Month: March 2009

Mets 2009 Roster Set

Johan SantanaThe Mets made their final cuts today. Bobby Kielty and Elmer Dessens were assigned to Triple-A Buffalo and Fernando Nieve was released. Kielty had a great spring getting 54 at-bats and hitting .296/ .365/ .407. We’ll be seeing him with the big league club at some point this season. Dessens only pitched 3 innings this spring so we don’t really know how much he has left. We’ll find out as he spends time at Buffalo. Nieve was picked up after being cut by pitching-poor Houston a few weeks ago. He pitched 10.2 innings to a 6.75 ERA… that’s not going to get it done in a tryout situation.

Here’s the roster to start the season:

Catchers
Brian Schneider
Ramon Castro

Infielders
Carlos Delgado
Luis Castillo
Jose Reyes
David Wright
Marlon Anderson
Alex Cora
Nick Evans

Outfielders
Daniel Murphy
Carlos Beltran
Ryan Church
Jeremy Reed
Fernando Tatis

Starting Pitchers
Johan Santana
Mike Pelfrey
Oliver Perez
John Maine
Livan Hernandez

Relief Pitchers
Francisco Rodriguez
JJ Putz
Bobby Parnell
Brian Stokes
Pedro Feliciano
Sean Green
Darren O’Day

Livan Hernandez isn’t officially on the roster until he’s needed in the fifth game. Actually, the Mets could go for a couple of weeks without him but Jerry Manuel is choosing to go with a straight five man rotation to start the season. Expect Nick Evans to head to Buffalo when Hernandez’ spot in the rotation comes up.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Audio: WFAN’s Mets Beat Report- 3.31.09

WFAN WFAN‘s Ed Coleman checks in with Joe & Evan to talk about the Mets news from today. Here are the topics:

  • Oliver Perez‘ nice start last night after being called out by pitching coach Dan Warthen for being out of shape.
  • The Mets potential for interest in Gary Sheffield. Coleman doesn’t think that the Mets will have any interest there.
  • The relationship between Warthen and the pitchers.

WFAN Audio

Mets Release Valentin, Spivey, And Armas

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Javascripts/PisV3.jshttp://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/javascripts/DataV3.ashx?ImageId=799568&PublisherId=1326MLB: MAR 17 Spring Training - Mets at Braves

Sadly, the Mets have released Jose Valentin as well as Tony Armas, Jr. and Junior Spivey. At 39, Valentin doesn’t have too many options available to him to continue his MLB playing career. He may be able to catch on with a lower-level team looking for a utility man/veteran leader type of player.

I’m sure that Valentin asked to be released so he could look for a big league job elsewhere. He had a great season in 2006 for the Mets but has been slowed by neck problems over the past two seasons.

Tony Armas, Jr. and Junior Spivey have also been released. I don’t think that either player would have been a factor for the big-league club. But both of them could have filled out the roster at Triple-A Buffalo if they were needed.

Armas did get into three games with the Mets last season but certainly isn’t a critical loss at the big league level. Spivey hasn’t played in the majors since 2005 and was brought in just a few weeks ago on a minor-league contract.

Tigers Release Gary Sheffield

Gary SheffieldGary Sheffield was released by the Detroit Tigers despite the fact that they owe him $14 million for the 2009 season. If he clears waivers (which he will) he can sign with any team for the MLB minimum of $400,000.

Sheffield can be a real pain if things aren’t going his way. But he can hit… with power. At 41 years old, he’s certainly in decline. But the Mets should give this situation some thought. They could really use a right-handed hitter with some power that could play the outfield corners. Jeremy Reed is currently the fifth outfielder behind the starters and Fernando Tatis.

If Sheffield is willing to take a bench role, and that’s not a given, the Mets should seriously consider replacing Jeremy Reed’s roster spot with a proven hitter like Sheffield.

Mets Sign P Ken Takahashi

Ken Takahashi signed a minor league deal with the Mets only days after the lefty was released by the Toronto Blue Jays. Takahashi is 39 years old and only pitched in one exhibition game for the Blue Jays. He’ll be an insurance policy at Triple-A Buffalo in case the Mets find as they get into the season that they really need a lefty in the bullpen. Currently, Pedro Feliciano is the only lefty reliever on the team.

Mets Oliver Perez Calms Pitching Fears

Oliver PerezOliver Perez was the talk of Mets camp since he put up a major stinker in his return from the World Baseball Classic. The big news is that pitching coach Dan Warthen called him out publicly as not being in proper shape to pitch. The message was misconstrued by some as Perez being overweight, but the message was that Perez didn’t keep his arm working during the three weeks he spent with team Mexico.

Yesterday he put the hammer down against the Orioles for 6.2 innings of one hit (and one walk) ball. Clearly, he got the message that the Mets coaching staff was trying to convey. Even Johan Santana spoke to Perez about improving his concentration and using the last week of spring training to get good results in the games he pitches in.

If Perez had another meltdown yesterday, it would have been time for Mets fans and the front office to have major concerns about the starting rotation. John Maine has been inconsistent this spring in his recovery from off-season shoulder surgery.  And Livan Hernandez is the current fifth starter after being waived last August by the Minnesota Twins. He’s looked solid this spring but the Mets coaches need to keep a very close eye on him as the season progresses.

I don’t think that we’ll ever describe Oliver Perez as consistent. But the Mets need him to be better than he has been this spring if the Mets are going to be serious contenders to knock the Phillies from their throne.