John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 1/7/2020

Winter ball updates below and the Mets announced the hiring of two new minor league managers.

From SNY.TV: Mets hire St. John's head coach Ed Blankmeyer to manage Brooklyn Cyclones. “The 65-year-old Blankmeyer had been the head coach of St. John's for the last 24 seasons, and had an all-time record of 829-500-4, leading St. John's to 23 winning seasons in the 24 years he spent at the helm. Ninety-one of the players who have been coached by Blankmeyer with the Red Storm have gone on to get drafted or be signed to professional contracts.”

Mack’s Mets will have more on this later today.  First, some more links on the move:

Per Fox Sports.com “While he was an assistant coach at Seton Hall, his (Blankmeyer’s) players included Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, 1995 AL MVP Mo Vaughn, Matt Morris and John Valentin.

Per Amazing Avenue: Blankmeyer has some rather big shoes to fill, as he will be replacing Mets legend Edgardo Alfonzo, who served as the Brooklyn manager from 2017-2019. Alfonzo led the club to a New York-Penn League championship in 2019, but Brodie Van Wagenen and company surprisingly did not renew his contract in the aftermath, as they preferred to bring in their own person for the role. Blankmeyer is evidently the person they have settled upon.

The Brooklyn Cyclones website had the announcement with the statement that “The rest of the 2020 Brooklyn Cyclones coaching staff will be announced at a later date”.

As Mack’s Mets had yesterday, The Binghamton Rumble Ponies named Lorenzo Bundy as their new manager.  Lorenzo Bundy will be joined by pitching coach Jonathan Hurst, hitting coach Tony Jaramillo, bench coach Luis Rivera, athletic trainer Kiyoshi Tada, and performance coach Tanner Miracle.

SNY noted about Lorenzo Bundy: “The 60-year-old Bundy began his coaching career in 1990 after his playing career ended, and most recently managed in the Mexican Pacific League. During his big league coaching career, Bundy has had stints with the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Marlins. He also managed in the minors for the Expos and Dodgers.”

Metsmerized discussed the Bundy hiring noting “In his eight-year minor league managerial career, he has a 568-597 record. Of those eight years, he has served as a Triple-A manager in six seasons, most recently in 2013.”

SNY.TV had three moves that should be on Brodie Van Wagenen’s agenda: Trade for Starling Marte; Trade Jed Lowrie; Find a catcher to pair with Wilson Ramos.

John Harper of SNY.TV said that “Where the Mets rank among NL East contenders depends on where Josh Donaldson signs. “As such speculation is growing, at least among baseball people I (John Harper) spoke to on Monday, that Donaldson is mostly likely to return to the Braves, the team he helped win 97 games last season. ‘I think what they're probably weighing is the cost of signing Donaldson vs. the cost of trading for (Kris) Bryant," an exec from a National League team said. ‘Donaldson will cost them more than they want to pay for a guy who's 34, but he won't cost them prospects.’”

Speaking of Kris Bryant, Clutch Points.com says that “Cubs’ asking price for Kris Bryant is a ‘joke’”. “The Cubs’ asking price for Bryant is a joke,” a former GM said. “They want nearly ready major league talent at the level of a Gleyber Torres type or close and there is no chance a team is going to give them a package of those caliber of players. “I like Bryant but he is not a Top 30 player in baseball in my opinion. He is mediocre at best as a defender at third base. His swing has changed dramatically since 2016 and I question if he is truly 100% healthy.”

More about where the Mets rank, MLB.com had early 2020 Power Rankings: 1. Yankees, 2. Dodgers, 3. Astros…The Mets?  #18 behind the White Sox (17), Red Sox (16), Reds (13), D-Backs (11), Phillies (10), Nationals (7) and Braves (6).  Thanks to Tom for the Link.  I told Tom at least the Mets were not #21 in a group text.  Reese chimed in, at least they were not #31!

MLB.com had 30 predictions for all 30 teams.  For the Mets, Robinson Cano will make the All-Star Team. 

CBS Sports 30 MLB Players primed for Bounce Back seasons in 2020.  They include 5 Mets (none of which are Robinson Cano): Brandon Nimmo; Jed Lowrie; Yoenis Cespedes; and Dellin Betances.

Mets.com looked at how the Mets’ Opening Day Roster is shaping up.

Reflections On Baseball noted that maybe Jeff McNeil is not so untouchable.  He says he does not make productive outs and “JeffMcNeil hits only .254 with two outs and runners in scoring position. When the Mets are ahead, he hits eleven home runs driving in 36. But with the Mets behind, McNeil registers only five home runs and 23 RBI.”  Sorry, I disagree on this – he is untouchable.

Reflections On Baseball also asked the question: “Will the MLB marriage to sports gambling mean justice for Pete Rose?” 

Mets 360 pretty much summed up very well the Mets over the last ten years: Never quite going all in and never rebuilding.  “For reasons that defy explanation, apparently the Mets cannot survive a rebuild or genuinely go for it. The rear-view mirror look at this has shown the plan crafted by ownership and the front office to be unsuccessful almost to a point, bringing Mets fans to incredible, but fleeting, highs that punctuate long periods of fan frustration and baseball mediocrity.”

Amazing Avenue continued the countdown on their top 25 Mets Prospects with #19 Ryley Gilliam.

Rising Apple said the Mets should sign Cuban star Oscar Colas. The two way star throws 95 MPH as a lefty pitcher and “He looks to be a solid hitter based on his 2019 slash line of .300/.353/.511/.864 with 12 home runs and 48 runs batted in over 295 plate appearances. Colas has been honing his skills in Japanese minor leagues since 2017, playing for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Japanese Western League and also had a cup of coffee in the Japanese Pacific League.”

USA Today discussed the Hall Of Fame Candidacy of Bobby Abreu saying “Abreu has a major uphill climb and probably is not going to make the Hall of Fame. But that doesn't mean he won't pick up steam in the coming years, particularly with his power-speed looking more impressive in a historical context as stolen bases continue to decline across baseball.”

Cooperstown Cred says the Hall of Fame doors are closed to Billy Wagner.  “By basic run prevention, base-runner prevention, or strikeout metrics, Wagner was one of the most effective pitchers in the history of baseball. However, his accomplishments span only 903 career MLB innings pitched, which would make him the first pitcher ever inducted into the Hall having pitched less than 1,000.”

From MLB Trade Rumors: Nationals sign Daniel Hudson to two year deal.

Also from MLB Trade Rumors, Nationals sign Eric Thames.

Call to the Pen reported that the Atlanta Braves signed twitter sensation Chris Nunn. “Nunn became a viral sensation in the previous offseason, pumping 99 MPH heat. That velocity earned him a contract with the Dodgers, as he remained in their organization for all of 2019. A free agent once more, another Twitter video showcasing his improved curve earned Nunn another chance, this time with the Atlanta Braves.”

The NY Post looked at where the Mets off season could go from here.  Kevin Davidoff looked at the “Reasons for Hope”: the Dellin Betances signing, the “Reasons for Concern”: Losing Zack Wheeler and Possible remaining moves: Starling Marte, Jed Lowrie, and Dom Smith.

From a couple of days ago: Man's collection of 2.7 million baseball cards earns Guinness record.

No games last night in the Puerto Rican Winter League.  In the Dominican League, here are some notable ex-Mets that saw action:

The Aguilas Cibaenas beat the Leones del Escogido 6-5 (box).

Carlos Gomez played center field and went 0 for 4, with a strikeout.

Matt Pobereyko pitched 2.1 scoreless innings with 2 hits and 2 strikeouts. 

Dario Alvarez went two thirds of an inning giving up one hit and striking out one. 

2019 Syracuse Mets Pitcher Arquimedes Caminero went 1.1 scoreless innings giving up one hit and recorded one strikeout.

In the other game, the Toros Del Este beat the Tigres del Licey 6-0 (box).

Jordany Valdespin played went 0-4 with a run scored.

Mack’s Blast From The Past comes from January 2011: Mack discussed Hojo, More Hojo, Jason Bay, Brandon Moore, and Dave Magadan.

UltimateMets has the date in Mets History:

Born on this date:

• Carlos Diaz (1958)
• Craig Shipley (1963)
• Jorge Toca (1975)
• Francisco Rodriguez (1982)
• Matt Blackham (1993) Word is that Matt will be invited to Spring Training this year.  Congrats Matt!

Transactions:
Houston Astros signed Kevin Bass of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 7, 1993.

New York Mets signed free agent Marlon Anderson on January 7, 2005.

Los Angeles Dodgers signed Val Pascucci of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 7, 2009.

Tampa Bay Rays signed Chris Carter of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 7, 2011.

Atlanta Braves signed Alex Torres of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 7, 2016.

New York Mets released David Wright on January 7, 2019.

Want more?  Check out https://sportspyder.com/mlb/new-york-mets/news. 

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