Alex Torres
Jacob deGrom is taking the mound tonight. Mets fans are all excited for his start tonight. Why shouldn’t we be. The man has been “deGrominant,” whether it was him winning Rookie of the Year, his All Star Game appearance, or his terrific 2015 season. How quickly we all forget that this was never supposed to happen.
When deGrom was first called-up to the Mets, he was supposed to be in the bullpen while Rafael Montero was supposed to be in the rotation. As we know, deGrom had a strong rookie season, and in the beginning of 2015, it was Montero who was assigned to the bullpen (at least initially). It turns out that would have been a colossal mistake. In fact, this should make Mets fans question every pitching move this front office makes.
To be fair, Montero did enter last year ranked ahead of deGrom. However, that is an independent rating of those two players. Each organization should know their prospects better than fine sites like Baseball America. Additionally, this is the same team that gave up on Collin McHugh, a very dependable major league starter for a team that wants to go to a six man rotation, for Eric Young, Jr., who is a part time player on an under .500 Braves team.
It didn’t stop there. Right before the season began, the Mets traded for Alex Torres, who pitched so well he’s in AAA right now. The cost was Cory Mazzoni, who was a prospect the Mets became frustrated with due to his injury history. It should be noted these were non-arm related injuries. Mazzoni has a decent repertoire that makes the 2011 former second round pick a back end starter or reliever. This is something the Mets need now. Instead, the Padres have the prospect and the Mets have dead weight. I just hope we don’t have another Heath Bell situation here.
This is why I wasn’t happy with the Tyler Clippard and Yoenis Cespedes trades. These are both rentals, who aren’t resigning with the team. If the A’s didn’t trade Clippard to the Mets, then the Nationals overpay or Billy Beane finally accepts the Mets offer. Overall, this is bad negotiation.
It’s also bad valuation of assets. Remember if not for injuries deGrom would be setting up for Jeurys Familia, or possibly closing while the Mets are figuring out the rotation on a sub .500 team.
This is why I question this front office. People may disagree with me, but this is partially why I question their treatment of Michael Conforto and Kevin Plawecki. Given their other moves, I think they invite this skepticism. I hope I’m not the only one.
Finally, the Mets are addressing their second biggest roster hole: the lack of a LOOGY. The Mets have added Eric O’Flaherty for a player to be named later. I’m assuming the prospect will be of no consequence (although I’m leery with the Mets receiving cash), and accordingly, I love the trade.
Jerry Blevins had been brilliant to start the year. However, he broke his arm, and it took longer to heal than anticipated. He’s finally been cleared to throw, but there is no timetable for his return. If he does come back, it’ll give the Mets two LOOGYs. That’ll be a nice weapon when you still have six games remaining against Bryce Harper and the Nationals.
For his part, O’Flaherty should only be used against lefties. He’s holding lefties to a triple slash line of .186/.286/.209. He has not given up a homerun to a LHB. Conversely, he’s gotten mauled by righties to the tune of .420/.491/.620.
This is also addition by subtraction because the Mets designated Alex Torres for assignment. At first glance, Torres‘ 3.15 ERA suggests he’s pitched well. However, his peripherals are scary. He has an FIP of 5.68 and a 1.515 WHIP. Furthermore, he’s a lefty who can’t get out lefties. They’re hitting a triple slash line of .268/.406/.393.
Overall, this is a good trade that addresses a real team need. The only downside is that it’ll drive me even crazier that I can’t get a personalized jersey.
The Mets offense is officially offensive. As I tweeted last night, their runs per game is as follows:
April 4.35 runs per game
May 3.54 runs per game
June 2.96 runs per game
July 2.87 runs per game.
This is unsustainable and had led to a -16 run differential. Things need to be fixed quickly to reverse these trends or the Mets run the risk of letting the season get away. For the purposes of this post, I’ll take the front office at face value and assume a trade can’t be competed just yet. Also, I’m not going to waste my breath here about bringing Conforto up to the majors (that’s for another time). The front office has made it clear he’s not getting called up. However, that does not mean something can’t be done now.
First: Transfer Wright to the 60 day disabled list. He’s been gone for 60 days already. Not putting him on the 60 day DL is roster mismanagement. Once Wright is put on the 60 day DL, the Mets can call up someone not in the 40 man roster.
Second: Call up Matt Reynolds (he’s not on the 40 man roster) and install him as the everyday SS. Let’s face it – since the day the Mets refused to resign Reyes, Tejada had been given several chances to become the everyday SS and failed. In this latest attempt, he had a triple slash line of .255/.322/.360 and a UZR of 0.8, i.e. he is bad at the plate and average in the field. CORRECTION: after posting this I learned Matt Reynolds is on the 7 day DL.
Reynolds had a triple slash line of .270/.327/.410. I wasn’t able to find his UZR information, but scouts seem optimistic on his defense. If Reynolds minor league stats carry over, the Mets improve the SS position and the bench. If they don’t translate (the PCL is a hitter’s league after all), he had a cup of coffee. It’s not like his production would be so bad as to justify carrying Eric Campbell on the roster (side note: I’m sorry because Campbell works hard and really tries to help the team). I know Reynolds isn’t on the 40 man roster, but so what? Are you really afraid of losing
Third: Outright Alex Torres and recall Logan Verrett. This would leave the Mets with only one lefty in the pen, Sean Gilmartin, who is not a LOOGY. However, Torres isn’t effective against lefties. Lately, he hadn’t been effective at all. In a small sample size, Verrett has been largely effective for the Mets.
Fourth: Recall Dilson Herrera, bench Wilmer Flores, and release John Mayberry, Jr. In his last 10 games, Herrera is hitting .359 with a .390 OBP. He’s hot. Flores has been bad defensively and at the plate. However, he does have some pop in his bat and could be an effective PH. To make room for Herrera, Mayberry should be released. He just hasn’t hit. He’s taking up a valuable roster spot right now.
Fifth: Call up Travis Taijeron and send down Danny Muno. I know I joked yesterday about Taijeron and the Mets need for more minor leaguers. However, this post is seeking drastic measures to help this team, which is best done by eliminating most of the bench. This season Taijeron’s triple slash is an eye opening .271/.395/.523. Why hasn’t he been called up? Well he is not a highly thought of prospect having been drafted in the 11th round in 2011. Why send down Muno? He’s bad at baseball. Travis Taijeron is not in the 40 man roster, but I am comfortable exposing Wilfredo Tovar to waivers.
With all the machinations, the Mets have mostly retooled their bench (except Nieuwenhuis and Recker) and they find out what they have in Reynolds and Taijeron. Also, it creates a spot for with Nimmo or Conforto in AAA and possibly Gavin Cecchini as well. Maybe I’m wrong, but at least this is something.