11/5/20

John From Albany – Mets News and Breakfast Links 11/5/2020


Good Morning. Mets announce the signing of 11 minor free agents, NY Post says Brodie won’t stay, and more talk about Francisco Lindor.


Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, Asian Baseball, Winter Baseball, and This Day in Mets History.


Mets Links:


The Other Day on the Breakfast Links we had how Baseball America listed minor league players the Mets retained/signed: Harol Gonzalez, Bruce Maxwell, David Rodriguez, Mitchell Tolman, Luis Carpio, Johneshwy Fargas. 


In fact, the Mets have signed a total of 11 minor league free agents. Per Mets.com the other 5 are “former Mariners center fielder Mallex Smith and former Braves reliever Arodys Vizcaíno... infielders Jake Hager, José Peraza…right-hander Oscar De La Cruz.


The Score: Smith swiped 46 bags in 2019 while playing for the Seattle Mariners and 40 in 2018 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. The 27-year-old suited up in 14 games for the Mariners in 2020 but accrued a miserable .348 OPS with two stolen bases.


SNY.TV: Peraza, a [right hand hitting] 26-year-old who will be invited to 2021 spring training, 26, had eight doubles, one triple, and eight RBI in 34 games with the Red Sox last season. Peraza has a career slash line of .270/.310/.372 with 75 doubles, 14 triples, 29 homers, 162 RBI and 78 stolen bases in 554 major league games.


Metsmerized Online: “Arodys Vizcaíno is another interesting name for the Mets…Vizcaíno spent the five seasons with the Atlanta Braves, where he pitched to a 2.95 ERA, with 214 strikeouts in 189 1/3 innings…missed nearly all of the 2019 season after needing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He was a free agent for the entirety of the 2020 season.”


All of these players will still be eligible for the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, meaning a team could draft them and not have to add them to their 40 man roster.



Jeff Passan ESPN gives an MLB Offseason preview and about Steve Cohen and the Mets says: “Because the notion that Steve Cohen, whose brilliance in finding undervalued assets and leveraging them made him a billionaire, is suddenly going to go hog wild in free agency, which front offices believe offers the single worst return on investment of any dollar spent in the entire baseball operations system, is absolutely ridiculous.”


Mike Puma NY Post: Sandy Alderson’s nearing Mets arrival has Brodie Van Wagenen in shaky spot. “Steve Cohen’s purchase of the Mets — and by extension Sandy Alderson’s tenure as team president — is expected to begin Monday…The expectation throughout the industry is Van Wagenen will be replaced, but one veteran executive cautioned Wednesday that Alderson has never been known throughout his career as a ‘firing guy.’”


NY Post: Trevor Bauer sweepstakes could feature Yankees, Mets battle.  

SNY.TV: Trevor Bauer's agent talks possibility of pitcher coming to New York: 'He's a fan of big markets'.


NY Post: Mets can’t let narrative ruin their J.T. Realmuto pursuit. Ken Davidoff thinks the Mets should not let recent stories of Realmuto wanting to stay in Philly stop them.


Andy Martino SNY.TV: Here are the teams that voted against Steve Cohen’s purchase of Mets. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf had three other owners vote his way. Angels, Diamondbacks, and Reds.


SNY.TV: Analyzing the kind of trade package it could take for Mets to acquire Francisco Lindor. Acquiring the 27-year-old superstar could be franchise-altering.


amNY: Difficult decisions await Mets in potential Francisco Lindor pursuit. “Giving up cornerstone prospects or established MLB talent would be worthless if Lindor were to sign with a different team next winter.”


Brian Joura Mets360: “To be clear, Lindor would be a big upgrade over what the Mets used at SS in 2020. The question is if you want to pay market rate to acquire that upgrade and then pay market rate in salary going forward. Maybe the answer is yes. But it doesn’t seem a slam dunk to me.”


MetsDaddy: Look Past Francisco Lindor, Mets Need Mega-Deal With Indians. John thinks the Mets should talk to Cleveland about players like 31 year old catcher Roberto Pérez and Zach Plesac.



Reflections on Baseball: Making The Case For Restraint Before Speeding Up Next Year. Writer Steve Contursi advocates building the farm system first and going for big names next year.


MLB.com: Next year's FA shortstop class is ridiculous. As it stands today, Javier Báez, Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Trevor Story and Corey Seager are scheduled to hit the market at the same time -- after the 2021 season.


Metsmerized Online: Contracts the Mets Could Target on the Trade Market. Salvador Perez, Lorenzo Cain, Carlos Carrasco and Alex Cobb are some of the players mentioned.


Mike’s Mets: Baseball's Uncertain Future, and How It Might Affect the Mets.

Amazing Avenue: The Mets should extend J.D. Davis. He hit just .247/.371/.389 with just six home runs, and he drove in 19 runs. His season was good for 0.5 fWAR, which was a far cry from 2019 even in a shortened season.


Metsjunkies.com: Four Non Tender Candidates. Robert Gsellman, Guillermo Heredia, Steven Matz, and Chasen Shreve.


Metsmerized Online: Jacob Barnes Could Become Quality Reliever Next Season.  “Despite struggling to find a home over the last few campaigns, the former 14th-round selection has shown flashes of his ceiling over his five seasons in the major leagues.”


Metsmerized Online: 2020 MMO Report Card: Edwin Diaz, RHP. Primary Stats: 26 G, 25.2 IP, 2-1, 1.75 ERA, 2 HLD, 2 HR, 14 BB, 50 SO, 1.25 WHIP, 6 SV.


The Sports Daily – Mike Phillips' Mets Player Review Series: Luis Guillorme 2020 Stats: 29 Games, 57 At Bats, .333 Batting Average, 19 Hits, 6 Doubles, 9 RBI’s, 6 Runs Scored, 2 Stolen Bases, .865 OPS, 0.6 WAR.





ICYMI Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:


Reese Kaplan -- What's Going Right for the Mets.


Mack - Scouting Report - OF - Tyree Reed.


Mack - Scouting Report - OF - Jud Fabian.


MLB Links:


MLB Trade Rumors: Trevor Bauer Rejects Qualifying Offer.


MLB.com: The 5 tiers of this offseason's free agents. George Springer, Marcell Ozuna. J.T. Realmuto, and Trevor Bauer, are some of the Tier 1 Free Agents listed. Marcus Stroman, James McCann and Brad Hand are some of the Tier 2 players listed.


MLB.com: Vlad Jr. down 32 lbs. since start of season.


MLB.com: Sox meet with Cora in Puerto Rico.


MLB Trade Rumors: Kolten Wong Has Heard From “At Least” Six Teams.


amNY: Return of AJ Hinch shows just how wrong Rob Manfred got Astros punishment as Alex Cora looms. “The Houston Astros got off incredibly easy by Major League Baseball thanks to a lack of organizational leadership. That’s solely on commissioner Rob Manfred.”


USA Today: Detroit Tigers' Matthew Boyd won't judge new manager AJ Hinch for past mistakes.


The Seattle Times: UW baseball to pause offseason workouts after uptick in positive COVID-19 cases.


CNN: A California man donated 25,000 baseball cards to a 9-year-old girl who lost her collection in a wildfire.  


Bless You Boys.com: MLB takeover of Minor league baseball is almost complete. Minor league baseball, as we have known it for 120 years, is dead.


MLB.com: Watch Ken Burns' "Baseball" in HD started last night on the MLB Network.  The Second Inning airs tonight at 8.


Winter Baseball:



In the Mexican Pacific League Last Night -


Aguilas de Mexicali 4 Caneros de los Mochis 0 (Box Score). Mets Minor League Catcher Juan Uriarte 0 for 2 and is now hitting .256 this winter season.


Here is the full Mexican Pacific League Scoreboard.


Asian Baseball:


After Chris Flexen ‘s win yesterday the KBO playoffs continue.


Here is KBO’s Scoreboard.


Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:


Born on this date:


Transactions:
New York Mets released Randy Jones on November 5, 1982.

Philadelphia Phillies signed Alberto Castillo of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 5, 1998.

Dave Williams granted free agency on November 5, 2007.

Carlos Delgado granted free agency on November 5, 2009.

Mike Hessman granted free agency on November 5, 2010.

New York Mets released Andy Green on November 5, 2010.


Baseball Reference:


2015: P Matt Harvey of the Mets and 1B Prince Fielder of the Rangers receive the Comeback Player of the Year Award in their respective leagues. Both players helped lead their team to surprise division titles after missing all or most of the previous season because of injuries.


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


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5 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Mallex Smith, Jose Peraza and Arodys Viscaino look like interesting signings. No idea why Smith crapped out in 2020, but he was good and fast before then. Peraza tailed off in 2019 and 2020 but hit very well before then, and Viscaino has had a sold career. All 3 are better than some of the crappy back ups the Mets have used in recent year, at least potentially.

Mallex Smith signing would seem to hamper Johneswhy Fargas.

Nice to see Harol Gonzales back - I just wonder if he has a ceiling even as high as Corey Oswalt. Which hasn't been high.

Rick Baldwin dead of COVID at 67 is a reminder to this 67 year old to remain cautious.

Anyone have a sense if Corey Kluber is worth pursing?

November 5, 2020 at 6:38 AM
John From Albany said...

Morning Tom. I thought overall the free agent signings made sense. The last few years the Mets traded prospects for similar players. I just hope we have a minor league season next year.

Others have discussed Corey Kluber. Is he a Michael Wacha type that never again achieves past success? After last year's Wacha/Porcello failure, I'd be hesitant to get a rebound hopeful.

November 5, 2020 at 7:42 AM
Dallas said...

I'm going to annoyingly harp on this Lindor thing. Lindor is not Betts. Let me repeat that...Lindor is not Betts! They are not in the same league! Don't believe me? Go look at their numbers. Trout might be the only player better than Betts. I'm not saying Lindor isn't a very good player (he definitely is) but putting together trade scenarios and comparing it to the Betts trade is a false equivalency (I'm looking at you SNY). It has to be also noted that the Dodgers depth was MUCH deeper than the Mets making such a deal more tolerable to begin with.

I simply don't believe we should dump our exciting breakout player Gimenez plus numerous other young players for one year of Lindor for a position we have covered...oh wait and Gimenez(age 21) outplayed Lindor last year too (yes small sample size). Gimenez already looks like a star on the field and on the bases and put up a 1 WAR in just 118AB's. He may never be a Lindor but I think the has a high floor and All-Star potential. Last year we saw why he was the Mets top prospect for so long after a disappointing 2019.

How do you build a sustainable winner? Don't sign guys to long term extensions well past their prime years. If you can get Lindor to sign a 6 year extension and don't have to gut your team you could get me on board but it seems reckless to spend 20-30 million on SS(the cost when you factor in arbitration or an extension) when you have it covered. That money should be directed at Catcher, CF and the Starting Pitching. Use the depth you do have (JD,Rosario) to help shore up those positions or simply have them for the depth we have long needed.

November 5, 2020 at 8:56 AM
Tom Brennan said...

Dallas, very good point on Lindor. Nice to get him, but cost would be huge.

Even Cohen has a budget. If he can have a very good - and dirt cheap - Gimenez, that gives him more money to spend on greater needs.

I'm not ruling out Lindo - but all that glitters is not gold

November 5, 2020 at 9:57 AM
John From Albany said...

I think all the Lindor talk is much ado about nothing. We need to fill holes, not get guys for positions already covered. I don't see the Mets making a play for him this off season, especially as a number of SS will be free agents next winter. If Gimenez and/or Rosario need to be replaced after 2021, there will bea number to chose from.

FYI, all those SS about to be Free Agents after 2021 were drafted in that SS heavy 2012 draft. Mets took Gavin Cecchini over Segar and Lucas Giolito. Not one of Sandy's best moments.

November 5, 2020 at 10:34 AM

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