Stuff – Pedro Beato, ‘The Keepers’, New Hampshire Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, Barrett Loux, Brandon Nimmo

Pedro Beato

I don’t know if you remember, but I was really excited when the Mets brought Pedro back. I thought he was a great fit for the team and I loved the fact that he lived in walking distance to the house I grew up in. Last year was a lot of good and a lot of no good, but this year was just bad from the get-go. He pitched much better in AAA, but what does that mean? Anyway, I guess this is no big loss for someone who, after one night, looked pretty damn good behind the plate (Kelly Shoppach). He really had Matt Harvey throwing inside all night, something Josh Thole doesn’t always seem comfortable doing. By the way, who are we writing about here?

‘The Keepers’

One of our readers told me the latest over at MMO. As all of you know, ‘The Keepers’ has been a regular feature here for seven years. Now, I come to find out that the owner there has allowed one of his writers to begin a new feature called… wait for it… ‘The Keepers’. The owner, Joe, was a personal friend of mine until we had a public falling out and recently almost died twice, once from a heart condition and the other from a hospital fire. He knows of my medical problems and yet he continues to allow his flock to try and exasperate me and unbalance my bi-polar condition. Well, everything is fine here, Joe. The meds are working just great and feel free to flatter me by using the word ‘Stuff” or the phrase “I Could Be Wrong’. I can always come up with new titles for the work I do.

I never was wrong about you.

New Hampshire Northeast Delta Dental Stadium

I was compiling (nice word for cutting and pasting) information on a Binghamton Mets game the other day and I noticed the name of the stadium they were playing in. Are you kidding me? There are actually three different sponsor names for one stadium? And a different airlines to boot? How did Delta agree to have their names follow Northeast Airlines?... oh, there is no more Northeast Airlines? It merged with Delta. Okay, but still, two different names… oh, Northeast Delta Dental is the name of one company in New Hampshire… err… never mind. 

Barrett Loux

Do you remember me writing about this guy? He was one of my favorites in the 2010 draft and I was hoping he still would be around in the second round when the Mets turn came up. Instead, he went sixth overall to Arizona ($2mil), but the deal blew up when he failed his physical. He was declared a free agent and any tea could have signed him. Naturally, the Mets didn’t.

Eventually Loux signed with the Raners ($312K) and, as of last night, he’s 14-1 , 3.38, 91/35 K/BB 117 1/3 innings for Double-A Frisco.

Brandon Nimmo

Hey, you have to be impressed with a 6-RBI game, highlighted by a grand slam in the ninth. I’ve gone 180 on this guy, though I always will question drafting a player this high up with such little organized experience. That being said, the Mets best. outfield prospect talent seems to be currently in the lower levels (Nimmo, Eudy Pena, Vincente Lupo). The problem is we said the same thing a few years ago when guys like Cory Vaughn, Matt den Dekker, and Cesar Puello were there. This is why you just don’t know what you have for 3-4 years. Sure, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are the exception, right, but the closest we ever got to someone that moved this fast, and excelled, would be Ruben Tejada. And anyway, the Mets don’t trade convention picks up top, do they? Otherwise, Courtney Hawkins, James Ramsey, or Rock Rocker would be wearing a Mets uniform right now.

Stuff – Pedro Beato, Josh Edgin, Jordany Valdespin, Matt Harvey

Pedro Beato

I like Pedro Beato because he lives in my hometown of Ozone Park, N.Y. I thought this was a breat acquisition, which just hasn’t happened. He’s proven a number of times that he’s a big time minor league pitcher, but, so far, he has been unsuccessful in Queens (2011 – 60-G, 4.30, 2012 – 10-G, 10.38). Tonight they gave him a spot start in Buffalo, which, on paper, makes no sense. There is already a 5-man rotation in place (Zack Wheeler, Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Chris Schwinden, Collin McHugh). Did I miss a promotion somewhere or could the Mets be serious considering shutting down Familia? I sure hope so.

Josh Edgin

Please, please, please don’t overpitch this guy like you did with Tim Byrdak and Jesus Feliciano. Edgin hasn’t allowed a run in his last 10 outings and is not afraid to challenge you with his fastball. He also has a nice curve to set up the heater. Lastly, it’s his attitude that stands out. He doesn’t want to beat you. He wants you dead. I really don’t care who you send down or release. What the Mets need to do here to thank Garrett Olson for his contribution and call up Robert Carson post haste. Anyone that knows or has met Robert knows of his super-confidence. Give him a shot. He can’t do worse than Olson.

Jordany Valdespin

Here’s your problem… you are never going to get this kid to stop swinging. He just loves it too much. Baseball Cube gives him an ‘8’ rating (out of 100) for patience. Career wise, he has 1,405 ‘official’ at-bats. He also has only 66 walks. In the majors, it’s 135-AB and 4-BB. His BB% this season is 2.8%. You can’t survive in the major leagues with these stats. Look, if you get ahead of this kid, you can throw him any kind of junk you want and the bat will try to hit the ball. I said I’d lay off this kid, but there’s so much lack of discipline here. This all comes from someone that dropped out of school to play baseball full time… in the fourth grade!

Matt Harvey

Too many relatives. What was the ticket count, around 130 given out? Jason Heyward welcomes him back to the neighborhood with a 2-run homer in the first and the journey continues. Harvey’s biggest problem came early because he hit 45 pitches in the second inning. Simply, put, the control just wasn’t there. Four walks in the first two innings do not win you games. Out of the box: 93 FB, 83 CB, 95 FB, 93 FB, 95 FB, 95 FB, 95 FB, 94 FB, 96 FB walk. They mean nothing unless they pound the zone and bats don’t touch them. Too many relatives.

I May Be Wrong, But… Matt den Dekker, Pedro Beato, Right Field, Bobby Parnell

·         The important thing to take away from Wedneday’s game is the fact that every position had substitutes come in… except centerfield. No one will tell you this, but this was an early test for Matt den Dekker. The Mets need a backup plan for center in case Andres Torres goes down, and the two being considered are den Dekker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. The plot thickens.

·         Andy McCullough pointed out something on twitter that stood out like a bad reliever. The batters that faced Pedro Beato in the second half of last season had an .890 OPS.That’s pretty bad.

·         Fangraphs came out with their ranking of team’s right fielders. The Mets, who had Lucas Duda and Scott Hairston represented here, came in 28^th among 30 teams in the league. That’s understandable. Duda hasn’t even played an entire season yet. They like to call Lucas “The Big Lebowski” on Fangraphs, which is pretty funny.

·         Andy Martino wrote a good article today about Bobby Parnell and his attempts to hang on as part of the Mets bullpen. I think the Mets lost out here. There was a lot of chatter last year at this time and the Mets could have dealt off Robert for a decent prospect. There’s nobody in the system right now that can take his job away, so I believe he will go north come April, but his role as a Mets reliever has been reduced to pitching only when the team is way ahead or losing by a bunch.

Don't Sleep on Beato in the Rotation

By: Frank Gray
The New York Mets have had their pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training a few days ago. As the roster gets molded into Opening Day shape, Terry Collins has several decisions to make. Among them is the starting rotation.

With reports of Johan Santana's health being better than originally expected,  the starting five look pretty much set. They would include Santana, R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee.

With Niese becoming a valid starter and Dickey posting one quality start after another, this would hardly be referred to as Johan and the four rain-outs this year. Can anyone argue that Gee hasn't earned a chance to be the number five pitcher out of the gate this season?

A 13-6 record with a 4.43 ERA at a young age of 25 last season shows what a tremendous upside he has. The question with him will be now that the league has adjusted to him, what will he tweak in his game to counter that?

Mike Pelfrey was handed the "ace" title last season in the absence of Santana and sputtered in the spotlight. With Santana returning, could he find the 2010 season stats (15-9, 3.66 ERA) again or will he continue to develop into the headcase bust that we saw last year?

There is one x-factor in all of this, however. His name is Pedro Beato. Pitching coach Dan Warthen is high on him as a potential starter. Should Santana not be ready at the beginning of the season, need a rest between starts or not be the Santana we all know or if the team needs a starter for a double header, Beato could emerge as the guy right now.

They do have Chris Schwinden for that option as well and later in the season the temptation will be swelling over to call up Jeurys Familia or Matt Harvey to take on that role. Beato makes the most sense, though.

As Warthen points out, he has four solid pitches and at 6' 4" he has the size to be a powerful presence on the mound. He has proven he can pitch at the MLB level. His stats last season, when the team had to reserve a roster spot for him due to the Rule 5 draft rules, were very respectable.

He posted a 4.30 ERA in 67 innings pitched to go with 39 strikeouts in his 60 appearances. The question would be his endurance. If he were to start on a consistent basis, would he run out of gas halfway through the game or can he last into the latter innings?

He may very well begin the season in AAA to groom him as a spot starter/long reliever. The team can afford to do this now that his contract is under their control.

With that said, the rotation can be in good shape if healthy. That, however, will be the issue.

Mack’s 25-man: RP Pedro Beato

I do have to say I’m a little bias on Beato. He’s an Ozone Park boy like me and we Liberty Avenue wanderers have to stick together.

This was another of Sandy Alderson’s good pickup last year. Most of us Mets bloggers back in theday were pissed when the Mets didn’t sign him after picking him in the 17^th round of the 2005 draft. He eventually found his way home in last year’s Rule 5 Draft, and made the parent team on opening day.

There was some shoulder problems but it was decent first year for Pedro: 60-G, 2-1, 4.30, 1.28.

His problems were control and lack of strikeouts: 67-IP, 39-K, 27-BB.

Beato sits in the mid-90s and one assumes more pounding of the zone will turn this around, but one must temper this with the fact that’s always been wild throughout his minor league career.

I don’t think he’s closer material, and being an eighth inning guy might be more he can handle right now. For me, I’d use him as my ROOGY and leave it at that for the first half of the season.  Remember, in his first 18.2 innings last year, Beato allowed 0 earned runs, setting the Mets franchise record for longest scoreless inning streak to start a career.

This is not the time to give up on my home boy.

Cutnpaste: - John Olerud, Pedro Beato, Juan Lagares, 2012 Bullpen, Jason Bay

To call John Olerud’s baseball life charmed is no first baseman’s stretch.  Let’s see – two World Series rings, possibly the greatest college season in history, an American League batting title, membership in the exclusive straight-to-the-majors club and a shotgun seat on the Seattle Mariners’ magic-carpet-ride 116-victory season. And mixed in there somewhere: a brain aneurysm. OK, so sometimes charm takes a holiday. Or a U-turn toward the scary/tragic. This, of course, occurred during his junior year at Washington State University, after he’d Roy Hobbsed his way into the national baseball consciousness. First there were the headaches and then the collapse during practice, then the swift diagnosis and surgery, Olerud the whole time cocooned in the youthful ignorance that “there couldn’t be anything wrong with me,” while his father, John, a doctor, sweated out the reality. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/25/oleruds-baseball-career-nothing-short-of-amazing

There was talk from Collins that Beato might be better suited to a starting role, and I have to agree. While I was impressed with Beato’s bullpen work, I don’t see him as a closer, but more importantly, he looks to have the potential to throw three “plus” pitches — a hard sinker, overhand curve with good 12-6 bite, and fading change-up. As a reliever, the max-effort approach may not be suited to him; partially because I’m not sure he can be effective through 60-75 games a season doing that, but also because his four-seamer is fairly straight. Though it’s a slightly slower pitch, his sinker is effective, and if he can gain consistent command of either the curve or the change-up, he’ll have enough to be at least a back-end starter at the big-league level. The best and fastest way to gain that command is through repetition, and he can do that more effectively logging 120-150 innings as a starter than he can 50-60 as a reliever. Even if he doesn’t pan out as a starter, his sinker, four-seam fastball, and one more secondary pitch will make him a valuable asset in any bullpen — he could turn out to be an effective tweener like Ramiro Mendoza was for the Yankees in the late 1990s / early 2000s. The big decision for the Mets will be whether to let Beato develop his repertoire as a starter in AAA in 2012, or to use him again in the big club’s bullpen. It might seem like a no-brainer to have him work on his stuff in the minors, but we don’t know how badly the Mets will need relievers next spring — and often, the “now” takes precedence over the “later”. http://www.metstoday.com/7123/2011-mets-evaluations/2011-analysis-pedro-beato

10-25-11: - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15358 - Juan Lagares, OF, Mets - Lagares quietly had a breakout season for the Mets in 2011, splitting time between High- and Double-A and hitting a combined .349/.383/.500. A 22-year-old Dominican who began his career as a shortstop, Lagares never found a defensive home in the infield, and his time chasing fly balls has only proved that he's stuck in a corner for the long term. What he can do is hit, but it doesn't come with much else; Lagares has below-average power and isn't a big fan of working the count. He's 11-for-28 in Arizona, and he'll need to keep hitting to improve his prospect stock. The hit tools trumps all, but there has to be at least something to go with it.

Bullpen: This is an area that we can all expect some major changes/additions to. The bullpen was exposed this season because the starters rarely went deep into games, but nonetheless it was an extreme weak point. The No. 1 question is who will be the closer? Bobby Parnell showed flashes, but was inconsistent; he had six saves and six blown saves, yet still possesses the best stuff of anyone in the 'pen. In relief, New York sported an unimpressive 4.33 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Their best reliever was Taylor Buchholz, who had his season cut short after 26 innings because of depression. Francisco Rodriguez -- traded to Milwaukee midseason -- was their second-best, and even Manny Acosta was better than expected, finishing with a 3.45 ERA in 47 innings. This will be an area will Alderson will prioritize, yet he will not be pigeon-holed into taking the ill-fated long-term deal. http://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-mets/2011/10/25/2512284/new-york-mets-offseason-jose-reyes-sandy-alderson

No one thought it would be this bad. Sure, everyone everyone hated the Jason Bay contract for various reasons but a 100 OPS+ and 18 home runs in his first two seasons as a Met? Only the most pessimistic anti-Canadians among us could have predicted it. Whenever Bay is in the batter's box, all I see is a giant Publisher's Clearing House-type check for $16 million. And this is what a trip to Bay's Baseball-Reference page feels like. Bay's season had a "one step forward, three steps back" feel to it. Every time he strung together a few good games after weeks of suckage, the fanbase always seemed to respond with hopeful "maybe he's figuring it out?" sentiments. And without fail, he would immediately slide into a 4-for-30 funk. Bay finished with a strong September (.313/.392/.563) so maybe he's figuring it out? Doubtful, but he's still not completely ancient at 33 years-old so perhaps he can rebound. More time removed from the concussion he sustained in 2009 is also reason for modest optimism. Even an OPS of .800 would be welcome at this point. - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/10/25/2494933/2011-postmortem-left-field

Cutnpaste: Citifield, Santana Lies, 2012, Chris Capuano, Pedro Beato

I’ve never really cared about the walls at Citi Field.  They are what they are for both teams, and the height and distance have both positives and negatives. My biggest concern is that if they were to change them, that they would do something stupid like just draw another orange line, or construct a makeshift fence in front of it and mess with the aesthetics.  Sandy Alderson’s comments on the broadcast last night seem to suggest that they’ll put a lot of thought into how to meld the chances into the structure if they do make changes.  Alderson mentioned that they’ve done a lot of research on it, and with three years worth of data to look at they’re a little more confident in the decisions they’re reaching off the data.  Opinions about home runs and wall height are one thing, but I’m happy any decision that’s made will be based off hard data. - http://www.ceetar.com/optimisticmetsfan/2011/09/21/wall-adjustments-do-not-make-mets-better

We’ve also seen the credit-seeking, faction-fomenting fascist Sandy Alderson from the Padres with the subterfuge used with Johan Santana in an attempt to drum up interest in a team that was double-digits out of a playoff spot and fading; he didn’t exactly lie, but he wasn’t truthful in the insistence that Santana might be ready to pitch a couple of innings in the big leagues before the season ended. I knew it was silly bordering on the nonsensical, but other fans don’t look for an ulterior motive when a baseball executive is saying something ludicrous; they don’t generally forget when they’ve been betrayed. - http://paullebowitz.com.previewyoursite.com/blog/?p=2422

So how excited can one get for the off-season?  I usually love the thrill of the hot-stove but for now it will just be a wait and see mode with Reyes.  If Reyes does not return lets also forgive Sandy now for not going out and investing that 20M on this talent market sans Reyes.  Moves like that are exactly what the Mets are paying him NOT to do. What is a Mets fan to do?  Wait.  We have seen a lot of good things this year and I expect to see similar things next year.  We do have pitching on the way in Harvey and Wheeler.  We do have Mejia and Familia, Havens and Kirk, and a host of others on their way.  Also as we know baseball is a funny game.  The Mets can contend next year if things break right, however it is now a luxury to have someone like Alderson that sees the big picture and is not willing to risk the Mets future on chance. - http://realdirtymets.com/2011/09/22/mets-to-go-to-the-well-one-more-time-in-2012

UPDATE (12:05 EST): Well, that didn't last long. Joe McDonald of ESPN Boston is reporting that the Red Sox did in fact make a run for Capuano this week, but according to a source those talks are "dead" as of now. For now, the Red Sox are still looking at John Lackey and possibly Alfredo Aceves as options to take the mound against New York on Sunday. ORIGINAL REPORT (12:00 PM EST): The Red Sox have been having a few issues with their starting pitching lately if you haven't heard, and apparently they've been spending the past few days working on some possible reinforcements. According to John Tomase of the Boston Herald, those efforts have led them to Mets starter Chris Capuano. - http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2011/9/22/2442363/red-sox-looking-at-chris-capuano

After receiving assurances Tuesday evening that he would not be asked to pitch, Mets reliever Pedro Beato did the improbable: he stood up, stretched his arm and began throwing a bullpen session.  Though not unusual behavior for relievers on their scheduled off-days, the episode was bizarre in that Beato has complained recently of a tired arm. Mets manager Terry Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen have implored the rookie to cut back on his throwing, and still Beato has persisted.  "We've told him all along, 'You've got to back off the throwing,'" Collins said. "'You've only got so many bullets.' But he sees the veteran guys, Izzy [Jason Isringhausen] and all those other guys doing their daily throwing program, so he thinks he's got to do it." - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110922&content_id=25061622&notebook_id=25062330&vkey=notebook_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym

Cutnpaste: Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Josh Satin, Juan Urbina, Greg Pron, Pedro Beato

Kirk Nieuwenhuis:


8-11-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/baseball-americas-mets-top-10-list-prior-to-2011-where-are-they-now.html   - OF – Kirk Nieuwenhuis: Kirk was enjoying a fine season in Buffalo before falling to injury. He may have lost a huge opportunity to play every day on the major league roster with the recent trade of Beltran, and injury to Murphy that has moved Duda to first base. Started 2011: Triple-A Currently: out for season, shoulder surgery


Josh Satin:


8-14-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32042/projected-prospect-call-ups  - JOSH SATIN, infielder (.324, 12 HR, 71 RBI, .415 OBP, 417 at-bats with Buffalo and Binghamton): After hitting .325 in Double-A, Satin earned a July 22 promotion to the Bisons and continued his offensive success. A sixth-round pick in 2008 from Cal-Berkeley, Satin recently enjoyed a 15-game hitting streak. Perhaps a notch below Daniel Murphy in terms of defensive skill, Satin similarly has been exposed to first, second and third base.


Juan Urbina:


8-14-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/kingsport-mets-team-report-stretch-run-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29&utm_content=Twitter  - Juan Urbina - The son of the former big leaguer Ugueth Urbina, has been having a very rough year as the rest of the league has been beating him like a drum, at will. His stats aren’t pretty: In 9 GS and 40 IP, he has an ugly 2-5 record, and an ERA of 6.69. His K/BB ratio is very good, 36/16, but he is getting knocked all over the park. 53 hits in his 40 IP, 7 of which are HR’s, and the league is hitting .314 against him. The scouts love him though. After all he just turned 18 earlier this season. He’s 6’2″ and throws LH. And they say he can command several plus pitches, So I guess you can chalk this year up to his young age and despite the numbers, this is a very important developmental year for the south-paw.


Greg Pron:


8-14-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/08/kingsport-mets-team-report-stretch-run-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29&utm_content=Twitter  - Greg Pron - So far the 2011 42nd round pick looks like we got a real steal, when Sandy tabbed this 6’6″ RH slugging OF from West Florida. Pron has started off his professional career in a huge way. Pron is 9th in the Appy League with a .319 BA, .385 OBP, .518 SLG and .903 OPS (On Base Plus Slugging, the combination of OBP and SLG). He leads the team in BA, HR’s with 7, Total Bases, OPS and SB’s with 6. In 166 AB’s he is second on the team in: Runs (31), Hits (53), RBI’s (27), OBP and SLG. He does have a long swing, and tends to strikeout too often as his K/BB ratio of 46/17 indicates. Pron, who has played all three OF positions for Kingsport, is an intriguing prospect, and should open the 2012 season as a starting outfielder at Savannah, long season league.


Pedro Beato:


8-15-11: - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32211/collins-beato-ought-to-get-starter-look  - Beato was a starter through 2009 with the Baltimore Orioles in the minors, before they converted him to closer with Double-A Bowie last year. Collins may want to check the '09 stats with Class A Fredericksburg before proclaiming starting the better option. In 20 starts with that club, Beato's opponent batting average was .247 in the first inning, .269 in the second, .286 in the third, .284 in the fourth, .358 in the fifth and .400 in the sixth.

Callis on Mets Draft, BTBS on Beato, Bullpen Banter on Logan Verrett, Scott Kazmir, BA On Duda

Jim Callis: I like the way the Mets came out and went after upside. They loved Brandon Nimmo and grabbed him at 13, or else someone would have taken him at the bottom of the first round. Michael Fulmer got overshadowed by Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley in Oklahoma this spring, but he has a quality arm. If they sign Phillip Evans (15th round) and Mason Robbins (20th), that would be a nice coup. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/chat/2011/2611932.html  



Pedro Beato: The four-seam fastball has just average movement, but has very good velocity, averaging almost 94MPH. The two-seam fastball has solid velocity while possessing a terrific amount of sink. The curveball possesses decent movement, while also having really good velocity, ensuring it will be a pretty good ground ball pitch as well as potentially a good pitch for whiffs. The slider, which seems almost like a cutter, has solid movement to go along with terrific velocity. Really the only pitch that's nothing special is the change-up, which still has the same sink as the two-seamer without the great velocity. So it would seem that Beato seems like he has the potential to be the next breakout pitcher from the Rule 5 draft, more so than the other three pitchers above. However, he's FAR from a sure thing, considering: 1. If he was converted back to a starter from a reliever, he's likely to lose 1-2 MPH on his pitches, reducing their value by a good bit. 2. He never seemed able to succeed in the minors as a starter in multiple years in the Orioles organization. Certainly he could turn out to just be a mediocre reliever, even despite his potential. However, he clearly has the potential to be more - at least a top notch reliever. http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/6/10/2216536/analyzing-the-pitches-of-the-remaining-four-2010-rule-5-drafted#storyjump 



2-21-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=387:college-baseball-weekend1&catid=18:articles&Itemid=11  - Player: Logan Verrett College: Baylor University Position: Starting Pitcher Bats/Throws: R/R Simple delivery with high leg kick High 3/4 arm-slot Fastball had more life (arm-side run) when kept low in the zone, but tended to straighten out when elevated Change-up had good action: arm-side run and downward movement Disguised slider very well with late vertical break Also showed 12-6 curve ball; less advanced than other two secondaries Pitched off of his fastball Generally around the strike zone, but didn't have much command in this outing

 There seems to be a pretty good chance that Scott Kazmir will be released by LAA. He’s pitching horribly in his rehab assignment and there’s a good chance the Angels will just eat his $14.5mil contract. Should the Mets consider signing him for Buffalo? Look, I love what the team did with Jason Isringhausen this year, and it would be nice to see Kazmir back in a Mets uniform. He can’t ve worse than Brain Sweeney, can he?



Lucas Duda won't have the International League to kick around anymore. The Mets intend to recall the 1B/LF today to replace Nick Evans, the replacement for the inured Ike Davis. The 25-year-old Duda belted three homers and three doubles this week for Triple-A Buffalo as part of a 10-for-25 (.400) week that included a solid 4-to-5 walk-to-strikeout ratio. He's been one of the IL's hottest hitters since May 1, hitting .390, compiling a 1.415 OPS (74 PA) and bashing nine homers in 19 games . . . With a pair of home runs this week - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2011/2611933.html  

Press Release: - Ruben Tejada, Pedro Beato

Photo by Mack Ade

May 17, 2011 –The New York Mets announced late last night that they have recalled INF RUBEN TEJADA from the Buffalo Bisons roster. New York also activated RHP PEDRO BEATO from his MLB injury rehab assignment with Buffalo.



The Mets have optioned RHP RYOTA IGARASHI back to the Bisons and outrighted INF CHIN-LUNG HU to the Herd.



Igarashi began the season with the Bisons and did not allow a hit in two relief appearances (3.1 innings of work). The reliever recorded one save and four strikeouts before being promoted to the Mets on April 11. While with New York, Igarashi was 2-1 with a 4.63ERA in 15 appearances (11.2IP, 12H, 6R, 6ER, 11BB, 15K).



Hu, 27, has played in 22 games with the Mets this season with a hit and an RBI in 20 at-bats (.050). He’s made two starts at second base and was 0-10 as a pinch hitter.



Hu was acquired in an off-season trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for former Bisons LHP Mike Antonini. With Triple-A Albuquerque last season, Hu hit .317 (66-208) with four home runs, 25RBI and eight stolen bases. The infielder also played in parts of the last four seasons with the Dodgers, hitting .191 (33-173) in 96 games.



Tejada has played in all 39 Bisons games this season, making 37 straight starts to begin the year before being used as a defensive replacement on Sunday. The infielder has averaged .267 (40-150) with three home runs and a team-leading 18RBI. He also has two stolen bases in four attempts.



Beato made just one appearance for the Herd, earning a win with 1.1 innings of shutout relief on Sunday in Louisville