Tom Brennan: Why Wait to Acquire? David Stearns, Do It Now. And Crispness

Having seen Hunter Harvey throwing fireballs against the Mets recently, he then gets dealt to Kansas City to buttress their bullpen, in exchange for their # 2 overall prospect and their compensation pick.

So...two questions:

What do the Mets need?

What are they waiting for?

I'd say the Mets need a real bullpen arm, preferably lefty... 

And preferably a lefty hitter to replace a bunch of the lefty ABs of DJ (where's my pink slip?) Stewart and JT McNeil (his middle name happens to be Todd, so maybe a change of moniker helps him out at the plate.  I like the ring of JT McNeil).

JD and JT have hit .202 in 435 at bats this year, with 18 doubles, 10 HRs, and 43 RBIs.  In other words, they are hitting like Brett Baty (2023), not nearly good enough.  And Tyrone Taylor has hit mostly poorly since April, too.

So, I scanned over a list of likely available trade targets from Mark Feinsand writing for MLB.

Here is what I thought:

Why not consider trading for the available Jazz Chisolm, who plays both the outfield and 2B (and even some SS), bats lefty, and hits .249/.324/.407 with 18 steals this year.

 - Jesse Winker as an alternate pick up?

Bullpen?  Well, Harvey is gone.  But the Mets REALLY NEED A LEFTY, with Raley gone and Diekman pitching like he is 37 (wait, he is 37!)

So what about lefty Tanner Scott? 1.24 ERA, 14 saves in 39 appearances?

Or the Nats' Kyle Finnegan (2.45 ERA, 25 saves)?

Or Carlos Estevez, who I imagine could be cheaper?

Or Oakland's 102 MPH flamethrower Mason Miller.  

My brother Steve likes him, and says, why stop at one pen arm, get two.

It will take prospects to get these guys. 

Sproat? Untouchable. (My brother asked why?  I said because I say so). 

Who else could the Mets package in a trade?   

Answer:

Whoever's needed to be in the package(s). 

Drew, Jett, Morabito, Gervase, Ramirez, Parada, Tidwell, etc. 

I'll provide the packing labels when they get shipped out.

Make it happen.

This Mets team, with a Chisolm and Scott "twin fix", could be super tough.  

I say, do it.

With Chisolm, and the presumed return of Marte in a few weeks, the outfield/infield would get a major upgrade.  

The Mets' already thundering offense truly might then be unstoppable.

With Senga due back shortly, I like the rotation a lot.

Adding a Tanner and/or Kyle to the bullpen mix, with a presumed return soon from the IL by Sean Foley also, will make the pen average or better.

A team like that could without wishful thinking go deep in the playoffs.

DSL DOOZIES

How does a team score 8 runs in an 8-7 win on just 4 hits while stranding 11? 

The DSL Orange Mets pulled that off, walking SEVENTEEN times, and won despite making SEVEN errors that led to allowing SIX unearned runs. 

You know, a typical crisp DSL baseball game.

The Mets Blue DSL team scored 7 runs on 17 hits, but lost 9-7, while making “only” SIX errors leading to SEVEN unearned runs.  

More crisp baseball.

LET US HOPE…

That the other returning minors teams, and the NY Mets, play very crisp, WINNING baseball coming out of the ASB.

BARREL RATE

There are stats for everything in baseball. How about Barrel Rate?

Baseball Savant site has stats on “barrel rate”, how often a hitter barrels up on pitches. 

Judge naturally tops 15.6% of his plate appearances.  

Vientos is 14th in all of baseball at 10.6, Lindor a fine 15th at 10.0, and Alonso is way down at 47th at 8.0, roughly half of Judge’s rate.

Yanks have #’s 1, 3, 4: 

Judge, Rice(!), and Soto.

- In that stat category, the Yanks’ Big 3 have the Mets’ Big 3 over a barrel.

The 15.6% Judge rate is extraordinary. In Pete’s 53 HR rookie season, he was 14th at just 9.5%, while only Nelson Cruz (12.5%) was above 11.7%.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE TWO YEARS CAN MAKE

Jeff McNeil wins the 2022 batting title, hitting .326.  Dominic Smith had no homers in 134 at bats that year and hit .194.

This year, Smith is a PT first baseman for the Red Sox, and while he is not lighting the world on fire, he has done this:

.233/.324/.367, 28 RBIs in 180 at bats.

McNeil?

.216/.276/.314, 24 RBIs in 296 at bats.

Seemingly impossible, but there you go.   One factor?  McNeil is 32, Smith is 29.  Boy, heading into your 30s in baseball can be, occupation-wise, like Joe Biden heading into his 80s.