Let's chit chat here and keep everything on this thread for both games today. Here are the starting pitcher matchups for both games followed by the starting lineups for both clubs for Game #1:
the Mets would be entitled to an extra pick if Alvarez were to get ROY. (there are no exceptions to teams with a certain payroll, are there?)
So, not only would it be ridiculously stupid from a baseball perspective to send Alvarez down, it would be from a team building perspective. Outman has fallen back down to earth a bit. Alvarez has a .7 WAR to his 1.0 WAR, despite playing less than 60% the amount of games. Corbin Carroll is the obvious leader, with a 1.5 WAR, but things happen. Injuries happen.
Alvarez has been the 2nd best hitting catcher in baseball over the past 30 days.
A position where the Mets had been among the worst before he was called up.
If it's about winning games this should not even be a discussion.
If someone has to tell the Mets front office to keep him up for the remote chance to get a 1st round comp pick or even an INTL pick or conversely to send Alvarez down so the Mets can shop the AAAA catchers to maybe get something back in return for them in a trade instead of cutting them - then the Mets front office is run by morons.
Coming off a season where the Mets lost the division by percentage points, messing around with this stuff for no good reason is why it will happen again. May wins count.
Alvarez has been the 2nd best hitting catcher in baseball over the past 30 days.
A position where the Mets had been among the worst before he was called up.
If it's about winning games this should not even be a discussion.
If someone has to tell the Mets front office to keep him up for the remote chance to get a 1st round comp pick or even an INTL pick or conversely to send Alvarez down so the Mets can shop the AAAA catchers to maybe get something back in return for them in a trade instead of cutting them - then the Mets front office is run by morons.
Coming off a season where the Mets lost the division by percentage points, messing around with this stuff for no good reason is why it will happen again. May wins count.
Agreed 100%. My point was not only that it makes zero sense baseball wise to send Alvarez, but baseball is now incentivizing teams to keep young guys up. The Mets obviously shouldn't have to be incentivized to keep up one of the best hitting catchers in the game, but it would be even more moronic not to considering baseball is awarding teams that do so.
(I think the international picks were for if there was an international draft)
international signings not eligible for PPI, so Yoshida and Senga not eligible. Makes sense. We were talking about that earlier in the year.
Per the article, 2nd and 3rd place finishers get picks in the international draft. Unclear what that means. Link - ( New Window )
The new CBA I believe called for a draft of international players rather than the current free for all. If an eligible prospect comes in 2nd or 3rd in Rookie of the Year vote then you will get extra pick(s) in that draft.
Alvarez has been the 2nd best hitting catcher in baseball over the past 30 days.
A position where the Mets had been among the worst before he was called up.
If it's about winning games this should not even be a discussion.
If someone has to tell the Mets front office to keep him up for the remote chance to get a 1st round comp pick or even an INTL pick or conversely to send Alvarez down so the Mets can shop the AAAA catchers to maybe get something back in return for them in a trade instead of cutting them - then the Mets front office is run by morons.
Coming off a season where the Mets lost the division by percentage points, messing around with this stuff for no good reason is why it will happen again. May wins count.
+1
Heads should roll if that is in fact what their intention is. If I were Cohen I'd just go up to Eppler and Buck and be like, "You can send him down, but if he goes down then so does one of you." Let's see how much they'll stick to their guns then.
eppler and buck are competent professionals with positives
but we are seeing why they were available. neither is exactly what you want leading your entire organization. buck appears to be too stubborn, eppler appears to be too mushy. so far they've basically just sprinkled some professionalism (and a few whale pitchers) on top of what was already here - which was important bc professionalism was maybe the orgs biggest need post scott/porter.
there's a reason they first went for beane, epstein, melvin.
stearns is interesting bc of how well thought of he seems to be and i expect that to happen, but im also not sure he's any kind of savior. his resume is good but nowhere near the other 3.
you dont need perfect to get hot at the right time though. once they missed on correa they sort of went all in on the kids this year so this was always likely to be some kind of transition year. they just kept trying to put it off as long as possible. the kids are showing that not all transitions need a step backwards though.
the Mets make the playoffs, Buck will be back (and almost certainly be offered an extension) a lameduck manager in NY is exceedingly rare and with Cohen's money he'd presumably understand he *likely* would have to eat some. Obviously, it's worth monitoring Stearns/Counsell as a potential combo platter.
I haven't been following but is the Stearns thing happening or just rumors and dot-connecting?
Nightengale claimed he’s heard it’s going to happen from a “source”. Keep in mind while he’s a “top” baseball writer he’s well known for getting stories wrong to the point most tweets of his have people essentially saying “so the opposite”…. We know the Mets were interested in the past and that he’ll be a FA after the WS (he’s also friendly/friends with Eppler) and previously worked for the Mets. His wife apparently preferred Houston before this season but who knows?
The wife will be fine in Greenwich.
Just the thought of Alvarez being sent down makes me seriously want to punch a wall, and I'm not a violent person.
is obviously a smart business man and big baseball fan. Surely he has to see what's going on, right?
Fans usually don't want owners meddling with team ops, but that's assuming you have people in charge making good decisions.
I would support Cohen stepping in and saying wait a minute fellas, you're not going to do that (send Alvarez down). That shouldn't be necessary, but it might be.
international signings not eligible for PPI, so Yoshida and Senga not eligible. Makes sense. We were talking about that earlier in the year.
Per the article, 2nd and 3rd place finishers get picks in the international draft. Unclear what that means. Link - ( New Window )
The new CBA I believe called for a draft of international players rather than the current free for all. If an eligible prospect comes in 2nd or 3rd in Rookie of the Year vote then you will get extra pick(s) in that draft.
I don't think they agreed to an international draft. Link - ( New Window )
nimmo, mcneil, alonso, baty, vientos, alvarez, and soon to be mauricio - all in the same homegrown lineup - is a remarkable haul from 1 system. with parada, ramirez, williams still as top 100's to continue building with or dangle as trade bait.
if you just made an all mets lineup and added in gimenez and maybe conforto with rosario as a utility guy, it's almost as good as the version with lindor and marte. conforto seems to have rediscovered his power and hit into some bad luck but his ops is still 740 and climbing. he always seemed like a good guy so hopefully things work out.
as long as tramuta and tanous are in the org building the system and cohen is writing checks i think we can be bullish that they will have a chance any given year. it really wasnt that long ago that opening day lineups across multiple seasons were littered with guys like thole, tejada, ike davis.
is obviously a smart business man and big baseball fan. Surely he has to see what's going on, right?
Fans usually don't want owners meddling with team ops, but that's assuming you have people in charge making good decisions.
I would support Cohen stepping in and saying wait a minute fellas, you're not going to do that (send Alvarez down). That shouldn't be necessary, but it might be.
i think so. he stepped in on the correa move.
to some degree if you have a very strong owner they are the gm on the bigger decisions. especially if you also have a mushy gm.
if they had negotiated the parameters of a soto deal last year for example, either way that would have been ultimately decided by cohen.
nimmo, mcneil, alonso, baty, vientos, alvarez, and soon to be mauricio - all in the same homegrown lineup - is a remarkable haul from 1 system. with parada, ramirez, williams still as top 100's to continue building with or dangle as trade bait.
if you just made an all mets lineup and added in gimenez and maybe conforto with rosario as a utility guy, it's almost as good as the version with lindor and marte. conforto seems to have rediscovered his power and hit into some bad luck but his ops is still 740 and climbing. he always seemed like a good guy so hopefully things work out.
as long as tramuta and tanous are in the org building the system and cohen is writing checks i think we can be bullish that they will have a chance any given year. it really wasnt that long ago that opening day lineups across multiple seasons were littered with guys like thole, tejada, ike davis.
Great post Eric. Those guys are something else. I'm glad nobody else across MLB has stepped in and tried to poach them. now we need starting pitchers to come up in the system. That's the next challenge (perhaps some power corner OFers too).
out of the group of 5 (Alvarez, Narvaez, Nido, Sanchez, and Perez).
The Mets would be the best team overall with Narvaez backing up Alvarez and playing one to two times per week.
However, Narvaez would probably hold a terrific amount of trade value.
What kind of bullpen arms could Narvaez return?
If you are going to keep Alvy with the big club to be the #1 catcher, it makes sense to trade some of these guys. You can't demote Sanchez or Nido to AAA right? And Narvaez holds the most value. MLB Trade Rumors said the Giants, Twins, Tigers and Reds all had interest.
I think the Twins could really use him. Could they get a Matt Canterino and a lottery ticket for him?
Shouldn't the Mets either look to trade 1 or even 2 of these catchers not named Alvarez for pitching talent in either the minors or a good major league arm for the bullpen?
last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
will miss the entire 2023 season FWIW. Also, don't see the Twins as a fit at all, they just paid Vazquez 3 years 30, I don't see any scenario they are committing "significant" additional money to add an Omar Narvaez As for Narvaez's trade value, it's likely less than you'd think. He's coming off a season where he posted a 71 wRC+ and has a player option for 2024 which he'll almost certainly be picking up at this point.
the obvious guy to try to get is hendriks if he looks good
they were interested in the offseason, he makes a lot of money so not everyone can afford him since CHW won't want to eat the money if they can help it.
that is the guy to get. keep an eye on him as he returns over the next few weeks.
expect Nido to land somewhere like SD/Cleveland/Miami for an older minor league bullpen arm. I think Nido for a guy like Mangum also makes sense but there are plenty of teams with bad C situations they likely are willing to "take on" Nido for a limited return. I can't imagine Gary Sanchez would bring back anything but cash. Waited until April looking for an MLB deal, opted out of his deal with SF because they informed him they didn't intend to call him up anytime soon and then signed with the Mets because they were 1 of 2 teams to show interest (Angels the other) and he has a relationship with Eppler. I'm probably shooting way too high expecting a guy like Jimmy Herget but I'd ask.
At the end of the day I expect Perez in AAA, Nido traded somewhere like Cleveland/Miami/LAA, and they hold onto Sanchez (for now) with Vientos back to Syracuse (don't shoot the messenger, this is just my guess)
Aaron Loup has a 7.71 era despite a 3.82 FIP. He's owed the remainder of his 2023 salary (prorated 7.5 million) Loup and cash to cover the majority of that for Nido or Sanchez (a guy the Angels showed interest in) might not be the worst idea. @mets could DFA Loup if shot
At the end of the day I expect Perez in AAA, Nido traded somewhere like Cleveland/Miami/LAA, and they hold onto Sanchez (for now) with Vientos back to Syracuse (don't shoot the messenger, this is just my guess)
i think it's mostly posturing. i think they move sanchez for a crappy bp arm somewhere that needs a catcher because he's cheap.
nido/narvaez is the decision, and id guess they just use the IL to delay that decision for as long as they need to if alvarez is hitting. the eye sight thing is probably a very fortunate diagnosis because nido can self report that he's blurry any time.
Aaron Loup has a 7.71 era despite a 3.82 FIP. He's owed the remainder of his 2023 salary (prorated 7.5 million) Loup and cash to cover the majority of that for Nido or Sanchez (a guy the Angels showed interest in) might not be the worst idea. @mets could DFA Loup if shot
this is exactly the type of move i could see.
and the closer to the deadline maybe something like nido for a trevor williams type if they need that.
last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
know you're just giving examples but I can't see Washington being interested in Nido. Just locked up Ruiz and have Riley Adams making pennies as their backup. Adams has some level of upside too (went 4-4 just this week, with a HR)
RE: RE: narvaez probably doesnt hold any value at all
last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
I do not think the Twins believe Narvaez is such a substantial upgrade that they are taking on an additional commitment of whatever he's owed of his 8 this season and likely 7 more next season when they owe Vazquez 10, 10, 10. Paying nearly 20 million the next 2 seasons for those 2 does not seem particularly feasible AND giving up talent? Last 3 seasons Vazquez is 6th in fWAR at C. He's been awful to start but they aren't pulling the plug 118 Pa's into signing him. Jeffers has a 119 wRC+ in limited time this season as well. Don't see the fit.
for all of his struggles is still 19/57 in framing and their rotation has been the best in baseball by FIP and fWAR. I'd be pretty stunned to see them move off of Vazquez (plus give up talent) for a guy like Narvaez.
That's fine. Keep him on the DL as insurance. Like the Loup idea for a C (I think Herget is a pipe dream, as you acknowledge)
Only mentioned Herget because they sent him down after a terrible 12 game run with the Angels and has been just as bad since being sent down. That being said, 2 options left, no real reason to move on.
SNY Mets
@SNY_Mets
·
10m
One Mets pitcher suggested that if the team options Francisco Álvarez, the pitching staff "will be angry"
(via @martinonyc
) http://on.sny.tv/DvGiC67
Good. The more reasons to not send him down, the better. Besides loving to throw to him, I'm sure the staff doesn't mind not having an empty spot in the lineup
will miss the entire 2023 season FWIW. Also, don't see the Twins as a fit at all, they just paid Vazquez 3 years 30, I don't see any scenario they are committing "significant" additional money to add an Omar Narvaez As for Narvaez's trade value, it's likely less than you'd think. He's coming off a season where he posted a 71 wRC+ and has a player option for 2024 which he'll almost certainly be picking up at this point.
Didn't realize the Canterino injury. I suppose you're right about Twins fit, but that's not the only team out there.
But teams would look at context...last year Narvaez had a career-low BABIP of .248 that was 54 points off his career average, it was just under 300 plate appearances and 84 games, right, and he still graded out as a plus WAR player because of his defensive acumen (1.1). He was a 2.8 WAR player just the year prior. I find it hard to believe there would be nothing of value to be gained from moving him. I'd prefer Nido and Sanchez get traded, but this team really needs some pitching help in the bullpen and throughout the minor league system, and I don't think those guys would really bring back anything at all.
However, if no deal is to be had on any of these guys, just release whoever you need to.
But last thing on potential trades...I'm not talking about some fantastic compensation...The White Sox got Jake Diekman for Reese McGuire last year. Minnesota got Kiner-Falefa and Ronny Henriquez for Mitch Garver last year.
That's pretty good. Lot's of catchers got traded last year. Some twice. Most weren't catchers that were all that noteworthy.
RE: RE: narvaez probably doesnt hold any value at all
last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
in the offseason they had the choice and they paid vazquez almost double what any other team was willing to pay narvaez. do you think the 5 games narvaez played changed their minds?
Syracuse Mets
@SyracuseMets
·
17m
#Mets No. 4 prospect Ronny Mauricio is batting .397 with 15 RBIs in May and leads the Minors with 21 doubles on the season.
know you're just giving examples but I can't see Washington being interested in Nido. Just locked up Ruiz and have Riley Adams making pennies as their backup. Adams has some level of upside too (went 4-4 just this week, with a HR)
i dont think the mets are alone in valuing nido's defense. youre right washington may not be the best fit but they also may not have that many takers for williams' contract since it has a 2nd year. nido makes a lot less than that but does clear a little money off the mets books to offset some of the williams $.
Tidwell has been very disappointing so far this season. Hopefully, he gets going. He was never a realistic 2023 option but the hope had to be a second half pitching well in AA.
RE: RE: RE: narvaez probably doesnt hold any value at all
last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
in the offseason they had the choice and they paid vazquez almost double what any other team was willing to pay narvaez. do you think the 5 games narvaez played changed their minds?
Yeah I didn't realize the outlay the Twins made on Vazquez, so obviously no. Some of you guys follow MLB free agency more than I do, I just follow what the Mets are doing, mostly.
March was a good month for TJ? Looks like Luis Rodriguez (the lefty) also is 14 months post TJ as well. You never know with setbacks but you'd assume all 3 are pretty close to pitching in 2023
his FB only got up to about 95mph and his slider was 86mph, both about 3 mph down from last year. and those were his highs, statcast had his range 1-2 mph below that.
if any team offered to take his full contract right now - which is about $10m left this year plus a 15m deferred buyout or option next year, i have to think the white sox would be tempted to consider that.
there are obviously some very fair reasons to think his velo may come back over the next month or two but would they be willing to gamble $25m hoping he gets that velo back and does enough to bring back anything of value by the deadline?
One intriguing arm who is missing in action is 2022 18th rounder Chris Santiago. He's newish to pitching so it's possible he's opening in the complex league but so far MIA
Because the Mets don’t want to risk losing one of three replaceable Cs?
Strange, right?
trying to leverage something out of someone who is looking to add a catcher?
Quote:
How public Alvarez pending “demotion” is??
Because the Mets don’t want to risk losing one of three replaceable Cs?
Strange, right?
trying to leverage something out of someone who is looking to add a catcher?
That's a good point Eric.
Quote:
How public Alvarez pending “demotion” is??
Because the Mets don’t want to risk losing one of three replaceable Cs?
Strange, right?
trying to leverage something out of someone who is looking to add a catcher?
That's a Wilpon thing to do.
Quote:
In comment 16121402 Shecky said:
Quote:
How public Alvarez pending “demotion” is??
Because the Mets don’t want to risk losing one of three replaceable Cs?
Strange, right?
trying to leverage something out of someone who is looking to add a catcher?
That's a Wilpon thing to do.
wilpons would never pay for 4 big league catchers. they barely ever paid for 1.
@PitchingNinja
Colin Holderman, Ridiculous Elevated 101mph Two Seamer with 16 inches of Run 😲
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1660809938925436930 - ( New Window )
Quote:
Rob Friedman
@PitchingNinja
Colin Holderman, Ridiculous Elevated 101mph Two Seamer with 16 inches of Run 😲
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1660809938925436930 - ( New Window )
Quote:
Quote:
Rob Friedman
@PitchingNinja
Colin Holderman, Ridiculous Elevated 101mph Two Seamer with 16 inches of Run 😲
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1660809938925436930 - ( New Window )
ok I laughed at that.
So, not only would it be ridiculously stupid from a baseball perspective to send Alvarez down, it would be from a team building perspective. Outman has fallen back down to earth a bit. Alvarez has a .7 WAR to his 1.0 WAR, despite playing less than 60% the amount of games. Corbin Carroll is the obvious leader, with a 1.5 WAR, but things happen. Injuries happen.
Per the article, 2nd and 3rd place finishers get picks in the international draft. Unclear what that means.
Link - ( New Window )
A position where the Mets had been among the worst before he was called up.
If it's about winning games this should not even be a discussion.
If someone has to tell the Mets front office to keep him up for the remote chance to get a 1st round comp pick or even an INTL pick or conversely to send Alvarez down so the Mets can shop the AAAA catchers to maybe get something back in return for them in a trade instead of cutting them - then the Mets front office is run by morons.
Coming off a season where the Mets lost the division by percentage points, messing around with this stuff for no good reason is why it will happen again. May wins count.
A position where the Mets had been among the worst before he was called up.
If it's about winning games this should not even be a discussion.
If someone has to tell the Mets front office to keep him up for the remote chance to get a 1st round comp pick or even an INTL pick or conversely to send Alvarez down so the Mets can shop the AAAA catchers to maybe get something back in return for them in a trade instead of cutting them - then the Mets front office is run by morons.
Coming off a season where the Mets lost the division by percentage points, messing around with this stuff for no good reason is why it will happen again. May wins count.
Agreed 100%. My point was not only that it makes zero sense baseball wise to send Alvarez, but baseball is now incentivizing teams to keep young guys up. The Mets obviously shouldn't have to be incentivized to keep up one of the best hitting catchers in the game, but it would be even more moronic not to considering baseball is awarding teams that do so.
(I think the international picks were for if there was an international draft)
Per the article, 2nd and 3rd place finishers get picks in the international draft. Unclear what that means. Link - ( New Window )
The new CBA I believe called for a draft of international players rather than the current free for all. If an eligible prospect comes in 2nd or 3rd in Rookie of the Year vote then you will get extra pick(s) in that draft.
A position where the Mets had been among the worst before he was called up.
If it's about winning games this should not even be a discussion.
If someone has to tell the Mets front office to keep him up for the remote chance to get a 1st round comp pick or even an INTL pick or conversely to send Alvarez down so the Mets can shop the AAAA catchers to maybe get something back in return for them in a trade instead of cutting them - then the Mets front office is run by morons.
Coming off a season where the Mets lost the division by percentage points, messing around with this stuff for no good reason is why it will happen again. May wins count.
+1
Heads should roll if that is in fact what their intention is. If I were Cohen I'd just go up to Eppler and Buck and be like, "You can send him down, but if he goes down then so does one of you." Let's see how much they'll stick to their guns then.
there's a reason they first went for beane, epstein, melvin.
stearns is interesting bc of how well thought of he seems to be and i expect that to happen, but im also not sure he's any kind of savior. his resume is good but nowhere near the other 3.
you dont need perfect to get hot at the right time though. once they missed on correa they sort of went all in on the kids this year so this was always likely to be some kind of transition year. they just kept trying to put it off as long as possible. the kids are showing that not all transitions need a step backwards though.
Quote:
In comment 16121150 DanMetroMan said:
Quote:
the Mets make the playoffs, Buck will be back (and almost certainly be offered an extension) a lameduck manager in NY is exceedingly rare and with Cohen's money he'd presumably understand he *likely* would have to eat some. Obviously, it's worth monitoring Stearns/Counsell as a potential combo platter.
I haven't been following but is the Stearns thing happening or just rumors and dot-connecting?
Nightengale claimed he’s heard it’s going to happen from a “source”. Keep in mind while he’s a “top” baseball writer he’s well known for getting stories wrong to the point most tweets of his have people essentially saying “so the opposite”…. We know the Mets were interested in the past and that he’ll be a FA after the WS (he’s also friendly/friends with Eppler) and previously worked for the Mets. His wife apparently preferred Houston before this season but who knows?
The wife will be fine in Greenwich.
Just the thought of Alvarez being sent down makes me seriously want to punch a wall, and I'm not a violent person.
Fans usually don't want owners meddling with team ops, but that's assuming you have people in charge making good decisions.
I would support Cohen stepping in and saying wait a minute fellas, you're not going to do that (send Alvarez down). That shouldn't be necessary, but it might be.
Quote:
international signings not eligible for PPI, so Yoshida and Senga not eligible. Makes sense. We were talking about that earlier in the year.
Per the article, 2nd and 3rd place finishers get picks in the international draft. Unclear what that means. Link - ( New Window )
The new CBA I believe called for a draft of international players rather than the current free for all. If an eligible prospect comes in 2nd or 3rd in Rookie of the Year vote then you will get extra pick(s) in that draft.
I don't think they agreed to an international draft.
Link - ( New Window )
if you just made an all mets lineup and added in gimenez and maybe conforto with rosario as a utility guy, it's almost as good as the version with lindor and marte. conforto seems to have rediscovered his power and hit into some bad luck but his ops is still 740 and climbing. he always seemed like a good guy so hopefully things work out.
as long as tramuta and tanous are in the org building the system and cohen is writing checks i think we can be bullish that they will have a chance any given year. it really wasnt that long ago that opening day lineups across multiple seasons were littered with guys like thole, tejada, ike davis.
Fans usually don't want owners meddling with team ops, but that's assuming you have people in charge making good decisions.
I would support Cohen stepping in and saying wait a minute fellas, you're not going to do that (send Alvarez down). That shouldn't be necessary, but it might be.
i think so. he stepped in on the correa move.
to some degree if you have a very strong owner they are the gm on the bigger decisions. especially if you also have a mushy gm.
if they had negotiated the parameters of a soto deal last year for example, either way that would have been ultimately decided by cohen.
if you just made an all mets lineup and added in gimenez and maybe conforto with rosario as a utility guy, it's almost as good as the version with lindor and marte. conforto seems to have rediscovered his power and hit into some bad luck but his ops is still 740 and climbing. he always seemed like a good guy so hopefully things work out.
as long as tramuta and tanous are in the org building the system and cohen is writing checks i think we can be bullish that they will have a chance any given year. it really wasnt that long ago that opening day lineups across multiple seasons were littered with guys like thole, tejada, ike davis.
Great post Eric. Those guys are something else. I'm glad nobody else across MLB has stepped in and tried to poach them. now we need starting pitchers to come up in the system. That's the next challenge (perhaps some power corner OFers too).
The Mets would be the best team overall with Narvaez backing up Alvarez and playing one to two times per week.
However, Narvaez would probably hold a terrific amount of trade value.
What kind of bullpen arms could Narvaez return?
If you are going to keep Alvy with the big club to be the #1 catcher, it makes sense to trade some of these guys. You can't demote Sanchez or Nido to AAA right? And Narvaez holds the most value. MLB Trade Rumors said the Giants, Twins, Tigers and Reds all had interest.
I think the Twins could really use him. Could they get a Matt Canterino and a lottery ticket for him?
Shouldn't the Mets either look to trade 1 or even 2 of these catchers not named Alvarez for pitching talent in either the minors or a good major league arm for the bullpen?
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
that is the guy to get. keep an eye on him as he returns over the next few weeks.
i think it's mostly posturing. i think they move sanchez for a crappy bp arm somewhere that needs a catcher because he's cheap.
nido/narvaez is the decision, and id guess they just use the IL to delay that decision for as long as they need to if alvarez is hitting. the eye sight thing is probably a very fortunate diagnosis because nido can self report that he's blurry any time.
this is exactly the type of move i could see.
and the closer to the deadline maybe something like nido for a trevor williams type if they need that.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
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last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
I do not think the Twins believe Narvaez is such a substantial upgrade that they are taking on an additional commitment of whatever he's owed of his 8 this season and likely 7 more next season when they owe Vazquez 10, 10, 10. Paying nearly 20 million the next 2 seasons for those 2 does not seem particularly feasible AND giving up talent? Last 3 seasons Vazquez is 6th in fWAR at C. He's been awful to start but they aren't pulling the plug 118 Pa's into signing him. Jeffers has a 119 wRC+ in limited time this season as well. Don't see the fit.
That's fine. Keep him on the DL as insurance. Like the Loup idea for a C (I think Herget is a pipe dream, as you acknowledge)
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now apparently has a minor hand issue as well...
That's fine. Keep him on the DL as insurance. Like the Loup idea for a C (I think Herget is a pipe dream, as you acknowledge)
Only mentioned Herget because they sent him down after a terrible 12 game run with the Angels and has been just as bad since being sent down. That being said, 2 options left, no real reason to move on.
@SNY_Mets
·
10m
One Mets pitcher suggested that if the team options Francisco Álvarez, the pitching staff "will be angry"
(via @martinonyc
) http://on.sny.tv/DvGiC67
“Guys love him,” said another member of the staff. “He cares so much.”
@SNY_Mets
·
10m
One Mets pitcher suggested that if the team options Francisco Álvarez, the pitching staff "will be angry"
(via @martinonyc
) http://on.sny.tv/DvGiC67
Good. The more reasons to not send him down, the better. Besides loving to throw to him, I'm sure the staff doesn't mind not having an empty spot in the lineup
Didn't realize the Canterino injury. I suppose you're right about Twins fit, but that's not the only team out there.
But teams would look at context...last year Narvaez had a career-low BABIP of .248 that was 54 points off his career average, it was just under 300 plate appearances and 84 games, right, and he still graded out as a plus WAR player because of his defensive acumen (1.1). He was a 2.8 WAR player just the year prior. I find it hard to believe there would be nothing of value to be gained from moving him. I'd prefer Nido and Sanchez get traded, but this team really needs some pitching help in the bullpen and throughout the minor league system, and I don't think those guys would really bring back anything at all.
However, if no deal is to be had on any of these guys, just release whoever you need to.
But last thing on potential trades...I'm not talking about some fantastic compensation...The White Sox got Jake Diekman for Reese McGuire last year. Minnesota got Kiner-Falefa and Ronny Henriquez for Mitch Garver last year.
That's pretty good. Lot's of catchers got traded last year. Some twice. Most weren't catchers that were all that noteworthy.
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last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
in the offseason they had the choice and they paid vazquez almost double what any other team was willing to pay narvaez. do you think the 5 games narvaez played changed their minds?
@SyracuseMets
·
17m
#Mets No. 4 prospect Ronny Mauricio is batting .397 with 15 RBIs in May and leads the Minors with 21 doubles on the season.
i dont think the mets are alone in valuing nido's defense. youre right washington may not be the best fit but they also may not have that many takers for williams' contract since it has a 2nd year. nido makes a lot less than that but does clear a little money off the mets books to offset some of the williams $.
AA-Santos
A+ Tidwell
A TBD
Tidwell has been very disappointing so far this season. Hopefully, he gets going. He was never a realistic 2023 option but the hope had to be a second half pitching well in AA.
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In comment 16121604 Eric on Li said:
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last year he didnt play well enough to play everyday.
he was just a FA and he got paid below league average.
he's mostly been hurt this year.
he's a good backup catcher but at 8m per that's expensive enough that if they DFA'd him he'd probably go uncclaimed. they had to pay baltimore take mccann off their hands at a price not far off from that. they would probably have to pay narvaez off too and even then the return wouldnt be any different than whatever is on waivers.
their best path to a good trade is taking on $ from a team looking to save $. just like atlanta and iglesias last year.
Looking around the league at some of the catcher situations I really struggle to believe that's true. His yearly salary for 2023 is 7th highest in baseball, tied with d'Arnaud. He was an All-Star as recent as 2021, has a good defensive catcher reputation, and the injury was soft-tissue. It seems like he had a fairly robust market for his services in the off-season, so I don't see any reason why he would have zero trade value because of a calf-strain he's 98% recovered from.
Do you think the Twins wouldn't rather have Narvaez over Vasquez and Jeffers?
in the offseason they had the choice and they paid vazquez almost double what any other team was willing to pay narvaez. do you think the 5 games narvaez played changed their minds?
Yeah I didn't realize the outlay the Twins made on Vazquez, so obviously no. Some of you guys follow MLB free agency more than I do, I just follow what the Mets are doing, mostly.
if any team offered to take his full contract right now - which is about $10m left this year plus a 15m deferred buyout or option next year, i have to think the white sox would be tempted to consider that.
there are obviously some very fair reasons to think his velo may come back over the next month or two but would they be willing to gamble $25m hoping he gets that velo back and does enough to bring back anything of value by the deadline?