Remember 1969: Ramblings for August 4, 2024

 

I actually started this as a comment to Mack’s Sunday Morning Observations, but got rambling and decided to post it as a standalone piece.

First, I love Mack's observations columns and do not generally have much quibble with his opinions, although I have one comment about the 2025 outfield as discussed.   An outfield of Nimmo, Gilbert, and McNeil does not have enough power.   I tend to agree with the thinking that Vientos can develop into a 40-50 HR guy, but other than that, Lindor and Alvarez (as currently constructed) have to provide most of the rest of the long ball options. 

There is also a lack of team speed.   Adding Gilbert will help and perhaps Mauricio can fill some of both the power and speed voids. 

More on the 2025 roster construct later . .

First some pet peeves : 

Speaking of lack of team speed (and going back to old fashioned winning baseball skills), last night's game was frustrating in two ways to me:

(1)  Giving up the lead in the next half inning of the one you took always gets under my skin.  That half-inning is the most important one of the game to play a clean one.

(2)  Homers happen, I guess, but throwing strikes early in the count pays huge dividends.  

      (3)  They really lost the game in the top of the 8th when Vientos led off with a double.   Needing one run and not scoring with a runner on second and no outs is inexcusable.   It was bad luck that the righthanded hitting catcher was up first  - a groundout to the left side of the infield is not productive.  A subsequent groundout (yay, to the right side to move the pinch-runner over) by last year's hitting champion didn't help much, and then another groundout to the left side essentially ended the game right there.    Can't anybody bunt or hit a ball to the opposite field any more????? 

Back to 2025 roster options

Speaking of Jeff McNeil and his non-run scoring out, I do not see him on the 2025 roster at all.  I think he will become trade bait - what they can get will depend on how he finishes out 2024, but hopefully they could get some controllable starting pitching?   Give Seattle a call?    (I see that Gus and I agree on this one)

I do think they will field a young team in ’25, with Vientos, Mauricio, Gilbert and maybe Acuna.  I am not as bullish on Luisangel for next year as other might be, but if they don’t start with him, he’ll be the first man up. 

I would really like to see Brett Baty come back and establish himself as a major league hitter.  I have been a fan since his Binghamton days and really hope he cements the third base role for several years.    

I guess my preference would be to see Vientos in a DH role and have Pete Alonso back to play first base.    I see that as a real possibility for two reasons:   He is not doing himself any favors this year to get a huge payday and with that fact in mind, he could very well accept a qualifying offer.    Obviously Boras does not like to do that, but unless he tears it up over the next two months, his value will be very much depressed from the early numbers that were being thrown around. 

Where I see a lot of turn-over is on the hill – this is where the dollars will be spent.  I will not even try to guess what the rotation will look like, although with any luck the name Senga will be part of it.    It is possible that Brandon Sproat will earn a spot, although I am not convinced that he will not need another half year at AAA.   He has moved quickly so far and deservedly so.      I would think Christian Scott will be in the mix.    Will they throw big bucks at guys like Burnes, Fried or Snell?   My guess is they will be in the news associated with at least one of them.

Lastly, I’ll keep on my stuck record track – they need more speed on the bench.   The ideal situation is to have a third catcher as well as a lefty hitter with some speed that can bunt!     There are a lot of games out of the 162 game schedule where that need arises (last night being one). 

A quick take on the trade deadline

Why is Ben Gamel still on the roster?   How long are we going to wait for Marte and will Marte be the same player when he gets back?     Couldn't they have found somebody that hits left handed that has some speed that would help in the late innings?    

Is Paul Blackburn better than Tylor Megill?   Maybe.  At least Blackburn threw more than 5 innings in his first Mets start. 

Bottom line:  I think they needed more than a bottom of the rotation starter and some better bench help.   The relievers they got were a little bit of headscratchers as well.  I was good with Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek, but the last days acquisitions didn't make a lot of sense.   Both Danny and Alex Young have been throwing very well of late.   Why not see if they can do a little more.    Also please put Megill in the bullpen as a 'long' man (3 innings max).   

A great baseball game (unless you like lots of offense) 

I'll close up by chatting about the great Rumble Ponies (AA) game I witnessed the other day with Mack's writes Paul and Mike S.  The Ponies won 1-0 on a warm humid Thursday evening with some great pitching, great defense and one timely hit by Ryan Clifford.   I love 1-0,well pitch ball games that are played in one hour and 57 minutes.    There were even three hot air balloons floating by that hovered just past the right field wall for a while. 

A couple defensive highlights to mention are two outstanding plays from shortstop Jeremiah Jackson (who I had never seen play the 6 position) – one a great 6-4-3 double play and the other that shows a 6-3 putout in the book but was anything but routine – fielded well behind 2^nd base with a terrific throw to beat the runner.     Second baseman Rowdy Jordan and catcher Drake Osborn combined on a heck of a play, throwing out a runner at home on a non-force play at the plate to save a run.    Osborn also threw out a would-be stolen base at second to squelch another mini rally.    

I read (or dreamed?) a pretty interesting note following the game (and unfortunately I cannot find the reference to link).  The crux of the note was that the management/coaching team in Binghamton is really trying to emphasize throwing first strikes and has a “R22K” philosophy in place.   “R22K” is ‘Rush to two strikes” – I took it that the idea is to really get the pitchers to try to a count with 2 strikes within the first three pitches.   That makes the whole at-bat easier as he batter is now defensive and there are still three pitches to put him away with your best stuff.    I really like that concept.    I had never heard it before, but pitchers that cannot throw strikes drive me bonkers.    Good stuff.      

Until next time  . . .

 

Reese Kaplan -- Unexpected Key Cogs to Mets 2024 Turnaround

A lot of things were going wrong for the Mets early in the season and by mid June it appeared as if it was a repeat of 2023’s outcome.  Then magic happened and all of the sudden the club is tied with San Diego for one of the wildcard slots in October.  A lot of credit can go to obvious talents like Francisco Lindor and enough time has been spent suggesting some others who have been good in the past were not quite delivering at the same level in 2024. 

However, a new question arises as to who has turned in a surprising season that has helped make the Mets’ ability to win some ballgames.  When the squad opened in April there were a lot of question marks and players whose abilities were highly questionable.  In some cases people simply performed better than expected and in others new players became a part of the big club who were not anticipated to be cogs when the year began.  People look at the results with awe and great surprise:

As has often been asserted about the decision to sign Harrison Bader, yes, the Mets needed better outfield defense and also had to do whatever they could to keep cleanup hitter Pete Alonso happy (including bringing his childhood friend onto the roster).  The problems with Bader have always been staying healthy and hitting with authority.  This year he’s done the first one while missing very little time but the surprising part has been his 22 point increment above his career batting average.  Many might want to see the Mets bring him back when his one-year contract ends.

After a surprisingly competent stint mostly as a spot starter in 2023 Jose Butto found himself on the outside looking in based upon the more veteran young pitchers Tylor Megill and David Peterson.  He did not make the roster when the year began and was not brought up to cover for other injured pitchers.  Instead he was thrust into a relief pitcher role which is something he hasn’t really done before in the minors nor the majors.  Shockingly he is boasting a 2.38 ERA with a WHIP under 1.00.  The team would surely have collapsed in July if not for his reinvention as a middle reliever.

The oft-injured Sean Reid-Foley is once again on the IL, but you can’t argue what his value was to the team while his rehab is currently taking place.  Over his 23 relief appearances whle he was walking a few too many, he went on the shelf with a 1.66 ERA.  Probably no one including his own family would have foreseen that stellar level of production.  The team is anxiously awaiting his return.

What can you say about currently injured Dedniel Nunez?  No one had him high on the prospect list and he was promoted more out of desperation than forecasting his major league success given his minor league middle-of-the-pack numbers.  What he did on the field over 24 appearances is delivering a 2.43 ERA, a WHIP of just 0.93 and averaging over 12 Ks per 9 IP.  They need him back in the worst way.

The powers that be felt Brett Baty was the long term answer at 3B.  Then they were forced to give Mark Vientos a chance when Baty wasn’t getting it done.  How has Vientos performed?  He’s leading the team in OPS, SLG, has hit 16 HRs to tie with Brandon Nimmo in 160 fewer at bats...even his defense while not threatening for Gold Glove recognition has certainly seemed improved.  Oh yeah, he’s hitting over .280, too.

Another newcomer mid season was veteran Jose Iglesias who is leading the team in batting average, playing his usual solid defensive game around the infield and in a way helped mitigate the long term loss of Starling Marte by allowing Jeff McNeil to play RF and the .333 hitting Iglesias to play more regularly.

When Tomas Nido was struggling and Francisco Alvarez was injured the Mets knew they needed help behind the plate.  Omar Narvaez never got on track so they turned to Yankee farmhand Luis Torrens to take on the second catching role.  All he’s done is turn in a .304 batting average while playing solid defense.  No one expected that kind of output when he was signed.

Surely, there are others who have had some hot streaks here and there both on offense and from the pitching mound, but where in the world would the Mets be in the 2024 season without these eight great and unexpected performances?

B/R - 2025 Mock Draft

 

2025 MLB Mock Draft

1. Miami Marlins: Ethan Holliday, SS, Stillwater High School (Oklahoma)
2. Colorado Rockies: Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M
3. Los Angeles Angels: Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson
4. Washington Nationals: Brady Ebel, SS, Corona High School (California)
5. Toronto Blue Jays: Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina
6. Texas Rangers: Coy James, SS, Davie High School (North Carolina)
7. Detroit Tigers: Ethan Petry, OF, South Carolina
8. San Francisco Giants: Dean Moss, OF, IMG Academy (Florida)
9. Cincinnati Reds: Chase Shores, RHP, LSU
10. Chicago White Sox: Devin Taylor, OF, Indiana
11. Oakland As: Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona High School (California)
12. Chicago Cubs: Lucas Franco, SS, Cinco Ranch High School (Texas)
13. Pittsburgh Pirates: Marcos Paz, Hebron High School (Texas)
14. Tampa Bay Rays: Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas
15. Arizona Diamondbacks: Gavin Turley, OF, Oregon State
16. SD Padres: Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson High School (Texas)
17. Houston Astros: Sean Gamble, SS/OF, IMG Academy (Florida)
18. Kansas City Royals: Ike Irish, C, Auburn
19. NY Mets: Xavier Neyens, 3B/RHP, Mount Vernon HS (Washington)
20. St. Louis Cardinals: Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
21. Boston Red Sox: Josh Gibbs, SS, Forsyth Central HS(Georgia)
22. Minnesota Twins: Josh Hammond, RHP, Westchester Country Day HS (North Carolina)
23. Seattle Mariners: Trent Caraway, 3B, Oregon State
24. Atlanta Braves: Brock Sell, OF, Tokay High School (California)
25. Milwaukee Brewers: Matt Scott, RHP, Stanford
26. New York Yankees: Cade Fisher, LHP, Florida
27. Los Angeles Dodgers: Mason White, SS, Arizona
28. Baltimore Orioles: Cam Leiter, RHP, Florida State
29. Cleveland Guardians: Billy Carlson, SS/RHP, Corona HS (California)
30. Philadelphia Phillies: Cannon Peebles, C, Tennessee

Best High School Player: Ethan Holliday

One benefit of being a freshman on the same high school team as the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft is it means scouts have been paying close attention to everything you've been doing for years.

While that could also be dangerous because any bad stretch will be scrutinized heavily, Holliday has largely been able to avoid any rough moments. He's already listed at 6'4" and 210 pounds as a 17-year-old.

Holliday has consistently shown big power from the left side of the plate. There is very little wasted movement in his swing, with terrific bat speed and a short stroke through the zone.

Even though Holliday is currently playing at shortstop, his size will almost certainly move him off the position as he gets into pro ball. He will either end up at third base or a corner outfield spot, where there is more than enough offensive potential for him to project as an All-Star-level player.

Jackson Holliday, Royce Lewis, Mickey Moniak and Brady Aiken are the only high school players taken No. 1 overall since 2013. Ethan has a great chance to join that group next year if he continues to put up strong performances on the showcase circuit.

Best College Player: Jace LaViolette

If Holliday doesn't go No. 1 overall, Jace LaViolette would seem to have the inside track on that spot. The Texas A&M standout was on the Golden Spikes watchlist going into the 2024 season and took steps forward from his freshman campaign to think he could win the award next year.

LaViolette hit .305/.449/.726 with 29 homers and seven stolen bases in 68 games. He has more speed and baserunning acumen than that stolen base total would suggest. The 20-year-old swiped 18 bags as a freshman.

But the real draw here is the power. LaViolette probably has the best combination of raw power and in-game power in the entire class. He gets to it with ease, as there is very little load and stride before he uncorks on the ball with solid plate coverage and pitch recognition.

LaViolette isn't a great athlete and might end up playing first base, but he's got the best offensive profile of any college hitter in the 2025 class that will make him an early pick.

Sleeper No. 1 Pick: Caden Bodine

Typically, a switch-hitting college catcher renowned for his bat-to-ball skills would be a lock to go No. 1 overall. 

Caden Bodine has done nothing but hit wherever he's played. He had a 1.065 OPS in 56 games as a freshman at Coastal Carolina and followed it up with a .933 OPS in 60 games last season.

Bodine is more of contact hitter who will spray the ball to all fields rather than someone who is likely to hit 25-plus homers, but he has enough power to project as more than just a slap hitter.

The biggest thing that might keep Bodine from being the No. 1 pick is his defense behind the plate. Specifically, if he has the arm strength to contain opponents from running. He has shown the ability to receive well and is an adequate framer.

If the team that ends up picking at the top of the draft believes strongly enough in Bodine as a long-term catcher in pro ball, he could end up being the top pick because the bar for offense at the position is so low and his hit tool would be special for virtually any spot on the field.

MACK - Sunday Morning Observations

 

Mack’s Observations –

 

            Yeah, I got a spin on the trade deadline deals.                                                

            Basically, this is like salt and pepper to the league’s best team (last two months). Nothing sexy. But no sex lost either.

            A real meat and three draft… no top 100 prospects were traded in the league.

            Bullpen wise, the Mets added four new relievers during the trading period… Phil Maton (cash/PTBNL), Ryne Stanek (Rhylan Thomas), Huascar Brazoban (Wilfredo Lara), and Tyler Zuber (Paul Gervase). All are righties. Zuber was immediately assigned to Syracuse leaving three new pitchers to join Edwin Diaz and Jose Butto as the core. Still, all are righties. 

Tylor Megill was “temporarily” assigned to the pen (whatever the hell that means) and yes, you guessed it… now six righties. This sure sounds like the Young boys (Alex and Danny) are safe for now since they are both lefties. Up in the air is Adam Ottavino.

It's going to be hard to find a more talented SP5 than Phil Blackburn and Jesse Winker is a ton better than the guy he replaced. I’ve already forgot that dude’s name.

Like I said… real great seasoning to a team full of Peter Luger steaks.

 

Let’s set up the 2025 team…

            By my count, OF/2B/SS Luisangel Acuna will be ready to join the team. So will 2B/3B Ronny Mauricio and there is a good chance that CF Drew Gilbert will be ready too. This sort of changes everything when it comes to the bats.

Gilbert would slip into the starting centerfielder, replacing the oft injured Harrison Bader. Mauricio could either replace Mark Vientos if you want to move him to either first base or DH and Acuna can become second baseman if you want to move Jeff McNeil to the outfield or put him in a corner alongside Gilbert and Brandon Nimmo.

This gives you very little wiggle room to add Juan Soto AND keep Pete.

I project Mark Vientos to be a 40+ home run hitter and Francisco Alvarez at around 35 max. Hell, Vientos could hit 50. This changes everything for the projected middle of the order. Either Alonso or Soto would make this quite the 3-4-5 combination. I can’t even imagine all four in the same lineup.

 

Transactions –

 

            Mets –

                        C Logan Porter has been outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse.

                        Tylor Megill to Triple-A Syracuse.

                        SP Paul Blackburn activated

                        Release RP Adrian Houser

                        Acquired RP Huascar Brazoban from Marlins for

                                                      IF Wilfredo Lara

                        Acquired RP Tyler Zuber from the Rays for Paul Gervase

                        Acquired SP Paul Blackburn from the As

LHP Jake Diekman designated for assignment

                        Obtain OF Jesse Winker from the Nats

                        Optioned DJ Stewart to Syracuse

 

            Syracuse –   

                        RHRP Tyler Zuber optioned to Syracuse

                        LHP Matt Gage optioned to Syracuse

                        Promoted RHP Jawilme Ramirez from A+ Brooklyn         

                        Designated C Logan Porter

                        Designated RP Ty Adcock

                        RP Shintaro Fujinami reassigned after clearing waivers

                        RHP Trey McLoughlin to Triple-A Syracuse

                        Traded RP Josh Walker to Pirated for

DSL LHP Nicolas Carreno

 

            Binghamton –

                        RHP Jonathan Pintaro - Transferred from A+ Binghamton

                        RHP Dakota Hawkins from A+ to Binghamton

                        Trade SP Tyler Stuart to the Nats

                        RHP Jordan Geber - from AA to AAA Syracuse

RHP Carlos Guzman - from AA to AAA Syracuse

 

            Brooklyn –              

                        LHP Zach Thornton promoted from St. Lucie

                        SP Kade Morris to Oakland in the Paul Blackburn trade,

IF Jacob Reimer off 7-day IL

IF William Lugo off 7-day IL

C Donovan Antonia assigned to FCL Mets

 

            St. Lucie –

                        RHP Irving Cota promoted from FCL Mets            

 

            DSL –

#1 2025 DSL prospect, C/2B/3B Elian Pena verbally commits to Mets for $5mil bonus… first time Mets have ever signed #1 DSL guppy

                        LHP David Medina signing with Mets

                        C Yeison Acosta signing with Mets

                        ??? Yunior Rampara Valdez signs with DSL Mets

 

Prospect Rating –

 

            St. Lucie RP Irving Cota from BLACK to BLUE

            Binghamton RP Bryce Montas de Oca from RED to BLUE

Tom Brennan: Mets Win; St Lucie Roster; Benge; Sproat G.O.A.T.; Marte Rehab

Carson Benge While Playing for Oklahoma State

First, the Mets win 5-1, with a strong 1st Mets outing from Paul Blackburn. 

Pete homered, Nimmo snaps his slump with 3 singles. Butto 2 scoreless, Maton a scoreless 9th. 13 Mets hits. Phillies lost again, and the Braves won, so the Braves are 5 games out, the Mets 7 games out, 53 games to go. 

Whether you want to consider the thought yet or not, the Mets winning the Division title is a possibility.

Continuing on:

I decided to look at the St Lucie roster, to see if perhaps I'd missed the Mets' first rounder, Carson Benge, the 6'1", 185 pound lefty hitter, being assigned there.  

He is not.  Nor is Jonathan Santucci, the Mets' 2nd round power pitcher, selected at # 46 overall.

However, I did see that the Lucie roster has 34 pitchers. THIRTY FOUR.

Incredibly, fourteen of those are on the injured list, most of them on the full year and 60 day IL, and Grant Hartwig was on the rehab list and one other pitcher (Gomez) was on the development list.

In the infield, 7 active infielders were listed, with an eighth (Marco Vargas) on the IL.

Outfielders? Just 2: 

Willy Fanas and Estarling Mercado.  

Yohairo Cuevas is listed as an infielder on the roster, one of the 7 active ones above, but he has in fact almost entirely played outfield this season.

Perhaps, after the 2024 offensive struggles of first rounders Parada and Houck, the Mets will choose at least for the next few weeks to have Benge play in unofficial FCL Mets “after-season” games and not rush him.

We'll keep an eye on any draftee assignments and let you know.  

IS SPROAT READY? DO YOU REALLY NEED TO ASK THAT QUESTION?

Brandon Sproat may have answered that question tonight. With his arm.

He went 5 shutout innings, 2 hits, no runs, THIRTEEN Ks for Binghamton.  

ELEVEN STRAIGHT K’s!  

Check out the video, then decide if he is ready:

Sproat Fans 11 Straight

Yes, he’s ready. No one wants to rush anyone.  But he’s ready.

MARTE REHAB GAMES NEXT WEEK

He just has to prove he can run the bases, but he has been running, so he is ready. He should start rehab games in St Lucie. 

Maybe he returns after this 10 game road trip. 

Then, assuming no one gets hurt in the interim, Ben Gamel goes. Ben has only gone 3 for 14 with 4 walks since his recall on a June 25. 

His salary per Spotrac is as follows, so at least he is earning some of it:

“Ben Gamel signed a 1 year , $1,200,000 contract with the Mets, including $1,200,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1,200,000. In 2024, Gamel will earn a base salary of $619,392, while carrying a total salary of $1,200,000. Gamel's adjusted salary with the Mets is $619,392.”

 

Reese Kaplan -- Do the Mets Have Enough for October Games?

The road trip just beginning is probably a make-or-break exercise for the 2024 version of the New York Mets.  It includes a lot of travel, a one-day rain makeup game in the midwest and a great many innings for players brand new or very recently added to the roster. 

Right now the starting lineup is pretty much the same as it has been.  It will contain Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Martinez, Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Alvarez, Harrison Bader and the right fielder of the day.  

There will be days when McNeil is out there with Jose Iglesias manning 2B, days when Jesse Winker or Ben Gamel could be out there and at some point days when Starling Marte returns from his very long stint on the IL.

The rotation is where it gets truly interesting.  Obviously Paul Blackburn is becoming a part of the starting five with the six-man rotation on injury hiatus.  Word has filtered out that Tylor Megill is going to make a late attempt at converting from poor starter to acceptable reliever, working fewer innings but probably throwing at a higher velocity knowing he wasn’t expected to cover 5 or more innings at a clip. 

Of course, the move to the pen for Megill may be on a very short leash as Sean Reid-Foley and Reed Garrett have begun their injury rehab assignments.  Then again, the Young twins could also be on an Uber ride back to Syracuse, too.  Matt Gage is not exactly on firm ground yet either.  Huascar Brazoban is the only newcomer whose role is not in question. 

So, what will it take for the Mets to continue the strong July into August and September?  The hitting has improved greatly since earlier in the year but the pitching is very much less predictable.  For example, after a totally solid start by Luis Severino he just turned around and coughed up a terrible one.  Sean Manaea is living off his amazing last start, but he’s had ups and downs as well.  

Jose Quintana has been better lately than he was earlier in the year but not exactly a sure thing when he takes the mound.  David Peterson is still better than many anticipated but we’ve seen solid stretches from him in the past only to have him falter.  Christian Scott is still MIA and Kodai Senga’s 5.1 inning 2024 season is pretty much over. No one knows what to expect from Paul Blackburn. 

On offense, while Jeff McNeil, Mark Vientos and Francisco Lindor have improved significantly, Pete Alonso has not been performing at his top-of-the-league slugger level.  J.D. Martinez has helped teammates with focus and follow through but hasn’t carried it over to his own game.  Brandon Nimmo is in a horrific slump.  

Harrison Bader has been quite good but his history suggests it may not be sustainable.  The bench is improved with Winker over D.J. Stewart, but on the whole it’s not that strong should injuries or slumps demand the substitutes to get more playing time. 

Right now I think if the team plays as if it is going to play each game like it’s a post season necessity, the cream will rise to the top.  If instead they are going through the motions then they could find themselves sitting on the sofa in October instead of in the dugout.  

Tom Brennan: Mets-Angels Weekend Match Up; Minors High Points

   

  METS VS. HALOS

So, these here Metsies are out in Tinseltown to face the Angelinas.

Should be a breeze, right?  No Ohtani, no Trout, mostly lousy pitching….

But, remember when Steve Carlton was 27-10 and the rest of his team was 32-93?  It matters who is taking the hill for the opposition.

34 year old lefty Tyler Anderson, their ace of sorts, is pitching Friday night.

The 34 year old lefty is just 8-9, but in 131 innings has a 2.96 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.  In other words, Carlton Lite. A .500 career pitcher at 58-58, but he was 15-5 in 2022.

Saturday, their next best starter in Jose Soriano, who is 6-7, 3.69 with a 1.21 WHIP in 98 innings.  The 25 year old righty was a solid reliever in 2023 in his rookie campaign before converting to a starter in 2024. Unlike the Mets’ overall lack of success with DSL pitchers, he started out in the DSL way back in 2016 before finally being promoted to the majors in early 2023. He is a success story so far.

Those two hurlers have combined for just 179 hits allowed in 231 innings.

Hunter Strickland (remember him? He was a 2020 Met for all of 3.1 IP) has been in 49 games, 51 innings, 3.35, 0.98. 35 year old righty with a very solid relief career.

Speaking of relief, the Mets might get some on Sunday, when Griffin Canning (3-10, 5.25) pitches.

But the Mets are getting most of the better part of the Angels’ rotation, quite naturally.

Hitting-wise, they are not nearly as potent as the Mets. 

But the Angels have some tools.

Their best hitter is a catcher who has hit even better than Francisco Alvarez in his young career. 

24 year old West Islip NY native Logan O’Hoppe has 16 HRs, and is .280/.333/.471 in 93 games in 2024. In 525 career at bats, 30 HRs, 77 RBIs, .265. Alvarez, in 567 career at bats, is 31/90, but just .224. (How did the sleepy Mets draft squad miss this 2018 23rd rounder right in their own back yard)?

3B Luis Rengifo, a 27 y/o switch hitter, is hitting a low-powered .302. But he has 24 steals, so he is a tough opponent. Zach Neto at SS is good too.

Ex-Met Kevin Pillar shockingly is hitting .300 in 160 at bats.  Good for Pillar.

All said, the Mets better win at least 2 of 3 against this weaker opponent. 

It would have been nice if Kodai Senga was starting one of these 3 games, huh? Oh, well…

MINORS HIGHLIGHTS

Drew Gilbert had 2 doubles and a walk for Syracuse.  Encouraging.

Recently acquired Tyler Zuber gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in his inning of work and took the loss.

Luke Ritter had 4 RBIs, giving him an IL-leading 77. The second highest International League player has 69.

Three hitters in the very hitter-friendly AAA PCL have a few more RBIs than Ritter, so Ritter is 4th highest in RBIs in the minors in 2024, and has his average up to .267. Keeps getting better. Hitting .333 in 81 at bats after June, with 5 HRs and 23 RBIs.

Nick Morabito (.288 in Brooklyn, and .313 overall, with 46 steals) and St Lucie’s 19 year old Boston Baro (.288 in St Lucie) are both continuing to rock. Baro is 4th in the FSL in hitting, but the top 3 are all in the mid to upper .320s, so he won’t catch them.

Kevin Parada is slightly over .300 after June, going 1 for 2 and a walk in Binghamton’s 1-0 win last night. So, some positive Parada signs, but Ks need to come down.

Reese Kaplan -- As the Dust Settles It Was a Good July for POBO

Well, come Tuesday morning when I posted about Stearns cutting his losses by jettisoning players who no longer fit the plans moving forward we didn’t know who was coming on board to replace them.

The Adrian Houser DFA news was a bit surprising giving their mutual Milwaukee history together, but his outright release had more to do with saving money on the rest of his paycheck as opposed to him refusing an assignment to AAA.  Still, it was a headline not many of us would have predicted, presuming that Stearns would have paid down and found a willing trade partner to take Houser. 

Ty Adcock, well, we didn’t see enough of him to draw conclusions one way or the other.  His games and 4.1 innings pitched resulted in a 14.54 ERA but to be fair it’s a bit unfair to judge a player based upon such a small sample size.  Still, he wasn’t exactly lighting up headlines in Syracuse either, having gone potentially one of the worst 3.21 ERAs you’ve ever seen.  

In 14 innings of work he gave up 20 hits, struck out 15 but walked 7.  That worked out to a WHIP of 1.93.  Sorry, but if that’s your IMPROVED minor league performance compared to other stops along the climb to the majors, then it’s not a surprise he was let go to make room for others needing to be added to the 40-man roster.

Of all of the moves made by David Stearns this midway period, the one that probably caught a number of people off guard was the Marlins’ old rookie last year by the name of Huascar Brazoban who debuted for Florida at age 32.  In 27 games in the 2022 season he finished with a 3.09 ERA which led him to a more prominent role in 2023.  That year he was in 57 games and while the ERA climbed by a full run, his WHIP improved.  

This season has been his best as the now 34 year old beanpole (6’3 and 155 pounds!) has a 2.84 ERA, a WHIP a hair over 1.00 and a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio.  The best part is the Mets control him not just for the remainder of 2024, but for 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 before becoming eligible to be a free agent in 2029.  Oh yeah, he earns under $800K.  Say what you will about Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Matt Gage or Jesse Winker...this deal looks like the hidden gem of them all.

As the Mets continue their quest for October baseball there are a number of players still on the roster that people earlier in the season (myself included) were fairly certain would be wearing different uniforms come August.  Free agents-to-be Pete Alonso, J.D. Martinez, Harrison Bader, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and opt-out candidate Sean Manaea are still listening to Jose Iglesias sing OMG while they are in the locker room.   

While the reluctance to break up what’s currently working makes sense as they continue to fight for a postseason berth, there will come a time at year’s end when either a lot of new contracts will have to be written or a lot of frequent flyer miles will be earned as folks head out of town. 

No one told David Stearns it was going to be easy, but right now I think he hit that almost perfect balance between buying and preserving the pieces that got him to where they are right now.  We have two months to evaluate how well that strategy worked and then post World Series comes a possible mass exodus.  The business of baseball is never boring.  

Tom Brennan: Deadline Deals and Other Truly Great Mets Stuff

 HE SHOULD BE SMILING, EVEN THOUGH THE METS LOST WEDNESDAY 

 

 When the Mets’ depleted pen coughed up a 9th inning win in London to the Phillies on June 9, the Mets fell to 28-36, and they trailed Philly by 16.5 games. After Wednesday’s action, that gap is just 8 games with 54 games to go.

A FLURRY OF INTELLIGENT DEALS

Deals of modest, but collectively quite meaningful, incremental quality were made by David Stearns this week. 

I will say this, I am very impressed.

They traded none of their significant prospects, first of all.

Stearns’ job was enormously complicated by recent injuries to Garrett, Nunez, Senga, and Scott. Marte and Foley also have had delayed returns.

Losses then wins then losses by the Mets before the July 30 deadline. 

What to make of it all? 

Prior administrations would likely have given us something limited and half-arsed, and the team would have been floundering. 

Not Stearns. He earned his healthy paycheck.

In a span of a week, he DFA’d Diekman and Houser.The old Mets wouldnot have done that. And DFA’d Fujinami and Walker in AAA.

Then, realizing he needed to get Stewart’s 3 month “hit starvation diet” off the roster, too, he demoted Stewart and acquired Jesse Winker for a decent prospect pitcher in Tyler Stuart, whose ceiling remains unclear, and who likely would not be ready to contribute to the MLB team in a major way for perhaps late 2025 or in 2026.

 - Big upgrade, making the potent offense even more ferocious.

Recently, he astutely acquired Phil Maton for the depleted bullpen.

Then he got Ryne Stanek for Rylan Thomas, another decent pen arm acquired in exchange for a potential future Dave Magadan in Thomas.

On Trade Deadline Tuesday, he then got THREE MORE PITCHERS!

First, the Rays dealt righty reliever Tyler Zuber to the Mets for 6’10” righty minor leaguer (and my strikeout guy) Paul Gervase. Zuber hopefully can provide some quality innings for the Mets pen.  Zuber is a little wild, but improved in 2024, and missed all of 2022 with a shoulder impingement, and he pitched well (mostly in the minors) in relief this year. He is 29.

Second, and perhaps more significant, minor league 2023 Mets 3rd rounder pitcher Kade Morris is off to Oakland in exchange for starter Paul Blackburn. Paul was 4-2, 4.41 in 51 IP so far this season in 9 starts  

He made 8 starts, then missed 10 weeks, and recently returned and threw 5 innings. He is 30, a righty, and has an ERA of about 4.35 over the past 3 years. A very good get to address the Mets’ current rotation needs. Morris was the Mets # 25 prospect, and likely would have slipped closer to # 30 after the recent draft.

Third, acquired by Stearns was Marlins reliever Huascar Brazoban, who had thrown 30.2 IP in 20 outings, with a  2.93 ERA while striking out slightly over a quarter of the batters he faced, and low walks.

The Mets gave up Wilfredo Lara. I’d do that deal any day.

 to get immediate quality relief help. Lara may be a good IF in the future, but several Mets minors infielders are IMO ranked higher. 

Good job, Stearns.

AAA Lefty Josh Walker got traded after his Mets’ DFA.  The Pirates in return gave the Mets a Nicolas Carreno, who is 18. He was extremely wild last year, and wild in his first month this year. In month # 2 in July, he has thrown 14 innings, allowed 5 hits, 8 walks, 4 HBP, 18 Ks.

In all, 36 Ks in 22 IP this year. Listed at 5’10”, 155, and he is a lefty. Is he any good? Good question. Ask me again in 3 years.

Fujinami was not grabbed by anyone, and is off the 40 man and back in Syracuse. And the same with Joey Lucchesi.

Overall, if one was operating within a tight budget right after several recent injuries, I give Stearns a solid A. What do you give him?  

No Snell? Oh, well. No Crochet? Darn.

Of course, since you can’t fit a size 29 roster in a size 26 shoe. So, Tyler Zuber and Matt Gage have been optioned to Syracuse, to clear roster space for Huascar Brazobán.  

The Mets will make another move on Friday for the addition to the roster of starter Paul Blackburn, joining the team in LA. Likely that will (again) be Tylor Megill, who is in the bullpen but will stay stretched out as a starter, if and when needed.

METS WIN TUESDAY, 2-0

Sean Manaea was brilliant, 7 scoreless, 11 Ks. Looks like a viable post season starter to me. And Mark “Mike Schmidt” Vientos hit his 15th in 62 games. Did I mention Mark has 2 errors in 62 games? Gold Glove candidate, perhaps?

METS LOSE WEDNESDAY, 8-3

Luis Severino didn’t pitch well, the Mets didn’t hit well.

Mark Vientos hit a HR in both games, giving him 16 (about one every 4 games), and has made 3 errors. Mike Schmidt, I tell ya.

A Guy Chuck Wepner, the Bayonne Bleeder, Could Love

I picked on James McCann a lot for his large contract and low production with the Mets. But…

Did you see the other day that McCann was hit in the nose by a 95 mile an hour FB? He stayed in the game after they plugged up his heavily bleeding nose. Ran the bases, and caught the rest of the game.Got an x-ray later and found a few fractures in his nose. He is not going on the injured list, but he’s going to continue to play. That is tough. Bravo.

MINORS PITCHING GEMS

Sean Reid Foley fanned the side in his one inning of AA work. 

Prior to him, Joander Suarez threw six innings of 1 hit, no walk, 9 K ball. This seems to be the Time of the season when he tosses incredible games.

And Jonah Tong fanned 10 in 5.1 IP. Glad he wasn’t traded. I like that 13+ Ks per 9 innings stuff.

Joey Lucchesi, though, got hit hard. He’s been sinking.