Winter Leagues 1.5.2016 Results | Mexicali Sweeps Jalisco, Another Good Day for Becerra, Huchingson Comes Up Big in Relief, Barbosa Shuts Down Santurce Offense

Arizona Fall League

Completed. Final Game was November 19th

Mexican Pacific League

Completed. Final Game was December 29th

Mexican Pacific League Playoffs
1st Round
- Yaquis de Obregon 15 - 7 Caneros de los Mochis
- Venados de Mazatlan 1 - 3 Mayos de Navojoa
- Aguilas de Mexicali 7 - 4 Charros de Jalisco

• C Xorge Carrillo: 1 for 3, R, SB Allowed, Throwing Error(1)

Venezuela Professional Baseball League
Completed. Final Game was December 30th

Venezuela Professional Baseball League Playoffs
First Round
- Tiburones de La Guaira 9 - 5 Caribes de Anzoategui
- Tigres de Aragua 11 - 12 Bravos de Margarita

• RF Wuilmer Becerra: 3 for 5, R, 2B, RBI(1) 

- Navegantes del Magallanes 3 - 11 Leones del Caracas

• LF Jairo Perez: 0 for 3, 3 K
• SS Asdrubal Cabrera: 2 for 5, R, 2B, RBI(1), K

Dominican Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 21st

Dominican Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Estrellas de Oriente 2 - 11 Leones del Escogido
- Tigres del Licey 3 - 2 Toros del Este

• CF Alejandro De Aza: 0 for 4, BB, 2 K
• LHP Chase Huchingson: 0.1 IP, Hold(3) [Retired switch hitter Cristhian Adames with Bases Loaded]
• RHP Jenrry Mejia: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, Hold(1)

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 30th

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Cangrejeros de Santurce 0 - 2 Indios de Mayaguez

• 3B T.J. Rivera: 0 for 2, 2 R, 2 BB
• LHP Andrew Barbosa: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K, Win(1)

Winter Leagues Results 1.4.2016 | Carrillo's Aguilas Jump Out to 3-0 Series Lead, Lara Manages to Keep Licey Offense in Check, Monell Showing Off His Wheels but not His Arm

Arizona Fall League

Completed. Final Game was November 19th

Mexican Pacific League

Completed. Final Game was December 29th

Mexican Pacific League Playoffs
1st Round
- Yaquis de Obregon 1 - 2 Caneros de los Mochis
- Venados de Mazatlan 1 - 5 Mayos de Navojoa
- Aguilas de Mexicali 4 - 3 Charros de Jalisco

• C Xorge Carrillo: 1 for 3, 2B, RBI(2)

Venezuela Professional Baseball League
Completed. Final Game was December 30th

Venezuela Professional Baseball League Playoffs
First Round
- No Games Scheduled

Dominican Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 21st

Dominican Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Leones del Escogido 3 - 14 Tigres del Licey

• RHP Rainy Lara: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

- Toros del Este 0 - 2 Estrellas de Oriente

• RF Alejandro De Aza: 1 for 4

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 30th

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Cangrejeros de Santurce 4 - 7 Criollos de Caguas

• C Johnny Monell: 0 for 2, R, 2 BB, K, SB(2), 2 SB allowed

Winter League Results 1.3.2016 | Carrillo Steals a Bag, LOOGYs Come Up Big in DR, De Aza's Bat Finally Wakes Up

Arizona Fall League

Completed. Final Game was November 19th

Mexican Pacific League

Completed. Final Game was December 29th

Mexican Pacific League Playoffs
1st Round
- Caneros de los Mochis 6 - 1 Yaquis de Obregon
- Mayos de Navojoa 2 - 6 Venados de Mazatlan
- Charros de Jalisco 2 - 5 Aguilas de Mexicali

• C Xorge Carrillo: 1 for 3, R, SB(1), Passed Ball, Runner Thrown Out

Venezuela Professional Baseball League
Completed. Final Game was December 30th

Venezuela Professional Baseball League Playoffs
First Round
- Caribes de Anzoategui 8 - 9 Tiburones de La Guaira
- Leones del Caracas 0 - 2 Navegantes del Magallanes

• LF Jairo Perez: 1 for 4, 2 K

- Bravos de Margarita 3 - 4 Bravos de Margarita

• RF Wuilmer Becerra: 0 for 3

Dominican Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 21st

Dominican Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Tigres del Licey 2 - 1 Leones del Escogido

• LHP Chase Huchingson: 1.2 IP, 1 K

- Estrellas de Oriente 8 - 4 Toros del Este

• RF Alejandro De Aza: 2 for 4, R, 2B
• LHP Dario Alvarez: 1.0 IP, 2 K

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 30th

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Indios de Mayaguez 0 - 1 Cangrejeros de Santurce

• 3B T.J. Rivera: 1 for 3, BB

Winter League Results 12.30.2015 | Rough Day in Double-Header for Cabrera, Another Strong Relief Outing for Huchingson

Arizona Fall League

Completed. Final Game was November 19th

Mexican Pacific League

Completed. Final Game was December 29th

Venezuela Professional Baseball League (Last Game Scheduled for 12/30/2015)

- Caribes de Anzoategui 4 - 2 Leones del Caracas

• DH Asdrubal Cabrera: 0 for 4, 3 K 

- Cardenales de Lara 5 - 6 Leones del Caracas

• DH Asdrubal Cabrera: 1 for 4, R, K
• DH Jairo Perez: 1 for 3, R, 2B, RBI(39), K

Dominican Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 21st

Dominican Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Leones del Escogido 6 - 7 Leones del Escogido

• RF Alejandro De Aza: 2 for 4, R, K
• RHP Rafael Montero: 0.2 IP, 1 H

- Estrellas de Oriente 2 - 4 Tigres del Licey

• LHP Chase Huchingson: 1.0 IP, 1 H, Hold(2)

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Last Game Scheduled for 01/04/2016)

- Cangrejeros de Santurce 15 - 1 Gigantes de Carolina
- Indios de Mayaguez 3 - 4 Criollos de Caguas

• C Johnny Monell: 1 for 4, 2B, RBI(16), K, Passed Ball(5)
• PH T.J. Rivera: 0 for 1

Winter League Results 12.29.2015 | Game Winning RBI for Asdrubal Cabrera, Becerra Continues Torrid Hitting, Huchingson Gets Critical 7th Inning Out vs Lefty

Arizona Fall League

Completed. Final Game was November 19th

Mexican Pacific League (Last Game Scheduled for 12/29/2015)

- Caneros de los Mochis 0 - 3 Mayos de Navojoa
- Charros de Jalisco 4 - 7 Venados de Mazatlan
- Naranjeros de Hermosillo 3 - 8 Yaquis de Obregon
- Aguilas de Mexicali 13 - 3 Tomateros de Culiacan


Venezuela Professional Baseball League (Last Game Scheduled for 12/30/2015)

- Cardenales de Lara 2 - 3 Leones del Caracas

• DH Jairo Perez: 2 for 4
• DH Asdrubal Cabrera: 1 for 3, RBI(2), 2 BB, 2 K [RBI Single to Win in the 9th Inning]

- Caribes de Anzoategui 10 - 6 Tigres de Aragua

• RF Wuilmer Becerra: 4 for 4, 2 R, RBI(11) [7 game hitting streak, .448 AVG during streak]

Dominican Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 21st

Dominican Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Toros del Este 1 - 8 Leones del Escogido

• LHP Chase Huchingson: 0.1 IP, Hold(1)

- Tigres del Licey 4 - 3 Estrellas de Oriente

• RF Alejandro De Aza: 1 for 3, BB

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Last Game Scheduled for 01/04/2016)

- Indios de Mayaguez 6 - 1 Gigantes de Carolina
- Criollos de Caguas 3 - 5 Cangrejeros de Santurce

• DH Johnny Monell: 1 for 4, K
• RHP Joel Huertas: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB

Winter League Results 12.28.2015 | Wuilmer Becerra Tearing Apart the Venezuela League, De Aza Activated for the Dominican Playoffs

Arizona Fall League

Completed. Final Game was November 19th

Mexican Pacific League (Last Game Scheduled for 12/29/2015)

- Caneros de los Mochis 2 - 4 Mayos de Navojoa
- Charros de Jalisco 5 - 1 Venados de Mazatlan
- Naranjeros de Hermosillo 4 - 2 Yaquis de Obregon
- Aguilas de Mexicali 6 - 4 Tomateros de Culiacan

• C Xorge Carrillo: 0 for 4, K, Runner Thrown Out

Venezuela Professional Baseball League (Last Game Scheduled for 12/29/2015)

- Tiburones de La Guaira 4 - 5 Cardenales de Lara

• DH Jairo Perez: 0 for 4

- Caribes de Anzoategui 10 - 8 Leones del Caracas

• DH Asdrubal Cabrera: 1 for 5, RBI(1), 2 K

- Tigres de Aragua 6 - 4 Bravos de Margarita

• RF Wuilmer Becerra: 3 for 6, R, RBI(10), K

Dominican Baseball League

Completed. Final Game was December 21st

Dominican Baseball League Playoffs
Round Robin Stage
- Estrellas de Oriente 1 - 5 Leones del Escogido

- Tigres del Licey 7 - 1 Toros del Este

• DH Alejandro De Aza: 0 for 4, 2 K

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Last Game Scheduled for 01/04/2016)

- No Games Scheduled

The Morning Report 12.24.2015 | Mets "Adding Depth"?, Mets Following the Off-Season Plan, Monell Clears Waivers, Mets Lose 3 MILB Free Agents

Adding depth. We’ve officially agreed to a 1-year deal with Alejandro De Aza. #Mets pic.twitter.com/gqwXlrE80v

— New York Mets (@Mets) December 23, 2015

(Chris Soto: The Mets added another layer of questioning behind the whole De Aza signing fiasco. After multiple team insiders reported that De Aza was brought in to be the other half of a lefty/righty platoon with Lagares, the team published this tweet officially announcing the signing....."Adding Depth". What does this mean? De Aza's $5.75M salary certainly is quite a bit to pay for a pure bench piece.....but why would they go out of their way to make that statement?)


Joe D. | Metsmerized Online- The Mets signed a left-handed outfielder to platoon with Juan Lagares on Monday- which by the way was the team’s stated goal from the moment the hot stove season started. I thought the De Aza signing was the first misstep by the Mets this offseason. Before that I applauded every single move they’ve made. Walker is a significant upgrade all-around from Daniel Murphy and Asdrubal Cabrera is a shortstop with some power who, while he may not be the defensive stalwart you were expecting, when you have 80 percent of your rotation with strikeout rates above 10.5 that becomes barely an issue. It also frees up Wilmer Flores to become that super-utility guy I always envisioned for him.

(Chris Soto: This whole Alejandro De Aza story has really over exploded. Joe is right.....this was the Mets plan from Day 1 and they've been saying it ALL off-season. Statistically speaking, Walker is an upgrade over Murphy, Cabrera IS an upgrade over Flores, and Flores as the UT guy is an upgrade over Kelly Johnson. Now the duo of Lagares/De Aza is a step down offensively from a full season of Cespedes but as good as Cespedes was in August and early September for the Mets.....he was equally awful in late September and October. So yea, the overall stats take a hit, but the club probably gets more consistent offensive contributions. Most important in this whole thing, though, is the fact that Cespedes is STILL a Free Agent! The off-season is not over, and while the chances are small, there is still a chance that the Mets reverse course and sign him if the price is right. It's not like the team is forced to make De Aza and Lagares their starter. The club could very easily use them on the bench which would make them a nice upgrade over the 2 OF's we entered the off-season with [Kirk and Ceciliani])

HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• C Johnny Monell has cleared waivers and has been assigned to AAA Las Vegas. Monell was DFA'd last week to make room on the 40 man roster for SP Bartolo Colon.
• The Mets lost 3 more minor league free agents as the mass exodus from their upper level teams continue.
• Both LHRP Scott Rice and RHP Tim Stauffer signed minor league contracts with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• RHRP Jon Velasquez also signed a minor league contract to go play for the Washington Nationals 

FLASH: Mets Sign OF Alejandro de Aza

     Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, The New York Mets and OF Alejandro De Aza have agreed to a 1 year MLB contract worth $5,750,000. De Aza is decent platoon option as he has a lifetime .274/.338/.418 line against right handed pitchers. Defensively though, at age 32, he is more of a corner OF now than he is a CF. He hasn't played CF since 2013 when he posted a Defensive Runs Saved metric of -18 runs.

   Since the Mets currently have a full 40 man roster, the team will have to Designate someone for Assignment in order to make room once the deal is officially announced. Per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Mets do plan to use De Aza as part of a platoon with Lagares in CF.

The Morning Report 12.22.2015 | Mets Casting Wide Net for OF Help, Mets Tickets Sales Quickly Catching Up to Yankees, Brandon Phillips Nixes Washington Trade

Danny Abriano | Rising Apple- In addition to free agent OF Denard Span, the Mets have also expressed interest in free agent outfielders Will Venable and Alejandro De Aza. Against right-handers, Venable hit .256 with a .336 OBP and .374 SLG. Against right-handers, De Aza hit .278 with a .351 OBP and .448 SLG. Both Venable and De Aza rated as negative defenders last season in terms of DRS. While Venable was a slightly above average defender in 2014, he’s been a negative more often than not. And De Aza has rated as a negative his last three seasons.

(Chris Soto: Neither of these guys are a great fit to be "platoon" starters due to their defensive shortcomings in the OF. The Mets could be looking at them as a "two-way" approach to the market. If they truly end up not bringing back Cespedes and lose out on span, they will take what they can get in de Aza or Venable. However, if they do bring on Cespedes or Span, they could still use de Aza or Venable on the bench as the 5th OF. Both would still be a decent upgrade over current 5th OF Kirk Nieuwenheis.)

Ryan Hatch | NJ Advance Media- The Yankees were fourth among all Major League Baseball teams in attendance last season, drawing over 3.1 million fans to Yankee Stadium. The Mets, in their first season that ended in a World Series appearance since 2000, saw 2.5 million fans at Citi Field, 12th-highest in the league. But those numbers don't paint the whole picture. The Mets gained more than 420,000 fans in 2015 compared to '14 (second-best in MLB) while the Yankees lost 207,000 fans and drew fewer than 40,000 fans per game for the first time in 15 years. [In fact] five of StubHub's 10 top-selling events from 2015 were all Mets World Series games.

(Chris Soto: The Mets are doing exactly what the Wilpons were hoping for in 2015, "Taking Back New York." In terms of percentages, the Yankees outsold the Mets by 350% in 2014, but in 2015, that gap shrunk substantially down to only a 40% between the teams. The trend is likely to continue as well since the Mets have numerous young AND talented players that could have superstar appeal for the next 5-10 years even as the current face of the franchise, David Wright, begins getting phased out in the near future.)



HOT STOVE REPORT (courtesy of mlbtraderumor.com)

• OF Gerardo Parra has received multiple 3 yr offers from various teams, however, he is continuing to hold out hope that a team will make him a 4 yr offer. 
• A potential deal between the National and the Cincinnati Reds for 2B Brandon Phillips seems to have fallen apart as Phillips is unwilling to waive his 10-5 no trade rights to be traded to Washington.