Amed Rosario
With Wilmer Flores and Jose Reyes suffering injuries, we got to see Travis d’Arnaud shift all game between second and third base. With the Mets not wanting to be put in that situation again, the Mets have flown both Matt Reynolds and Gavin Cecchini to New York as a precaution. In the event both Reynolds and Cecchini are activated, it appears that Reynolds, not Cecchini, will be the one who will get playing time.
Before the game and before injuries were an issues, Sandy Alderson informed reporters he was inclined to give Reynolds a long look in September. Alderson also stated the team will not be giving Cecchini a long look at second base in September. Alderson’s statements could be interpreted to mean the Mets are now moving on from Cecchini.
In one sense, this shouldn’t be that surprising. After struggling at shortstop and with the rise of Amed Rosario, Cecchini was moved to second base. While he has been good defensively at second, he has taken a step back offensively.
Cecchini had a breakout offensive season in 2015 in Binghamton. He continued that success last year in both Las Vegas and the Arizona Fall League. Seeing him hit .267/.329/.380 this season, it makes you question what was the issue with him.
There are some plausible explanations for this. For starters, Cecchini’s 2015 and 2016 stats were partially fueled by a high .348 and .357 BABIP. Certainly, his being an aggressive contact line drive hitter with low walk and strikeout rates, he is susceptible to swings in his BABIP from year to year. To that end, it may not be such a surprise to see Cecchini see his BABIP drop to .329 this year and his offensive stats drop they way they have.
Another possible explanation is Cecchini has had to put extra work and attention to learning second base. With the Mets focus this season with making their players more versatile, Cecchini has also had to work on his play at shortstop. This is a plausible explanation as to why we have seen Cecchini struggle at the plate this year.
Still, this is a talented player. It was one of the reasons the Mets made him their first round draft pick (12th overall) in 2012. In his two brief stints in the majors, he has not been over-matched at the plate. Last year, he hit two doubles in seven at-bats. In his call-up this year, he had a four game hitting streak that included a home run off Clayton Kershaw. Seeing this, and how much the Mets have invested in him, it seems peculiar the Mets would just pass on giving him an extended look in the majors.
Then again, this seems to be a pattern with Sandy Alderson. He and his front office have truly struggled with contact hitters like Cecchini who have not shown power at a young age. Many will point to his decision to non-tender Justin Turner, but there is also the way the Mets have handled T.J. Rivera. The team continuously passed him over for players who did not pan out.
Cecchini may or may not be an everyday second baseman or even a Major League player. At this point, we don’t know, but it also seems odd to take that stance when he’s still just 23 years old, who has not been afforded the opportunity to receive the benefit of Kevin Long’s tutelage. There’s also the matter of the Mets giving playing time to Reyes, Flores, and Asdrubal Cabrera. In large part, the Mets know what they have in them, and for the most part, they haven’t been good enough to help the Mets win this year.
We don’t know that with Cecchini. It’s time to give him a chance.
This wasn’t the best of Subway Series games for Mets fans.
Jacob deGrom was good but not great.
The Yankees first got to him in the third when Ronald Torreyes hit a lead-off double that Yoenis Cespedes couldn’t even be bothered to hustle to field. His lack of hustle was all the more damning when Torreyes made it to second with ease despite slipping on the first base bag.
Of course, Cespedes would hustle on two infield singles in the game.
The Yankees then took a 1-0 on an Aaron Hicks RBI single.
That lead grew to 4-0 on a pair of homers. The first was a two run Yankee Stadium special off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury in the fourth. The Gary Sanchez solo shot in the sixth would’ve been out anywhere.
Even with the four runs, deGrom was largely effective. His final line was 7.1 innings, nine hits, five runs, five earned, two walks, and four strike outs.
deGrom would get the loss because Sonny Gray dominated the Mets for six innings. He had only allowed one walk and four hits while striking out five.
Dominic Smith knocked him out of the game with his first career homer in the seventh:
One more look at Dominic Smith's first career home run, a 373-foot, opposite-field shot to left. #Mets pic.twitter.com/IRtpdnsF6K
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 16, 2017
It was an opposite field shot just past Hicks’ glove. The homer brought the Mets to within 4-2, bit the Mets wouldn’t get closer.
One reason why was home plate umpire. Dellin Betances began to get wild after getting two quick outs to start the eighth. Betances then walked Cespedes, and he found himself down 3-1 to Michael Conforto.
The 3-1 pitch was certainly a strike, but the 3-2 pitch was low. Even if it was technically a strike, it was not called a strike all night.
That was the Mets last chance to tie the game.
The Yankees expanded the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth. Aaron Judge led off with a double by just beating out Cespedes throw to second. It became runners on the corners after Didi Gregorious fought off a pitch and blooped it just over the head of Wilmer Flores.
It was a bad situation that could have been worse if not for Juan Lagares. Sanchez hit a ball to the deepest part of the park. Instead of it going for extra bases, a shallow playing Lagares not only ranged all the way back, but he also got into good throwing position. This kept Gregorious at first.
Jerry Blevins and Chasen Bradford got out of the inning keeping the score at 5-2. Unfortunately, that insurance run would loom large with the Mets challenging Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.
It started with Terry Collins pinch hitting Jose Reyes for Smith because Collins is apparently the only person on the planet who doesn’t know Rafael Devers hit a home run off Chapman.
Reyes got the infield hit, but who cares? The rest of this season is about player development, and the Mets gain nothing from pinch hitting for Smith against a tough lefty.
It’s complete and utter nonsense. It’s the same nonsense that held up Conforto’s development.
If this is the way Collins manages from here on out, it’s time to get rid of him.
That said, Amed Rosario made things interesting with an opposite field two run homer to bring the Mets to within 5-4.
Gregorious would make a nice play taking a base hit away from Travis d’Arnaud, and Lagares would ground out to end the game.
It was a frustrating loss not just because deGrom wasn’t at his best, but also because Collins continued the same poor managing.
Game Notes: This is the first time Smith and Rosario homered in the same game.
Baseball is a funny sport sometimes. On some level, it seemed like the 2017 season was going to be about the comparison between Amed Rosario and Gleyber Torres. You couldn’t help but compare the two. They were both shortstops atop nearly every prospect list, and they were going to be playing in the same city. If you remember, there was a short-lived time when comparing Rey Ordonez and Derek Jeter was actually a thing.
A lot has happened since Spring Training. For starters, Torres got hurt. In addition to that, the Yankees have seen the rise of Aaron Judge. He’s seemingly a lock for the American League Rookie of the Year, and he’s in the MVP discussion. When he won the Home Run Derby, there was some discussion about his being the new face of baseball.
In the other borough, the Mets have seen the re-emergence of Michael Conforto.
After a whirlwind 2015 season, including two homers in Game 4 of the World Series, Conforto busted out of the gates in 2016. He quickly became the best player on the Mets, and he was soon moved to the third spot in the lineup. Unfortunately, from there Conforto would injure his wrist, get uneven playing time, and face multiple demotions to the minors. He entered the 2017 season without a sure spot on the Opening Day roster. That would change with injuries and his play.
Conforto would emerge as the Mets lone All Star this season. Through 99 games, he has hit .285/.392/.576 with 19 doubles, a triple, 26 homers, and 64 RBI. He is on pace to become the youngest Mets player to ever hit 30 homers. His 152 wRC+ is the 12th best in the majors and sixth best in the National League. That 152 wRC+ is the fifth best among outfielders, and it is the third best among players under 25 years of age. The only two with better marks are Bryce Harper and Carlos Correa.
Simply put, Conforto is one of the top young players in the game, and his career has a tremendous upward trajectory.
That’s what happens when you’ve shown you can hit anywhere in the lineup. It’s the result of his being able to move past his struggles and be a much better player for it. His doing this while being bounced around the outfield is all the more impressive. The question for some is whether Conforto is a more impressive player than Judge.
So far this season the answer is no. Judge leads Conforto is every statistical category – traditional and advanced. With that said, between Conforto’s strong second half coupled with Judge’s struggles, that gap is narrowing. In the end, we don’t know how much it will narrow. Much of that depends on Judge’s ability to make the adjustments we already know Conforto is making.
If you ask as of right now, who is the better player, it’s Judge. However, if you ask who will be the better player going forward, the answer is not as clear. Most Mets fans will take Conforto, and most Yankees fans will take Judge. Both will be justified in their decision. In the end, the comparisons are fun, but ultimately unnecessary.
With that said, the comparisons will be unavoidable. That goes double for when it’s Subway Series time. Fortunately for Mets fans, the Mets will fare much better than they did in the Ordonez-Jeter comparisons. That will also be the case when the inevitable Rosario-Torres comparisons begin.
The Neil Walker legacy with the Mets is a complicated one. For many, he’s only to be judged as his not being Daniel Murphy. For others, they rejoice over the fact Walker coming to the Mets meant Jon Niese was no longer a Met (he would return). Putting aside who he was not, Walker had an interesting legacy as a Met.
The one thing that was obvious was when Walker was actually able to play, he played extraordinarily well.
Walker impressed everyone right away with a tremendous April last year. During his torrid month, he hit .307/.337/.625 with a double, nine homers, and 19 RBI. While the nine homers really stood out, what was the most impressive was his hitting from the right side of the plate. Although he was a switch hitter throughout his career, Walker never did much of anything as a right-handed hitter. That changed with him putting in the work with Kevin Long. Seemingly overnight, he became a power threat from both sides of the plate.
More than that, he was a very good defensive second baseman. While he may not have had the range he once did, he was a smart and smooth player out there. More than anything, he didn’t make mistakes or unforced errors. In sum, Walker was a pro’s pro at the plate and in the field.
After April, Walker’s play fell off a cliff. We’d soon find out the reason was Walker needed season ending back surgery. Many a game, Walker took to the field with numbness in his feet. Baseball is an extraordinarily difficult game to play. It’s even more difficult when you can’t even feel your toes.
In a somewhat surprising move, the Mets made Walker a qualifying offer. In a much less surprising move, Walker accepted it. The Mets tried to work out a long term deal with the player to try to stretch out some of the $17.2 million Walker was due, but for good reason, Walker didn’t want to reduce that salary even if he was sincere in his wanting to remain a New York Met.
Again, when Walker was healthy, he was productive with the Mets. In 73 games this season with the Mets, Walker hit .264/.339/.442 with 13 doubles, two triples, 10 homers, and 36 RBI. Over the course of a 162 game season, those numbers prorated would have been 28 doubles, four triples, 23 homers, and 81 RBI. That’s tremendous production from the second base position, especially with the solid defense Walker gives you.
However, that was the issue with Walker’s tenure with the Mets. He was just couldn’t stay on the field. Last year, it was back surgery. This, year it was a torn hamstring.
Still, when we did get to see Walker play, we saw a good ballplayer. More than that, we saw a player who was great in the clubhouse. After Amed Rosario got caught up in a tough play that led to a Mets loss, Walker met up with Rosario before the players left the field to talk to him about it.
When he reported to Spring Training this year, Walker brought with him a first, second, and third baseman’s mitt to prepare for the season. Walker didn’t just want to just be a second baseman, he wanted to be someone who did whatever he needed to do to help the Mets win. We learned how rare a trait that could be in a player. Ultimately, Walker would see time at first and third. Eventually, this did lead to his being traded to the Brewers.
As a Mets fan, I want to see him go out there and do all he can do to take down the hated Cubs and Cardinals. As someone who has grown to really appreciate Walker, I want to see him succeed. In fact, with the Mets having holes to address this offseason at second and third, I’d like to see him return to the team. Until that point, here’s hoping he has a long postseason run.
Hopefully, this isn’t the end of Walker’s Mets career. If it is, I’ll appreciate him doing all his body would let him do, and I appreciate him trying to do everything he could do to not only improve as a player, but also to help the Mets win.
Don’t read too much into tonight’s game. The game started off on a strange foot when Neil Walker was pulled off the field (and his being removed from the lineup) during batting practice with his reportedly being dealt to the Brewers.
There was also the matter of Aaron Nola, who has been pitching like a Cy Young contender of late. Including tonight’s start, Nola now has a 10 start streak with him pitching at least seven innings while allowing two or fewer runs.
Tonight, that one run came off a Yoenis Cespedes fourth inning homer that briefly gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. There’s the argument it should have been a 2-0 lead.
In the third, Amed Rosario hit a one out double. He found himself on third when Brandon Nimmo struck out on a wild pitch. The wild pitch allowed Nimmo to reach first instead of the inning ending.
Rosario and Nimmo then attempted a double steal. Cameron Rupp threw through. Seeing this Rosario took off. With Nimmo seemingly having the base, Freddy Galvis didn’t hesitate coming off the bag to meet the throw and go home nailing Rosario.
That play would loom large during a two run fifth inning.
Up until that point, Steven Matz was cruising. He had four no-hit innings, which ended with the Phillies hitting back-to-back singles to start the fifth. Matz was so close to getting out of this jam.
First, Rupp popped out, and then Nola laid down a sac bunt. Matz couldn’t get the big out yielding a game tying single to Cesar Hernandez. Galvis then hit a seeing eye single that was just past Jose Reyes giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Ultimately, that was the game-winning hit.
Nola continued to shut down the Mets. His final line was seven innings, two hits, one run, one earned, one walk, and eight strikeouts. This made Ricardo Pinto a welcome sight in the eighth.
Curtis Granderson and Reyes each walked setting up two on and two out for Cespedes. Pinto would strike out Cespedes on three straight pitches to end the rally.
From there, the Phillies would add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth off Erik Goeddel giving them a 3-1 lead.
Ultimately, the Mets lost a difficult game. They lost a teammate, and they faced a tough pitcher. With that said, they did the right thing and played some young guys. More than that Matz progressed from where he has been.
Given how the Mets are constituted, they’re going to lose a lot of games. That’s understandable. The only thing you can reasonably ask is when they lose, it’s a good game, and the young players are getting their feet wet. That happened today, so all-in-all, that’s not too bad a day.
Game Notes: Michael Conforto started the game in center, and Nimmo played right. Reyes wasn’t initially supposed to be in the lineup, but took over for Walker in the lineup and played second. Asdrubal Cabrera played second.
One of the reasons Mets fans were angry about the return of Ryder Ryan for Jay Bruce was the fact many believed the Mets could have offered Bruce a qualifying offer, and they then could have recouped a second round pick when Bruce signed a big deal elsewhere. While we all should be able to agree Ryan was not second round value, the point that Bruce would automatically reject a qualifying offer is flawed.
This past offseason teams have shown they no longer value players like Bruce the way they once did. If the Mets inability to move Bruce this offseason wasn’t any indication, and if the return the Mets got for Bruce wasn’t any indication, then look at what happened to Mark Trumbo last year.
Trumbo took a one year flier with the Orioles, and he had a monster year leading the majors with 47 homers. In total, Trumbo hit .256/.316/.533 with 27 doubles, a triple, 47 homers, and 108 RBI. That was good for a 122 OPS+ and a 123 wRC+.
On the strength of this season, the 30 year old Trumbo would reject the qualifying offer only to be met with a tepid free agent market. Without Trumbo being able to garner the interest he believed would be present, he went back to the Orioles on a three year $37.5 million deal.
It wasn’t just Trumbo either. Other sluggers like Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, and Chris Carter were met with surprisingly soft markets this offseason.
The conclusion that can be best drawn for this is the market just doesn’t value sluggers the way it once did. With the qualifying offer being worth around $18 million next year, there was a very real chance Bruce was going to accept that qualifying offer meaning the Mets got no draft pick compensation.
It would also mean the Mets outfield would have been a disaster defensively. We know Bruce is not a center fielder, and we also know Yoenis Cespedes no longer belongs out there. The argument would be Michael Conforto could. He has shown he can handle it in spurts, but long term that is a bad proposition. In 327.2 innings there, Conforto has a -2 DRS and a 0.2 UZR.
Seeing how the Mets played this year, the biggest thing they need to do is to upgrade defensively. That goes double for key defensive positions like shortstop and center field. Fortunately, the Mets have Amed Rosario at short. Who knows if the answer is Juan Lagares or a name outside the organization for center. The one thing we do know it’s not Bruce.
There’s another consideration as well. The Mets need to make wholesale changes this offseason, which is going to require a lot of money. For a team that took a lesser return for Bruce partially due to the savings it brought them, we should worry about Bruce’s $18 million hindering the Mets ability to fully address all of the teams needs just like it happened last year when Neil Walker accepted his qualifying offer.
Overall, the Mets needed to trade Bruce to get some return for him. The return was lackluster for many, but in reality, it reflects more upon how teams value sluggers like Bruce. At a minimum, the Mets got something for him, and they have freed up playing time for Dominic Smith and Brandon Nimmo. All they have to do now is actually play those players.
I’d like to say when I saw Dominic Smith was getting called up to the majors, I rushed to purchase tickets to the game.
Fact is, I long had these plans. That doesn’t change the fact I was absolutely thrilled to see a lineup with Smith, Amed Rosario, and Michael Conforto in the same lineup. If tonight’s game is any measure, the three of them in the lineup is going to produce some exciting and winning baseball for years to come.
After falling behind 3-0 with a tough first inning, the Mets quickly got Seth Lugo off the hook.
First it was a Conforto homer in the second off Phillies starter Nick Pivetta. Then it was a Yoenis Cespedes three run shot in the third to give the Mets the lead. With Cespedes’ being my son’s favorite player, this was the absolute highlight of the night for him.
Yes, moreso than getting Paul Sewald‘s autograph. Sorry, Paul.
From there it was a back and forth game. And no, I don’t just mean the back-and-forth between the potty trips and the stops to the concessions. No, this was an exciting game.
The Phillies tied it in the third on a Tommy Joseph RBI double.
In the fifth, Rosario got a rally started with a lead-off single, and he’d score on a Neil Walker base hit. Walker, himself, scored on a Cespedes RBI single.
With Conforto walking, the Phillies pulled Pivetta and brought in Jesen Therrien. Wilmer Flores got into a favorable 2-0 count, and he got a good pitch to hit. Unfortunately, Flores hit it right at Rhys Hoskins to end the inning. This would not be the last time Flores would kill a rally.
The Phillies would get a run back on a Freddy Galvis sixth inning RBI double off Josh Smoker (run charged to Lugo) to make it a 6-5 game.
In the eighth, the Mets had runners on first and second with one out and Rene Rivera at the plate and Rosario on deck. On a 1-2, not a 3-2, but a 1-2 pitch, Flores took off for third. It was an easy strike em out – throw em out double play.
At that moment, you had to feel all warm and cozy about Terry Collins decision in the previous inning to double switch Smith out of the game. You felt even worse about it when Cesar Hernandez homered off Jerry Blevins in the bottom of the eighth to tie the score at six.
This was all a prelude to Rosario earning his first crown as a Met. In the top of the ninth, he homered the lead-off the top of the ninth:
"It's a dream come true." –@Amed_Rosario
He picked the perfect time for his first career home run! pic.twitter.com/c524mUpnWb
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 12, 2017
It was his first HR and his first game-winning RBI.
There is no doubt this was and will be the best Mets game of the year. You got homers from Conforto and Cespedes. Smith had his first big league hit. Rosario capped it all off with his first career homer.
Tonight was as good as it has been for the Mets all year. Hopefully, with the young pieces all due to return next year, there are lot more in store.
Game Notes: AJ Ramos earned his second save as a Met. Hansel Robles earned the win meaning his record is now 7-3.
Entering tonight, Jacob deGrom had never lost to the Phillies. With the Phillies being one of the few teams in baseball actually worse than the Mets, it wasn’t about to happen tonight.
deGrom dominated the Phillies over his 6.2 shutout innings allowing just four hits while walking none and striking out nine. The only way the Phillies could take him out of the game would be a Nick Williams line drive off deGrom with two outs in the seventh.
Terry Collins did the right thing pulling deGrom from the game. With the Mets going nowhere, there’s no need to risk anything. There’s less of a reason with the Mets being up 7-0.
One thing we have learned over the years is the Mets have always loved hitting at Citizens Bank Park. In fact, the Mets have homered there more than any other opponent. Tonight, the festivities began with a Wilmer Flores first inning three run homer off starter Vince Velasquez.
Velasquez wouldn’t last more than an inning. The Phillies would then bring in Al Leiter‘s nephew Mark Leiter.
He’d fare much better than Velasquez with the lone run against him coming off a Neil Walker solo shot in the third.
It was interesting to see Walker at third again tonight, especially with the Yankees reportedly having interest in him. I’m sure there will be a team to step in to offer a low rated Single-A reliever to prevent that deal from happening.
The Mets didn’t score again until Michael Conforto hit a three run shot in the seventh off Phillies reliever Jesen Therrien.
Conforto got the home run from the clean-up spot. Now that the Mets have traded Jay Bruce, Collins has re-inserted Curtis Granderson in the lead-off spot for the foreseeable future. Collins also promises to keep Conforto in the middle of the lineup as preparation for next year.
Speaking of Granderson, he hit a two run homer in the ninth to give the Mets a 9-0 lead.
That 9-0 lead became 10-0 with a Jose Reyes RBI groundout.
Overall, the Mets annihilated the Phillies. Flores was a triple short of the cycle. Every position player but Travis d’Arnaud reached base. He and Amed Rosario were the only two Mets without a hit.
The Mets needed more games like this during the 2017 season. In fact, this is just the Mets fourth shut out on the season. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way. Still, we should enjoy them whenever they come.
Game Notes: Dominic Smith will join the Mets tomorrow.
Today’s Mets game was scheduled at 12:10 because it was Camp Day at Citi Field. Apparently, the Mets aren’t much interested in generating new baseball fans because the team played one of their typical dreary day games. With today’s loss, the Mets are now an MLB worst 10-23 in day games.
This loss was one of the worst. It wasn’t the worst because the Mets were blown out. The 5-1 score dictate otherwise. Rather, it was a dreary day when the Mets gave you very little reason to cheer.
Rangers starter Martin Perez allowed just three hits over eight innings to the Mets with Wilmer Flores‘ fifth inning homer being the lone run scored. Perez was so good on the mound that he was able to stick around long enough to earn a golden sombrero.
One pitcher who did not last very long was Rafael Montero. His good stretch of pitching is now long forgotten, and he’s back to being the very bad pitcher that would drive Mets fans crazy. Just to put it in perspective, the first run of the game scored on a Montero balk, and he followed that up by allowing a three run homer to Joey Gallo, who has just worn out the Mets in this short two game series.
The run in the second inning was maddening. Elvis Andrus would steal consecutive bases off of the combination of Montero and Rene Rivera, and then he would score just ahead of Jose Reyes‘ throw home. It was a bad job blocking the plate by Rivera. The only thing worse than that was Collins failure to challenge the play at second on the first stolen base. Replays would show Andrus was actually out.
Montero’s final line would be 3.0 innings, five hits, four runs, four earned, three walks, and five strikeouts.
From there, Terry Collins played his favorite stretch everyone out in the bullpen game. Josh Smoker would pitch two innings, but he couldn’t get through that third. He would load the bases with no outs. Hansel Robles came on, walked a batter, got out of the jam, and he would pitch three innings. This for a reliever that just said he couldn’t feel his fingers the other day.
Chasen Bradford pitched a scoreless ninth to at least give the Mets a chance to win the game in the ninth. They didn’t.
Really, the one highlight other than Flores’ homer was Amed Rosario making a terrific diving play:
An amazin' play by Amed Rosario!#BigAppletite #Amazin #Mets pic.twitter.com/84AWuWMTx0
— ? BIG APPLE METS ⚾️ (@BigAppleNYM) August 9, 2017
We are now at the point where Rosario and Michael Conforto are really the other two reasons to watch this team. Hopefully, the Mets will call-up Dominic Smith to give us a third reason.
GAME NOTES: Neil Walker started the game at third base making him the 164th third baseman in Mets history.
It is interesting when you think about it. The Mets waited and waited and waited before they would bring up Amed Rosario. They waited for the Asdrubal Cabrera situation to calm down. They wanted him to be playing well. In essence, the Mets wanted the perfect situation to call-up Rosario to put him in the best position to succeed.
The Mets did this despite many believing he was ready. The Mets were willing to deal with poor defense at shortstop, and perhaps the 2017 to protect him.
The Mets handling of Rosario makes how they are handling Chris Flexen all the more curious.
Unlike Rosario, there was no calls for Flexen to be called-up to the majors. Even with the injuries, most thought the right call would have been to put Tyler Pill back into the major league rotation. There was nothing to lose there. The Mets season was already going nowhere, and Pill had some success in an earlier stint in the Mets rotation. Instead, the Mets made the bold and perhaps inspired choice to call Flexen up to the majors from Double-A. It was something the Mets have not done since 2006 with Mike Pelfrey.
Flexen was initially set up for success with him making his debut in San Diego. Petco Park is a pitcher’s park, and the Padres are not a great team. Unfortunately, Flexen would struggle, and he would last only three innings.
From there, Flexen took the mound in Coors Field, which was hardly the ideal spot for a any pitcher let alone one whose best pitch is his curveball. Like he did in San Diego, Flexen struggled, and again, he would last just three innings. He would depart that game with a blister.
Instead of sending him down after two tough outings, or putting him on the disabled list with the blister, the Mets are going to send Flexen back on the mound. This time it is against the Texas Rangers. While it is a down year for the Rangers, they do have veteran hitters like Adrian Beltre who can give a young pitcher fits. He’s doing this coming off two rough starts and with a blister on his finger.
Who knows? Maybe this is the best way to test a young pitcher and find out something about him. It’s possible he will be better for the experience. He could learn what he needs to improve to be able to get outs at this level. All in all, there’s an argument for made for letting him struggle. To that end, Flexen has shown poise on the mound despite him not getting results.
However, this all begs the question – if the Mets are so willing to call up Flexen before he was ready and put him in difficult situations, why wouldn’t they do the same with Rosario?