When the Mets lost a ghastly 27 of 39 to drop to 24-35, there were likely few fans and cognoscenti who thought the Mets would reach 2 games over .500 by season’s end.
Yet here they are, 2 games over .500, but with SEVENTY TWO GAMES left to play.
Lot’s going right.
And Senga and Fujinami are on the cusp of returning, and yes, Fujinami has been firing mucho strikes in his rehab outings, and very few balls.
Already in Wild Card position, just 4.5 games behind the struggling Braves.
And Reid Garrett only has nerve inflammation and should miss just 2-4 weeks. It’ll be good to get him back rested. No TJS for RG. HALLELUIA!
It should not have come to that, of course, if he wasn’t overused.
Anyway…
The playoffs lie ahead. Buckle up. We’re going places.
BATY BLUES AND ROSTER VIEWS
We were all excited when Brett Baty was tearing up AAA after he was sent down. Heck Baty was hitting .354 for the S-Mets two weeks ago. All he needed was a kick in the pants to come out of that phone booth wearing a Superman outfit, right? No.
Now he’s hurtled down to .279, because he’s gone a comatose six for 42 with one RBI since the day he was hitting .354.
LA Acuna has cooled off in July, too, so he may not be deemed quite ready to be called up yet, despite his 29 thefts and plus glove.
Therefore, my choice from in-house to temparily replace DJ Stewart, who badly needs to be replaced, might be Luke Ritter, except for some reason Luke’s played three infield positions in his career, but has not played the outfield except for 17 career games, with none this year.
Ritter does have an impressive 61 RBIs in 81 games.
But he might be AAAA caliber, as is Stewart. My brother Steve does not want AAAA caliber. He instead wants to win a 2024 World Series. So do I.
The alternative short-term call up candidate might be OF Carlos Cortes, who has hit pretty well of late, or they may decide instead to hit the trade market for another outfielder, since Marte is likely weeks (or more) away.
I thought Rhylan Thomas might keep hitting, but he hasn’t…he is just .224 in 42 games in AAA. Not ready.
And Drew Gilbert went 0 for 2 in his first rehab game after 14 weeks, so he would have been ready, but he is not.
DJ Stewart has simply been awful after April. Brutal, actually. Koosman at the plate.
My brother keeps saying, “I told you so. He’s just another bum who had a timely hit streak last year. DUMP HIM.”
OK, say we now dump him….
How about a trade with Miami to get OF Bryan de la Cruz? He has hit in the .240s with 14 HRs and 44 RBIs. Trade Baty and Acuna for BDLC?
Or acquire Michael Conforto? Just .237, but as a rental?? He is a free agent next year, so no big contract to bog down 2025 financial plans. His Giants are 3 games out of a Wild Card, but they may feel it is hopeless, because they are not good.
Perhaps also a big Mets pitching trade with the White Sox to acquire starter Garrett Crochet and reliever Michael Kopech? It would hurt the Mets farm to make that trade, but so what?
Moving on, maybe there is a contract out there that might be a reasonable swap with that of bewildering .214 Jeff McNeil. Keep in mind that Jeff hit over .290 after the ASB last year, so maybe he rebounds similarly in 2024. But he has been truly woeful in 2024.
Anyway….
Interesting times lie very close ahead.
Especially if the Mets sweep the 33-61 Rockies this weekend. As they frankly should. When you are hot, you should sweep 33-61 visiting teams.
Anyway….
With Senga soon to return, why CAN’T the Mets win a 2024 World Series?
BRANDON NIMMO IS GREAT
An article came out the other day saying that Brandon Nimmo is very under-appreciated.
True.
And the reason, frankly, is Citifield.
You see, Nimmo hits like an All Star on the road, but decidedly worse at home in Chitty Field:
This year, before yesterday’s game, he is .295/.413/.577 on the road.
Wow.
At home, a drastically worse .214/.232/.370.
Whoa.
Career?
In his road career, .283/.394/.471. THAT is the output of a real star.
At Citi home, much lower at .251/.383/.426. THAT is Mark Canha output.
So, the next time you look to denigrate one of the Mets star hitters, think first and foremost, is that hitter killing it on the road, but struggling in the pitcher friendly home park? As such, is he better than you think?
Do you under-appreciate him, when it is Citi Field is to blame?
BIG FACTOIDS
Two big guys:
6’10” AA reliever Paul Gervase has thrown 80 innings this year and last, with a microscopic .147 batting average against. And 134 Ks. Wow.
But 57 walks and 6 hit batsmen in 80 innings. Whoa.
6’7” Bryce Montes de Oca retired 2 but walked 2 in his 2/3 inning outing for Syracuse. Similar career walks and Ks to Tall Paul.
Oh, dem bases on balls.
22 comments:
Short team, I replaced DJS with Cortes
I really don't see anyone else in Syracuse right now that can help
Help will be found from other teams
Braves in 2022 were 23-27 around Memorial Day, then went 78-32. Maybe the Mets can continue their recent tear from 24-35, like the Braves of 2022.
Ack, perhaps Acuna as a September call up.
One other very outside possibility for the outfield: JT Schwartz. I think it is too soon for him. Put him in the outfield in Syracuse (he started 14 games in left field this year). Maybe a trade chip.
Two reasons I read Mack's Mets: because I'm a Mets fan and because I can build my vocabulary skills. "Cognoscenti", that's the 25 cent word for the day!
Jon G, I gotta dust off the William F Buckley brainiac words once in a while. Thanks.
I have a guy the Mets can pick up at the end of the month. He wouldn’t cost too much and can be a good source of offense: Sterling Marte
I don’t see Baty coming up until September. Something is going on with him, and I would not trade him.
Tom,
In 2004 the Mets thought they were one pitcher away from a world'a series and traded Scott Kazmir for a pitcher who did absolutely nothing to help us win.If we trade this year, let's make damn sure we don't do that again. If there is a Donn Clendenon available, then go for it. If not,then we have the players and prospects to win in 2025.
Couple of things,
Cortez is the only one that makes sense for the Mets right now.
Our BP is not as bad as shown. The problem is how it is being used by our Terry Collins BP Graduate Carlos Mendoza. Why is it necessary to use three / four relievers per game?.
Why continue to overuse the same relievers all the time when you have Nunez, Butto, Houser who can all go for multiple innings?.
The Mets might just have all they need in-house so they should release Steward, bring up Cortez. Senga and Fujinami will give the Mets a boost later on too. Lets not forget about Marte who could also be ready in two or three weeks.
Wait and see where the Mets are in two weeks, then decide on trades if necessary.
Viper, good points
Don’t be surprised to see Fujinami called up any day now. He is throwing 75% strikes. Where did that come from?
I am glad Senga is slated to pitch Sunday, pre- break. Get him to 70 pitches, then call him up, I’d say. No further rehabbers needed. If Sunday goes well, do not dawdle.
And Cortes does not fan much at the AAA level, which helps.
Question:
You have an abundance of starting pitching, which you just showed by DFA’ing Lucxhesi. Senga is coming back, why not trade Severino? Y’all realize Severino’s home ERA is 2.82 and away is 4.96?
Tom, The Rumble Ponies did some experimenting with JT Schwartz in left field, DH, and at third base when Ryan Clifford arrived in Binghamton. The experiment did not go well. JT is an outstanding glove at 1B, but very much a below average fielder in the other two positions. What he can do is HIT! We will see what he does in AAA, but if he had that seasoning, I would love to see what he does at the MLB level. The one thing that Baty does not seem to have right now is that intimate knowledge of his swing mechanics that allow a player to make adjustments as pitchers figure them out. That is why he sizzles, then fizzles. I think JT has that ability to adjust and will do well.
Texas,
The other day I was thinking the same thing. Trade Severino, Senga takes his place. If you trade Alonso, you can move Vientos to 1B and it opens up 3B for Baty/Iglesias.
Fans should look at Vientos stats vs Alonso. Vientos has superior average, OBP, SLG, OPS and only 18 less RBI while having 183 less plate appearances.
He has done all that in 171 at bats.
Why pay Alonso 175/200M when you can get close to that production for 1M from Vientos?. The days of Alonso 50+ hrs are over in my view.
Paul has a point too. If JT Schwartz is a great glove at 1B and Baty doesn't work out, Vientos 3B and Schwartz 1B in the future?
Viper and Gus, my concern is if we get to the playoffs, which we should, do we go deeper in the playoffs with Alonso and Severino, then just let them go? Rather than trade them for questionable prospects? I almost think it is too late to get under the $$ spend this year to not suffer the 10 slot draft penalty again. I think the Mets only trade the two if the team stumbles the rest of the month.
Me? I would have made the trade deadline August 15, not July 31.
Paul, I hear you. It is a shame for JT Schwartz that he wasn’t 3 months further along in hitting development. Had he been at Syracuse all year, we’d have a better idea if he could earn and handle the starting 1B job for the Mets next year.
Even if my best position is 1B, if I am not a lock at one position like Alvarez was, I learn all 3 to the max in the off season. So that if an opening arises not at 1B but in LF, he can step in. Maybe he’s done that. I doubt, for example, that Pete could ever have been an adequate LF. Little Yogi Berra played a lot of outfield games when he wasn’t catching. If Yogi could…
Question: is Paul Skenes the best pitcher in baseball?
Tom and Viper, at this point, UNLESS someone makes me an offer that I cannot turn down, I am not trading Alonso. Reasons are: 1. I am not expecting a big package. 2. This is a player that if he can assert himself this year and get his mind back on his game, can carry you for several weeks. Severino can’t.
Severino is a good pitcher, but isn’t what he was and like I said his ERA is a product of Citifield. So, I can’t bank on him. I would pitch him in the playoffs if he were on my team, but right now this team has more pitching than it needs.
If the Mets don't trade Alonso, he will be lost for nothing after the year if he continues to ask for the 200M 10 year contract.
He is already declining if you look at the stats over the past 3 years.
But I guess that's a chance the Mets are willing to take.
I want to keep Alonso because we won't get that much salary relief for him and not much in prospects, most likely. His value is as a hitter in a tough line up.
Severino, I'd consider cautiously in terms of a trade. Let's see where he stands and the rotation stands a few days before July 31. Pitching is always crumbling, hence the caution. If he stays, I might entertain a 1 year deal in 2024.
In 2025, I meant
David Peterson on paternity leave, congrats, and Orze comes back. Hopefully he gets to pitch in one or 2 of the Mets 3 wins this weekend. The guy Tanner pitching tonight seems very home run prone.
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