The Mack Report - Shohei Ohtani, New Rules, Relief Pitchers, Nick Morabito, Joey Lucchesi

Shohei Ohtani, New Rules, Relief Pitchers, Nick Morabito, Joey Lucchesi

 

Mark Powell -Shohei Ohtani Update - 

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal made an intriguing point in his recent column connecting New York to Ohtani. 

While Rosenthal did point out that Steve Cohen made a visit to Tokyo to watch Ohtani and Japan in the World Baseball Classic (among other business ventures), there’s no guarantee that Ohtani would want to play on the same team as Senga. 

As Rosenthal notes in his column, 

“Some Japanese players are uncomfortable being major-league teammates with other Japanese players because of the importance of seniority in Japan’s hierarchical culture, major-league executives and agents say. The relationship between Senga and Ohtani, if one even exists, is not known. The Mets could always trade Senga if that was part of the price for landing Ohtani, but it would not necessarily be easy. Senga has a full no-trade clause through 2025.” 

Mack - I never heard of this before. 

Ohtani makes so much sense for the Mets. They need healthy starters and a decent DH. One call, that’s all. 

As for who do you release, pick one. You don’t have to play them, you just have to pay them.

 

 

Evan Drellich - Are MLB’s new rules working?  - 

One answer to that question can be discerned from when fans decide to leave a game. At least in recent years, baseball fans have left stadiums “significantly earlier” than fans at other sporting events, said Rachel Goodger, chief revenue officer of CrowdIQ, a company that tracks fan movement at ballparks. 

Using data from 2018-22 collected from six MLB partner teams, CrowdIQ found that more fans are in their seats about 45 minutes into the game than at any other point, at close to 95 percent. The percentage drops to around 90 at the two-hour mark, and then 80 at 2 hours, 30 minutes. It takes a sharp turn from there: a half hour later, about 60 percent of fans are in their seats. 

Goodger noted that fan habits vary from market to market and the time of year. People spend more time at games during the summer, when school is out. Teams that have a lot of bars and attractions around the ballpark in city centers might also see fans leave earlier. 

But the overall picture is one MLB acknowledges. Commissioner Rob Manfred himself pointed to the 2-hour, 30-minute mark just last week. When MLB was experimenting with these rule changes in the minor leagues, they monitored the effect of shorter game times on concession sales. The discovery that concessions were unaffected was likely comforting to the league, in one sense, but was disconcerting in another. 

Mack - I was against these rules being implemented. 

I also have a new DISH TV setup that has allowed me to watch every Mets game so far. 

The shorter time is working for me. 

Mrs. Mack too. 

 

Tim Britton and Will Sammon - 40 Mets, 40 observations: What camp taught us about every guy on the roster - 

Relief pitchers 

Jeff Brigham: In the middle of spring, Brigham appeared to be a long shot to contend for the Opening Day roster; by the end, he was one of the final cuts out of the bullpen. Part of that, of course, is attributable to attrition. Several pitchers competing alongside him bowed out due to injury. Another part, though, is how his strikeout stuff played, with 12 punchouts to 36 hitters. He’ll be part of the big-league mix before long. 

Sam Coonrod: Coonrod looked lights out when he was on the mound — until he suffered a lat strain that’s going to keep him out for months. He’s likely to end up on the 60-day injured list whenever the Mets need a 40-man roster spot. The right-hander had impressed in camp with a repertoire much larger than the average reliever, aided this spring by a slider he’d refined over the offseason. 

John Curtiss: Curtiss has continued to hit every checkpoint in his return from Tommy John surgery in 2021. A coin flip to make the roster at the start of spring, Curtiss is now comfortably part of it, with his tight slider tunneled off a four-seam fastball offering a different kind of look from the right side than Adam Ottavino’s sweepier slider and two-seamer. 

Stephen Nogosek: At least to start the season, Nogosek’s role will be as the long man out of the bullpen. Trevor Williams, former and present starting pitcher, excelled in that role last year. Nogosek has been a reliever since he started college at Oregon. So, knowing his likeliest path to the big leagues was in a multi-inning role, Nogosek spent extra time in the offseason working on his endurance. “Get as many reps as you can,” he summarized it. 

Adam Ottavino: Ottavino halved his walk rate from 2021 to 2022, the result of a conscious decision to trust his stuff more in the strike zone. He’s doubling down on that goal this year, aiming to increase his first-pitch strike percentage and spending much of his winter concentrating on better command of his changeup. The right-hander also tinkered with the grip on his cutter, which he hopes will make it more useful against left-handed hitters. 

Brooks Raley: Raley will test out just how valuable game action against a real opponent in spring can be: He hasn’t pitched in such a situation since March 5. A “low-grade” hamstring strain knocked him out of the WBC before it started, and he’s done his work on the backfields ever since. Like many in the Mets bullpen, the Díaz injury has a cascading effect on Raley. Thanks to his reverse splits, David Robertson was going to complement Raley against some tough lefties. If Robertson instead is viewed more as a primary closer, Raley becomes an even more integral piece. 

Stephen Ridings: Ridings didn’t achieve his goal of getting into a Grapefruit League game. Nevertheless, the Mets remain excited about his potential to contribute significantly at the major-league level this season. Like Montes de Oca, Ridings has devastating stuff, and he’s deployed it well in limited opportunities in the majors. If he can get healthy from the lat injury he suffered late last season, he’s not just a middle-relief option. He can earn legit high-leverage chances. 

David Robertson: Robertson was an important signing back in December. He became a critical one in March, when Díaz went down with his knee injury. While the Mets haven’t committed to a replacement closer, Robertson figures to get the majority of chances at the start. He doesn’t possess the larger platoon splits of New York’s other late-inning options and he has by far the most experience in the role. 

Dennis Santana: The Mets claimed Santana from the Twins late in spring, a response to the injuries to Coonrod and Montes de Oca that sapped New York’s bullpen depth over the first part of the season. Having worked as a starter until 2020, Santana can cover multiple innings for the Mets if needed. 

Drew Smith: Smith loomed as a bullpen X-factor even before Díaz injured his knee. Now, with Robertson potentially seeing a bunch of save chances, the longest-tenured member of the Mets pitching staff will serve a more crucial role. Like Robertson, Smith has been more effective against lefties than righties in his career. Unlike Robertson, that wasn’t the case in 2022, when almost all the damage done against Smith was by left-hand hitters. Smith was quietly dominant in the spring, striking out nearly half of the hitters he faced. 

Mack - 9 pitchers already on the IL will keep the Syracuse shuttle going all season. You need starters that can eat innings to help challenged pens. In addition, you need a couple of dark horses to come out of the gates. My guess they will be Nogosek and Santana.

Early thoughts on these guys... all or nuthin'.

 

Joe DeMayo - Mets' updated Top 20 prospects for 2023 MLB season -

13. OF Nick Morabito

Morabito was the No. 75 overall selection in the 2022 draft. He was a pop-up prospect this spring who wasn’t on the top-100 radar, as he didn’t participate in the summer showcase circuit, but scouts flocked to the Washington, D.C., area and got eyes on him. He is a plus runner and athlete with some power potential, but he will need to show he can make consistent contact. Morabito has some defensive versatility, and one scout told me that he reminded him a bit of Whit Merrifield at the same age.

MLB ETA: 2026 

Mack - I was very disappointed when the St. Lucie roster came out and this very talented 19-year old was left on the opposite site of the complex. Sure, he only had 22 at-bats last season for the FCL team (.091), but I had hoped they would push start him this spring. The organization is in dire shape for decent outfielders with only Morabito and Alex Ramirez showing potential to make it to the Bigs. 

 

Tim Britton and Will Sammon - 40 Mets, 40 observations: What camp taught us about every guy on the roster - 

Joey Lucchesi: Lucchesi was surprisingly one of the earliest cuts in camp, tossing a pair of single innings in the Grapefruit League. Neither of those frames went well. He allowed seven of the 12 batters he faced this spring to reach, with four of them scoring. José Quintana’s injury opens up more of a pathway for Lucchesi to reach the majors again after missing the last season and a half with Tommy John surgery, but he’s very clearly behind Megill and not clearly ahead of the next group of depth starters in the club’s hierarchy. 

Mack - It sure looks like the Mets are going to need this guy to step up this season. Fans were never a fan, given what the Mets traded for his services, and he needs to produce in a season that, early on, looks like it’s going to need lots of good pitching from lots of good pitchers.