Morning Report – May 13th – Joc Peterson, Troy Patton, Jeurys Familia

        Coming Later Today –

                Noon -  Top 12 OF in 2014 MLB Draft - revised 5-10-14

                 2:30 PM -  TTF - Mock 8.0

                5 pm - Jeff Hoffman, Brady Aiken, Trea Turner, Aramis Garcia, Grant Holmes

               

Kennesaw St. C Max Pentecost during his current 31 G hit streak: 66-for-135 (.489) w/ 15 2B, 3B, 7 HR, 9 SB, 1.291 OPS.

It was quite the exciting time yesterday prior to the Yankees game. Sandy Alderson announced that SP Rafael Montero would replace Jenrry Mejia Wednesday as the starter against the Yankees. Mejia will go the pen and will possibly be joined by Jacob deGrom, whoi skipped his start last night and awaits the final go ahead.

Alderson said the Mets have no one that can pitch the ninth inning effectively which I assume is why most of this was decided.




The Mets have driven in a runner from third with less than two outs just 46% of the time this season.

Dynasty Sports Empire (thanks to Michael Scannell for the site link) proposed the possible scenario for the trading of OF Joc Peterson to the Mets:

New York Mets: While Curtis Granderson has locked down a spot with the Metropolitans for the next four years, there are no guaranteed long-term options anywhere else in that outfield. The injured Chris Young is only on contract for 2014, and there’s questions as to whether both Eric Young Jr. and Kirk Niuewenhuis even belong on major league rosters. Juan Lagares may provide Gold Glove-caliber fielding, but he shouldn’t be expected to produce a lot on offense. All things considered, the Mets ranked 11th in the NL runs scored in 2013 and need to make offense their focus as they are already developing multiple ace pitchers between the majors and minors. In a desperate situation, the Dodgers could take Dillon Gee or Jon Niese mid-season if they’re performing well enough. Not to mention, they love pitching depth and could probably use one of them as a five-starter if they kept them on board in 2015 and beyond. If neither Dee Gordon nor Alex Guerrero is playing well enough to man second base for Los Angeles down the stretch, Daniel Murphy could be a safe addition as they attempt to make a playoff push. Trading with the Mets may yield an uneven return for the Dodgers in the long run. However, this team has made it clear that they are looking to win now and may be willing to take a half-season rental to help them win a World Series. http://dynastysportsempire.com/four-teams-that-could-potentially-trade-for-joc-pederson/

Look, there are two issues on the 2014 Mets. 

One, the bullpen isn’t successful and two, there isn’t enough talent to score the runs on base.

Chris Young is a mistake, and Eric Young Jr. is a substitute at best. The Mets need, at least, one more full time outfield bat in their lineup.

The Dodgers look like a team that needs a couple of rentals to get the job done this season, sort of like the Pirates did last season. They have no place for Pederson in their lineup and I would think an even up trade for either Niese or Gee would get the job done. The 2015 Mets would have Matt Harvey, Rafael Montero, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard all looking for full time work so it would seem to me that this year’s team (which is going nowhere) can afford to deal off a real pitcher for a real outfielder.

Heath Bell was granted free agency on Sunday afternoon after refusing an assignment to AAA. Err… never mind.

Max Wildstein ⚾️ ‏@MaxWildstein  -  Orioles listening to trade offers involving P Troy Patton, per @BNightengale. They may look to get a catcher in return, per @Ken_Rosenthal.

Patton is a 28-year old LHRP that has been very successful for Baltimore:

        2011:                20-G, 3.00, 1.00, 30.0-IP, 22-K, 5-BB

        2012:        54-G, 2.43, 1.02, 55.2-IP, 49-K, 12-BB

                2013:        56-G, 3.70, 1.30, 56.0-IP, 42-K, 16-BB

                2014:        4-G, 3.37, 1.87, 2.2-IP, 1-K, 1-BB

Last December, he was suspended 25 games for using
 amphetamines.

All Baltimore is looking for here is a backup catcher so one must  consider a deal for Anthony Recker. Drugs or no drugs, 28-year old relief pitchers like this don’t grow on trees.

Fangraphs –

        After Kyle Farnsworth‘s shaky week, scuttlebutt in New York is that Jeurys Familia may be in line to garner some save opportunities for the “Amazins.” Familia’s 19.4% K% and 10.5% BB% aren’t really elite (4.21 xFIP) so he’s not some ace reliever the Mets have stashed in the seventh inning. His 12.5% SwStr% does portend better things in the stuff department, so perhaps some work on pitch sequencing is needed to boost the punchout stats. Regardless, the team continues to hurt for stability at the back end of that bullpen. Would it be shocking to see them give Familia a chance? No. Pick him up if you are desperate and hold for a few outings to see if there’s any fire behind the smoke. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/bullpen-report-may-11-2014/

Numbers are number, but I know in my heart that a lot of relief pitching is based on bravado. I’m telling you… put this guy out there with Jenrry Mejia and Rafael Montero and you will have the back end bullpen you need to build a winner.

John Looby to me

Hey Mack, I noticed that you briefly put your GM's hat on when looking at the current 'pen situation and what you would do. Taking this a step further and looking through the entire organization, what moves would you make? I'm not just talking who to bring to the big club, but what moves would you make throughout the minors. Are there players there that you would cut completely as they are clogging up the system. Are there players that you would move up to challenge them?

        Hey John –

Well, let’s first review what I would try to do before the draft and all-star breaks rolled around.

1.    I would reassign Jenrry Mejia to the back end of the bullpen

2.   I would promote Rafael Montero to the parent club and assign him to the back end of the bullpen

3.   I would cement Jeurys Familia as the third member of the back end of the bullpen

4.   I would release designate for assignment RP Jose Valverde.

5.   I would promote Jacob deGrom to the rotation slot left open by the Mejia move to the pen.

6.   I would make every effort to trade for the services of LA Dodgers outfield prospect Joc Peterson by offering SP Dillon Gee.

7.   I also like the idea of pursuing (as I outlined earlier in this post) the services of RP Troy Patton for C Anthony Recker (who I would replace with Taylor Teagarden)

8.   If I could get the Peterson deal done, and it was before the ‘Super 2’ deadline, I would return Dice-K to being a starter and let him return to the rotation until I could promote Noah Syndergaard to Queens within the ‘Super 2’ guidelines.

9.   Once Syndergaard is in the Mets rotation, I would return Dice-K to the front end of the Mets pen and designate Kyle Farnsworth.

10.        I would replace Farnsworth with one of the young members of the Las Vegas pen based on the recommendation of Wally Backman.

Regarding minor league movement from one level to another, it’s still a little early, but if you’d like, I could give you what my ‘early recommendations would me.