Matthew Fitzgerald | Bleacher Report- All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was a highly coveted free agent this offseason yet chose to remain with the New York Mets instead of changing clubs for a fifth time within three years." I loved my experience with the Mets last season. In a short period of time, my teammates and the fans made New York feel like home, and I truly felt embraced by the entire organization. As I entered free agency, I couldn't deny the pull to come back and finish what we had started last year. I am excited to finally announce that next season I am coming back to join the New York Mets once again." stated Cespedes in a Twitter post via the New York Mets handle.
(Chris Soto: The Mets have very quickly gone from a rebuilding losing team, reeling in debt from the Madoff Ponzi Scheme, unable to sign any free agents of substance [besides Curtis Granderson], and in the division basement.....to a team that players WANT to play for. We have seen it 4 times in the past few months. First, the heartbreaking moment in July when Wilmer Flores thought he was traded, then Zack Wheeler calling Sandy Alderson and pleading the organization NOT to trade him. Then this off-season when Bartolo Colon turned down better multi year offers to stay for the "organization and the fans" and now Cespedes having something he hasn't felt like he has had in his 5 MLB seasons.....a home. The Mets are now a team that players WANT to play for.)
Kenneth Teape | Empire Writes Back- By the time the World Series rolled around, manager Terry Collins had very little trust in anyone outside closer Jeurys Familia and Addison Reed. That problem does not look like it will be a problem this time around, as the Mets retained left-handed pitcher Jerry Blevins and also brought aboard left-handed pitcher Antonio Bastardo, signing him away from the Pirates with a two-year, $12 million deal. Despite the additions they have made, the Mets still had interest in bringing back Tyler Clippard. But, it does not seem like that is a possibility anymore.
(Chris Soto: The Mets are still interested in bringing on more solid depth for the bullpen. However, from a pitching standpoint...they have no space left on the 40 man roster. We have already seen the club have to cut a reasonably good low to medium leverage RP in Carlos Torres in order to make room for Antonio Bastardo. Any additional MLB roster move may not be much of a value add when you take into the account the pitcher they would have to cut....."well what about Eric Campbell's roster spot?" I agree Campbell's spot should be vurnable....however Campbell is the only MLB experienced IF left on the 40 man roster. The same as Darrell Ceciliani being the only "MLB experienced" OF left on the 40 man roster. Heaven forbid an injury occurs, the club will not want to have to bring up Dilson Herrera or Brandon Nimmo up that early into the 2016 season.)
(Chris Soto: The Mets have very quickly gone from a rebuilding losing team, reeling in debt from the Madoff Ponzi Scheme, unable to sign any free agents of substance [besides Curtis Granderson], and in the division basement.....to a team that players WANT to play for. We have seen it 4 times in the past few months. First, the heartbreaking moment in July when Wilmer Flores thought he was traded, then Zack Wheeler calling Sandy Alderson and pleading the organization NOT to trade him. Then this off-season when Bartolo Colon turned down better multi year offers to stay for the "organization and the fans" and now Cespedes having something he hasn't felt like he has had in his 5 MLB seasons.....a home. The Mets are now a team that players WANT to play for.)
Kenneth Teape | Empire Writes Back- By the time the World Series rolled around, manager Terry Collins had very little trust in anyone outside closer Jeurys Familia and Addison Reed. That problem does not look like it will be a problem this time around, as the Mets retained left-handed pitcher Jerry Blevins and also brought aboard left-handed pitcher Antonio Bastardo, signing him away from the Pirates with a two-year, $12 million deal. Despite the additions they have made, the Mets still had interest in bringing back Tyler Clippard. But, it does not seem like that is a possibility anymore.
(Chris Soto: The Mets are still interested in bringing on more solid depth for the bullpen. However, from a pitching standpoint...they have no space left on the 40 man roster. We have already seen the club have to cut a reasonably good low to medium leverage RP in Carlos Torres in order to make room for Antonio Bastardo. Any additional MLB roster move may not be much of a value add when you take into the account the pitcher they would have to cut....."well what about Eric Campbell's roster spot?" I agree Campbell's spot should be vurnable....however Campbell is the only MLB experienced IF left on the 40 man roster. The same as Darrell Ceciliani being the only "MLB experienced" OF left on the 40 man roster. Heaven forbid an injury occurs, the club will not want to have to bring up Dilson Herrera or Brandon Nimmo up that early into the 2016 season.)
HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)
- The Nationals announced that they have signed SP Bronson Arroyo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Arroyo missed the 2015 season due to recovery from Tommy John surgery, however, he is now 21 months removed from the procedure and figures to be ready to go.
- The Marlins have accepted the fact the star SP Jose Fernandez is highly unlikely to be on the team beyond his arbitration seasons. Fernandez’s representatives at the Boras Corporation believe that their client can receive upwards of $30MM annually upon reaching the open market following the completion of the 2018 season
- Cuban import Lazaro Armenteros expects to have a deal in place within the next two weeks. Despite receiving less than superstar-esque reviews in his showcases, a number of teams are still highly interested in signing him.
12 comments:
The Arroyo signing is the type of deal the Mets could have done instead of going $7.25 for Bartolo. Bring in a few outliers and see if the club can cobble together the 15-20 starts they need.
Sandy went for the relative predictability of Colon. We shall see.
Parnell is still out there, floating around. I guess this depends on the club's relationship with him.
I think they are taking same approach with Clippard that they took with Yoenis. If he comes in at the right price, they'd love to have him, but refuse to overpay. Makes sense to me. If healthy, he's a good pitcher.
I think the new narrative about how players want to play for the Mets is overstated. A fabrication.
Good morning, James.
I agree that Colon was probably the familiar thing to do. He's a big favorite in the clubhouse with the youngins' and I hope it turns out well... which I don't think it will.
I predict they will be scrambling for a replacement SP5 well before the return of Wheeler
While you could argue that Montero has not yet proven himself capable of staying healthy and getting out big league hitters, in limited exposure Sean Gilmartin, Logan Verrett and the now departed Carlos Torres have. Consequently throwing $7.25 million at Colon was nearly as foolish as squandering nearly $6 million on De Aza.
I am in complete disagreement with you guys about Colon.
BARTOLO COLON is a guy with an EXCELLENT working relationship with the young SP and has helped them with the development of HOW to use their fastballs with variations in the speeds and breaks.
BARTOLO COLON has thrown 397 IP and won 29! games for the Mets over the past 2 seasons.
BARTOLO COLON has been the team leader in Wins in both 2014 AND in 2015 despite moving to the bullpen for the home stretch of the playoff push
BARTOLO COLON is a team player who is willing to put his ego to the side and moved to the bullpen in 2015 and will do so once again when Zack Wheeler is ready to return.
BARTOLO COLON at age 42, still ranked in the top half of the National League in Walks+Hits per 9IP among SP with 160+ IP. This places him ahead of Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, Julio Teheran, A.J. Burnett, Lance Lynn, Gio Gonzalez, Andrew Cashner, and 13 other SPs
Stop the hatred on Bartolo Colon....he is the perfect guy for the role that the Mets intent of using him for.
Soto's comment that the Mets Have made a QUICK Turnaround is Ludicrous...and revisionist---I remember 6 absolutely BARREN years. They are in a good place with a solid outlook...it's hardly been QUICK!!!
A Re-Build WITH competitive baseball was available, if not for the obvious issues with Ownership.
RE: Bart--- I don't believe in it as a Baseball Move.... there were/are "patches" available that would be as predictable as Colon. At this point, every COMPETITIVE pitch he throws is a Surprise...and I wouldn't be surprise if he showed up with an empty tank any time soon.
perhaps quick was the wrong word to use.....perhaps sudden is better?
What I'm trying to say is this time last year, fan sentiment was very low....we were still broke and it never seemed like we would ever sign another significant Free Agent again.
A World Series completely changed that feeling.
Soto -
I didn't say anything negative about Colon. In fact, I said he was a good influence on the 'youngin's'
All I did was offer my prediction on his effectiveness in the future not what he has done in the past.
Thank you, Chris; I think you're spot on re. Colon.
And I think there IS something to the "want to be here" phenomena. OK, Colon & Cespedes are getting a lot of money to be in the clubhouse, but it's fair to say they could have corralled as much in another clubhouse. For Wilmer, it was the only organization he ever knew and a shocking revelation in a public space. Plausible reaction.
But the Wheeler reaction was, I think, telling. What rookie on the DL does that--anywhere? It seem honest lends credence to the other testaments.
I know I want to be here.
........im happy with how the current 25man is constructed and look forward to another ABOVE .500 season.......
Hi Ernest - I agree with you that I'm also happy with how the current 25man is constructed. As regards your point that you look forward to another ABOVE .500 season, I choose to think more like Yankee fans accustomed to winning would - we will be FAR above .500. Set aside injuries for a second, anything less than 90 wins with this squad is a failure.
Chris, wow, epic over-reaction on Bartolo. I like the guy, but there was another path. Sandy chose the familiar, and is counting on Bartolo's reliability. Maybe.
If money was tight, he could have signed an Arroyo type or two, threw in Verrett and Montero, and gone with that.
There were pluses that came with Bartolo and Sandy decided to go that way.
However, you are too smart a guy to lean so heavily on wins and cherry pick other stats to show his supposed dominance. Moreover, about his influence, it has been stated about Familia, for sure. The starters seems to love him too, though Syndergaard always references the language gap. I don't get the idea they are having deep conversations.
Signing Bartolo was, in my view, a legitimate way to go. However, I'm not confident that it was the most cost-effective. I think he's almost as much of a risk as going with a pot luck approach.
I don't think ANY of the approach remotely resembles "hatred" of Bartolo.
James Preller
James Preller
I love Bartolo---I root for Him!!! I have a Bartolo Bobble Head that sits right in front of the TV when he's Pitching!!! I Love Mex....but he's Done Too!!! Whatever!
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