Billy McKinney

Mets Had Just Three Hits

For the second night in a row, the San Diego Padres flirted with a no-hitter against the New York Mets. This time it was Blake Snell.

Through 4.2 innings, he was perfect until he walked Billy McKinney. That led to nothing. Leading off the seventh, Francisco Lindor saved the Mets from the indignity of being no-hit with a lead-off single.

The real shame was Joey Lucchesi was again terrific. It didn’t start out that way when he gave up a homer to Manny Machado to lead off the first.

After that, he gave the Mets 4.2 strong innings before handing it to the Mets bullpen. The Mets bullpen kept it close but had a seventh inning hiccup.

Wil Myers doubled off Drew Smith, and then Smith plunked Jurickson Profar. For a moment, it seemed he get out of it when he pounced off the mound on a sacrifice bunt attempt to get the rare 1-5-3 double play.

Instead of getting out of it, Smith walked Tucupita Marcano. Jeurys Familia then relieved Smith only to walk the first two batters he saw to force home a run. When he walked Machado with the bases loaded, it meant that Machado had both RBI in a 2-0 game.

In some ways, this whole game was that seventh.

Lindor had the aforementioned single, which got past Tommy Pham and rolled to the wall. That meant Lindor was at third with no outs in what was then a 1-0 game. He wouldn’t score.

Snell struck out James McCann. In a tough at-bat, Pete Alonso eventually popped out. Then, Snell made quick work of Brandon Drury striking him out on three pitches.

Despite all of this, the Mets gave themselves a chance to win in the ninth. Like with Snell in the seventh, they had Mark Melancon on the ropes in the ninth.

Lindor had a one out single. McCann came up, and he was rung up on a pitch very clearly off the plate. McCann got angry, gave home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott a piece of his mind, and he was quickly tossed.

A clearly irritated Luis Rojas came out to stick up for his player, and Wolcott didn’t waste time ejecting him too.

Once the dust settled, Alonso singled putting the tying run on base. Drury fought off some pitches, but he’d eventually strike out to end the game.

Say this for the Mets right now. They’re pitching the bottom part of their rotation, and they have 17 players on the IL. Despite that, the second best team in the NL has needed everything they had to beat them. It’s a good harbinger for when these Mets are finally healthy.

Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was 1-for-1 with a walk in a rehab game for Syracuse.

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Mets Just Had Bad Luck

Sometimes, it just isn’t your night. That was the case for the New York Mets tonight.

You could see it in the third. With a runner on first, Fernando Tatis, Jr. launched a pitch to deep center. Mason Williams leapt, caught it, and then, well, his glove made contact with the wall as he was landing.

Instead of two outs, it was 2-0 Padres. That wouldn’t be the last time Tatis and the Padres got the better of Taijuan Walker either.

In the fourth, after a Victor Caratini one out walk, Yu Darvish kept at the butcher boy until he hit a double to right. Jurickson Profar drooped one right in front of Kevin Pillar.

For a moment, it looked like Pillar may have a play on Caratini, who hesitated on the fly ball, but Pillar threw in to second instead. As a result, it was now 3-0 Padres.

In the fifth, it was again Tatis’ time to strike. This time he took advantage of Walker and Brandon Drury.

First, Tatis hit an infield single Drury couldn’t barehand. Then, Drury spiked a throw which Jose Peraza couldn’t field allowing Tatis to get to second on the fielder’s choice.

After a ground out moved Tatis to third, he sprinted for home on a wild pitch which did not get far from James McCann. It was apparent far enough as Tatis beat Walker to the plate sliding well under a tag which was never applied.

With Darvish flat out dealing, it seemed like that 4-0 lead was completely insurmountable. After all, Darvish no-hit the Mets for 4.2 innings.

However, these Mets have a lot of fight in them, and they made this a game.

In the sixth, after Francisco Lindor hit a one out single, McCann hit a two run homer to pull the Mets to within 4-2.

The Mets pushed that inning to tie the score. The once dominant Darvish was on the ropes, and the Mets would be well poised to tie or take the lead.

Darvish followed the McCann homer by hitting Dominic Smith. Tim Hill then came on for Darvish.

Hill walked Billy McKinney. He then got what could’ve been an inning ending double play. Instead, Tatis made a poor throw loading the bases. That’s when the Mets played the ace up their sleeve.

As Pete Alonso did not have a rehab assignment, the Mets gave him the day off, but he was available as a pinch hitter. You couldn’t have drawn it up better. Unfortunately, Alonso hit into an inning ending double play.

That would not be the Mets last opportunity to tie. In the eighth, Lindor drew a lead-off walk against Padres reliever Emilio Pagan. Lindor stayed there until there were two outs and McKinney at the plate.

McKinney hit a ball to deep right. It took a funky bounce off the wall past Wil Myers. Lindor scored easily, and it appeared McKinney was going to hit an inside the park homer.

The problem was with McKinney being left-handed, the Padres shifted Manny Machado to shallow right field. As the ball got away from Myers, Machado made the heads up play to go get it and get it in. As a result, McKunney only had an RBI triple. He was stranded there as Drury grounded out to end the inning.

Again, these banged up resilient Mets would continue to fight to the end. That began with a Tomas Nido pinch hit single against Padres closer Mark Melancon.

Peraza battled in his at-bat and probably got away with a check swing. After he drew a walk, Travis Blankenhorn hit a surefire double play ball. However, Machado tried to tag Nido. When Nido moved back to second, the chances of the double play were gone.

Well, it was for that play. With the tying run at second, Kevin Pillar hit a ball up the middle. If not for the shift, it’s probably a tie game. Instead, it was a game ending double play.

This was just one of those games where the Mets seemed snakebit. An out became a homer. A third baseman was in left. A single was a double play. Really, there’s nothing to do but appreciate the effort and hope the breaks go the Mets way tomorrow.

Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was set to begin his rehab assignment, but the game was rained out.

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Mets Blow It Against Diamondbacks

This seemed like yet another easy win. Everything was clicking for the New York Mets, but baseball always finds a way to make things interesting.

Through the first three innings, there were base runners, but Caleb Smith and Marcus Stroman were making the pitches they needed to make. It also doesn’t help the cause when Jonathan Villar was picked off yet again.

In the fourth, Pete Alonso hit a two out single. Then, for that first time in well over a month, Dominic Smith homered.

Stroman did his part to keep it at 2-0 by continuing to shut down the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup. The Diamondbacks were so frustrated, they began jawing at Stroman, and like most baseball confrontations, it proved to be much ado about nothing.

The Mets would get Stroman’s back the best way they could. That’s by scoring runs.

Villar went right to work against Diamondbacks reliever Joe Mantiply. Villar then scored as the suddenly hot Francisco Lindor tripled him home.

After Alonso was walked, Smith hit a sacrifice fly to drive home Lindor giving the Mets a 4-0 lead. Alonso wasn’t able to move up on the play, which was unfortunate as Tomas Nido followed with an inning ending GIDP.

It didn’t seem to matter much. After all, Stroman was dealing, and the Diamondbacks have been reeling. However, that didn’t stop the Diamondbacks from responding.

The Diamondbacks led off the bottom of the sixth with two straight hits. Then, with one out, Pavin Smith pulled them to within one by hitting a three run homer. Suddenly, an easy 4-0 game was a tight 4-3 one.

Stroman was done after that sixth. What was once a dominant effort turned into merely just a good one. Still, allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks with std strikeouts was enough to get the win. The Mets bullpen assured he would get it.

Again, it wasn’t easy. Jeurys Familia came on to pitch the seventh, and he was greeted by Villar making an error to not only allow Nick Ahmed to reach, but to also take second.

Familia rebounded to get the next two out, but he would walk Ketel Marte. While the tying and go-ahead runs were on base, it’s important to remember we’re seeing vintage Familia this year. He proved that again by striking out Eduardo Escobar to get out of the inning.

Aaron Loup pitched a scoreless eighth, but Edwin Diaz could not converthis 10th save in many chances. It wasn’t entirely his doing.

After striking out Stephen Vogt, he allowed a single to Ahmed. Ahmed then took second when McKinney had a bobble fielding it. Ahmed would be at third with two out when Josh Rojas, the same player jawing at Stroman earlier in the game, hit a game tying single.

Things got dicey from there. Marte singled, and Rojas appeared set to go first to third. However, he slipped, but the Mets couldn’t take advantage as Jose Peraza couldn’t quite secure a throw from Mason Williams.

Diaz got out of the ninth with the game tied 4-4 when Escobar flew out. That meant we got Rob Manfred extra innings gimmick baseball.

Peraza was the designated runner, and James McCann pinch hit for Williams. McCann, who has corrected himself at the plate after his first base stint, hit a go-ahead RBI single off Alex Young to give the Mets a 5-4 lead.

McCann would be stranded there meaning Trevor May had no margin for error when he entered the game with a runner on second to try to earn the save.

May was an odd choice as he’s been fighting it of late, and he threw 26 pitches last night. There was also the fact Seth Lugo was just activated and available. Whatever the case, Luis Rojas went with May.

It was an easy first guess, and it cost the Mets. May issued a one out walk to Smith. Josh Reddick then hit a ball down the line which appeared foul but was ruled fair.

The ball got by Brandon Drury in right allowing the tying and game winning runs to score. The Mets tried to challenge to no avail.

The Mets will certainly want this one back. They blew a 4-0 lead and wasted opportunities to add insurance runs. Diaz blew his first save, and Rojas went to the exhausted reliever with the game on the line.

Overall, the Mets are and need to be better than this. They should be tomorrow.

Game Notes: Mets-Diamondbacks finale will be televised on YouTube. Billy McKinney has four straight games with an extra base hit.

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Jacob deGrom Nearly Perfect

Joe Musgove. Carlos Rodon. John Means. Wade Miley. Spencer Turnbull. Corey Kluber.

It just doesn’t make and sense. Somehow, these six have no-hitters, and yet, with one out in the fifth, Carson Kelly hit a single off Jacob deGrom.

Regardless of the inane scoring when Billy McKinney dropped a Josh Reddick line drive, that’s all the Arizona Diamondbacks could muster off deGrom through six. He had no-hit stuff (as usual), and the Diamondbacks were his victims.

All told, deGrom’s final line was 6.0 innings, two hits, zero runs, zero walks, and eight strikeouts.

As is the case, deGrom drove in more than he allowed. In the fourth, Jose Peraza hit a one out double, and Merrill Kelly intentionally walked Mason Williams to get to deGrom.

Kelly and the Diamondbacks paid for that mistake when deGrom hit an RBI single. With that hit, he’s driven in as many runs as he’s allowed this year. Honestly, there was nothing unusual about that.

What was unusual was the run support. A big part of that was the return of Pete Alonso to the lineup.

In the third, Alonso came up with the bases loaded and two outs, and in his second at-bat since coming off the IL, he hit a two RBI single giving the Mets a 2-0 lead. Alonso got two more RBI when he hit a two run homer in the seventh.

At that point, the Mets were in control. That’s when Luis Rojas went to the bullpen. Between the 5-0 lead and deGrom’s recent IL stint, you understood the move.

The problem is Trevor May struggled. Eduardo Escobar homered off of him to lead off the inning.

After two quick outs, Pavin Smith singled off May and then took second on a wild pitch. He then scored on a Reddick RBI single. Miguel Castro relieved May and got the Mets out of the inning further unscathed.

Well, it wasn’t so much Castro as it was Williams. The call-up singled in his first at-bat, and he’d make a big play to get the Mets out of the seventh up 5-2.

Castro would give the Mets another inning, and with the help of another fine Jonathan Villar play, it was a scoreless eighth. Even with the scoreless inning, he did not give the ball off for a save situation.

The reason for that was Billy McKinney hitting his second homer in as many games. This one gave the Mets a 6-2 lead.

With the four run lead, Jeurys Familia came on to finish the game. Familia retired the first two quickly, but the second batter, Smith, hit one off Familia’s hand.

Familia shook everyone off, but there was some concern after a Reddick bloop double. Whatever concern that might’ve been, Familia put it to rest striking out Domingo Leyba.

Game Notes: In addition to Alonso, Kevin Pillar and Seth Lugo were activated off the IL. Sean Reid-Foley, Khalil Lee, and Patrick Mazeika were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Sam McWilliams and Cameron Maybin were designated for assignment. The Mets had 13 hits with James McCann being the only starter without a hit.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Sweep Braves?

With the weather, the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves only played one game of the weekend series. With the Mets winning, they swept all the games they did play:

1. You just can’t beat the Mets at Citi Field. So far, they’re 15-5, and that’s even with a Triple-A roster.

2. The Braves are an incredibly flawed team, and there’s only so much Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuña can do.

3. The Mets are starting to get healthy with Taijuan Walker back. They also have Seth Lugo and Pete Alonso ready to be activated any day now.

4. Lugo presents an interesting dilemma for the Mets as they robbed Peter to pay Paul by opening up roster spots. Lugo coming off the 60 day IL means someone has to come off the 40 man roster.

5. In past years, the Mets really didn’t have enough players for an everyday lineup, and now, we’re worrying about the backups to the backups. Things really are different.

6. Walker picked right up where he left off, which is to say, he was very good.

7. Mets were cautious with both Walker and Jacob deGrom in their returns from the IL. Again, it’s nice to see things are different around here.

8. One of the biggest changes we see are rain outs. Steve Cohen is making the calls sooner preventing fans from having to unnecessarily make the trek.

9. A side point here is we’ve seen Mets players get injured and seasons get turned sideways with players playing in poor conditions as the Wilpons push to get another gate.

10. James McCann needs to be commended. He got pushed to first due to his own play, Tomas Nido‘s play, and injuries. He responded to the challenge by playing great.

11. Seeing McCann at first, and seeing his bat come alive again, you do wonder if he can play third. After all, it is a shift Todd Zeile (permanently) and Gary Carter (as a sub) have successfully made.

12. Seeing how McCann has played of late, there’s nothing wrong with the McCann/Nido platoon. In fact, it’s a good plan to get the most out of them and the starters.

13. Its a very small sample size, but Billy McKinney looks really good. He could well be someone who more than adequately fills in that 4th/5th OF role.

14. It’ll be something people overlook when they talk about how disappointing Dominic Smith has been, and he has, but he’s been playing hurt at a time when the Mets needed him.

15. Maybe it’s due to overwork, regression to the mean, or something else, but Miguel Castro is starting to look like the enigma he was with the Baltimore Orioles again.

16. Jason Bay got a much longer leash than Francisco Lindor has when it’s come to the booing.

17. On Lindor, this team is winning with pitching and defense, and he’s on the forefront of that. It’s something to remember when the Mets are healthy and debating putting in the full can’t field lineup.

18. By every objective measure, Jonathan Villar has been a below average player, but man, he finds a way to make an impact on a game.

19. The fact Kevin Pillar is going to be one of the first players back is a minor miracle given the injury he suffered and a testament to how tough he is.

20. The May games are over, and the Mets are in first place. They have the largest division lead while they’re getting healthy. Let’s hope this is enough to stave off the usual June swoon.

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Mets Taijuan Walker All Over Braves

As we’ve seen recently, the New York Mets needed to get some of their starting pitching back. If nothing else, it helps to ease the burden off a very good bullpen. More than that, the Mets starting pitching has been superb.

One of the reasons why is Taijuan Walker, who has been far better than the Mets ever could’ve anticipated. That was the case again tonight in his first start back from the IL.

Like Jacob deGrom in his first start back, Walker was limited to five innings. Like deGrom Walker was great pitching five shutout innings allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out eight.

Unlike deGrom, Walker got run support. Actually, that’s putting it mildly.

The Mets got contributions from everyone in the lineup. That means everyone. Not only would Cameron Maybin finally get his first Mets hit after starting his Mets career 0-for-27, he would actually reach base safely three times while scoring two runs:

It was just one of those kinds of nights where the Mets offense exploded. That explosion included homers from James McCann, Jonathan Villar, Brandon Drury, Billy McKinney, and Francisco Lindor.

While all of this came as a shock, we did see some of the things we’ve become accustomed to seeing lately like Villar making a web gem at third, and Tomas Nido catching a base stealer:

On a night like this, you could pick any of a number of things to pick out as the biggest positive. Arguably, the best part of the night was McCann busting out at the plate.

While McCann has struggled most of the year, he didn’t tonight. He as 4-for-5 with three runs, a double, homer, and two RBI.

Really, it was just one of those nights for the Mets. They wound up winning 13-2, and they once again showed the Atlanta Braves they don’t have what it takes to beat the Mets.

Game Notes: Marcell Ozuna was arrested in Georgia for domestic violence. This was Lindor’s sixth multi-hit game this season.

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20/20 Hindsight: Mets Successfully Transverse Rocky Path

The New York Mets kept getting injured, but they keep winning games, especially at home. They just won three out of four from the Colorado Rockies, and they remain in first place:

1. The Mets are so injured right now their injured players are getting injured.

2. Noah Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco each having difficulty with their rehab assignments and with their probably not being back until August if at all, it’s a reminder you should never part with pitching. Pitching is fragile, and you never have enough of it during the course of a season.

3. The more fans inanely boo Francisco Lindor the more great plays he makes in the field.

4. At some point, we may move past discussing how Tomas Nido claimed the starting job over James McCann to talking about how Nido should be an All-Star.

5. McCann is taking a bad situation, and he is making the most of it by stepping up and playing a pretty good first base. We are also hopefully seeing some signs of life at the plate with his having a a double and homer in this series. At least that’s the hope.

6. Cameron Maybin setting a Mets record for hitless plate appearances to start his Mets career shows you just can’t but a hit for $1.

7. Billy McKinney had quite the Mets debut with some very good defense in the field and doing well at the plate. It was just one game, but it at least appears like McKinney could be part of the equation even with everyone is healthy.

8. While you hope moves like McKinney work, we are getting increasingly to the point where the Mets may have to do something drastic. In the short-term, taking a look at Carlos Cortes makes a lot of sense. If the injuries to J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil are that bad, it may be time to consider calling up Mark Vientos who is scorching hot in Binghamton.

9. We are not talking enough about the job Jose Peraza is doing for the Mets. Yes, he’s below average at the plate and at second, but he is at least a credible presence on what is moving towards a Double-A roster. It also helps that when he gets his hits it seems to be big like his game winning homer in the first end of the doubleheader.

10. Marcus Stroman is defensively what Jacob deGrom is as a pitcher. Stroman is also a very good pitcher in his own right.

11. This is just a different team with deGrom. Yes, we know the frustration with the lack of run support. That said, he gives this team a swagger, and he eats up a lot of innings allowing the bullpen to rest and be great when needed.

12 People can complain all they want about replay, but when deGrom and Jonathan Villar were called out the primary objective of replay was achieved – it got the call right. Now, there is an easy fix where fielders should not be rewarded for pushing runners off the base. Hopefully, that is something which will be taken up this offseason.

13. It seems the adjustments Joey Lucchesi has made are working. That said, this is a pitcher who should not be relied upon for more than three innings. If utilized properly, that means Lucchesi could have an immense amount of value to this team.

14. At some point, you have to wonder if this is doing more harm than good to David Peterson‘s development. In all honesty, it’s difficult to see in which area of his game he is progressing.

15. The Mets are messing with Thomas Szapucki like they once did with Chris Flexen and Corey Oswalt. They need to let him pitch, especially when they are just going to wind up going with bullpen games anyway. His not stepping on the mound harms his development and may set him up for injury. Next thing you know, you hear the he can’t be good nonsense.

16. The Mets scored a total of 10 runs in a four game series and still managed to win three out of four. There are two reasons for this. First and foremost, the Rockies are bad. The second and perhaps more important reason is teams win games with good pitching and defense. Despite the injuries, the Mets still have that.

17. Even with all the injuries and people wondering why things aren’t as good as we thought they might be, the Mets are still on an 88 win pace. Just imagine where they will be when everyone is heatlhy and performing.

18. Brodie Van Wagenen has a lot of gall showing up at Citi Field for a game even with Edwin Diaz having a great year and finally fulfilling his promise.

19. It is good Luis Rojas is finally being recognized for the job he is doing. It should be noted he is essentially doing all the same things he was doing when he wasn’t popular. It’s just that people now recognize how the other things he does so well are so important when you have no one to play.

20. The Mets are getting back Taijuan Walker just in time. This is yet another big early series against the Braves, and the Mets really need to create more separation between the two teams as the Mets continue to navigate their injuries and head towards June, which is always a nightmare.

Game Recaps

At Least James McCann Was Good

Mets Get a Nido Win

Marcus Stroman Out-Pitches and Fields German Marquez

The Billy McKinney Game on Jose Peraza Day

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The Billy McKinney Game On Jose Peraza Day

In the first half of the doubleheader, we had two good starters going head-to-head. In the second half, well, it was more readily apparent these are two poor hitting teams.

Case-in–point was the first inning. Joey Lucchesi walked the first two batters, and with two outs, the Colorado Rockies pulled off a double steal. Still, the Rockies wouldn’t score. Part of that was Billy McKinney making a running catch down the line taking away an extra base hit from Brendan Rodgers:

In the bottom of the first, Jonathan Villar drew a lead-off walk and went first to third on a Francisco Lindor single. McKinney came up, and he’d hit into a double play. Villar scored on the play.

It seemed like this would be another 1-0 game. After that first, Lucchesi settled in for a bit, and he actually no-hit the Rockies through three.

Of course, this would be another lesson in a pitcher is dealing until he’s not. The Rockies immediately jumped on Lucchesi in the fourth.

After Ryan McMahon led off the inning with a single and was picked off/caught stealing, C.J. Cron singled. A wild pitch moved Cron to second, and Lucchesi would walk Yonathan Daza to put runners on first and second with two outs.

Even with the threat of Charlie Blackmon coming in to pinch hit, Luis Rojas brought in Drew Smith. Surprisingly, the Rockies stuck with Connor Joe. It proved to be the right move as Joe hit a game tying RBI single.

The Rockies threatened to take the lead on what appeared to be an Elias Diaz hit, but Diaz was robbed on a sliding catch by McKinney to get out of the inning.

McKinney made the big catch, and then in the bottom of the fourth he hit a one out double off Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela. From there, the Mets loaded the bases with two outs, and Jose Peraza delivered the go-ahead RBI single giving the Mets a 2-1 lead.

That wasn’t the last rally featuring McKinney and Peraza.

McKinney led off the sixth with a walk against Jordan Sheffield. After a James McCann double and Patrick Mazeika hit by pitch, the Mets had the bases loaded with one out. Peraza would drive home another run by drawing a four pitch walk.

Then, we saw Cameron Maybin is the unluckiest man alive. He was robbed of a hit in the third by Trevor Story. Even with Story out of the game due to injury, the shortstop would again rob him of a hit.

Maybin smoked a ball off the drawn-in infield. The ball would deflect off the diving third baseman McMahon to the shortstop Rodgers. Rodgers then threw home getting McCann on the force out.

Brandon Drury pinch hit for Jeurys Familia, who pitched a scoreless sixth, and in a tough at-bat, he drew a bases loaded walk to increase the Mets lead to 4-1. It was also the Mets first RBI of the day by someone other than Peraza.

The Rockies pulled Sheffield, and Yency Almonte struck out Villar to end the jam. That meant it was a 4-1 game meaning it was still a save situation. Before the rally, it appeared Familia was going to go for the sixth out save.

Rojas was forced to pivot. With Edwin Diaz getting the save in the first half, Robert Gsellman got the save opportunity. He didn’t get it.

Blackmon was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a defensive indifference, and then scored on a Raimel Tapia two out RBI single pulling the Rockies to with 4-2. Rojas then brought in Jacob Barnes. Barnes retired McMahon to pick up the save.

With that, the Mets swept the doubleheader and took three out of four from the Rockies. Sure, the Rockies are bad, but this injury depleted team did what it needed to do.

Game Notes: Maybin tied a record with by starting his Mets career by going 0-for-26. The Mets have drawn nine bases loaded walks this season by nine different players.

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Mets Obtain Billy McKinney Because There’s No One Else Available

Right now, the New York Mets have 16 players on the IL. That number will grow to 17 when Johneshwy Fargas hits the IL. That also means Cameron Maybin is the only active player with CF experience.

With that as the backdrop, the Mets obtained the recently designated for assignment Billy McKinney from the Milwaukee Brewers. In exchange, they sent 17 year old LHP Pedro Quintana.

In terms of Quintana, no one really knows anything about him, and he didn’t receive a large bonus. Long story short, the Brewers got well to get something here, and this may be the last time we ever hear the name.

As for McKinney, we know of him for a few reasons. First and foremost, McKinney was once a big-time New York Yankees prospect. In fact, he was one of the big pieces the Yankees received in the Aroldis Chapman trade.

McKinney was a well regarded outfield bat when drafted. He was supposed to be a high contact guy with power. It never panned out that way, but maybe, theres something still there.

To date, McKinney really hasn’t translated that skill set to success. Even with his just being 26, you’re probably grasping at straws to suggest he’ll begin to fulfill his promise.

While McKinney can’t really hit, he does provide speed and defense. Baseball Savant suggests McKinney still has good sprint speed and plays a good defense in the corners.

All told, McKinney is a player with some value. He can run, plays good defense, and has some power. That’s a worthy fifth or maybe fourth outfielder.

However, McKinney is an out of options player who can’t really be that. Just ask the Brewers. That said, with the Mets he’s likely a starting player for the simple reason there’s no one better available.

There aren’t any more healthy Mets, and we’re at the stage where we’re all trying to talk ourselves into Dee Strange-Gordon. To that end, McKinney is a good option, and fortunately, there’s real upside. Hopefully, he can tap into some of that to make a desperate move into a great one.

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