy Hefner to better understand his mechanics and his approach. He has been throwing off the mound at Citi Field since before the holidays.”

Lots of Mets Prospect news:

MLB.com listed each team's best non-Top 100 prospect.  For the Mets it was Matthew Allan, RHP: “The Mets saved enough money with their first two picks in the 2019 Draft that they were able to sign Allan, arguably the top prep arm in the class, for $2.5 million (roughly four times his slot value) after taking him in the third round. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder is the definition of a high-ceiling prospect, as he already features a plus fastball-curveball combo as well as a changeup that should be at least above average.”

Andres Chavez of Empire Sports Media says: Meet the future of the New York Mets: his name is Ronny Mauricio. He goes on to say about Mauricio: “Mauricio is significantly ahead of the developmental curve. He is 18 years old and already held his own in Class-A. Most of the players of his age are either on the Dominican Summer League or in Rookie ball….He is a switch hitter, although he is better batting lefty. Scouts love his swing and bat speed, and say that he will bat for average and power. Defensively, he has good reactions, soft hands and a plus arm.”

Elite Sports NY Ranked the New York Mets top five 2020 prospects: 5. Andres Gimenez, SS; 4. Brett Baty, 3B; 3. Matthew Allan, RHP; 2. Francisco Alvarez, C; 1. Ronny Mauricio, SS.

Amazing Avenue completed their Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2020 and they too have Ronny Mauricio #1. “The Mets and Dominican shortstop Ronny Mauricio agreed to a $2.1 million signing bonus for inking a deal with the organization, breaking the club record previously held by fellow Dominican shortstop Amed Rosario. The 18-year-old is 6’3”, 165 lbs. with a leggy, athletic frame, suggesting that he will grow and add muscle in the years to come.”

Mets Minors continued their countdown of top 30 Mets Prospects with numbers 25-21: 25. Daison Acosta, RHP; 24. Michel Otanez, RHP; 23. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP; 22. Jose Butto, RHP; 21. Jaylen Palmer, INF.

Other Mets News:

Empire Sports Media has three current Mets that will make the Mets Hall of Fame: Jacob deGrom, Jeurys Familia, and Pete Alonso.

Elite Sports NY says that MLB The Show 20 Video Game sees New York Mets and Yankees as World Series favorites.  That’s ok as long as they don’t put any Mets on the game cover as that can be a jinx.

Danny Abriano of SNY.TV asks: “With Yoenis Cespedes and Jed Lowrie still on Mets, is roster crunch coming?” He goes on to say: “If Cespedes and Lowrie are fully healthy or at least close to it, the Mets will be in a great spot. With Cespedes, they would have a serious offensive threat who could play left field often. With Lowrie, they would have a jack-of-all-trades bench piece with a plus bat who would be able to regularly fill in at third base and second base while perhaps playing shortstop and first base in a pinch.”

Other MLB News:

CBS Sports wonders: Kris Bryant's trade value is clear with grievance settled; which teams are best positioned to swing a deal?  They say Dodgers, Yankees, Braves, Nationals, Phillies. 

12up.com discussed 5 Players Screwed Over by MLB's Service Time Rules: 5) Kris Bryant; 4) Ronald Acuña Jr.; 3) Bryce Harper; 2) Pete Alonso; 1) Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Call to the Pen had three trade destinations for Chris Archer:  Padres, Twins, Blue Jays.

Tomahawktake,com said the NL needs the DH. “With advanced metrics and zone ratings, defensive performance is being scrutinized more than ever. Players with a big bat need the DH option as they age.” 

Philly Sports Network had how Zack Wheeler can evolve into an Ace. Lots of great video and analysis included comparing Zack Wheeler to Gerrit Cole: “After arriving in Houston, Cole altered the use of his pitches, virtually dropping his ineffective sinker altogether. His biggest change, and the tactic I’m hoping Wheeler implements, was climbing the ladder with his fastball in two-strike situations.”

Per SI.Com: “The Red Sox and Dodgers are "deep into talks" about a deal involving 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts, according to ESPN's Buster Olney… The Dodgers feature an attractive range of young players, including outfielder Alex Verdugo, infielder Gavin Lux and pitcher Dustin May.”

We linked yesterday to the website where one fan “decided to listen to every pitch from the Astros’ 2017 home games and log any banging noise”. The NY Post had more information about this: “Tony Adams, a 54-year-old graphic designer and web developer, downloaded videos of 8,274 opposing pitches over 58 games from 2017 and found evidence of a banging sound on nearly 14% of them (1,143).”

Per 12up.com: Former Yankee and Twin Phil Hughes Shares Depressing Memory of Pitching in One of Astros' Dirtiest Home Games.

Houston Chronicle.com says that New skipper Dusty Baker gives Astros stabilizing presence.

USA Today had David Ortiz on the MLB Sign Stealing Scandal: "Players are always trying to figure out things from the opposition, whatever they can get to help to win, they will go for it," Ortiz said. "Sometimes people cross the line, like what just happened."

Per MLB Trade Rumors:

Reds To Sign Pedro Strop.     

                     

The Tigers re-sign Jordy Mercer.

Rangers Sign Derek Law To Minors Contract.

Brewers Designate former Met Deolis Guerra For Assignment.  He was part of the Johan Santana trade.

Mariners To Sign Wei-Yin Chen.

Mariners Sign Yoshihisa Hirano.

Marlins To Sign Matt Joyce to a Major League contract. 

Some Mets Videos:

Moises Alou Is Confident In His Brother Luis Rojas.

Jeff McNeil rooting on Pete Alonso at the HR Derby.

Ron Darling talking to Mad Dog Russo.

Per the DailyStache.com: Ron Darling on WFAN said the Mets had a chance to keep Carlos Beltran if they came out and supported him 24 hours after the MLB’s report on the Houston sign stealing was released.

Winter Ball:

As stated yesterday, the Caribbean series is scheduled to start this Saturday in Puerto Rico.  Per the Baseball Sociologist: “Despite the recent earthquake in Puerto Rico, the Series will go on as scheduled. The Commissioner of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, Juan Francisco Puello, assured the teams and the public that stadium sustained no damage during the earthquake.”

Some Ex-Mets currently scheduled to play: Joshua Torres for Puerto Rico (per twitter).  Raul Valdes, Jordany Valdespin, Tim Peterson, and Ramon E. Ramirez for the Dominican Republic (also per twitter). 

Historical Links:

Mack’s Blast From the Past comes from January 31, 2014: Mack’s Morning Report.  Mack talked about Gavin Cecchini, Amed Rosario, John Lannan, Dominic Smith, Wilmer Flores, and more.  

UltimateMets has the date in Mets History:

Born on this date:

• Nolan Ryan (1947)
• Bob Apodaca (1950)
• Rafael Santana (1958)
• Marcos Correa (2000)

Died on this date:

• Harry Chiti (2002)

Transactions:
San Diego Padres signed Mike Piazza of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 31, 2006.

Baltimore Orioles signed Ronny Paulino of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 31, 2012.

New York Mets signed free agent LaTroy Hawkins of the Los Angeles Angels on January 31, 2013.

New York Mets traded Josh Smoker to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Daniel Zamora on January 31, 2018.

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

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