MACK - WAKE UP... IT'S MONDAY MORNING OBSERVATIONS

 

6 things the NY Mets need to do this offseason if run prevention is the focus

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1) Trade for an ace, any ace, and include Mark Vientos in the package

It’s about time the Mets traded for an ace. And when they do, make Mark Vientos a part of the deal.

After his 2024 season, Vientos probably could have helped headline a trade for a frontline starter. At minimum, he could’ve helped the Mets better acquire a number two or the league’s best number three out there. His struggles this past season at the plate and with the glove have hurt his trade value. Now out of options, a little older, and with one brief albeit fantastic run in the latter part of 2024 as the shiniest part of his resume, he’d need to be paired up with a group of prospects or maybe even some big leaguers as well.

Using Vientos in a trade for a legitimate ace solves two problems. One is the absence of that killer on the mound. The other is what to do with Vientos whose defensive shortcomings make him a DH and nothing but.

 

Ranger Suarez

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This year's free agency might not feature a Juan Soto or Shohei Ohtani sort of superstar, but there are a slew of impactful players available, particularly when discussing starting pitchers. This logjam of talent on the mound has resulted in arguably the best starter available, Ranger Suarez, going overlooked. Nobody is talking about him, and it's hard to understand why.

In fact, the only recent news involving Suarez is that the Philadelphia Phillies are almost certainly going to let him walk as a free agent. Here's what Matt Gelb of The Athletic had to say about Suarez's free agency:

 

Carlos Beltrán reveals Mets’ top offseason priorities

https://www.si.com/mlb/mets/onsi/news/carlos-beltran-reveals-mets-top-offseason-priorities-john9

“I do feel that with Edwin Díaz opting out, there’s no doubt we need a closer,” Beltrán said. “Pete Alonso is another guy that is going to be on the market. I hope we can bring those guys back, the front office and the team upstairs are going to do the best we can to make that happen.”

 

Jim Koenigsberger          @Jimfrombaseball

"Gehrig was walked intentionally. Dickey singled, scoring Rolfe. Hoag hit  a grounder to third and DiMaggio was out at home.

The bases were still loaded.

Tony Lazzeri was the next batter.

From the dugout, Giants Mgr. Bill Terry waved to catcher Gus Mancuso to bring in reliever Dick Coffman.

Terry did not go out to the mound.

Coffman started in from the bullpen. Mancuso turned to home plate umpire Red Ormsby and said, “Gumbert” by mistake.

Ormsby announced, “Gumbert now pitching."

When Bill Terry heard that, he jumped up, hitting his head on the concrete top of the dugout and fell to the ground.

By now Coffman was on the mound.

I was still sitting on the bench.

Bill Terry wobbled out to home plate and argued that Coffman was supposed to have been announced. He convinced the umpire and the announcer corrected his announcement. Coffman began throwing warmup pitches.

Art Fletcher, the Yankees third base coach, hasn’t made a move until then. Art then comes over to the umpire and says that according to the rules, Gumbert must pitch to one man.

The umpire says, ‘You’re right. Bring him out here.’

So out I go, cold off the bench.

I threw Lazzeri two curve balls and he hit a nice soft ground ball to Burgess Whitehead at second base, a perfect double play ball.

'Whitey' lets it roll between his legs and another run scores."

Harry "Gunboat" Gumbert

Bottom of sixth inning, 1937 World Series.

"Gunboat", who was never sure of the origin of his nickname, believing  that a sportswriter had tagged him with it because it sounded good with Gumbert.

'Gunboat' led the National Leagues in games pitched (61), games finished (46), saves (17) in 1948.

Set the National League record for assists by a pitcher in a

game, recording 10, May 23,1938. World Series Champion, 1946.

 

Running From The OPS      @OPS_BASEBALL

Elian Pena - New York Mets

Pena received the largest bonus ($5 million) for any Latin American prospect this season and showed exactly why. The 18-year-old posted a 144 wRC+ with 9 HR, 21 SB, and a 1:1 K/BB ratio. He had 2 3-HR games this season and has a fantastic toolset.

 

(pc: ernest dove)

The 26-most-productive careers for the Mets in the 21st Century

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26 – David Peterson (8.5 fWAR) – It’s not a surprise that a former first-round pick makes this list. You just wish that the total would be higher than this. But this is the time to point out that the Mets have finished under .500 14 times in this span.

25 – Edwin Diaz (9.0 fWAR) – He’s been a Met for seven seasons, on the field for six of those. One of those was the Covid year of 60 games, so let’s count that as 37% of a full season. If we divide 9.0 by 5.37, we get an annual fWAR of 1.6 for Diaz as a Met. With a unit of fWAR valued at roughly $8 million, he’s been worth an average of $12.8 million per year.

24 – Angel Pagan (9.1 fWAR) – You weren’t expecting him on this list, were you? He had a 4.9 fWAR for the Mets in 2010 and two seasons later, he posted a 4.6 mark for the Giants in his first year after leaving the Mets, in his age-30 season. From age-31 onwards, Pagan recorded a combined 4.5 fWAR in the final four years of his career.

23 – Pedro Martinez (9.9 fWAR) – He had his last great season in his initial year with the Mets, posting a 6.1 fWAR in 2005. I’d like to see an alternate reality where the Mets pitched him with an extra day of rest, staring in 2006. Would he have been able to stay healthy with more recovery time? He was a joy to watch pitch.

22 – Mike Pelfrey (10.1 fWAR) – From 2008-2010, Pelfrey was 38-32. For the rest of his career, he had a 30-71 mark.