Even though he was a Yankee, it’s my opinion that most Mets fans bear no ill-will towards Don Mattingly. He had Hall of Fame talent but had his career derailed by back injuries. He’s also had a lengthy managerial career, which for the most part has been a disappointment. But few want to say that part out loud. And why is that?

Yes, the last seven years were with the Marlins, which would be a challenge for anyone to consistently pump out 90-win seasons. But perhaps no team in the league seemed less prepared, less fundamentally sound than the Marlins. It was such a contrast to compare Mattingly’s Marlins and Buck Showalter‘s Mets last year.

Mattingly was given the ax following the 2022 season and my fear was that he was going to wind up on the Mets in some capacity. That fear had nothing to do with his Yankees ties but rather the uninspiring play of his Marlins teams. So, I was relieved to hear that Mattingly joined the Blue Jays as their bench coach.

The Mets will have a new bench coach in 2023. Hitting coach Eric Chavez was bumped up to bench coach, so that the club could promote Jeremy Barnes from assistant to the main role guiding the team’s hitters. Allegedly, Barnes was in high demand and the Mets were afraid of losing him. Good luck to both guys in their new roles.

Last year’s bench coach, Glenn Sherlock, will now work exclusively with the team’s catchers. Some may look at this as a massive demotion but it doesn’t seem that way to me. There’s probably no manager in the majors who needs a bench coach less than Showalter. And Sherlock has the chance to really impact the 2023 team by working with Francisco Alvarez. Hopefully they’ve already started and Sherlock can make the brass feel comfortable enough to have Alvarez on the Opening Day roster.

22 comments on “Wednesday catch-all thread (11/30/22)

  • JamesTOB

    I hope the Mets will sign Rodon, as well as, deGrom. I haven’t heard much chatter about the Mets and Rodon, but he would be a huge upgrade over Bassitt (and he was pretty good). The Mets would have a dominant top three to begin the season. I realize that the financial commitment would be great, but as a fan, I can always dream.

  • Woodrow

    Bassit was good,very good. I don’t think he missed a start. I hope he’s back. He is very underrated.

  • JimO

    I agree with the Glenn Sherlock comment. I think all efforts will be made to work with Alvarez.

  • T.J.

    All the Met coaching moves seem very sound, from the outside of course. Bassitt was very reliable but his meltdowns in his two biggest starts of the season were concerning. It’s baseball, and I try to refrain from the small sample, one game, one playoff conclusions, but it also can’t be ignored. Rodon and deGrom would be awesome but it is unlikely and would certainly result in cost cutting on CF/batting lineup and maybe even the bullpen. The modern game, or at least what the Astros showed, is a very deep pen may be more valuable than multiple big dogs in the rotation. But hey, that’s why Eppler gets the big bucks.

  • Hobie

    Does Rodon cost a draft pick?
    If so and it’s either/or I’ll take Bassit + the draft pick. Both? Maybe,

    • Brian Joura

      Free agents with draft pick compensation attached

      Chris Bassitt
      Xander Bogaerts
      Willson Contreras
      Jacob deGrom
      Nathan Eovaldi
      Aaron Judge
      Brandon Nimmo
      Carlos Rodon
      Dansby Swanson
      Trea Turner

  • Woodrow

    If another team signs DeGrom we get a draft pick? If so if we sign DeGrom we lose that pick.

  • Footballhead

    OK, I’m a bit confused now (a normal condition!) So if we (re)sign Bassitt we lose a draft pick? I know he turned down the QO of nearly 20million. I figured he would, hoping to get a three year deal for that avg amount. Now deGrom opted out, so why would we lose a draft pick there? What about Walker? I thought he was a pure free agent, so why is he not worth a compensation draft pick?

    And draft picks are only important if you know what your doing and are lucky in your selections.

    If money was no object, yeah I would like deGrom back. And I do like Bassitt; but now we’re talking losing two draft picks? And of course we do want Nimmo back, so now we are looking at losing three draft picks! So why is not more love shown to getting T. Walker back?

    And T.J is right regarding the importance of the bullpen in the modern game.

    • Mike W

      You only get the draft pick if you offer a qualifying offer which is turned down and the player signs with another team. So if deGrom stays, there is no draft pick.

      I have said it alot.

      Rodon
      Senga
      Trea Turner
      =
      deGrom and Nimmo

    • Metsense

      Footballhead, it is very complicated. Go to the link and read it.
      https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/qualifying-offer

      • Footballhead

        Thank you Metsense for the link. It’s language like that found in the agreement that made it obvious (and glad) that I’d never go into the legal profession. as per Seinfeld….

        Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

  • Mike W

    Turner is the perfect player for the Mets. If you go with Rodon and Senga rather than deGrom, you get younger. You also will have them both after 2024 when Scherzer’s contract is up.

    I get bored with the same roster. I like big shake ups. Keeps it interesting. I love this time of year when big deals start to happen.

    I bet we see some big movement at the winter meetings.

    We also need value. I read the Mets were looking at Tommy Kahnle for the bullpen. If he is healthy, he could be a great value add.

  • JamesTOB

    Brian, what do you think of adding a box under each comment that would let us give a thumbs-up when we like what was written? (But I wouldn’t want a thumbs-down box.)

    • Brian Joura

      I’ve always been against this because the thumbs up/thumbs down were a package deal. I’ll look to see if I can find one that’s compatible with my theme and WP version that has just the thumbs up.

      In the meantime, you’re more than welcome to reply “+1” as others have done at the site with a comment they like.

      • JamesTOB

        Sounds good. Thanks.

      • JamesTOB

        The NY Post sports page has a thumbs-up option without the thumbs-down. I wonder if someone there would be helpful.

        • Brian Joura

          As does The Athletic. But those organizations have a little more money and expertise than I have.

          I’ve downloaded and activated a plugin that is supposed to be able to do it. But my test of it was unsuccessful. I’ve messaged the plugin creator but have not heard back. It’s possible it’s a feature that’s available in the $159/year paid version rather than the free version I installed.

    • Brian Joura

      I found one and installed it and it has the graphic but when you click on it – nothing happens. It’s not compatible with my version of WordPress.

      Let me know when you’ve seen this and I’ll get rid of it. I just want you to know that I’m trying.

      Edit: I found one that works, so I got rid of the one that didn’t. Please make sure to use since I went to the trouble to get it.

  • Metsense

    Relievers are getting more expensive this year. Diaz and Montero started it and now Miguel Castro got 3.5M. What is Ottavino , Lugo, May and Givens going to fetch, let alone Chafin and Robertson?

    BTW the +1 post is sufficient and there is a name behind it.

    • T.J.

      +1

  • Bob P

    Well, say goodbye to Jake. 5 years $185 with Texas.

    • Name

      Looks like his late season choke job didn’t cost him much money.

      Given that Texas doesn’t have an income tax, the Mets would of had to offer $195 mil for it to be equivalent monetarily.

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