Herb G: Lannan Getting Strong Consideration for Spot in Pen

Yesterday morning the Mets had four lefty relievers in camp, apparently competing for two spots in the opening day bull pen. Today, we are down to one. By sending Josh Edgin, Jack Leathersich and Adam Kolarek to minor league camp, the Always Amazings left themselves with Scott Rice, considered by many as a lock anyway, as their only left handed relief pitcher. Ah, but wait! Not so fast. No sooner did Rice begin to feel like the Lone Ranger, Terry Collins raised the specter that he might have his Tonto.

Who might that be? John Lannan, of course. A number of analysts have said, all along, that if Lannan did not succeed in his quest to become the #5 starter in the Mets rotation, (an increasingly likely possibility) he could very well be considered for a bull pen spot. Collins confirmed that speculation yesterday, stating “We’re going to take a good, hard look at John as we get into camp,” Collins said. “We want to lengthen him out as a starter, but he’s going to get some looks out of the bullpen here.” Lannan, who is still scheduled to make a start in Wednesday’s game against the Cardinals, his third of the Spring, will also get several relief appearances going forward.

Right now, it appears that Jennry Mejia and Daisuke Matsuzaka are the front runners for the fifth spot in the rotation, leaving Lannan as the odd man out. Over his seven year major league career, Lannan has appeared in 148 games with nary a single relief appearance. Why, then, would the Mets consider him for a spot in the pen? It is said by many, this writer included, that the Mets should have two strong lefty relievers, especially in the NL East, where there are several lefty mashers to face. But it is difficult to make a case for Lannan in that role. Over his career, he has done about equally well (or poorly) against left handed hitters as he has against righties. Lefties have hit .267 against him, while righties have hit .276. Coincidentally, righties and lefties alike have an identical .755 OPS against Lannan. Moreover, in the last 2 years, lefties have done considerably better against him than righties. That is not the kind of credentials the Mets should be looking for in a bull pen lefty.

At this time it appears that Bobby Parnell, Vic Black, Carlos Torres, and Rice are virtual locks for the pen, with Jeurys Familia a strong candidate, if not a lock, for another spot. Veterans Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth will receive strong consideration, and I believe that at least Valverde, if not both, will get a spot, even though neither has looked spectacular thus far. If that leaves one spot, should it go to Lannan merely because he throws left handed? My vote would be no. Still in the mix for that spot are Gonzalez Germen, who did reasonably well last year, Joel Carreno, who has looked just fine so far this Spring, Jeff Walters, he of the 38 saves in Binghamton, and possibly Mejia, if he does not make the rotation. Any one of those might be a better choice than Lannan.

Random Thoughts:

Josh Edgin was said to be unhappy with the Front Office’’s decision to send him to minor league camp, according to several beat writers. It is hard to imagine that he did not realize he was in jeopardy, given the fact that his velocity has declined significantly and he hasn’t seemed to be fooling any opposing batters this Spring. Terry Collins stated that he needed to see the Josh Edgin he saw in 2012, when lefties found him so difficult to his, and his fast ball averaged over 93 mph. Currently, he was averaging 87-88 mph, and his arm angle has been lower, prompting some scouts to suspect an injury.

Adam Rubin of ESPN Sports tweeted that the Mariners were again double-teaming scouting at the Mets game Monday and that they have been “religiously attending” Mets games. Could that mean that they are praying (lol) that Sandy Alderson will agree to part with Rafael Montero for Nick Franklin, or that they are just trying to determine what is a fair asking price for him. I look for a Mets - Mariners trade, with Franklin coming to the Mets, within the next 2 weeks.

I don’t like to eat crow, but today it might be appropriate. Yesterday, when Mack suggested that Eric Campbell was making a strong bid to become the Mets utility infielder off the bench, I took him to task, stating that the utility guy had to be able to play shortstop, and that let Campbell out. No sooner did I say that, then Terry Collins inserted Campbell at short in Monday’s game, confirming Mack’s pre-eminent knowledge and analytical understanding of the nuances of the game. I guess that’s why they pay you the big bucks, Mack. (Or at least, they should pay more attention to you.)