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.

The Morning Report 11.9.2015 | HOT STOVE: Rockies Interested in Murphy, Mets Interested in Span and O'Day, Jason Heyward the Perfect Fit

Michael Baron | Just Mets- It’s been less than 24 hours since teams have had free reign to sign free agents from other clubs, and one of the Mets free agents is already garnering discussion. The Rockies are essentially set around their infield with Nolan Arenado, Jose Reyes, and DJ LeMahieu left to right, but really lack a viable, everyday option at first base now that Justin Morneau is a free agent. Coors Field would be a good ballpark for Murphy’s game, given the large dimensions and his ability to spray the ball gap-to-gap. He would also see an uptick in power as well, as do most players who play in that ballpark.

(Chris Soto: I don't quite see the fit here for the Rockies. They have an excellent line-up already with Jose Reyes, Charlie Blackmon, Arenado, Carlos Gonzalez, Corey Dickerson, and DJ LeMathieu which is already quite lefty heavy. Murphy only adds to the lefty-ness and doesn't provide too much of an upgrade over Ben Paulsen in terms of offense. But hey....I won't complain if the Rockies want to give us a 1st round pick.)



Danny Abraino | Rising Apple- The Mets might have interest in free agent OF Denard Span. The Mets might be in search of a lefty-hitting center fielder who can platoon with Juan Lagares — who hits left-handed pitchers well — and Span would be a perfect fit if not for the amount of injuries he’s dealt with over the last 12 months. In their free agent preview, MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Span would receive a three-year deal worth $39 million. If Span stays healthy, that could be a bargain, but his three recent surgeries should give any interested team pause.

(Chris Soto: Yuck....no thanks. If I'm Sandy Alderson, I'm already paying Michael Cuddyer $12.5M to be a bench player in 2016, so there is no way I'm giving Span $13M to be a platoon player with Lagares. I would much rather use that $13M per season in a larger deal for a greater impact bat such as Jason Heyward that could send Lagares to the bench as my late inning defensive wizard.)



Rob Rogan | Mets 360- Jason Heyward is going to get paid this off-season, and he’s going to get paid a lot. Part of that has to do with how Major League Baseball free agency works, what with insane contracts that get crazier and crazier each year. Most of it, though, is because of just how great a player he’s been over the last six seasons and the potential for more. A major-yet-temporary caveat here is that Heyward is primarily a right fielder and the Mets currently have Curtis Granderson entrenched there for two more seasons. If the team was willing to shove Yoenis Cespedes out there, there should be no qualms about having Heyward man center.

(Chris Soto: I am 100% in agreement with Rogan here. Jason Heyward is the best defensive RF in baseball and he steals 20+ bases a season. The altheticism is there to play CF on a regular basis and he is surely a better potential defender there than Yeonis Cespedes. The best part is that he is only 25 yrs old! Your not paying for a Jason Bay who was on the wrong side of 30 when he signed; your signing a guy just entering the prime of his career who has major upside in what he could eventually produce for you. He is the one guy that fits all the needs of the Mets, a middle of the order bat, improving team defense, and increasing team speed.)



Scot Cohen | Amazin Avenue- The Mets are interested in 33-year-old relief pitcher Darren O'Day. O'Day has spent the last four years with the Baltimore Orioles and had the best season of his career in 2015, as he made 68 appearances for and finished the year with a 1.52 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 2.49 FIP. He struck out 82 hitters and walked just 14 in 65.1 innings.

(Chris Soto: I would LOVE to have Darren O'Day in the Mets bullpen, however, there is a major elephant in the room in regards to him. No Qualifying Offer was made from the Baltimore Orioles, which means no team is going to have to shell out a draft pick in order to sign him. This is going to make him the most popular bullpen arm on the market which means he'll likely get a multi year deal for over $8M per season. That is a price tag that I'm not sure the Mets are willing to match, especially, with Addison Reed already on the payroll for ~$5.3M next season.)