Category: Roster

Report: Mets Considering Gary Sheffield

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Adam Rubin of the Daily News reportsĀ  that the Mets management is “intrigued” by the prospect of signing Gary Sheffield but haven’t met to discuss the situation yet. I’ve read reports that Sheffield was set to clear waivers Thursday at 1:00 pm, and that several team were set to be in contact with his agent, Rufus Williams, immediately.

Sheffield reportedly wants to play for two or three more years. He wants to find a spot as an every day player. I’m not sure that’s going to happen, and it certainly won’t happen with the Mets. If the Mets did take on Sheffield it would be to replace Jeremy Reed or Marlon Anderson on the roster. I don’t think the Shef wants to be a fifth outfielder or 25th man on the roster.

Sheffield should check in with the San Francisco Giants if he wants playing time. They’ve got some really good pitchers and a pewtrid offense. Sheffield could definitely get some playing time in that outfield of Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand, and Randy Winn. I think the Giants believe that they can compete in the National League West this season too. The Giants are a much better fit for Sheffield than the Mets are.

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

Mets Release Valentin, Spivey, And Armas

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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 Release De Los Santos; Cards Waive Royce Ring

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The Mets decided to let Valerio De Los Santos go despite liking what the lefty brought to the table. He had a good power arm and worked well with the Mets younger pitchers. He pitched in 4 games this spring to a 4.15 ERA. It’s surprising that they couldn’t find a spot at Triple-A Buffalo for him. Ron Villone looked awful against the Tigers today. I just don’t see him filling the situational lefty role for the Mets this season with any kind of success. So far this spring he has a 10.80 ERA in 5 games.

In other news, the Cardinals waived former Met reliever Royce Ring. He’s always had decent success against left handed hitters (.229 BAA for his career). Although he only pitched in a small number of games for the Mets, he did have a good run in 2007. Last year he was terrible for the Braves though. But I think he could certainly compete against Ron Villone for the lefty specialist role in the Mets bullpen. It would be worth checking into if he clears waivers to see if the Mets can get him to agree to a minor league contract.

Mets Assign Freddy Garcia To Minors

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Freddy Garcia has accepted an assignment to the Mets minor league camp today. Apparently, they decided not to waste anymore time at the major league level on Garcia. His 16.71 ERA in 7 innings of work failed to impress.

Livan Hernandez is now locked in at the #5 sport in the rotation to start the season. That decision became inevitable when Jon Niese was assigned to the minor league spring training last week.

The Mets are hoping that Garcia will report to Triple-A Buffalo to continue his work, or possibly remain in Port St. Lucie for an extended spring training according to the Daily News. I can’t see Garcia asking for his release at this point. There’s no way he’ll catch on with another team at the major league level based on his performance with the Mets this spring. The best he could hope for is another minor league contract with a team that may be closer than the Mets to needing a fifth starter. We’ll have to see how this plays out.