Ty Kelly
Approximately 117 games into the season 2.5 games is all that separates four teams for the final Wild Card spot. As we have seen repeatedly this season and again this past weekend, injuries have played and will continue to play a major role in this Wild Card race.
Over this past weekend, it was announced that Giancarlo Stanton is going to miss the rest of the season with a groin injury. It’s a devastating injury for Stanton and the Marlins as Stanton had turned his season around hitting .287/.349/.588 with 10 homers and 30 RBI since July 1st. With him gone, the Marlins have lost both the most feared hitter in their lineup, but also the only hitter in all of baseball that can truly say owns Jacob deGrom.
Stanton’s injury comes on the heels of the Marlins having to send back Colin Rea and his torn UCL to the Padres as it turns out he was damaged goods. The Marlins also do not anticipate their big free agent addition, Wei-Yin Chen, to contribute for the rest of the season as he is dealing with elbow issues of his own. Joining Stanton and Chen on the disabled list is Adam Conley, who is arguably the Marlins second best starting pitcher. In addition to losing two of their starters to injuries, the Marlins are without their closer A.J. Ramos as he was put on the disabled list with a fractured middle finger on his pitching hand. Add all of that to the Marlins needing to skip a couple of Jose Fernandez starts to manage his workload, and the Marlins are in real trouble on the pitching front.
The Marlins have been relatively healthy all season, and now it seems as if they are starting to get bit by the injury bug at the wrong time of the season.
A team that has been decimated by injuries all year has been the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals season got out on the wrong foot when they began the year without starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta as he was recovering from a surgically repaired thumb.
Joining Peralta on the disabled list this year has been his replacement Aledmys Diaz with a broken thumb of his own. The Cardinals are also without Matt Adams, who had been the starting first baseman during the stretch that the Opening Day first baseman, Brandon Moss, was on the disabled list. Centerfielder Tommy Pham has spent much time on the disabled list this year leading to the Cardinals experimenting with Kolten Wong in center. This is the same Wong who had to be sent to the minors due to his struggles at the plate and at second base. The most recent and possibly most devastating injury is Matt Holliday going down with a broken thumb.
As bad as things have been for the Cardinals position players, their pitching staff is just as decimated by injuries. Lance Lynn has not made one start for the team this season as he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. He has been joined on the disabled list by one time NLCS hero Michael Wacha who may not only be done for the season, but also may need to have his role as a starting pitcher be re-evaluated all together with his scapular issues. This duo joins a number of Cardinals bullpen arms on the disabled list.
Neither Jordan Walden or Mitch Harris have thrown one pitch this season as they have dealt with injuries. Kevin Siegrist was recently put on the disabled list with arm fatigue, and Tyler Lyons is done for the year as he is dealing with a stress reaction in his right knee. The reliever problems are only exacerbated by the fact that their closer Trevor Rosenthal was first ineffective to start the year and then landed on the disabled list with a flexor tendon injury. Like most of this Cardinals team, it is questionable whether he can return this season.
Unlike the Marlins and the Cardinals, the Mets are starting to get healthy. This weekend the Mets not only had Jose Reyes return from the disabled list, but the team also saw him score a Reyes Run on Sunday.
Reyes should soon be joined by some of his teammates. Today, Yoenis Cespedes is expected to start his rehab assignment. Tomorrow, Asdrubal Cabrera will begin his own rehab assignment. Their return will dramatically improve a Mets lineup that has been starting Ty Kelly and his .200 batting average in left field all too frequently. Matt Reynolds and his .211 batting average had already been sent to the minors when Reyes was activated from the disabled list.
Long story short, the Mets will soon be as close to full strength as they have been all season. They are getting healthy as two of their main competitors for the Wild Card are dealing with some disastrous injuries. With all these injuries, the Mets are a better team than the Marlins and the Cardinals meaning the Mets are out of excuses. It is time for the Mets to go on a run and take control of the Wild Card race.
Somewhere, someone is giving Terry Collins and his rant yesterday credit for helping inject this lifeless Mets team with some fight. Those people are mistaken.
The game started ugly. Logan Verrett immediately loaded the bases by allowing a hit and issuing two walks. Then Dan Warthen made a mound visit and for some reason or other told Verrett to throw the grand slam pitch to Ryan Schimpf. Verrett obliged. Then for good measure he gave up a homer to Jabari Blash.
Before there was an out in the game the Mets were down 5-0.
Travis d’Arnaud tried to start the comeback by hitting a two run homer in the bottom of the second. Overall, d’Arnaud had a great night going 3-4 with two runs, two RBI, abd a homer. and throwing out a baserunner. Still, pointing out d’Arnaud had a great night is like saying the Hindenburg was a nice looking Zepplin.
Verrett made sure d’Arnaud’s effort went to waste immediately surrendering three runs in the third off another Schimpf homer and a Christian Bethancourt solo shot. 8-2 Padres.
Why Collins allowed Verrett to continue pitching is stupefying. The Mets demoted Michael Conforto to recall the long man Seth Lugo. The explanation was yesterday’s hero, Jon Niese, had a bum knee. However, you can’t discount the Mets punishing Conforto for having the audacity to have a tough year with an injured wrist and a manager giving him inconsistent playing time.
In any event, Collins allowed Verrett to effectively put the game out if reach before turning to Lugo. Verrett’s final line was 2.2 innings, six hits, eight runs, eight earned, three walks, and four strikeouts.
The Mets mustered a rally in the sixth. A Matt Reynolds RBI double, Ty Kelly RBI single, and a Wilmer Flores RBI groundout pulled the Mets to 8-6. Before the Flores groundout, Curtis Granderson had a chance to tie the game with a homer and struck out. With two outs, Neil Walker was in the same situation, and he geounded out to end the inning and the rally.
It’s the last time the Mets mounted much of an fight. It also marked the end of the days of the Mets being .500 or better.
The Mets lost 9-0. Seriously, what do you need to know about a game in which the Mets seemingly didn’t even bother? That’s right, you should know where to direct your anger. Here’s the starting lineup:
- Alejandro De Aza (CF) 1-4, 2 K
- Neil Walker (2B) 1-3
- Jay Bruce (RF) 0-3
- James Loney (1B) 0-4, GIDP
- Kelly Johnson (LF) 0-2, BB, K
- Michael Conforto (RF) 0-3, K
- Rene Rivera (C)1-3
- Matt Reynolds (SS) 1-3, K
And the pitchers:
- Noah Syndergaard (L, 9-7) 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 6 K
- Jon Niese 1.0 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
- Josh Edgin 1.2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 K
- Jerry Blevins 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Just pick any of the above to direct you ire. Don’t forget the subs, Ty Kelly (0-1), Curtis Granderson (0-1, K), T.J. Rivera (1-2), and Wilmer Flores (0-1).
By the way, the Diamondbacks were 4/4 in stolen base attempts.
Don’t forget the manager, Terry Collins, who made his latest entry into the case as to why he should be fired.
Game Notes: This team stinks, and it was swept at home by the Diamondbacks.
Pennant Race: Reserved for teams over .500.
Undrafted free agent middle infielders aren’t supposed to reach AA let alone make it to the majors. Twenty-seven year old career minor leaguers not on the 40 man roster are supposed to read the writing on the wall. They’re not supposed to get called up to the majors in August to help a team in a pennant race.
And yet, that’s where T.J. Rivera finds himself today. The 27 year old undrafted free agent is now a major league player, a New York Met.
Rivera got here by doing whatever he needed to do. As a 22 year old out of Troy University, Rivera hit .301/.349/.383 with eight doubles, one homer, and 19 RBI in rookie ball. Over the next five years, he would steadily improve as a hitter. The end result was him hitting .347/.389/.512 with 26 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, and 80 RBI.
It was good enough for him to rack up the accolades this year. He was named to the Pacific Coast League All Star Game. He has been twice named the Pacific Coast League Offensive Player of the Week including being the winner the past week. He was the Pacific Coast League’s May Offensive Player of the Month.
Still, it wasn’t enough for him to get called-up. The Mets started the year with Eric Campbell as the last player on the bench. When he faltered, the Mets turned to Ty Kelly.
It was more of the same for a Mets team that hasn’t won back-to-back games in more than a month.
Steven Matz couldn’t hold up the razor thin 1-0 lead the woeful Mets offense gave him. Worse yet, despite his balky elbow, Terry Collins pushed him to a career high 120 pitches over six grueling innings. For what it’s worth, Matz tied his career high with nine strikeouts. Matz departed in the short side after allowing two solo homers.
This wasn’t Collins only curious decision. In the fifth, Collins ordered a hit-and-run with Matt Reynolds at first and Matz at the plate. Of course it didn’t work. Reynolds was caught stealing, and then Matz would strike out later in the at bat.
Also, none of the Mets pitchers could hold on a runner leaving Travis d’Arnaud looking bad back there – not that his throws were that good anyway. On the night, the Diamondbacks were five for five stealing bases.
Still, heading into the seventh, the Mets had a 3-2 lead because Neil Walker continued his insanely hot hitting. He hit his 20th home run of the year scoring Curtis Granderson, who has led off the inning with the doubles.
Walker’s 20 homers out him in company with Jeff Kent and Edgardo Alfonzo:
Neil Walker: 3rd different @Mets player, whose primary position was 2B, with a 20-HR season
Jeff Kent & Edgardo Alfonzo (twice each)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 10, 2016
Then the unexpected happened. The bullpen faltered – Hansel Robles specifically. Runners were on second and third, after a double steal of course, and there were two outs after Robles struck out Jean Segura. Robles then allowed Michael Bourn to hit a bases clearing triple. Collins would eventually remove Robles, but not before he allowed Paul Goldschmidt to hit an RBI single to give the Diamondbacks a 5-3 lead.
Josh Edgin came on and got the Mets out if the jam, but it was too little too late.
The Mets would not threaten over the final three innings as they found another way to fail to win back-to-back games. Why would they score off an absolutely atrocious Diamondbacks bullpen:
https://twitter.com/brianpmangan/status/762864074182922240
Of course, Collins pinch hit Ty Kelly for d’Arnaud with two outs in the ninth as Collins is really trying to convince Sandy he should be fired.
The Mets next chance to win back-to-back games will be Thursday, August 11th. The way things have been going, don’t hold your breath.
Game Notes: It was Zack Greinke‘s first start since coming off the DL, and fist start against the Mets since The Murphy Game. James Loney had an RBI ground out in the first scoring Walker. Walker is going all he can going 3-4 with two runs, two RBI, and a homer. This was Edgin’s second appearance since getting called-up.
Pennant Race: Nationals lost 3-2 to the Indians. Marlins lead the Giants 2-0 through eight. The Cardinals and Reds are tied at three through five.
With Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Reyes joining David Wright and Lucas Duda on the disabled list, the Mets needed to go to AAA to find a utility infielder. For some reason or another they chose Ty Kelly.
Kelly has been a nice story this year. He dominated AAA forcing the Mets to finally give him the major league shot the Orioles, Mariners, Blue Jays, and Cardinals declined to give him. He had gone from a career minor leaguer to a player who has finally gotten his shot to be a major leaguer at 27 years old. On June 8th, he even hit his first career home run off future Pirates ace James Taillon. Kelly’s story has been one of perseverance and one of triump. However, that terrific story does not make Kelly a major leaguer.
In 14 games, Kelly was over-matched hitting .148/.207/.259 with that one home run being his only extra base hit. He has showed why four other organizations passed over him time and again. He has shown why the Mets buried him on the depth chart after his 14 game stint. Given his performance, it makes you question why he is back with the Mets,e especially with the team having presumably better options down in the minors.
If you are going to stick with the 40 man roster, Eric Campbell would have been a better choice. He is a career .221/.310/.312 hitter, and he hit .159/.270/.222 this year. He had some flashes this year with a five game stretch that saw him hit .273/.467/.273 while playing well defensively at first and third base. On different occasions over the course of his career, he has come up with key pinch hits. Since his demotion, he has hit .363/.493/.593 in AAA, which shows that he has the ability to get on base, and anyone can hit in the Pacific Coast League. Regardless of your position on Campbell, he is a better player than Kelly.
However, Campbell has been given numerous chances to stick with the Mets, and he still hasn’t. It has gotten to the point that the Mets now favor Kelly over him. The Mets have moved on from him. With that in mind, it might be time to consider someone other than Campbell and Kelly.
Again, the Mets should give T.J. Rivera consideration. He was a Pacific Coast League All STytar, and he is hitting .340/.380/.490 in 90 games. He has more defensive versatility than Kelly and Campbell as he plays all four infield positions, and he can also play left field. He may not be a plus defender at any of those positions, but neither are Kelly or Campbell. He may be a 27 year old rookie, but so was the older Kelly when he was called-up with year. Overall, the only difference between Rivera and Kelly is that Kelly got his shot; a shot in which Kelly has mostly failed.
Admittedly, a pennant race is not the best time to give someone like Rivera a shot to prove he is capable of playing in the majors. Then again, a pennant race is an even worse time to keep sending out a player like Kelly who has shown he struggles at the major league level. If you are going to pass on Campbell, who has shown some ability to play at the major league level, the Mets should have called-up Rivera who provides the team more versatility despite not being a switch hitter like Kelly.
Sooner or later, you’d have to imagine Rivera will get his fairy tale shot like Kelly did. He might even do more with the chance than Kelly has. It would be in the Mets best interests to find out.
Editor’s Note: this was first published on Mets Minors
The Mets batted Ty Kelly second and put him in left field leaving Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and the Mets hottest hitting outfielder, Alejandro De Aza, on the bench.
Terry Collins decided to make Rene Rivera his DH. I can’t tell you how many times I checked the lineup and this sentence to see if it was correct.
You had to do it because there is no way the left-handed hitters on the Mets could hit Tigers starter Matt Boyd who entered the game with a 4.71 ERA.
The Mets started Logan Verrett.
Seriously, how do you think things went?
Verrett only lasted 3.2 innings allowing seven hits, six runs, six earned, and two walks with two strikeouts. He spotted the Tigers a 6-1 lead with his only run supporting coming off a Jay Bruce solo fourth inning home run.
The Tigers then proceeded to try to give the game away to a Mets team not fully equipped to take full advantage.
Curtis Granderson started the charge with a fifth inning solo home run. Birthday boy Wilmer Flores would hit an RBI single to pull the Mets to with three runs.
It was a terrific game for Flores at the plate going 2-4 with two RBI. With the lefty on the mound, he got the start at first base in place of James Loney.
Flores’ RBI single actually scored Kelly, who actually played well going 2-4 with two runs and a walk. He’d score his second run in the seventh off a Miguel Cabrera throwing error.
On the very next play Mike Aviles would misplay a ball off the bat of Flores allowing Neil Walker to score. Walker continued his hot play of late going 2-4 with a run and a walk.
It set up runners on first and second with no out, and the Mets down a run. Naturally, the Mets wouldn’t score on a night they went 2-12 with runners in scoring position leaving 10 men on base. Travis d’Arnaud would hit into the second of three Mets double plays on the night, and Kelly Johnson popped out to end the threat.
The Mets would have one rally left in them starting with a Bruce two out single off Francisco Rodriguez. De Aza would pinch hit for Flores, and move Bruce to second setting the stage for the final play of the game:
A 9-2 putout.*
(*???)https://t.co/dEicgC3rMZ
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 7, 2016
It took a great throw from J.D. Martinez, and a terrific job by Jarrod Saltalamacchia to legally block the plate under the new rules while getting the tag down.
While Tim Teufel has made some curious decisions as the third base coach, this wasn’t one of them. He should’ve sent Bruce there. Like most of the night (season?), the real issue was with Collins.
First, he could’ve pinch ran an arguably faster Brandon Nimmo which might’ve been the difference between scoring and making the final out at the plate. Second, Collins could’ve at least tried to challenge the play especially after what happened last night.
Sure, it turns out Bruce didn’t touch home, but who cares? There are enough quirks in these replay rules that it might not have mattered. Furthermore, what do you have to lose by challenging? If you don’t, you lose the game. There should be nothing holding you back from challenging that play.
Then again, there is no reason to believe the Mets were best off with Kelly and Rivera in the starting lineup. Collins found a way to do both.
At least the Marlins and Cardinals lost tonight as well.
Game Notes: Bruce had his best day as a Met going 2-5 with a run, an RBI, and the homer. Rivera only lasted two at bats going 0-1 with a walk at DH before getting lifted for Conforto.
Unlike last season, the Mets were proactive in replacing an injured player on their roster when the obtained James Loney from the San Diego Padres to replace Lucas Duda who was slated to be on the disabled list for a long time with a broken back.
It was a good move as Loney was not only cheap, he was immediately available. He was certainly better than what the Mets internal options of Eric Campbell and Ty Kelly.
Coming into the season, Loney was a .285/.338/.411 hitter who averaged 10 homers and 64 RBI in a season. His OPS+ was 105 meaning he was roughly a league average hitter. In his 55 games with the Mets, Loney has been a slightly better version of himself hitting .289/.339/.443 with six homers and 23 RBI. His OPS+ is 108, which is what Mo Vaughn‘s OPS+ was as a Met. Long story short, Loney is the perfect stopgap, but he is not a difference maker. The problem is he was taking over for a difference maker in the lineup.
Since Duda became the Mets everyday first baseman, he has hit .249/.350/.483 while averaging 28 homers and 82 RBI. His OPS+ over that stretch is 133 meaning he is batting at an All Star caliber level, and he is a difference maker at the plate. To put it into context, David Wright‘s career OPS+ is 133.
Essentially, the Mets have gone from a David Wright level of production at first base back to the days of Mo Vaughn. This drop in production goes a long way to explain why the Mets offense has been struggling since Duda has gone down with the broken back.
With the grim prognosis for Duda this season, and with the trade deadline having gone by, the Mets never made the necessary upgrade at first base. If the Mets were to shift Jay Bruce (128 OPS+ this season) or Michael Conforto to first base (129 OPS+ last year), they would go a long way to replacing that production. It is certainly worth a shot. The time for stopgaps is over. The Mets now need to find a real replacement for Duda’s offense. That isn’t Loney. Hopefully, it could be Bruce or Conforto.
One thing that is lost when evaluating a player is their impact on the clubhouse. The one thing we all saw with Juan Uribe with the Mets last year was he was a great clubhouse presence.
He was the guy who walked into the clubhouse, and he suddenly owned the place. He was blaring the Backstreet Boys on the stereo. He felt comfortable joking around with everyone including Captain David Wright. He also was on hand to remind everyone that baseball is the greatest sport in the world. It takes a well equipped man to act this way, and as we found out this year, Uribe is that kind of guy.
The two time World Series winner’s impact on the 2015 Mets was understated. He kept that team both loose and focused. He helped that team win the division and go to the World Series. Uribe was having a similar impact on the Indians’ clubhouse this year until his release:
Tough part of the game: Juan Uribe has been designated.
Juan is a true pro. We loved him here and will miss him. pic.twitter.com/ieeWXvBW5y
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) August 1, 2016
The reason why Uribe was released is he hasn’t been very good this year hitting .206/.259/.332 with nine doubles, seven homers, and 25 RBI in 73 games. That matches the lackluster production he had with the Mets in 44 games when he hit .219/.301/.430 with nine doubles, six homers, and 20 RBI. Fact is, Uribe is a 37 year old player who shouldn’t be playing everyday, nor should he be relied upon to provide offense. What you want him for is his presence.
The Mets also should want him due to their rash of injuries.
The Mets have already lost Wright, Jose Reyes, Lucas Duda, and Asdrubal Cabrera to injury. No one can guarantee when or if any of these players can return. In the interim, the Mets have unproven, but playing well, Matt Reynolds at shortstop alongside hot hitting, but still susceptible to right-hand pitching, Wilmer Flores at third. The short bench makes the Mets play James Loney everyday despite him being unable to hit left-handed pitching. Additionally, the Mets are now carrying Ty Kelly on the bench.
At a minimum, Uribe is a much better option off the bench than Kelly. Also, with his ability to play both second and third, he opens up some platoon options thereby allowing the Mets to maximize their offense against left-handed pitching (even if he’s been better against righties this year).
Overall, given the current state of the Mets, Uribe is a viable option for the Mets. He’s even more attractive when you consider how valuable he is in the clubhouse. Once he’s available, the Mets should go out and bring him back for another World Series run.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on Mets Merized Online