Edwin Diaz
As part of the COVID19 measures, Major League teams have a player pool of 60 players. Those are the players a team can call up and utilize over the course of the 2020 season. One of the players in the Seattle Mariners’ pool is Jarred Kelenic.
This isn’t too surprising as many teams are carrying top prospects. This will help them develop their top guys instead of those players losing a full year of development. However, with Kelenic, we were reminded again today he could make an impact this year.
So a source sent me the video of Jarred Kelenic’s swing on the homer in live BP. The sound … pic.twitter.com/82RG82id4t
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 7, 2020
Last year, in his first full pro season, Kelenic made it all the way to Double-A. This was someone who graduated high school in 2018, and now, he’s on the cusp of making it to the Majors.
That should be contrasted against the ever changing narrative behind trading him. First, it was the Mets had to keep Edwin Diaz away from the Phillies.
When Diaz faltered, and Robinson Cano looked every bit the 36 year old coming off a PED suspension, the narrative was that Kelenic wasn’t going to help anyone for five years, and the Mets are a win-now team.
With Kelenic bursting through to Double-A and the Mets not actually winning now, Brodie Van Wagenen now wants to sell he felt comfortable making the deal (and other deals) because he had his super aggressive draft strategy in mind. Honestly, that seems far more post hoc justification with Van Wagenen trying to lean into the one aspect of the GM job he’s ultimately done well.
Fact is, Van Wagenen knew his former client Cano wanted to come back to New York. His first act as the Mets GM was to try to make that happen.
As inexcusable that conflict of interest was, that’s not the worst part of this deal. Remember, Van Wagenen was an agent trying to get Cano to New York and get an extension or trade for Jacob deGrom. He wasn’t out there scouting and watching Appalachian and Gulf Coast League games.
That’s right. A novice GM with zero front office experience traded a once in a lifetime prospect in exchange for a former client. He traded one of the best regarded prospects in the game despite never actually taking the time to scout him. It’s beyond absurd.
In the end, the Mets better win soon with Cano and Diaz because the Mets are running out of justifications for this trade, and it’s very likely they will all be gone when Kelenic is in the majors.
Judging from last year and his place in the 60 man pool, that day is coming much sooner rather than later. Certainly, it’s going to be much sooner than the bogus five year selling point.
But to be fair to Van Wagenen, how could he have possibly known? After all, he would’ve actually had to scout and watch Kelenic in action.
This is exactly the type of game we have come to expect with Jacob deGrom on the mound. He shut out the Giants for eight innings while allowing just one hit and striking out 11 batters. While deGrom was shutting down the Giants offense, the Mets couldn’t really muster any run support for their ace.
Finally, in the seventh, Brandon Nimmo hit a two run homer to give the Mets a lead. In the eighth, Pete Alonso hit a homer of his own to increase the Mets lead to 3-0. That would be the final score after Edwin Diaz recorded the save.
Another day, another pitcher’s duel, another extra inning game. This time it was Michael Wacha and Johnny Cueto.
This game went into extras tied 1-1 with the Mets run coming when Wilson Ramos scored in the sixth. Yoenis Cespedes was not credited with an RBI as he grounded into a double play.
The Mets took the lead for the first time in the 11th on an Amed Rosario homer off Reyes Moronta. Later in the inning, Michael Conforto hit a bases loaded two RBI single expanding the Mets lead to 4-1.
The Giants scored one in the bottom of the inning off Edwin Diaz, but that was it as Diaz picked up the save. After pitching a scoreless ninth and 10th, Justin Wilson picked up the win.
Rick Porcello and Dereck Rodriguez had a pitcher’s duel, and for a moment it looked like Robinson Cano‘s first inning RBI single scoring Michael Conforto was going to be all the runs the Mets would score.
For a while that was enough, at least until Dellin Betances allowed a two run homer to Mike Yastrzemski in the eighth. However, the Mets would not lose as Pete Alonso homered off Reyes Moronta with two outs in the ninth.
The Giants had two on with one out in the 12th, but Robert Gsellman would get out of the jam. He’d then become the winning pitcher when Alonso hit a two run homer off Shaun Anderson in the 13th.
That lead grew to 5-2 when on the very next pitch Conforto would homer. That would be the final score with Edwin Diaz recording the save.
The Mets jumped out quickly in this game. A Robinson Cano first inning sacrifice fly gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. They’d bust out in the second.
Jeff McNeil hit a three run homer off Vince Velasquez in the second. Later that inning, Michael Conforto hit a two run blast to give the Mets a 6-1 lead.
Jacob deGrom couldn’t hold onto the big lead, and he’s depart after five with the game tied 6-6.
The Mets were behind 8-6 in the eighth when McNeil hit an RBI single pulling the Mets within one. Later in the inning, Conforto was intentionally walked to lo ad the bases, and Wilson Ramos tied the game on an RBI groundout.
Cano hit a two RBI single off former Yankees teammate David Robertson to give the Mets a 10-8 lead.
Robert Gsellman picked up the win, Seranthony Dominguez was saddled with the loss, and Edwin Diaz recorded the save.
The Cardinals put up two first inning runs on a Paul Goldschmidt homer against Rick Porcello. That’s all Porcello and the Mets bullpen would allow on the day.
The Mets dented that Cardinals lead with Porcello helping his own cause hitting a fourth inning sacrifice fly to score Wilson Ramos.
The Mets would take a 4-2 lead with a three run sixth. The first two runs came off a Brandon Nimmo two run homer. Later in the inning, after J.D. Davis failed to deliver in an RBI opportunity, Jeff McNeil hit an RBI single scoring Amed Rosario.
Porcello picked up the win, and Miles Mikolas suffered the loss. After a scoreless ninth, Edwin Diaz earned a save.
The Mets we’re leading 2-0 with Robinson Cano and Pete Alonso homering, but they couldn’t hold the lead after Rick Porcello allowed four runs in the fourth.
The Mets got a run back in the fifth when Alonso broke for third on a Patrick Corbin wild pitch with him scoring as Kurt Suzuki threw the ball into left.
When Sean Dolittle came on for the save in the ninth, he had the same issues against the Mets he usually does. Jake Marisnick tied the game on a sacrifice fly, and Alonso hit the go-ahead RBI single.
Seth Lugo earned the win, and Edwin Diaz picked up the save in the Mets come from behind 5-4 win.
Yesterday, the Mets needed a ninth inning rally to beat the Braves. Today, things were not nearly as dramatic as Michael Conforto‘s RBI ground out in the second gave the Mets a 2-1 lead and the lead for good.
That lead grew to 3-1 on a Yoenis Cespedes RBI double. Pete Alonso homered in the first, and Wilson Ramos homered in the eighth in the Mets 4-1 win.
Steven Matz picked up the win after limiting the Braves to one run over six. Edwin Diaz earned the save.
The Braves got out to a 6-1 lead against Marcus Stroman and the Mets. However, Stroman would not get saddled with the loss.
In the sixth, the Mets pulled to within 6-4 after homers by Jeff McNeil and Robinson Cano.
In the ninth, Amed Rosario got the game winning rally started with a lead-off double. Later in the inning, McNeil hit his second homer of the game. This one was a go-ahead three run homer giving the Mets a 7-6 lead.
After a Yoenis Cespedes sacrifice fly scoring Pete Alonso, the Mets led 8-6. With Justin Wilson pitching a scoreless eighth, he picked up the win. Edwin Diaz recorded the save.
In the top of the third inning, the Mets fell behind 1-0. In the bottom half, they’d take the lead for good on a Pete Alonso two run homer:
That third inning run was the only run Michael Wacha would give up in his five innings of work. The Mets bullpen did him one better by following with four scoreless innings.
The Mets 2-1 lead expanded to 4-1 when Brandon Nimmo hit a two run homer of his own.
In the game, Wacha would pick up the win, and with a scoreless ninth, Edwin Diaz was credited with a save.