Updated by Joe D. on 2/28 Interestingly enough, the topic of Travis D’Arnaud blocking the plate came up last night during our conference call with Sandy Alderson. Matthew Artus broached the subject with Sandy and asked him to elaborate on his feelings about catchers blocking the plate and if D’Arnaud’s injury history played a factor in the team’s decision. “This particular issue has gotten some coverage in recent days,” the Mets GM said. “I think [...]

I read a great article last night from David Lennon of Newsday, that I believe most of you will enjoy. Lennon got together with Carlos Beltran after the Mets lost to the Cardinals, and the former Mets center fielder looked back fondly at his time with the Mets and talked about his first years with the team when he helped David Wright adjust to the big leagues. But what I found most fascinating was what [...]

Terry Collins told ESPN New York this afternoon that the oblique injury to top prospect Zack Wheeler is “not very bad.” Adam Rubin also reports that “the hope is to get Wheeler back on a bullpen mound in five days.” As MMO’s John Delcos pointed out this morning, Wheeler sounds like he’ll miss just one more start before he appears in another Grapefruit League game. As they should, the Mets are handling this one with [...]

With Grapefruit League action now in full swing, here are some news and notes from around Mets Spring Training camp. Tonight, Rafael Montero will make his first start and will face off against the Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg, who pitches against the Mets for the second time in the last six days. Montero, who has opened many people’s eyes this spring, will begin the season at Double-A Binghamton. If you would like to check out the exciting young [...]

I was flipping through Baseball America’s most recent issue listing their 100 Top Prospects, and I came across something interesting in their organization reports about the New York Mets. In summary, they state that the Mets now believe they have “one of the most promising stables of right-handed power arms in the game.” This is some very optimistic, yet very bold thinking from the Mets. I like the message they are trying to put out to [...]

Prospect maven John Sickels really loves righthander Noah Syndergaard, who he ranked #12 on his Top 50 Pitching Prospects list inside his 2013 Baseball Prospect Book.  He shared what he wrote about Syndergaard on his site Minor League Ball this morning: Noah Syndergaard is one of my very favorite prospects. A supplemental first round pick in 2010 from high school in Texas, he’s thrived thus far in pro ball, generating very enthusiastic scouting reports to go along [...]

In a conference call Wednesday evening, Mets GM Sandy Alderson addressed several issues surrounding the team. Here are some of the things he told us: Catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud will not be allowed to block the plate. The reason for that is obvious – his health. The leadoff spot is still up in the air but Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who is the leading candidate, still has a lot of work to do. If Nieuwenhuis plays full-time [...]

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, is reporting that right-hander Shaun Marcum has been temporarily removed from the Mets Grapefruit League rotation, but is not injured. Manager Terry Collins said Marcum wants to concentrate on a long-toss program designed to strengthen his shoulder, which gave him trouble last spring. He will return to game action in early to mid-March. The Mets aren’t calling it a setback, but it sort of sounds like one to me especially when you consider [...]

On Monday I posted about a rumor that the Mets and Marlins were discussing a trade for Giancarlo Stanton in exchange for Zack Wheeler and Travis D’Arnaud. I questioned it’s veracity and didn’t put much stock into it, but thought it made for a good debate on the hypothetical aspects of it. The post actually made for a great discussion on MMO with over 100 or so chiming in on it. Today however, Sports On Earth discussed [...]

Joe D. It’s been widely reported that Kirk Nieuwenhuis will be strongly considered as a leadoff candidate this season despite a 31% strikeout percentage, a low contact rate and on-base percentage, and a poor batting eye. Assuming he could improve his on-base and strikeout rates a little, his batting eye still is what it is, and he doesn’t fit the mold of an ideal leadoff man even if it’s only against right-handed pitching. What’s troubling [...]

Updated by Joe D. on 2/27 We may hear those words blare over the Citi Field PA system one day in the near future during a Mets game… Maybe… Whether or not Wilmer Flores should be handed an outfield glove has been debated quite passionately on MMO many times over the last several months. We’ve all debated the pros and cons of such a move, and obviously so have the Mets. As Andrew Keh of [...]