The Morning Report 3.2.15 | The Superstar Coach, Cuddyer in LF?, Duda's Health, Jimmy Rollins

Kevin Kiernan | New York Post - "After his first Mets press conference here, [Kevin] pulled Long aside and asked him what Mets hitter has the best chance to become better this season. Long didn’t hesitate. “Murphy,’’ he said. “A batting title is not out of his grasp. He’s got a lot of pop and a lot of potential. There is more ability in there and we are going to try to draw it out." Long said he believes Murphy not only can hit for a higher average but can add power to his swing as well, so that is the best of both worlds increased power and increased average.

(Chris Soto: Reports out of camp have been nothing but positive for Kevin Long so far. Scouts are seeing improved usage of Murphy's lower half which is allowing him to drive the ball with more power to all fields. Long has been a slam dunk signing so far. Along with Murphy, Nimmo, Granderson, and Duda have also reportedly improved on their swings thanks to Long's instruction. We'll see how much effect it's actually having when games start this week.)

Joe D. | MetsMerized - "You may have been surprised that Michael Cuddyer is deaf in his left ear due to a childhood virus. He has barely played left field in his career because of it, but is willing to give it a shot after he was told that manager Terry Collins is considering the idea of keeping Curtis Granderson as the right fielder.“I hate to take anything away from Curtis; he played very well out there,” Collins said. “And to now say, ‘Go play left,’ and Michael has never played right in Citi Field is difficult.”

(Chris Soto: The main reason for the proposed move of Grandy from RF to LF is because his below average arm sapped any defensive value gained from his glove/range. That said, Cuddyer's arm is not much better and quite frankly, RF is not the easiest of positions to play in Citi Field with the way the wind swirls. Deaf or not...I would actually put Cuddyer in LF for one simple reason...Juan Lagares. Granderson himself has pretty good range whereas Cuddyer's is below average. Lagares has a quicker step and moves faster to his right thus is able to cover more ground going in that direction to help out Cuddyer.)

Danny Abriano | Rising Apple - "Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters that Lucas Duda should begin hitting off a tee this week, with the expectation that Duda will start taking batting practice next week. It was reported on February 26 that Duda would not swing a bat for a week, which should mean that Wednesday or Thursday is the targeted date for him to begin hitting off a tee."

(Chris Soto: Teams are generally much more cautious with injuries in Spring Training thus the reason Duda has not swung yet. That said the timing makes sense based on the info we have so far about Duda needing a week off after injuring his oblique some 3 weeks before that. Intercostal strains generally take 3-4 weeks to heal completely so everything seems to be in order. If everything works right, we should see Duda in a Spring Training game around March 15th-ish)

Jerry Crasnick | ESPN New York - "Jimmy Rollins spent a lot of years with the Philadelphia Phillies antagonizing New York Mets fans with his swagger and competitive spirit. He was among a select group of opposing players that fans in Flushing Meadows most loved to hate. But when Rollins assembled his choice of preferred offseason trade destinations, the Mets ranked surprisingly high on his list."This was my No. 1 landing spot," Rollins said from Los Angeles' spring training camp, "and I considered the Mets to be No. 2. They have some arms over there -- oh my gosh."

(Chris Soto: Wow...and here we thought Rollins would never play for the Mets. This tells me one of two things. A) that the Phillies were asking for an astronomical price from the Mets for Jimmy Rollins, which, he rightfully didn't pay. Or B) the Phillies never wanted to trade Rollins in division to begin with. That something that the average fan doesn't understand. Trades within division, where you face the team 19 times in a season, rarely occur. This was no different.)

Hot Stove: - B.J. Upton, Grady Sizemore, Prince Fielder, Jimmy Rollins, Yoenis Cespedes

B.J. Upton: Here's the thing about Upton: He's not a free agent, at least not yet. He's still got one more year of arbitration eligibility with the Rays. That said, there has been serious speculation that Tampa Bay might elect not to tender him a contract next month, which would put him on the open market. The question is whether Rizzo is willing to wait it out, perhaps losing one of the other guys in the process. If not, he could always try to trade for Upton, though his disappointing numbers the last three seasons (not to mention the fact his current team is thinking about dropping him altogether) suggest he may not be worth giving up much of consequence. http://www.csnwashington.com/blog/nationals-talk/post/Whom-might-Nats-pursue-in-free-agency?blockID=587468&feedID=6358

I’ll admit it; I am biased when it comes to Grady Sizemore. I still think of him as the player who just a couple of seasons ago was playing as well, if not better, than anyone else in the game. His combination of speed and power along with his defense made him one of the most complete players in the game. Injuries have sidetracked what looked to be a Hall of Fame career. From age 22 through age 25, Sizemore hit .281/.372/.496 with an average of 41 doubles, 8 triples, 27 homeruns, 81 RBI, and 29 stolen bases. He was the game’s brightest young star and a reason to believe that the Cleveland Indians had a special player to lead them for the next decade or so. http://thebaseballscribe.com/2011/11/05/quick-hits-early-hot-stove

With Fielder surely gone, putting together an offer to keep him is not at the top of the list. The priority is improving defensively, particularly on the left side of the infield where third baseman Casey McGehee and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt were among the worst defensive tandems in the game. However, the shortstop market isn’t too deep outside of the stars – Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins – and those guys are likely out of Milwaukee’s price range. So declining Betancourt’s $6 million option and re-signing him to a cheaper deal is probable. And McGehee will have to fight off Jerry Hairston Jr. to keep his starting job. http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2011-10/hot-stove-league/story/hot-stove-report-milwaukee-brewers#ixzz1cxqkkbNE

So the Phillies may have to bite the bullet and re-sign Jimmy Rollins, who hasn't been a star since 2008, to a deal that has a dangerous back end. They'll want to lay in some help on the corners to insure against Howard's return and Polanco's continued decline -- Wilson Betemit and Kelly Johnson might be interesting in this role. John Mayberry Jr. may be important to next year's team as a fourth outfielder who gets nearly-regular playing time platooning with Brown and spelling Shane Victorino at center and Howard at first. The Phillies' payroll is high enough, and the market thin enough once you get past the positions where the Phillies are strongest, that this may not be a year of big moves. The Phillies have committed to their current roster, so it's about putting players around the core who can do a better job of scoring than the '11 team did. Without Howard, this team is vulnerable. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/joe_sheehan/11/02/nl.east.hot.stove.preview/index.html#ixzz1cxrpYUPf

The Marlins have identified their center fielder of the future. Now all they have to do is sign him when he’s declared a free agent. Yoenis Cespedes, a 26-year-old Cuban who defected last summer, should get the go-ahead to begin negotiating with major league teams later this month. According to an American League source who attended his showcase Friday in the Dominican Republic, the buzz is the Marlins have the inside track. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus both profiled Cespedes, who could command a deal in excess of $30 million, along the lines of what Cuban fireballer Aroldis Chapman secured from the Reds. The Marlins made an unsuccessful run at Chapman when he was declared a free agent. http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_baseball_marlins/2011/11/source-miami-marlins-considered-favorites-to-land-cuban-cf-yeonis-cespedes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+marlinsblog+%28Florida+Marlins+%7C+Sun-Sentinel+Blogs%29