John From Albany: 10 Years Ago - Niese, Murph and Conforto Beat Braves, 9/2/2015

 

Jon Niese, 2016 Topps Baseball Card

2015, the last year the Mets made the World Series.  This daily post will detail the game by game journey to the Fall Classic.  Click here for More Mets History and Calendar Classics.

Year: 2015; Game #150; Monday;  Sep 21, NYM 4  Vs. ATL; 0; boxscore;   WP: Niese; LP: Miller; Time: 02:51; NIGHT; Attendance: 26,362; Record: 85-65; Standings: 1; Games up/behind: up 6.5; W; 

Curtis Granderson RF: 1 for 3; 2 runs; 2 walks; 2 Ks; Daniel Murphy 3B: 2 for 4; 2B; 2 RBIs; Yoenis Céspedes CF-LF: 3 for 4; 2·2B; Lucas Duda 1B: 0 for 2; 2·IW; 2 walks; Travis d'Arnaud C: 0 for 4; GDP; 2 Ks; Kelly Johnson 2B: 1 for 4; 1 K; Michael Conforto LF: 1 for 4; HR; 1 run; 1 RBI; 1 K; Juan Lagares CF: 0 for 0; Wilmer Flores SS: 1 for 3; CS,GDP; Rubén Tejada SS: 0 for 0; 1 walk; Jon Niese P: 0 for 1; 1 walk; Michael Cuddyer PH: 1 for 1; Kirk Nieuwenhuis PH: 0 for 1; 1 K; Jon Niese, W (9-10): 6 innings; no runs; 3 hits; 2 walks; 2 Ks; Addison Reed, H (13): 1 inning; no runs; Tyler Clippard: 1 inning; no runs; 1 hit; 2 Ks; Jeurys Familia: 1 inning; no runs; 1 hit; 1 K; 

NY Post: Mets drama takes back seat in much-needed respite vs. Braves. "Jon Niese handled the Braves over six innings and Daniel Murphy atoned for an earlier base-running gaffe with a big seventh-inning double that led the Mets’ 4-0 victory at Citi Field...Murphy’s two-run double in the seventh gave the Mets a cushion with a 4-0 lead. In the first, he had run the Mets out of an inning by freezing between second and third base on a grounder and then getting tagged out to complete a double play."

ESPN.com: "Niese won for the first time in a month, Michael Conforto homered and the Mets inched closer to an NL East title...New York stretched its lead to 6 1/2 games over the second-place Nationals with 12 to play and lowered its magic number for clinching the division to seven. Washington's interleague home game against Baltimore was postponed because of rain and rescheduled for Thursday."

NL East Standings 9/21/2025

Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	RS	RA	pythW-L%
NYM	85	65	.567	--	632	570	.547
WSN	78	71	.523	6.5	672	594	.556
MIA	64	86	.427	21.0	558	622	.450
ATL	60	91	.397	25.5	527	724	.359
PHI	56	94	.373	29.0	567	771	.363

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/21/2015.

John From Albany: 10 Years Ago - Murphy Leads with Glove and Bat, 8/27/2015

Daily News Back Page, 8/28/2015

2015, the last year the Mets made the World Series.  This daily post will detail the game by game journey to the Fall Classic.  Click here for More Mets History and Calendar Classics.

Year: 2015; Game #127; Thursday;  Aug 27, NYM 9 @ PHI; 5; boxscore;   WP: Torres; LP: Neris; Time: 04:32; NIGHT; Attendance: 22,526; Record: 71-56; Standings: 1; Games up/behind: up 6.5; W; 

Curtis Granderson RF: 4 for 6; 2B; 2 runs; 1 walk; Yoenis Céspedes CF-LF: 1 for 6; HR; 1 run; 2 RBIs; 1 walk; Daniel Murphy 1B: 3 for 6; 2B,GDP; 1 run; 2 RBIs; 1 walk; David Wright 3B: 2 for 6; GDP; 2 runs; 1 walk; Kelly Johnson 2B: 1 for 6; HR; 1 run; 1 RBI; 1 walk; 2 Ks; Travis d'Arnaud C: 1 for 5; HR,HBP; 1 run; 2 RBIs; 1 walk; 2 Ks; Michael Conforto LF: 2 for 7; 2B; 1 RBI; 1 K; Rubén Tejada SS: 0 for 6; 1 walk; Jon Niese P: 1 for 3; Michael Cuddyer PH: 0 for 1; Sean Gilmartin P: 0 for 1; 1 K; Carlos Torres P: 1 for 1; 1 run; Jon Niese: 6 innings; 5 runs; 5 ERs; 5 hits; 1 HR; 5 walks; 5 Ks; Logan Verrett: 1 inning; no runs; 1 K; Hansel Robles: 1 inning; no runs; 1 hit; 1 K; Sean Gilmartin: 1.2 innings; no runs; 3 Ks; Carlos Torres, W (5-5): 2.1 innings; no runs; 1 hit; 1 K; Jeurys Familia: 1 inning; no runs; 1 hit; 1 K; 

NY Post: "Daniel Murphy enforced his law Thursday night, both offensively and defensively, helping the Mets complete a four-game Philly sweep and extend their winning streak to seven. His biggest contribution was a two-run double in the 13th inning that scored the go-ahead runs in the Mets’ 9-5 victory at Citizens Bank Park, but there was also the matter of a highlight-reel play at first base. Jeff Francoeur hit a grounder through the middle with two outs in the 10th inning that Carlos Torres inadvertently kicked. The ball caromed to a diving Murphy at first base, who backhanded the ball to Torres covering the base, just beating Francoeur."

ESPN.com: "Yoenis Cespedes, Kelly Johnson and Travis d'Arnaud homered for the Mets, who thrilled the large contingent of New York fans by sweeping the four-game series to give them nine straight wins over Philadelphia. New York remained 6 1-2 games ahead of Washington, a 4-2 winner over San Diego, in the NL East."

Nationals kept pace with the Mets beating the Padres 4-2.

NL East Standings 8/27/2015

Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	RS	RA	pythW-L%
NYM	71	56	.559	--	520	464	.552
WSN	64	62	.508	6.5	535	508	.524
ATL	54	73	.425	17.0	464	573	.405
MIA	51	77	.398	20.5	472	533	.445
PHI	50	78	.391	21.5	486	650	.370

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/27/2015.

John From Albany: 10 Years Ago - Murphy's 2-run single puts Mets over Rockies 4-2, 8/10/2015

NY Post Back Page 8/11/2015

2015, the last year the Mets made the World Series.  This daily post will detail the game by game journey to the Fall Classic.  Click here for More Mets History and Calendar Classics.

Year: 2015; Game #112; Monday;  Aug 10, NYM 4  Vs. COL; 2; boxscore;   WP: Niese; LP: Miller;  Save: Familia; Time: 02:28; NIGHT; Attendance: 27,194; Record: 60-52; Standings: 1; Games up/behind: up 1.5; W;  

Curtis Granderson RF: 0 for 3; HBP; 1 RBI; 1 K; Daniel Murphy 3B: 1 for 4; 2 RBIs; Yoenis Céspedes CF-LF: 0 for 4; 1 K; Lucas Duda 1B: 1 for 4; 1 K; Kelly Johnson 2B: 0 for 4; Travis d'Arnaud C: 2 for 4; HR; 2 runs; 1 RBI; Michael Conforto LF: 0 for 3; 1 run; 1 walk; 2 Ks; Jon Niese P: 0 for 1; 1 walk; 1 K; Juan Uribe PH: 0 for 1; Juan Lagares CF: 0 for 0; Rubén Tejada SS: 0 for 1; 1 run; 2 walks; Jon Niese, W (7-9): 7 innings; 2 runs; 2 ERs; 6 hits; 1 HR; 5 Ks; Tyler Clippard, H (2): 1 inning; no runs; Jeurys Familia, S (31): 1 inning; no runs; 2 Ks; 

NY Post: Mets profit from a worrying reminder about innings limits. "With Rockies phenom Jon Gray cruising through six innings in his second major league start, having allowed just a Travis d’Arnaud home run, Colorado manager Walt Weiss pulled the impressive right-hander, who was on a strict innings limit, despite just 75 pitches." 

ESPN: "The Mets loaded the bases against Justin Miller (L,1-1) in the seventh after Gray, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2013, was pulled...Miller gave up a single to d'Arnaud, walked Michael Conforto and then Ruben Tejada as well with two outs. Boone Logan entered and hit Curtis Granderson with a full-count pitch to tie it. Murphy then grounded a single past diving shortstop Jose Reyes, the former Mets star recently acquired in the trade that sent Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto, for a 4-2 lead."

Nationals Beat the Dodgers to keep pace with the 1st place Mets, 1.5 games back.

NL East Standings 8/10/2015

Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	RS	RA	pythW-L%
NYM	60	52	.536	--	413	397	.518
WSN	58	53	.523	1.5	467	435	.532
ATL	51	61	.455	9.0	421	490	.431
PHI	45	68	.398	15.5	421	554	.377
MIA	44	68	.393	16.0	400	458	.438

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/10/2025.

John From Albany: 10 Years Ago - Back-to-Back-to-Back Homers Power Mets into 1st Place Tie, 8/2/2015

Curtis Granderson, 2015 Topps Stadium Card

 

2015, the last year the Mets made the World Series.  This daily post will detail the game by game journey to the Fall Classic.  Click here for More Mets History and Calendar Classics.

Year: 2015; Game #105; Sunday;  Aug 2, NYM 5  Vs. WSN; 2; boxscore;   WP: Syndergaard; LP: Zimmermann;  Save: Clippard; Time: 02:42; NIGHT; Attendance: 35,374; Record: 55-50; Standings: 1; Games up/behind: Tied; W;  

Curtis Granderson RF: 1 for 4; HR; 1 run; 2 RBIs; 2 Ks; Daniel Murphy 2B: 2 for 4; HR; 1 run; 1 RBI; 1 K; Yoenis Céspedes CF-LF: 1 for 4; 1 run; Lucas Duda 1B: 2 for 4; HR; 1 run; 2 RBIs; 1 K; Juan Uribe 3B: 0 for 4; 2 Ks; Kelly Johnson LF: 0 for 3; 1 K; Wilmer Flores PH: 1 for 1; 2B; Kevin Plawecki C: 1 for 2; 1 run; 2 walks; Noah Syndergaard P: 0 for 2; SH; 2 Ks; Juan Lagares CF: 0 for 0; Rubén Tejada SS: 0 for 3; Noah Syndergaard, W (6-5): 8 innings; 2 runs; 2 ERs; 7 hits; 2 HRs; 9 Ks; Tyler Clippard, S (18): 1 inning; no runs; 1 hit; 

NY Post: Mets dump Nats for monumental sweep, move into1st-place tie. “Amid pennant-race energy and enthusiasm that flowed from every nook and cranny of the ballpark, Curtis Granderson, Murphy and the hottest home run hitter on the planet, or at least in Queens, Duda, all homered five pitches apart in a five-run Mets third inning. When that carnage was done, the Mets gathered behind rookie Noah Syndergaard for a 5-2 nationally televised victory, the series sweep of the Nationals Sunday and a virtual share of first place in the NL East.”  

ESPN.com: “Noah Syndergaard (W,6-5) struck out nine over eight innings, and New York pulled within percentage points of the first-place Nationals in the NL East. Boosted by a trio of lively crowds, the Mets completed their first three-game sweep of Washington since May 2009 and boldly pronounced themselves legitimate contenders.”

NL East Standings 8/2/2015

Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB	RS	RA	pythW-L%
NYM	55	50	.524	--	373	375	.498
WSN	54	49	.524	--	424	396	.531
ATL	47	58	.448	8.0	385	451	.428
MIA	43	62	.410	12.0	375	410	.459
PHI	41	65	.387	14.5	388	517	.372

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/2/2015.

The Morning Report 12.9.2015 | Zobrist Shuns Mets for Cubs, Daniel Murphy Market Set, Flores Breaks Ankle in Venezuela, Braves Trade Shelby Miller

Jay Jaffe | Sports Illustrated- The Cubs enlivened a slow day at the Winter Meetings with a pair of moves that reconfigured their middle infield, added depth to their pitching staff and reunited manager Joe Maddon with perhaps his best player in Tampa Bay. First, they landed switch-hitting free agent Ben Zobrist via a four-year, $56 million deal, then they traded former All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro to the Yankees for swingman Adam Warren and utilityman Brendan Ryan.

(Chris Soto: Gotta tip your cap to the Cubs...despite not making the best offer, they made a better pitch to Zobrist and had his former coach Jon Maddon on the staff to entice him even more. Zobrist certainly has better numbers than Castro, but he is 10 yrs older than him. In addition, the return they received for Castro was not pretty bad considering he is cost controlled high end hitting SS.)



Maria Guardado | NJ Advance Media-  Now that Ben Zobrist has signed with the Chicago Cubs, the Mets must search for a Plan B. With a hole still left to fill at second base, the Mets will circle back to free agent Daniel Murphy, who turned down the club's one-year, $14 million qualifying offer last month. Like Zobrist, Murphy is a versatile player who can play first, second and third base. Having drafted and developed him, the Mets also know exactly what kind of player they'd be getting. However, Murphy is a below-average defensive second baseman and he is also prone to blunders on the base paths.

(Chris Soto: Zobrist's deal with the Cubs sets a benchmark for Murphy. If Zobrist is worth $14M per season than Murphy is likely to sign a deal for possibly the same amount of years at a $12M per season rate. This is a figure that I personally would be very comfortable giving Murphy to be my everyday 2B as well as my "Oh Shit" plan for 3B in case David Wright gets hurt again. One thing a lot of folks are overlooking is that Murphy worked heavily with Kevin Long this season to make a tweak to his swing in an effort to develop more power. As a result, Murphy posted the best "power" season of his career posting an ISO rate 33 points above his career average.)



Associated Press | Yahoo Sports-   Mets infielder Wilmer Flores broke his left ankle last month when he was hit by a pitch playing winter ball in Venezuela. Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said Tuesday at the winter meetings that Flores does not need surgery and is expected to be ready for spring training. Flores was injured in his season debut with the Bravos de Margarita in his home country. He took several days off then returned to the lineup for three games before being shut down for the winter. The Mets originally thought the injury a bruise but learned Tuesday it was a nondisplaced fracture.

(Chris Soto: Here is the danger with letting guys play in oversea Winter Leagues. The medical technology available to them is no where near what the Mets have sitting in Citi Field alone. Flores figured it was just a bruise and tried to gut it out. He even performed well in his 3 games back, but something still didn't feel right so he returned back to the States where an X-Ray was done and the fracture was found. It's certainly not too bad of an injury since it's non-displaced. It basically amounts to just a crack. He'll be fine in about 4-6 weeks.)



HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• The Braves fire sale continues. They traded RHSP Shelby Miller and minor league LHRP Gabe Speier to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 2015's 1st round pick and team #1 prospect SS Darby Swanson, #3 prospect RHSP Aaron Blair, and MLB OF Ender Inciarte. 
• The LA Dodgers seem to be the most aggressive team trying to convince the Miami Marlins to trade RHSP Jose Fernandez. The club is now trying to involve a 3rd party to try and get the necessary second high level prospect they need to acquire Fernandez without having to give up SS Corey Seager.
• The Mets have received offers for LHSP Jon Niese. According to Mike Puma, the club feels comfortable enough with Rafael Montero's health progress to use him in the #5 SP role in the event Niese is traded until Zack Wheeler is ready to return.

(Chris Soto: Boy....the Braves got a MASSIVE haul for Miller. There was no way I could have expected he would fetch that kind of price considering his advanced metrics, mainly FIP, were not in agreement with his solidly low 3.02 ERA from 2015. The Miller deal should be a good barometer for what the Mets could get should they decide to trade a healthy Zack Wheeler.)

The Morning Report 11.19.2015 | Jacob deGrom 7th in Cy Young Voting, Mets Taking Slow Approach this Winter, Tejada Likely to be Non-Tendered

Mike Vorkunov | NJ Advance Media- The Chicago Cubs' Jake Arrieta won the battle of the aces on Wednesday, besting fellow finalists Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw to capture the 2015 NL Cy Young award, which was announced during a live presentation on MLB Network. Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom, who went 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA in his sophomore season, finished seventh with seven total points.

(Chris Soto: deGrom really didn't have much of a shot for the award with as well as Grienke and Arrieta pitched down the stretch. However, this most certainly won't be deGrom's only shot for the award. The Mets, as a team, have 3 legitimate annual Cy Young candidates in deGrom, Matt Harvey, and my personal favorite Noah Syndergaard.)



Brian Devine | Metsmerized Online- The Mets expect to stay quiet until the Winter Meetings in early December. While they are currently searching for upgrades at several positions, they don’t expect anything to happen before then and believe talks will slow down soon with Thanksgiving approaching. The Mets are prioritizing centerfield, setup relievers and they are looking to find a potential trade partner for a shortstop.

(Chris Soto: In the past....most of the off-season activity doesn't really happen until the Winter Meetings anyone. There hasn't really been any major free agent signings yet but we have seen some big names get traded already with Kimbrel going to the Red Sox, K-Rod to the Tigers, and Simmons going to Anaheim. If this is just the appetizer, then the main course of the off-season is sure to be more than exciting to watch.)



Rocco Constantino | Amazin Avenue- The Mets are still considering non-tendering Tejada—a possibility floated last week—as he recovers from a fractured fibula. The move would not come as a surprise, as Tejada could earn up to $3 million next year. Even with a bit of a revival last season, Tejada still only batted .261 with a .338 on-base percentage and .688 OPS. Although he showed some value by playing games at second and third base, he rated poorly in nearly all defensive categories.

(Chris Soto: From what I have heard, the front office seems to have liked what they saw out of Matt Reynolds in AAA last season in the 90+ games he played at SS. His .721 OPS in the hitting freindly Pacific Coast League environment may not be all that exciting....but the club feels its good enough to at least have him start 2016 in a reserve role. Reynolds also has experience at 2B so he would be able to back-up both middle infield positions, which is the exact role that Ruben Tejada is currently filling.)



HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• Tim Rohan of the New York Times reports that the Mets had a conference call with Ben Zobrists' representatives at Octagon today. Zobrist is seeking a four-year deal and is listening to the pitches from each club. The club still believes that Zobrist large market is going to put him out of their price range, however, there continues to be steady dialogue between the two camps.
• Per Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets are expected to make a “legitimate bid” for Daniel Murphy. Some Mets officials feel that Murphy might consider an offer from the Mets even if they don’t make the strongest bid due to his longstanding relationship with the team.
• Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted out that upon learning of RP Darren O'Day's asking price of  a four-year contract in the $28-36MM range, that the Mets most likely wouldn’t remain in the mix if the price truly escalated to those levels.

The Morning Report 11.16.2015 | Murphy Declines Qualifying Offer, Wheeler Not Being Shopped but Available in Trades, Mets interested in CF Jackie Bradley, 1B Freddie Freeman on the Trade Block

Jared Diamond | Wall Street Journal- Longtime Mets infielder Daniel Murphy declined a one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer before Friday’s deadline to do so, indicating that he intends to pursue a multiyear deal elsewhere. If Murphy departs for another team, the Mets will receive an additional draft pick between the first and second rounds of next June’s draft as compensation. On the open market, the 30-year-old Murphy will probably command upward of $10 million a year for up to four years. At this point, the Mets don’t appear interested in retaining Murphy under those conditions, likely marking the end of a relationship that started nearly a decade ago.

(Chris Soto: Murphy was always unlikely to accept the Qualifying Offer. He has always expressed himself as a family man, especially when unfairly took fan abuse for skipping games to be at his child's birth. As a family man he was likely to test the open market in hopes of obtaining long term stability for himself, his wife, and his children. We wish Daniel Murphy as the best as he truly was a an exemplary Met during his career. He will be sorely missed but this is indeed the right move for both sides.)



Mike Axisa | CBS Sports- As we saw in the postseason, no team boasts as much impressive young pitching as the Mets. One young pitcher we did not see in October is right-hander Zack Wheeler, who missed the 2015 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The club remains open to discussing Wheeler in trades, "We're not actively shopping Zack by any stretch," Ricco told Newsday. "But as with the other starters, if something came up that we thought made us better, we're going to talk about it."

(Chris Soto: The nixed deal between the Brewers and Mets for Carlos Gomez both resulted in the Mets acquiring OF Yeonis Cespedes, as well as, establishing a trade base for the injured Wheeler. Despite still recovering from Tommy John, to be able to acquire Gomez with Wheeler as the centerpiece shows that Wheeler still has immense value in trade talks. The Mets will likely need to be blown away with a similar offer in order to trade but I would bet good money that we will likely see something go down this winter.)



Michael Baron | Just Mets- Last week, Mets assistant GM John Ricco said the club had no intention to replace Juan Lagares in centerfield, and would instead like to find a left-handed complement to Lagares to form a potential platoon. One player the Mets are exploring is Red Sox OF Jackie Bradley Jr. He’s a left-handed hitter and an outstanding outfielder, capable of playing in all three spots. He has spent most of his big league time in center field, and as was the case with Lagares in 2014, Bradley was tremendous in center.


(Chris Soto: I can certainly see the fit...Bradley is a superb defensive CF and his left hander while Lagares is a superb defender and is a righty. Only problem with the logic is that Bradley hit almost 80 points better against lefties than he did righties this past season. The reverse split is consistent with his career thus far. In addition, the Red Sox do not view Bradley as a platoon CF, they feel he can be a superb defender with an above average bat as evidenced by his .832 OPS this season. A mark that is almost 200 basis points HIGHER than Lagares' 2015 OPS. The asking price for Bradley is going to be quite high. )



HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• According to Ken Davidoff of the NY Post, the Mets are one of the teams in the running to sign Ben Zobrist this offseason. The club views Zobrist as a candidate to replace Murphy at 2B while also providing depth in the corner OF spot.
• The Mets have signed minor league IF Ty Kelly to a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp. During 2015, Kelly hit .226 with a .619 OPS in AAA while playing 2B, 3B, and all 3 OF spots.  
• Having traded SS Andrelton Simmons, the Braves now are looking to trade star 1B Freddie Freeman as they continue to shed payroll off the books. Freeman is scheduled to be paid $12M this season followed by $20M starting in 2017 through 2021.

(Chris Soto: Boy....the Braves are just cleaning house huh. I would love to have Freddie Freeman on the team, however, just like with Simmons, the Braves are very unlikely to trade him in house to a division opponent. On top of that, Freeman is going to be making a ton of money starting next season for a long time. Even in a improved financial state I'm not quite sure the Mets would be able to handle such a large percentage of the team payroll being tied up to both Wright and Freeman.)

The Morning Report 11.10.2015 | Another Met [GM] Going Under the Knife, Long Term Murphy Deal Still Possible, Reyes Arrested for Domestic Abuse, HOT STOVE!!

Billy Witz | New York Times- The general manager meetings are usually a somewhat sleepy cousin to baseball’s winter meetings, but that could change this year. One general manager who will not be in attendance is the Mets’ Sandy Alderson, who is skipping the meetings to have an undisclosed medical procedure. Representing the Mets are John Ricco, the assistant general manager; Paul DePodesta, the vice president for player development and amateur scouting; and J. P. Ricciardi, a special assistant to Alderson.

(Chris Soto: Our hearts go out to Sandy Alderson who seems to be going through far more than the Mets are giving off. Any surgical procedure, whether your a 23 yr old athlete or a 67 yr old General Manager should be taken seriously due to any number of complications that can occur. Sadly, I think you may begin to see a transitioning of the guard between Alderson and the Ricco/dePodesta tandem. Stay Strong Sandy!)



Michael Baron | Just Mets- On Friday, the Mets made Daniel Murphy a $15.8 million qualifying offer. If he accepts, the Mets will retain Murphy on a one-year deal for that dollar amount. “You always have to anticipate that he’s going to accept,” Ricco explained about Murphy’s qualifying offer. “Otherwise I don’t think we would have done it. We’ll see what he does first at the end of the week, I’ve been around long enough to know a lot of things can happen over the course of the winter."

(Chris Soto: Early words on the rumor mill is that a few teams with protected picks have already contacted Murphy about potentially signing him to multi-year contract. Most specifically, the Colorado Rockies have a heavy interest in bringing him in as their full-time 1B. If Murphy were to sign with a different club this off-season, the Mets would receive a pick at the end of the 1st round of the Rule IV Draft. Some notable names from that area of the draft are: RHP Mike Nikorak [#84 MLB], RHP Jonathan Harris, [#80 MLB], RHP Luis Ortiz [#86 MLB], and RHP Jack Flaherty [#100 MLB] )



Chris McShane | Amazin Avenue- Former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was arrested after he allegedly assaulted his wife in a hotel room in Hawaii on Halloween, according to a report from Hawaii News Now. The news report says that Reyes's wife Katherine told police that she had injuries to her thigh, neck, and wrist. The report also cites sources who said that Reyes's wife told police that he had grabbed her throat and shoved her into the sliding glass door that led to the room's balcony.

(Chris Soto: If anyone still harbored any desires to bring Jose Reyes back to NY...this burst a huge hole into that dream. Talk about despicable! One thing the MLB has always been good at is avoiding these types of situations as compared to other leagues such as the NFL and the NHL. After the whole Ray Rice situation, the MLB proactively instituted an extremely strict domestic violence policy that allows “the Commissioner can issue the discipline he believes is appropriate in light of the severity of the conduct.”)



HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Mets posted a bid for the services of Korean 1B Byung-ho Park. The Minnesota Twins won the rights to negotiate with Park for $12.85M.
• According to Mike Puma, IF the Mets could trade LHP Jonathan Niese, they would be highly interested in bringing Bartolo Colon to be the club's #5 SP/swingman until Zack Wheeler returns.
• In Joel Sherman's opinion, the Mets could look to acquire a SS who is a buy low candidate such as Jurickson Profar. At the same time, Mets shortstops posted the 10th best overall WAR numbers in baseball last season giving reason to wonder if an upgrade is even needed.

(Chris Soto: Very interesting situation with the Mets in regards to Byung-Ho Park. Over the last 2 seasons, Park has blasted 108 HRs in an extremely offense heavy league. That said, last year's Korean crossover, Jung-ho Kang performed very well in his first MLB season before sustained a serious ending leg injury. The fact that the Mets made an offer tells me the club is not 100% confident in Lucas Duda going into the off-season.)

The Morning Report 11.9.2015 | HOT STOVE: Rockies Interested in Murphy, Mets Interested in Span and O'Day, Jason Heyward the Perfect Fit

Michael Baron | Just Mets- It’s been less than 24 hours since teams have had free reign to sign free agents from other clubs, and one of the Mets free agents is already garnering discussion. The Rockies are essentially set around their infield with Nolan Arenado, Jose Reyes, and DJ LeMahieu left to right, but really lack a viable, everyday option at first base now that Justin Morneau is a free agent. Coors Field would be a good ballpark for Murphy’s game, given the large dimensions and his ability to spray the ball gap-to-gap. He would also see an uptick in power as well, as do most players who play in that ballpark.

(Chris Soto: I don't quite see the fit here for the Rockies. They have an excellent line-up already with Jose Reyes, Charlie Blackmon, Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez, Corey Dickerson, and DJ LeMathieu which is already quite lefty heavy. Murphy only adds to the lefty-ness and doesn't provide too much of an upgrade over Ben Paulsen in terms of offense. But hey....I won't complain if the Rockies want to give us a 1st round pick.)



Danny Abraino | Rising Apple- The Mets might have interest in free agent OF Denard Span. The Mets might be in search of a lefty-hitting center fielder who can platoon with Juan Lagares — who hits left-handed pitchers well — and Span would be a perfect fit if not for the amount of injuries he’s dealt with over the last 12 months. In their free agent preview, MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Span would receive a three-year deal worth $39 million. If Span stays healthy, that could be a bargain, but his three recent surgeries should give any interested team pause.

(Chris Soto: Yuck....no thanks. If I'm Sandy Alderson, I'm already paying Michael Cuddyer $12.5M to be a bench player in 2016, so there is no way I'm giving Span $13M to be a platoon player with Lagares. I would much rather use that $13M per season in a larger deal for a greater impact bat such as Jason Heyward that could send Lagares to the bench as my late inning defensive wizard.)



Rob Rogan | Mets 360- Jason Heyward is going to get paid this off-season, and he’s going to get paid a lot. Part of that has to do with how Major League Baseball free agency works, what with insane contracts that get crazier and crazier each year. Most of it, though, is because of just how great a player he’s been over the last six seasons and the potential for more. A major-yet-temporary caveat here is that Heyward is primarily a right fielder and the Mets currently have Curtis Granderson entrenched there for two more seasons. If the team was willing to shove Yoenis Cespedes out there, there should be no qualms about having Heyward man center.

(Chris Soto: I am 100% in agreement with Rogan here. Jason Heyward is the best defensive RF in baseball and he steals 20+ bases a season. The altheticism is there to play CF on a regular basis and he is surely a better potential defender there than Yeonis Cespedes. The best part is that he is only 25 yrs old! Your not paying for a Jason Bay who was on the wrong side of 30 when he signed; your signing a guy just entering the prime of his career who has major upside in what he could eventually produce for you. He is the one guy that fits all the needs of the Mets, a middle of the order bat, improving team defense, and increasing team speed.)



Scot Cohen | Amazin Avenue- The Mets are interested in 33-year-old relief pitcher Darren O'Day. O'Day has spent the last four years with the Baltimore Orioles and had the best season of his career in 2015, as he made 68 appearances for and finished the year with a 1.52 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 2.49 FIP. He struck out 82 hitters and walked just 14 in 65.1 innings.

(Chris Soto: I would LOVE to have Darren O'Day in the Mets bullpen, however, there is a major elephant in the room in regards to him. No Qualifying Offer was made from the Baltimore Orioles, which means no team is going to have to shell out a draft pick in order to sign him. This is going to make him the most popular bullpen arm on the market which means he'll likely get a multi year deal for over $8M per season. That is a price tag that I'm not sure the Mets are willing to match, especially, with Addison Reed already on the payroll for ~$5.3M next season.)