The New York Mets bullpen has been through for a loop with the injury to Seth Lugo to start the season. Things have grown increasingly complicated by diminished velocity of Jeurys Familia and Dellin Betances. With all that said, the bullpen has talent, and there are many spots accounted for already.
Guaranteed – Miguel Castro, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Aaron Loup, Trevor May
Obviously, Diaz is going to be the closer coming off of a strong 2020 season. May is going to figure into the equation as a late inning reliever, and Loup was brought on to be the LOOGY. That’s the easy part.
Castro is out of options, and it is very likely he would be picked up off waivers if the Mets tried to send him down. Fortunately, that does not seem to be an issue with Castro having a great Spring striking out four in 4.0 scoreless and hitless innings.
After him, with Familia seemingly getting his elite level stuff back, he is a lock to make the bullpen. If nothing else, he can pitch the middle innings while the Mets hope Jeremy Hefner gets him back to his dominant form.
Bubble – Dellin Betances, Robert Gsellman, Drew Smith, Daniel Zamora
The 13 pitcher roster rule has been suspended for the 2021 season, but that may be a good general construct. Considering a five man rotation with the aforementioned five guaranteed spots, that leaves three remaining spots.
Given his salary and history of building up his velocity in-season, it is likely Betances makes the Opening Day roster. That leaves two spots available in the bullpen. Given the performances this Spring, that is going to be a difficult decision.
Gsellman has been a mainstay in the bullpen over the last few seasons and based on seniority he gets the call. Notably with him, the Mets did have the option to stretch him out as a starter, but they opted not to do that this spring with Gsellman only throwing 4.0 innings over three appearances.
Smith was the one reliever from the 2017 trade deadline debacle who has proven he could pitch in the majors. So far, he looks good, and the Mets are going to have to go out of their way to try to keep a pitcher with three scoreless appearances with no walks and three strikeouts off of the roster.
Finally, there is Zamora who probably presents the Mets best option to carry two left-handed pitchers in the bullpen. He has been a little wild with two walks over 3.2 innings, but he has also struck out three batters. That is typical for Zamora over the last few years.
Fifth Starter Competition – Joey Lucchesi, David Peterson, Jordan Yamamoto
The injury to Carlos Carrasco certainly changed the complexity of the fifth starter battle. With his injury, that opened up two spots instead of one. Given the nature of the injury, the Mets could feel more comfortable putting Peterson in the Opening Day rotation as the fear of having to send him down at one point isn’t as strong.
If Peterson were to make the rotation, the Mets could put one or both of Lucchesi or Yamamoto in the bullpen. Both pitchers have been great this Spring, and they have both more than made the case they deserve to be on the Opening Day roster in some way, shape, or form.
Outside Looking In – Jerry Blevins, Tommy Hunter, Arodys Vizcaino
Blevins probably has a much better chance than this given his curveball looking great. However, he has only appeared in two games walking two and striking out three. While this arguably puts him ahead of Zamora, especially with his track record, adding Blevins would require the Mets to make a roster move.
With respect to Hunter and Vizcaino, they may well both prove to have an impact on the Mets in 2021. That said, neither quite seem ready to pitch Opening Day at the moment. That goes double for Vizcaino who has only made one apperance so far.
Wild Card – Mike Montgomery, Corey Oswalt
With Carrasco suffering an injury, the Mets are said to begin stretching out Montgomery. That would seemingly be an indication they are looking for him to begin the season in Syracuse instead of Flushing. Still, it is hard to overlook his ability to be another lefty in the bullpen and a pitcher who can give you multiple innings. That said, Lucceshi could offer that himself.
Oswalt has had a very good Spring Training with Luis Rojas being very impressed. His velocity is way up, and he has looked quite strong. In fact, we probably shouldn’t completely rule him out in the fifth stater competition. If it is about competition, Oswalt has a strong case to make the Opening Day roster. That said, the fact it’ll require a 40 man move serves as a significant impediment.
Opening Day Bullpen
Joining the aforementioned group of Castro, Diaz, Familia, Loup, and May will very likely include Betances giving the Mets two more spots to figure out. With Lucchesi and Yamamoto now poised to start the season in the rotation, it would seem the final two spots can go to pitchers who are strictly relievers and not converted starters.
At the moment, it looks like one of those two spots should go to Smith. It’s possible the last spot goes to Gsellman due to his ability to give the Mets an extra inning here or there, but it would seem his spot is about as tenuous as Betances’ is right now. Overall, there are two weeks to go and a lot can happen. It will be very interesting to see where things go from here.
Make no mistake, Carlos Carrasco suffering a tear in his hamstring is terrible news for the New York Mets. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he’s arguably the second best pitcher on the team even when everyone is healthy.
That said, this injury does present an opportunity for the Mets, or better yet, their pitchers.
As detailed on The Apple, prior to Carrasco’s injury, the Mets currently have a very interesting fifth starter competition between Joey Lucchesi, David Peterson, and Jordan Yamamoto. So far, Lucchesi and Yamamoto have separated themselves from Peterson.
That’s to the Mets benefit because Peterson should probably begin the season in Syracuse. Part of the reason is his control and FIP, and the larger reason is with Noah Syndergaard returning, the fifth starter will be removed from the rotation. The Mets certainly won’t want to do that to Peterson.
Regardless of that, in the small sample size that is Spring Training, Peterson has just been out-pitched by Lucchesi and Yamamoto:
- Lucchesi – 2 G, 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
- Peterson – 2 G, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, K
- Yamamoto – 3 G, 8.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, ER, BB, 5 K
Looking at the stats, Lucchesi has probably been the most dominant, but he’s walked three. Yamamoto has been strong, and he’s shown the most progress of this trio. In fact, he’s really been much more in the zone than he had been with the Miami Marlins.
Based upon your point of view, you could make a strong case for either pitcher. Other considerations to account for are Lucchesi being 27 and Yamamoto only having one option remaining.
In some ways, margins that razor thin can be dangerous. Part of the reason why is it’s just Spring Training, and these pitchers have only thrown the equivalent of one start.
As we know, aside from the greatness of Jacob deGrom, pitcher performances vary start to start. Making important decisions on that can lead to bad results. We’ve seen it happen with the Mets.
One classic example is the Tyler Yates/Aaron Heilman competition in 2004. Yates lasted seven starts, and Heilman never really would get the chance to start. The butterfly effect of that was the Mets losing Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.
Of course, there’s Glendon Rusch beating out Bill Pulsipher in 2000. Rusch was very good in the Mets rotation that year before pitching extraordinarily well in the postseason that year. Pulsipher flamed out, and he was moved for Lenny Harris, who was great off the bench for that team.
While people don’t typically look at it that way, that’s what’s at stake in fifth starter battles. Remember, the fifth spot in the rotation comes up less than five times the top spot in the rotation does.
Who the fifth starter is does matter. We’ve seen that, and having seen that, it would greatly benefit teams to have more time to make their assessments.
That’s what the Carrasco injury affords the Mets. It allows them to start the season with both Lucchesi and Yamamoto in the rotation.
They can see how they work with James McCann and Tomas Nido in games that matter. They can see them against Major League rosters and going through a lineup more than once. All of that gives them better information to make their assessments.
In the end, Carrasco’s injury created an opportunity for another pitcher to grab a rotation spot. We will now see who is truly up for the task.
Among the many issues people have with Governor Andrew Cuomo, he did the unthinkable. He wore a Mets/Yankees face mask while avowing to be a fan of both teams.
Not even the great Carmelo Anthony could pull this off without ridicule. While it’s debatable whether a Mets/Yankees rivalry truly exists, we can say you cannot be a fab of both teams, and there is no wearing gear with both teams on it.
It’s a mortal sin of New York fandom. While Cuomo, who has spent nearly his entire life in New York doesn’t get it, new Mets pitcher Jordan Yamamoto does.
No. Just no. This ain’t it. ? https://t.co/m2a7H3x4lh
— Jordan Yamamoto (@jyamaz50) March 18, 2021
Heading into this past offseason, no one could’ve reasonably expected Yamamoto would be the leader need we need, but here he is. Unlike Cuomo, he gets it.
And it’s high time the Mets had a Hawaiian leading the way. When it was Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez, the Mets won the 1986 World Series and 1988 NL East title.
When it was Benny Agbayani, the Mets went to consecutive postseasons for the first time in team history capturing the 1999 Wild Card and 2000 pennant.
So who better to lead New York than Yamamoto? After all, he implicitly understands fandom in New York, and he is well poised to help the Mets capture their third World Series.
The New York Mets have four huge core players hitting free agency after the 2021 season – Michael Conforto, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Stroman, and Noah Syndergaard. At various times, Sandy Alderson has stated they were going to address them one by one.
That’s understandable as one big deal to one may well impact another player. That’s why the Mets need to prioritize and work sequentially.
With Lindor being the future Hall of Famer and the best player on this team, he understandably comes first. He also comes first because Lindor has stated he will not negotiate in-season.
Realistically speaking, there’s no reason to believe the deal won’t get done. Lindor seems to be enjoying being a New York Met, and he has been open to an extension.
For the Mets part, you’d have to believe they had some sense of what it would take to get Lindor. Moreover, this is an area where Steve Cohen’s ownership of the Mets makes a true difference. All told, there is no reason to believe a deal won’t get done.
The real concern is the timing. Heading into the 2019 season, Jacob deGrom said he wouldn’t negotiate in-season. Eventually, deGrom signed just as the Mets were set to embark to begin the season.
If that were to happen with Lindor, we can all breath a sigh of relief. Well, that’s until we see if there is enough money to and time to extend everyone else.
There’s a scene in The Devil’s Own where Sheila makes corned beef and cabbage for Rory, who is a houseguest from Ireland, to help make him feel at home. The only problem is Rory had no idea what it was.
At some point, we are all Sheila when we discover there is no corned beef in Ireland. For the most part, they really don’t know what it is. In no way, shape, or form is corned beef Irish.
And yet, it’s on the menu at each and every Irish pub across the United States. It’s on the table of nearly every Irish (and those pretending to be Irish for the day) household.
For some Irish-Americans, they don’t have corned beef. Instead, they opt for much more traditional fare. That includes shepherds pie, lamb stew, fish and chips, or bangers and mash. It’s understandable because corned beef and cabbage is decidedly not Irish.
While not Irish, it is decidedly Irish-American. Moreover, having it on St. Patrick’s Day is not only celebrating our culture but also celebrating how far Irish people have came.
As denoted many places, including Delish and the Smithsonian, corned beef and cabbage was born out of poverty and necessity. When the Irish came to America, they were poor and faced prejudice. As a result, they couldn’t afford the foods they regularly enjoyed in their homeland.
What they could afford was corned beef and cabbage. And so, that’s what they ate instead of the bacon they loved. In large part, that’s why we eat it today.
Being this is an Irish story, you’d expect some irony. Here it is.
Corned beef was actually once an Irish delicacy. During the years of British rule and oppression, the Irish were forced to slaughter their cows with Irish beef being renown across the world.
The beef was cured with corn sized pieces of salt giving the delicacy its name. For centuries, everyone sought to enjoy Irish corned beef. Of course, everyone but the Irish who could not afford it.
That was not until they emigrated to the United States and purchased it from Jewish neighborhoods. They did it because that’s what they could afford. With that, a tradition was born.
So, if you’re Irish-American, there is no better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than having corned beef and cabbage. By having it, you’re celebrating just how far the Irish people have come, and you’re doing it by having an Irish delicacy.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
As confirmed by the Mets owner, himself, the foul poles at Citi Field will no longer be adorned with the Chick-fil-A advertisements.
Nothing to say there but the Chick-fil-A foul pole sign has been officially retired
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) March 17, 2021
Regardless of your feelings about Chick-fil-A, this is a really good day for the New York Mets. Those advertisements should have not been there in the first place.
For starters, they were a giant eye sore. More importantly, at least from an aesthetic point of view, it never should have been there in the first place.
The Mets foul poles are special. They’re the only ones in the majors that are orange. It matches one of the Mets main colors, and it is one of the things which makes this team unique.
It’s not hyperbole to suggest putting advertisements on those foul poles is like putting roses on the ivy in Wrigley. It’s like putting a random player in Monument Park. It’s like adding a racing stripe to the Green Monster.
Okay, it’s a little hyperbolic, but the point remains. The orange foul poles were a fun way the Mets were unique and special. That and the apple is what makes a ballpark a Mets ballpark.
More importantly, it strips away a vestige of the Wilpon ownership. Instead of selling square inches for revenue, the Mets are more concerned about the way they present themselves. This time, instead of presenting themselves as nepotism gone very wrong, they now present themselves as a Major League team.
The announcement of the foul poles returning to their former glory is a great day. With Steve Cohen at the helm, there will be many more in the future.
If you looked at last season, there was legitimate reason for optimism for Dellin Betances in 2021. If nothing else, he showed his ACL was healed, and he was still able to generate a very good whiff%.
We should have seen Betances build off of last year with a regular offseason. Instead, this Spring, it seems like he’s regressing and could be in real danger of not making the Opening Day roster.
Betances seemed the acknowledge his 98+ MPH fastball was forever gone. Last year, he more than made 94 MPH work, at least in terms of swings and misses. He looked to build upon that, and he worked with Rockland Peak Performance to optimize his spin and to maybe regain some velocity.
So far, the results haven’t been great. Through four appearances, he has allowed six runs on five hits and three walks while only striking out two. While we should typically ignore Spring Training performances, this one merits analysis.
The main reason is his velocity, or better put lack thereof. While Betances is known for low velocity at this time of the year, his velocity so far this Spring is trending in the wrong direction.
Betances is going in the wrong direction.
Betances’ average 4-seam FB velocity this spring:
March 4: 92.2 mph
March 12: 91.4 mph
March 16: 90.6 mph#Mets #LGM https://t.co/xbFqf4hQ0P— Mathew Brownstein (@MBrownstein89) March 16, 2021
Instead of Betances building up his velocity, it’s dropping. It’s now at the point where his fastball is dipping below 90 MPH. While he was able to make 94 work, it’s very debatable he can make sub 90 work.
The biggest reason is his control. With the high number of walks he issues, he really can’t afford lower velocity. The dip in velocity makes it easier for a batter to either lay off a pitch or square one up. That decrease in velocity could end any chance Betances has at being an effective reliever.
If Betances sees his velocity continue to drop, it’s going to become more and more done difficult for the Mets to put him on the Opening Day roster.
The only saving grace Betances has is his relatively high $6 million salary and Seth Lugo‘s injury. For those two reasons alone, he may very well get the chance to be on the Opening Day roster. If so, he can hopefully follow his career pattern of increasing his velocity in-season.
If not, Betances may well soon find himself as a DFA candidate. In fact, he’s probably one already. For now, he has about two weeks remaining to give the Mets some reason to bring him to Washington to begin the 2021 season.
Curtis Granderson, one of the best human beings to ever don a Major League uniform turns 40 today. Through his charitable work and play on the field, he left an everlasting impact on the game.
If not for Granderson, the 2015 New York Mets aren’t alive to make that miracle push in August and September. He was every bit the MVP of that team, and if things shook out differently, he would’ve been the World Series MVP.
He was a true leader who left an impact on the young team. He was also very fun starting the We Follow Lucas Duda Instagram account. Everything about him was great, and it truly was a pleasure seeing him play for the New York Mets.
He’s certainly one of the best players in Mets history, and he should have a spot in their Hall of Fame. In fact, there should be a spot for him in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
It’s a little known fact he’s the only man to win the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award four times. That’s two more than anyone else. Of course, he has also won the Roberto Clemente Award.
That’s why, today, we celebrate the life of a great baseball player and even better human being. Happy 40th Grandy.
After a disaster of a first start of Spring Training for Matt Harvey, he rebounded in a big way. It wasn’t just the results, it was how he pitched.
Brandon Hyde said Matt Harvey hit 96 mph on the gun today. "I thought he pitched great," Hyde said. #Orioles
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) March 15, 2021
Through 4.0 innings, he allowed two earned on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. While not dominating, it was a clear positive step for Harvey.
That’s what Harvey has been making all offseason after not pitching a full season in the majors since 2018, the year the Mets designated him for assignment. It’s been a hard and difficult road since that season.
One thing Harvey did was go to the Baseball Performance Center this offseason. There, he worked to not only regain velocity but more importantly spin.
First time getting @MattHarvey33 off the mound after 3 days of heavy spin work. Main focus was to get that carry FB back from 13-15 (18V). From 18-20 his FB carry was only 12V at the same velo. Getting the carry back was the main focus to bring back that electric FB. Today: 18V? pic.twitter.com/LsTXrEDYDq
— Baseball Performance Center (@The_BPCsj) February 10, 2021
Seemingly, against all odds, it seemed to work, and as a result, Harvey landed a minor league deal with the Orioles. If for no other reason, that seemed a good fit as that is a rebuilding team who can give him a chance.
That’s all we should want for Harvey – a chance. Sooner or later, you just pray it’s going to click again. Maybe, this start was the beginning of that happening. If so, good for him.
Harvey gave his career to help the Mets try to win a World Series. Hopefully, there is a second act in the works.
And who knows, with the Mets potentially needing bullpen help, there could be a second one in Flushing. Maybe, this time he comes in for the ninth and seals the deal for the Mets third World Series title.
We can dream, can’t we?
Imagine for a second criticizing Luis Guillorme‘s defense while at the same time praising J.D. Davis. Now, imagine that coming from a Mets coach.
Absurd, right? Well beyond absurd. No one in their right mind would ever do that. Right?
Sadly, it’s true. That’s what Gary Disarcina did. Sorry, Mets INFIELD COACH Gary Disarcina.
Disarcina spoke about how Guillorme has limited range and how he should learn first base to become a more versatile utility player. Yes, it was couched as a positive, but saying your second best defensive infielder has limited range is an unnecessary criticism.
Gold Glove play by Guillorme pic.twitter.com/tdazv3cwaa
— MetsFanMania (@MetsFanMania) March 14, 2021
Luis Guillorme can pitch and make great plays in the field. Versatility >>> pic.twitter.com/uzEQkSyYb2
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 11, 2020
Guillorme wasn’t the only player Disarcina critiqued. He also spoke about Davis’ defense. Now, given how he was critical of Guillorme, you could only imagine what he had to say about Davis.
As reported by Mike Puma of the New York Post, Disarcina said, “he’s been ‘pleased’ with Davis’ work [at third] this spring.” He also spoke about analytics helping Davis and that Davis has “definitely improved.”
The article also spoke about wanting to make Davis work at third because they want to keep his bat in the lineup and Guillorme on the bench.
That’s right. The Mets are actively ignoring Guillorme continuing to prove himself as an everyday player to make something work that hasn’t. Remember, Davis has been among the worst defenders in Mets history.
Now, they have Disarcina saying Guillorme has poor range and needs to learn first to become more versatile while saying he’s pleased with Davis’ progress. Maybe we should consider the source.
Disarcina was the bench coach who couldn’t properly run QC leading to Jay Bruce batting out of order. He’s also been completely unable to help Mets infielders defensively.
Remember, Disarcina has been coaching Davis for two years now, and Davis has only regressed. Jeff McNeil was a good third baseman, and he struggled under Disarcina’s tutelage last year.
There’s also Amed Rosario. Rosario was an exceptionally gifted prospect who many thought could win a Gold Glove one day. Instead, while working with Disarcina, Rosario was actually the worst defensive shortstop in baseball and fourth worst defender overall.
This same coach is now going to say Guillorme has limited range while working on his versatility to be a better bench player? He’s going to say he’s finally getting through to Davis?
It’s an embarrassing series of statements devoid of any credibility. It really only highlights how poor of a coach Disarcina has been and just which direction the Mets want to go.
At this point, they’d rather try to go with someone who is among the worst fielders in Mets history over the better player who has earned the job. For some reason, the Mets and Disarcina thought they should prop up one player while taking subtle shots at the better player.
It’s ridiculous and hopefully dishonest.