Matt Reynolds
When the lineup was announced, the main reaction everyone had was “HOW CAN YOU START MATT REYNOLDS IN LEFTFIELD!” Matt Reynolds never played in the outfield in his professional career, and the Mets were sitting Michael Conforto against Danny Duffy, the pitcher off whom he hit a home run against in the World Series. In the bottom of the sixth, Reynolds made Terry Collins look like a genius with his first career home run:
His homerun broke the 3-3 tie, and it put Noah Syndergaard in position for a win after what was an uneven outing.
The Mets other three runs were courtesy of the Mets other shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera, who actually played shortstop today. In the fourth, he scored off a James Loney two out RBI single with a nifty slide:
In the top of the fifth that 1-0 lead would quickly evaporte when Syndergaard allowed Chelsor Cuthbert to hit a solo home run. The Royals continued the rally, and they would eventually went ahead 2-1 on a Whit Merrifield RBI single scoring Jarrod Dyson. This meant Cabrera would have to go back to work by hitting a go-ahead two run home run (scoring Curtis Granderson).
Syndergaard had a rough sixth inning. He got Rene Rivera crossed-up not once but twice. One of them went for a wild pitch moving Salvador Perez to third. He would score on a Paulo Orlando RBI single tying the game at three. The Mets would go ahead for good on the aforementioned Reynolds’ home run.
In the eighth, Cabrera would leave his impression on the game AGAIN with a great stab and behind the back throw to get the force out at second.
It would help Addison Reed pitch a scoreless eighth. Jeurys Familia pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the 4-3 win. With that save, Familia is now tied with Armando Benitez for most consecutive saves to start a season (24).
After the stretch the Mets went through, including getting swept by the dreadful Braves, you would feel terrific after sweeping a two game set against the team that beat you in the World Series. However, there remains some trepidation as Yoenis Cespedes had to leave the game with an apparent wrist injury after his walk in the fifth. He was replaced by Alejandro De Aza, who may be set to get more playing time in center if Cespedes needs to miss any period of time. Given the way De Aza has played this year, it is an not all too enticing proposition.
With that said, there’s nothing left to do but enjoy this win while waiting with baited breath for the Cespedes news. By the way, we still don’t know about Zack Wheeler and his elbow. Good times.
Game Notes: Jerry Blevins continues to put up zeroes:
Jerry Blevins has gone 21 consecutive games without allowing a run, the 2nd longest streak in franchise history (Mark Guthrie, 33 in 2002).
— New York Mets Stats (@NYMStats) June 22, 2016
The minute there was the hint of trouble with David Wright, the popular opinion was to move Neil Walker over to third base. The concept behind the move was two-fold: (1) Walker should be able to move over to a position he played 15 games in his career; and (2) it would permit the Mets to call-up Dilson Herrera to play second base. Herrera is the Mets second baseman of the future, and it appears that the future is now. Lost in this is an analysis of how Walker’s bat would actually play at third base.
It’s easy to overlook that fact when the Mets have been trotting out Eric Campbell, Matt Reynolds, and Ty Kelly at third base. Yes, anything would be an improvement over them. However, the idea is not to simply get better; the idea is to put a team on the field that is capable of winning the World Series.
This year Walker has been terrific at the plate hitting .275/.346/.498 with 14 home runs and 28 RBI. He is definitively one of the best second baseman in the league and should garner serious consideration for the All Star Game. He is nearly in the top 10 in each and every statistical category, and he has the most home runs among second basemen. Here is how Walker would rank among National League third basemen this year:
- Hits – 7th
- Homers – 3rd
- RBI – 7th
- Average – 5th
- OBP – 8th
- Slugging – 5th
These are not awe-inspiring rankings. However, these stats show that Walker’s bat could very well play at third base this year.
Overall, you would prefer to have Walker play second base this year because he is more comfortable at the position, and he has a plus bat for the position. However, beggers can’t be choosers, and the Mets are in a position where they are begging for some offense from first and third base. If Dilson Herrera can handle being an everyday player in the majors now, it would make sense to move Walker to third as he can handle it offensively.
The real question is going to be whether he can handle it defensively. With Wilmer Flores getting hit on the hand yesterday, we may find out soon.
After the game, Terry Collins revealed Juan Lagares was scratched from the lineup because he couldn’t close his left hand. At a minimum, it seems like a DL stint is inevitable.
The natural inclination would be for the Mets to call-up Brandon Nimmo. He’s certainly earned the promotion hitting .330/.411/.529 with five homers and 32 RBI. The 23 year old 2011 first round pick appears to be ready for a promotion to the majors. He could take the place of Michael Conforto in the lineup while Conforto waits for his wrist to react to the cortisone shot.
With that said, Conforto is expected back this weekend. Once he returns, it is likely Terry Collins will play him everyday. That will leave Nimmo on the bench which would be detrimental to his development. Nimmo needs to get regular at bats, and that does not appear likely at the major league level.
However, Lagares and Conforto aren’t the only Mets that are ailing. Neil Walker had to pull himself from a game on Saturday. He hasn’t been able to play since. Tomorrow, he is going to see a back specialist to be evaluated. Given the Mets luck lately with Lucas Duda and David Wright, no one should be holding their breath.
With that in mind, the Mets should call-up Dilson Herrera.
Herrera is the second baseman of the future, and depending on Walker’s back, the future may be now. Herrera is hitting .298/.344/.517 with ten homers and 36 RBI. Like Nimmo, Herrera has earned the call-up. Unlike Nimmo, Herrera has some major league experience. Moreover, Herrera doesn’t have an obvious impediment to his playing time.
In Walker’s absence, Collins has had to pick between Matt Reynolds and Kelly Johnson. Both have played well recently, but there shouldn’t be expectations for that to continue. Reynolds is the same player who has hit .282/.335/.420 in the Pacific Coast League, which is about as favorable a hitter’s league there is. Even with his hot streak, Johnson is hitting .226/.288/.308 this year. Herrera should be an upgrade over these players.
Accordingly, Herrera should be called-up to play second until such time as Walker is ready to return. In the interim, Collins can go with either Johnson in left, like he did Wednesday, or Alejandro De Aza, who Collins wants to get more at bats. Herrera can and should effectively man second base until Walker is ready. When that happens, the Mets will do what they always do in these situations:
They will call up Eric Campbell.
However, before that happens the Mets need to call-up Herrera. He’s the best option at second base behind Walker. Additionally, in Wright’s absence, the Mets can judge whether it is time to let Herrera play second while moving Walker to third. This is an option the Mets have internally discussed. They now have a window to see if it is feasible.
It’s time to call-up Dilson Herrera.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on metsminors.net
Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher, and the Mets had a lot of momentum tonight with Noah Syndergaard on the mound. Not only was Syndergaard great, but the bats also awoke.
It was surprising as this Mets lineup was essentially Yoenis Cespedes and seven guys, the Mets found off the street. Here was the lineup:
- Granderson 2-5, R
- Cabrera 2-5, 2 R
- Cespedes 3-4, 2 R, BB
- Flores 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
- Johnson 3-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
- Reynolds 3-5, 2 RBI, 2 2B
- Loney 1-5, RBI, 2B
- Rivera 3-5, 2 RBI, 2B
- Syndergaard 0-4, BB
This lineup absolutely destroyed Pirates pitching tonight. The tone was set in the first when the Mets loaded the bases with no outs, and Flores scored a run on an RBI ground out. After Johnson failed to score the runners with a weak pop out, Reynolds came up with a big two out two RBI double. The Mets were off and running in an 11-2 victory.
The Mets needed this for a number of reasons. First, the bench was short again. Shocking, isn’t it. Neil Walker couldn’t play due to his back again. Juan Lagares was scratched from the lineup with his thumb not allowing him to play again.
One thing that helped was the Pirates throwing Jeff Locke, who has allowed 18 earned in 8.2 innings over his last two starts. That includes the seven earned in four innings tonight. The Mets shouldn’t apologize for beating up on a struggling pitcher when they had to start the lineup they did.
However, that lineup produced for at least one glorious night. The Mets still have their issues, but you can look past them on a night when the Mets give you a laugher.
By the way, Syndergaard was great as usual:
Tonight, Syndergaard almost pitched his first ever shut-out. He lost it in the ninth. David Freese‘s RBI double scored John Jaso, who had three of the five hits off Syndergaard. But man, Syndergaard was so close. He snared a ball hit up the middle of the bat of Gregory Polanco. Syndergaard had Jaso dead to rights at third, but he took the sure out at first. Syndergaard would be lifted with one out in the ninth for Jeurys Familia, who was obviously needed to close out the 11-2 win.
Before tonight, Syndergaard had never thrown a pitch in the ninth inning in his career. His final line was 8.2 innings, five hits, two runs (thanks for a Flores throwing error once Syndergaard left the game), one earned, no walks, and 11 strikeouts. He was absolutely dominant, but then again, he always is. Tonight, the real story was the Mets scoring some runs.
The Mets have gone through Eric Campbell, Ty Kelly, and Matt Reynolds as bench players. Unfortunately, none of them performed up to expectations. Finally, the Mets felt compelled to trade a good prospect like Akeel Morris for Kelly Johnson. It was a deal made after the Mets had already gone through almost every single last option they had in the minors who could play multiple positions.
Actually, they didn’t. The Mets never gave T.J. Rivera a shot.
Rivera has done all you could ask from a player. He has learned multiple positions. He’s capable of playing every position in the infield even if he’s not truly adept at any single position. After being passed over for a promotion to the majors by Kelly, Rivera dedicated himself to learning the outfield to make himself even more attractive to be a major league call-up. He has hit .361/.401/.526 so far in AAA this year. He as the Pacific Coast League’s Player of the Month for the month of May. Again, Rivera has done everything to merit a call-up. It just isn’t happening.
Was Rivera the solution to the Mets bench problems? Probably not. He was still a 27 year old undrafted minor league player. Yet, he still possessed skills that could of translated to the major leagues. He had the potential to be a contact hitter with doubles power. He could have filled in all across the diamond. There are a lot of things Rivera was capable of doing if only he got the chance. He won’t for reasons that are still unclear, and frankly, are unfair.
So yes, the Mets minor league system is worse for having lost a real prospect in Morris. It’s frustrating that he was traded away for a player that could have been re-signed by the Mets in the offseason. However, that frustration doesn’t match the frustration Rivera must be feeling now knowing that the Mets may never give him his chance despite him having earned an opportunity.
Jimmy Rollins has been a career .264/.324/.418 hitter. In the prime of his career, he was a .286/.342/.468 hitter. In 2007, he predicted the Phillies would win the NL East, and he backed it up by being the MVP that year. He was a clubhouse leader on a Phillies team that went to the postseason five straight years and won the 2008 World Series. He’s won four Gold Gloves at shortstop. Rollins has been a very good major league player. The problem is Rollins isn’t that player anymore.
Last year, Rollins hit .224/.285/.358 in 144 games with the Dodgers. There’s no sugar coating it. Rollins wasn’t good last year. It’s why the Dodgers called up Corey Seager at the end of the year, and why Rollins and Seager split time at shortstop during the NLDS. Despite his struggles, Rollins was able to latch on with the Chicago White Sox this year. In 41 games, Rollins hit .221/.295/.329. It is no wonder why for the second straight year Rollins has been pushed aside for a shortstop prospect. This year it was Tim Anderson, and this year it came much quicker. Rollins has been designated for assignment. He’s now 37 years old, and he is facing the very real prospect that his career might be over.
It might be time for the Mets to throw Rollins a lifeline.
Even with how poor Rollins is playing, he’s still a better player than what they have. With the Kelly Johnson addition, the Mets have one spot left on the bench that is going to Matt Reynolds. Even in a two year spiral, Rollins is playing better than Reynolds. Additionally, Rollins has been a proven leader on a World Series winning team. As we saw last year with Juan Uribe, you cannot add enough veteran bench pieces to a team that has World Series aspirations.
Now, one thing that is obvious is Mets fans don’t like Rollins. They don’t like anyone from those Phillies teams especially Chase Utley. With that said, Mets fans will get over it if Rollins is a positive contributor. The Mets fans had no issue with Orel Hershiser in 1999, and they had no issue with Orlando Hernandez a/k/a El Duque in 2006. There were no issues with Kelly Johnson either last year or this year. Ultimately, all Mets fans want is to win. They will cheer whoever helps them win. That includes Jimmy Rollins.
Overall, the Mets should look into adding Jimmy Rollins into the mix.
As Lou Brown said, “Ok, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it’s called ‘two in a row.’ And if we win again tomorrow, it’s called ‘a winning streak’ . . . . It has happened before!” That’s where Matt Harvey . He’s on a streak of good starts.
On May 30th, he pitched seven innings allowing two hits, no runs, and one walk with six strikeouts. On June 5th, he pitched seven innings allowing four hits, one earned, and no walks with three strikeouts. Tonight, he pitched six innings allowing two hits, one earned, and two walks with eight strikeouts. That’s three straight starts allowing one run or less. That’s vintage Harvey.
Harvey did get some help in the third when replay overturned a run:
https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/741439922691706881
Initially, the umpires ruled Aaron Hill got in under Kevin Plawecki‘s tag. Upon replay, it was ruled Hill was out, and the run was taken off the board. The Brewers would have to wait until the fifth to score.
Ex-Met Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a one out triple to right, and he would score on Ramon Flores‘ sacrifice fly to left field. It was going to take a good throw to get Kirk out, but Alejandro De Aza was not up to the task. First, it got caught in his glove. Next, he double clutched. Finally, the throw was up the first base line. It was just one part of a bad game for De Aza.
In the first, he erased a Curtis Granderson leadoff walk by hitting into a double play. In the fifth Brewers starter, Junior Guerrera, intentionally walked Granderson to load the bases with two outs to face De Aza. De Aza grounded out meekly to second. Overall, he was 0-5.
Overall, the Mets batters weren’t hitting well. Even when Kelly Johnson hit a double in first at bat back with the Mets, he followed it up with a TOOBLAN. With no force play, he was slow (somewhat frozen) on a ball hit to the shortstop. He was tagged out, and Harvey was nailed at first ending the inning.
FINALLY, in the sixth the Mets gave Harvey some run support after not giving him any run support in 15 innings. Yoenis Cespedes did this:
433 Feet of Love.
From, @ynscspds #LGM pic.twitter.com/7Z391YzADo
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2016
He hit a laser to right center tying the game at 1-1. Unfortunately, that was all the run support Harvey would get as Nieuwenhuis did this to Johnson:
Harvey had a great start and a no decision. It would become a battle of the bullpens. It was a battle of escape acts.
Hansel Robles entered the game in the seventh, and it appeared like his struggles were going to continue. It was first and second with no outs with the newly minted Mets killer Nieuwenhuis at the plate. Robles struck him out, and then he got the next two batters to fly out to get out of the jam. Antonio Bastardo followed up with a 1-2-3 eighth.
Jeremy Jeffres did his Robles’ impersonation in the ninth by getting out of a bases loaded no out jam. First, Plawecki popped up to second. Neil Walker pinch hit for Bastardo and struck out looking. Granderson then meekly grounded out to second.
It was then Jim Henderson‘s turn for the Houdini act. He issued a one out walk to Jonathan Lucroy, who was pinch run for by Keon Broxton. Broxton would easily steal second, and he would go to third on a comedy of errors. Plawecki would bounce the ball 10 feet short of second, and the ball would go through Johnson’s legs allowing Broxton to go to third. After a walk to Chris Carter, he struck out Nieuwenhuis on three straight pitches, and he got Hill to ground out to end the inning.
Henderson was then pressed for a second inning out of the pen despite his injury history. The reason was unavailable after pitching three innings in today days, and Logan Verrett will start tomorrow due to the doubleheader. After walking the leadoff hitter Flores, Henderson had to leave the game with what appeared to be a blister. That made it Jerry Blevins turn to get out of the jam.
After a sac bunt, Blevins had a runner on second with one out, and he threw a pitch in the dirt. Flores took off for third, and he made it safely for a split second. Matt Reynolds, who was double switched into the game when Blevins entered the game, kept the tag on Flores, so when Flores oversold third, he was out. Rally over.
Wilmer Flores then cleared the Flores’ good surname in the 11th. He ripped a one out double pushing Asdrubal Cabrera to third. After Johnson was intentionally walked, the Mets found themselves in the same situation as they did in the ninth – bases loaded and no outs. Plawecki fouled out, and then all hell broke loose.
Reynolds hit a sharp liner at Jonathan Villar, who dropped it. He flipped the ball to Scooter Gennett, who stepped on second while Flores was standing there. By Gennett stepping on the bag, Johnson was out, but the Brewers didn’t know it. They didn’t know it because the second base umpire somehow called him safe. They got Johnson, who was already out, in a rundown. While this was happening Cabrera scored making it 2-1. Keith Hernandez put it best when he said everybody had to do back to school.
Jeurys Familia then came in and recorded his 21st save in his 21st chance to end all of this tomfoolery.
Game Notes: Harvey is the all-time leader for winless starts in which he’s allowed one run or less through a pitchers first 78 starts. It gets better:
This seems hard to fathom: Matt Harvey is now 15-5 with 16 no-decisions in his career in starts allowing one run or fewer.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) June 11, 2016
For the second straight year, the Mets entered the season with questionable depth. The result of the questionable depth last year was the Mets were forced to raid their minor league pitching depth to build a bench and a bullpen. Overall, the Mets traded away Robert Whalen, John Gant, Casey Meisner, Michael Fulmer, Luis Cessa, Dawrin Frias, Miller Diaz, and Matt Koch. The end result was a National League Pennant and only one player under contract beyond 2015.
The Mets had the whole offseason to make sure that didn’t happen again. They didn’t. The team decided not to re-sign Kelly Johnson, and they waived Ruben Tejada. The end result was the Mets started the year with Eric Campbell on the 25 man roster. Keep in mind, the 2015 Mets which supposedly had less depth had Campbell in the minor league system.
Unfortunately, Campbell did not reward the faith the Mets placed in him. Campbell hit .159/.270/.222. The Mets were forced to move on from him. Next up was Ty Kelly, who the Mets signed to a minor league deal over the winter, and Kelly hit .111/.200/.111. Another option was Matt Reynolds, who is still up with the team, who is currently hitting .167/.231/.167. By the way, the Mets have now made it readily apparent they are not going to give T.J. Rivera a shot. Long story short there are kiddie pools with more depth than what the 2016 Mets had this season. Accordingly, the Mets were in a position where they were forced to make a move to improve their depth.
Today, the Mets traded away Akeel Morris for Kelly Johnson. This is the same Kelly Johnson the Mets thought Eric Campbell was better than in the offseason. This is the same Kelly Johnson who is currently hitting .215/.273/.289 this year.
Again, the Mets could have signed him in the offseason and not forfeited a prospect in return. Either the Mets thought Campbell was a better player and were wrong, or they made a money decision. There is roughly a $1.5 million difference between Campbell’s and Johnson’s salaries, and the Mets did release Tejada before the season in an effort to save money. Keep in mind, the Mets not only obtained Campbell in the deal, but as per Jon Heyman, the Mets also received some money in the deal as well. Because of the Mets penny wise pound foolish decisions, the Mets once again had to dip into their minor league system to address their poor depth.
This time the cost was Akeel Morris. Last year, Morris was terrific in his 23 appearance in AA. He went 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.091 WHIP. This year, for the first time in his major league career, he is struggling. In his 22 appearances, he is 2-2 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.382 WHIP. Lost in those stats is Morris’ stuff. He can get his fastball up to 95, and he has a good changeup. With his ability to strike people out, he could have been a late inning reliever. With the development of another pitch, like the Warthen slider, he would be. If he does reach his potential, it will be with another organization as the Mets decided they desperately needed someone who is hitting worse than Kevin Plawecki this year.
Regardless of his struggles, Johnson is an upgrade over what the Mets have been playing lately. Johnson may also benefit from returning to a team where he played well last year. If Johnson does play well, it’ll be a reminder the Mets should not have let him sign elsewhere in the offseason. It will be a reminder that the mistake the Mets made a mistake in thinking Campbell was the best choice for the bench. Ultimately, the cost of that mistake is the career of Akeel Morris.
David Wright is gone for who knows how long. Yoenis Cespedes was scratched right before the game with a hip issue. When you don’t have the big bats in your lineup, you’re doing to need everyone to pitch in to try to help secure the victory.
As usual, Juan Lagares provided Gold Glove defense:
Sorry, the gap's closed today: https://t.co/ZAOFAXw8FG #Juanderfulhttps://t.co/hr1USxY5HI
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2016
It was an important catch as the game was 3-2, and that hit could’ve put the game out of reach. Instead, the Meys got new life.
That’s when James Loney made his contribution. Loney led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a passed ball. Loney then scored on an RBI single by surprise starter Michael Conforto. Conforto has been struggling badly of late, but today he was 1-3 with a run scored, a walk, and two RBI. Conforto later scored on an RBI pinch hit single from Matt Reynolds. Reynolds had to pinch hit for Lagares, who left the game with an apparent injury, which may or may not have been related to that amazing catch.
Seemingly every Met contributed to this 6-4 win. Wilmer Flores was 3-4 with a run and a walk. Neil Walker scored two runs, and Asdrubal Cabrera scored one as well. He also stayed in a game where everyone seemed to get knicked up a bit. Bartolo Colon pitched in and out of trouble allowing only one run over five. Jerry Blevins, with a little help from Lagares, bailed out Hansel Robles in the sixth. Jim Henderson pitched a scoreless 0.1 innings, and Addison Reed pitched a scoreless eighth. Alejandro De Aza had a two out, two run double in the the ninth. Jeurys Familia recorded his 18th save. As you can see, pretty much everyone contributed to this win, save Kevin Plawecki.
He has an error in the second when he took a throw from Flores and couldn’t find homeplate with his foot or tag the runner. In the top of the third, he hit a double and was immediately picked off second. In the eighth, he couldn’t get down a sacrifice bunt. It was a tough say for him on what was a terrific day for his teammates.
So long as the Mets role players and lesser starts keep stepping up like this, this is going to be a special season.