3
2013
Mets Serious About Lyon, But No Deal Yet As He Talks To Other Teams
An article by 
Updated 7:00 PM
Mets definitely serious about Brandon Lyon, but one major league source says the reliever is still talking to a few clubs. No deal done yet, writes Andy Martino of thre Daily News. But Mets are quite confident that deal with Lyon will get done.
Original Post 4:00 PM
The Mets and free agent righty Brandon Lyon are close to a deal, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports via twitter.
Adam Rubin reported Friday that the Mets had a serious offer out to a late inning, non-closer reliever and were awaiting a response. He cited both Kevin Gregg and Lyon as potential candidates, and it now appears it is the latter.
The thirty-three year old was a key part of the nine-player deal in July between the Astros and Blue Jays that sent Lyon along with teammate J.A. Happ north of the border. Lyon posted a combined 3.10 ERA with 63 strikeouts, 56 hits and 20 walks in 61 1/3 innings.
…Just some last minute Mets news for everyone before the game. Hope everyone has a good time watching! I’ll be proudly wearing my Victor Cruz jersey; so what if they’re not in it this year!
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
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Love it . Add Bourn to lead off . Put Byrd in right .
Opening day Lineup
1.Bourn
2.Tejeda
3.Murphy
4.Davis
5.Wright
6.Duda
7.Byrd
8.Buck
P.S. We might actually good this year lol
Wright just got $150 millz from Sandbag and you have him batting fifth? You say Byrd in right like if it were Strawberry?? Watch out Nats, Phils and Braves, here come the Mets!
1.Bourn
2.Tejada
3.Wright
4.Davis
5.Murphy
6.Duda
7.d’Arnaud/Buck
8.Byrd/Cpt.Kirk
9.pitcher
i think DW is set to bat 3rd, but i like him better where you have him @ 5th in that lineup. Hoping we keep #11 pick AND sign Bourn–for not an INSANE contract.
I am with you Alex on Wright hitting fifth. That is the place in the order where he had the most success and I think he would get more chances there with a guy like Murphy (a doubles machine) and Ike (a high strikeout guy) ahead of him. Plus, with Ike being a pull hitter, Murphy would end up on 3rd quite off, presumably with less than two outs. One thing Wrights had done well is to come through in those types of situations.
Murphy, Ike, Wright, Duda in a row seems like the best way to go. Sadly, I think Collins has it in his mind to hit Wright third.
Actually Wright’s slash line is pretty even regardless of what spot and is slightly better in 4th than any of the three. This idea that he was a much better 5 hitter is just selective memory.
Why would you think Byrd is going to make the team let alone be a starter?
ALEX, I YOUR EXHUBERANCE DID U REMEMBER NATIONALS, BRAVES & PHILLIES STILL ARE PLAYING? IF SO, MAY I INQUIRE AS TO YOUR DEFINITION OF “GOOD”?
I love this approach SA is taking with our bullpen (better late than never) sign enough relievers
then throw them against the bullpen wall and see who sticks!! Lyons is a good pitcher and I’m
surprised he is still available? Of course with the three signings this week and with the chance
of all of them making the mets including Pedro (which makes 4) all our young guys who had a chance to make the mets will be in AAA or it will open up a possible trade for one or more of them to get an outfielder!! (maybe?)
Who protects ike in the line up then? & i rather have Byrd then Turner or Lutz in right thats for sure
I honestly doubt Byrd makes this team.
Yeah….no way he makes it. You’ll be seeing much more of Cowgill and Brown then Byrd.
I like Lyon a lot, he’s a quality guy. Are you sure it’s not a typo and you meant to say Lima?
All I can say about this move is FINALLY! It baffles me that Lyon has been available for this long.
I wrote this piece for MMO about acquiring Brandon Lyon back in 2009. Guess Sandy Alderson finally caught up on his blog reading!
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/10/how-about-brandon-lyon-setting-up-k-rod.html
Maybe we’ll sign Matt Holiday instead of Jason Bay!
Got signing. Has closer experience. TX approves of this signing and this message. (Paid by friends of TX for brewmaster general)
The entire pitching staff could be a strength for us with the late additions, and with Wheeler coming up soon.
All we need to do is sign Bourne, and trade for a power-hitting OFer, and we can come in third or fourth in the division!
I laughed out loud.
I see them eventually ending this Bourn saga when they get the green light from MLB, and MAYBE it will turn into a 4-horse race between the Nats, Braves, Phils and Mets provided the Mets add some more arms and find consistency, but as far as trading for a power hitting OF goes…your best bet is to perhaps wait until sometime during the season for that to happen.
I’d count the Phillies out, unless they don’t care if they pay the luxury tax. They’ve got less than 10 MIL left to spend before they reach 178 MIL, I believe.
He is a cheaper John Rauch ( I assume given they overpaid for Rauch in one of the Jose Reyes departing panic moves). But he is solid and if they sign him would become our best reliever.
Will hell us lockup 4 th place
Don’t see how you can say he’ll come on the cheap. He’s one of the better setup man in the game…
If
If
If
If, even 2 or 3 of these BP pick-ups pitches to the level they did when they were successful, we could be looking at a strong bullpen.
IF.
While it won’t be as good as the Nats or Braves pen, it seems the Mets have gathered up enough quality arms that their bullpen should be able to hold on to most of their leads this year.
This is great news for the Mets. It allows them to keep Familia, Mejia, McHugh all starting in the Vegas rotation. Allowing them to get the much needed development and seasoning they all still need. Now, considering they all have either done well already in AAA or have a history of struggling first before settling in once they reach a new level, they should all benefit from another few months or more in Vegas.
The market for quality starters in the majors has become so high that letting them have every last chance to reach their ceilings only helps in making the Mets that much deeper in the game’s most valued commodity. I always hoped they wouldn’t put those three in the Mets bullpen this spring; knowing that having as much legit talent starting at any level in their system would eventually lead to fixing the Mets problems long term. They had a black hole at catcher and one trade later they’re resting comfortably with the games best catching prospect and another future SP2 a year and a half away. Pitching is the answer.
Even better news is that they’re still looking to acquire yet another closer which should certainly solidify their bullpen and make the Mets have one or two excess arms come the end of spring training. Just when other teams are probably going to need a quality arm themselves due to a injury of one of their own relief pitchers.
This is best case, of course, the Mets themselves are most likely going to deal with injuries but Sandy is definately acquiring a lot of arms.
There has been a ton of screaming from the Mets’ faithful about his lack of movement this off season. Considering the budget, I’d say those fans need to shut it at this point. Is he building a championship team? No, but he’s not going into the season with a laughable roster either and is still hoping to add Bourn to the team.
I can’t wait till 2014 when there’s another 50 million freed up. Things are looking up.
with the signings so far, it makes even more sense to sign Wilson, assuming he may take 1-2 months to be fully ready to contribute.
Starting to think that they Mets may give Philly a run for 3rd place. I know that 3rd is not what we should hope for, but Atlanta and Nats got better.
not sure that Atlanta did not really stay more even. swapped one SP spot, and on offense basically traded Bourn and Chipper for Upton squared.
Sometimes its not so much how well you play against your opposition’s strengths but how you stack up to their weaknesses. The Braves and Nats and (to a lesser degree) the Phillies all have excellent bullpens, but (especially in the case of the Braves & Phillies) they don’t have a whole lot of quality depth. If Sandy can land Valverde, well … I will say this I suspect the rest of the NL isn’t laughing at us nearly as hard as we ourselves are. This was a tough team last year for the first half of the season. Sometimes all you have to do is hang around because sometimes it’s the other guys who fall apart.
Sure, it’s unlikely all three (Braves Nats and Phills) will fall apart, but I’m not sold on the Braves or the Phillies. It won’t take a whole lot for the Phillies and Braves to come down to our level if the Mets can take a step forward — in terms of John Niese evolving into a top of the rotation arm, Harvey proving he is for real, Ike proving he’s the player he was the second half, Murphy hitting the way we know he can, and Wright earning his money. Is it likely? I wouldn’t bet my house on it, but I also don’t think it’s quite as far fetched as we think.
What if? What if they sign Bourn, and … then Trade Familia, Syndegaard, Nimmo, and Mejia for Stanton?
Bourne
Murphy
Wright
Stanton
Ike
Duda/Byrd/Kirk
Buck/D’arnaud
Tejada
Neise
Harvey
Santana
Gee
Marcum / Wheeler
Parnell
Lyon
Edgin
Francisco
Hawkins
Valverde
Pedro Feliciano?
Ok yeah Stanton won’t happen without us giving up Havey or Wheeler … but hypothetically, the above roster is, well, pretty scary when you consider we’ve got all kinds of pitching coming down the pike.
I’m pretty sure it won’t happen … but it’s still nice to know we aren’t nearly as far as we might think we are … especially with the amount of money coming off the books in 2014.
I like the way you think. That roster looks pretty formidable to me.
Like I said before in so many words is that if Wheeler & d’Arnaud are everything people are saying about them then the time to start cementing the major league club is now. Actually it was before the Hot Stove season began. All this fiddling around with filler is terrible.
Again, Keith Hernandez was acquired one month after Strawberry came up and a year before Gooden arrived on the scene. Evidently Cashen must have been confident enough in what he saw coming up to start getting stars before all the kids came up. Not the current GM and his “walking through eggshells/kicking the tires/throwing against the wall to see what sticks” philosophy.
Of course they may not win. They didn’t make the postseason in 84 & 85 but at least THEY TRIED. And it was tougher than, now there’s 2 wild cards so what are they waiting for?
it’s not 1983 anymore. The entire scope of Free Agency has changed since there. If the Mets traded for Justin Upton they would have 3 years of his services before he goes to the highest bidder.
As great as Upton would look here, they are still too far away to make that kind of deal now.
Stanton, on the other hand, is a completely different story and I really hope they go after him a year from now.
The young pitchers we have in A and A+ will be more valuable a year from now and its even possible it can be done with Syndergaard as the center piece.
Forgot to include Atchison above …
jeez that roster sure looks different with Stanton in there doesn’t it?
Too bad the Rays are dangling a Will Myers package for Giancarlo.
If we get Lyon and you look at the other signings, out bullpen stacks up pretty well with the Nats and the Braves. Plus our infield is the best in the division too. Throw in another 30 homers from catching, and you never know.
Stanton would cost Harvey, wheeler , newenhuis, and edgin
1) No way Wheeler and Harvey is going on the same deal
2) Kirk and Edgin? You’re kidding, right?
No Harvey and wheeler, no Stanton. Other guts just position filler. Not sure Miami evn has nough relievers to field a team
Trust me when I say that you are buggin.
If anything, there would be a swap consisting of Wheeler, Flores, Montero/Mateo, Duda and Vaughn for Stanton, Cishek, Nocolino and a throw in. Both teams possesses pieces each can provide for the near future and beyond.
Your nuts buddy. Stanton is a top 5 player and only 23. If that’s all your offering the Mets won’t sniff him much less gets Niccolino and cishek with him. I think you overate the guys from our side excepting Wheeler. The Marlins have a prospect better than Wheeler and Harvey.
It is also a mute point. Stanton will be a 200 million dollar guy an the Mets don’t pay that
Overrate? Spoken like someone who has no clue what he’s talking about. Flores has already been ranked one of the top 10 3B prospects who is close to being ML ready, Montero and Mateo are very advanced for their level, dominated, highly praised and regarded by scouts through baseball and Vaughn, who has all the tools but needs to raise his BA. Thats supposedly not enough and you think Wheeler and Harvey could do it? Yeah, ok.
after that trade proposal you made in the previous post, you have no right to call out anyone’s baseball knowledge.
This is coming from the same guy who said that Francisco is the best guy to close? Not your fight, son.
So what if they have a better prospect than Wheeler? Wheeler/Flores/Montero/Duda for Stanton is a great return for them.
They’ll want more because they could get more from other teams.
If anyone wants to know the prospect cost for some like Stanton in his pre-arb years who bearing a catastrophic injury will be a perennial MVP candidate, think of the top 5 prospects you would trade in a million years then pick 3 plus 2 or 3 of the next 5 best.
The Marlins are not trading Stanton to the Mets..
I hope they get Lyon. He’s a decent reliever and better than Rauch. If they can only do just 1 thing — either fix the BP or improve the OF — I take fix the bullpen any day. The OF right now isn’t great but it may just be passable. The 2000 Mets and the 2012 Giants had weak OFs and they did just fine. If they can fix the BP + get Bourn on a reasonable deal without losing their #1 pick, all the better. The Mets will then surprise a lot of people.
Lets not talk like the Braves are such a sure thing. The rotation has plenty of question marks.
What planet do you live on Alex?
As good a bullpen as the Braves and Nats? Did Kimbrrl and Venters retire? Did Soriano, Clippard and Storen get shipped out? I don’t think we have a reliever besides Parnell that could even make their staffs.
The Natd, braves and phillies have as good if not better infields than us
The 2012 Giants had a major league outfield. We don’t have a major leaguer in our outfield yet
I understand not falling for the whole Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown thing, as much as we may all want to kick it & believe our team has a shot.
Yes man for man our bullpen doesn’t stack up to the Braves or Nats … but over the course of 162 games sometimes it’s more about depth than anything — Kimbrel and Venters have logged an awful lot of innings past couple of seasons and the Mets are looking like they may be building a pretty deep pitching corps.
And no, sorry, I don’t think the Nats or the Phillies have a better infield than us. The Phillies are OOOLLLLD … they are counting on Utley? Michael Young? Really? Who is even going to start for them behind the plate? The Nats are not great defensively up the middle. The Braves have all kinds of questions with their starters and whether they’ll hold up and we definitely have a better infield than Atlanta and I like our starting pitching.
Look, this time of year when the air temperature is – 7 and your nose hairs crackle when you step outside and you haven’t seen the ground under several feet of snow cover for several months you get to thinking crazy thoughts.
Come on. Of the four teams we have the worst shortstop. Third base we share the top with the Nats. I can make case that Davis is the weakest 1st baseman certainly not as good as Freeman. Second we are t best third. The upfield s by far the roast nd the Nats nd Zohils have far superior rotations. The brave are in our zone rotation wise.
Who is actually good in our bullpen? Isn’t Fransisco still the closer?
I hear you about winter but come on les be realistic
I wouldn’t take Freeman and certainly not LaRoche over Ike, but then I think Ike is the player we saw in the 2nd half last year when he was clearly the best 1Bman in the division. Howard is awful. I like Murph over Espinosa and Uggla who may be the worst 2Bman in the game and who has some pretty horrendous holes in his swing. Utley is done and Young isn’t far behind. Simmons and Tejada are close defensively … offensively they had the same exact avg and virtually the same OBP, but Tejada had 298 more at bats so I’ll believe Simmons is Tejada with a little more power when he can do it for a full season (he really tailed off after he came up hot). Ian Desmond is great but overall I really would take our infield over the Nats’ for the next 3 – 4 years. If Murph can improve even marginally over last year’s decent showing I think defensively were better. David Wright is the best 3Bman in the league and If D’Arnaud lives up to half his hype we should be set. We’ll see how things play out but I think our infield is as good as any.
It will be close to 80 degrees here in St. Petersburg this week and got some crazy thoughts about 2013 Mets going too….!!
True…
I said it before; the mets rotation will be good enough to keep them in the game and the offense is just good enough to score some runs daily. If Sandy was able to build a good bullpen, the Mets wouldn’t be the laughable team many wrote them off as.
If Lyons comes aboard and Sandy actually signs Valverde or even K- Rod, suddenly the Mets are certainly a .500 team. From that point, anything can happen. Just ask the Orioles and A’s…
Hi Guys and Gals,
Again, wake me up when the Mets actually do sign someone other than to a minor league contract.
Lyon would certainly be a ML contact. and they already broke the ice on that anyway.
Allright- I prefer this guy over Valverde. I mentioned him about a week ago but thought he was nearing a deal with the Giants.
Sandy will eat a large contract if there is just 1 year left on the contract as he did with Castillo, Perez, Bay and maybe Francisco this year- 6.5MM.
Here’s food for thought.
Is it possible for Sandy to trade Francisco for a bag of balls and sign Valverde?
If he has an awful spring, we should just cut him.
It wouldnt surprise me if FF pitched light out this season. We’ve ALL seen this storyline played out before how closers have bad seasons followed by monster years. Especially the ones that have a pulse on the newest PED that isnt being tested for
If these signings(Lyon, & Valverde or Wilson) come to fruition and our BP starts holding leads late in games for wins that they had been blowing the last 4-5 seasons….you never can tell how far that confidence can carry us in 2013
that’s not going to be possible. If they sign Lyon, they are going to be done with the bullpen (major league deals that is).
Im sure that Lyon is going to be given an opportunity to close and that is one of the reasons why he would choose the Mets instead of accepting a setup role from a better team.
Just to add: I think we need to let the Stanton pipedream go.
He will cost too much in trade, AND, in contract $$$’s.
We can be a World Series contender w/o him.
You’re right just look at the price of Upton. He was already signed to a 10+ mil contract, disliked by the manager and FO, and still cost a borderline all star guy plus a couple really good prospects, and it is a team who is making a three year run so was willing to pay a little extra. Guys like Stanton very rarely get traded, and even then it’s only with the added bonus of needing to sign them to a 20+ million extension because they only have a year or two left of arbitration.
M
Stanton is far from a dream and much more reality.He probably does not go on the market till next off season. Now you guys are saying we have to give up Harvey or Wheeler, but after this year Syndergaurd could be Wheeler now or last year. He is reportedly more advanced and developed than Wheeler was at Single A and would line up perfect with Jose Fernandez to front the rotation becasue they would be ready at around the same time. Flores would be their third baseman of the future and his right now a top ten third base prospect and by next year could move up. Throw two or one of Fullmer, Montero, Tapia, or Mateo and one of the first round hitting prospects they recently drafted.
Mets match up nicely with them and Marlins are known that they do not care about trading within the division, they care about getting the best prospects. As for money he is not even arbitration eligible yet. not sure but he might start next year so as far as money you guys are bugging, they do not have to sign him, they can go to Arb with him if need be every year, so they get him for about 4 years. They will have to pay eventually to lock him up long term after Arb or just to buy out Arb year and some free agency. But I am not sure that will cost 20 a year, probably close. Regardless they will have the money, he is not 31, if you give someone like Stanton a big contract you do it when he is young and get him through his prime years. The only thing to worry about is if another team can give a better package, the last thing is money.
Oh I forgot they can throw Mejia and Famillia at the Marlins as well in a package. Mets rotation is set for years and cost effective with Wheeler, Harvey, Gee and Niese and will still have whoever does not go in the trade. They can sign a free agent to take that spot or whoever does not go in trade. It is a must to make an attempt to get Stanton and he will, Alderson knows you pay for power and he is probably targeting Stanton right now for next year, thats why you can not give up that pick for Bourn.