RHP David Peterson told reporters that he felt great after his hip surgery that shut him down last season. Reports from the field was that he is soft tossing and well on the road to recovery. An early recovery here could sure change the dynamic of the Mets pitching staff.
Noticed RHP Justin Verlander announced that he is behind this spring and his return is still undetermined. Boy, this trade looks better every day.
RHP Luis Severino was on the field early. Lots of question marks for this 29 year old the Mets are paying 13mil + bonuses for a one year contract. Coming off a miserable -1.5 WAR 4-8 6.65 season after going 7-3 3.15 in 2022. Lots of question marks.
Talk of the camp was the commitment that Japanese power hitting outfield Rintaro Sasaki made regarding attending and playing for Stanford. Known as the "Japanese Prince Fielder", Sasaki hit an amazing 140 home runs over three high school seasons, compiling a stat line of .413/.514/.808. Scouts all agree that he is ready today to start in the majors.
The Mets moved Ronny Mauricio to the 60-day IL to make room for their latest wild fireballer. 29 year old 6-6 RHRP Shintaro Fujinami. "Fuji" had a 2023 stat line of -2.1 WAR 7-8 7.15/1.50 79 IP 83 K 45 BB. The good news here is his heater has been clocked as high as 103. Big time 80s slider and splitter too. Send him to the labs as soon as he walks in the door.
Wait til you see Sean Manaea's hair this season. Looks like it's been uncut since birth. Makes the old Jake cut look like a crew cut.
Manaea is Samoan, and I guess he is going with a natural Samoan look.
ReplyDeleteGood for Peterson.
If Verlander is out long, those deals look increasingly good.
Why the heck didn't the Mets invite Rhylan Thomas to camp. He is the org's best hitter, hands down.
I agree Thomas should be there.
DeleteBest hitter is debatable
This is a great series of articles, Mack. I like the 'Spring Sports Shorts'.
ReplyDeleteThanks bud
DeleteRhylan Thomas? I exaggerated there for effect, but why can’t he be the next Jeff McNeil or Dave Magadan?
ReplyDeleteMack,
ReplyDeleteYour Spring Training report starts my day off. Great articles, keep them up!
Mack, just as an FYI, Rhylan got up once in spring training last year. Of course, he singled.
ReplyDeleteYour kiss of death here is going full throttle
DeleteThe Mets do have an interest in Verlander’s injury. He has a $35m vesting option for 2025 if he reaches 140 IP in ‘24, and the Mets are on the hook for 50% of that.
ReplyDeleteRhyland is likely to get some AB’s this spring. They often bring guys over from the minor league side for a game here and there. Particularly on split squad days.
Gotta love Manea’s hair. Let’s hope his arm looks as good this year.
If Peterson comes back that’s another ML starter!
ReplyDeleteTough for the Verlander deal to ever look that good because we're still paying his salary to "be behind" for another team, but at least we don't have the high expectations and the prospects we received are still looking good.
ReplyDeleteThe upside of the JV deal is he's not signed to a 5 yr deal which we have done before. As for the throwin Samoan we only hope the hair has him pitching like another long hair we had a few years back. It's a very interesting mix DS has put together and really goes to show us to this point he has a plan and is sticking with it. That he didn't succumb to the "we got to sign a DH" so now only time will answer that question.
ReplyDelete