Believe it or not, the Mets have actually made two moves this offseason. Both were minor league deals. The first was to utility man Ty Kelly. The second was to Stolmy Pimentel. How will they fare? Who knows?
That’s the thing. You never quite know what to expect when you bring a player in on a minor league deal. Sometimes it’s a veteran just looking for one last shot. It can be a young player just looking to get an opportunity in another organization. Ultimately, these are players that just want a job, and they’re going to give it everything they have because if they don’t, their career might be over.
Mets fans and the organization need not look any further than R.A. Dickey. When Dickey signed the deal he was coming off a then career year that him have a 4.62 ERA and 1.617 WHIP in 35 games (only one start). There was no reason to believe the signing would amount to anything more than minor league depth even if knuckleballers tend to figure things out later than more “conventional” starting pitchers. He came to it even later as an adjustment because he was born without a UCL.
Well, you know the rest. He went 39-28 as a Met with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.150 WHIP. In 2012, he was an All Star and won the Cy Young Award going 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.053 WHIP. Because of that year, and the fact the Mets still had him under contract for another year, the Mets made perhaps the best trade in franchise history acquiring Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard along with Wuilmer Becerra and John Buck.
Speaking of John Buck, he would be traded by the Mets the following year along with Marlon Byrd. Byrd was also signed to a minor league deal. When these two were traded together, the Mets acquired Vic Black and Dilson Herrera. Black was effective did the Mets out of the bullpen for a year and a half before he was injured. Herrera is the second baseman of the future.
Now, there are a million minor league deals that don’t amount to anything. However, those players are released in Spring Training or spend the year in the minors. You don’t spend much money to acquire them, so it’s not a big deal. This happens in the vast majority of signings.
Still, there are always needles like Dickey and Byrd in the free agent haystack. If you’re able to find them you can turn your franchise around. Now, it’s not likely that either Kelly or Pimentel will make that type of contribution. If they make any positive contribution, the signing is a homerun because nothing is really expected from them. The bar for success is very low, but the sky’s the limit.
It’s why I love minor league deals.
When I first looked at my house, I checked everything. The toilets flushed. The water ran in the sinks and showers. I thought I checked everything. I didn’t.
The first floor wasn’t wired for cable. The basement was. The top floor where the bedrooms are were. The first floor wasn’t. Due to reasons beyond my understanding, an antenna doesn’t pick up local television stations. Not even PBS. As a result, I got the Roku, and I have been quite pleased with it with one major exception: I can’t watch the Mets.
That’s not completely true. I can if the Mets are on ESPN. Other than that, I can’t. I can watch them on my phone via the Optimum App, but not on the Roku. My Optimum subscription allows me to get live TV from different Roku channels, but it doesn’t allow me to watch SNY. Even if I subscribed to MLB TV, I still couldn’t watch the Mets on the Roku because I live in market.
MLB is now easing restrictions to stream games on devices like the Roku. Note, this has no effect on the MLB TV. Rather, it has an impact if your team’s partner is Fox, which is apparently half the league. It includes YES, which owns a share of the network. It doesn’t include the Mets because their partner for SNY is Comcast. As a result, my Roku is useless for watching Mets games in 2016 past Opening Day.
It’s about time that ends. Optimum needs to make its app available for the Roku like Time Warner did. Comcast should work with MLB to permit SNY to be streamed. Why isn’t this going to happen? Are the Mets and MLB afraid I’ll take my Roku with me when I go on vacation to an out of market location and watch the games? Are they afraid I’m going to see the commercials when I’m elsewhere?
It’s ridiculous. It’s why a solution needs to be found before the season starts.
My family never sat around the table and said what we were thankful for each Thanksgiving. We’re rather large people. Sitting through grace was onerous enough. However, I do think it’s worthwhile.
For starters, I’m always thankful for my son and wife. I’m thankful for the rest of my family. This year I’m also thankful I got to go to a World Series game with my Dad and brother. As Mets fans, we should be thankful for this team in general. The 2015 season was a pleasant surprise to everyone, and each player left us with something to be thankful for this year.
Since it appears he’s leaving, I wanted to take time to say I’m thankful for Daniel Murphy. He was a terrific Met for the past seven years. We first saw him in 2008 when the Mets called him up to try to prevent a second straight collapse. Murphy did his part, but the Mets collapsed anyway.
Since that time, he worked hard to become a major league second baseman. He worked his way into becoming an All Star. Despite this, the Mets would move him around the infield. He never complained. He just went out and did his job. He did it’s well as he possibly could. He did it on mostly bad Mets teams. This year Murphy finally got a chance to play in October, and he took over leading the Mets to the World Series.
Mostly, I’m thankful I got to make videos like this one:
It was great rooting for a team that was a good group of guys. It was great seeing my son become a big Mets fan. It’s even better that he’s so smart that he could learn the Mets lineup and pick his favorite players. Players like Murphy, Lucas Duda, and Matt Harvey.
So thank you Murphy for being the type of player we could all root for. I hope to be able to do so again next year. I know my son does as well.
I still remember the toast I gave at my father’s 60th Birthday. In the toast I noted my father instilled two things in me: (1) being a Mets fan; and (2) helping those less fortunate than you. With respect to the latter, he was always more cognizant of that around the holidays.
Each Thanksgiving, he would “adopt a family” which meant he would buy a meal for a family in need. He always took my brother and I with him when he did the grocery shopping. He would have us help him pack the boxes and bring it to the charity. When my brother and I got older and had jobs out if school, we adopted families of our own.
When my son is old enough, I will continue the tradition with him. In many ways, this could be my father’s greatest legacy, and that’s saying something.
With that in mind, I hope everyone does something. It doesn’t have to be adopting a family or going to a soup kitchen. It could be something like donating canned goods. It could be donating your time somewhere. There is nothing too small or inconsequential.
Like my father has done with me, I hope this post has left an impression.
In case you missed it, the Mets are having a Bobblehead giveaway. You just need to re-tweet the Tweet and vote for the player you want:
RT to enter to win a bobblehead of the player that wins the poll below! #Mets #PickAPrize https://t.co/0K3M6ip6Bt
— New York Mets (@Mets) November 23, 2015
David Wright is crushing Tom Seaver with 65% of the vote. Seriously? I know it’s a popularity contest, but there is no way you should want a bobblehead of Wright over Seaver. Seaver is the greatest Met ever. He just might be the greatest right hand pitcher of all time. There should not be any Met more popular than him.
Frankly, the result of this poll is embarrassing to Mets fans. It shows we can’t respect what little history we have. It’s a shame.
As long as Carlos Gonzalez remains a Rockie, there will rumors and suggestions that he will be a Met. It was the same with his former teammate Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo became a Blue Jay, which means we have to double down on the CarGo silliness:
ESPN's Jim Bowden pitches #Rockies trading CarGo to #Mets for RHP Zach Wheeler and OF prospect Brandon Nimmo: https://t.co/Ph8YihzWkR
— Patrick Saunders (@psaundersdp) November 23, 2015
I’m not going to address whether they’re good deals for the Mets (they’re not). Instead, I’m going to ask why? Why are we going through this again? The Mets are set at the corner OF spots, and CarGo is a RF.
CarGo played 151 games in the field this year. All were in RF. He hasn’t played CF since 2011. The reason is probably because he’s just a average RF. His UZR last year was -1.7. His average UZR IS 0.8 per season. If he’s just average in RF, why do we believe he will be average or better in CF?
Furthermore, he’s not an offensive upgrade. Last year, CarGo hit .271/.325/.540 with 40 homeruns. It was a Coors Field creation. He hit .299/.355/.617 with 24 homeruns at home. On the road, he hit .253/.294/.464 with 16 homeruns. That remains true for his entire career. He’s a lifetime .290/.347/.524 hitter. He has hit .324/.382/.604 at home and .255/.310/.441 in the road.
This isn’t an upgrade over either Curtis Granderson or Michael Conforto. He’s not even an upgrade over Juan Lagares. Lagares is a career .261/.297/.364 who plays Gold Glove defense. Away from Coors, CarGo hits .255/.310/.441 and still brings his average defense with him. Better yet, CarGo has hit .115/.207/.250 at Citi Field.
Throw in the fact that he’s due $37 million over the next two years and you’d have to give up players to get him, the question should be why you anyone want him? You’re essentially getting a slightly below average hitter who is average defensively. Trades like that ruin teams. Think about it. If CarGo was that good, why would the Rockies be shopping him? Also, why haven’t there been any takers?
As the Mets have done in the past, they should just not trade for CarGo.
No matter how you slice and dice it, the Mets will have to replace Daniel Murphy. The Mets could stay in-house with Dilson Herrera. They could sign a free agent like Ben Zobrist. They could look to make a trade. In the year after the World Series, why not just go for it?
If you want to go for it, the player you want is Robinson Cano, who reportedly wants to leave Seattle and come back to New York. Of course, he does even if the news didn’t come from him. The Mariners are a mess. Their coaching staff ripped him on the way out the door. Safeco Field is a nightmare for hitters much in the same way Citi Field used to be. I suspect Cano meant he wanted to go to the Yankees, but who knows, maybe he’ll accept a trade to the Mets.
He can be teammates again with Curtis Granderson, who seems from afar to be a terrific teammate. He can be reunited with Kevin Long. Between that and a move out of Safeco, he may get back to or close to the statistics he used to have. He will be back in a city that he was comfortable playing. It begs the question, do you want Cano?
First off, that contract is a nightmare. He’s due $24 million each year for the next eight years. This contract carries forward into his age 40 season. He’s been accused of being a lazy player, even if the accusation was unfair. He’s been recently described as a cancer in the clubhouse. Last year, he hit .288/.334/.446. It was easily his worst season. It just so happened that this occurred when Cano may be at the end of his prime.
However, I think a return to New York to a contending team would rejuvenate his career. Cano is a career .307/.356/.494 hitter. He is an average second baseman (-0.4 average UZR per season). He still hit 21 home runs last year despite playing at Safeco. Overall, he’s been an effective hitter there, even if he was a much better hitter while with the Yankees. He’s the best second base option out there. He may still be the best second baseman in the game. He is the best second baseman available either free agency or trade. At one time the Mets were interested in signing him.
Ultimately, we know the real reason this is unrealistic. Money. Cano would not only eat up practically all of the Mets remaining budget (or put them over budget), he would also eliminate payroll flexibility. Remember, Sandy Alderson doesn’t give out second generation contracts like this. This is what makes Cano unrealistic before we even get an idea of the Mariners ask.
So while Cano would be a fit, there is no way the Mets would pursue trading for him.
There has been a lot of handwringing over the Mets choices over the 40 Man Roster. There are quality prospects now exposed to the Rule 5 draft. Some pointed to Eric Campbell still being on the roster. I don’t like how the Ruben Tejada situation is impacting the roster. Mostly, I don’t understand how Darrell Ceciliani is on the 40 Man Roster.
I know it was a very small sample size, but Ceciliani showed us nothing that would lead you to believe he’s a major league player. In 39 games last year, Ceciliani hit .206/.270/.279. He had more strikeouts than hits. He struck out in one-third if his plate appearances. His OPS+ was 55, which is just abysmal. Really, the only good thing you could say about him was he was an adequate fielder.
Now, he’s only 25, and he’s still a prospect. However, he’s not really a good prospect. Essentially, he’s projected to be a 4th OF. It’s nothing to sneeze at, but it’s also not a reason to let better prospects walk. Keep in mind Ceciliani’s potential role with the team is already filled by Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Nieuwenhuis has at least showed that he can be a good pinch hitter, pinch runner, and/or platoon option for Juan Lagares.
Unfortunately, the Mets went with Ceciliani over the pitching prospects and/or Wuilmer Becerra. I don’t understand the logic. The Mets are sacrificing players who may very well be selected in the Rule 5 draft for a player who might not have even been claimed off waivers.
Ceciliani should not be on the 40 man roster.
With the Mets on the verge of losing Daniel Murphy, there’s a lot of holes left behind: (1) a middle infielder; (2) a left handed bat; and a (3) middle of the order bat. With prospects like Dilson Herrera, you’d prefer the player to be on a short term basis.
Right now the Pirates are shopping a player that fits this mold: the switch-hitting Neil Walker. He’s a career .272/.338/.431. He has an OPS+ of 113. He has a career WAR of 16.4 or an average WAR of 2.3 per season. His wRC+ is 114. Long story short, he’s an above average baseball player. It makes you question why the Pirates are shopping the hometown kid?
Well, there’s two issues. The first is he’s not a good defensive second baseman. While he may be a better hitter than Murphy, he’s a worse fielder. Walker has averaged a -5.3 UZR, which means he’s definitively below average at the position. He’s also not getting any better posting consecutive -6.8 seasons.
After this the bigger issue is money, which is the same reason the Pirates are shopping him. He’s due to earn $10.7 million next year. He will be a free agent after the year. On top of that, you need to trade for him.
If the Mets interest in Ben Zobrist is real, they can afford Walker for a year. If the Pirates are reasonable, the Mets should trade for him. He will fit many needs, and he won’t block the path of the Mets prospects. Who knows? If he has a good year, the Mets could offer him a Qualifying Offer and met another draft pick thereby offsetting some of the cost it took to acquire him.
Overall, Neil Walker would be a good fit for the Mets no matter how unrealistic the possibility of his addition may be.