One of the things done during the offseason is to sign veterans to cheap contracts without the guarantee of a roster spot, invite them to Spring Training and see what happens. Typically these are Quad A type guys or guys who once were roster-worthy but who’ve run into injury problems. Frequently these guys end up as minor league depth but every now and then you hit pay dirt. Marlon Byrd and LaTroy Hawkins are recent examples of guys the Mets signed to NRIs who ended up making major contributions for the parent club.
Among those that the Mets brought in on NRIs this year were Roger Bernadina, Jim Henderson and Ty Kelly. Regardless of their individual success over the 2016 season, you can see the thought process involved. Bernadina is a veteran who can play CF, essentially a replacement for Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Henderson, a former closer, offers a potential late-inning bullpen arm. Kelly can play both 2B and 3B and is roster depth and a hedge against an extended injury to David Wright.
Henderson is the one who looks like he has the best chance to contribute, based on his Spring Training performance. In 8.1 IP, he’s allowed just 5 H and 1 BB and has 11 Ks. There’s talk he might make the Opening Day roster, fueled not only by his Grapefruit League performance but also a clause in his contract that states if he’s not on the major league roster by 6/15, he can opt out of his contract. A mid-June date doesn’t have an extreme sense of urgency but it’s not something to forget, either.
Frequently, one thing to keep in mind when assembling a 25-man roster is to figure out who’s on the 40-man roster and who isn’t. Those already on the 40-man typically have a leg up in the competition. MLB.com lists 40-man rosters for each team but right now the roster isn’t up to date, as it includes all players who were in camp for the major league team.
Counting twice, I came up with 39 players on the 40-man meaning, if my count was accurate, that the Mets have an open spot for Henderson. Not only that, one of the players on the 40-man was Zack Wheeler, who can be moved to the 60-day DL and not have his spot count against the 40-man. If my original number was right, that means the Mets have the ability to add Johnny Monell to the 40-man, too.
MORE TO LIFE THAN JUST RADAR READINGS – One of the big stories this Spring has been the drop in velocity from Jacob deGrom, who was topping out in the low 90s after being consistently in the mid 90s last season. Meanwhile, deGrom has had great success during Grapefruit League play, with a 1.62 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. Saturday, deGrom’s top velocity went up to 94. While still not exactly what we’re used to seeing, the trend is in the right direction and the results speak for themselves.
POWER STILL OUT IN ST. LUCIE – Last week, it was noted that the Mets were having a poor Spring when it came to HR production. While no one should lose their mind over Grapefruit League results, it’s something worth keeping an eye on going forward. Assuming perfect health, the eight position players expected to be in the Opening Day lineup have combined for 3 HR in 229 AB. After 229 ABs we would expect nearly 8 HR from a 20-HR/600-AB pace.
UNDESERVED PROSPECT LOVE UPDATE – At the conclusion of our top 50 prospect series, we did an epilogue where we talked about guys who individually we thought were under or overrated by the group and guys who we thought should have been on the list but who weren’t. Here was my pet prospect:
And as long as we’re talking about subjective views and personal preferences, I’m still holding out hope for Ivan Wilson, despite all evidence to the contrary.
So, here’s a Wilson update. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo spoke with Mets Director of Minor League Operations Ian Levin, who had this to say about the team’s third-round pick in the 2013 Draft:
“He’s made a lot of improvements,” Levin said. “He’s always had great tools and he’s been working on his ability to put them into games consistently, turning those tools into skills. He’s had a really good spring doing that and working on that. The results have started to show on the field.”
MORE MEANINGLESS SPRING NUMBERS – Bartolo Colon and Steven Matz have combined for 25 ER in 30.2 IP … Antonio Bastardo has surrendered 7 ER and 4 BB in 9 IP … When we last saw him, Jerry Blevins was working on a no-hitter. So far in Florida, he’s allowed 7 H in 7.1 IP and has a 4.91 ERA … Noah Syndergaard has 1 BB and 19 Ks in 17 IP … Wilmer Flores is batting .326 with more walks (8) than strikeouts (7) … Alejandro De Aza is tied for 2nd on the club with 39 ABs and he’s batting .410 with a .977 OPS.
RALLY PARAKEET, PART II – On August 12th, a bright yellow bird showed up at Citi Field and watched the game with the crowd, much to the delight of everyone involved with the Mets’ season. For a few days, this bird sighting took on a life of its own, with the Mets holding discussions to use Rally Parakeet to replace Steve Gelbs. OK, I made that last one up. But Rally Parakeet was a good thing and it ranked right up there with Colon’s behind the back flip for an out as completely unexpected moments that will live on forever in team lore.
There was another unexpected bird sighting recently which made me think of Rally Parakeet. This past Friday, at a Bernie Sanders rally in Oregon, a finch appeared and hung out with Sanders at the podium, as the crowd was as pleased as that Mets crowd back in August.
While researching to identify what type of bird it was, a random article from a random site had this about the symbolism of it all:
When finches come into our awareness it is a sure sign of prosperous and joyous times ahead. Finches are an omen of high energy and bright days on the horizon. Natives held the finch as a symbol of upcoming celebration. Finches are song birds, and their music heralds the bounty of spring. When the finch sings to our awareness it is a beckoning to unleash our own song. If we’ve been concealing our brilliance from the world – the finch is a sign to start making our value more audible and available to others. Its bird meaning deals with sociability too, and if the finch comes into your life it may be a signal to get more involved with social activities.
Let’s Go Mets.
Happy Easter, Brian and all the writers and commentors at Mets360. Hope springs eternal and it sure feels good to be a Mets fan right now.
i don’t get to see much of the Mets in Fla….. so I haven’t seen Henderson pitch this year.
When he was Healthy, he was a nasty match for Hitters—lots of uncomfortable ab’s. If he’s made hitters look uncomfortable this spring (and if some of those guys were MLB guys), then he’s great cheap hit signing!!!!
BTW—they do throw some live BP…at least early in spring. Some of their own hitters may provide indication of what he’s doing on the mound—if all that and the gun add up, he’s a nice upside arm.
You were watching a Bernie Sanders rally? 🙂
I didn’t see that particular rally – just saw video of the bird’s appearance.
In 2015 De Aza had a total 755 OPS and 800 OPS vs RHP but there are few availablle at bats because Granderson posted a 892 and Conforto a 871 vs RHP.
It is encouraging to see the Flores results regarding the walks. He was tasked to improve this part of his game and he seems to be working on it. Collins has been deficient in getting Flores at bats at first base. He should be the back up at first base as he is a better offensive player than Campbell but he has seen too few reps at firstbase this spring.
Eric Goedell is about two weeks behind in preperation. Instead of rushing him and risking injury, they should give the roster spot to Henderson.
Bastardo with his high bb/9 and poor leverage results was always a risky signing, especially for two years. It is concerning since he has been tabbed as the 7th inning man.
Blevins, because of his track record is less concerning especially if he is just a LOOGY.
Syndergaard has been exceptional with his control and by the end of the season may become the ace of this staff. Pretty lofty expectations with Harvey and DeGrom.
I am getting excited about the season and may head to Atlanta for a game in April.
Metsense, if you go to ATL in April, drop me an email. It would be great meet there!
Personally, I don’t think it’s the end of the world if Granny and/or Conforto sit once a month versus a RHP. I like having De Aza on the team and I’d look to get him as many PH appearances as possible and a couple of starts per month. It’s not going to add up to a lot of playing time unless someone gets hurt.
Hey, maybe we can pretend he’s Amos Otis and make him play 3B!
Not the end of the world, but a sign of a poorly constructed roster.
I don’t agree that this is a valid criticism.
Alderson was planning for life after Cespedes because the most-likely outcome was he was going to sign elsewhere. I’d rather have De Aza and Cespedes than have neither.
Of course it is valid. The Mets have two corner outfielders and a 1B (and a 2B) that all show weaknesses against LHP. Ideally you’d like a complementary player or two to counteract that weakness. That’s the thought process behind any platoon. De Aza, as a corner outfielder, does nothing to help in these matters. You suggest resting Conforto and Granderson against RHP to keep De Aza sharp, which to me is silly: those guys crush RHP. They should rest, if they need rest, against LHP. Obviously, clearly. De Aza doesn’t fit. And the fact that you are considering I’ll-suited moves to get him into games simply underscores that fact. Likewise, I think Flores at 1B is a weak plan, too.
Right now, David Wright has historically been the key Met against LHP. If he is diminished, the club could see a decided vulnerability against lefties all season long. I wish the GM did a little more — one more bat — to counter it.
You act as if Alderson signed De Aza to be a backup corner OF, which simply isn’t true.
He signed De Aza to be the bigger half of a CF platoon. No one expected the Cespedes free agency to play out the way it did. If Alderson had signed one of the other CF guys to a bigger, multi-year deal, then he wouldn’t have had the flexibility to add Cespedes when it played out like it did.
You want to crucify Alderson for the way his bench shakes out. I want to praise him for getting one of the best starters available while still having a competent backup should any of the 3 starters get hurt and have to miss extended time.
Everyone gets so hung up on L/R platooning that they think it’s the only way to rest a guy. But every player goes through stretches where they don’t hit, regardless of who’s on the mound.
Granderson had a 12-game stretch at the end of May where he hit .175 — would it really have killed him to sit against a RHP in game 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12? Another 12-game stretch in June where he batted .244, a 14-game stretch in July where he hit .222, a 12-game stretch in August where he hit .174, a 13-game stretch in September where he hit .171
He’s 35 and we should be looking for ways to get him regular days off, especially when he’s not locked in. I’d rather have Granny when he’s hot face a LHP then Granny when he’s struggling face a RHP.
Spot on Brian.
I agree that there is no need to rush Goedell and as a result, a knee jerk reaction would be to put Henderson on the 40 man and 25 man roster until Eric is ready.
The catch is that if the Mets want to send Jim down in two weeks, I believe that he would need to be DFA to be sent down, with the likelihood that he would either be picked up on waivers or be a free agent if he clears.
Same situation that we had with Blaine Boyer a few years ago., Saved opening day victory and then had to be DFA to send him down when everyone was healthy. We lost him once he was declared a free agent (to the Padres???) and he never played for the Mets again.
Better to hold off on adding Henderson until we need him for an extended period. A few years back we had an opt out with Carlos Torres when we first signed him and we ended up with 3+ years of great pitching because we never had to DFA him and risk losing him.
Stick with Gilmartin until we are sure we can use Henderson for a few months. .
I can’t comment on the potential need to DFA Henderson if he made the roster and then was sent down.
What I can comment on is Blaine Boyer. It was no great loss to lose him as the decision to carry him was made on ST stats while ignoring what he had done previously in the majors. And the save you referenced? In an extra inning game, the Mets scored three runs in the top of the frame and Boyer came on and pitched the last inning and got the save despite allowing a run.
Boyer allowed runs in three of his five appearances with the Mets and the bullpen immediately got better when he was replaced. After the Mets cut him in 2011, he didn’t return to the majors until 2014. In between, he played for three different organizations and even went to Japan.
Bully to him for persevering. But the idea that the Mets lost something when they cut him is simply not true. In the three years before the Mets, he had a 4.85 ERA and a 1.426 WHIP. He just wasn’t good in 2011, despite his ST numbers.
I appreciate you filing in the exact numbers, but the point is that if Henderson needs to be sent down when Goedell comes back, why take a chance on having to DFA him when we could leave him in Vegas until we need him for an extended stretch or promote him prior to his opt out date.
I thought Boyer was better, but Torres contribution was indisputable.
Thanks for your input.
I asked options guru Chris Walendin about the Henderson situation. Here’s what he said:
“Henderson would have to have his contract purchased by the MLB club on or before 6/15 (I haven’t looked at the specifics of his out clause, but that’s how these typically work). Henderson still has his full compliment of options and has less than 5 years of MLB service time (2.116), so after he’s added to the 40-man, the Mets could option him to Vegas without having to expose him to waivers and without his having the right to reject the assignment.”
So, they would not risk losing him by sending him to the minors.
Yes, but what kind of finch? If it was a purple finch, that’s a rare sighting, maybe I’ll get excited and call it an omen. A goldfinch, not so much, though they are pretty (a European goldfinch, now, would kick it back into rara avis territory. Or a green finch, but I digress). A house finch? House finches are not native to the Eastern United States; they were being caged and sold, at Gimbel’s I believe, as Chinese canaries, when certain parties associated with the Audubon Society took notice; they stopped the cruelty but unfortunately populated the region with this interloper, which is why the purple finch has become rare in the first place.
I get mostly rock doves (pigeons to you) house finches, starlings, mourning doves and house sparrows in my back yard, and only the mourning doves are native to the region.
Details, details.
The linked article – http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2016/03/the-bird-that-landed-on-bernie-sanders-podium-and-its-symbolism-2789812.html – had pictures. If you could identify, that would be great.
I had no idea that purple finches were rare. My mom’s a bird watcher and I’ve heard her say that name before. I’ve never heard of a green finch, though.
How about a Sidd Finch?
Well… the power came on yesterday, anyway…
The Jim Henderson Experience sounds like a jam band. JHE is touring with Phish and DMB this summer.
“The Jimi Hendrix Experience was an English-American rock band that formed in Westminster, London, in September 1966. Composed of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding, and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969.”
should have known
Crazy hair-do’s on those Hendrix boys. On a serious note, Harvey is shut down for the rest of Spring.
And this is how it happens. I mean, in all likelihood this will be no big deal, but miss a start, now the rotation is in an odd spot. Maybe he misses a couple turns and voila, things are less good than we all seem. Classic Alderson…”little concern, no concern, or grave concern, we dont know yet.”
Well, if it comes to it, the Mets don’t need a 5th starter until April 12th, which is 15 days away. If we only need to use someone else for that 1 turn, the next time a 5th starter would be needed is the 19th, which is 3 weeks away