Sean Reid-Foley
The New York Mets catapulted themselves into postseason contention after a disastrous May. As the team clawed its way back Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo implored the front office to be buyers at the trade deadline.
Truth be told, this was easier said than done.
Kodai Senga was hurt most of the season, and worse yet, he suffered a season ending injury in his only start of the season. There went a much needed top of the rotation starter.
The bullpen has long been a problem all season. Just when they think they find something, it falls apart.
Reed Garrett was a revelation until he wasn’t, and now, he’s hurt. Adrian Houser was a revelation until he wasn’t, and now, he’s gone.
We’ve seen Dedniel Núñez and Sean Reid-Foley fulfill their promise. Both are on the IL. Everytime the Mets found something, it fell apart.
They could never build a bridge to Edwin Díaz, a closer who still isn’t the Díaz of 2022.
The prices at the trade deadline were astronomical. Case-in-point, the Mets overpaid to acquire Jesse Winker from the Washington Nationals. At least based on what we saw, it wasn’t quite the overpay it was because the market was that absurd.
Stearns effectively gave up nothing for Phil Maton, who had been great for the Mets this far. He gave up a lower tiered older prospect who struggled in Triple-A for Ryne Stanek. Stanek has struggled this year, but he has a good track record.
He obtained Paul Blackburn from the Oakland Athletics for a promising pitcher. Blackburn was a 2022 All-Star, and he’s under team control for another year.
The Blackburn acquisition gets a struggling Tylor Megill out of the rotation and could make him a bullpen option. It also keeps Jose Buttó, the only good remaining reliever in the pen, in the bullpen.
The Mets obtained Tyler Zuber from the Rays for a boom-or-bust minor league reliever. Zuber has options remaining and is not yet arbitration eligible.
Finally, the Mets got THE big piece by obtaining Huascar Brazobán. He’s having a terrific year for the Miami Marlins and will be under team control for four more seasons. All that for a utility player prospect.
Make no mistake losing Tyler Stuart and Kade Morris hurts. However, it doesn’t hurt nearly as much as watching Carlos Mendoza left with no good options in the bullpen leaving even the largest of Mets leads unsafe.
Suddenly, you can argue the Mets bullpen is one of the team’s strengths. It went from drowning to a sufficient bridge to Díaz.
Looking at the team, the lineup is better with Winker. The rotation is better with Blackburn. The bullpen was completely overhauled like it needed to be.
The Mets never got the ace. They didn’t get a top set-up man. You could argue they needed to do more, but you’ll notice Blake Snell and Tarik Skubal weren’t traded.
This team is significantly better, and they did it by minimizing the hit to the farm system. They turned their biggest weakness into a strength. They solidified themselves as a legit postseason caliber club.
David Stearns had a near flawless trade deadline. Between him and Steve Cohen, we see they will go for it, and the Mets are extraordinarily well run.
Call this a test balloon if you will, but Stearns showed his has what it takes to get the Mets to the 2024 postseason. He showed he has what it takes to get another World Series title to Queens.
In the third game of the season, Buck Showalter shoehorned Trevor Williams into a game under the auspices he needed to get the reliever work. In that game, Williams was credited with a blown save and a loss after allowing two unearned runs. After Williams blew that game, it seems like Showalter feels no need to get him into a game again.
In fact, since that game, Williams has only gotten into four more games. Aside from the “start,” each of those times the score differential was more than four runs. That included when the Atlanta Braves put a beating on the Mets. All told, whatever you want to call a low leverage reliever, that’s what Williams is.
It’s really bizarre when you look at is. For example, Sean Reid-Foley, a pitcher who was widely anticipated was going to be designated for assignment, was used on seven different occasions. He’s been on the IL for about two weeks now, and he still has three more appearances.
We have also seen some diminishing returns from Adam Ottavino. Ottavino has been mostly good with nine scoreless relief appearances out of his 12 appearances for the season. That said, Showalter also felt compelled to use him for three consecutive days in a series against the Braves. That helped lead to the aforementioned blowout and Williams’ fourth appearance of the season.
The problem there is the Mets need that one extra right-handed arm in the pen. Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, and Drew Smith are the late inning relievers. Joely Rodriguez and Chasen Shreve are there for the left-handed relievers. Ottavino was fine for the middle innings, and Trevor May was there for that bridge, but now he’s injured and gone for months.
This could have been a chance to see what Williams has in the tank. However, the Mets haven’t seemed inclined to use him at all. That was even the case in doubleheaders where a spot start opportunity was there. The Mets understandably and correctly went with David Peterson.
Williams was actually useful in the Mets bullpen last season, and he did show some promise. In eight appearances, he pitched 22.1 innings with a 9.3 K/9 and a 3.83 K/BB. Digging deeper, there is something there with Williams.
Generally speaking, he induces weaker contact than most pitchers, and batters have a hard time squaring the ball up against him. Typically speaking, he induces pull side ground balls. With the Mets ability to shift plus having Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil up the middle, this should play right into the Mets hands.
He has an effective sinker, and his change is a weapon. We’ve seen his sinker be one as well. There is something there with Williams even if that is being a long or low leverage reliever. Perhaps he could be more, especially refining things and working on pitch mixes with Jeremy Hefner, but he would have to get the reps to do that.
On the long reliever front, he’s been dormant for even that role. For example, Sean Gilmartin made 50 appearances in 2015, and we saw Darren Oliver make 45 appearances in 2006. So far, Williams is on a pace to make 21 appearances. That’s not going to help him, and it’s not going to help the rest of the bullpen.
Sooner or later, the Mets are going to have to give Williams more chances. They’re going to have to get him in a rhythm and try to establish himself as a real part of this bullpen. If he does, this bullpen is even better. If not, you can move on and find someone else. However, if you’re not pitching him, you can’t make any of these needed assessments. That needs to change soon.
For the seventh time in seven tries this season, the New York Mets won a series. For the second time in team history, they did the impossible:
1. The co-no will forever be one of the greatest moments in Mets history. Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo, and Edwin Diaz will forever have a special place in Mets fans hearts.
2. I don’t get everything right, but I got this one (# 55) in my preseason predictions.
3. Between that co-no, the Robin Ventura, Grand Slam Single, and all things Mike Piazza, black is forever a Mets color, and that debate needs to end.
4. It’s somewhat interesting that no-hitter came from Jacob deGrom‘s spot in the rotation when deGrom can never seem to get that close himself despite his unhittable stuff.
5. The next game was a letdown, but it was hilarious the Mets were up 1-0 at one point scoring a run on no hits.
6. In that no-hitter, Kyle Schwarber was walked in all three plate appearances. Seeing him the rest of this series (and his career), this is a very smart strategy.
7. The Mets finally started playing Dominic Smith, and guess what? He had a 4-for-4 game. Shocking, I know.
8. You can’t send him down after that game. In fact, it only reaffirms he’s your everyday 1B/DH.
9. Francisco Lindor and his teammates have said they’d be upset if Robinson Canó is the one cut, but let’s be honest. The team will be upset with any of the position player choices.
10. We don’t talk enough about the possibility J.D. Davis could be the guy. Really, the only thing which keeps him up is he’s the only right-handed bat on the bench.
11. The injury is preventing Sean Reid-Foley from being DFA’d, but it’s a damn shame it was a torn UCL which prevented it.
12. Say what you want about James McCann, but he’s had a big impact this year with his work behind the plate. That co-no was the latest example.
13. Taijuan Walker coming off the IL and pitching like that was just what the Mets needed. It shows just how deep that rotation is, and with a rotation that deep, this team can win a World Series, and that’s before you even account for deGrom.
14. The Mets best player has arguably been Jeff McNeil. He’s not back to his 2019 form because he’s a much better version of that now.
15. There is something wrong with Pete Alonso. It’s difficult to know what it is at the moment, but this is just not the same player right now.
16. David Cone was criticized, but he was right. When the Mets are good, fans come out of the woodwork. That’s obvious because those fairweather fans flock over from the Bronx to Queens when the Mets are good. We know those fans exist in New York. Let’s not pretend they don’t.
17. That ESPN booth was brutal, which was odd because Cone and Eduardo Perez are great. Perhaps, it is because Karl Ravech is not a play-by-play guy who brings his color analysts into the conversation. Also, Buster Olney calling Ronald Acuna Jr. this generation’s Willie Mays was just about the dumbest thing he ever uttered. He should have had his mike cut and sent home.
18. The wave is an indelible part of Mets history as it was a big part of the 1980s celebrations. There is a place for it in the game, and at times, we should do it. However, doing it in the late innings of a close game is a blatant violation of the wave rules, and we should not stand for it (pun intended).
19. The Mets have won seven straight series. To do that at any point of the year is a phenomenal feat. With the Atlanta Braves coming to town, they absolutely have to make a statement and make it eight in a row. Do what the 1986 Mets did to the St. Louis Cardinals and let the Braves know this division race is over before it began.
20. As Ron Darling said after the co-no, that was one of the special moments you get after a special season.
It was an emotional day at Citi Field. It was Opening Day, and it was the official unveiling of the Tom Seaver statue. Seeing Seaver with the drop-and-drive, the statue couldn’t have been more perfect.
Forever 4️⃣1️⃣. #LGM pic.twitter.com/GtOchbEzGq
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 15, 2022
Also perfect was the Jackie Robinson Tribute. This was the 75th anniversary, and all MLB teams wore the solid blue numbers like appeared on the Brooklyn Dodgers jerseys.
Emotions were high, and the crowd was ready. Nothing was going to damper this day.
Not the Wilpons’ or Brodie Van Wagenen’s presence. Not Mark Canha or Brandon Nimmo testing positive for COVID. Not even the unnecessary presence of J.D. Davis in the lineup.
Nothing.
Part of the reason is Chris Bassitt ensures that would be the case. After all, if you’re honoring Seaver, a great pitching performance is a prerequisite.
Bassitt threw 99 pitches through six innings in a solid outing, giving up just two hits and one run. #LGM pic.twitter.com/c8bQWegS3O
— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) April 15, 2022
The Mets offense continued to score. Zach Davies and the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching staff never really had a chance.
The Mets got four homers. Robinson Cano got the first. Starling Marte hit his first homer with the Mets. Francisco Lindor homered from both sides of the plate.
Francisco Lindor has homered from both sides of the plate today.
He has 3 home runs on the season, he didn’t hit his 3rd homer last year until May 15.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) April 15, 2022
Through eight, it was 10-1, and the final would be 10-3 after Sean Reid-Foley struggled again.
The Mets are the first team to six wins. They’re 10-4 in home openers at Citi Field. Lindor looks like a true MVP candidate. The starting pitching has been even better than advertised.
All told, right now, everything is (Tom) Terrific.
Game Notes: Nick Plummer made his MLB debut playing RF in the ninth. Travis Jankowski was 3-for-4 with a run scored. James McCann has started the year 1-for-16. Oliver Perez received a surprise ovation during player introductions.
For all the talk about Buck Showalter being a good manager, there were concerns about his bullpen management and ability to adapt to the modern game. We are not a full week into the season, and we are not seeing signs of Showalter having adapted.
In terms of being more analytically inclined, we see Starling Marte batting second. Ideally speaking, your best hitter should bat second, and Marte is not the Mets best hitter. Instead, he is treated almost like a second lead-off hitter behind Brandon Nimmo because he is fast.
Speaking of Nimmo, we have seen Showalter ask him to sacrifice bunt. Nimmo has been their best hitter for years, and he’s being asked to sacrifice bunt. It’s one thing with Tomas Nido, even if that strategy is still questionable, but with Nimmo, it is just plain bizarre. With the implementation of the universal DH, you would think we not see the sacrifice bunt as a strategy, but with Showalter it is still a strategy.
More than the lineup and the sacrifice bunting, there is the way Showalter is handling the bullpen.
Before delving further, there is the caveat if Pete Alonso didn’t play poor defense, and if Seth Lugo didn’t struggle, we wouldn’t be talking about it. However, beyond that is the fact is Showalter made poor decisions putting pitchers in poor positions. That is what helped lead to the Mets blowing two late leads.
On Sunday, the Mets had a 2-1 lead in the eighth. He chose Trevor Williams for what was the Mets first high leverage relief situation of the season. Trevor May was available, and he warmed up at one point. Instead, Williams would be charged with a blown save. Yes, the caveat there is Alonso was terrible, and there were soft hits.
Another note is how Showalter used the Edwin Diaz less bullpen leading to that game.
In the previous game, the Mets won 5-0, and Showalter used Drew Smith and Adam Ottavino, two of his better options in the late innings. The game before that the Mets won 7-3, and Showalter used Smith and Lugo. To be fair, he would also use Sean Reid-Foley in that game.
Now, this was the first series of the season, and as we saw in that series, Showalter was just trying to get everyone involved. For example, every position player played just one game. Still, why was Showalter using Lugo, May, and Ottavino in spots where he could have been getting pithcers like Williams into games?
On that point, Showalter did say, “We’re too early in the season to be throwing guys three out of four days. We said the whole offseason with the lockout and everything that we’re going to be careful.”
Now, there is something to losing the battle to win the war. He’s right that its way too early to abuse relievers, and he does need to keep everyone fresh. On these points, Showalter has managed successfully many years, and there is some level of expertise to which we can demur.
That doesn’t explain the loss to the Phillies. Before getting to the game, we need to revisit what May would say after the game:
Trevor May discusses the extent of his fatigued arm: pic.twitter.com/H0DdRwGw37
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 12, 2022
He’s been battling bicep and tricep soreness, and he’s been getting treatments. He isn’t accustomed to pitching multiple innings. In fact, he hasn’t done that since 2020. Notably, he performed poorly both times.
Going back to the eighth inning, Showalter had a reliever he knew was dealing with shoulder issues and doesn’t go multiple innings. More than that, it was cold. In a day, Showalter went from you can’t push relievers to pushing a reliever he knew was dealing with arm issues. It doesn’t make sense.
Another factor at play was Lugo was apparently available. As we know, Lugo performs better when he’s starting an inning. The Mets could’ve avoided the whole mess of the inning if they went with Lugo to start the inning. Sure, Lugo probably still struggles, but the Mets could have then pivoted to a Smith or Ottavino if needed.
Instead, it was May then Joely Rodriguez, which made zero sense.
Remember, Rodriguez is horrific against right-handed batters. It was one of the reasons the swap between him and Miguel Castro made no sense. Rodriguez was warming, but May’s injury could have allowed Showalter to pivot and pitch whomever he wanted.
There was a runner on first with no outs. The right-handed hitting Matt Vierling was due up, and the Phillies had other right-handed hitting options on the bench. After the pinch hitter, which was the switch hitting Johan Camargo, the Phillies had Kyle Schwarber followed by J.T. Realmuto before Bryce Harper.
To get Schwarber and Harper, Showalter opted to have Rodriguez face Camargo and Realmuto with no outs. Camargo singled sending Alec Bohm to third. That allowed a run to score on the Schwarber RBI groundout. Realmuto then launched a homer to pull the Phillies within 4-3.
Right there, any margin of error Lugo had was completely gone. To boot, he was facing tough hitters in Nick Castellanos and Rhys Hoskins.
Lugo can and should get out of that situation. Then again, he should not have been brought into that spot. It should not have been. May should not have started that inning, and Rodriguez should not have followed. It was all a mess created by Showalter.
If this was Luis Rojas, writers and fans would have been livid, and they would have demanded he be fired. In fact, when the games were scripted for Rojas, these are the types of things that happened. Now, that Showalter is doing it on his own volition, he’s getting a pass.
In actuality, he shouldn’t. The ignoring analytics. The bunting. The bullpen management. These were all issues present when he was hired, and Showalter hasn’t shown any signs of progress or any willingness. These are problems before we even address leaning on veterans like Robinson Cano. There is still 157 games for Showalter to adjust and learn. The Mets need him to do it.
There’s a gag on the show Archer wherein Archer is essentially asked what he can’t understand, and the answer is, “Core concept.” Right now, this applies to the New York Mets and free agency.
Noah Syndergaard was a free agent, who had a qualifying offer in hand and wanted to return to the Mets. However, while the Mets were focused elsewhere, the Los Angeles Angels and other teams were making their pitch.
The Mets immediate response to Syndergaard’s signing with the Angels was they weren’t given the last chance to sign him. Of course, to make that request, they’d actually have to talk to the player.
Not even a week went by, and the Mets are once again upset a player who wanted to return to the Mets didn’t give them an opportunity to make the final offer. This time, it was Steven Matz.
As the story goes, Matz first contacted the Mets, and the team’s interest was mutual. It was a wide open field, but for whatever reason, the Mets not only we’re going to get the opportunity to match, but they were willing to match the deal Matz signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, that’s not what happened. Matz liked the deal and the opportunity presented by the Cardinals, so he signed with them. Mets owner Steve Cohen was angry:
I’m not happy this morning . I’ve never seen such unprofessional behavior exhibited by a player’s agent.I guess words and promises don’t matter.
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) November 24, 2021
Keep in mind, this was the same Matz the Mets traded for spare parts (Sean Reid-Foley, Yennsy Diaz, and Josh Winckowski). The Mets could’ve extended him last year with zero competition, but they instead traded him.
The Mets getting upset over Syndergaard and Matz not giving them the final chance shows they fail to understand the core concept of free agency. Free agents owe no loyalty to anyone, and they can sign with whomever they want.
For the Mets, you can almost write this off as a fluke. After all, it’s not often these situations present themselves, and it’s really infrequent this happens in a week.
The problem is it’s not just this week. Last year, the Mets thought they had Trevor Bauer signed. Honestly, with the website snafu, everyone did.
When Bauer went to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Alderson complained this was the furthest in the process he went in contract negotiations with a free agent and not get the player. As a result, Anderson and the Mets (fortunately) didn’t sign Bauer.
This marks the third time the Mets thought they were in a great position to sign a player only to come up empty. At some point, that’s a Mets problem and not a agents problem.
Argue over whether the Mets should’ve signed these players all you want. The fact is the Mets lost out on all three, and they wanted all three. That’s a huge problem.
Cohen can pretend it’s the agents fault. It’s not. The Mets are failing to sign players, and all they can do is tweet their way through it.
The Mets need to do better. If they want a player give them a strong offer while they’re there and don’t let them go out and leverage your offer. Just get it done, and then tweet out you actually signed the player.
That’s how free agency works.