MACK - MY Thursday Observations - Holmes, Oliveros, Harvey, Koyo, Hyeseong

 

Mets sign RHP Clay Holmes

31/yrs old                6-5                 

245                 Slocomb HS (AL)

2024 -            0.7-WAR, 3-5, 3.14, -2-DRS

Career -         4.2-WAR, 24-22, 3.71

Tied with Edwin Diaz for most 2024 blown saves (13)

Sinker – 96.6-average – 56% thrown – generates ++ groundballs

2-seam FB, curve, slider/cutter

2024 primarily sinker & slider

Needs to cut back walks

    Mathew Brownstein                    @MBrownstein89

    Only 3 pitchers averaged 96+ mph & 25+ inches of vertical drop on their sinkers     in 2024 (min. 500 sinkers thrown):

    Zach Pop

    Yennier Cano

    Clay Holmes

Mack - the report is that the Mets are going to covert Holmes back to the starter he used to be. Last started in 2018. Win/win here… could be great, low-cost decision or, if it fails, could be returned to the pen to back up Diaz. IMO, Holmes is a seriously talented pitcher and this is a steal of a deal. Love it.(though keeping Butto as an SP could have been another road traveled)

 

Met sign free agent OF Edward Olivares to a minor league contract that included an invite to camp.

                                                Edward Olivares

28/yrs old                6-2                  190                 2014-IFA                  FA-2027

Signed by Toronto, then played in MLB for Giants, KC, and Pirates

MLB Career – 886-AB, .254/.306/.407, 29-HR, 96-RBI, 93-wRC+,

 -0.7-WAR

Poor defender… poor reads/range

+ arm… 93%     great speed

                        Mack – what I wrote about makes me question this one. 

 

Mets traded 2024 International $ (probably part or all of 300K returned to Mets after projected IFA prospect signed elsewhere) for RHRP Sean Harney to a minor league contract with invite to camp

                                                Sean Harney

26/yrs old                6-0                  190                 8^th rd. TB       Kentucky

2024:             2-0, 3.54, 1.11-WHIP, 40.2-IP, 35-K

Final 14 apps:          23-IP, 11-H, 2-R, 2-BB, 18-K, 0.78-ERA

MILB career:           63-G, 7-1, 3.90, 1.18-WHIP, 124.2-IP, 124-K

Low 90s FB, low-80s slider, mid-80s change

Mack – Interesting sign… the thing I found intriguing is… in 2024, he started two games for the FCL team and produced a 4.26-ERA… he was then converted to a reliever, and went 3.91 at the High A level, and 2.00 at AA. Could be sneaky good pick.

  

Mike Mayer            @mikemayer22

Folks, we have a sidearmer! Koyo Aoyagi has been posted by the Hanshin Tigers. He has a 3.08 career ERA over nine NPB seasons (3.69 ERA in 61 innings this season). 

                                                Koyo Aoyagi

RHP                5-11               175                 31/yrs old

2024 –                       7-6, 3.00, 23-apps, 114-IP, 39-BB, 78-K

NPB (9yrs) -             61-47, 3.08, 154-apps, 898.1-IP, 299-BB, 647-K

Was demoted and pitched 11 games in the minors in 2024

Projected as a depth arm

Has walked 7.8% of batters faced

17.1% K-rate

Did not make Japan’s World Baseball Classic team two year in a row           

            Mack – kekko desu

 

Mark Feinsand                   @Feinsand

Hyeseong Kim has officially been posted. Starting tomorrow, any team willing to pay to the Kiwoom Heroes the corresponding release fee and any applicable supplemental fees may negotiate with Kim. The deadline to sign Kim is 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 3, 2025.

                                                Hyeseong Kim

            2B/SS/LF                  25.yrs old                 5-10               176                 LHH

            2024 Kiwoom/KBO:          509-AB, 11-HR, 75-RBI, 30-SB, 47-BB

.326/.458/,841

            C.R. Enn                    @C_R_Enn 

This guy is not going to hit in MLB. Watch his highlights on YouTube. Barely gets the ball out of the infield in the inferior KBO 

Sean Kenny

Offensively, he offers a contact/speed profile with some extra-base hit power and some solid patience at the plate. His 2024 season was his best from a power standpoint, seeing him slash .326/.383/.458 with 11 home runs and 30 stolen bases. Kim will draw walks and use his speed on the bases, as he has stolen at least 20 bases in every season since 2018. Overall, Kim has hit .304/.364/.403 with 37 home runs and 211 stolen bases over his eight-year career in the KBO.

Defensively, Kim has played second base, third base, shortstop, and left field in his career. The 2024 season saw Kim exclusively play second base. Kim has won two straight fielding awards at second base.

In the 2022 Asian Games, he won a gold medal for South Korea, hitting .292/.500/.370.

In terms of his fit on the Mets, Kim could provide a low-cost, high-upside super utility player covering three positions on the infield. Kim hasn’t played the outfield since 2020 and, in his career, has logged 19 games at third base. The biggest concern seems to be whether his lack of power makes him unable to be an everyday player since his previous career high in home runs was seven. The Mets could do much worse than securing a 25-year-old with positional versatility and speed who has won multiple KBO Golden Gloves (these are for the overall best player at a position in KBO). 

Mack – I agree with Kenny’s analysis, but I have no idea how KBO stats compare to what level in USA baseball. The other thing is the Mets don’t seem to need an additional option at second.