MACK - MY Sunday Observations

 

Daniel Wexler                    @WexlerRules

Bummer. C Yovanny Rodriguez placed on the 60 day IL

Opening Day 2025: Inside Juan Soto's new chapter with Mets

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44385785/mlb-opening-day-2025-juan-soto-new-york-mets-arrival-new-era

More than 17,500 players have stepped into a major league batter's box. Soto's suggestion that he wanted to stand atop that list took hubris, but Cohen gleaned something else from Soto's words. He saw a kindred spirit, a perfect embodiment of what he wanted his Mets to be. The franchise had spent most of its 64-year existence bumbling along, while the New York Yankees, for whom Soto played in 2024, won championship after championship. 

Now, Cohen believes the Mets have finally replaced decades of amateur-hour mismanagement with a functional group of leaders -- and created a franchise that any free agent would choose over the 29 other clubs. Particularly a 26-year-old in search of his forever home.

Cohen sat at the head of the outdoor table, flanked by Soto to his left and the Mets' new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, to his right. Soto's agent, Scott Boras, sat next to him and across from Alex Cohen, Steve's wife. Her father, 93-year-old Ralph Garcia, a Mets fan for decades, showed up to the meeting, as did Cohen's son, Josh. 

The attendees reinforced a point Cohen wanted to emphasize: The Mets might function around the principles embodied by Cohen's hedge funds, but at its heart, theirs is a family business. For hours they talked, enjoying Dominican food, making sure that this seemingly perfect match of team and player was as substantive in person as it was in the computer models that suggested Cohen spend more money to secure Soto's services than had ever been guaranteed to a professional athlete.

For the entirety of Cohen's adult life, he had assessed the value of financial products and leveraged them to inconceivable riches. This deal was value anthropomorphized, an opportunity for something bigger, lasting, life-changing -- delivering a moment decades in the making for Ralph and the other Mets die-hards and all of Queens. And Cohen intended to finish the meeting with a flourish. He told the group to follow him to the theater room downstairs.

 

Mets’ Citi Field wins Best Baseball Stadium Food award, partners with Allagash Brewing for 2025 season

https://qns.com/2025/03/mets-citi-field-best-food-award-allagash-brewing/?s=03

As the New York Mets enter the 2025 season with aspirations of building a dynasty on the field, the organization has already accomplished it in the kitchen. For the third consecutive year, Citi Field has been named the winner of USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest for Best Baseball Stadium Food.

The ballpark was nominated by a panel of experts relevant to the process, including editors from USA Today and 10Best.com, relevant expert contributors and other sources for Gannett properties. Winners from the pool of nominees were voted online by the public.

 

3/28/25 Mets Minor League Roster Moves - JT Schwartz to IL, Wyatt Young to Binghamton Mets News and Links, metsnewslinks.com, Mets Prospects, Syracuse Mets, Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Brooklyn Cyclone, St. Lucie Mets. metsnewsandlinks.blogspot.com

Syracuse Mets placed 1B JT Schwartz on the 7-day injured list.

Syracuse Mets transferred RHP José Ureña to the Development List.

Syracuse Mets placed 1B Jared Young on the 7-day injured list.

Syracuse Mets placed RHP Yacksel Ríos on the 7-day injured list.

Syracuse Mets placed RHP Oliver Ortega on the 7-day injured list.

Syracuse Mets placed CF Drew Gilbert on the 7-day injured list.

Syracuse Mets placed CF Rafael Ortega on the 7-day injured list.

RHP Brian Metoyer assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies from Syracuse Mets.

OF Rowdey Jordan assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

RHP Jordan Geber assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

LF Travis Swaggerty assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

SS Wyatt Young assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies from Syracuse Mets.

OF Omar De Los Santos assigned to Syracuse Mets from Brooklyn Cyclones.

Syracuse Mets transferred RHP Ty Adcock to the Development List.

Syracuse Mets activated LHP Génesis Cabrera.

 

Asked in the late 1950`s, Ty Cobb was asked what he would hit if he played today?

Ty Cobb replied "about .275."

When the interviewer expressed shock, Cobb added, "I am almost 70 years old".

Ty Cobb

9 MLB storylines to watch for this season

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/9-mlb-storylines-watch-season-ahead-opening-day

The New York Mets added Juan Soto after a surprise run to the NLCS. Will it push them over the top to make a run?

The Mets lost to the Dodgers in six games in the NLCS last season, then gave the most lucrative contract in professional sports history to the top free agent on the market.

Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract after a career season with the Yankees, which he helped propel to the World Series.

The Mets hope Soto can do the same for them. The star right fielder joins a lineup that features shortstop Francisco Lindor, first baseman Pete Alonso, third baseman Mark Vientos and left fielder Brandon Nimmo atop the order.

The Mets have already been dealth two injuries to their starting lineup. Starting catcher Francisco Alvarez (fractured hamate bone in left hand) will miss six to eight weeks, and second baseman Jeff McNeil sustained a low-grade right oblique strain. McNeil will miss opening day and should return by mid-April.

With McNeil and Alvarez missing time, the burden will fall to Soto and crew to pick up the slack.

The Mets' starting rotation also dealt with injuries during spring training.

Free agent acquisition Frankie Montas sustained a high-grade right lat strain and was shut down from throwing for 6–8 weeks in mid-February.

Sean Manaea, who re-signed with the team for three years and $75 million contract, sustained a right oblique strain and is expected to return at some point in April.

With the injuries to Montas and Manaea, the Mets starting rotation entering the season does not look as deep as it did at the beginning of spring training. These are the five starters the Mets are rolling out for their first five games:

Clay Holmes

Tylor Megill

Griffin Canning

David Peterson

Kodai Senga

After signing with the Mets in the offseason, Holmes is transitioning back to being a starter after being the Yankees’ closer for three seasons. He will get the opening day nod.

Senga would have likely been the opening day starter, but he pitched in just one regular-season game last year due to injury, and the Mets are being cautious with him entering the season. Last season, Senga dealt with shoulder, triceps and calf injuries.

With a starting rotation hampered by injuries, the Mets are going to rely on the offense and bullpen to get them through the beginning of the season.

The Mets hope the addition of Soto and others is enough to help them overcome early injuries and make another run in October.

 

Inside the pitch design process that fuels the Mets’ rotation

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6233066/2025/03/27/mets-rotation-clay-holmes-repertoire/

Step 2: Design around your strength

In adding those three new offerings, Clay Holmes had to be firm with one thing: “In order to throw my sinker really good, my release is a certain way. You don’t really want to change that,” he said. “You have to understand what’s in the realm of possibility.”

So when Holmes was tinkering, he made sure the ball was still coming out of the same release point — and that the new pitches didn’t detract from the mainstays.

“If I go chase the best four-seamer I want to throw, I can probably throw a better four-seam, but that may take away from some things I already do,” he said. “It’s really understanding that you do these things really well, and this is how you do them. Without changing that very much, how can we maximize the movement on another pitch?”

 

MLB in 2025: The numbers that define baseball, from 1.96 to 41 to 1.44 billion

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6234375/2025/03/27/mlb-2025-season-numbers-facts/

The Magic Number: 1.44 billion

WHAT IT MEANS: Did you know that this will be Steve Cohen’s fifth season as the gazillionaire owner of the Mets? Boy, time flies when there are no Wilpons to occupy it, right?

Have you ever tallied up Cohen’s combined payrolls for those five seasons? I have. It comes to $1.44 billion, according to Spotrac (including this year’s projected $312 million payroll).

The good news is, he’s at least gotten two playoff appearances and one trip to the NLCS out of it. The bad news is, he has outspent the Rays by over a billion dollars in that span. (Their combined payrolls in the same period: “only” $405 million.)

So which of those two teams has won the most games in that time frame? Hint: Not the team laying out $1.44 billion.

Rays — 365 wins

Mets — 342 wins

Baseball!

Eno Sarris’ updated MLB starting pitcher rankings for the 2025 season

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6211367/2025/03/21/sarris-mlb-starting-pitcher-rankings-fantasy-baseball/

                                     (PC - Ernest Dove)

#82                 David Peterson

94 Stuff+

3.83 ppERA

Owner of a good slider and four other mediocre pitches, David Peterson doesn't have great command, velocity or even ground-ball rates. He's still a lefty, and he still throws in Queens, and both of those things can help soften the blow of some of these shortcomings. And having a slider is better than not having anything! 

Peterson hasn't topped 121 innings in a major-league season, but the rotation is wide open for him right now, and if he does put some bulk on it, he'll have surprising value at the end of the season. Even with a high-threes ERA, a below-average strikeout rate and a poor WHIP.

Seven New York Mets minor league arms to watch in 2025

https://www.si.com/mlb/mets/news/seven-new-york-mets-minor-league-arms-to-watch-in-2025

5. Jonathan Santucci, LHP [No. 13 ranked prospect]

Jonathan Santucci was drafted by the Mets at No. 46 overall in the second-round of last year's MLB Draft out of Duke University. The 22-year-old left-hander's stuff has been described by team officials as "absolutely disgusting." Santucci's fastball sits at 95-96 mph; he also has a hard slider and curveball that he can spot up. His changeup is a great pitch that he can utilize to get righties out.

Just Baseball - New York Mets Top 15 Prospects

https://www.justbaseball.com/prospects/new-york-mets-top-15-prospects/?s=03

Other Names to Consider

 

Eli Serrano – OF – (Low-A): A fourth round pick by the Mets in the 2024 Draft out of NC State, the Mets snagged Serrano as a draft-eligible sophomore despite him putting up rather pedestrian numbers, betting on his fascinating upside.

As a 6-foot-6 left-handed hitter who currently is hit-over-power, Serrano is a unique archetype. He produced an in-zone contact rate north of 90% in 2024 while making the move from first base to the outfield where he held his own.

The Mets are hoping Serrano can add more strength to his very slender frame, which paired with his surprisingly solid bat-to-ball, could turn him into an exciting corner bat.

Medium - The Really Big 2025 Mets Prospects Ranking

https://medium.com/@mdonodeo8/the-really-big-2025-mets-prospects-ranking-5c0fbaaa49f0

 

18) Marco Vargas

Vargas was a big riser in the complex league in 2023 when he got dealt to the Mets at the deadline (in what was one of the savvier moves in the very mixed bag of Billy Eopler’s résumé), but injuries have sidelined him for most of his potential playing time since then. 

This means the profile is pretty similar to what it was when he was dealt, but as someone entering his age-20 season in low-A instead of being two years younger than the average age of the level. He makes a boatload of contact in the zone, over 90%, and draws a lot of walks due to his elite chase rate, although he does get passive at the plate. 

Power is a bit of a concern, as his 104 max EV is below average, but he did hit the ball in his hardest range enough to have a FSL-average EV90 of 101.7. Visually he’s not the most projectable, although there are likely some gains coming, and he hits the ball on the sweet spot enough to imagine something resembling usable power down the line in most scenarios, even if it’s not a big part of his game. 

He’s a likely second baseman long term, but should be fine there and could offer some positional versatility. 2024 was a bit of a lost year, but health-permitting he seems on track to a major league role, and one with some upside if he can regain the helium he experienced in 2023.