The Mets and Daniel Murphy avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary for 2015. Murphy will be paid $8.0 million for the last season with the Mets before reaching free agency for the first time in his career. Lucas Duda and Jenrry Mejia still haven’t reached salary agreements with the Mets. Arbitration hearings will be held in February although the Mets haven’t gone to arbitration with a player since 2008.
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Las Vegas 51’s first baseman Ike Davis hit two home runs last night for the second straight game. After two-plus months of misery at the plate with the Mets, it looks like Ike might have his swing back. He’s had 39 at-bat’s in Vegas and is hitting .333/.480/.744 with a 1.224 OPS. He has 4 home runs and 8 RBI’s in 11 games.
The Pacific Coast League is a notorious hitters league. But for anyone worried that Ike had lost the ability to play baseball (a la Jason Bay), that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Lucas Duda has filled in admirably at first base since Daniel Murphy moved back to second base. I think it’s safe to say that most Mets fan feel that Davis has a much higher upside than Duda as a Major League player.
Expect to see Ike back with the Mets pretty quickly. He’s making over $3 million this year and that’s far too much salary for a minor league player. He’s getting paid to play for the Mets, not the 51’s.
In this week’s second installment of the Mets Weekly Report, Kerel Cooper of OnTheBlack.com and I talk about the prospect of the Mets finishing in last place this season. In the first installment this week, we talked about which feat is more impressive: 300 saves or 600 home runs.
The second video installment is based on David Daniels’ post this week about the very real possibility that the Mets could finish in last place in the NL East. We also talk about what we think the future holds in 2012 for Justin Turner. Will he be the incumbent second baseman or will he be an afterthought from a bad 2011 team?
Check out the video below and let me know in the comments what you think about the Mets potential to finish in last place this year and if you think Turner is a lock for second base next season.
ESPN is reporting that Daniel Murphy was diagnosed with a torn MCL in his left knee. In yesterday’s loss to the Braves, he was slid into at second base by Jose Constanza. It was clear that Murphy’s leg moved awkwardly and that he was in severe pain.
According to the ESPN report, Muphy won’t need surgery but will have a four month recovery period. Ruben Tejada has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Murphy’s spot on the roster.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that Bobby Parnell blew the game in the ninth, there are major injuries to talk about. Jose Reyes left the game in the second inning with a mild hamstring strain. Unfortunately, the last time this happened he was out of action for three weeks. Maybe the recurring injuries will keep his contract down in the offseason.
Daniel Murphy was injured more severely in the seventh inning when he took a spike from Jose Constanza in the lower leg at second base. Murphy had just come into the game as a pinch hitter in the inning. The Mets have already put Murphy on the disabled list and called up Ruben Tejada to replace him.
If Reyes goes on the disabled list too, it’s going to be a severe hit to an already under-manned team. The faint glimmer of hope for a late season miracle will be completely out the window with Reyes and Murphy out for any lengthy period of time.
Terry Collins said after the game that Murphy indicated when he was coming off the field that the injury was pretty serious. He was telling them “Get me off the field” as they helped him off.
The Mets lost this one on a grand slam, of all things, in the tenth inning off Jason Isringhausen. Mike Pelfrey and Javier Vazquez both pitched really well, especially Vazquez.
The game was a thriller and even included a bomb of a home run by Jason Bay, if you can believe that. Then in the bottom of the ninth Lucas Duda hit a huge home run to center field to tie the game and send it to the tenth.
In the tenth, Daniel Murphy made a ridiculous bonehead play at first base allowing a runner caught off base to get back safely. His fielding and instincts continue to be pathetic. But he was 2 for 5 again and is still hitting .320 this year.
Izzy couldn’t get anyone out in the tenth and gave up a shot to left field by Mike Stanton that effectively ended the game. Tough way to lose on a grand slam.
The Mets put a third straight beat down on the Reds after the announcement that Carlos Beltran was traded. Honestly, I was expecting a let down tonight but the Reds poor fielding and a big game from Mike Pelfrey kept that from happening. Pelf got a complete game and didn’t walk anyone. He looked smooth and in control throughout the game. It’s amazing that he can’t replicate that type of performance more frequently.
The Mets also got a huge game from David Wright going 2 for 4 with a HR and 4 RBI’s . Daniel Murphy also went 4 for 5 and Lucas Duda hit his second home run.
The Mets have the chance tomorrow for the rare four game road sweep in Cincy before leaving for Washington.
The Mets Report 