Sunday, December 18, 2016

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Why Aren't the Mets Considering Obtaining Andrew McCutchen?


An MVP only 3 years ago and while he had an off-season last year, his 2nd half was pretty good and for the right 'ML-ready' players he could be available. Then too, if McCutchen has a comeback year (he's only 30 so the chances are more likely that he will) he would provide excellent protection for Cespedes in the lineup. And he gives a mostly (outside of Jose Reyes) slow Mets offense much-needed speed. With 36yo Curtis Granderson slated to start in CF next year and Juan Lagares serving as his backup, Andrew McCutchen would certainly be an upgrade.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Mets Considering Zack Wheeler for Bullpen


ESPN.com:
Alderson plans to have Addison Reed slide into the closer role in Familia’s expected absence. The team potentially will add a couple of middle relievers, ideally on one-year deals.

“The first guy we signed was a two-year deal, and that didn’t work out,” Alderson said, referring to the Mets’ signing of D.J. Carrasco in December 2010, shortly after Alderson took over as GM.

 “We’ve had subsequent two-year deals that didn’t work out all that well. In fact, we have about one a year. That’s why I think we’ll be a little bit cautious, especially with that midrange.”

Alderson said the answer may be using some of the Mets’ starting-pitching depth in relief next season, assuming everyone is healthy. Alderson listed Zack Wheeler as a potential reliever, presumably with Robert Gsellman in the rotation. Wheeler has missed the past two seasons while dealing with setbacks from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in March 2015.

Alderson suggested Wheeler may be a suitable reliever because he throws hard, and bullpen work may “minimize whatever lack of control may exist.”

“There’s no reason for us to say, ‘Well, he’s got to be a starter,’” Alderson said. “Now, he may feel that way himself. But it may be that coming back after two years he’s better off pitching out of the pen. You might have to be careful. You might not be able to pitch him back-to-back [days]. It might have to be two innings at a time. These are all hypothetical at the moment. But I don’t see any reason to just eliminate that possibility.”
I like this idea. As long as Wheeler's been gone now and with the higher risk of aggravating his injury if he continues to be a starter, he could be the in-house answer to the bullpen help the Mets so desperately need.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Does the Yoenis Cespedes Signing Change the Mets Need at Catcher?


Yeah, the combination of Travis d'Arnaud, Kevin Plawecki and Rene Rivera (who is definitely coming back per a one-year deal he just signed) were pretty bad offensively and defensively last season. But with Cespedes back in the fold and hopefully Sandy Alderson doing the right thing by keeping Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce for 2017, do the Mets really need a change at catcher?

I mean, Met pitchers seem to always praise their backstops ability to call a good game and considering that we traded a Cy Young winner to get d'Arnaud, I wouldn't be quite ready to give up on him just yet (tho it's kind of scary how powerless he looked at the plate when he came back from his latest injury in 2016). Plus with the market being pretty low for catchers (yeah, Matt Wieters is still out there, but he's 30yo and injury-prone, so how long does he have left playing catcher?) these days and the need to acquire bullpen help being great, it might be in the Mets best interests to keep what they have, save money and hire a new catching coach instead.