The Morning Report 6.2.2015 | Positive Injury Updates, deGrom's Fastball Improvement, Trade Candidates, May's Top Prospects

David Wright Injury Tracker |  Received a cortisone shot. Meeting with Team Today.

Michael Baron | Just Mets- Dilson Herrera has begun some light baseball activities at the team’s minor league complex in Port St. Lucie. Rafael Montero has progressed his throwing program and is now throwing off a mound in Port St. Lucie. Travis d’Arnaud began baseball activities in Port St. Lucie today, and he is hopeful d”Arnaud can resume his rehab assignment this week. Lastly, Buddy Carlyle, who strained his back in Chicago on May 12, is also mostly idle at the moment.

(Chris Soto: Excellent injury updates on most of these guys, d'Arnaud was pretty much almost good to go before taking a foul off the hand. He'll probably get an additional 3-5 rehab games before the Mets declare him ready to join the club. I'd say he returns June 9th when the club comes back to NY. As for Herrera and Montero, it'll be a while before we see those guys again. Lastly, the fact that Carlyle has not resumed throwing for what was considered a mild back injury is concerning. If he continues being idle the club may consider moving him to the 60 day DL to open a 40 man spot.)


Zachary Rymer | Bleacher Report- Against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, deGrom was superb. He led the Mets to a 7-0 victory with eight shutout innings that featured just two hits, no walks and eight strikeouts. He also darn near celebrated the anniversary of Santana's no-no by one-upping him, taking a perfect game into the sixth. In his last four starts, he's pitched 29.1 innings and struck out 34 with just one walk. He's also allowed only three earned runs, equating to a 0.93 ERA. "This is as good as I've ever seen [him] play" said Terry Collins. 

(Chris Soto: Not to be overlooked by Harvey or Syndergaard, deGrom has been superb over his past 4 starts. According to Pitch F/X, his fastball velocity is up from last year and he is taking advantage of it by throwing it almost 5% more than in 2014. The added velocity has also helped the bite on his slider which he has also begun to use more than his curveball. Those two pitches alone are dominating hitters to the tune of a .164 AVG against the 4 seamer and a .238 avg against the slider. The only knock against him right now is that the added velocity seems to be hurting the break on his change as hitters are hitting .321 against vs .237 last year. )


Joel Sherman | New York Post- We are in that period between Memorial Day and the draft, when clubs begin to intensify at least the chatter about doing something in the next two months, before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Let’s assume the Mets are going to be aggressive over the next two months to try to deliver their first playoff team since 2006. Where should they be concentrating? I offer these four names — Aroldis Chapman, Martin Prado, Ben Zobrist and Justin Upton.

(Chris Soto: I don't think Upton would be a fit for the club, considering the money they spent on Grandy and Cuddyer, unless an injury occurs to one of the OF'ers. Chapman is certainly an interesting idea but the front end of the bullpen has not been a problem for the Mets and they have a number of reinforcements on the way to shore up the middle and back end of the pen. Now Zobrist or Prado are two very likely candidates to be Mets. Both are multi positional guys who play every position well while bringing a consistent hitting approach that matches the overall team philosophy. Plus the cost to acquire won't be nearly as much as it would be for Upton.)


Bryan Zarpentine | Rant Sports- The New York Mets continue to get standout seasons from many of its prospects up and down its farm system. Several prospects have already earned a promotion to the next level less than two months into the season. Here is a look at 10 Mets prospects that made themselves stand out from the pack during the month of May.

1. Steven Matz
2. Gavin Cecchini
3. Dominic Smith
4. Amed Rosario
5. Casey Meisner
6. Robert Gsellman
7. Akeel Morris
8. Bradley Weick
9. Eudor Garcia
10. Wuilmer Becerra

(Chris Soto: May was a strong month for a number of Mets top prospects. In fact the only real "down" guy for the month in my opinion was the fact that Brandon Nimmo got hurt. You can make a case that Conforto has a "down" month, but if a guy's down equates to .255 AVG, .715 OPS, and a meager 11.7% K rate then sign me up today. The Mets still have a number of studs in the minor league system that will refuel the parent club in 2016, 17, 18, and beyond.)

hGH, Kelvim Escobar, Wilmer Flores, Justin Upton

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed catcher Lucas May.

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced today that they have modified their Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program to provide for unannounced, random blood testing for the detection of human growth hormone (hGH) during the regular season, beginning in 2013.

In a nutshell, hGH helps restore a baseball player’s health without the long-term effects. You would think this is a good thing and should be permitted under a doctor’s care? It’s use has been banned by both the IOC and NCAA and it isn’t approved by the FDA. You can keep coming up with more reasons to test, but ballplayers will always try something to make them better, especially if there is this kind of money tied to the game.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed RHP Kelvim Escobar to a minor league (non-roster) contract with an invitation to spring training.

                Escobar was one of those guys that Omar Minaya liked to bring to camp and give a shot during spring training. In this case (12-26-09), he actually signed Escobar to a guaranteed $1.25 million dollar deal. He tore his capsule in his right shoulder before the season started and I’m not even sure if he was paid. Basically, he’s been banging around the Latin leagues and has put up a good showing this season for Cardenales de Lara of the PRWL (6-G, 2-ST, 11-IP, 8-K, 9-BB, 1.64).

Adam Rubin‏ - @AdamRubinESPN  -   Prospect Wilmer Flores will continue to play 2B & 3B in the minors, not shift to OF with David Wright re-signing, Mets officials indicated.

                Rubin is only confirming what guys like Mike Newman and I have been saying since we sat behind home play and watched this kid for parts of three years in Savannah. He runs like a dead weight. Your hope here is his bat continues to develop and the Mets can package him to an AL team looking for a future DH. Past that, even first base is questionable.

                The Mets should definitely let him show off in the Nevada air.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi report that Justin Upton rejected a trade that would have sent him to the Mariners.

                This is not new news for you Mets fans. Seattle has always been on Upton’s no-no list, so I don’t know why both clubs even bothered to run the numbers. This has been the most decisive issue in years on this site and I’ve stopped months ago anticipating any chance of him becoming a Met. The market value on these players are far above what the Mets have to offer right now. The Mets will have to get their act together through free agent signings, international signings, and draft picks. There is no trading depth here… yet.  But, two years from now, the Mets will have all the pitching they need to trade for whoever they want.

                                      Jason A. Churchill‏@ProspectInsider  - Many believe Upton is holding out to be traded to Atlanta.

Mack Stuff – Justin Upton, Jason Botts, Edwin Jackson, Carl Pavano

NYP - Alderson needs to try to acquire Upton. Go for another game changer. The Mets have made fascinating strides lately. They need to make another big push to reach higher ground in the NL East.

-          I have a lot of respect for Kevin Kiernan but I don’t think he thought this one out. Trading for a star like Upton takes more than absorbing his contract ($9.75 million in 2013, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 million in 2015). Frankly, the “new” Mets can afford that. They have enough left in 2013 and 2014 and beyond is wide open.

Your “future” nucleus includes David Wright, Travis d’Arnaud, Zack Wheeler, and Matt Harvey. For me, everyone else is still on the table.

A player of this caliber is going to have to produce two players as well as taking on 100% of the salary. The Mets don’t have the kind of player depth to pull this off unless Arizona needs to fill a void. So far this off-season, they hav  strengthened the team's bullpen, added an upper-tier starting pitcher, solidified the bench and, improved at shortstop. They don’t need a second or first baseman, so Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, and Ruben Tejada isn’t an option.

I don’t see how you pull this off.

I’m going to keep bringing this name up…  OF Jason Botts hit a 2-run home run for Los Mochis in the Mexican Pacific League. Botts is now up to .328… this was his 15^th home run this off-season in 204-AB… he also hit .336 last season in the Mexican League. He’s a switch hitter. He’s an ex-Met. He’s 32-years old. And, he’s without a team.

Cubs sign RHP Edwin Jackson to 4-year, $52 million deal

                                

                                He was the top pitcher still out there in the free agent market and nowhere near the level that the Mets might be looking to add an SP5. It’s simply amazing what you have to pay fifty million dollars for these days. A career 4.40 ERA, a 6.9 career K/9, and traded six times in his first nine professional years.

Ken Davidoff‏ - @KenDavidoff -  The #Mets have reached out to the reps of free agents LHP Francisco Liriano and RHP Carl Pavano

                -We talked about Liriano a few posts ago. Pavano is an alternative. He started 11 games for Minnesota last year (2-5, 6.00), throwing 63.0 innings. His best years are far behind him, including 2010 (Minny – 17-11, 3.75). Still, he’s a control pitcher that’s been around (37-yrs. old) and could hold the fort down until Zack Wheeler is ready. Just finished a 2-year, $16.5mil contract he doesn’t stand a chance of getting near. He probably would be available for around $3mil for one year.