Michael
was drafted in the 30th round of the 2011 draft by the Minnesota
Twins, out of the University of North Carolina.
He
spent six years in the Twins organization and was picked up by the Mets for the
2018 season. Michael hit .305 in 387 at-bats for Binghamton and .333 in nine
at-bats for Las Vegas. All that got him was to be released and picked up by San
Francisco.
He hit
.248 in 302 at-bats last year for AAA-Sacramento.
Bartlett
was drafted by the Mets in the 15th round of the 1970 draft, out of
Arkansas Tech. He pitched five seasons in the Mets chain (20-17, 3.17), and
finished at the AAA-Tidewater team (0-1, 3.00, in only 4-games, 2-starts). His
best season came in 1973 for the AA-Memphis affiliate (11-5, 3.23).
Please
welcome them aboard.
On a
previous unfinished Q and A, I was asked if I was happy with the Mets
catching. My answer was:
Almost.
As I have said in the past, I don’t see any long term
solution here until Francisco Alvarez comes into
the picture around 3-4 seasons from now. Until then, this position probably
will be a year to year decision.
I have no problem with playing Wilson
Ramos this year, nor do I see any reason not to renew his option for
2021. This has turned out to be one of BVW’s best moves since becoming the Mets
GM.
We all would love to see J.T.
Realmuto behind our plate next season, but that’s a long shot at best.
It would first take a new owner and then have enough operating money left for a
shot here.
As for this year’s backup, I would have signed Russell Martin for the backup role this year. Rene Rivera would be my second choice.
None of the Mets lower level prospects made the 60 man roster
and taxi squad this year. They include Matt Allen,
Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, and Josh Wolf.
The League also ruled that the only players that could be
traded this year are members of the 60-man squad.
What this means for us that the chance of a repeating a
stupid trade that included one of our future stars can not happen.
There will be 20 players on the Mets taxi squad, reporting
everyday to the Brooklyn Cyclone complex in hopes of first hearing the phone
ring and then hearing their name called out.
Until that happens, what should they do?
Well, I have an idea. Play a baseball game every third day.
Take the pitchers and divide up a six inning game. Use three pitchers in each
game for two innings each. Take eight position players and put them on the
field. Create a lineup and, when it is time for a batter to come up, replace
that batter on the field with a substitute for that at-bat. Put him back on the
field after he hits and, if he gets on base, replace him with a pinch runner
from the rest of the squad sitting this one out.
At no time do you have more than 10 players on the field.
Thoughts?
7 comments:
Levi and Michael, welcome to Macks Mets.
I sure hope Alvarez is the real deal. We need a stud catcher by 2022 or so.
Mack, good idea on the taxi squad playing simulated games, but I would include anyone not on the active 30 man roster in those squad games. Those 30 guys would make it easy enough to square off into two opposing "teams".
Tom
I agree on the players not on the 30, but it is my understanding that they are unable to report there.
Good morning folks. Welcome Levi and Robert.
Mack, BVW has said that he will fill out the 60 and will add some prospects but he can also add more later. Without any other resource, it doesn’t make sense to not add your prospects so they get some playing in. It could be where some get added for one month, then dropped off for others.
There are more good catching prospects in the system, too. Rodriguez, Regnault and Senger all have different strengths and can grow. Alvarez has a strong arm and power; built like a cinderblock, he isn’t very agile. Too, he looked like Ramos looks right now in a picture we saw last spring. In the Latin American countries, steroids were pretty easily accessible. So, let’s just see how these guys all do.
Lastly, Martin was holding out for more at bats and wouldn’t sign at the time Rivera signed. I wouldn’t have waited on Martin, either.
Gus -
Young minds and egos are fragile. I would leave them alone this year.
Yes, there are other 'good catchers'. Villalobos is another. But there currently only one 'great' prospect in the chain.
You are right about Martin. I think he is still holding for something.
Noah Syndergaard was the most vocal opponent of Ramos behind the plate, but he's on the shelf this year. I still think Ramos will be gone at year's end to help free up dollars to bid for Realmuto.
Never been a Ramos fan, and I’m sure that Noah wasn’t the only pitcher who would rather throw to someone else, just the only guy to speak up. Framing and defense behind the plate matters more than hitting, in my opinion (within reason, of course). I wouldn’t have signed him, and wouldn’t bring him back. I also think that having a great catcher (hard to do, I know) is a huge part of putting together a championship team. Should be their top priority next offseason. Now let’s hope that there’s an owner in place who will allocate resources. Cuz if the Wilpons are still stuck holding the bag, we might see uncle Sol back there.
Adam,
Like I said in my post on Thursday, I would start Nido and have Ramos pinch hit if Nido comes up. I would then bring in Rivera or Sanchez to catch the rest of the game. Ramos had a -11 DRS last year and if has been going down every year since he was hurt. He can still hot though and since he can hit and catch should be on the roster. I would just not catch him regularly.
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