MACK - Let's Get To Know - IF - Branny De Oleo

 

The New York Mets promoted IF Branny De Oleo from A-St. Lucie to AA-Binghamton

Branny Steven De Oleo is a 21-year-old shortstop (and utility infielder) in the New York Mets’ minor-league system.

Basic Info

• Born: May 15, 2005, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Listed Height/Weight: 6'1", 156 lbs
• Bats/Throws: Right/Right
• Position: Primarily SS; also played 2B and 3B (and some outfield in 2026)
• The Mets signed him as an international free agent (undrafted free agent) on January 15, 2023, to a minor-league contract. He was a relatively low-bonus/older signing in that class. He made an immediate impact in his pro debut. 
• In 2023 with the DSL Mets Blue (Dominican Summer League, Rookie level), he hit .313/.403/.476 with 3 HR, 25 RBI, and 6 SB in 46 games. He showed strong contact skills (only ~9% strikeout rate), athleticism, and projection for added power. Scouts noted his range, arm, and instincts at shortstop. Baseball America called him a “sleeper prospect” and one of the Mets’ more pleasant developmental stories that year; he ranked as high as the Mets’ No. 24 prospect in some 2024 rankings.

nj.com

Performance Since ThenHe struggled after moving to the U.S. stateside complexes:

• 2024 (FCL Mets, Rookie): .209/.284/.302, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 4 SB, 42 games.
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• 2025 (FCL Mets, Rookie): .194/.291/.290, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 16 SB, 44 games.
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In 2026 (first full season at Single-A with St. Lucie), through about 80 games he posted .229/.309/.353 with 7 HR, 40 RBI, and 10 SB (302 PA). His strikeout rate rose notably (~27.5%), though he showed some power and speed. He had a solid stretch in May (.292/.346/.500 in one report) and hit a go-ahead two-run homer in a May 2026 win over Palm Beach. Overall career minor-league line: roughly .239 AVG, 13 HR, 36 SB in ~695 AB.

baseballsavant.mlb.com

OutlookDe Oleo is a developmental project with tools (athleticism, defensive potential at short, room to add strength/power). Contact and consistency have been issues at higher levels so far, and he is not currently viewed as a top prospect in the Mets system. He remains a long-shot organizational player who could develop further if he refines his approach and adds physical strength.

Reese Kaplan -- For the Mets DH Means "Doesn't Hit"

Back in 2022 the National League caught up to the American League and adopted the use of the designated hitter instead of watching pitchers attempt to bunt or flail helplessly at professionally thrown pitches.  I’m not going to debate the pros and cons of that decision, but instead will take a look at how our favorite franchise has embraced it in the attempt to win ballgames.

For that initial DH season the Mets opted to use a platoon combination of J.D. Davis and Dom Smith to man this newly created role.  The best laid plans, of course, don’t always work out as expected and for the pre trade deadline period the Mets notched a combined total of just 4 HRs and a less than whopping 24 RBIs.  Eventually Davis was sent packing and Smith got to feast on the best food Syracuse had to offer.

In their place was midseason portly thumper Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a minor league reliever named Colin Holderman.  Considering the run production missing from the DH role, a guy who in 2019 hit 30 HRs for the Mariners kind of seemed like a potentially good fit to bolster the lackluster offense from the DH.

During his first season as a Met he did manage to hit 6 HRs and drive in 35 for the remainder of the season and while it was far from perfect, it seemed like they might be onto something.  Holderman is still playing (unlike Vogelbach) and this year for Cleveland has a 2.39 ERA. 

Unfortunately it never got any better.  In 2023 he got more ABs but still only produced 13 HRs and 48 RBIs in more than 300 ABs in that role.  He was not the guy giving the Mets what they needed out of the DH position and he was sent packing after being non tendered when the season ended. 

In 2024 the club took a last minute home run swing by inking still unsigned DH extraordinaire J.D. Martinez.  He got a late start to preseason and thus a late start to his regular work in that role.  While he was not the routine embarrassment the Mets had seen in the past, he never measured up to his regular season metrics.  For his 2024 salary of $12 million at age 36 he contributed an improved 16 HRs and 69 RBIs over 120 games but that was only slightly better than half of what he’d done the previous season.  He retired after the 2024 year came to a close.

From there it got even worse.  In 2025 the Mets rotated behind the unholy trio of Starling Marte, Mark Vientos and Jesse Winker, again not delivering cleanup level hitting from the three of them combined.  In 2026 it’s been an even larger slate of rotating DH candidates that included Mark Vientos, Jared Young, Francisco Alvarez, Jorge Polanco, Juan Soto and Luis Robert.  Obviously they’ve gone backwards.

So that brings us to planning for the 2027 season.  Assuming they non-tender Robert and dump Vientos, it would leave perpetually injured Polanco who has a $20 million deal as the primary DH to preserve his fragile health.  Other than David Stearns, no one else is happy with this plan. 

For a point of comparison the Mets once extended at contract worth $10 million for end-of-his-baseball-life infielder Jed Lowrie who contributed 7 ABs for the entire 2019 season.  Instead of learning from this mistake, the club doubled down on both annual compensation and number of years of commitment when decided Polanco was the right guy to fortify the offense (though originally the plan was to play him at 1B instead of at DH). 

It would appear that the Mets might have to look outside the organization for another DH option if they still feel Polanco has a future at 1B.  There are always hitters available but just because they are on the open market in free agency doesn’t guarantee they will perform as they have done historically. 

The available free agents (some of which have mutual options with their current teams) include Miguel Andujar, Josh Bell, Marcell Ozuna, Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, George Springer, Eugenio Suarez and Seiya Suzuki.  There has also been some mention of Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato being posted as a foreign free agent, too.

Internally it is possible to use Jared Young if Polanco gets 1B.  After that the choices are either too far down in the minors or not deemed ready for prime time like Ryan Clifford.  

MACK – THOUGHTS & OTHER TIDBITS

                                                                 

MACK – THOUGHTS & OTHER TIDBITS

 

Thoughts

 

I think I saw the beginning of the development of the 2027 Mets bullpen.

Monday brought a wonderful start by Nolan McLean (6-IP, 1-ER), but the highlight for me was the three scoreless innings tossed by Jonathan Pintaro, Nate Lavender, and Daniel Duarte… combined 3.0-IP, 1-H, 0-R, 1-BB, 2-K. Add to this existing 2027 contracts Kodai Senga and Devin Williams and you now have five potential members of the 2027 pen. The return of both Tylor Megill and Reed Garrett off the IL move this number up to seven, leaving Tobias Meyers, Dedniel Nunez, and Austin Warren to flght it out for slot #8.

 

Whattayathink?

Promotions

 

AA-Binghamton IF Émilien Pitre to AAA-Syracuse

AAA-Syracuse 3B Christopher Morel to MLB-Mets

A-St. Lucie SS Elian Pena to A+ Brooklyn

AA-Binghamton Billy Amick to AAA-Syracuse

A+ Brooklyn RHP Luke Gabrysh to AA-Binghamton

A+ Brooklyn IF Jamari Baylor to AA-Binghamton

AAA-Syracuse INF Eric Wagaman promoted to MLB-Mets

MLB-Mets RHP Austin Warren was reinstated from the 15-day IL

A-St. Lucie IF Branny De Oleo promoted to AA-Binghamton

AA-Binghamton OF D’Andre Smith promoted to AAA-Syracuse

AA-Binghamton LHP Gabriel Rodriguez activated from DL

 

Prospect Color Changes

A-St. Lucie OF John Smith III - BLACK to BLUE.

A-St. Lucie IF Vladi Gomez – RED to BLUE

 

Minor Tidbits

It is getting harder, as the season begins to wind down, to determine  which starting pitchers in the chain are ready to help Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Zac Thornton in the 2027 starting rotation. A scouting friend of mine currently has McLean, at best being an SP-2 candidate, mainly due to his on-again, off-again dominance this year. “He just can’t seem to get this number of pitches thrown thing down this year” was the actual text sent me. As for Scott, he has him in the SP-3/4 range and Thornton, at best an SP/5.

So, my question to you… after watching the piss poor performances by Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger, throw in the same kind of review for Jonathan Santucci, the failure of both Tobias Myers and Dakota Hawkins, and all other prospect starters being, at least one affiliate away… what are your suggestions going forward???

The Amick/Brennan debate continues… Tom is stuck on who should be accredited with being the Met minor leaguer with the most home runs. 1B Billy Amick/AA-Binghamton is now up to 7-Mets homers in 46 at-bats… but he came to the Mets from another AA team, where he hit 23 home runs also this season. When asked the question, Tom does not give Amick for having the most. Me? Amick has 30 AA home runs this year which “leads” the Mets. So, I ask you… what Met minor leaguer has the most home runs this season? 

And… why is someone that has hit 30 AA home runs and 94-RBI this season still playing at this level?

 Well, the bottom line is the fact that this debate is now over. Amick was promoted to AAA-Syracuse before the start of this week’s games.

 

Simply put, you can’t get excited with the stat-lines of the DSL bats because the pitching at that level is so undeveloped. And yet, there is 19/yr old DSL-Orange SP Abner Meza. On this past Friday, Meza went 5.0-IP, 1-H, 0-ER, 4-K, raising his seasonal stat line to 11-G, 5-2, 1.81, 0.97, 49.2-IP, 50-K. This raised his 2/yr. DSL line to 23-G, 9-5, 2.24, 1.04, 88.1-IP, 82-K. So I ask… why isn’t this hombre eating dinner at Duffy’s tonight?

 

Jefferson Rojas. Mitch Voit. Elian Pena. Jacob Reimer. Sammy Stafura. Emilien Pitre. Wandy Asigen. This is far too many infielders for the future Flushing infield. Let’s remember, Francisco Lindor is going to play one of these three infield positions. Let’s say 2027 is an experimental year. So I ask you… what two of seven players I listed above will be in the starting 2028 infield? Me? Have no friggin idea.

 

So, what is the Mets going to do about AAA-Syracuse 1B/OF Ryan Clifford? 

He finished off last week 0-9, 8-K, which created a 1-14, 26-K stat-line over his last 11 games. If this guy was a racehorse, they would shoot him on the track. The current Syracuse first base situation is Clifford, Nick Lorusso, and Billy Amick. Are we to expect that the homerun hitting crazy guy would be promoted there and sat down, so Clifford could strike out. No way, Jose. 

On my team, Amick and Lorusso will split 1B/DH duties while Clifford is designated for assignment, released, or euthanized… I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but once I recognize that something was wrong, I more on and never think about it again. The Cohenstearns Boys need to do more here than placing him on the DL.

 

In Closing

I really wanted the Mets to have one of the six worst records this season, but that just doesn’t seem to be in the picture anymore. To me, the resurgence has been centered around the steady hitting of Benge/Ewing, the steady Eddie at-bats of Jared Young, the resurgence of Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette, and the return of Sean Manaea and his rotation buddies to being relevant.

In addition, it’s now exciting to follow the chain, especially the Binghamton Mets. Just about every move David Stearns made is proving out to be a good one.

Most field positions have so many future options right now and my guess is that 2027 will be the only year that all of you have to sweat the small stuff anymore. There seems to be a kind of ballplayer that is taking over this team.  Kind of player like the psycho-twins Carson Benge and AJ Ewing. Have you ever seen more fan excitement for two .260 hitters? Well, .260 in 2026 is a good thing in this game and expect all future major league additions on this team to be designed in this mode. 

MACK - Let’s Get to Know – 2B Jake Ogden

 

Let’s Get to Know – 2B Jake Ogden

On August 18^th, the St. Lucie Mets activated 2B Jake Ogdin.

Jake Ogden is a right-handed throwing and batting infielder (primarily shortstop/second base/third base) who signed with the New York Mets as an undrafted free agent (UDFA) in July 2026 after his senior season at the University of Miami.

Born January 20, 2004, in Homestead, Florida; attended Coral Reef High School.

Height/weight: 6'0", about 189–195 lbs.

College Career2023 (Freshman, Barry University – DII): Hit .322 with 8 HR, 38 RBI in 52 games; Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year.

2024 (Sophomore, UNC Greensboro): Started all 54 games (mostly 3B); .313/.385/.482 with 8 HR, 45 RBI, 16 SB.

2025 (Junior, Miami): Transferred to Miami; started all 62 games (mostly SS); .336/.402/.500 with 9 HR, 63 R, 84 H, 14 doubles, 13-for-13 SB. Led the team in several categories; Brooks Wallace Award (top collegiate shortstop) semifinalist. Returned for 2026 after going undrafted in 2025.

2026 (Senior, Miami): Continued as a key infielder (SS/2B); strong performances included ACC Player of the Week honors in early April after a hot stretch (e.g., .538 in a series vs. Virginia Tech). Season stats were solid overall

He also played in the Cape Cod League (Harwich Mariners) in 2024, earning All-Star recognition.

After the 2026 MLB Draft, Ogden signed with the Mets as a. He joins the organization as a versatile middle infielder with contact skills, speed, and defensive reliability from a strong ACC program.

Ogden is known as a high-character, high-effort player who overcame being overlooked and personal health challenges to become a productive college contributor. 

Ogden played his first 2026 game this past Tuesday, going 0-4 (.000, .000-OPS)

Tom Brennan - Yesterday’s Mostly Dandy Action

THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS PLAYING BETTER THAN IN JUNE

Mets win, again, making it 11 of 15 wins since the staff was heavily gutted at the deadline, with their closer and their most dangerous hitter on the IL. CRAZY.

Benge homered. #15. He is a superstar. We all see that now.

Kodai “the Saves Guy” Senga is perfect in save opportunities - 100% - while Mariano Rivera only managed 90%.

So, Senga is clearly the best closer ever. 

AAA Syracuse took a dump, losing 9-7.

Santucci got spanked in the 5th, after 4 good innings.

In AA, Collins and sizzling Vargas each had 3 hits, including a HR. 4 other hitters had 2 hits apiece. A 10-6shellacking.  140 runs for rampaging Binghamton in 17 games, batting .309. Dang, bro.

Marco Vargas is not letting people forget him. He is a nearly .400 25 for his last 66, with 4 HR and 18 RBI. BETTER THAN MARCO SCUTARO?

High A Brooklyn, they lost 7-6, but the story of the night was John Smith III, who in his first High A game was 3-4 and a walk! How does a recent 19th round left fielder get all the way to High A to Brooklyn after just 41 St Lucie at bats? And then get on base FOUR times. Applause.

St Lucie got shellacked 11-1, and its players have been henceforth banned from entering Home Depot to prevent further shellacking.

Tomorrow, it will be Friday, but there are more games scheduled for today.

Paul Articulates – Billy Amick bursts upon the scene

Last week I had the opportunity to talk to some of the new Mets that came over at the trade deadline.  You have heard from several of them so far.  Here is number five:

Today’s highlight is Billy Amick, who came over in the Twins trade that sent AJ Minter to Minnesota.  Amick is the only one of the five that was not ranked in the top 30 prospects upon arrival, but that doesn’t mean that he was flying under the radar.  As a AA player with the Wichita club, Amick had an .820 OPS with 23 HR and 72 RBI and was among the top power hitters in all of AA this season.  Upon his arrival in Binghamton, Amick continued to blast balls over the fence, accumulating 30 for the season before being quickly promoted to AAA Syracuse.  

The Rumble Ponies media director appreciated Amick’s readiness to talk with the media – called him a pro.  Amick saw plenty of media coverage when he starred for the University of Tennessee team that won the 2024 National Championship.  Here is the interview:

Q: How does it feel to have such a great offensive night to announce yourself to Binghamton? <note: in his first game in Binghamton, the Ponies won 23-3 with Amick going 3-for-4 with two HR and 6 RBI>

A: It was exciting last night.  We had a good offensive night and the pitchers threw well so there were a lot of good vibes in the locker room.   

Q: How would you describe your game for people who haven’t seen you play?

A: Just doing what it takes to help my team win every single day.  Showing up every day as the same person. That’s what it is all about.

Q: What are your thoughts on joining a new organization?

A: It is nerve racking for sure. I’m kind of quiet so it takes me a while to remember all the names and be myself, but it was really easy coming over to the Mets and I am very excited to be able to play.

Q: In your progression on your way to the ultimate goal of playing in MLB, what would you consider success this year?

A: I would say just getting better every single day.  I would not point to anything particular that I believe is a weakness, but getting better as a baseball player and helping the team win is what I am here for.

Q: How do you like the coaching staff so far?

A: They have been great. They have all been good to me and they have done a great job of welcoming all the new players and getting us acclimated.

Let’s Get To Know – LF Jack Toomey

On August 18^th, the St. Lucie Mets activated OF Jack Toomey.

Jack Toomey is a 23-year-old right-handed-hitting/throwing outfielder in the New York Mets organization. He is a recently signed undrafted free agent (UDFA) who joined the Mets on a minor-league contract after the 2026 MLB Draft.

Born May 18, 2003 (Cambridge, Massachusetts area); hometown Wellesley, Mass.

Physical: 6'3", 215 lbs.

High school: St. Sebastian’s School (Needham, Mass.), where he was a four-year varsity baseball letterwinner, team captain in 2022, and a 2022 Perfect Game Preseason All-American. He also played two varsity seasons of hockey.

College:

Holy Cross (2023–2024): Standout as a freshman in 2023—Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Freshman All-American (Collegiate Baseball), and All-Patriot League. He hit .312 with 7 HR, 19 doubles, and 36 RBI in 49 games, leading the team in several categories. In 2024 he hit .261 with 9 HR and strong on-base numbers.

Boston College (2025–2026): Transferred for his junior year. In 2025 he started all 57 games, batting .261 with 5 HR and 35 RBI. In 2026 (senior year) he had a stronger campaign overall (reports and partial stats show improved average, power, walks, and stolen bases—around .316–.325 range with multi-HR and double-digit steals in fuller accounts). He also played summer ball for the Sanford Mainers (NECBL), where he was a former All-Star.

The Mets signed him as an undrafted free agent (along with BC teammate pitcher AJ Colarusso) shortly after the 2026 Draft. He was assigned to the FCL Mets (Florida Complex League

He is a toolsy outfielder with size, some power potential (especially gap-to-gap and occasional over-the-fence pop from his college track record), speed (multiple stolen bases in recent seasons), and a solid approach that generates walks. As a brand-new pro, he is at the very start of his professional career in the Mets’ lower levels.

In short, Toomey is a local Massachusetts product who performed well at the mid-major and Power conference levels, went undrafted, and is now beginning his pro journey in the Mets system as a developmental outfield prospect.

Tommey played his first professional game this past Tuesday, going 1-3 (.333, .833-OPS), 1-BB, 1-K.

Tom Brennan: LITTLE KNOWN FACTOIDS; WAR, CROW, AND DOC; and OTHER GREAT STUFF

Happy Factoid Wednesday 

VARIOUS FACTOIDS HAVE ENTERED OUR SOLAR SYSTEM 

On Sunday, 11th round St Lucie hitter Kuhio Kamakanawehiwamaikalewa Aloy smacked two HRs in his 10th pro game.

 -  You will have to ask Mack how he pronounces that middle name.

     - It’s above my pay grade.

 -  Mack is a noted linguist, while I stick to linguine.

 -  I wil simply stick with Aloy. Thank you. May he be the next Alou.

First rounder Aiden Robbins was nicknamed “Baseball Jesus” in college because of his long hair.  

 - I hope he loses that moniker. It can irk some folks.

But Robbins is indeed humble, at least in part, as he said this, pre-draft: 

"I’m still an unfinished product. Especially getting into the pros, there’s a lot of things I can change and make better. I’m able to do everything -- I can hit for power, I can get hits, it’s all just an approach and a mindset thing."

• Well, he is already better than Ryan Clifford and Colin Houck, IMO. Why do I say that? Because everyone is better than those two…unless that duo successfully transitions their games to something much more functional. After all, they’ve fanned 305 times in 191 games this year. In those 305 at bats, statisticians inform me that they are batting .000.

Robbins is .325/.413/.425 in his first 11 St Lucie games. 

Robbins Royally Rocks.

WE CRINGED, GOT UNHINGED…THEN HE BENGED

After starting the season and his MLB career a stressful 9 for 66, Benge hit .297 over his next 381 at bats through Saturday, and provides Gold Glove defense. 

I will shout it out when I see it: GREAT draft pick. 

Best Mets pick since…Pete Crow Strong Arm. Traded by Dumb Ass.

WALKS WALKS WALKS WALKS WALKS WALKS WALKS WALKS WALKS

I saw this: 

Most walks issued in a 9 inning game in last 60 years: 

A’s had 16 vs Mets, and Cardinals had 16 vs Rockies

The Mets DSL team scoffed at that…they walked 20 times on Friday in the first 9 innings, and one more time in the 10th, for 21.

Also, in the majors, just 4 players, including Jimmie Foxx, have walked 6 times in a game. At least a couple of those were extra inning affairs.

On Friday, 17 year old DSL Met Oscar Pena went 0 for 1, drew 6 walks, in that DSL Mets Blue game. They presumably weren’t pitching around him - he was hitting just .162. Through Saturday, Oscar had 27 Ks - and 27 walks - in 29 games.

In the final games of the DSL season on Tuesday, the two Mets teams lost by a combined 15-3 score. 

Lots of walks in one game, 6 wild pitches in the other, 4 of those in one inning by a young unnamed guy who finished the season with a 16.46 ERA, and who, in 13.2 IP, walked 23, hit 5, and tossed 11 wild pitches. I’m sure he never heard of control specialist Bret Saberhagen. I doubt he gets an invite back.

Combined, the two teams went 49-63.

Lastly, in 56 games, if you guessed the Mets Blue pitchers led the league with 104 hit batsmen, you’d be correct. They also led the 51 team league with 185 wild pitches in those 56 games.

TONG (MOSTLY) TERRIFIC

Yes, Mack, Jonah Tong’s 3rd to last start sure was ugly - 5 solo HRs in a 5 hit, 5 innings outing. On a scale of 1 to 10, that start was below a 5.

But in his last 6 starts, that was the only bad one. 

In the other 5 of those 6 starts, he tossed 23 innings, allowing just 5 runs, 18 hits, and adding 30 Ks. 

On September 1, I expect the Mets to call him up. 

‘Cause 5 out of 6 ain’t bad.

YOUR DIVISION MATTERS

The White Sox in the AL Central are 65-58, 5.5 games in front, after Sunday’s action.

Which means the 2nd place AL Central team is 4 games below .500.

The Whiteys are just 18-27 again teams .500 or better, and 47-31 against sub .500 teams. Which means they play a really easy schedule, when 65% of your games are gains below .500 teams.

They lost 121 games just two seasons ago. Only in the AL Central could you do that.

I want the Mets switched to the AL Central. I do not care about geography.

WAR CROW WOES, AND WHERE OUR FAMILY DOC FIT IN

I looked up Mets’ all time WAR hitting leaders in a season.

1) David Wright: 8.3

2) Carlos Beltran 8.2

3) Bernard Gilkey 8.1

4) John Olerud 7.6

Through Monday, ex-Met Pete Crow Armstrong sat at 7.7 WAR.

With 36 games to go.

Extrapolate his 7.7 over a full season and you get 9.2 WAR.

The Mets? They traded him for a late season rental. SMH.

WTE - Worst Trade Ever.

BTW, the all time top 3 MLB ranking in hitter WAR in a single season? 

Babe Ruth (14.1), Babe Ruth (12.8), Babe Ruth (12.5).

Fourth, remarkably, was the LI potato farm boy, Carl Yastrzemski, at 12.4.

Pitchers are a different story. 

Doc Gooden 1985 - 12.2 WAR. What a season.

Seaver 2nd and 3rd at 10.6 and 10.2 WAR. deGrom 9.2 WAR. 

And the surprise #5 WAR Mets pitcher? Jon Matlack 9.1 WAR.

Because Matlack pitched for a Mets team with an utterly inert offense, he was just 13-15 that season. Had he pitched for the Big Red Machine instead, he probably goes 25-3.

The all time pitcher WAR season record was Pud Galvin (20.4 in 1884). 

He was 46-22 that year. He was 46-29 the year before. 

In those 2 seasons, he threw 143 complete games. He was a complete guy.

But, for pitchers after the 1913 season? When real baseball existed? 

Dwight Gooden’s 12.2 WAR was the highest EVER. WOW.

Pud Galvin got to hit a lot, too. So did Cy Young.

Cy Young got up 3,107 times, and hit .210/.234/.282. He only fanned 381 times, a K rate far less than half of Ryan Clifford’s 2026 K rate. So, we can’t even say “Clifford hits like a pitcher, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.”

I LOVE A PARADA

The often struggling Kevin Parada is crushing it, .387/.444/.774 in August. 

Love it.

Nice to be surrounded by many much better hitters than he was in months prior. Hitting begets hitting.

MARCO MAKING HIS MARK

Marco Vargas dealt with multiple injuries this year. He had been quite unimpressive this year, up to just before the trade deadline. 

The trades for infield prospects was about to make it tougher going for Marco, what with much more competition.

So how did he respond? 

When the going gets tough, the tough GET GOING.

Marco is 19 for his last 51, mostly in AA, with 13 RBIs, over the past three weeks.

Sweet.

Reese Kaplan -- For the 2027 Season Mets Ask, "What's on Second?"

During the club’s history the Mets have had a great many people man second base who contributed with the bat, the glove, their legs or a combination of all three. 

Then came Marcus Semien...

In a trade as much about payroll obligation as it was about personnel, David Stearns sent Brandon Nimmo and his remaining salary obligation of nearly $118 million to the Texas Rangers to obtain a reduced payroll hit of $72 million for what is likely the final three years of Marcus Semien’s career. 

While the financial narrative makes some sense, the performance data does not.  Oddly, as bad as Semien has played for the Mets, he’s actually leading Nimmo this year in HRs, though he trails in RBIs, OPS and by a huge margin of 61 points in batting average.  Is Nimmo worth over $20 million?  Probably not.  Is Marcus Semien worth over $26 million?  Definitely not. 

Fast forward to the 2027 season and the Mets have an interesting decision to make.  Do they eat the remaining $46 million due to Semien for the next two years, do they trot him out again as the starting second baseman or do they relegate him into the role of the most expensive bench player in baseball?

On the first front, it’s not likely to happen though it suggests there is a possibility of swapping him for an equally bad (or worse) contract from another team to fulfill another Mets need.  The second option — retaining him as the starting second baseman — feels somewhat more likely to happen.  His second half numbers have been far better than what he’s done in the first half but it’s really hard to justify a defensively declining .210 hitter being paid $26 million in salary simply because the role is rationalized as justified due to the accounting obligation.

Now as a bench player his salary would be a mighty painful pill to swallow unless you are using him as a coach to mentor a younger replacement taking the starting role.  We’re not talking about Brett Baty who has failed since 2022 with about 1300 ABs of a career .227 average.  That’s not much of an improvement over what Semien can provide at this late stage of his career.

Instead, you could think about short term solutions on a one year basis using thus untested Ronny Mauricio who has heated up in Syracuse where he’s hitting .272 with 14 HRs and 42 RBIs in just over 1/3 of a season’s worth of ABs.  Throw in the 10 SBs as well and you have a guy with power and speed who has never been given the major league starting role for more than a game or two at a time.  Injuries and fellow Mets players have interfered with his career trajectory, but it is possible he could take on the second base role in Queens.

The other contender for this role would be A.J. Ewing who is not a terrific fielder, but has shown himself even through a slump to be a strong contact hitter with moderate power and great speed.  His outfield defense has been pretty impressive and moving him out of center field to make room for the contractual obligation of Luis Robert is another way they could choose to go with Semien hopefully shepherding Ewing into becoming a stronger middle infielder.

Of course, both of these options are considered at best temporary with stellar 21 year old  minor leaguer Mitch Voit being the expected second baseman of the future.  While currently torturing AA pitchers to the tune of a .444 batting average over his first 63 Binghamton ABs, you can’t argue with his legs.  In less than a full season during 2025 and 2026 he has swiped 62 bases while also contributing 13 HRs and 59 RBIs.  It may be too soon to project him in Queens on opening day 2027 but he’s the next one everyone expects to see deliver a high level of production.

Finally, another route the Mets could take would be to sign a short term free agent to man second base for next season.  At the high end you have Jazz Chisholm and Gleyber Torres but both would require multiyear deals and in effect block Voit in 2028.  Slightly below them would be Brandon Lowe who at age 32 might be open to a multiyear deal with mutual opt outs.