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11/24/24

MACK – MY Sunday Morning Observations – Non-Tenders, Reetz, Dedniel, Meneses, Hobie, Siri, Soto, Rule 5, Cuts


Mike Mayer            @mikemayer22

Mets announce they’ve non-tendered LHP Alex Young, RHP Grant Hartwig and OF Alex Ramírez.

Mack – I found the Hartwig move surprising. I fell in love with this guy in 2022 when he went 0.59/1.14/0.00 for Brooklyn/Binghamton/Syracuse. Yes, he only had par minor league numbers since then and did not pitch well In his limited MLB career, but I thought his young age alone would keep him around in a weak chain. Had him as a BLUE prospect for two years.

 

The Mets signed catcher Jakson Reetz to a minor league contract.

                                                Jakson Reetz          

                                    Catcher, Leftfielder, Rightfielder

                        5-11               205                 RHH               28/yrs.

                             3rd rd. 1996 pick – Nats – Norris HS (NE)

                           2024 – MLB:                     -0.2-WAR, 1-HR, .143

                           Career – MLB:                 -0.1-WAR, 1-HR, .188

                        Strong arm – solid blocker – pitchers like him

Mack – To me, this is a chain roster fill who will be one of many candidates in play to possibly backup Kevin Parada next season in Syracuse.

 

Anthony DiComo               @AnthonyDiComo

Heard Dedniel Núñez is progressing well from a strained right flexor tendon and PRP injection, which is great news for a player who once seemed at risk of surgery. He's going to work out with Licey of LIDOM and could even make a winter ball cameo if things continue to go well.

Mack – I consider Nunez as a major part of the 2025 Mets pen and it’s great to hear that things are going along well here.

 

Mets have signed Joey Meneses to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

                                                Joey Meneses        (“cabajoey”)

            6-3                  235                 RHH               1B/DH           32/YRS         

            2021 IFA

            2024:                         -0.5-WAR, 281-AB, 3-HR, .231, .593-OPS

            MLB Career:            0.9WAR, 1114-AB, 29-HR, .274           

            2024 contract:        $752,000      free agent in 2029

            1.000% fielding for three straight years

            Currently has a chance to win the triple crown in the Mexican Winter League

Mack – this sign confuses me a little… there isn’t enough pop here to consider Maneses as a replacement for Pete Alonso, nor as a DH in the majors, and I thought that Ryan Clifford would get the lion share of play at AAA-1B.

 

Hobie Harris has agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the Mets

                                                Hobie Harris

            RHRP

            2024 – AAA:            10.3 K/9

                        + splitter and cutter, both returning gaudy whiff numbers

4-Seam got his hard last season

velo was up 1.5 ticks from 2023

toyed with a "death ball" slider

Mack – I don’t know enough about this guy to comment. Maybe a 1-2 approach next season with the slitter and cutter.


Mets have released the following minor leaguers:

C Christian Pregent

RHP Henry Henry

RHP Luis G. Moreno

RHP Jake Stevenson

OF Kellum Clark

INF Jose Sobero

1B Carlos Oviedo

LHP Jorge Avendano

RHP Eric Foggo

RHP Jean Calderon

RHP Chris Santiago

        Mack - Only surprise to me here is Pregent. Sort of a prospect and you can’t have enough catchers in the chain.


Siri… find me an outfielder…

                                                CF Jose Siri

            29/yrs old   6-2   210   RHH

            2024 – 18-HR, 14-SB, 1.8-WAR, .187

            2023 -  25-HR, .222

            OAA and sprint speed 99th percentile

            12-DRS in CF… .16 above average outs

            16 Outs Above Average,  8 Runs Above Average to his Left

5 Runs Above Average to his Right

            Elite 2025 CF tandem with Siri and Tyrone Taylor

            More power than Harrison Bader ($10.5mil)

            Projected ARB-1 at 2.3mil

            Team controlled through 2027

Mack - there is so much good here… I don’t care if he ever gets on base. And… he has the power to hit home runs and definitely stay off the bases. To me, this is an obvious attempt to shore up the right-center and create a more favorable presence for a poor fielding right fielder. And I’m not talking about Starlin Marte.

Which leads into my next subject…

 

It is my understanding that Steve Cohen and Scott Boras have become quite close. You do not get close to someone that is going to stab you in the back. Forget all that “you have to keep your enemies close” bullshite. These two baseball giants have a trusting relationship and you will not see another Yamamoto snubbing.

I’m told that that the Mets have told Boras that they will go $50mil above any offer for Juan Soto. I have no knowledge of that. I find it hard to believe something like that would become public.

What I do know is Steve Cohen keeps his word and I truly believe the Mets are the frontrunner for the services of Soto.

Moves like trading for Jose Siri feeds right into my theory… far less salary than Harrison Bader which would help the overall budget if Soto was signed, and superior speed that can help flag down those gap fly balls between center and right,

 

Will Sammon          @WillSammon

The Mets aren’t expected to make any 40-man roster additions before the Rule 5 protection deadline.

            Ira Saltz        @SaltzIra

That's two years in a row.  Doesn't say much about the minor leaguers drafted by the Mets before 2022.

Mack – This means the following Mets are not protected from that draft:

            Mike Vasil, RHP

Dom Hamel, RHP

Luke Ritter, UT

JT Schwartz, 1B

Hayden Senger, C

Nate Lavender, LHP

Rowdey Jordan, 2B/3B

Joander Suarez,

Jawilme Ramirez, RHP

Matt Allan, RHP

Matt O’Neill, C

Drake Osborn, C

Vincent Perozo, C/1B

William Lugo, INF

Junior Tilien, INF

Jefrey De Los Santos, INF

Wyatt Young, INF

Matt Rudick, OF

Omar De Los Santos, OF

TJ Shook, P

Luis Moreno, P

Felipe De La Cruz, SP

Landon Marceaux, SP

Douglas Orellana, SP

Luis R. Rodriguez, SP

Trey McLoughlin, RP

Josh Hejka, RP

Nolan Clenney, RP

Joshua Cornielly, RP

Raimon Gomez, RP

Layonel Ovalles, RP

Jeremy Peguero, RP

 

MACK - I hope the Mets didn’t make a mistake here by not protecting Orellana

25 comments:

  1. Good morning. It was in Jim Bowden’s article that I first read that Cohen will go $50MM higher than anyone on Soto. Two things: 1. Joe DeMayo pointed out that Judge is the best protection for Soto and the Mets cannot meet that. But, Judge is now 31 and I believe Boston has the best talent chain of the teams mentioned. 2. Whoever gets Soto has a major marketing tool to use for Sasaki. And if the Mets sign Sasaki, that means they cannot get Elian Peña. Oh well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Soto is an east coast guy

      My gut says the Yanks will get him.back with a hometown discount

      Delete

  2. While we all feel that the Mets could have protected more arms, but it’s a major issue in most of the organization that the pitchers are having trouble throwing strikes. I don’t expect anyone to take any of them except for MAYBE Lavander.

    I would think Manesis has an opt out, but I also believe that Clifford can stay in RF for now. He was given the best outfield arm in the system by Baseball America, better than Benge. However, now that Siri is there and throws 101 mph, well…. Plus, Clifford to me is a trade candidate and the outfield is preferred for his value. I’m tired of guys that hit it far but don’t hit it too often, especially when they are still in AA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And you wonder why some team's brass look to Vets to fill holes

      Delete
  3. And, Scott Boras is close to Cohen, not the other way around. Cohen represents $$$ to the agent of many top players and so Boras plays nice. Boras also was “close” to Ted Lerner in Washington at one time. What happened there? Too, Jon Heyman seems to be writing quite a bit “information” and none of it from teams’ sources. So, where is it coming from?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Orellana was great - in Brooklyn. I guess the Mets figure no team would be ready to add him to their MLB roster - nor Hamel or Vasil. Wyatt Young - it would be great if some team needed a scrappy sub at the MLB level. If he played in the 1970s some team would have already added him.

    I did that article the other day on Siri - in 70% of his at bats, he got to 2 strikes, and hit an incredibly low .113 with a slug % of .204. That should be a glaring project for Mets.
    coaches...figure out how to get that up 40 points or more.

    Alex Young, Grant Hartwig and Alex Ramírez would all have been tendered if Sandy and the Wilpons were still here. Thankfully, they are not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My 3 "Observations " pieces all highlight what has happened in Metsland in the past week

      That is the purpose of writing them

      Delete
  5. I read in Wiki that in 2022, Siri had the fastest sprint speed of all major league center fielders, at 30.4 feet/second.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One of the reasons he will be able to cover up to half of right field if they bring in a poor fielding Rightfielder

      He he

      Delete
  6. In my mind, Siri and Taylor are the best defensive tandem in baseball. I loved the trade, but many people just look at batting avg.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mack,
    I agree about Orellana being a possible loss. The Mets have been fairly good in protecting their prospects in the Rule 5 draft. Ironically Nunez was one we did lose several years ago who was then returned to the Mets after losing a season due to arm surgery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I still have.as a RED prospect and in the top.3.pitchimg.prospects in the chain

      Delete
  8. Nate Lavender is the guy i am rooting for - I think he was close to getting a real (MLB) job before his arm issues. If he can come back, he could be a useful lefty. I am also a fan of Suarez, and I was really hoping that Matt Allan could actually throw a pitch for the Mets at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A general question - can any of these guys be protected on the minor league 38 man protection roster? Or have they used up their time for that?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yes. The way it works is that you protect 40 for the MLB roster and then 38 more for your AAA roster. These players don’t have to be at AAA, they can be anywhere. So, you are protecting 78 eligible players (like Houck or Parada aren’t eligible yet).

    If someone drafts a player that isn’t protected at all, that player is gone and doesn’t have to be returned. That’s called the minor league phase of the draft that we hear about. During the major league phase, only those top 40 are protected and if you don’t keep that player, he can be returned and the MLB team has to give back half the money ($50,000) that they got when you drafted him. However, although I’ve never heard it happen, the team can choose to keep the money and tell you to keep the player anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please remember, only ELIGIBLE players and unprotected can get drafted. Eligible players means that they have already been in your system four years.

      Delete
  11. I think they made a mistake in not protecting Ramirez.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ray, you know what is weird about Ramirez? In April 2023 and April 2024 combined, he hit about .310. The rest of those months in 2023 and 2024? He probably hit a little under .200. Very strange.

    ReplyDelete