2023 Mets King of Spring Training, update #2 -
Tim Locastro - .379/.471/.621 in 29 ABs
Locastro is one of the trio of players along with Baty with 11 hits this spring. He also continues to swipe bases, leading the team with five. He has not only maintained his high batting average from the first KoST update, he has raised it and scored a team-leading nine runs. By contrast, Tommy Pham has not distinguished himself this spring. Given the contract the Mets gave Pham, it’s unlikely Locastro will usurp him, but if Pham’s struggles continue into the regular season, Locastro may get a call sooner than anticipated.
Mack - As of “close of business 3-15, Locastro is hitting .355.
Who makes the roster in the outfield may be who will be used as the backup first baseman. If you see Ruf keep getting spring reps here, it will be him, If it’s Vientos, it will be him.
4 NY Mets who should already be on the trade block - 2. NY Mets infielder Eduardo Escobar should already be on the trade block
The New York Mets have plenty of depth at the hot corner and it’s time to move on from one of their three third basemen. It makes the most sense for the team to part company with Eduardo Escobar, if for no other reason than to get Brett Baty into the lineup on a regular basis.
Escobar hit very well toward the tail end of last season and is still under contract for $9-million in 2023. That’s not an impossible contract to trade, so long as the Mets front office find the right team.
The Mets have got to find a way to get some of their younger players like Baty and Mark Vientos into the lineup on a more consistent basis. While New York is gunning for World Series title in 2023, having a roster filled exclusively with veterans isn’t always the best course of action.
Trading Eduardo Escobar would allow Buck Showalter to get Baty’s bat into the lineup on a regular basis, and the team could also see if Vientos is going to factor into the club’s long-term plans. It would also get nearly $9-million off the book – not that Steve Cohen is worried about that.
Mack - I don’t agree here but I no longer want this guy as the starting third baseman. On my team, that is now Brett Baty’s job.
A combo of Escobar and and Daniel Vogelbach would be my DH hitters this year.
Other outfielder… Pham.
What would the Mets look like with more early contract extensions? -
Jeff McNeil
Current contract: four years, $50 million
Theoretical contract: four years, $47 million left on a six-year, $54 million deal
In an old spreadsheet working through possible extensions for younger Mets players, I found this one for McNeil ahead of the 2021 season. It’s remarkably close to what McNeil ended up signing two years later: It would have paid McNeil $7 million over the past two seasons and $47 million over the next four. McNeil earned $3.6 million over the past two seasons and will make $50 million over the next four. (I really wish I’d written this two years ago.)
The Mets’ deal does include a $15.75 million club option (with a $2 million buyout) for 2027.
Although an extension would have done very little to change McNeil’s earnings, it would have had two effects. First, it would have again lowered the Mets’ luxury tax bill by spreading the cost over a larger number of years. McNeil counts for $12.5 million against the tax in each of the next four years; he’d count for just $9 million against it with the earlier extension.
Second, it might have put McNeil more at ease at an earlier stage in his career. McNeil has acknowledged placing more pressure on himself in 2021 knowing his first trip through arbitration was upcoming that offseason.
Mack - These are fun to read and look over, but to me, it’s all analysis paralysis.
McNeil is signed and so be it.
What would the Mets look like with more early contract extensions? -
Edwin Díaz
Current contract: five years, $102 million
Theoretical contract: three years, $48 million left on a five-year, $65 million deal
What if the Mets had tried to sign Díaz after the 2020 season instead of waiting until he reached free agency? Díaz at that point was set to make $7 million in arbitration, and the Mets could have worked out something that paid him $11 million in 2022 and then $16 million for three free-agent seasons. Díaz’s 2020 had answered most of the questions posed by his difficult 2019, and the Mets could have saved some money long-term with a deal at that point. Díaz would count as $13 million against the luxury tax this season instead of $18.64 million.
Mack - I don’t even want to talk about Diaz this morning.
https://theathletic.com/4245052/2023/02/24/mets-bullpen-candidates/?source=user-shared-article -
Zach Muckenhirn (28)
Acquired: Signed as a minor-league free agent, November 2022
Status: Not on the 40-man roster but with options.
Repertoire: Fastball, slider, changeup
2022: 3.11 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 55 Triple-A innings
Muckenhirn is a lefty who works north and south with a four-seam fastball up and a slider with depth that breaks below bats. He’s been incorporating a changeup more and more into his repertoire to help him out against right-handers, and that’s helped him widen the strike zone a bit. He’s coming off a pair of really strong seasons in the White Sox system, though he’s yet to reach the major leagues.
Mack - Originally drafted in the 11th round of the 2016 draft, by the Orioles, out of the University of North Dakota.
I don’t give him much chance of making the 26, but if relievers keep dropping like flies, who knows?
12 comments:
If Zach Much is part of the OD 26, we are in trouble.
Vientos had, I believe, a double and sac fly off tough lefty Framber Valdez. He s/b on the OD roster or join the team very early in the season. Or might his shopping value be increasing with exposure, should we seek a closer?
McNeil had a bad 2021, or he would have been extended in 2021.
Diaz? Isn't his new agent Ronny Patella?
Max goes 7 innings on March 18? Wow.
Locastro? Will he hit when the season actually starts?
Altuve hurt in WBC - not aware if minor or bad
If the Mets trade for a closer, it will cost them a top prospect
No one gets hurt in those games, right? RIGHT????
It's a good thing Nimmo didn’t go there and risk injury.
Meanwhile, at another group, someone suggested a one-one trade of Alex Rodriguez for Edwin's brother. I'd do it, using Diaz to set up either Robertson or Otto, then pair him with his brother for years to come.
How do others here feel about that?
Ramirez has great CF potential.
I'm sort of sick.of the Mets trading centerfielders
I agree with Mack, the Mets have to keep Ramirez. I would not have a problem with looking to obtain A. Diaz, but not for Ramirez. Vientos and Nogasek? Another pitcher? Just not a centerfielder (or Jett Williams)
Do you really think the Reds would accept that offer for Diaz?
I don't want to trade Ramirez either, but it boils down to choosing "win now" vs "look long-term".
The window is closing on Max and JV, and will be shut by the time Ramirez is ready. I vote for "win now", and if Diaz is the missing piece while his big brother is out, I'm willing to bite the bullet and overpay.
yeah, i doubt that would be enough. My point is that the centerfielders are off the table now. I would do Parada before Ramirez.
Mauricio and Vientos might get it done…
Uncle Steveis trying to build an organization that will compete year after year. He probably won’t be open to trading prospects,especially a package of them.
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