The Mack Report - Part 2 (LoCastro, Landon Green, End Of Correa, Who Plays Third?)

^{The Mets signed outfielder Tim LoCastro.} 

^{LoCastro is a 30-year old that can play all three outfield positions effectively.}

^{He was drafted in 2013 by Toronto, in the 13th round, out of Ithaca College (NY).} 

^{2022 stats for the Yankees:  -0.2-WAR  43-AB  2-HR .186} 

^{My guess going forward that the role of OF-5 on a Mets team will always be someone that runs like the wind and gives great late inning defensive relief. Any random hit will be a bonus. Look for late inning pinch running and then inserted into the outfield.} 

 

^{You know I follow and report on the draft prospects each year. For various reasons, this will probably be the last year I do this, so I want to tell you about somebody that stands a good chance of being the 1.1 pick in 2027.} 

^{RHP Landon Green} 

^{One of my trusted draft associates, Ian Smith, said that the uncommitted righty is already throwing a 90-92 heater, backed up with a 68-70 breaker. Has a compact arm action also.} 

^{Remember the hype regarding Bryce Harper? Well, throwing 92 while being a freshman in high school is the same kind of hype.} 

^{Remember this name.} 

 

^{Baseball has become a big business, but there is a big difference between throwing mad money at a player and throwing it out the window.} 

^{The Carlos Correa situation mirrors the Kumar Rocker pass in many regards. Obviously, the Steve Cohen-led Mets aren’t afraid to go after the big guys out there. Rocker was a steal at 1.10 and teams drafting before that were warned by his agent that the signing demands would be the same as if he was picked 1.1. Signing bonuses are chump change to Cohen and then, thus, the pick.} 

^{Correa was a huge get and the initial agreement was worthy of the talent of the player, but this was when the medical staff stepped in like they did with Rocker.} 

^{I believe Scott Boras led the Mets down a rosy path when it came to Rocker and they quickly pulled the offer when his claims that his client was healthy proved to be wrong. Was it a set-up? Never will know.} 

^{Now, re-enters Boras with Correa, but this one is a little different. We have a healthy person with a checkered medical past, that could easily come into play during the length of the offer.} 

^{I believe Cohen got his first taste of eating the apple with the digestion of the inherited Robinson Cano contract.} 

^{My guess is the Mets will continue to try and sign the best of the best, but gotta believe that the length of that contact, if lengthy, will have some medical/insurance addendums attached to him.} 

^{Addendums… like I said… big business.} 

 

^{So… who’s gonna play third base. The 2023 Mets have four players to chose from here… Eduardo Escobar, Luis Guillorme, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos. Let’s take one at at time:}

 

^{Escobar - The Vet. 34-years young. Disappointing 2022 (1.2-WAR, 495-AB, .240). .259 vs. LHP. Hit 20 home runs. Steady defense at third, the second best of the four candidates defensively.}

 

^{Guillorme - 28-years old. Swiss army knife. Does little wrong. Solid hitting (.273 in 297 at-bats) but little pop (2-HR). Top draw defense at all three infield positions. Current role is UT1-IF.}

 

^{Baty - 23-years old. The top prospect. #2 hot corner prospect in baseball (Jordan Walker). Was promoted to Mets last year prematurily due to injuries to Escobar and Luis Guillorme. Only 38 at-bats for the Mets last year (-0.3-WAR, 2-HR, .184). Even less (26 at-bats) for AAA-Syracuse (.364). 22-HRs in 340-AB for AA-Binghamton last year. Defense to be determined.}

 

^{Vientos - 23-years old. The homer machine. 24 of them at AAA-Syracuse last season. Nothing more to do in the minors. Only 36 at-bats last year in the majors (-0.2-WAR, 1-HR, .167). Third base defense is poor. Played limited corner outfield in Syracuse and can back up at first base.}

 

^So… 

^{If I was Billy-Buck…}

 

1. ^{Don’t panic at the loss of Correa. There is tremendous projectable talent at this position.}

 

2. ^{The future here is Baty, but he didn’t even get enough at-bats in 2022 at AAA, no less the majors. He’s still young and could need another year working on his D. Play him at 3B in Syracuse in 2023. Make him your 2024 starter and don’t worry about this position for eight plus years.}

 

3. ^{Vientos doesn’t offer much more than a right hand hitting designated hitter. If he does well there, add some at-bats against righties and see how he handles that. Could be a very viable long term DH with the ability to back up in the corners and at first.}

 

4. ^{The combination of Escobar and Guillorme may not look sexy, but my guess is Eduardo has to hit better this upcoming season than he did in 2022. Luis is budda.}