The story of T.J. Rivera is one of resilience and taking the opportunities given and making the most of them. After going undrafted as a college senior in 2011, the Bronx native was unsure of how he’d reach his dream of playing professional baseball. Unbeknownst to Rivera at the time, his junior college coach and former Mets alum Mackey Sasser put in a good word for him with Mets scout...
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Entering the 2020 offseason, one of the biggest priorities the New York Mets needed to address was their vacancy at the catching position. The club was in clear need of upgrading defensively behind the plate, as Wilson Ramos recorded a combined DRS of -12 from 2019-20 (127th out of 134 catchers) while posting the second-worst FRM (FanGraphs’ framing metric) among 19 catchers who caught a...
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In looking to add depth to their bullpen, the New York Mets signed right-handed sidearm reliever Trevor Hildenberger to a minor league contract in early December. Hildenberger, 30, comes with three years of major league experience after being selected in the 22nd round of the 2014 MLB Draft from the University of California. The soft-tossing sidearmer made his major league debut in June 2017...
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Since 2015, no pitcher has appeared in more games than right-handed reliever Jared Hughes with 372. His 358.1 innings pitched in that span is the third-highest total, while his 61.4 percent ground-ball rate is the 11th-highest mark among qualified relievers. Hughes, 35, was a fourth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates back in the 2006 MLB Draft out of California State University. He has been a...
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When the news broke in mid-November of 2017 that Wally Backman had agreed to manage the New Britain Bees, one of eight independent teams in the Atlantic League, it took few by surprise. The baseball lifer is still chasing his dream of one day managing in the major leagues, a position he held for all of four days in November 2004 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The club was unaware of his past...
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