NFT: Mets cut ties with OF Eric Young Jr

Adam Rubin ‏@AdamRubinESPN 1h1 hour ago
For those who missed it overnight, New Britain friends sent video of Rule 5 pick Sean Gilmartin's 9-K game in April:
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Definitely a good gamble considering he doesn't cost anything.

Random question - is there still an embargo on Mets associated employees and WFAN? Sandy's interviews with Francesa were always really good and I actually found Sandy to be pretty forthright as well.

I didn't know the Mets took their toys and went home.. how very Jets like.. sad.

because they wouldn't let the SNY broadcasters on with him either, but I think they eventually caved on that part of it. I definitely heard Ron Darling on with him this week, but I'm assuming the employee embargo is still going strong? Also in fairness Francesa definitely implied there was blame on all sides (Yankees, WFAN, Mets) and that everyone involved was needlessly being petty.

In comment 12030829 feelflows said:

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I didn't know the Mets took their toys and went home.. how very Jets like.. sad.

Joe and Evan complain about this all the time.

It's amazing how terrible the Mets are at running a business that depends on fan support. These owners are too stupid to stay in control in any just world.

Adam Rubin ‏@AdamRubinESPN 39m39 minutes ago
#Mets officially announce signing of LHP Scott Rice to minor league deal. He's expected to be ready for season.

In comment 12030913 sphinx said:

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Adam Rubin ‏@AdamRubinESPN 39m39 minutes ago #Mets officially announce signing of LHP Scott Rice to minor league deal. He's expected to be ready for season.

He sucks. Really hope he doesn't make the team.

Rice was a nice "story" 2 years ago but he's awful. He should never pitch above Vegas again.

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In comment 12031039 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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73 games but 51 total innings. If that's overworked he wasn't cut out for a long MLB career to begin with. He also was much better second half in 2013 so "overwork" seems like a BS excuse.

that year, so maybe he wasn't technically overused, but for his skill level he definitely was.

He pitched practically every other game after a 13 year minor league career.

that is the guy who is your first call to the bullpen?

In comment 12031062 pjcas18 said:

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that year, so maybe he wasn't technically overused, but for his skill level he definitely was. He pitched practically every other game after a 13 year minor league career. that is the guy who is your first call to the bullpen?

PJ,
I'd argue that's 2 different issues. He was BETTER second half so if he was overworked it didn't show up in his performance. I don't "love" Terry Collins but realistically can you really say you or I would use a guy LESS if he's pitching BETTER when your job is on the line? I know I wouldn't. I wouldn't give 2 shits about how he looks in 2014 etc

only augmenting what you said.

but he was also used far less 2nd half.

He had like 50 appearances in the first half, who knows that was probably record pace.

He only had 24 appearances the second half.

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Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 43s43 seconds ago jed lowrie popularity index high. 4 different all-star from 3 teams have reached out to lowrie to recruit him to their team

I know many are soured off his season last year, but he still posted almost 2 WAR according to FG, and they had it as one of his best defensive seasons. For a reasonable 2 year deal they could do a lot worse. I'd also be fine with Drew on a 1 year deal.

In comment 12031180 Eric on Li said:

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Quote: Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 43s43 seconds ago jed lowrie popularity index high. 4 different all-star from 3 teams have reached out to lowrie to recruit him to their team I know many are soured off his season last year, but he still posted almost 2 WAR according to FG, and they had it as one of his best defensive seasons. For a reasonable 2 year deal they could do a lot worse. I'd also be fine with Drew on a 1 year deal.

Problem is right now he's looking for 3 years and he apparently said he's willing to play all over the field to do so. The Mets can't really offer him playing time anywhere else so it's tough to see them being the best fit. Astros reportedly offered 2 (and he's from the area) and he balked (which is why they are talking to Drew). I wouldn't mind Lowrie at the right price just don't see it being us.

but maybe I'm wrong.

It will be really interesting to see what Drew gets this year. Boras' tactics last year were insane and often criticized (rightfully so because he definitely didn't help his client's performance) but where it had seemed like the Mets made a great decision last year it may turn out that they would have been better off caving to the 2nd year. I have a hard time believing Drew wouldn't have been an upgrade over Tejada/Wilmer if he'd have had a normal Spring, and here we are 1 year later in a position where it would be good to get him on a 1 year deal.

Drew for a few million bucks and cutting Tejada. He might even be able to platoon with Flores a bit and would offer excellent late inning defense. The problem is, Collins would play Drew every day and we would have a black hole in the lineup and Flores would be screwed again. Steamer has Flores as a 2.5 WAR player next year for free. He's still the best option available.

In comment 12031439 ZGiants98 said:

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Drew for a few million bucks and cutting Tejada. He might even be able to platoon with Flores a bit and would offer excellent late inning defense. The problem is, Collins would play Drew every day and we would have a black hole in the lineup and Flores would be screwed again. Steamer has Flores as a 2.5 WAR player next year for free. He's still the best option available.

"Gotta get Stephen going" "he's done it before" "this guy was an impact player for a championship ballclub" "Wilmer will get his chances"

..Wilmer is going to be the guy Collins keeps trying to "get going" and it's going to make me nauseous.

"Well, we know Wilmer is swinging the bat well but we want to get Ruben going here"

And in all honesty, Ruben Tejada wasn't among the top 5 reasons why the team didn't win last year. I never want to see him start another game, like everyone else, but him being awful became a lightning bolt rally cry for fans simply because we all saw it coming and there was no counter-argument justifying his place in the lineup. Sandy himself was knocking Tejada for months leading up to the season. Flores surprising the majority of the baseball writers/observers and turning into an average to above average every day SS will be nice from an asset value standpoint, and certainly provides more room for fans to hope, but it's hard to see how taking that risk is acceptable given the lack of other improvements elsewhere.

Last year they were 22-28 on Memorial day. Granderson, Wright, and TdA had barely done anything. The BP was unsettled and LF was a mess.

In June the bullpen got fixed, Granderson had a good May/great June/ok July, TdA had a good July, Duda had great June/July, team overall had it's best offensive months May/June/July and they were 52-57 on August 1st. The high water mark of the season was 15-11, and after that the closest the team got to .500 was where they ended up (4 games under .500).

My point here isn't to be negative or say this team can't win next year. I believe the opposite actually, that they're very close and have somewhat underachieved - especially if their pitching is as special as it can be next year. But looking at the numbers realistically there's a razor thin margin for error. Not only do they need Wright and Granderson to bounce back, but also Cuddyer to stay healthy, while also needing the guys who played great last year to not regress. Harvey is a huge boost of enthusiasm that may be able to re-energize the entire roster, but it's hard to see how the upside on this team is anything past 85 wins as currently constructed.

I know this is a re-hash of old arguments and nothing that's particularly interesting or new, but in light of how active the winter meetings were in comparison to how inactive the Mets were, it's starting to feel a lot like 2014 again. Gee saga is this year's Ike Davis. Will Stephen Drew be this year's Jan 2014 Stephen Drew or Jan 2013 Michael Bourn? Flores/Tejada are still working hard to hopefully, maybe, magically turn into something. So many prospects we're seeing multiple guys plucked in the rule 5, but none that can be fairly traded for immediate help. Will this January be any different than all the others?

In comment 12031441 DanMetroMan said:

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In comment 12031439 ZGiants98 said: Quote: Drew for a few million bucks and cutting Tejada. He might even be able to platoon with Flores a bit and would offer excellent late inning defense. The problem is, Collins would play Drew every day and we would have a black hole in the lineup and Flores would be screwed again. Steamer has Flores as a 2.5 WAR player next year for free. He's still the best option available. "Gotta get Stephen going" "he's done it before" "this guy was an impact player for a championship ballclub" "Wilmer will get his chances"

Lol. Exactly

Is that the majority of the talent we worked so hard to accumulate has now either arrived and gotten over the hump(deGrom, Wheeler, TDA, Flores, MDD, Kirk, Mejia, familia, black, Edgin) or have reached AAA and are now ready to offer true depth to this team. We didn't have that last year, sorry. Almost every player I mentioned had strong second halves last year. We simply didn't have the luxury or calling up a Matz or a Syndergaard last year or a Montero who is now 100 percent ready in my mind. MDD, Plawecki, Reynolds, Herrera, and Nimmo later offer this team real options if disaster strikes. That's why I don't see the margin of error as small as Eric believes. If Flores fulfills his potential I see a VERY sold lineup and a top 5 pitching staff top to bottom. That should put us in the wild card mix. We clearly aren't better than the Nats just yet and that's ok. I'm excited to get this going.

This week in winter ball Flores has gone 7-21, with a homerun, 4 RBI's batting cleanup. He has now decided to add basestealing ability into his arsenal, swiping 3 bags this week. Ho hum....

Experts said he's slower than molasses... In January.

And this might come off over the top again and it's not my intent, is that I'm pretty sure if we traded for Starlin Castro AND signed Cuddyer, the majority of people would be thrilled and think we did enough to get over the hump.

Steamer has Castro as a .270, 12 homerun, 60ish RBI player in Wrigley next year. Doesn't everyone believe Flores can put up those numbers? He already hit 6 in less then half a season last year. Steamer does... and they are historically ridiculously conservative, and are still saying Flores will hit 14 in less time.

horse to death), but this is usually where teams bring in a big time (or at least close to big time) player to get them over the hump. No, it's not Cuddyer. No, it's not Granderson. At this point, those two are veteran, role players that you "hope" to get something out of. But the Mets are in the exact position to sign a big player to make them contenders. As currently constructed, they are a fringe baseball team that may or may not make the playoffs each year. That's not the type of rebuild I'm looking for.

Unfortunately, this ownership and FO just won't get that big time player unless its for pennies on the dollar...which means never. I'd love to excited for this team but it's so hard to when they operate like they are on food stamps.

As you said, there is a very small margin for error. They can very easily be just as bad next year. A lot easier than they can be much better. This team has worn me out.

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In comment 12032005 ZGiants98 said:

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He already hit 6 in less then half a season last year. Steamer does...

Meh, that's not impressive.

Now, Tejada, he had twice as many ABs as Flores did and Tejada hit 5 HRs. Now that really gets the attention of the manager. What a stud that Ruben is.

it actually really bothers me that the Mets only seem to be focusing on shortstop. Why not try to upgrade another position so you can keep Flores in the lineup? What the fuck more does this kid have to do?

They have such tunnel vision when it comes to Flores and the SS position.

That adding 4-5 wins to our Pythagorean record(82 true record) by swapping negative WAR Dillon gee for Harvey, Chris Young for Cuddyer, German or our worst reliever for Parnell, along with all the second half improvements from countless players, and added depth in AAA, AND even somewhat improvemt from Wright is unreasonable.

In comment 12032014 PhiPsi125 said:

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In comment 12032005 ZGiants98 said: Quote: He already hit 6 in less then half a season last year. Steamer does... Meh, that's not impressive. Now, Tejada, he had twice as many ABs as Flores did and Tejada hit 5 HRs. Now that really gets the attention of the manager. What a stud that Ruben is.

Lol. Exactly.

Flores for Tejada of course.

If I was completely honest I would have liked a better option then Cuddyer. Flores actually probably offers us as much as any option out there at SS. Clearly we could have traded for Kemp, Heyward, Cespedes, Upton, ect. But if Cuddyer stays healthy he has a chance to offer as much as any of them in the short term and I'm glad we have him vs us not doing anything

trading skills should be tested here again with Gee. Teams know they want to move him and the Reds just got a very nice return for a similar player in Simon and Miley is better but not significantly so and he brought back a good package. I'm not as confident as I would normally be given how many similar guys are available unlike Byrd/Beltran/Dickey being premium players.

That much I understand. It just makes me sad that our big signing is a 36 year old with a career stat line of .279/.347/.466/.813. I don't pay too much attention to his time in CO since his stats were obviously inflated.

But this is the time. Now is when the Mets should be going all out. They could do it and STILL have a low payroll for a NY team. I just feel like they are going to waste away prime years because...well, you know. It's a business model I just don't understand.

Like I said, they are a fringe team that may contend for a WC. And a lot has to go right for that to happen. Hopefully it does. Otherwise, they may have to bring in the fences again, lol.

paper they could easily be anywhere from a 75 win team to an 85 win team.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang will be posted on Monday.
After Kang is posted, teams will be able to bid on the ability to negotiate exclusively with the 27-year-old. And at least a handful of teams are expected to show interest, as Kang batted .354 with 39 home runs and 115 RBI with the Nexen Heroes of the KBO this past season. The Mets and Giants are at least two teams expected to pursue the infielder.
Source: Ken Rosenthal on Twitter
Dec 13 - 5:22 PM

But what is the competition equivalent of the KBO? AAA?

I'm kind of torn on this. It would be nice to see the Mets be aggressive and get something like this done because I think if they sign this guy, there's no way Tejada keeps getting to play but I do kind of want to see Flores get a chance.

Upgrading in a bigger way elsewhere would have made it much easier to not be so worried (or unenthused) about going into the season for the 2nd straight year with an option they'd already publicly criticized. Or easier to trade Murphy and play Wilmer at 2B, since they not interested in signing Murphy long term anyway. This roster is begging for the addition of a 1 reliable, everyday, all star level player who could be part of a core and not just a stop gap.

Don't get me wrong, I like Cuddyer, but I also liked Moises Alou. At a certain point in guys' careers no matter how much you like them it's hard to fully count on them. Yanks are in the same boat with Beltran.

Ultimately I think it gets to Dan's point about a lack of creativity and an aversion to risk. Every decision is logical to a fault. Sometimes you need to take a bigger calculated risk. Tulo, Kemp, Andrus, Hanley, CarGo, even Andrew Miller or Robertson. There were guys available, in their primes, who have the ability to be true impact players. Why not add one before Wright and Granderson get any further from their respective primes?

In comment 12031975 ZGiants98 said:

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This week in winter ball Flores has gone 7-21, with a homerun, 4 RBI's batting cleanup. He has now decided to add basestealing ability into his arsenal, swiping 3 bags this week. Ho hum....

His offense has never been an issue - it's the defense that concerns people

In comment 12032130 speedywheels said:

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In comment 12031975 ZGiants98 said: Quote: This week in winter ball Flores has gone 7-21, with a homerun, 4 RBI's batting cleanup. He has now decided to add basestealing ability into his arsenal, swiping 3 bags this week. Ho hum.... His offense has never been an issue - it's the defense that concerns people

I get your point but it still doesn't make any sense. They are obviously not going to pony up for a game changer, so they would rather have a defensive stud that doesnt hit very well? For an offensively starved team? Talk about ass backwards. Flores isnt that bad in the field.

In comment 12032126 arcarsenal said:

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But what is the competition equivalent of the KBO? AAA? I'm kind of torn on this. It would be nice to see the Mets be aggressive and get something like this done because I think if they sign this guy, there's no way Tejada keeps getting to play but I do kind of want to see Flores get a chance.

I'd pass on this guy. The Mets won't "move on" for quite a while if he sucks. He screams Kaz Matsui to me. HR's were up something insane in Korea like 60% league wide aka juiced ball.

As for the ball changes, I suspect that actually has more to do with the offensive increase than foreign hitters. Byung-ho Park led the league in home runs in 2012, hitting 31, and 2013, hitting 37. Park continued to lead the league in home runs in 2014 with an astonishing 52. This trend is not limited to just Park. The aforementioned Jung-Ho Kang hit 25 home runs in 2012, 22 home runs in 2013, and then saw a massive spike in 2014, hitting 39 home runs. After years of hitting between twelve to eighteen home runs per year, Jeong-gwon Park set a career high mark in 2014, hitting 27 home runs. After hitting single digit home runs from 2011-2013, Taek-geun Lee hit a career best 21 home runs in 2014. While not every player began smashing their single-season home run records, many did top their previous mark with others matching or coming close. What does any of this have to do with Kwang-hyun Kim? This paints his 3.33 ERA and home run rate of 0.5 per nine innings pitched as something to be very impressed by. Allowing ten home runs and just sixty-two runs in 167.2 innings pitched during the league�s offensive peak really speaks for itself.

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Perhaps the biggest compliment of Kwang-hyun Kim�s 2014 is his home run rate of 0.5 per nine innings pitched, third among starting pitchers. Why is this so impressive? 2014 has resulted in an offensive explosion, namely a massive increase in home runs, but overall an increase in offensive effectiveness. 2014 resulted in 1,151 home runs, a massive increase from 2013�s total of 798 home runs. General run production was up, going from 2013�s run total of 5,353 to 2014�s run total of 6,419. There are two causes to attribute to this offensive explosion: raising the maximum number of foreign players from two to three, one of which must be a position player, and offensive-friendly ball changes. Seven non-Korean players hit ten or more home runs in 2014, but they are scattered about the home run list, rather than being clustered together at the top. This may make it appear like the influx of foreign hitters did not add to the game�s offensive productivity, but with no foreigners (Hee-Seop Choi was a MLB prospect, but is Korean) and rather low home run totals, both specifically and in general, it is hard to discount the effect foreign hitters have had in the increase in offense.

In comment 12032150 DanMetroMan said:

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In comment 12032126 arcarsenal said: Quote: But what is the competition equivalent of the KBO? AAA? I'm kind of torn on this. It would be nice to see the Mets be aggressive and get something like this done because I think if they sign this guy, there's no way Tejada keeps getting to play but I do kind of want to see Flores get a chance. I'd pass on this guy. The Mets won't "move on" for quite a while if he sucks. He screams Kaz Matsui to me. HR's were up something insane in Korea like 60% league wide aka juiced ball.

Yeah, that's exactly what I said. Kazuo part 2. I would rather just go Flores if we can't pry Miller away from SEA.

In comment 12032015 PhiPsi125 said:

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it actually really bothers me that the Mets only seem to be focusing on shortstop. Why not try to upgrade another position so you can keep Flores in the lineup? What the fuck more does this kid have to do? They have such tunnel vision when it comes to Flores and the SS position.

What position do you want them to improve besides 2b? Not to hate on Flores but its not like he set the world on fire in his opportunities last year. He's better than Tejeda but we should still be looking for better

Agreed across the board. I want Miller if he can be had for a Montero + package otherwise I'd go with Flores. Kang really scares me both being a bust and how long they would take to move on. If he cost say 10 million (random number) to bid and 10 per to sign you know he'd be the starting SS for at least 1.5 seasons we all know this.

In comment 12032139 PhiPsi125 said:

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In comment 12032130 speedywheels said: Quote: In comment 12031975 ZGiants98 said: Quote: This week in winter ball Flores has gone 7-21, with a homerun, 4 RBI's batting cleanup. He has now decided to add basestealing ability into his arsenal, swiping 3 bags this week. Ho hum.... His offense has never been an issue - it's the defense that concerns people I get your point but it still doesn't make any sense. They are obviously not going to pony up for a game changer, so they would rather have a defensive stud that doesnt hit very well? For an offensively starved team? Talk about ass backwards. Flores isnt that bad in the field.

sandy has said offense is more important to there search for ss upgrade with the young strike out staff we have

While his power numbers are impressive, they need to be looked at in their proper context. The shortstop did not have an MVP-caliber season against the combined pitching staffs of the NL and AL All-Star Teams, or in stadiums near the bottom of the park effect rankings in terms of runs, hits, and home runs allowed. While his batting line is impressive, he compiled it against KBO pitchers, generally regarded as less talented than their Japanese and MLB counterparts. In fact, in 2014, the KBO is experiencing an offensive explosion like never before. The league has experienced a roughly 40% increase in runs scored compared to the 2012 season and a roughly 80% increase in home runs, according to study author and former MLB and KBO pitcher Ryan Sadowski. This seems largely due to a change in the game-official KBO baseball.

This is not to say that Kang's numbers are hollow and have no meaning, but that the increase in his power numbers do not necessarily reflect improvement as a player. In 2012, according to the above-mentioned research, Kang was directly responsible for 21% of the runs scored by Nexen; in 2014, he was directly responsible for only 17%, despite the across-the-board increase in his numbers.

In addition, the Nexen Heroes play their home games at Mokdong Stadium, one of the smaller parks in Korea. Both right and left field are 322 feet from home plate, and the deepest part of the park, dead center, is only 387 feet away. Among the primary parks that KBO teams use, only Masan Baseball Stadium, home of the recently formed NC Dinos, is smaller (318 feet down the lines and 381 feet to dead center). By comparison, Citizens Bank is 330 feet down the lines and 409 feet at its deepest part; Yankee Stadium is 318 feet in left and 408 feet at its deepest part. Many of the home runs that Kang and many other Korean hitters hit in Korea would otherwise be fly balls in most stadiums in the U.S. It is important to note, however, that many of Kang's home runs could be considered "towering," and are still traveling when they pass out of the field of play. I can't say for sure whether or not, on average, these towering shots have enough on them to pass for MLB home runs, but it wouldn't be accurate to call all of Kang's home runs a product of smaller park dimensions.
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