Please use this thread all week to discuss any Mets-specific topic you wish.
Those of you who follow the NBA know that New York City has an ordinance which has kept Kyrie Irving from appearing in home games for the Nets this year since he chooses not to get the vaccine. This was probably a good idea at the start of the basketball season. But with the numbers of positive tests and hospitalizations dropping, it’s probably time to lift that ordinance. You’re allowed to go to games without a vaccine and without a mask, as Irving himself has watched his teammates play in their home arena.
That same ordinance will come into play for the Mets and Yankees if it’s not lifted before Opening Day. There’s no word on which Mets are not vaccinated but it would be naive of us to think it won’t come into play with multiple guys. My sincere hope is that anyone who isn’t vaccinated now will get it done before the season starts. My second thought is that if there are people who refuse to get the shot, that they’re not my favorites, like Jacob deGrom and Brandon Nimmo. It was tough to root for Kirk Cousins this past football season, knowing he refused to get the shot. But at least he could play.
I hope the Mets have one more major move left in the tank. I know that Buck stated that McNeil was the 2B, but they still need a LH outfielder to complement the group, and Smith ain’t it. With Winker gone, the next best thing might be Rosario, even Schwarber. But they need some real punch from the left side.
I think about this team: Who’s going to hit home runs?
Alonso of course. But who after that?
Lindor will hit a few.
Davis might hit a few.
Nimmo fewer still.
Who besides Pete can clear the bases, and Pete does not tend to hit with runners on…
We have to rely on Escobar to duplicate his past season, but Citi Field may not cooperate.
We need a guy to replace Conforto…
Cross Schwarber off your list – signed 4-year deal with Philly. Hopefully the Mets come up with a new way to pitch him because what they tried last year didn’t work.
In his last two full years, Escobar has hit 35 and 28 HR, with 30 of those 63 HR coming in away parks. Mets may not have anyone besides Alonso reach 30 HR but Lindor and Escobar should easily clear 20. They get 90 HR from those three and all of the other starters are likely to reach double-digits. That’s 150 HR right there, not counting any bench production. B-R’s “bench” for the Mets had 51 HR last year. This squad should easily top last year’s mark of 176 HR.
One of the things i was complaining about this offseason was roster manipulation, and they did help address the problem by limiting players to 5 options per season as well as move the option period for pitchers to 15 days before being able to come back up.
I was curious to see if that number would actually change any behaviors so i was trying to find somewhere to download all mlb transactions in excel form. Unfortunately i didn’t find someplace that allowed me to do that for free, so i just manually searched a few guys that i knew went up and down a lot and i found that Yennsy Diaz was optioned 8 times last year and Blankenhorn 7 times so it doesn’t affect a ton of players but it’ll help a little. My only lingering question is if a recall/option for a doubleheader game counts as one of the 5 or if there’s an exception for that. If it does count, GMs might alter and strategize about who they bring up for that 1 day spot.
Hmm – thought I read that those two were only optioned five times. Probably read that on SNY but can’t find it now. Let’s look at Diaz’ game log:
He opened the year in the minors, not sure if he was on the 40-man at the time but let’s say he was. So that’s 1
Pitched on 5/23 and 5/24 and then gone for awhile – 2nd option
Pitched on 6/19 and 6/22 – 3rd option
Pitched on 7/7 and 7/9 – 4th option
Pitched pretty regularly between 7/19-8/15 – 5th option
Came back on 9/5 – no more options
There was a 5-day break between appearances, as he pitched 8/7 and again on 8/13. Maybe there was an injury which allowed him to be recalled? But that seems questionable.
I think you’re missing some just going by game logs because he was optioned more times according to the Mets transactions page
Start of season – #1
Up on 5/21, down on 5/29 – #2
Up 6/19 down 6/20, then up again 6/21 down again 6/23 so that’s #3&4
Up 7/4 and stayed for over a month. Down 8/18 – #5
Up 8/20 down 8/23 – #6
Up 8/31 down 9/1 – #7
Up 9/2 down 9/14 – #8
You can see a lot of 1/2 day moves which is what i was referring to about the roster manipulation.
Maybe 4 might be a better number than 5 because in this scenario the Mets would have had to expose Yennsy to waivers if they tried to option him down on 8/23 which was already nearly the whole season and only 1 real stint in the majors.
I looked for a clear answer about the 27th man being a “full/real” option but couldn’t find it. While looking, I came across a bunch of poorly-worded pieces. It could be that since there was no limit on options that they didn’t feel the need to write clearly.
Evan Drellich wrote a piece on all of the changes with the new CBA but did not specifically address this point. I asked a question in the comments so we’ll see if he responds.
It was Tim Britton in The Athletic
“New York didn’t option a player to the minors more than five times last season. (Both Yennsy Díaz and Travis Blankenhorn were each optioned five times.) This doesn’t change a strategy the Mets had employed so much as close off a possible avenue of roster management. It places a greater emphasis on depth, especially in the bullpen, so that a team doesn’t put the same trio of pitchers on the Triple-A shuttle throughout the season.”
https://theathletic.com/3182166/2022/03/14/how-does-the-new-cba-affect-the-mets-specifically/
That link is stuck behind a paywall so i can’t read it, but either some of the option moves i mentioned above don’t count for some reason , or he can’t count.
Regarding Blankenhorn, i re-counted 7 across his entire season, as he was with other teams before the Mets which is my guess why Britton only counted 5 for this case. Im pretty sure the intent is that the counter doesn’t get reset when you switch teams.
“if a recall/option for a doubleheader game counts as one of the 5 or if there’s an exception for that. If it does count, GMs might alter and strategize about who they bring up for that 1 day spot… .as well as move the option period for pitchers to 15 days before being able to come back up.”
Name, this is a good point. The adoption of the DH reduces the need of PH. Also the balanced roster rule, 13 pitchers and 13 position player, doesn’t allowed GMs to stocks their roster with excess pitchers prior or after a double header. Therefor a GM should only take a pitcher for the 27th man in a double header and probably a starting pitcher. Very interesting.
Mets should have some problems with Phillies. Harper, Schwarber, Didi a lot of power from the left side. Brad Hand and who else in the late innings?
Conforto?
Yesterday in the Athletic, written by Evan Drellich:
“A federal magistrate judge ruled against Major League Baseball in a 181-page decision, handing minor leaguers suing over back pay significant victories.
The case, Senne vs. Major League Baseball, is a lawsuit brought by minor-league players in 2014 over player pay under various wage laws, including those in Florida and Arizona. While the trial is set to begin June 1, the plaintiffs have already been awarded some damages. Judge Joseph Spero ruled that plaintiffs are entitled to $1,882,650 in penalties on a California claim. He also ruled that they’re owed money on an Arizona claim, but said that amount would have to be determined at trial.
Spero rejected MLB’s arguments that the minor leaguers were seasonal employees, akin to creative artists, exempt from minimum wage laws.
“Plaintiffs here have an employment contract with Defendants that provides for the payment of compensation and expressly requires that Plaintiffs perform service throughout the calendar year,” he wrote.
And he ruled Major League Baseball is a joint employer, meaning the league remains a defendant in the case — exposing not only individual teams to the lawsuit, but the central office itself.”
Oh baby! The Cincinnati owner is really going have to put his hand in his pocket now! Trade everybody!!
Headline on SNY from the Pete Alonso interview:
Mets’ Pete Alonso continues to take pride in his defense: ‘I feel like one day I will win a Gold Glove’
Now I’m willing take Alonso seriously, and take back my Cleveland trade talk. If he can become a two way player, now he has real value. Every player on the Dodgers is a two way player and that’s what I want on the Mets.
The Dodgers could suffer from having to move Muncy to 2B. That body is not a 2B body, and his quickness at first base may not translate to quickness in the middle infield, especially sans the shift. Muncy is a major Dodger win story, pulling him out of the weeds, but signing Freeman may render Muncy’s role somewhat redundant. Of course the new DH sheds a whole new light on player’s roles…
I am disappointed that Winker, Schwarber, Rosario, and Dickerson have all signed deals, and the Mets did not seem to pursue any of them. Any one of them would have been an upgrade, even the cheaper options.
Maybe Eppler wants to revolve the roster logjam of Davis, McNeil, Cano and Smith before dealing, but I’m afraid the best options will be gone if he does. That fourth OF spot remains highly significant, as does a lefty BP option. Did Rich Hill sign somewhere?
Yes, with the Red Sox for $5 million + incentives
The roster isn’t ideal but the roster is efficient and versatile.
McNeil (2B, LF, RF), Escobar (3B,.2B), Marte (LF, CF), Nimmo ( CF, LF, RF), Canha (RF, LF), Guillorme (SS, 2B, 3B), Cano (2B, 1B), Davis (3B, LF) and Smith (1B, LF).
When they need 4th outfielder, move McNeil into the outfield and shuffle the players around because they have so many options.
A belated congratulations to Brian for the return of his boy Chasen Shreve.
Egads. The Phillies get Castellanos. They become even more Philly-Like than ever before. They will score a lot of runs and may have true once their starter leaves the game. But they certainly appear better than last year.
And can it be argued that the Braves are even better than last year, even after losing Freeman? I mean, if Olson is 90% of Freeman, and they can close games with Jansen, and Riley progresses another year, and Albies and Acuna do their thing… sheeeesh… Mets could still be left out of the post season.
*may still have “trouble” (not true) in the bullpen…