What a first half it has been for the New York Mets, as the team stands in contention for a playoff spot entering the All-Star break. At the end of Saturday, the Mets stood 46-42 and only two games behind the Washington Nationals, and one game out of the wild card race. The Mets have taken advantage of their schedule, as they get to play the Philadelphia Phillies 18 times throughout the regular season, and the Mets are currently 8-1 against the worst team in baseball.
While the Mets have hovered around a .500 winning percentage for most of the season, there are a lot of reasons to be excited for the second half. However, there are some questions that will need to be addressed as the season progresses.
Holding back for the future?
Fans have been waiting years to see this rotation develop and produce at the major league level, and the pitching staff has not disappointed. Jacob deGrom has emerged as the best pitcher on the staff, while Matt Harvey’s return from Tommy John has had some ups and downs, yet his numbers are solid through the first half. Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard look like veterans, as their stuff definitely belongs in the majors.
If the Mets are in contention, will Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins enforce the innings limit in order to protect their young pitchers? Fans want these pitchers to start for the whole season, and the organization needs to make a run for the playoffs. Obviously it makes sense to be delicate with Matz’s recent injury, but how will management spread out innings if the team is in a playoff race?
Are there any moves to be made?
With the Mets offense struggling throughout the first part of the season, there are players available that would most likely help improve the offense. Alderson does not want to part with one of his young arms to get a superstar, such as Troy Tulowitzki, but he may be able to get a nice offensive piece if he deals Jon Niese.
Names like Aramis Ramirez and Ben Zobrist are linked to the Mets, but Ramirez only plays third base, making him a bench player if David Wright comes back. Even if Wright does not come back, Daniel Murphy can handle third base for the time being, and Wilmer Flores looks comfortable at second base. Zobrist is interesting because he is a utility player, and can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield. Alderson may have a couple of options to choose from, but we will wait and see the decisions he makes as the trade deadline approaches.
When are the injured players coming back?
Remember Jerry Blevins coming in and getting left-handed hitters out? Alex Torres is now the guy, and lefties are hitting .271 against him. Blevins is still recovering from a broken arm and has been out since April 20th with a broken forearm. Blevins should be coming back this season, which will only add to the back of the bullpen.
We have seen quite a bit of Kevin Plawecki, but the Mets lineup seems to be deeper and more threatening with Travis d’Arnaud healthy. This is the second time d’Arnaud has been on the disabled list, and although the injuries are not chronic, it has been frustrating seeing him play his best baseball in the big leagues, only to be sitting out for a couple of weeks. As of July 3rd, Robert Brender reported that d’Arnaud will not be rejoining the team once he is eligible to return. Until then, we wait for our starting catcher to join the squad.
Last but not least, the team has played most of the season without Wright. We heard mid-June that the All-Star break was a realistic return for the third baseman, but Wright is still working on his comeback. The situation has to be disheartening for everyone involved, but we all wish that David comes back and produces at a high level to help propel this team forward.
The second half will make for a fun summer and fall, as the Mets should be in the running. This is a team that will make you think they are World Series contenders, then make you wonder how they are in the top half of their division. That sounds like the typical life for a Mets fan.
I would love for Jean Segura to come to Queens. He’s affordable, a good defender, and a clear upgrade on Ruben Tejada. Segura probably won’t cost the Mets more than a Montero and Cecchini.
Wow, I am so glad you are not the Mets GM.
Segura is no better than Ruben Tejada.
His last 413 PA in 2013, he had a .642 OPS
In 557 PA in 2014, he had a .614 OPS
In 285 PA in 2015, he has a .652 OPS
I wouldn’t trade Dillon Gee for him and Gee is worthless.
I was just going to write that. On both sides of the ball, Tejada has far out performed Segura this season.
Scrolling through B-R the comparisons are startling.
Look, I’ve been critical at every turn on this team, but the plain fact is Tejada is playing decent baseball and the move to 2B for Flores has been a big step up.
While I agree mostly, two things that Segura does offer that Tejada cannot are speed and pop. Segura would have to return to 2013 level of play (which seems far off) to be considered a big upgrade over Tejada. But then he’d cost a lot more probably.
Segura may have more power than Tejada but it’s sure not showing this year.
JS ISO – .073
RT ISO – .102
Agreed. Segura likely not worth the price, but he’s probably better than Tejada.
+1
On Brewers sites they think they can have Matz for Segura LOL. If they do that it would be sadly a very Mets thing to do.
id love to see a link to that Pete.
Even if Wright is given the green light from rehabbing how many weeks until he can resume his baseball career? He’ll need at least 2 weeks and then you may have to add an additional week to get up to full speed with major league pitching. That will put him at the end of August or early September. If the Met’s had anything that remotely resembled a major league offense they’d be in first place. Make the trade for an offensive bat and platoon Duda and Cuddyer at first base. Can the front office make the trade that puts this team over the top and give the Met’s a better chance at a sustainable playoff run? Utilize Montero as a spot starter to spread the limit innings that are hovering over the young pitching staff. The kids will stay strong and not wear down when the team needs them the most. Parnell and Mejia need to perform at levels so that TC doesn’t have to play musical chairs with his lefties. The trade is probably being unrealistic. But we as Met fans only want our team to win. I wonder if the Wilpons are on that same boat?
There’s a real and understandable scenario where Wright comes back and does not play all that well.
His return might effectively bench Murphy or Flores.
I don’t know what to think about David at this point, except for sadness that he’s had to go through this. If he can play at 100%, obviously that’s great. But 80% is not.
It’s a very tough situation for everyone involved.
Great idea about using Montero, but six-man rotations never seem to work, and plus if I was a manager, I would want my best pitchers out there every five days. Completely understand and am somewhat on board with Montero being a spot starter, but I hope these innings limit discussions quiet down if the Mets are competing.
As for David, you are absolutely correct. If he comes back, he has to play at a high level to make the Mets better. The team cannot, and should not put him back in the lineup unless he is going to push the team forward.
James the discussion on innings limit cannot die down. Especially if the Met’s are in a wild card race. I know the Met’s must have limits for Thor, Matz and deGrom in place. Those numbers are not going to change. Can’t risk their future. Even Harvey should be carefully watched. There is a formula as to how many innings a SP receives annually in the minors. Gradual increments to build their endurance. I think that if Colon or Niese is traded for a bat then Montero should be used in spot starts to stretch out what ever innings they have left.
Don’t you guys remember that Montero is out with a sore shoulder and doesn’t know when he will be back?
Gimme some Conforto! 2-2 and a killer assist from LF to the plate. Like Lagares 2 yrs ago!
Loved that throw, even if it wasn’t that deep.
Come August, I want Conforto.
(But if he hits .195 and looks over-matched, I’d send him back down.)
He’s got to be the starting LF in 2016, so a taste this season makes so much sense — and could provide an offensive spark that leads to a playoff berth.
Making judgments on batting average alone in small samples is idiotic.
Bringing up a guy in August and then sending him back down after a small sample when the minor league season is just about over would be even worse.
I don’t agree. I think you are trying to win games. Trying to reach the playoffs.
The player either helps that cause or hurts it. This is a short run situation. There will be no available large sample size. It cannot exist.
What will exist is a playoff chase. Games to win, or games to lose. Conforto should be made available to help the Mets win those games. If he’s unproductive, then he sits or is sent down. It won’t ruin him or hurt his development.
As for making a decision based on BA alone, yes, of course that’s ridiculous. I was using it as a shorthand barometer of a player’s effectiveness. BA is a good statistic, btw; it was just over-valued for so long that folks had to go the other direction. Now it is under-valued. The Mets have the worst BA in the NL. That’s a record, a document, of how many hits a team gets. These players don’t get enough hits.
I’m all for winning games.
My only beef is when standards are applied differently to rookies and young guys. If Conforto is brought on to help the Mets and goes 2-30 and sits, that’s okay. But the same thing should be applied to the team’s 1B, 2B, SS and CF, too. If Conforto’s not helping the team when he goes 2-30 then neither is Lucas Duda.
I don’t agree with the assessment that what’s a slump for one guy has a completely different meaning for another. You bring up Conforto because you’ve made the determination that he’s ready to help the MLB roster – no different than Duda.
This is not bringing up David Clyde as a publicity stunt.
Over time there’s been a myth created that if a rookie comes up and doesn’t produce right away that he’s not ready. It works for sportswriters because it’s an easy story to tell. It works for current major league players because it gives them job security. It works for managers because it gives them an easy scapegoat.
There’s a difference between a guy who’s 2-for-30 because he can’t hit a major league curveball (yet) and a guy who’s 2-for-30 because the hits aren’t falling in. But I hope that no top prospect like Conforto would get promoted to the majors without knowing he can hit offspeed stuff, too. Ideally your scouts and minor league coaches and managers all sign off before you promote a Conforto into a pennant race.
And you must force Collins to play him! I don’t think TC will give him the opportunity to go 2-30. At 2-15 Terry screams bloody murder and asks if Bobby Abreu can come back from retirement.
Been saying this for weeks Chris! He looked very promising in the Futures game. I still have no idea why the team is hesitant to call him up. Worst thing that can happen is that the team has to send him down.
I find myself coming around on the shortstop situation. We were all screaming for an upgrade in the offseason but most are completely unavailable (Bogarts, Simmons, Russell, Correa, Crawford, Peralta, Hardy) have huge contracts (Tulo, Andrus, Aybar, Reyes), past their prime (Rollins) overrated (Segura, Castro, Ramirez, Lowrie, Desmond) or just not that good (Miller, Gregorious, Mercer,). Two smart trades to add Gerrado Parra and Ben Zobrist would really solidify this team.
A Parra rental for minor league prospects is an affordable solid move. The season could go south quickly with a full blown injury to one of the outfielders. Who didn’t hold their breath when Lagares didn’t go out to CF in the 9th yesterday? Your assessment of the SS situation is spot on. Trading Niese for Castro in order to get a 25 YOA former all star going into his prime at a reduced price is a shrewd play but the innings limits on the pitchers coupled with Matz and Montero injuries and Gee’s ineffectiveness makes it a riskier move. A Zobrist aquisition does make the most sense. I am in favor of trading four minor leaguers for these two players. I hope by Friday when the break is over the Mets have these reinforcements on the roster so that they can compete with the three first place teams that are next on the schedule.
I totally agree Matt on your assessment of the SS matter.
I certainly believe adding a couple gamers like Parra and Zobrist would help the team, but both feel more like depth moves than anything else. I guess I dont believe that depth is what this team needs to make it to October. While I believe both would help, and I like both a lot and would love to see them as Mets, I think our needs exceed those additions. If we could get them and not lose a lot in the deal, then Im on board…but my eyes are looking for more…
Problem is Chris Sandy’s eyes are looking up at the stars for a miracle instead of looking for any stars that can help this roster. Don’t be shocked if nothing is done to address the Met’s deficiencies. Alderson will say Wright and TDA will be like adding 2 offensive bats when they return so no need to look outside.
I wonder if Toronto had considered that Travis D’ was ‘injury-prone’, not so much via ‘bad luck’ (which is exactly what the last 2 injuries seem) but what some sports psychologists nick-named the ‘Eric Lindros’ syndrome. This is where a top notch athlete never reaches his potential because of constant injuries that leave him with reasons why he never went ‘all the way’, that is, to where his potential seemed to suggest.
Some are said to self-sabotage their own success, while others are said to be victims of bad luck.
Travis D hasn’t had a real full-season of professional sports.
Kevin Plawecki is now hitting, which is great.
Wouldn’t you know it? When we scheduled our trip to see the B-Mets, we did not consider the “Futures’ Game” roster changes! Oh well. The last time I saw the B-Mets, I saw a young lefty from Long Guyland pitching, which was pretty interesting, and a 2nd baseman with terrific bat speed.
Off to B Mets land in Maine.
Gus I was thinking that the Met’s are savng Montero. You never know with Sandy how serious any “injury” may be. You can substitute Matz instead. I know Gus he’s actually injured with a tear as opposed to a “sore” shoulder.
Don’t really know where to put this, but wow!
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2015/7/13/8950219/new-york-mets-fans-askmanfred-hashtag-twitter-mlb-all-star-game-rob-manfred-qa
I don’t have a Twitter account, but wish I did for this.
+1 Gus and thanks for sharing.
The Wilpon’s are not financially sound and do not have the capital to improve the team. I also believe that there is truth in the leak that creditors have to approve expenditures. Any funded capitalist would be investing in this potential gold mine in the largest market in MLB.