MLB

New York Mets: Was Their Decision to Keep Their Assets Smart?

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New York Mets, Noah Syndergaard

The New York Mets have been known for making crazy decisions in the past and over the years it has characterized the franchise. Under the regime of Brodie Van Wagenen, the Mets have not been afraid to do things their own way, given his aggressiveness in the offseason and right before the trade deadline.

Their recent hot streak and solid second half start has given management hope they can actually make a postseason run. The Mets did not feel forced to move anyone at the trade deadline if the correct offer was not there.

Where Do The Mets Go From Here?

The Mets now sit 4.5 games out of the second wild card spot with two months to play. They have one of the best starting rotations in baseball and the bullpen is slowly coming around. Edwin Diaz has struggled since April but a big save last night was a step in the right direction.

Michael Conforto is swinging a hot bat and J.D. Davis has looked like a brilliant pick up by Van Wagenen. The Mets obviously will not win every single night, but they have put themselves in a great position to have a chance to win. At only three games under .500, getting this close was unthinkable a month ago.

Can the Mets Really Make The Playoffs?

There are plenty of reason to think the Mets cannot make the playoffs, the odds game and their lack of defense/bullpen. There are also plenty of reason to think they can. They are taking advantage of a weaker schedule and it is building up their confidence for when they need to battle other postseason contenders through the rest of the season.

The Mets still have a mountain to climb, but each day they are getting closer and closer to reaching the summit. In the words of Tug McGraw “Ya Gotta Believe.”

New York Mets Reportedly Agree On a Deal For Marcus Stroman

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Are the New York Yankees interested in trading for Blue Jays pitcher, Marcus Stroman?

The New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays have agreed on a deal to send All-Star Marcus Stroman to Queens. The deal does NOT involve Noah Syndergaard or Zack Wheeler. Instead the Blue Jays will receive prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson.

Did the Mets Give Up Too Much?

Whenever teams give up prospects, it is a lottery ticket that teams hope never give their teams high rewards. Kay is the top Mets pitching prospect, but has struggled during his time in Triple-A this season. His ERA is over six in Syracuse.

Woods-Richardson is only 18-years old, but has progressed through the minors quickly. He is the one who gets this deal done because he still has time to grow while Kay is 24-years old. This is a very fair deal for now, but we truly do not know the answer until all is said and done.

What Does This Mean For The Mets?

They currently only sit five games under .500 and six out of the second Wild Card spot. They have a light schedule coming up and have been playing great since the All-Star Break. The Mets seem to be all in for this season and the following one.

Noah Syndergaard could be the next pitcher the Mets move. Do not expect the Mets to move him unless they get a spectacular return. Worst case scenario they keep him and have one of the best rotations in baseball. There are still a few days until the trade deadline arrives and it seems the Mets still have more work to do.

 

New York Mets: Where Will Edwin Diaz Land?

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New York Mets, Edwin Diaz

The New York Mets have claimed to be sellers at the trade deadline, but have gone 8-5 since the All-Star break. Will they make a major move before July 31?

Who Wants Diaz?

One of their biggest trade assets has now become closer Edwin Diaz and plenty of teams are lining up for his services. Diaz has become more likely to be dealt than Noah Syndergaard.

The Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins are the front-runners to land Diaz. All three teams have closer problems, and Diaz would solidify their bullpen for the next few years.

The Benefits of Acquiring Diaz

Diaz is young, cheap and controllable, which is a beautiful thing to general managers today. He has struggled at times this year, with a 4.81 ERA, but has 61 strikeouts in 39.1 innings.

He has seemed to find himself since the break; in six outings, he has not allowed a run, and looks like the pitcher the Mets shipped their top prospect Jarred Kelenic away for. In order for the Mets to trade Diaz, they will need a huge haul in return.

If the Mets do not receive a Gavin Lux type of player, the deal would be a failure, however. The Mets traded away their top prospect for Diaz, and it will be irresponsible to ask for anything less than that now. This has to be a deal where the Mets are overwhelmed with what they receive in return.

New York Mets: The Veterans Get The Job Done Against the Padres

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New York Mets, Robinson Cano

The first game of the three game series between the New York Mets and San Diego Padres were supposed to be a battle of youth. The match up everyone wanted to see was Pete Alonso against Chris Paddack, but there were not any fireworks between the two rookies. The Mets ended up winning 5-2.

The Veterans Take the Lead

The 36-year old duo of Jason Vargas and Robinson Cano put on a show last night. Vargas put on a clinic on the mound and kept the young Padres hitters off balanced. He threw six innings, allowing only one run and struck out eight. Vargas had a potent fastball-change up combo and none of his fastball’s were above 85 on the radar gun.

Cano had his first career three home run game and drove in all five runs for the Mets. Since the All-Star break, he is 13-38 (.342) and already surpassed his home run total from the first half. Cano also hit his three home runs on three different types of pitches.

Is Their Success For Real?

Both of these guys had strenuous starts to their Mets careers, but it seems both have turned the corner. Vargas definitely has increased his trade value, especially since the starting pitcher market is very thin. Cano is also slowly giving the Mets hope that trading for his contact was not a mistake.

The Mets still sit seven games out of the second wild card spot, but there are multiple teams within a game of the Mets. If the Mets can sweep the Padres, they will leap them and have a chance to do the same against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Noah Syndergarrd and Jacob deGrom are set to pitch the next two games, this gives the Mets a great opportunity to sweep the series.

 

New York Mets: Zack Wheeler to Return on Friday

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Will the New York Yankees land Zack Wheeler in free agency?

The New York Mets top trade piece, Zack Wheeler, will start on Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wheeler had been sidelined since July 7 because of a shoulder impingement. He threw a bullpen session Friday and live batting practice Tuesday without any issues.

Wheeler will only have one start to prove his trade worth, due to the unfortunate timing of his injury. He drew interest from multiple teams before he landed on the injured list. Throughout the year Wheeler had plenty of life on his pitches, but struggled to find any consistency. This led to a 4.69 ERA and a higher home run rate than he had in 2018.

Wheeler’s Deceiving Numbers

The interesting part about Wheeler’s season is his ERA makes it look worse than it actually is. FIP is “Fielding independent Pitching” and it only takes into account pitcher’s three true outcomes (HR/BB/K). Wheeler’s FIP in 2018 and 2019 are 3.25 and 3.67, not too much of a difference. He has allowed multiple bloop hits this year and the Mets poor defense does not turn those bloop hits into outs.

Should Wheeler put together a good start Friday, there should still be a large amount of teams lining up to acquire him. If he struggles, teams might have interest, but their offers will be significantly lower. If he puts together a strong August, the Mets could put him on waivers and deal him before the August 31 deadline. Justin Verlander was a waiver trade and it worked out perfectly for the Houston Astros.

Can Wheeler Regain His Form?

Wheeler found success in the second half of 2018, in which he actually pitched to a lower ERA than Jacob deGrom. After receiving extra rest due to the All-Star break and recovery from his injury, he should expect to return to elite form.

The Mets can extend a qualifying offer to Wheeler during the offseason if they do not trade him. Wheeler was at his peak value last offseason, but the Mets kept him in hopes of winning this season. He has never made a postseason start and his start Friday could determine if he makes his first, this year.

New York Mets: The Disappointing Series in San Francisco

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New York Mets, Jacob deGrom

The New York Mets flew into San Francisco high confidence after winning four straight games. They had their two aces lined up to pitch the first two games of the series and their bullpen seemed to figure things out. This was a real opportunity for them to get back in the NL Wild Card race.

Bumgarner Flashbacks

The Mets got a taste of a postseason game one as Madison Bumgarner was untouchable in game one of the series. The Giants won in 16 as the Mets ran out of arms and blew their 16th inning lead.

They managed to sandwich a blowout win in between two more disappointing losses. Somehow, the Mets outscored the Giants in the series but lost three of the four games. The biggest highlight for the Mets was watching Pete Alonso break a bat like a toothpick.

Miserable Mets

It fit the theme of the Mets season. They could have easily left with a four game sweep and put themselves right back in contention, but they failed miserably and lost ground.

After all of that, the Mets actually had a 5-4 road trip. It felt like they actually lost all nine games.

The best the Mets record can be at the trade deadline is two games under the .500 mark. If the Mets are not selling now, a series loss to either the Pittsburg Pirates or San Diego Padres will seal their fate as sellers.

The Mets are hanging on to their season by the smallest thread. Currently seven games out of the second Wild Card spot, they cannot afford to lose more ground.

Knowing how this season has gone, I think we are due for one final bitter heart break to put the final nail in the coffin of a third straight disappointing season.

New York Mets: Simeon Woods-Richardson Rising Fast

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Simeon Woods-Richardson

The New York Mets 2018 second-round pick Simeon Woods-Richardson has already made it to Single-A. What makes his promotion incredible is that he is still 18-years old. All he needed was one season in rookie ball and earned the promotion to the Columbia Fireflies this season.

Through 73.1 innings in Columbia, he has a 4.54 ERA with 90 strikeouts. Those numbers are not dominant by any means but has been a lot better as of late. During his last eight starts, he has not allowed more than two runs. During the season he has only allowed 17 walks and five home runs.

When Will He Be a Met?

Woods-Richardson still has a ton of work to do before getting to the big leagues, but he has high potential. His biggest obstacles are his ability to get deep into games and consistency with his pitches. He will finish the year close to 100 innings though and is very much ahead of most pitchers at his age.

In terms of his pitches, Woods-Richardson features a strong arsenal. His fastball is in the high-90s, a sharp 11-5 curve, along with a slider and change-up. He definitely projects as a starting pitcher, but it is the development of his other two off-speed pitches that will take him over the top.

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There were questions on what exactly Woods-Richardson’s velocity was when he was drafted, but he quieted that the second he made his professional debut. His projection to the big leagues is as early as 2022 and could be in double-A as soon as next year. The Mets will have to be patient with their young prospect, but as the #12 prospect in the Mets system, they have to pleased with his early growth.

 

 

 

 

What Will it Take for the New York Mets to Make the Playoffs?

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New York Mets, Mets

After taking both games against the Minnesota Twins, the New York Mets have won four in a row and are all of a sudden five games out of the second wild card spot in the National League. Just when you think this team is knocked out, they find a way to pull fans back in.

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For the next month the Mets have a very winnable schedule which includes some of the teams they have to leapfrog to become serious in the Wild Card hunt. The big question is, what needs to happen for the Mets to make the postseason?

What is the Plan?

The first step the Mets have to take is to win their four game series against the red hot San Francisco Giants, who have won five in a row. They are one of the teams the Mets will have to leap over and just before their hot streak, they were ready to sell.

The Mets will likely have to survive a Walker Lockett start so it is imperative they take game one Thursday against Madison Bumgarner, with Noah Syndergaard on the mound. The Mets follow up with Jacob deGrom Friday night, which gives them the upper hand to take the first two before Lockett pitches.

Overall, in order for the Mets to make the playoffs, the Mets bullpen has to at least pitch average. During their short hot streak, the bullpen has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

If Jeurys Familia returns to his dominant form, it plays the same role of acquiring someone at the trade deadline. He is slowly being worked back into a late inning role and his velocity was close to 100 during his last outing.

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Who else needs to step up?

Robinson Cano is also the x-factor in all of this. If he gets it going, the trio of Cano, McNeil and Alonso will be very dangerous for the rest of the season.

The Mets also have to take the rest of this season one game at a time. Focus on winning their games, instead of the mountain they have to climb in the Wild Card. I do not know if Mickey Callaway is the right leader for that, but the Mets are stuck with him for the rest of the season.

Maybe the Mets hot streak was a blip on the radar, but in 2016 the Mets were 60-62 on August 19 and made it to a Wild Card game. In the 50thanniversary of the Mets 1969 championship team, it would not surprise me to see the 2019 Mets pull off a miracle.

New York Yankees: Why There is No Need to Worry About Their Slow Start

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New York Yankees, Aaron Hicks

The New York Yankees have gotten off to a less than flattering 3-4 start in 2019, highlighted by losing two out of three to two of the league’s worst teams. There is disappointment with the four losses, but there shouldn’t be any worry, yet. There are a lot of contributing factors to their early struggles, so let’s review them.

Injuries

Obviously, injuries are the prominent factor in the Yankees early season struggles.10 main guys are on the IL in Jordan Montgomery, Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dellin Betances, CC Sabathia, Luis Severino, Troy Tulowitzki, and Giancarlo Stanton.

We know that Stanton will be back in about three weeks, and that Sabathia could possibly make his next start.

Hicks is just beginning baseball activities, Betances is throwing off a mound and should be ready for rehab soon, while Severino is still throwing on flat ground.

We don’t know a whole lot about the rest of the injuries. We’ll know in about 10 days weather the Yankees can start up Andujar again, or if he’ll need season-ending surgery.

Detroit and Baltimore are off to good starts

The Yankees have played two teams that got off to hot starts.

After taking two out of three against the Yankees, the Orioles went north of the border and took two of three from the Blue Jays before losing to the Yankees in their home opener on Thursday.

The Tigers started the season in Canada, splitting a four game series there. They came to New York to take two of three from the Yankees afterwards, then took their home opener against the Royals.

They aren’t alone

The Yankees are not the only World Series favorite to be losing a lot early. At 3-4, the Yankees are better than some other teams record wise.

The Red Sox are off to a terrible 2-7 start with the worst run differential in the MLB at -26. The Houston Astros have started off 2019 at 3-5. Like the Yankees, they have won the first game of each series and that’s it. Remember, the Yankees and the Astros play on Monday.

Off to the worst start in the MLB are the Chicago Cubs. After winning their opener, they have lost six straight to put themselves at 1-6.

This shows to tell that the best teams don’t always get out to hot starts.

This has happened before

Most years, the Yankees aren’t great out of the gate. They started 5-6 last year en route to a 100 win season.

In 2016, they started out 9-17 on the way to an 84 win season.

In 2009, the Yankees started out 3-4 as they would win it all come October.

The Yankees will get healthy and get back to normal. It may take a while, but they always seem to figure it out.

Morale of the story: the Yankees will be ok, and it’s just a matter of time until they win a lot of games and Baltimore and Detroit start to lose a lot of games. Sadly, it’s also just a matter of time until the team from Boston starts to win too.

New York Yankees Finally Put Together Some Offense in Win Over Baltimore

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New York Yankees, Gleyber Torres

Just four days ago, the New York Yankees finished dropping a three game series against the Orioles at home. Now on the road, the Yankees finally pieced together some offense and beat the Orioles by a score of 8-4.

Gleyber Torres led the way

Gleyber Torres put together a game he won’t forget. Torres went 4-for-4 with two dingers and four ribbies.

His first time up, he roped a 1-1 splitter to left field and gone for a solo homer. His next time up, he cracked a double.

The third time he came to the plate, the Yankees were trailing 4-2 in the sixth inning, shortly after catcher Gary Sanchez had a homer himself. Torres took an 0-2 fastball to left for a three run home run to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Torres also had a single in the eighth, and if he had another plate appearance, he would need just a triple for the cycle.

In the ninth inning, first baseman Luke Voit popped a 1-2 sinker into the seats for a three-run bomb, putting the Yankees up 8-4 to seal the deal.

Something that is worrisome about the game is the fact that Aaron Judge went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. He isn’t getting a ton of friendly calls behind the plate, but nonetheless he shouldn’t be striking out as much as he has been. Like we said yesterday, it’s all about situational hitting.

Big Maple’s first Yankee win

Getting a no decision in his first Yankee game, James “Big Maple” Paxton picked up his first Yankee win on Thursday against the Orioles.

Paxton pitched 5 1/3 innings while giving up four runs on eight hits while striking out nine and walking two. Paxton threw 99 pitches and threw first pitch strikes to 14 of his 25 batters. He got eight of his nine strikeouts on variations of his fastball, and was hitting 96 MPH consistently on the radar gun with the four-seam.

Once Paxton was finished, Tommy Kahnle came in for 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, followed by Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman with scoreless innings to close it out.

Reminder: We’re only seven games into the season. The Yankees are 3-4, but the Astros (who we play next) are 2-5 and the Red Sox are 2-6. Plus, the Cubs are also off to a 1-4 start. Those four teams area handful of the World Series favorites.

Fans just need to patient. The Yankees will heal, and they will win games.

The Yankees actually have Friday off with the whole home opener, next day off thingy. So the Yankees and the O’s finish off this three game series on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday’s game will be at 7:05PM on YES Network and Fox Sports Go. MASN may be available dependent on where you live and which TV provider you have, and that is another way to watch.

JA Happ gets the ball for the Yankees against the Orioles’ Dylan Bundy. That will be a rematch of this past Sunday at Yankee Stadium.