Jarod Alley - First Trade Rumor, DJ Carrasco...Really!!??

           Wasn't really sure if the report on MLBtraderumors.com was a hoax or maybe an early April Fools prank but what I am sure of is D.J. Carrasco is not a trade chip. True he had his successes in the recent past but his most recent year was a far cry from his previous averages. No GM in their right mind would trade for a guy that has 1.2 million left on his contract and is nothing more than a 6th or 7th inning guy. The only value he could have is the durability in his arm. He can give you 3 innings and then come back and pitch the next day but if the results are anything like they were last year than I'd pass if I were an "interested" party.
          Let's say a team does bite and decides they want to upgrade their bullpen with a rubber arm here's what you can expect in return, salary relief or maybe a dozen bats.Who's to say Miguel Batista, who may make the team instead of DJ, doesn't come back down to Earth after his great finish with the Mets last year. Smart money is on the latter. Furthermore I would think the prudent thing to do would be hold on to as many arms as possible since they seem to fall off mid way through the year.

Mets: D.J. Carrasco, Dickey and Jeff, Ike Davis, Mike Carp

Unfortunately, D.J. Carrasco is still likely to get a shot in the bullpen to start the 2012 season. The Mets do have plenty of better relief pitchers, but if there’s any silver lining from 2011, it’s that even a full season of data from a relief pitcher is still a small sample. It's tough to look at his numbers and chalk them up to bad luck and poor defensive support, but at least some portion of his BABIP should probably be attributed to each. Given the fact that he'll turn 35 in April, it seems highly unlikely that he'll be very good this year, but a return to a season resembling his career norms wouldn't be shocking. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/1/19/2717538/2012-mets-player-profile-d-j-carrasco

Dickey said the group surpassed their goal of $100,000 with the help of a gift from Jeff Wilpon, the chief operating officer of the Mets. Before the climb, Wilpon and the Mets had publicly objected to the endeavor out of fear that Dickey might be injured.  After he made it safely down, Dickey said one of the first texts he received was from Wilpon. “He offered his congratulations and made a generous contribution,” Dickey said. “I understood their concerns, and I thought it was a great gesture on their part to help out in the end.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/sports/baseball/after-kilimanjaro-familiar-ground-for-mets-dickey.html?_r=1&ref=sports

Ike Davis, New York Mets – Mets first baseman Ike Davis finished an injury plagued 2011 season with seven homers, 25 RBIs, 20 runs scored and .302 batting average in just 149 at bats.  That’s coming off of a rookie season in 2010 where he smacked 19 homers and 71 RBI.  Davis didn’t play after May 10 last year due to an ankle injury and then a series of unfortunate medical mistakes by his doctors.  The Mets are moving in the fences at Citi Field.  That can only help a 6′ 4″, 230 pound power hitter like Davis http://www.fantasybaseballdugout.com/2012/01/20/sleepers-first-base-2012/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Mike Carp, Seattle Mariners — No, Carp is not going to start in front of Justin Smoak, but he does qualify at first base.  Carp finished the 2011 season with 12 homers, 46 RBIs, 27 runs scored and a .276 batting average in just 290 at-bats.  On a team that is desperate for offense, expect Carp to be a regular outfielder in 2012. http://www.fantasybaseballdugout.com/2012/01/20/sleepers-first-base-2012/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Waiver Trading

Pausing from the prospect frenzy of yesterday (I'm super psyched and will right something soon) I wanted to focus on some current Mets who might FURTHER fill out farm systems. The Mets have gotten five players cleared through waivers... NO, nobody snagged Jason Bay... sigh... However, the four OTHER guys that DID make it through are slightly more surprising. Some of them could have been boons to a number of contending teams and now... the Mets are once more free to negotiate deals for them. HOWEVER, Alderson is not interested in salaray relieving deals... except with Bay. We'd trade Bay for the Mets owing someone a PTBNL.

Chris Capuano: Right... so HOW?!? does Chris Capuano NOT get snagged in waivers. Is it his 2011 success as a starter? Is it his earlier success as a left-handed RP? Perhaps he's just so smart that general managers feel threatened. Fact is a team, like the Yankees, will KICK themselves for not making a bid on Chris. As it is, they should probably be on line to make a deal. He can start if they need it, he can relieve if they don't. How many other teams would need a guy like that?

Angel Pagan: Less shock over Pagan. He's had a rough year, has an injury history and makes really dumb decisions. HOWEVER... he's only 30, he's got a cheap Arb elligable contract (Not due a large increase) and would slot into almost any outfield as the #4 outfielder EASILY. A guy with this much speed and a little pop who can play all the outfield positions... WELL. He has Atlanta braves written ALL over him. Then again, perhaps Sandy doesn't want to HAVE to sign a CF for more money than Pagan will get for 2012.

D.J. Carrasco: Say what you will, but the ability to toss innings has value. He doesn't necessarily toss them so well he could be a closer, but he also doesn't kill you. You can also use him almost every day without worrying that his right arm will fall off and he'll need to learn to pitch righty. If you think the contract is a worry, remember that $1 Mil contracts mean little to the top payroll teams in the world. To them it's like they got him for only one month of Alex Rodriguez.

Willie Harris: Waiver trades were MADE for players like Willie Harris. He doesn't hit a ton, but he does come up with some clutch hits. He can play all across the field and do a pretty knock-up job of it. He also has that X-Factor of being a "Role Player" that fits with the mentality of a GM making a run at a ring. They look at Willie and say, "Gee with a slim lead in the 9th I guess I could uses a guy to slide out there instead of Lance Berkman. Someone who might even win me a game by just making a catch at the right time.

Jason Bay: Hands, who would accept a bag of baseballs? My hand is up. Sad reality check, nobody wants to trade valuable baseballs for a $36+ Mil debt. Especially to someone from Canada. If Bay has a good Spring then the Mets might get someone to pull and Alex Rios and absorb his ill-gotten pay-check. It's just not going to happen for 2011.

Wait, but you're the rose-colored glasses guy, this is all depressing. Actually, I am probably overly optimistic about getting a trade done for even the top four guys. Sandy wants prospects and teams can probably get that type of player for that bag of balls I want to trade Bay for. I'm just saying that I'd be on the phone shopping the heck out of these guys.

Cory Mazzoni, D.J. Carrasco, Josh Stinson

4-18-11 from bullpenbanter.  on Cory Mazzoni: - Average height; thin and athletic; not projectable 3/4 arm slot with a low effort delivery Fastball without much movement; showed some good arm side run in the third but didn't last; 92 & 93 in the first, 92, 91 & 92 in the second, 89 in the third, 89 & 90 in the fifth, 91 in the sixth, 93 in the seventh (via announcer) Slider had hard 2-8 break early in the outing; worked well as a chase pitch; 81 in the first (via announcer) Curve ball has good shape and 1-7 movement; 79 & 81 in the first, 81 & 80 in the second (via announcer) Curve ball & slider started to blend together by the middle innings to the point where I started to wonder whether they were variations rather than unique pitches Straight change-up with some arm side run and drop; used judiciously and had hitters ahead of the pitch when he threw it; 81 in the second (via announcer) Fastball command was good in the first inning, but deserted him from that point on Fastball from the second inning on tended to be left up in the zone; hittable when he wasn't hitting his spots Command of his breaking ball(s) was significantly better; he often froze hitters with pitches on the black on both sides of the plate Got more aggressive in the strike zone when his command wouldn't let him hit corners with consistency






The Mets optioned RP Dale Thayer to Buffalo at the completion of Saturday’s loss to Pittsburgh.. They followed this up with the promotion of D.J. Carrasco. D.J. has pitched pretty decently at Buffalo (2-3, 3.47), especially this month. In his two June starts he gave up only one earned run in 15.2-IP. Remember, Carrasco has a two-year contract, so they team might as well give him another shot.






6-12-11: - No one has fought harder to make it in the system than SP Josh Stinson. We gave up on him so many times, especially after I walked into the Savannah locker room and saw him sitting there at the beginning of his third stint with the Gnats. He just looked at me, smiled, and said: “don’t even ask, Mack”(he may not know this but the current players fight over having the locker where he carved his name into it). Stinny really put it together last year as a starter with Binghamton, and continued it in Buffalo until the end of the season (2-2, 2.57, 4-starts), but this year has been a grind. He gave up 8-R on 5-17, eight more in 1.1-IP last week, and lasted only two innings yesterday, giving up six. Very few of us thought he would ever make the Mets rotation, but I wish they had kept him in the pen where he might have had a future.

D.J. Carrasco, Chase Hutchingson, Reese Havens, Jon Niese, Rafael Montero

Bisons SP D.J. Carrasco shut out Gwinnett for 8.2 innings and was perfect for the first 4.2 (the shutout was ruined by a 2-run homer by ex-Met Shawn Bowman). D.J. has been pretty much a bust, both in Queens (5.91) and Buffalo (4.94).He signed a two-year contract before the beginning of this season, so it’s good to see him have a good outing, but there is simply no chance he is going to start in Queens today unless the team bus goes off the bridge. The Mets should have kept him the RP1 in Buffalo, which would help right now with the Queens pen blowing up.


Savannah’s SP Chase Hutchington put together his third quality start in a row Friday night, going 5.0-IP, striking out seven, and giving up 0-R, and only 1-H. That’s 1-ER, in his last 15.0-IP, with 20-K. Seasonally, 56 K, 46.1-IP, 15-BB, 37-H. For some reason, he has only pitched five innings in each of his last four starts, ad only went six innings on 4-28. Hopefully, he will stretch past this soon.


A real good sign down in Binghamton is what 2B Reese Havens has been doing since returning to the lineup this season. Last night, he went 3-5, raising his Binghamton batting average to .292. There’s never been a question regarding whether Havens can hit. He’s had a hard time staying healthy, but his injuries have not been career threatening. I’d like to see him finish the season in Buffalo so he can get on to Queens next year, but the most important thing is for him to stay in the lineup.


I have to hand it to Jon Niese. His numbers never jumped out at you when he was in the minors. He was a quiet 7th round pick in the 2005 draft, His combined minor league stats were an okay 39-32, 3.73, 1.35, 508-K, 560.0-IP, but he entered the Mets rotation last year (9-10, 4.20) and is now becoming a pretty decent middle rotational pitcher. He’s also only 24-years old.


Somebody named Rafael Montero pitched five perfect innings for the DSL1 team last night, striking out six. I don’t have anything on him other than the fact he is a 6-0 righty and is 20-years old. That’s two starts so far this year: 1.13, 1-ER, 8.0-IP, 12-K. We’ll keep an eye on him.