On August 18 — assuming there is one — Steven Matz will reach five years of major league service time. That milestone is a big deal for any player and one that only a relatively low percentage reach. Once there, Matz can no longer be optioned to the minor leagues without his consent. Not that he would be (Matz hasn’t spent time in the minors outside of rehab assignments since making his...
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Dominic Smith has not played baseball in a full calendar year. True, he hit a walk-off home run to end the Mets’ season on a high note in September. But in terms of the sleep-train-play-repeat nature of the game, he hasn’t experienced the grind of a season since suffering a stress reaction in his foot last July. “I’ve been dreaming of baseball every day,” Smith said...
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When Yoenis Cespedes agreed to restructure the remainder of his contract in 2019, he did so knowing that if he worked hard enough to overcome the numerous injuries that plagued him for years, he would make back most of the $29.5 million that was originally owed to him in 2020. COVID-19 had other plans, forcing players to agree (and then re-agree) to prorated salaries for the shortened 60-game...
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Though Citi Field is quiet on Monday’s off day, the Mets announced that their alternate training site at MCU Park in Brooklyn is officially open. The stadium is the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones and sits steps away from the Coney Island boardwalk and beach. Workouts are closed to fans and the media. An additional location will allow the team to spread its players out as Major League...
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As essentially a replacement for Zack Wheeler, one of the best pitchers in the National League over the past two seasons, the spotlight was always going to be fixated on Marcus Stroman in 2020. Following Noah Syndergaard’s season-ending elbow surgery in March, the wattage on that spotlight was increased dramatically. “I always have the utmost confidence in myself to go out there and...
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