Jamie Callahan a 23-year old right handed reliever is the next Mets 40-man roster overview. The Mets acquired Callahan in 2017, along with Stephen Nogosek and Gerson Bautista for Addison Reed.
Callahan got some brief experience with the Mets in 2017 where he pitched 6.2 innings and had a 4.05 ERA. Callahan has a good frame at 6’ 2” and 230 pounds. He can throw up to four pitches (fastball, splitter, cutter, curve) and his fastball can get into the high 90s.
He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft and pitched in five games for the Gulf Coast Red Sox that same year. Callahan spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as a starting pitcher in Low-A and Regular-A ball as starter but was not successful and moved to the bullpen in 2015.
In 2015, Callahan remained in Regular-A ball and saw better results as his ERA fell from 6.96 to 4.53. 2016 was a breakout year for Callahan, posting a 3.29 ERA at High-A ball and earned himself a spot on the Red Sox Double-A team in 2017. He had a nice 1.08 ERA in 10 games before his quick call-up to Triple-A in May where he had a 4.03 ERA before being traded to the Mets.
After the trade Callahan had a 1.80 ERA with the Las Vegas 51s and then joined the Mets as a September call-up. Callahan figures to be in the mix for a bullpen spot in Spring Training, but the Mets may want him to spend more time in the minors. He is currently ranked #28 on the Mets top 30 prospects and can potentially be an important middle reliever for the Mets.
This defender needs to make serious strides in 2018:
The New York Giants have several holes to fill throughout the offseason, but one position is still up for grabs in the secondary.
At the safety position the Giants only have undrafted free agent Andrew Adams and Boise State product Darian Thompson who’s going into his third year in the NFL. Both players have been average at best at their position, and have struggled to make the leap to starting caliber players.
Thompson had big expectations entering the league in 2016, but a season ending injury delayed his career until 2017. He played the entire season in the most recent campaign, recording 75 combined tackles, one interception, six passes defended and two stuffs. His latest season wasn’t all that impressive, as the middle of the field was often a liability in the passing game.
The Giants simply don’t have enough cap-space or draft picks to address the safety position with quality, making it likely that Thompson will be expected to make a serious developmental leap in his third-season with Big Blue.
With the overhaul of the front-office nobodies job is safe, and if Thompson puts the same effort as he did in the play above, he will be in for a long 2018.
Thompson did show some flashes of quality in his first full season. We can chalk up his overall performance to the degradation of the offense and defense due to injuries, but he still has a ways to go until he can hold down the safety position on a consistent basis.
Here’s one play where Thompson breaks up a pass from Phillip Rivers to keep points off the board:
A solid play made by the glorified rookie (basically a rookie since he missed his first season). This is the type of plays that Thompson is capable of making, but doing it consistently has been his biggest struggle. With an offseason infront of him and additional pieces being added to the team, we should expect to see a revitalized secondary, especially at the safety position.
What might the Giants’ offensive line look like next season?
The No. 1 priority for the New York Giants this offseason will undoubtedly be solving the issues on the offensive line and finding solid replacements for Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg.
There are several options on the free agent market, but they might run the Giants more than they are willing to spend.
Let’s take a look at who might be on the starting line come September of 2018:
The New York Giants will surely be moving on from Ereck Flowers at left tackle this offseason, and the only guy that is proven and would fit the bill in free agency is New England Patriots’ Nate Solder. Left tackles in the NFL make a killing, and good ones can run any given team upwards of $10 million per-season, but it’s worth it in the long run.
Signing Solder would put the Giants in a great position moving forward, as Eli Manning will have the protection he needs and his heir won’t have a worry from his blind-side.
Solder would cost the Giants somewhere in the $10-12 million per-season range, which is not ideal for a team trying to cut back on big contracts. But with the cap-space climbing every year, singing Solder to a long-term deal would be worth it in the end. His worth will end up being solid in a year or two when players worse than him are making $10 million on a yearly basis.
2.) LG Andrew Norwell
For the Giants to secure Carolina Panthers’ guard Andrew Norwell to a contract, they will have to offer him a solid deal. Somewhere in the $8-10 million range would likely suffice. By guaranteeing him a hefty signing-bonus they might even be able to cut that number down significantly.
Snagging both Norwell and Solder to secure the left side of the line for years to come would be a significant upgrade, and it would provide an influx of durability and quality. Norwell was previously an undrafted free agent under Dave Gettleman, so the connection is there between the star offensive lineman and Giants’ general manager. If Gettleman decides to reconnect with Norwell, you can expect to see extreme value out of this pickup.
3.) C Brett Jones
Re-signing center Brett Jones should be a priority for the Giants, as his play was valiant in 2017. Jones’ contract only allocated about $1.4 million in the final year of his rookie deal.
Plugging him in as the starter at center in 2018 would be a high-upside and value choice, as he would likely only be offered $2-4 million per-season. For that price, Jones should be re-signed yesterday.
4.) RG D.J. Fluker
Right guard D.J. Fluker performed well in 2017, showing that his first-round value is still there. Fluker believes he deserves a generous contract after his performance in 2017, but one decent year won’t get him the money he’s seeking.
We should expect to see the Giants offer him anywhere from $4-5 million per-season, which is a solid investment considering his potential.
5.) RT Desmond Harrison
West Georgia’s Desmond Harrison is a very interesting and exciting player coming out of college this year. Harrison has all of the tools to become a starting tackle in the NFL as soon as he gets scooped up in the draft. Scouts have him being taken no later than the second-round, especially considering his size (6-foot-7, 300-pounds).
Harrison was formerly at Texas University but was released due to failed drug tests (what player doesn’t smoke weed?). His potential is sky-high and it seems as if he’s solved the issues that plagued him earlier in his college career. He would be an extreme value pick for the Giants, and if they choose to trade back he could be one of the steals of the draft in the second-round.
EXTRA:
The entire offensive line would run the Giants about $33 million dollars. That’s $13 million more than Eli Manning makes alone, so we can consider that a solid investment considering he needs the protection to succeed.
What if the Giants trade back and still take a quarterback?
The overall basis when drafting a quarterback is that they should be at least 6-foot-2, simply because it makes seeing over the offensive line easier, but is that a necessity?
Quarterbacks Drew Brees (6’0") and Russell Wilson (5’11") both stand below the average height of a quarterback and are still two of the NFL’s top players. So to answer the question of is height a necessity… Not exactly. Brees makes up for his lack of height with extreme precision and vision, while Wilson is mobile and able to escape the pocket and move the chains with his legs.
For the New York Giants, Eli Manning (6’4") has been the face of the franchise since 2004, but his time is quickly coming to an end as he nears the end of his contract.
The Giants hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, which raises the question: What should they do with it?
Personally, I’m an advocate of trading back, but I also think the Giants do need to begin planning for the after-Manning era. So here’s an option that might be enticing for the front-office of Big Blue.
If the Giants trade back and add an additional second and third-round pick, they can draft Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and address the offensive line and linebacker in the second-round. The problem with Mayfield is that he has been compared to Johnny Manziel and stands at only 6-feet tall, which can be bothersome for some team representatives. But remember, Pat Shurmur turned the 6-foot-1 Case Keenum into a more than serviceable quarterback, so I wouldn’t necessarily say Mayfield’s height is an issue. His biggest issue is his potential personality issues, which I believe will be fixed with a year behind Manning under his belt.
Of course, we can make the argument: Why draft Mayfield when we can just draft Rosen, Darnold or Allen at No.2?
The idea surrounding every team is to build through the draft, and what better way to do that than with more draft picks? The Giants can trade back, still snag Mayfield and address several other positions. There’s not doubt that Mayfield has the passion and talent to be a dominant force in the league for years to come, but the biggest issue will be harnessing his potential.
EXTRA:
Potential trade back:
Giants trade back to the Jets’ pick at No. 6, receive an additional second and third-rounder, plus more potentially. Giants put themselves in a position to draft Mayfield or Saquon Barkley.
Heading into his fourth season in Queens, Jerry Blevins looks to continue his success dominating lefties out of the Mets bullpen.
Originally, Blevins was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round of the 2004 MLB Draft. Blevins was never able to dawn the Cubs uniform because in 2007 he was shipped to the Oakland Athletics, along with Rob Bowen, for catcher Jason Kendall.
After a rough couple of innings in 2007, Blevins found success in Oakland and became an anchor of the A’s bullpen. In 281 career games he had a 3.30 ERA and emerged as one of the better left handed specialists in baseball. After the 2013 season he was shipped to the Washington Nationals for speedy outfielder Billy Burns.
Blevins was not able to have the same success in our nation’s capital, pitching to a 4.87 ERA in 57.1 innings. Blevins was used as a regular reliever which in part led to this rough season. He faced 123 righties and 117 lefties and they hit .298 and .160 respectably.
In March of 2015 the Mets acquired Blevins from the Nationals for Matt den Dekker in a deal the Mets have certainly won. After starting his 2015 season with five scoreless innings, Blevins had his season ended by a comebacker than struck his right arm. In 2016 and 2017 Blevins put up the two best seasons of his career, posting a 2.79 and 2.94 ERA. Oddly, in 2016 he did a better job of getting right handed batters out but in 2017 he returned to putting away lefties the same way he has done throughout his career.
Blevins has become a fan favorite in New York and has been the Mets most consistent reliever over the last two seasons. He will be a key member of the Mets success in 2018, especially in an NL East that features Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Freddie Freeman just to name a few left handed sluggers. Blevins is also a free agent after 2018 and should draw a lot of free agent attention if the Mets let him go to free agency.
Well, it seems as if the New York Giants‘ front-office overhaul is finally spurring the change in culture the team so desperately needed.
Cornerback Eli Apple plagued the team with bad energy and drama throughout the 2017 season, seeing himself get suspended and criticized by teammates on a daily basis. He was continuosly attacked by star safety Landon Collins and not to mention the fan base. But Apple might finally be turning a corner, as he took to Instagram to refurbish his relationship with Collins.
Apple posted a picture of him standing next to Collins, expressing how excited he is to get back to playing. Of course, we can’t let Apple off the hook just yet, but at the very least we can assume he’s trending in the right direction.
It’s also safe to say Dave Gettleman made it very clear to the young corner that any more drama would result in the end of his career with the Giants, and would likely spell trouble for him in the future with any NFL team. The change in culture is exactly what the team and Apple needed, as the shenanigans that ensued last season won’t be tolerated in ’18.
Gerson Bautista is a lengthy right handed reliever from the Dominican Republic. Bautista was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in 2017, along with right handed pitchers Jamie Callahan and Stephen Nogosek, for Addison Reed.
Bautista features a mid-90s fastball, which can get into the high-90s, a slider and a splitter that evolved from a change up. Bautista has command issues and his injury history makes him a high risk/high reward prospect for the Mets. After signing with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2013 he was suspended that year after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol. In 2014, Bautista debuted with the Red Sox Dominican Summer League team where he posted an ERA of 1.03 in 63 innings. The following year he was sent to the Gulf Coast League where he had a 2.77 ERA in 52 innings. After being used as a starting pitcher in 2014 and 2015, the Red Sox decided to permanently move Bautista to the bullpen in 2016. He continued to progress nicely as he put up a 2.55 ERA in 35.1 innings in Low-A and Mid-A ball. In the first half 2017, Bautista regressed in High-A ball, he had a 5.16 ERA in 45.1 innings and walked 28 batters. When Bautista arrived to the St. Lucie Mets he found his was again and only gave up 2 earned runs in 14.1 innings. He projects to spend another year in St. Lucie and will move up to the Double-A Rumble Ponies if he continues to improve his command and limit his walks. Spending time around Jeurys Familia and A.J. Ramos will be a good influence on the 22-year-old prospect.
The Giants are preparing to let two wide receivers go:
For the New York Giants, shedding some cap-space and adding several key additions to the team is essential, but the question is: Who should the Giants cut to save money?
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan thinks that both Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris will be casualties of war once free agency comes rolling around.Marshall is only two-seasons removed from a 1,500-yard, 14 touchdown campaign. Marshall struggled to gain chemistry with quarterback Eli Manning in 2017, failing to reel in several key receptions that ultimately cost the Giants a few games. His value just simply isn’t worth $5 million in 2018 which will result in his letting go.
Dwayne Harris on the other hand was signed to be the Giants’ top kick returning options, and he succeeded in his first season with Big Blue. Harris also was the teams best special teams gunner, but his value as a wide receiver was far from good. Cutting Harris would give the Giants an additional $2.5 million in cap-space for the upcoming season.
The bottom line, ridding themselves of these two wide receivers would give the Giants more money to work with, and it would rescind the low-value signings that Jerry Reese plagued the team with.
While the Super Bowl has ended and the 2017 season is officially a thing of the past, the games have just begun for the New York Giants as they carry out a massive rebuild of their team.
Newly named head coach Pat Shurmur decided to wait until the Super Bowl was over to decide on an offensive coordinator, but it seems as if he’s targeting a man that has been free to sign for a few weeks now.
Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback coach Kevin Stefanski is the man that Shurmur wants to bring to New York, and a stellar option at that. Stefanski helped shape Case Keenum into the quarterback that took the Vikings to the NFC Championship game.
According to Alex Marvez of Sporting News, Shurmur want to name Stefanski the Giants’ new offensive coordinator. Other reports have Stefanski working as a quarterback coach once again for Shurmur; while that might not be as enticing, it would still be a major move to the biggest sports market in the world.
Stefanski is also being considered for the offensive coordinator position by the Vikings, which would make him Shurmur’s replacement. It seems we have a power struggle between two franchises for the young quarterback coach.
From Stefanski’s perspective, we can assume he would rather take the OC job in Minnesota than remain a quarterback coach for Shurmur in New York. But if the Giants offer him to OC job to complement Shurmur, it could sway his opinion on the matter.
He undoubtedly would be a great addition considering his ability to develop quarterbacks and bring the best of out them. It would also put more positive speculation on the drafting of a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick for the Giants.
Let’s assume the New York Giants spend their first-round pick on anybody else but Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.
If the Giants choose to address other needs, it will surely leave a vacancy at running back with free agent Orleans Darkwa questionable to return to the team and Wayne Gallman the only back still on the roster.
Darkwa had a solid season, recording 751-yards on 171 carries (4.4 Y/A), in addition to 116 receiving yards and five overall scores. His production was valiant for a Giants team that lost a majority of their receivers to injury, leaving the battered offense with minimal weapons.
Re-signing Darkwa is likely on the long-list of decisions Dave Gettleman has to make before the start of the 2018 season, but if he chooses to go a different direction there’s another option available in free agency.
The Giants could decide to take a flier on a running back that has won two Super Bowls consecutively, LeGarrette Blount.
The Philadelphia Eagle’s running back managed 766-yards rushing on 173 attempts in 2017, additionally rushing for two-touchdowns and one receiving score. Blount’s usage took a dip in 2017 due to the Eagles’ heavy usage of various running backs and passing schemes.
The 250-pound back would be a solid addition to a Giants team in search of a bruising runner to complement the shifty Gallman. Blount only accounted for $1.25 million of cap-space for the Eagles, and will surely be a cheap and happy signing for whoever rolls the dice on the veteran back.
