Category: Roster

Mets Pitching Report – January 2011

Johan Santana pitching for the New York Mets o...
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With just 6 weeks until Spring Training the Mets biggest worry will, by far, be their pitching staff. With the hope that the Mets can bring on one of the two free agents they are targeting, the pitching staff lines up as follows:

Mike Pelfrey, RA Dickey and Jon Niese, followed by either Chris Young** or Jeff Francis**, then Dillon Gee or Chris Capuano. (**this is assuming the Mets can obtain Young or Francis who are free agents).

In 2010, the Mets had question marks in their entire pitching rotation. The only person that could be counted on was Johan Santana. This year you can add Santana to the list of question marks for this pitching staff making the “ENTIRE” pitching staff a question mark.

Pelfrey, Dickey and Niese combined for 30 wins last year. Somehow this pitching staff will have to find another 45 wins to have a respectable season. Continue reading “Mets Pitching Report – January 2011”

Mets Alderson Emails Update on Player Acquisitions

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 23: Fred Wilpon, General M...
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From Sandy Alderson to the Mets email list:

January 7, 2011

Dear Mets Fans:

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday.

With Spring Training just six weeks away, I wanted to update you on our preparation for the 2011 season.

Yesterday, we wrapped up two days of meetings in Port St. Lucie where we went over organizational philosophy and how to implement it throughout the major and minor leagues. It was also the first opportunity for Terry Collins and his staff to sit down and discuss the mechanics of Spring Training and determine how they will emphasize fundamentals, mental and physical preparation and hard work. As Terry has said, the driving force will be playing the game the right way, which will lead to more wins.

Over the past two months, we have followed our plan of filling out our roster with reasonably priced players who have significant upside potential. As I have said before, our payroll – which will be among the highest in baseball – gives us limited flexibility, but we do have money to spend. We have acquired players who we think can thrive at Citi Field and complement our existing group of players.

As you likely know, earlier this week we signed pitchers Chris Capuano and Taylor Buchholz. Chris is a former All-Star and 18-game winner who last year came back from his second Tommy John surgery. We are confident he has the ability to re-establish himself as a dependable starter who can excel in our ballpark. Taylor has fully recovered from elbow surgery and has the potential to be a solid arm out of the bullpen.

Every year players come out of nowhere to become success stories. Look no further than R.A. Dickey. He signed a minor-league deal last January, became a fixture in the starting rotation in May, and finished the season with 11 victories and a 2.84 ERA. I believe some of our offseason acquisitions can be this year’s version of R.A.

We are excited about 2011. We have a solid core group of players who we expect will make significant contributions to making the Mets a success. As we have said all along, we will put ourselves in the best position possible to succeed both in the short and long term.

There will be an exciting brand of baseball played at Citi Field this year that matches the passion and intensity that you have for the team.

Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing you at the ballpark.

Sincerely,

Sandy AldersonSandy Alderson
General Manager

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Mets Sign Capuano, Buchholz, Designate Igarashi

Throwing the ball.
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We can all see where this is going. Chris Capuano is a soft-tossing lefty starter that could easily replace Oliver Perez on the Major League roster. Taylor Buchholz should find a spot in the bullpen as a right-handed middle reliever. The Mets had to make room on the roster and Ryota Igarashi was designated for assignment.

Capuano signed for 1-year/$1.5 million with performance bonuses. Buchholz signed a non-guaranteed $600,000 contract with bonuses. The Mets are on the hook for $1.75 million for Igarashi for this year as part of the lost http://www.mindanews.com/buy-levaquin/ money they’ll be responsible for.

Capuano has been through two Tommy John surgeries and couldn’t keep a spot in the awful Brewers rotation last year. Although his numbers look like Felix Hernandez compared to Perez. He was 4-4 with a 3.95 ERA last year in 9 starts and 15 relief appearances.

The bottom line is that the Mets are signing some players on the cheap as we knew they would. They’re not making any major financial commitments and hoping they can find a diamond in the rough.

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Mets Trade for Chin-lung Hu

Chin-Lung Hu

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The Mets announced a minor trade today with the Dodgers to acquire infielder Chin-lung Hu for Michael Antonini. We saw a bit of Hu in 2008 when the Mets were in L.A. playing the Dodgers. At the time, Hu was playing shortstop for an injured Rafael Furcal. He got into 65 games that season and looked like your typical backup middle infielder. Good glove and can’t hit. He’s a career .191 hitter in 96 big league games. That’s been a major disappointment as Hu is a .299 career hitter in the minors over parts of seven seasons.

Hu’s presence on the roster will allow the Mets greater flexibility with Ruben Tejada. Sandy Alderson has talked about wanting Tejada to get more minor league at-bat’s this season. Hu will compete for playing time at second base with Brad Emaus, Luis Castillo, Luis Hernandez, and Justin Turner.

The contract situation for Hu is favorable as well. He only has 0.153 MLB service time and won’t be arbitration eligible until 2012. He isn’t eligible for free agency until 2016.

Michael Antonini rose to Triple-A Buffalo last season but his 4.49 ERA was disappointing. He was taken in the 18th round of the 2007 draft the first two seasons were impressive for the lefty starter. But his 5.74 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2009 and his aforementioned 2010 ERA were cause for concern. He certainly wasn’t looking to be a factor at the Major League level in 2011.

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2011 Critical for Mets’ Reese Havens

Reese Havens
Image by Eric Kilby via Flickr

The 2008 draft saw the Mets with two first round picks. Omar Minaya went after seasoned college bats who could make an impact in the immediate future. He took a first baseman with doubles power in Ike Davis. The Mets believed those doubles would soon develop into home runs. They also took a gritty shortstop with a left-handed stroke that made him a target for Theo Epstein in Boston. Reese Havens was drafted and, upon his move to second, it was said he would become the top second baseman in the system.

The 2011 Mets field a team that is set at every position with only one exception: second base. The farm system does not have a second baseman ready to seize the position. Ruben Tejada can field the position but his bat needs tuning at Triple-A. Daniel Murphy has been experimenting for a second time at second base. Murphy has proven he can handle big league pitching, but his fielding leaves much to be desired. Up the middle defense is crucial to a baseball team and especially a sinker baller like Mike Pelfrey. Eventually, Murphy’s experience at different positions could make him a nice utility player but as a regular he would be exposed. The Mets also have Justin Turner who came to the team last year but didn’t set himself apart. Continue reading “2011 Critical for Mets’ Reese Havens”

Mets 2011 Salaries Page

July 23, 2010 Los Angeles, CA..Mets Johan Santana in action during the Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets defeated the Dodgers, 6-1..Josh Thompson/CSM.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets roster and salary page has been updated to reflect the 2011 roster to date. You can see that the Mets are committed to about $122 million so far with the additions of D.J. Carrasco and Ronny Paulino in free agency. Also, Angel Pagan’s contract hasn’t been resolved yet but will likely be prior to arbitration.

There really isn’t a lot of room for the new Mets brain trust of Sandy Alderson, J.P. Ricciardi, and Paul DePodesta to make moves. Unfortunately, that means that we’ll likely have to suffer through another subpar season.

The other problem is that Johan Santana is taking up 18% of the payroll and won’t be able to play until July because of shoulder surgery this offseason. That’s a killer for any team, much less a struggling team like the Mets.

Things look really good for 2012 though. I’m sure that’s why Alderson and friends decided to come to the Mets. They have a chance to do a complete makeover of this team with half of the payroll going off the books. They’re going to have some fun spending the Wilpon’s money next offseason.

If you want to get a primer for the players that will likely be available in free agency before the 2012 season, check out MLB Trade Rumors. The big names will be Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, Heath Bell, and Booklyn’s David DeJesus.

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Brad Emaus – No Moneyball in Flushing?

CLEARWATER, FL - FEBRUARY 26: Infielder Randy...
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The new Mets front office has taken the time to explain that “Moneyball” is not a game they will be playing in Queens. Paul Depodesta and J.P. Ricciardi have even criticized Michael Lewis for his characterization of their personas. I’m sure I wouldn’t appreciate being called a nerd either. Sandy Alderson, in a recent quote, told the press he would not have come to Queens if he had to instill the tactics used in Oakland.

Although I do believe the Ivy League squad running the Mets, one of the few moves made this winter seems like a chapter directly from the book. Kevin Youkilis, a key figure in the “Moneyball”, was a prime example because of his ability to walk and not strikeout. He was unappealing to most scouts because of his lack of “tools”.  Billy Beane perceived “tools” a less tangible marker for a successful big leaguer. He was called fat and a bad fielder and was unnoticed through most of baseball. Nevertheless, Youk was a star in Paul Depodesta’s computer. He was a break from what a time honored scout would particularly look for.

This brings me to the Rule 5 draft. The resemblance to the the Moneyball school of thought was undeniable. J.P. Ricciardi’s familiarity with a prospect in Toronto led Sandy to scoop up Brad Emaus. Emaus has nothing flashy or exciting in his bag of tricks. He is not the “toolsy” raw talent that scouts drool over. He was brought aboard, not surprisingly,  because of his ability to draw walks and not strike out. Pitch selection and on base percentage have brought him to the Mets roster.

I don’t believe the trio will be pinching pennies in years when the funds are more available. Emaus however, is an early indicator that the new regime has an idea about picking out under appreciated talent. Emaus will be the first in a list of benchmarks to judge if they can still scoop these under the radar contributors. At the very least it makes for interesting debate.

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