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)
(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.
