John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 3/27/2020

Good morning.  Happy Birthday to Brandon Nimmo and Matt Harvey.  MLB and the Players Union make an agreement, and uniforms are being made into hospital masks.  Let's hit the links!   

CBS Sports: MLB, MLBPA reach agreement on draft, service time, salary advances amid COVID-19 pandemic. Three Key Areas they agreed:

MLB can shorten the draft all the way down to five rounds…The league could increase the total, too…and held no earlier than August…Also, the international signing period could be delayed until all the way back to January of 2021;

If there is no 2020 season, the players will get the same service time for 2020 they had in 2019, which means players set to hit free agency after this season still will;

Players will collectively get a $170 million advance spread over two months and then their salaries will be prorated for the season, depending upon how long it lasts. 

More on this from AP News: Management was given the right to cut the amateur draft in both 2020 and 2021, and to freeze the values of signing bonus money at 2019 levels. Teams are set to approve the roughly 17-page agreement Friday.

Joel Sherman NY Post: No matter what happens with baseball this season, Mookie Betts will become a free agent come winter. So will J.T. Realmuto, Trevor Bauer, James Paxton and Marcus Stroman.

Very sad must see: AP PHOTOS: Stadiums deserted as virus postpones opening day.

SNY.TV: Video of Mets' 5 most memorable Opening Day moments - Rey Ordonez guns a runner down from his knees, Gary Carter's homer, and more.

Vasilis Drimalitis Amazing Avenue: Making sense of the emotions surrounding an Opening Day without baseball.

Elite Sports NY: Washington Nationals at New York Mets: The saddest 6-word story.

Tim Boyle of Rising Apple.com pointed out that the Mets have finished above .500 every year they beat the Nationals on Opening Day.

Yahoo Sports: MLB and Fanatics stop jersey production to make masks and gowns for hospitals to fight coronavirus.

As we had on Mack’s Mets yesterday: Paul Sewald and Daniel Zamora were Optioned to AAA. 

Syracuse.com had Sewald’s and Zamora’s stats for Syracuse last year: Sewald appeared in 41 games, all in relief, and posted a 3.35 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 51 innings. Zamora pitched in 29 games, also all out of the bullpen, and produced 36 strikeouts and a 4.20 ERA in 30 frames.

Brian Joura Mets 360.com: Mets 2020 projections: Brandon Nimmo.  As part of his projection Brian takes an in-depth look at the value of On Base Percentage.  His Nimmo projection is as follows: 650 Plate Appearances, .262/.410/.505; 21 HR; 60 RBIs.  (I sure hope he is right).

Reflections on Baseball: Noah Syndergaard: The last nail in his self-built coffin ending his Mets career.

SNY.TV: Instead of being at Opening Day, Jeff McNeil spent part of his Thursday chasing a snake out of his backyard/pool area.

SNY contributor Pete McCarthy says Pete Alonso is going to hit more homers than Aaron Judge this year.

Mike’s Mets discusses getting back into blogging in One Door Closes.

Tim Ryder Metsmerized Online: Reliving The 2000 Mets: Season Preview.

Tim Boyle Rising Apple Mets History Rewritten: Jose Reyes re-signs after winning the 2011 batting title.

12UP.com: Didi Gregorius Got Screwed by MLB and MLBPA's Reported Service-Time Agreement. Now, with the season set to be shortened to between 80-100 games, Gregorius won't have the desired set of games to truly showcase his talents. In fact, he played in just 82 games last year, which is what netted him the Philly prove-it deal in the first place.

Albany Times Union: Tri-City Valley Cats push back individual ticket sales to April 16. The New York-Penn League baseball franchise said it still plans on playing the home opener on June 24 at Bruno Stadium in Troy.  The Brooklyn Cyclones visit Troy June 27^th-June 29^th. 

AP News: Former Astros star Jimmy ‘The Toy Cannon’ Wynn dies at 78.

Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:

John from Albany - The Alternative 50 Mets Prospects, Number# 1 Andres Gimenez.

Tom Brennan - HOW DID THE NON-TOP 25 WANNABES HIT THIS SPRING?

Paul Sewald and Daniel Zamora Optioned to AAA.

Mack’s Blast From The Past comes from 3-27-12 – Mack Ade – Mets Catching. Mack looked at catching situation back then including how Josh Thole, a converted first baseman, was progressing. 

Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

• Bill Sudakis (1946)
• Michael Cuddyer (1979)
• Johnny Monell (1986)
• Matt Harvey (1989)
• Brandon Nimmo (1993)

Transactions:

New York Mets purchased Bill Sudakis from the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 27, 1972.

New York Mets released Jim Beauchamp on March 27, 1974.

New York Mets traded Jackson Todd to the Philadelphia Phillies for Edward Cuervo on March 27, 1978.

New York Mets traded Nino Espinosa to the Philadelphia Phillies for Richie Hebner and Jose Moreno on March 27, 1979.

New York Mets traded Ed Hearn, Rick Anderson and Mauro Gozzo to the Kansas City Royals for David Cone and Chris Jelic on March 27, 1987.

New York Mets traded Kevin Baez and Tom Wegmann to the Baltimore Orioles for David Segui on March 27, 1994.

New York Mets traded Mark Leiter to the Colorado Rockies for Brian Rose on March 27, 2001.

New York Mets traded Timo Perez to the Chicago White Sox for Matt Ginter on March 27, 2004.

New York Mets signed free agent Raul Valdes on March 27, 2010.

New York Mets sold Elvin Ramirez to the Los Angeles Angels on March 27, 2013.

New York Mets signed free agent Rene Rivera on March 27, 2019.

Baseball Reference:

1992: A lawsuit is filed against Mets pitcher David Cone by three women who charge him with exposing himself to them while in the bullpen at Shea Stadium.

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