Tom Brennan - Nimmo & Aggressiveness; Hypothetical Deal

In Everything, Give Thanks

Brandon Nimmo was interviewed a few weeks back by John Heyman and Joel Sherman.

Nimmo talked about the wisdom of selective aggression. He was thankful he finally got it through his noggin.

You see, he was playing with reckless abandon, and in doing so, had crashed into a wall a few years back, to go for an ultra-aggressive catch, incurring a bulging disk that cost him months of playing time.

Nimmo said Jay Bruce told him to be more judicious when choosing when to go all out, as not making one spectacular high risk play could prevent an injury that could cost a player months. Nimmo immediately took that to heart.

Hear, hear! 

This was a point I raised several times in years past about Juan Lagares, who did win a Gold Glove, but had several injuries, to hands, shoulders, feet, etc. that cost him a ton of playing time. My point back then about Juan was exactly what Bruce told Nimmo…because some of Lagares’ all out plays occurred when games had lopsided scores, so those acrobatics, even if successful, most likely would not have turned a L into a W. 

I wrote this in one of several articles on the subject, and it was a Pet Peeve of mine with Lagares. His time missed caused the Mets to play weak replacement players frequently, and for extended periods. As such, I think his whole time with the Mets was a net NEGATIVE for the team.

The Doctor Will See You Now

Flying Juan-o from Capistrano spent far too much time in the repair shop.

Here’s one of my blurbs, from a 2017 article:

“As Mets fans fervently hope for a pitching shot in the arm from the soon-to-return Matz and Lugo in mid-June, the Flying Wallenda Juan Lagares gets hurt doing acrobatics to catch a liner just at that time.  Juan was finally getting hot for at the time of his injury, which kept him out for 8 weeks.  As of August 27, he has 136 at bats and 10 RBIs.”

Also, Mike Baxter got Johan Santana his no hitter, and Santana was grateful, but his wall crash essentially ended Baxter’s career. 

Juan’s, I believe, was also shortened by his avoidable injuries.

Those who avoid a stupid play will live to play another day. Isn’t that right, Jason Bay?

Harrison Bader, please pay attention here. Be great in the field when it counts. Don’t commit career hari kari. You too, Drew Gilbert. Stay healthy.

Here is an example from the weekend when a Nats’ top prospect gets injured trying to do too much in a meaningless exhibition game:

https://nypost.com/2024/03/02/sports/nationals-daylen-lile-taken-off-on-stretcher-after-flipping-over-wall/

“A scary situation unfolded Saturday afternoon, as Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile was carted off the field in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Nats' 4-2 loss to the Red Sox after going head-over-heels into Boston's bullpen attempting to rob a home run.  Immediately following the catch attempt, Red Sox pitchers and staff waved for medical help in an urgent manner. The game was stopped for some time before Lile was taken off on a stretcher. He gave a thumbs up on the way out.

Manager Dave Martinez said after the game that Lile -- ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Nationals' No. 6 prospect -- was taken to a local medical facility to have a CT scan performed, and that he was able to move his legs/feet. Martinez reported Lile’s injury occurred in his lower back.

“He hit pretty hard,” Martinez said. “When we left him, he was moving his feet and his legs. Hopefully everything comes back negative. We’re going to pray for him and hope that he’s good.”

(UPDATE: – Last night was nerve-wracking for the Nationals as the team awaited an update on the injured Daylen Lile, who was carted off the field at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers after flipping over the right-center field wall and taken to a local hospital.

Manager Davey Martinez had a look of relief on his face as he provided the good news this morning that the outfield prospect is going to be OK after being released from the hospital and returning to West Palm Beach.

“He went to the hospital last night, took all the tests and everything,” Martinez said in his office before today’s Grapefruit League game against a Marlins split-squad. “Everything came back negative. He's got a lower back contusion. I mean, he's hurting. But he's gonna be OK, which is great news. We lucked out.”

So…Metsies…do we want our guys hoping to say WE LUCKED OUT?

Ask yourselves, “how do I stay healthy enough to play every day like Pete”?

Readers’ thoughts, please?

I AM READY TO BAT CLEANUP IF ASKED.

TOO SLOW TO CRASH.

I remain puzzled why no one has called me yet. 

Maybe because I am represented by Boras?  Boris Badenov, maybe.

JOHN OLERUD SKIPPED THE MINORS

For those like me who don’t remember every jot and tittle of Baseball history, I learned that John Olerud was drafted in the third round and 79th overall, not by the Mets, of course, and never played in the minor leagues before he debuted in the big leagues. 

Before he was selected that year, the Mets drafted Alan Zinter and Tom Engel. First rounder Zinter was 13 for 78 (.167) in the MLB . Tom Engel’s first minor league ERA was 6.66. That tells it all. Never made the bigs.

CAN WE STRIKE A DEAL WITH OAKLAND?

The Mets picked Brett Baty in the first round.  He is now 24. He has a -1.1 career WAR and has hit .210 and driven in 39 runs in 391 at bats. Let’s take off our “we hope, we hope, we hope” Mets eyeshades. That production stinks.

Oakland drafted 2B/3B Zach Gelof in the 2nd round in 2021. He hit well in the minors. In his MLB career, he has 270 ABs, hitting .267 with 14 HRs, and 14 steals. He has + 2.6 WAR. Great production. Just 3 errors in 69 games.

This spring, thru March 1, Gelof was 4 for 12, 2 walks, a double, and 2 HRs. Baty so far has been up 16 times against weak pitching…on base just twice.

Could we perhaps deal Brett Baty to Oakland to get Gelof to play 3B? The A’s desperately need pitching, so what about Baty + Vasil + Hamel for Gelof?  Not enough? Throw in Paul Gervase, too? 

Oakland can gamble on a Baty turnaround, and gain serviceable pitching, too. If I was Stearns, I’d jump at that deal. 

My guess, though, is Oakland would not. 

Why?

Brett Baty might just turn out to be Shawn Abner II. Or Billy Beane II.

While we fret when (if?) Baty will hit, 6’6” CF Nats prospect James Wood is 9 for 19 with 3 HR, 5 RBI, and 6 walks so far this spring. Wow, huh?

If Baty was doing that, we’d all pop the champagne cork. Maybe my new nickname for him should be Fret Baty. 

PHIL BICKFORD BETTERMENT

Phil’s Mets stats weren’t particularly great after they got him from LAD at last year’s trade deadline.

His first 3 Mets outings, 6 runs.

His last 14 outings spanning 14 innings, 2 earned runs. Nice incline. Why?

He added an effective change up late in the season that was effective, and likely that third weapon, making him more than just a FB + slider hurler, made him better. His fastball is 93-94 typically, so to be better, a 3rd pitch was needed, and has been added.

He has no options left. Some other team will absolutely take him if the Mets try to send him down.

To me, unless he collapses in March, Bickford has to be in the opening day bullpen.

He’s already decent…in the his 3 full MLB seasons, 2021-2023, his ERA in a workhorse 178 games is 4.25. The Mets have had (without calculating it) probably 3 dozen pitchers in the pen with higher ERAs in those 3 seasons. He is clearly durable. Now he has a 3rd pitch.

I am therefore betting his 2024 ERA drops to 3.90 with the 3rd pitch. And in 2023, 17 teams, including the Mets, had bullpen ERAs above 3.90.

Keep Bickford.