Category: Roster

Mets Roster Move: Armas, Jr. Called Up- Phillips Designated

As expected, the Mets added Tony Armas, Jr. to the active roster for tonight’s game. Armas will make the start that’s needed because of the double header against the Yankees last Friday. He’s having a nice season for Triple-A New Orleans where he worked with current Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen and first base coack Ken Oberkfell.

The surprise was that the Mets designated Andy Phillips for assignment. I think that most of us expected Carlos Muniz to be designated and sent back to New Orleans.

Now the Mets are carrying 13 pitchers. This roster configuration is almost as confounding as carrying three catchers for an extended period of time. Muniz was hit hard by the Cardinals last night so I expected Armas to make the start tonight and stick around to see if he had any success as the long man.

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Vargas Will Report To New Orleans

NEW YORK - MAY 14: Claudio Vargas #39 of the New York Mets pitches to Elijah Dukes #34 of the Washington Nationals in the second inning on May 14, 2008 at Shea Stadium in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

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Claudio Vargas has cleared waivers and will report back to Triple-A New Orleans. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vargas back at some point. I thought that he might even get taken off waivers. He pitched as well as I thought that he would this season. He had a 4.62 ERA with a 1.189 WHIP, not bad for a spot starter and long man in the bullpen.

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Mets Injury Updates: June 30- Alou And Pagan

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 20: Moises Alou speaks to reporters at a news conference after signing a one-year, $7.5 million contract to play baseball for the New York Mets November 20, 2006 in New York City. The 40-year-old Alou hit .301 with 22 homers and 74 RBI in 98 games last season for the San Francisco Giants. (Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Moises Alou

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Moises Alou is planning to play some rehab games with Port St. Lucie this week and re-join the Mets in Philly. The Port St. Lucie game was rained out today though. Alou is rehabbing from a left calf muscle injury.

We haven’t heard much about Angel Pagan recently. Jerry Manuel told reporters before tonight’s game that Pagan is deciding whether to have shoulder surgery. He hasn’t been able to recover from the injury he suffered about six weeks ago against the Dodgers. He made an outstanding catch in left field but went over the wall into the seats while making the catch.

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Mets Alter Starting Rotation

The Mets announced yesterday that Oliver Perez will go seven days between starts this week to put a right hander between he and Johan Santana. Pitching coach Dan Warthen wants to split up the lefties. We may see Perez get a couple of innings of relief in early in the Philadelphia series before his next start on Sunday.

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Florida Marlins v New York Mets
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Mets Roster Moves: Church Activated, Nixon To DL

NEW YORK - MAY 17: Chad Moeller #19 of the New York Yankees waits for the ball as Ryan Church #19 of the New York Mets slides home with a fourth inning run on May 17, 2008 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City.

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The Mets activated Ryan Church from the disabled list today and he was inserted into the lineup against the Yankees. It’s the first game he’s played since June 5th after suffering from post concussion syndrome.

To make room on the roster the Mets put outfielder Trot Nixon on the disabled list with a strained groin that he suffered in Los Angeles last week.

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Mets Injury News: June 28- Alou and Church

NEW YORK - MAY 11: Ryan Church #19 of the New York Mets is congratulated by teammate Moises Alou #18 after hitting a home run in the 5th inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Shea Stadium on May 11, 2008 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

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Prior to the game today Jerry Manuel told reporters that Ryan Church should be ready to be activated from the disabled list prior to the game against the Yankees tomorrow. He also said that Moises Alou is targeting a return to the active roster next weekend in Philadelphia.

Manuel also talked about how the double header yesterday forces the Mets to seek outside help for a starting pitcher on Tuesday. Most likely Tony Armas, Jr. will be called up from Triple-A New Orleans. But Manuel left the door open for Omar Minaya to acquire a starter from outside of the Mets organization. Armas has pitched very well for the New Orleans Zephyrs this season going 5-6 with a 2.50 ERA in 16 starts.

There aren’t that many starters on the street that I can think of. There’s David Wells and Jeff Weaver out there, but I think Armas would be a better option. Wells hasn’t pitched all season and Weaver was released byt the Brewers after getting bombed in Triple-A Nashville. He made nine starts and went 2-4 with a 6.22 ERA.

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Two Weeks For Mets To Make A Move

National League

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The Mets have been an inconsistent, troubled team for much of the 2008 season. The next two weeks give the Mets an opportunity to show what the rest of their season will look like. There are series against the Cardinals and Phillies on the road, and the Giants and Rockies at home. It seems like they’ve been playing the Rockies way too much already…

The Cardinals are currently in the National League lead for the wild card and the Phillies lead the NL East. That’s an opportunity and a challenge.

The Giants and Rockies give the Mets a chance to stomp on some weak West division teams that have been out of the race this season.

To do that the Mets need a lot more than they’ve gotten from Oliver Perez. His 5-5 record and 5.29 ERA just isn’t getting it done. He’s always been maddeningly inconsistent but it’s been taken to new heights this season.

The injuries to Ryan Church and Moises Alou have obliterated the Mets plans for their regular outfield. Alou is a walking injury so that wasn’t completely unexpected but Church was the team’s MVP for the first two months of the season.  Before going on the disabled list he was hitting .300/ .365/ /.522 with 10 homers and 35 RBI’s.

If the corner outfield positions can be solidified and Perez’ spot in the rotation becomes more consistent, the Mets will be a contender this season.

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