Morning.
Look, the 2024 future of right field is fluid. The new injury to Starling Marte has created some questions. When can he begin to ramp up? When will he be back in right? Will these injuries continue?
One of the solutions would be to bring in a rental that specializes in that position for a mid-level chip.
So, I went to mlbtr.com and downloaded all the names of right fielders that are scheduled to become free agents at the end of this season. We will discuss the current teams they are on later.
They, and their current stat line, are:
Brian Anderson - Atlanta-
.000, 0-HR, 0-RBI
Michael Conforto - SF
.232, 9-HR, 29-RBI
Joey Gallo - Nats
.164, 5-HR, 23-RBI
Randal Grichuk - D-Backs
.294, 2-HR, 17-RBI
Teoscar Hernandez - LAD
.252, 18-HR, 55-RBI
Jason Heyward - LAD
.220, 4-HR, 17-RBI
Max Kepler - Minny
.245, 6-HR, 28-RBI
Whit Merriman - Philly
.195, 3-HR, 9-RBI
Hunter Renroe - KC
.202, 7-HR, 27-RBI
Anthony Santander- Balt
.228, 21-HR, 53-RBI
Alex Verdugo - NYY
.247, 9-HR, 41-RBI
Thoughts...
- slim pickings
- KC (Renfroe), Minny (Kepler), Arizona (Grichuk), SF (Conforto), the Dodgers (Hernandez) and the Orioles (Santander) are in the middle of their own race, so picking one of these off the tree seems slim.
- That leaves Verdugo (NYY), who is in the middle of a horrible slump and is a free agent next season. The Yanks would probably demand a top chip for this guy.
The option of Tyler Megill to Syracuse could be the last time we see him as a starter. My guess is he will replace Jose Butto as the long term SP1 upstate, but the Mets may want to take this opportunity to begin converting him into a reliever.
Lastly...
We all know the Mets need relievers. And I think it is safe to say that the Mets will be adding at least one rental this month to the pen. The question is what will this cost the Mets.
Teams that trade rentals are trying to lower team salaries, so we should assume one or more of our affiliate prospects will be on the chopping block. Which ones? Well, I don't know for certain, but this would be my list of prospects that are safe, and the ones that aren't:
Syracuse -
safe: Christian Scott, Jose Butto, Luisangel Acuna
not safe: Blade Tidwell, Luke Ritter, Brett Baty
Binghamton -
safe: Brandon Sproat
not safe: Alex Ramirez, Kevin Parada, Ryan Clifford, Jett Williams
Brooklyn -
safe: Nick Morabito, Douglas Orellana
not safe: Jesus Baez, Christopher Suero,
Jonah Tong, Nick Lorusso, Kade Morris
St. Lucie and below:
safe: no one
Mets Moves:
LHRP Tyler Jay promoted from AAA
RHRP Matt Festa promoted from AAA
LHRP Brooks Raley to 60-day IL
Syracuse:
RHRP Carlos Guzman promoted from AA
RHSP Tylor Megill reassigned from Mets
LHRP Danny Young reassigned from Mets
Binghamton:
OF Duke Ellis DFA'd
St. Lucie:
IF Diego Mosquera transferred from FCL
FCL:
OF Jeffry Rosa transferred from St. Lucie
C Andriel Lantigua traded to Colorado
21 comments:
I only want Jonah Tong going if it is a huge trade for Mets. 2.35 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 92 Ks in 61 starter innings? He could be in the Mets 2026 rotation.
The alternative to calling up another OF is to let Stewart go and call up Acuna. I’d rather save chips for a strong reliever. Like the equivalent of an Addison Reed.
Peterson screwed last night, when Dedniel gave a bloop to Taylor that bounced weirdly and let the tying run score. They said Dedniel got squeezed on a strike 3, walking the prior hitter, who then scored.
I missed seeing Tyler Jay. Was he inadequate, nervous, unlucky?
Hate to see Baty on the nit safe list, but with the emergence of Vientos at 3rd, he's running out of positions to play. He could bring a lot of interest from other teams
This is just me but I don't want to rush Acuna.
I do however have him on the 27 come next spring.
Ya know he didn't look that bad out there. A few inches in the other direction and he could have been out of that inning
Yes he could
Didn’t see the game last night, just highlights, but did read plenty of articles that (I’m sure the Mets had this get out) say that once you convert a starter to reliever, it’s hard to stretch him out again to make him a starter. I never heard this before, but I’m only 56, so it’s not like I have seen THAT much baseball since I was 8. Interesting news.
Also, “build a sustainable winner” means no more trading first round picks for junk (Baez). I don’t see anyone of promise leaving the organization.
Gus, Baez’s trade give up, Pete Crow, is hitting .192 with a .247 OBP. After 1,120 play appearances in the minors, that has to be a bit concerning. But they are using him to run and he has stolen 15 of 15, so speed he’s got plenty of.
The old expression, "you've got to give to get" comes to mind. To get a top RP we'd have to trade a top prospect, and I don't see the need for acting drastically.
Both Diaz and Reid-Foley are due back within a week, which will take a lot of pressure off Otto, Nunez and Diekman.
Megill and others who are not needed in the rotation right now could transition to the pen, just as Houser has done seamlessly.
As for RF, would those rentals on Mack's list be more productive than playing Joey Churches every day at 2B, with McNeil and Taylor (or Stewart) platooning there?
Let Acuna keep playing upstate, and if he continues to produce, bring him up in August as needed.
Baty is the "elephant in the room ". We've got no spot for him right now, but I'd hate to see him starring elsewhere for many years. I still cringe any time I recall Amos Otis and others who have been dealt prematurely. Let Baty keep playing and learning upstate, and only deal him for quality, not a mediocre rental.
I trust David, based on his track record, to make the right moves. The deadline is 4 weeks away, so let's see how things look by then. "Act in haste, repent at leisure".
Try all the internal options before trading any prospects.
Peterson, Megill to BP and Scott and Butto to the rotation.
The Mets don't only have a BP problem, their starters are close to 100 pitches after 5 innings. They need to put hitters away faster.
If the Mets now start trading prospects, everything that has been done in the last two years will be for nothing. In my view, you only trade prospects when you are one or two players away from a great team.
That is not the team the Mets have currently.
I still would consider dumping the slow footed Stewart for Luisangel Acuna. Last two AAA months are around .290, and he has speed and defense in his favor. If he hits .200, he is still better than Stewart. By a lot. Alvarez learned in the majors, so did Vientos. Even Baty. All 3 are better than Stewart.
When you have a short pen why pull your SP after 82 pitches.
Stewart is strictly a backup.Whoever replaces him will be the same. Promoting top prospects so they can sit on the bench is not helpful to them or the team.
Agree with Rds above. Why exactly, with an overtaxed and badly exposed bullpen, still short a man and with two weeks of no off days ahead, would you pull Peterson who had retired 13 straight heading into the 7th, and gave up an IF single to start that inning on his 86th pitch? I guess they had some inclination that he was losing steam, but still, letting him try to battle through the 7th would have allowed them to use Nuñez, one of their few effective BP arms, for a 2-inning save?
As to the RF situation, I’m not convinced that any of the actually available options would be a significant upgrade over Taylor, and given the state of the market, anyone who is (even slightly) will be overpriced.
Use whatever chips you’re willing to spend upgrading the BP.
Back to Mack's first statement about right fielders, the only one in his list I would want as a Met is Santander, but he is on such a hot streak right now that his price would be outside reasonableness. Stewart's power threat is not worth his meager batting average, so I would play McNeil in right as a regular and let Iglesias play 2B. The effective Iglesias for Stewart swap gives the lineup many more hits and does not hurt us defensively at all.
Since we're all about the inadequate pen here, what if you had a guy who, in his last 6 relief outings in AA, pitched 7.2 innings, allowing no runs, 3 hits, 3 walks, and ringing up 16 Ks? Edwin Diaz of 2022 sneak up to Binghamton?
No, it's Paul Gervase. So...
Why is he not in AAA?
Tom, it’s the principle and don’t rush to pass judgment on PCA. A five tool player that is elite is several tools, what more can you want a player to be. I didn’t
Like it immediately and felt it was Lindor motivated. Terrible trade. For two months of a .224 hitting windmill.
Gus, it is mostly “Crow remorse” from me.
Paul, it is just that Stewart has been brutal for 2 months. Baty got a few hits tonight. Bring him back.
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