May
19
2012

Mets News: Valdespin, Not Acosta, Sent Down

An article by Clayton Collier

Update 5/19 @ 11:03am:

The Mets have optioned 2B/SS Jordany Valdespin to make room for Jeremy Hefner. Since the Mets will probably find the idea of a four-man bench not all that favorable, another move will likely be made in the coming days, probably Acosta will go down. Hefner will wear #53 and Valdespin will primarily play second base in Buffalo.

Original Post 5/19 @ 8:26am:

The Mets organization plans to call up RHP Jeremy Hefner prior to tonight’s ballgame at Toronto reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.

Though no formal announcement has been officially made, Adam Rubin cites Manny Acosta as the most logical candidate to get the boot, whose ERA leaped to 10.53 after yet another unsightly outing from the 31-year old righty.

Hefner was called up as the 26th man on the roster for a double header with the Giants and hurled three scoreless frames of relief before being sent back to Triple-A.

Other Mets getting promotions include Adrian Rosario and Jack Leathersich. Rosario has been dominant to start the year in St. Lucie, striking out 28 while walking only seven in 20 1/3 innings, not to mention 11 saves and a 0.89 ERA to match. Rosario was acquired in the deal that sent Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers last July along with Danny Herrera, who had Tommy John Surgery last month. K-Rod currently has a 4.96 ERA for Milwaukee in 2012.

Leathersich has been equally dominant, punching out a staggering 37 batters in 24 innings. Leathersich, who by the way had a 0.75 ERA with the Sand Gnats, will likely take Rosario’s place as co-closer with Adam Kolarek in the St. Lucie bullpen.

About the Author: Clayton Collier

Clayton, a Long Island native and die-hard Mets fan, started writing online about three years ago. He is currently a Journalism major with a minor in Broadcasting at Seton Hall University. Although very disappointed with the current state of the team, Clayton remains hopeful that the young prospects in the farm system will bring the Mets back to a respected franchise in baseball once again. Besides writing for MMO, Clayton is also a staff member at 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall's modern active rock radio station. You can contact Clayton by following him on Twitter: @Clayton_Collier or E-mailing him at MaybeNextYearMets@yahoo.com

14 Comments + Add Comment

Angelo May 19, 2012 at 8:41 am

finally some good call ups LGM
Russell Zanca May 19, 2012 at 8:47 am

Gosh, it’s hard to say bye to Manny A….NOT!
Seligman May 19, 2012 at 9:12 am

Congrats to Leathersich, I’m looking forward to seeing ho he does at this level.
86mets May 19, 2012 at 9:51 am

It’s about time Acosta got the boot. Why he was given more chances to prove himself than DJ Carrasco is beyond me, although the reason would probably be “because he has a better arm”. Be that as it may, Acosta needs to go. He got shown up last night by a backup catcher for crying out loud! Maybe they should just promote Lucas May from Buffalo to backup Nickeas and leave Johnson in the bullpen! LOL
- 86mets May 19, 2012 at 10:38 am
  
  Well I see it’s Valdespin who loses a roster spot in favor of Hefner. That’s probably a wise move since he wasn’t playing that much anyway so he gets to play every day in AAA now. Additionally, the Mets need the pitching depth (if there is such a thing with this bullpen) since Batista is pitching game 2 (can you really expect another 7 inning outing from a 41 year olds?). However, it is still maddening to see Acosta remain on the roster with his 10.53 ERA.
  - Metsie May 19, 2012 at 11:46 am
    
    Acosta is a second half pitcher if you look at his splits. Don’t know why but the stats are clear as day! The only reason why he has gotten the rope he has is due to his good pitching late last season as one of our better BP arms.
    
    He is out of options so they are not going to make a move with him until they have totally given up on keeping him.
Russell Zanca May 19, 2012 at 12:02 pm

Where’s Takahashi?
- Fonzie13 May 19, 2012 at 1:16 pm
  
  Takahashi is pitching to a 7 ERA this year, he’d fit right in.
  - Bayonne Mets Fan May 19, 2012 at 1:50 pm
    
    But if you remember Takahashi had a bad start last year as well and finished very strong winding up with a 3.44 ERA, 3-3 record, 1.22 WHIP and had a nice difference between hits and IP so. And he’s thrown only about 9 innings this year so that ERA could be real misleading. You know that.
    
    Which raises the question I wonder why the Angels don’t use Takahashi more because he only had about 70 IP last year and over 100 with the Mets
Joe D May 19, 2012 at 5:41 pm

What made sending Spin down more curious is that we are playing with DH rules right now meaning a 3-man bench not a 4-man bench!
- Bayonne Mets Fan May 19, 2012 at 5:43 pm
  
  Well, Sandy’s a genius right? Imagine Omar with a 3-man bench when we can use a DH? He’d be crucified.
  
  So a 3-man bench when we can use a DH and a 41 year old pitcher gets hurt. Where’s the outcry? Oh wait..Sandy knows what he’s doing but if Omar were in the same circumstance he’d be getting killed.
  
  Got it.
  - Joe D May 19, 2012 at 5:47 pm
    
    I think you’ll be happy to know that Alderson’s honeymoon period is at an end. One of the guys at the Post gave me a heads-up on a scathing rebuke of the front office that is being posted in the next 48. I think some of you will like it.
    - Bayonne Mets Fan May 19, 2012 at 5:56 pm
      
      First of all thanks to GOD that you’re okay!! That was scarier for a lot of us for you than you can ever imagine.
      
      Secondly is this going to appear in the New York Post? And when? This is AWESOME to hear!
      - Joe D May 19, 2012 at 6:02 pm
        
        Thanks Bayonne and also for your kind words in your email. I really did appreciate it.

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	22	18	.550	-
Nationals	22	19	.537	0.5
Phillies	19	22	.463	3.5
Mets	15	23	.395	6.0
Marlins	11	30	.268	11.5

Last updated: 05/17/2013

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