What year is it again?

According to Jacob Resnick of SNY, the New York Mets have called up utility man Wilfredo Tovar from Triple-A Syracuse to replace outfielder Kevin Pillar, who landed on the injured list after getting hit in the face with a pitch on Monday night.

The team also designated catcher Deivy Grullón for assignment to make room on the 40-Man roster for Tovar.

The Mets’ I.L. continues to grow by the day, as Pillar went down in a scary incident in the seventh inning after getting struck in the nose by a fastball from Atlanta Braves reliever Jacob Webb.

The center fielder was forced to go to the hospital to get a CT scan last night. And on Tuesday morning, it was revealed that Pillar had suffered multiple nasal fractures and was set to meet with a facial specialist in Atlanta.

As a result, the Mets called up Tovar, who they originally signed back in 2007 at the age of 15. Tovar made his MLB debut with the Mets back in 2013 before bouncing around the league on several minor league deals. The 29-year-old last appeared in the majors with the Los Angeles Angels in 2019.

Overall, Tovar is a natural middle infielder, but has played the corner infield and outfield spots in his career. He has also posted a .188 average, with 0 home runs and seven RBIs in the majors.

This season, Tovar was off to an anemic start offensively for Syracuse, slashing a mere .206/.349/.235 with seven RBIs in 10 games.

The Mets hope Tovar can become their latest unsung hero, as they continue to try to tread water until they get some healthy reinforcements back to their club.

But in all likelihood, Tovar will serve as an extra bench piece, which resembles how beleaguered the Mets’ depth currently is, given the mass amount of injuries they’ve endured.

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The Mets made a slew of roster moves following their 8-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

Left-handed pitcher Daniel Zamora, right-handed pitcher Yennsy Diaz and catcher Patrick Mazeika were all optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, while outfielder Johneshwy Fargas, infielders Jake Hager and Wilfredo Tovar and catcher David Rodriguez were all reassigned, according to the team on Twitter.

Zamora, 27, appeared in five games this spring for New York, logged two saves and struck out three without surrendering a run in 4.2 innings. He has a 4.08 ERA in 33 career MLB games.

Diaz, 24, came over to the Mets this winter as part of the deal that sent starter Steven Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays. The righty has appeared in just one career MLB game back in 2019. This spring, he had a 20.25 ERA in two games, including a rough one on Wednesday where he blew a save and allowed a homer in just one third of an inning.

Mazeika, 27, is the Mets third string catcher on their 40-man roster, and was brought up to the majors during the shortened 2020 season but failed to appear in a game. He went 4-for-11 at the dish this spring with two runs scored and three RBI.

Fargas, 26, was signed by the Mets last winter under the previous front office regime, but was brought back this past November as a non-roster invitee. The speedy outfielder went 4-for-14 at the plate this spring, including a triple that he hit in the eighth inning of Friday’s contest.

Hager, 28, like Fargas, signed under the last Mets’ regime, but was brought back this year as well. A former first round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2011, Hager has yet to crack the majors. The Nevada native had three hits in 12 at-bats this spring, but that included two long balls.

Tovar, 29, rejoined the Mets organization this offseason after originally signing with the team as an international free agent in 2007. The Venezuela native debuted with New York in 2013 and had short stints with the team that year and in 2014 before bouncing around to a few different organizations. The light-hitting defensive infielder had six at-bats this spring but didn’t record a hit.

Rodriguez, 25, falls in the same category as Fargas and Hager, joining the team last winter and re-upping with them under the new administration. The Venezuela native was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent in 2012, before becoming a minor league free agent at the end of the 2019 campaign. He had just two at-bats this spring.

The Mets now have 44 players remaining in major league camp.

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Good morning, Mets fans!

Latest Mets News

The Mets re-signed Brad Brach to a one-year deal contract with a player option for 2021. Consequently, to make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets designated Chris Flexen for assignment.

Former Mets Wilfredo Tovar has just signed with the Minnesota Twins according to MMO‘s own, Jacob Resnick.

Latest MLB News

The Padres acquired Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and a PTBNL

MLB Pipeline updated their top 100 2020 MLB Draft prospect list. Leading the way is RHP Emerson Hancock from the University of Georgia.

Texas Rangers signed Kyle Gibson to a three-year $28M deal. The deal is front-loaded so he will receive $11M in 2020, $10M in 2021, and $7 in 2022.

As reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Yankees had a good meeting with Stephen Strasburg but both the Yankees and Nationals are still confident that he will stay with Washington.

The Yankees are working on a contract to re-sign OF Brett Gardner.

The Twins have agreed to a one-year deal with C Alex Avila.

The White Sox have claimed Tayron Guerrero off of waivers from the Miami Marlins.

Chicago Cubs signed RHP Dan Winkler to a split contract between the majors and minors: $750K in the majors, $200K in the minors.

San Francisco Giants have hired Donnie Ecker as their new hitting coach.

Latest NL East News

The Washington Nationals are rumored to be bringing back Howie Kendrick for another year on a $6.5M deal with a mutual option for 2021, as per Jamal Collier, Nationals MLB writer.

The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to sign Anthony Rendon, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Latest on MMO

The Simply Amazin’ podcast came out Friday with special guest, Tim Britton of the Athletic!

Samantha Brown continued the 2019 Mets player report cards with Steven Matz.

Joe D wrote about Hyun-Jin Ryu and how he has a lot to offer the New York Mets.

On This Date in Mets History

Happy Birthday to Pete Alonso (25) and Mike Baxter (35)!

1984: The Mets traded Walt Terrell to the Detriot Tigers for Howard Johnson.

1988: The Mets traded Wally Backman and Mike Santiago to the Minnesota Twins for Toby Nivens, Steve Gasser, and Jeff Bumgarner.

1994: The Mets signed free agent Chris Jones of the Colorado Rockies.

2001: The Mets traded Robin Ventura to the Yankees for David Justice.

The post Morning Briefing: Brad Brach Returns To Mets appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Tonight, the New York Mets will take on the Philadelphia Phillies at 7:05 p.m. Seth Lugo (5-3, 4.55) will take the mound against Nick Pivetta (4-7, 5.89).

Last night, the Mets offense woke up and struck early and often. Wilmer Flores hit a three run home run and third baseman, Neil Walker homered too and had four hits in the rout. Michael Conforto did what Michael Conforto tends to do by drawing a few walks and hit a three run home run. Curtis Granderson also hit a two run shot in the ninth and the Mets finished up a 10-0 win. Jacob deGrom was dominant with 10 more strikeouts with 6.2 innings. He was hit with a 99 MPH liner and exited. X-Rays came back negative on the Mets ace.

Latest Mets News

Dominic Smith is arriving today. The top prospect is hitting .330/.386/.519 with a career-high 34 doubles, career-high 16 homers.

Matt Harvey will begin his rehab assignment with the Brooklyn Cyclones this Saturday.

Marc Carig of Newsday reported that Jacob deGrom believes he will make his next start.

Lucas Duda gives a shout out to Mets fans in a letter for the Players’ Tribune.

Latest NL East News

Mark Zuckerman of MASN writes about Gio Gonzalez‘s dominance.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald had the latest on the Marlins sale.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com speculates who the Atlanta Braves could call up in September.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports that left with numbness in his middle finger.

Latest on MMO

Mike Mayer writes up the latest trade rumor between the Yankees and Mets.

Mets Daddy takes a look at Ryder Ryan, who isn’t your typical 30th round pick.

This Day in Mets History

1988: Gary Carter hits his 300th career home run.

Birthdays: Wilfredo Tovar turns 26, John Mitchell turns 52, Al Pedrique turns 57.

The post Morning Briefing: Dominic Smith Arrives! appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

New York Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has now played ten games in the Venezuelan Winter League for the Leones del Caracas and eight of them have come at second base. He’s played only one game at shortstop with former Met Wilfredo Tovar seeing the bulk of the action at the position.

Earlier this month, Cabrera did tell Team Venezuelan World Baseball Classic manager Omar Vizquel that he would play other positions than shortstop during the tournament if need be.

Cabrera’s struggles at the plate continued on Wednesday night as he went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts and is now hitting just .094 without an extra base hit. His best game of the winter ball season came on Tuesday when he was 2 for 4 with a walk.

Right-handed reliever Jose Arredondo, who the Mets are scouting, pitched a scoreless eighth inning last night against Cabrera’s Leones del Caracas squad. The veteran has now pitched 28.2 winter ball innings this offseason in which he as struck out 28, allowed 24 hits and walked 16.

Mets closer Jeurys Familia has yet to see action in the Dominican Winter League because the Gigantes del Cibao’s first two playoff games have been postponed.

The only other position player in the Mets system still regularly playing in winter ball is minor league catcher Xorge Carrillo. Last night he went 1 for 3 with a triple, walk, run batted in and scored a run for the Aguilas de Mexicali. He’s hitting .290/.380/.409 with three home runs and 26 RBI over 58 winter league games this offseason.

Earlier this week at MetsMinors.net we reported that the Mets signed right-handed pitcher Joshua Torres to a minor league deal. The 22-year old pitched a perfect eighth inning last night in Puerto Rican Winter League action. He has a 3.08 ERA in 26.1 innings for the Indios de Mayaguez. During that span he has struck out 20, walked 12 and allowed only 16 hits.

The post Winter League Update: Cabrera Continues to Play Second appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Middle infielder Wilfredo Tovar and catcher Anthony Recker cleared waivers and were both outrighted by the New York Mets on Thursday. The move cleared two spots on the 40-man roster.

Tovar was hitting .283 in 102 games for Triple-A Las Vegas but he had a concussion early in the season. It’s not clear if he will be ready to play next season but this move will take him off the New York Mets 40-man roster.

Recker made 32 appearances with the Mets at catcher this season and was mainly a backup catcher to Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki.

He failed to have at least 100 at-bats in a season for the first time since 2012, mainly because of the emergence of Plawecki. He has the option to enter free agency this offseason but he likely won’t get much interest after hitting only .125/.213/.235 in 80 at-bats this season.

The Mets added reliever Josh Smoker to the 40-man roster on Thursday, and are expected to add outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo in the next day or two. The roster currently stands at 38.

The post Mets Part Ways With Wilfredo Tovar and Anthony Recker appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Earlier today the Mets transferred infielder Wilfredo Tovar  to the 60 day disabled list to make room for newly acquired reliever Addison Reed on the 40 man roster.

After Sunday’s 5-4 victory against the Boston Red Sox, the Mets optioned RHP Logan Verrett to Triple-A Las Vegas to make room for Reed on the 25 man active roster.

In ten appearances for the Mets this season, including a stellar spot start filling in for Matt Harvey against the Colorado Rockies a week ago, Verrett has a 1.93 ERA and a 0.651 WHIP over a 23.1 innings span.

Verrett hurled eight impressive innings and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out eight against the Rockies to earn his first major league win.

The Mets will likely recall Verrett after ten days or sooner if they were to place another player on the disabled list.

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Coming into this season, there was much doubt surrounding whether a Wilmer Flores and Daniel Murphy shortstop and second base combination could holdup over a full season. And while the Mets eleven game winning streak gave the clumsy duo a bit more leeway, two big losses against the Marlins earlier this week exacerbated the Mets middle infield conundrum.

The Front Office took action last night, recalling second base prospect Dilson Herrera from Vegas to help out. During the interim, Murphy will shift over to third, Flores will stay at short, Herrera will slide into second and Soup will hit the bench. But once captain David Wright returns from the Disabled List, Herrera will likely head back to Vegas and we are left with the same problem.

If the Mets want to be serious playoff contenders, there is no way the team can rely on Flores and Murphy to turn double plays and make all the routine plays. And while Herrera will eventually supplant Murphy as the full-time second baseman later this year, a Flores-Herrera pairing does not placate me much either. Herrera is far from a polished defender at this point in his career, as I expanded on earlier this week, and Flores is third among National League shortstops with seven errors.

In short, Flores needs to go. He’s a decent batter and I appreciate the lineup length he provides, but on a pitching-oriented ball club his defense is detrimental.

But where should the Mets go from here assuming Flores cannot play short? Matt Reynolds’ name has been discussed as a potential successor for the job. But while Reynolds is a better defender than Flores, he is a merely average fielder and projects similarly with the bat. I do not mean this in a negative way, but Reynolds looks more like an excellent sub on a good team than a future first-division starter.

Some have also speculated Sandy Alderson could make a play for the Brewers’ Jean Segura. But that would likely require dealing some of our talented young pitching, something the Mets might not be willing to do. And even if the Mets could acquire Segura for a reasonable price, it remains to be seen if the Brewers shortstop can even provide a significant upgrade over Flores. He’s continued to underwhelm ever since his all-star sophomore season. And Segura is one of only two NL shortstops (Ian Desmond being the other) that has committed more errors than Wilmer in 2015.

Barring a blockbuster trade, there does not seem to be many palatable and realistic options for the Mets’ shortstop problem. But one option we have not considered, as we wait for the highly-touted Amed Rosario to debut, is an underrated defender just a phone call away from the major leagues, Wilfredo Tovar.

When evaluating Tovar’s measurables, he’s easy to overlook. He does not have plus speed or even an elite arm, but the 23-year-old knows how to play the game and has the skills and IQ to be an above-average major league defender at shortstop right now.

Take a look at this clip from Tovar with the B-Mets last season. He showcases great instincts and makes a play that neither Flores or Murphy would come near completing.

Below is another video of Tovar’s defense: he made this play made during a cup of coffee with the Mets late in 2013 .

Tovar understands that a strong righty like Tom Frazier will likely pull Jon Niese’s 90 mile per hour fastball, so he shifts more to the left side of the infield in preparation. Once the ball comes off the bat of Frazier, Tovar continues to exhibit great baseball instincts, acts quickly, and robs the Reds third baseman of a hit.

Offensively, Tovar’s production would certainly pale in comparison to that of Flores. He’s a slap-heavy, pesky hitter: Tovar might even have less power than Ruben Tejada. And at only 5’10” and 180 lbs, the Venezuelan’s body leaves little room for more projection.

Still, Tovar is not a total negative on offense. He owns a respectable minor league batting average of .260 and a career .663 OPS. Plus, Tovar is currently amidst a breakout year in Vegas, bating .288 with a .740 OPS.

And while Tovar cannot hit for power, the stocky infielder has demonstrated excellent plate discipline in his minor league career: he could be that leadoff hitter the Mets so desperately need. At Single-A St. Lucie in 2012, Tovar walked nearly twice as much as he struck out in over 250 at-bats. Last year on the B-Mets championship team, Tovar again forged more walks than strikeouts in more than 300 trips to the plate.

As we discussed earlier, Tovar has never blown away scouts with his speed. Nevertheless, his high baseball IQ should allow him to swipe upwards of twenty bases in the major leagues. He stole 24 bags total back in 2014, and has already  notched 5 steals in just 16 games thus far in Triple-A Vegas.

In short, Tovar can bring a lot to the Mets, even if he does not have the tools to be an everyday starter. He understands baseball, something we can’t exactly say about the current Mets middle infielders, plays great shortstop defense, which should allow Herrera some margin for error, and can get on base and swipe a bag with good consistency.

He reminds me of the 1969 Mets starting shortstop Bud Harrelson. During the Mets championship campaign, Harrelson batted just .248 with zero home runs. Regardless, Bud was a crucial player for the World Series-winning Mets. He got on base using a 1:1 K/B ratio and played stellar defense behind a great Mets staff.

Wilfredo Tovar may not be the sexiest option from the Mets prospect well, and he certainly is not the best offensive one but he may still give the Mets the best shot at winning right now.

The Mets current roster is built on stellar pitching: it only makes sense to support these coveted arms with a solid defense, especially when contact-hurlers like Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee, and Bartolo Colon take the hill.

Wilmer Flores is a good player, but he is not a shortstop and his offense hardly justifies his deficiencies. The same can be said for Daniel Murphy. The Mets should act before their middle infield lets the division slip away. Is it Tovar Time?

The post Wilfredo Tovar: The Mets Answer at Shortstop? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In a game that won’t count in the standings, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports that Dillon Gee tossed four scoreless innings and Wilfredo Tovar and Cory Vaughn contributed two-run doubles against Kevin Slowey as the Mets beat the Marlins, 8-0, this morning in a “B” game at the Mets’ complex.

Gee indicated that he also made an adjustment that involves when he separates his hands during his delivery, which helps prevent his arm from dragging.

“The ball was coming out of my hand a lot better than normal,” Gee said.

You can read the full “B” game recap from Adam Rubin here.

The post Dillon Gee Throws Four Scoreless In B Game appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

David Wright refused to say which Mets team he was rooting for today.

The Mets played a 7 1/2 inning intrasquad game this morning and there were some items worth noting. Dillon Gee, Jenrry Mejia, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Jose Valverde, Carlos Torres, Jeurys Familia and Joel Carreño all logged at least an inning.  The lineups were as follows:

Home

Matt den Dekker, cf
Kirk Nieuwenhuis, lf
Wilmer Flores, 2b
Andrew Brown, dh
Cesar Puello, rf
Matt Clark, 1b
Zach Lutz, 3b
Juan Centeno, c
Anthony Seratelli, ss

Away

Brandon Nimmo, cf
Danny Muno, 2b
Brandon Allen, 1b
Anthony Recker, dh
Eric Campbell, 3b
Cory Vaughn, rf
Dustin Lawley, lf
Kevin Plawecki, c
Wilfredo Tovar, ss

Here are some blurbs from beat reporters on Twitter:

Syndergaard tossed two innings and allowed four hits, one earned run and struck out five. He was hitting 96-97 with his fastball and his first batter of the spring was leadoff man Brandon Nimmo who struck out on a hook from hell. Wilfredo Tovar had an RBI single to score Cory Vaughn for Thor’s only run.

Jeurys Familia looked very sharp and pitched a 1-2-3 fifth, striking out Matt Clark and Zach Lutz.

Danny Muno. went 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk and a stolen base. His homer came off Dillon Gee.

Carlos Torres, who was a pleasant surprise for the Mets last season, tossed two perfect innings, retiring Wilmer Flores, Andrew Brown and Cesar Puello in 4th and striking out three.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was a little wild allowed two unearned runs in his first inning of work on an errant throw and a passed ball. However he retired Dustin Lawley, Kevin Plawecki, and Wilfredo Tovar in order in his second and final inning of work.

Jenrry Mejia pitched two scoreless innings and allowed a Matt Clark single, two walks and whiffed four of his teammates.

By the way, Wilmer Flores started at second base and went 0-for-3.

Tweets apropos of nothing but funny nonetheless:

Dice K into the fake game. By the time he’s finished, Syndergaard will be entering free agency.

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) February 27, 2014

Nimmo fouls one into dugout, nearly creating several openings on Mets coaching staff.

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) February 27, 2014

Tomorrow the Mets play the Nationals, can’t wait..

The post Notes From Thursday’s Mets Intrasquad Game appeared first on Metsmerized Online.