Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Updated Report: August 1, 2021, 17:01

As reported by Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel on earlier in the day, and hinted at over multiple reports in weeks prior, the Mets did not come to terms with first-round pick Kumar Rocker before the 5 p.m. signing deadline on Sunday.

Passan reports that Rocker will not return to Vanderbilt and instead “begin his pro career,” presumably in independent leagues or overseas. He’ll enter the 2022 MLB Draft.

“This is clearly not the outcome we had hoped for and wish Kumar nothing but success moving forward,” Mets general manager Zack Scott said.

The disagreement from both sides reportedly came over the status of Rocker’s medicals, particularly around his elbow and shoulder.

Rocker’s agent, Scott Boras, refuted that worry in a statement to Bob Nightengale, saying Rocker had independent medical teams determine his MRIs after the 2021 season showed “no significant change” when compared to 2018 MRIs.

The team allegedly had a handshake agreement with Rocker to give him a $6 million signing bonus, but once they were able to bring him in for a physical, the team backed off that price. Rocker’s camp reportedly didn’t back off their asking price.

More details are sure to emerge in the coming days and hours.

Original Report: August 1, 2021, 13:32

Remember the Sunday before the All-Star Game in Denver? The Mets got their future deGrom in Vanderbilt ace Kumar Rocker and we all celebrated? It was a fun time. We all thought our rotation was set for the next decade. Well, then something went wrong.

Concerns about Rocker’s health soon arose, and now the Mets are trying to negotiate down from their agreed-upon deal, which included a $6 million signing bonus. Now, per ESPN‘s Jeff Passan, the Mets “do not plan to” sign their top draft pick before the 5 p.m. draft pick signing deadline Sunday, barring any change from the Mets side.

If the Mets do not sign Rocker, who is represented by agent Scott Boras, before the deadline, which multiple reports are saying may happen, the Mets would get the 11th pick overall in next year’s draft. In addition, Rocker would have a couple options: return to Vanderbilt (where he can make money under new name, image and likeness laws), pitch in an independent league or overseas, or simply wait until next draft to get picked.

Now could the Mets draft him again? Yes. Would they, though? After this debacle, I think Steve Cohen and the Mets management would be more careful and do their due diligence on potential draftees before making their decisions. Per reports, Rocker refused a pre-draft MRI, so there was no way fans and teams could’ve known about any potential injuries until after the draft.

The team also apparently agreed to the $6 million bonus for Rocker when they knew he’d fall to them, then drafted other players knowing they’d have a limited bonus pool for remaining draft picks.

Now while the possibility of an 11th hour signing remains in play, per Passan, it’s looking likely that the Mets may have been rocked by Kumar Rocker. And after trading away Pete Crow-Armstrong in the Javier Baez deal, the Mets will be without their top draft picks from the past two drafts. That is not the way to restock a farm system, which the front office has said is a priority.

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Credit: Andy Marlin, USA TODAY

It was Camp Day for the Mets as they finished up their five-game set with the division rival Atlanta Braves on Thursday at Citi Field, hoping to bury the Braves six games behind them with the trade deadline coming up on Friday. To do so, they sent Taijuan Walker to the mound to start in the hopes that he’d rebound from his difficult start to the 2nd half.

He breezed through the first three innings, especially after Dom Smith‘s RBI single to drive in Brandon Nimmo in the third inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. But that lead would not last as Walker would get rocked with back to back home runs – first by proverbial thorn Austin Riley, then by Abraham Almonte to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.

The Braves would tack on two more in the fifth before Pete Alonso responded with an upper deck home run to make it 5-3. However, a mistake pitch by Jeurys Familia was sent right into the bullpens by Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson to all but seal it as the Braves would extend their lead to 6-3 and their bullpen would hold the Mets in check, despite Taijuan Walker striking out seven and walking two through five innings of work and 87 pitches (61 strikes).

On the loss, Pete Alonso said “It’s unfortunate how this series panned out, but every day is a new opportunity and I think it’s gonna be a great series ahead of us against the Reds.”

Taijuan Walker added in “For me, it’s two things. One, the long ball has been killing me and two, it’s just the pitch selection. It’s just not trusting myself and you throw a pitch without conviction.”

Walker’s ERA at the All-Star break was a sparkling 2.50, it’s now up to 3.71 on the season. Walker is also up to 99 1/3 innings for the season, the highest mark since he threw 157 innings for Arizona back in 2017.

He went on to say “I didn’t do my job today, we scored some runs, but I didn’t do my job in helping the team to win.”

Mets will be back at it Friday night as they start up a weekend series against the Reds in not only the return of the iconic black jerseys, but also the debut of Carlos Carrasco.

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The New York Mets injury bug is still biting as the second half of the season unfolds. The latest is All-World pitcher Jacob deGrom. It was announced on Sunday that deGrom will go on the IL with right forearm soreness. This is not totally unexpected as the superstar was feeling pain in his arm and had to shut down a throwing session on Saturday.

Said Jacob: “I’m frustrated. I don’t know what else to say. I guess it’s good news when things structurally look good but then you go out and try to throw a baseball and your form doesn’t feel good. Frustration is very high.”

This is obviously a tough blow to a Mets team that holds a meager 2.5 game lead in the National League East. The diagnosis of forearm tightness and seemingly unknown recovery timeline are even more alarming due to the uncertainty of deGrom’s return.

The 33-year-old deGrom, who leads the majors with a 1.08 ERA, hasn’t pitched since July 7 after dealing with three different physical issues in the first half, including flexor tendinitis in his right arm and shoulder soreness last month. DeGrom further mentioned that his previous injuries, all unrelated, were as a result of swinging the bat. But the forearm issue was not.

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Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Pete Alonso represented the Mets at Coors Field on Monday night in Denver for the 2021 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, hoping to defend his title from two years ago.

He put on a show in the first round with 35 home runs in his matchup against Royals catcher Salvador Perez, then soundly ousted division rival Juan Soto in the semifinals. Then he faced his toughest task in the finals against the inspiring story of the Derby in the Orioles’ Trey Mancini.

Mancini went on a tear as he put up 22 home runs and put the pressure on Alonso. But the Polar Bear did not crack; he did not stumble, he did not falter. He showed everyone why he won this event in 2019 as he used his extra time wisely and put up 23, coming from behind in the same manner in which he did to burn Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in Cleveland to defend his Home Run Derby title.

“I feel like I’m the best power hitter in the game,” Alonso said in an interview with ESPN after his repeat Home Run Derby performance. When asked about whether or not he’ll compete at the Derby next year in LA after being called out by the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., Alonso said “I’ll have to think about it.”

Congratulations to Pete Alonso, the 2021 Home Run Derby champion!

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Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets sent the ace of their pitching staff, two-time NL Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom, to the mound on Thursday to close out their set against the division rival Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta.

After the Mets got a lead early on, deGrom got rocked for three runs in the bottom half of the first inning, capped off by a two-run home run to right field by Austin Riley. But deGrom would settle down, at one point making another run at Tom Seaver – striking out eight Braves in a row. He would end up going seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits with 14 strikeouts. After that first inning, he all but completely cut his fastball and went to the slider for half his 93 pitches, 70 of which went for strikes.

“I noticed they were hunting the fastball, that’s why I tried to go heavy on slider and changeup…made the adjustment…” deGrom said when assessing his shaky start. “The mistake I made was to Albies, biggest mistake pitch I made of the night…good job by Riley there. I said to James, ‘How did he hit that?'”

After deGrom left, Trevor May was called in to keep the game close, in turn leading to a game-tying home run by Dom Smith in the ninth, only to be undone by Freddie Freeman‘s walkoff single in the bottom half of the inning.

“It’s tough. Tough to hear out there, I was yelling at him…” Seth Lugo said about that final play by Guillorme on the Freeman walkoff during a postgame press conference. “We’re grinding it out, every inning, every game…”

Lugo also had a critical error to start the Braves’ ninth inning when he lost his footing on what appeared to be a routine play to first.

“Honestly, I should’ve put the ball in my pocket…” Lugo went on to say when talking about his error.

The Mets will look to rebound from this bad stretch when they face the struggling Yankees for a three-game July 4th weekend set at Yankee Stadium starting Friday. Taijuan Walker will take the mound for the Mets against Jordan Montgomery for the Yankees.

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Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets sent Marcus Stroman to the mound to try and finish off the four-game sweep of the Cubs at Citi Field Thursday night. To do so, the Mets offense had to solve the Rubik’s Cube that is Kyle Hendricks, who had been a tough out for the Mets of late. Stroman was strong per usual as he unleashed his split-change, a new weapon in his pitching arsenal.

He threw 22 split-changes on Thursday night, getting six whiffs on 10 swings and three called strikes. Opponents now have a .186 average for the season against the new pitch.

Stroman’s slider is the pitch that got him into trouble on Thursday with all four of the hits he allowed coming off that pitch. He looked to have less command of the pitch –tossed a hanger to Baez– than normal and his spin rate on the pitch was down 88 rpms.

“It’s a new weapon and I feel like it’s getting better every time I throw it. The more I can put it into the game, the better feel I can have for throwing it on the outside and inside corner down,” Stroman said about his new pitch. When asked about that first inning, he went on to say “Mechanically, I was a little off in the first. I need to be better. If I put up a zero in the first, I think it gives our offense more momentum.”

He only allowed two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts and only one walk. But those two runs came on a Javier Baez home run in the first inning and that was all the offense in this game as Hendricks would keep the Mets off the scoreboard with a final line of no runs on two hits and seven strikeouts, despite having to work around back to back walks.

The Mets, now on the verge of Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil returning from injury, head for Washington this weekend to take on the Nationals for a four-game set, including a double-header on Saturday before returning home to face Atlanta and Philadelphia in key divisional matchups in which they are hopeful to have Jacob deGrom start in two of those games.

“I think it re-assures the strength of this group. We are unbelievable. We are in a great vibe here. Once we get some of these guys back from the IL we are really going to take off,” Stroman said about the Mets prospects going forward.

Stroman now has a 2.34 ERA through his first 14 starts of the season, that ranks 10th in the National League. The impending free agent has given up just 69 hits and 19 walks in 84 1/3 innings.

The right-handers next start will come against the Braves at Citi Field.

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Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries haven’t just hampered the New York Mets’ position players on the field this season. They’ve also been a thorn in the side of sending their top position players to Denver for the All-Star Game, which is scheduled for July 13th.

According to Newsday‘s Tim Healy, no Mets players rank in the top five in any of their respective positions. The closest right now are first baseman Pete Alonso, shortstop Francisco Lindor, and third baseman J.D. Davis. Alonso and Davis have had some injury trouble to start the season, while Lindor started cold but has since turned things around at the plate.

However, all three rank a distant seventh with still a week-and-a-half to go in the first phase of voting, which runs through June 24th on MLB.com. Voting for the starting players in the midsummer classic starts June 28th and runs through July 1st. Pitchers, of course, are not included in the fan vote, but in all likelihood, we could see Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and either one or both of Taijuan Walker or Edwin Diaz heading to Denver this July.

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Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets opened their three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night at Chase Field, and with fresh scenery also came the returns of outfielder Kevin Pillar, right-hander Seth Lugo and first baseman Pete Alonso.

Despite not participating in a single rehab game prior to returning from his wrist injury, the Polar Bear did not disappoint in his return to action.

Alonso grounded out to short in his first at-bat, but was able to come through in his second. After a Francisco Lindor single loaded the bases with two outs, Alonso laced a two-run double down the left field line to open the scoring in the top of the third.

Jacob deGrom helped his own cause, adding an RBI single in the top of the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0. Alonso then came through again in the seventh inning, crushing a two-run homer over the left field fence to make it 5-0.

“I just felt like myself, being able to control my body and my swing, that’s paramount. For me, in my line of work, I need to have that,” Alonso said of his return in a postgame presser.

He added, “I just want to say thank you to our training staff and our support staff. They helped me get my body right.. With the right treatment and recovery process they got me back out on the field. I’m just really thankful for our support staff, training staff, and strength and conditioning coaches.”

The big slugger finished the day 2-for-5 with the homer, and drove in four of the Mets’ six runs in the 6-2 series opening win at Chase Field. Mets manager Luis Rojas said postgame that Alonso’s four runs batted in were huge, and it was excellent to have his big bat right smack in the middle of things in his return to the lineup.

Alonso is now hitting .242 with seven homers, 23 RBI, and a .792 OPS on the season. While the ‘Replace-Mets’ were able to hold down the fort and get the job done for the time-being, Alonso’s presence will certainly be a welcomed addition back in the middle of this Mets lineup.

“Our group is just awesome to be a part of. Every single guy, wether it be the starting nine, guys on the bench to the bullpen and starting pitching, all of us have such a gritty attitude. I love it, it’s really special, we’re able to come together and play hard-nosed baseball,” Alonso said of this truly special group.

“The group effort from not just the defensive side, but the offensive side of the ball as well, that’s really come through. It’s really fun to be a part of. It was great to watch, but I’m happy to join the party again,” he added.

Alonso and the rest of the first-place New York Mets will look to keep the good-times rolling on Tuesday night as they take on southpaw Caleb Smith and the Diamondbacks in search of their sixth straight win.

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The Mets sent Taijuan Walker to the mound in his first start since coming off the injured list and they provided him with plenty of run support.

James McCann got things going by sending one over the right center field wall to open the scoring. Then, after a McCann double and outfield error, Dominic Smith singled McCann home to make it 2-0 in the third.

Former Baltimore Oriole Jonathan Villar pitched in with a home run into the apple out in central, then Francisco Lindor’s daring bunt attempt followed by a McCann single set the table for Tomas Nido to bat Lindor in on a fielder’s choice to make it 4-0 in the fifth inning.

After the Braves plated one in the top of the sixth, the Mets went on a seven-run outburst fueled by home runs from Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney to make it 11-1.

Lindor would add two more in the seventh off his fourth dinger of the year to make it 13-1.

The Braves would plate one in the eighth, but it was already too little, too late as relievers Sean Reid-Foley, Miguel Castro and Jacob Barnes shut the door.

“It’s taken us a while to put together a game like this, but being able to put up runs and guys coming through in big spots, everyone contributed,” McCann said. “That makes it a lot of fun in the dugout.”

Manager Luis Rojas added that it was a huge boost for the team to explode as such offensively.

“It builds a lot of confidence from the offensive standpoint,” manager Luis Rojas said. “That’s something we hadn’t done in the season so far.”

New York will look to close out the series against Atlanta on Sunday night and take the shortened two-game set after Friday’s rainout.

The Mets will then face the Diamondbacks in Phoenix to start a nine-game road trip. The Mets and Braves will meet again June 21-23 at Citi Field, part of a seven-game homestand for the Mets.

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Just as the Mets and Braves got underway for their series at Citi Field, Major League Baseball learned that Atlanta Braves star outfielder Marcell Ozuna was arrested early Saturday in Fulton County, Georgia for domestic violence.

Per ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, Ozuna is charged with misdemeanor battery — family violence and aggravated assault — strangulation. Passan also reported that Major League Baseball is expected to open an investigation into Ozuna following Saturday’s arrest and that he could be subject to the league’s domestic violence policy and could face possible suspension.

Since MLB implemented its current domestic violence policy in 2015, 13 players have been hit with suspensions for domestic violence cases including Mets reliever Jeurys Familia (15 games in 2017) and former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes (51 games in 2016 while a member of the Rockies).

Ozuna is in the first year of a four-year, $65 million deal he signed with the Braves this offseason and Atlanta had high expectations for him this season before injuries cut in. He is currently on the injured list with two broken fingers. This is a big hit to the Braves with the Dodgers looming large on their schedule after wrapping up with the Mets on Sunday.

Shortly following the news, the Braves released a statement on Ozuna’s arrest, saying that they “fully support Major League Baseball’s policy on domestic violence which stresses to the fullest that our society cannot and will not tolerate domestic violence in any form,” but they “will have no further comment and all inquiries into the matter should be referred to the Office of the Commissioner.”

UPDATE: Sandy Springs, Georgia police just made more details of the arrest public. Per Passan, the incident is believed to be an altercation between Ozuna and his wife. In the report, it reads that ‘in addition to the strangulation attempts, the suspect also struck the victim with his arm which has a cast from a previous injury’.

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