18
2012
Hefner and Puello Reassigned To Minor League Camp
An article by 
After the game today, the Mets optioned Cesar Puello and Jeremy Hefner to minor league camp.
The Mets now have 40 players in major league camp.
Original Post 3/16
Add infielders Zach Lutz and Val Pascucci to the list of players that were reassigned to minor league camp. The Mets made the decision to cut them at the conclusion of Thursday’s game against the Miami Marlins.
The Mets now have 42 players in camp, including 12 non-roster invitees.
For those of you who need a breakdown, there are 21 pitchers, five catchers, eight infielders and eight outfielders.
By the way, Terry Collins told reporters that despite being reassigned to minor league camp, he expects to borrow Matt Harvey to make one or two more Grapefruit League starts in the next two weeks.
Yesterday, Mets top pitching prospects Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia were among the first round of cuts this morning and have been reassigned to minor league camp.
Other players that were reassigned to the minors include Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Matt den Dekker,Josh Stinson, Jenrry Mejia, Juan Lagares, Reese Havens, Wilmer Flores, Armando Rodriguez and Robert Carson.
Adam Rubin says the Mets now have 44 players in camp and that more cuts will follow today’s Grapefruit League game.
All of these cuts were expected, but I thought Robert Caeson would get a longer look in light of the Tim Byrdak injury.
I’ll have more on Harvey later today.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 22 | .476 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 23 | .410 | 6.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
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Harvey impressed and looked really good.. most of these cuts were expected, agree on CARSON, i thought he’d make the team.. either way, let all these player start in the minors, see how far we are behind before considering bringing them up .. we should see harvey and familia at year’s end imo..
Agreed, most of these cuts were as you said expected. As far as Harvey & Familia goes they should be in the Bigs soon enough. I have no problem letting them refine their skills down in AA and AAA for now. The last thing I want to see is them make the team based on what they did in the vacuum of Spring Training, struggle when the games actually count and then be sent down cause it turns out they still need to refine their pitches.
No surprises here.
Media reported from the get go there wasn’t much competition going to happen for the 25 man roster. SA said 23 spots or so were nailed down coming into ST. Only thing left was a BP arm or two and a utility guy.
Now with injuries, that of course can change as we head to Opening Day.
Well at least we’re getting to the point where we have some credible prospects not just on the 40 but also serving as AAA and AA depth.
Puelo and Valdespin still in the big camp?
I was kind of hoping they would give Harvey one more start so he could go back down with two out of three games being good ones as opposed to the 50/50
But it’s not a big deal since there is no place to put him until they trade someone in the rotation or inury makes room.
should be fine having him come off a good outing. He knows he is very close to belonging, and seems (from the reports) to have a clear idea on what he needs to nail down to be ready to come up. And that could easily happen by mid-season based on what he has shown so far.
But, th ekey is to make sure it is when he is ready, not when the team gets desperate. And when he is ready, should not be hard to find a spot for him!
well likeI said it’s not a big deal but I think that extra boost in confidence against MLB batters would have served him very well when he went back.
Confidence is as much as asset to a pitcher as a good curveball is!
Knowing he belongs would help him put aside the thoughts about impressing and making the team down there and let him work on new ways of getting batters out without worrying how it might affect his eventual promotion!
One more start wouldn’t have hurt him, MIGHT have helped him but not getting it sure isn’t going to kill or hurt him either…
I think of giving him one more start over the others as a bonus perk for pitching well and more of a perk for his head than his arm!
well, from reading his quotes, etc. the last thing he needs to work on is his confidence!
Never buy what a player says to the press! LOL
What he says to the papers is usually an attempt to hide what he is REALLY feeling at the time!
Like the infamous “I just didn;t get it done today!” which when traslated means “why the hell you bothering me I’m one guy who was on the field today, now go away and talk to someone else!”
LOL
Too bad they couldn’t sneak Mike Pelfrey onto this list. Sadly he was out-pitched by everyone so far and doesnt deserve a guaranteed spot in rotation.
You are right, he has been awful but it is ST and there are a lot of actually GOOD pitchers struggling so far.
he was actually worse in 2010 ST (up to his last start), then came out with his best stretch ever to start the season.
sometimes, they really are just working on stuff!
I thought about that too Stick but he seemed very confident at the end of ST in 2010, this year I don’t get the same sense.
Agree with you on this. Hopefully someone comes up and takes Pelfreys spot in May or June.
He may be awful but he is still better than a AAA Pitcher…
The reason he is going to get his spot in the rotation has as much to do with trying to salavage his value by hoping he has a good first half and then trading him!
If you send him to the Minors you get nothing for him!
Nieuenwhis, and Carson were the guys who I was surprised to see cut. I figured they would have someone compete for CF instead of giving it to Torres, although Torres is somewhat tearing it up this spring.
I’m wondering if sending them to the minor league camp will get them more reps and better attention from coaches.
I don’t know how that sort of thing works.
Doesn’t Kirk have an oblique injury?
At least that’s what Rubin reported.
Carson was surprising only because of the competition for Byrdaks spot but Kirk was hurt and it’s better to send him down so that the healthier players can get the MLB work in…
agreed that without the injury, Kirk would still be here competing.
still, more of a bookkeeping entry. Any of them could be back if needed.
Pelfrey’s pitching for his baseball life this year. With the way arbitration works going from 3.9 M to 5 M without having anyone Major League ready in the minors is perfectly reasonable to sign him for another year but next off season and the expected jump even with mediocre performance to 7-8 M is a totally different situation especially if Mejia, Familia and Harvey have big years in AA and AAA but can any one really say they would be shocked if Pelfrey was non tendered next off season and wound up “finding it?”
There’s no question if he was non tendered that plenty of teams would give him the chance and the guy he most reminds me of is Heath Bell. I know there are plenty of differences but essentially they are both big guys who relied on getting GB’s but also gave up too many HR’s.
Someone taught Bell the cutter and all of a sudden he had that pitch that made the difference. He stopped being a FB/slider only guy and immediately was successful.
The same thing I fear is being done/not done with Familia. He talked about how Battista has been teaching him in the big league camp how to finish his change, FB and slider. Sure it’s great to have veterans showing prospects stuff but where exactly is the Mets development staff fitting into the picture?
I hate Warthen. But I thought a couple of the guys in the minors seemed to have soemthing on the ball?
Phil Regan in St. Lucie got all kinds of credit from Harvey and Gorski but he’s about 75 years old and has only been with the Mets since 2009.
Not sure about any of the other development staff.
Harvey & Familia cut wayyyyy too soon. Sure you can send them down but knowing that there is no harm and letting stay up longer and play against more serious competition as ST starts to wind down
Cut at precisely the right time.
They got a taste of MLB competition, they clearly belong in the minors this year, and cutting them gives more innings to the pitchers who are actually fighting for a job on the pitching staff.
Keep hunting for that nut blind squirrel—you may find it one day.
On the other hand, you might not.
Pretty much agree. Got a taste and got hit early in ST but had enough time vs. big league hitters to see that they could be successful and now they go roll up their sleeves and go back to work on the things needed to be successful.
That’s how every other team in MLB bloods their young pitchers.
Not only that but they need them to start building innings and they don’t have the innings to waste at MLB camp.
This from Rubin:
AdamRubinESPNAdamRubinESPN: Matt Harvey, who has been sent to minor league camp, will still appear in a couple of Grapefruit games as borrowed player.
Jeurys Familia cannot be borrowed from minor league camp because he’s on the 40 and was optioned. Harvey can because not on 40.
“Terry Collins won’t hesitate to call up Matt Harvey if someone in the big league rotation gets injured, according to WFUV/MetsBlog contributor Amit Badlani.
However, Collins said he would not consider adding Harvey to the Major League bullpen even if he is among the best pitchers in camp.”-
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I can see that happening in May or June…Someone ALWAYS gets hurt or is ineffective.
Is it even his call?
no, not really. He can ask for whoever he wants (and to an extent use them the way he wants if put on the roster), But up to the GM to call someone up. Unless you are Jerry, who was apparently allowed to make horrible decisions for the LT future of the team and top prospects to try and save his own job, with Omar complicit in the scheme.