Good Morning, Mets fans!

MLB Network continued their position rankings with starting pitchers, and had the fans vote on their top 10 starting pitchers. The Mets’ own Jacob deGrom topped the list.

Let’s go see what’s been going on in baseball!

Latest Mets News

The Mets have signed Aaron Loup to a one year $3 million deal, via Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors.

With Steven Matz headed to Toronto, he wishes the Mets a warm farewell. You can find his response to the trade here.

The Mets also put together a goodbye video thanking the pitcher for the time he’s spent in the organization.  You can find it here.

MLB fans have voted Jacob deGrom in as the best starting pitcher in baseball.

Latest MLB News 

The Rakuten Eagles welcome home Masahiro Tanaka after spending the past seven years on the Yankees. You can find Tanaka’s personal statement regarding the move here.

According to Jon Heyman, Adam Frazier could be the next Pirate on the move as trade talks heat up.

Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers have promoted Sara Goodrum making her their minor league hitting coordinator. This is making her the first woman in baseball history to fill that role with her official title being the “Coordinator of Hitting Development Initiatives.”

The Cubs have signed RHP Kohl Stewart to a 2021 minor league contract.

The Kansas City Monarchs have signed former Met Ty Kelly for the 2021 season.

The Cardinals are believed to be signing Adam Wainwright to a one-year deal, Jon Heyman reports.

Latest NL East News 

The Marlins have DFA’d pitcher Jordan Yamamoto in order to clear a spot for RHP Anthony Bass, via Craig Mish.

Ken Rosenthal reports that Alex Avila is heading to the Nationals on a one-year contract, pending physical.

Latest on MMO 

Pat Ragazzo takes a look at why one Met believes that a change of scenery will help Steven Matz.

Matt Musico dives into why the Mets bullpen expectations have to finally live up to the projections.

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Kevin Roberson (53) and Sergio Ferrer (70)

Have a good weekend, Mets fans!

The post Morning Briefing: Fans Vote Jacob DeGrom As Best Pitcher In Baseball appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

The rumor mill is still going strong as the Mets news cycle slows down a little. While the Mets still have a few gaps to fill for the upcoming season, so do many other teams.

Let’s go check out what’s going on in the world of baseball!

Latest Mets News

The Mets are hiring Kevin Howard as their farm director, according to Jon Heyman. 

Latest MLB News 

Ken Rosenthal reported that Houston has signed catcher Jason Castro to a one-year contract out of free agency. He later updated that the contract is for two years instead of the previously reported one-year contract.

According to Jon Heyman, the Reds are among several teams interested in SS Andrelton Simmons.

The Yankees have invited RHP Asher Wojciechowski to their major league camp on a minor league deal, via Bob Nightengale.

According to Matt Spiegel, several voters for the baseball Hall of Fame have reached out with the hope of rescinding their votes for Curt Schilling. This is after he supported inappropriate acts in Washington D.C. several weeks ago.

The Kansas City T-Bones will be renamed the Kansas City Monarchs Baseball Club, via Alec Lewis.

Latest NL East News 

David Robertson has rehired Scott Leventhal to represent him, per Mark Feinsand.

Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Nationals have signed Hernan Perez to a minor league deal.

Latest on MMO 

Rich Sparago dives into what options the Mets have in terms of center fielders with Springer off the market.

Matt Musico takes a look at other options the Mets have beyond the big names.

Have a good weekend, Mets fans!

The post Morning Briefing: Astros Sign Catcher Jason Castro appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

Happy arbitration day! The MLB franchises will be exchanging arbitration numbers. Steve Cohen has also been getting some fan input on what they’d like to see brought to Citi Field as well as some new signings.

Let’s go check out what’s going on around MLB!

Latest Mets News

MMO writer Jack Hendon had a great idea to bring back orange and blue seats to Citi Field and got a nice tip of the cap from SNY. You can find it here.

Take a look at this cool breakdown of the pop culture surge in Mets references.

Latest MLB News 

The Giants have signed lefty pitcher Alex Wood to a one-year Major League contract.

The Rockies have come to a $4.05M contract with Mychal Givens, via Jon Heyman.

Bobby Wagner had a transparent conversation with Blake Snell, in regards to what it felt like for the ace to be pulled in game six of the 2020 world series after pitching a gem.

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Archie Bradley is coming to a deal with an unknown team.

Corey Knebel avoided arbitration by coming to a $5.25M deal with the Dodgers, via Mark Feinsand.

Mark Feinsand reports that Theo Epstein has been hired by the MLB, as a consultant regarding on-field matters.

Latest NL East News 

The Phillies are interested in Freddy Galvis, via MLB Trade Rumors.

The Braves are expected to sign Ambioris Tavarez once the international signing period opens today, via Matt Powers of Talking Chop.

Latest on MMO 

Matt Musico takes a look at how Francisco Lindor could change the narrative of Mets’ shortstops.

Check out the newest MMO roundtable on who our favorite Mets first baseman have been!

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Aaron Altherr (30), Mike Pelfrey (37), Ross Jones (61), Dave Marshall (76)

Have a good weekend, Mets fans!

The post Morning Briefing: Happy Arbitration And IFA Signing Period Day! appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

Yesterday was an amazing day as the Mets made a blockbuster trade, sending Amed Rosario, Andres Gimenez and two prospects to the Cleveland Indians, in return for all-star shortstop Francisco Lindor and 2020 comeback player RHP Carlos Carrasco!

Let’s go see what else is going on around MLB!

Latest Mets News

Former Mets pitcher Al Leiter discusses learning from Tom Seaver, pitch grips, and growing up in a baseball family. You can find it here via Rob Friedman.

Amed Rosario says a warm goodbye to the New York Mets in this full statement.

Latest MLB News 

Pitcher Ryne Stanek is signing with Astros, per Mark Feinsand.

Assistant pitching coach of the Reds Eric Jaguar dives into the spin rate and new technology on fangraphs.com. You can find it here.

The Yankees have signed Jhoulys Chacin off free agency to a minor league deal, per Robert Murray.

Latest NL East News 

Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at some alternatives if the Braves don’t re-sign Marcell Ozuna.

Evan Macy elaborates on what the Phillies 2021 opening day roster could look like. You can find it here via PhilliesVoice.com.

According to Matthew Moreno of DodgersBlue.com, The Washington Nationals may be interested in singing Joc Pederson.

Latest on MMO 

Dilip Sridhar dives into RHP Sonny Gray‘s stats and how they could benefit a new team in the 2021 season.

Thomas Hall elaborates on why he believes that Jake Odorizzi will have a comeback season.

On This Day in Mets History 

Birthdays: Jeff Francoeur (37) and Mike Cameron (48)

Have a nice weekend, Mets fans!

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Start The New Year With Blockbuster Trade appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

With free agency rumors still swirling around players such as George Springer and Trevor Bauer, there’s still more to dive into in regards to baseball.

Let’s check out what’s going on around MLB!

Latest Mets News

Check out this fun video of Mets pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Robert Gsellman going head to head in this pop culture quiz, via SNY.

Here’s an update on where the Mets stand with George Springer‘s free agency per MLB Trade Rumors.

Latest MLB News 

Check out this nostalgic article by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, recounting the best free agency seasons.

R.J Anderson of CBS Sports analyzes what a trade including shortstop Francisco Lindor could look like with a more “deflated market.”

The MLB says that players will receive the COVID-19 vaccine as health officials deem appropriate per CBS Sports.

Latest NL East News 

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Eric Thames could be heading overseas to Japan for 2021.

Patrick Reddington of Federal Baseball takes a look at how the Josh Bell trade affected the Nationals and what it means for the upcoming season.

Latest on MMO 

Tim Ryder dives into J.D. Davis‘ time on the Mets and what he has to prove in 2021; you can find it here.

Patrick Glynn elaborates on Steve Cohen’s statements in regards to replenishing the Mets farm system

On This Day in Mets History 

Birthdays: Kevin Kaczmarski (29) and Rick Aguilera (59) 

Have a nice day, Mets fans!

The post Morning Briefing: What Could A Francisco Lindor Trade Look Like? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans! Merry Christmas!

There’s certainly a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, especially for Mets fans. And with the holiday season coming to an end, more transactions are being made around MLB.

Let’s go take a look at what’s been happening in baseball!

Latest Mets News

The Mets Foundation partnered with New York Cares to donate 5,000 coats to help keep those in need warm in the NY cold.

Latest MLB News 

Baseball’s “Declaration of Independence” was signed 51 years ago, the labor relations revelation resulted in the ending of Curt Flood‘s career, via Derrick Goold.

Latest NL East News 

Josh Bell has signed with the Washington Nationals, filling a gap at first base, via The Nats Report on Twitter.

According to sources, Ha-Seong Kim has multiple offers from MLB teams.

Corey Seidman of NBC Sports elaborates on the status of J.T. Realmuto‘s free agency.

Latest on MMO 

Pat Ragazzo elaborates on Alonso’s excitement for Chili Davis to be back on the bench for the 2021 season.

Thomas Hall takes a look at the benefits of the Mets signing Sonny Gray.

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Ruben Gotay (38), Tom O’Malley (60), Rickey Henderson (62), 

Have a merry Christmas, Mets fans!

The post Morning Briefing: A Very Merry Christmas For Mets Fans appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

For the past two seasons, Mets fans have felt their stomach drop almost every time Edwin Diaz stepped on the mound, and for good reason might I add. There’s no denying that Diaz didn’t live up to the hype when he first came to New York, but there is reason for fans to start believing in him now. 

Diaz’s First Season in New York 

Backtracking to 2019, when Diaz made his first appearance on the Mets, he started out the season pretty solid with 13 saves through April and May, with two blown saves, only one of which resulted in a loss. Looking back at the season as a whole, he had seven blown saves – which is not a great number don’t get me wrong – but let’s dive deeper into what got him to that point.

The 2019 season was rough for a lot of pitchers, especially ones that relied on their off-speed pitches. Several pitchers spoke up about how the feeling of the ball was different, even Noah Syndergaard explained that the ball felt like an “ice cube” that season.

The MLB changed the seams on the ball making it tougher for pitchers like Diaz, who relies heavily on his slider, to get the same grip on his pitches. Having to make adjustments on the fly is very difficult for any baseball player to do midseason, rather than during the break. 

His slider started breaking in a way that it would hang longer and the batters knew exactly what was coming. 

An essential part of an athlete’s career is having a coach who guides the player and helps them get their mojo back when they’re struggling. This may not seem like a big deal, but remember when the Mets made Phil Reagan their pitching coach two months into the season? I definitely do.

It can take a little while for a player to trust their coach enough to make quick changes as is. Yet Diaz went from having Mel Stottlemyre as his pitching coach for the first three seasons of his career with the Mariners, to having two different coaches in the span of a few months on the Mets. 

Adding into the mix a manager like Mickey Callaway, who was less than tactful in the way that he handled the media, and Diaz was left on an island in 2019. 

The young All-Star really only has two pitches in his repertoire and when his slider was failing him, with a coach he barely knew, and a staff that essentially hung him out to dry, what did they expect to happen?

Anyone could do poorly in that scenario. It wasn’t as simple as him losing his talent, it never was. 

High Hopes Fall Quickly in 2020 

After an extended offseason due to the pandemic, Diaz still had plenty of doubters going into his second campaign with the Mets. Granted the right-hander did have a rocky start with a blown save in his second outing. Still, that loss came after pitching back-to-back days at the beginning of an already unusual season. 

All told, Diaz had six saves and four blown saves in 2020. Yet the Mets rarely gave the pitcher a save opportunity in the first place.

Dellin Betances and Jeurys Familia struggled greatly in the seventh and eighth innings, and for some reason, Diaz was the one they chose to minimize the damage. In theory it makes sense to turn to a great strikeout pitcher like Diaz to clean up the mess of other struggling relievers, but in practice this was not a wise decision. 

Diaz has shown to be more comfortable when entering games with a clean inning, instead of putting him in high-pressure situations where there are runners already in scoring position. This wasn’t utilizing him in the way that’s most effective, which made his statistics and perception amongst the fan base suffer as well. 

The amount of pressure that closers have is astronomically higher than a starting pitcher, and bad outings have a much greater effect on the mentality it takes to have a successful performance on the mound. 

Starters are usually put in with the idea that they’ll hopefully last until at least the fifth inning, and if they have one bad inning, there’s still time to bounce back and regain their confidence. 

For a closer, they have one shot to do their job, and if they blow it, their confidence often goes with it, especially with a young player like Diaz. 

Looking at the saves that Diaz blew, two of them were because Betances and Wilson had already loaded the bases and the Mets fielding was atrocious in 2020. 

The Mets management painfully mishandled the situations that they used Diaz in and the result was a closer who only converted 60% of his save opportunities, despite pitching to a 1.75 ERA with batters whiffing 48% of the time when the league average is 24.9%. 

Pitchers don’t have control of the way that they’re utilized and when it’s a team like the Mets who don’t have enough reliable bullpen arms, players like Diaz are the ones who take the hit. 

Don’t Sleep on Edwin Diaz in 2021 

Hopefully the Mets create a new atmosphere in 2021 which could help Diaz have his best season yet with the Mets. Between being paired alongside a few new arms such as Trevor May, having a better coaching staff and more information with analytics, Diaz should be able to do his job without the constant worry that the bullpen will blow up the game before he steps on the mound.

At the end of the day, while it is a professional athlete’s job to perform to their best ability, they are still human. It is crucial to anyone’s success that they are put in the best position to succeed and being so hard on a player like Diaz, considering the circumstances, isn’t fair to him.

Diaz could be one of those players that drown in New York and end up tanking again in 2021, but I don’t see it being very likely. His good outings last season showed that he has the potential to still be an All-Star. It’s now about giving him the support and resources to be able to dominate as a lockdown closer again.

The post Opinion: Edwin Diaz Deserves Another Chance in 2021 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

J.D. Davis

Player Data: Age 27, B/T: R/R
Primary Stats: 56 G, 229 PA, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 31 BB, 56 SO, .247 BA, .371 OBP, .389 SLG, .761 OPS
Advanced Stats: .318 BABIP, .339 wOBA, 117 wRC+, 112 OPS+, 0.5 fWAR, 0.1 bWAR, -9 DRS, -5 OAA

Free Agent: 2025
2020 Salary: $592,463

Grade: C+

2020 Review:

When J.D. Davis came to New York from the Astros, not many knew what to expect as he only had 113 plate appearances in Houston, where he hit below the Mendoza line with a .175 batting average.

In 2019, the third baseman turned outfielder hit .307/.369/.527 with a batting average of .355 with balls in play, yet his fielding was almost painful to watch as he struggled defensively.

Going into 2020, expectations were high for the 27-year-old offensively, but he ended up taking a step back. Davis slashed .247/.371/.389, which was an obvious deterioration from the previous season.

However, he did bat .400 with the bases loaded and .375 in late and close game situations, which the Mets desperately needed as they struggled to translate hits into runs for the majority of the season.

Despite the decline in some areas, he still hit the ball hard (80% more than the rest of the MLB), made good contact with a BABIP of .318, and had better plate discipline than expected, walking in the 84th percentile of players.

Davis’ defensive statistics are sub-par, to say the least. While he may be a third baseman by trade, it was his weakest placement in 2020 as the California native had a -8 DRS at third and a -2 DRS as an outfielder.

While he had a few clean plays at third throughout the season, he tended to hesitate and bobbled the ball more than most.

Davis’ fWAR went from a solid 2.4 in 2019 to 0.5 in 2020, showing that while he didn’t do anything to really hurt the Mets much during the season, he didn’t really add much value either.

2020 Key Moment 

While Davis didn’t have as dominant of a 2020 season as he would have hoped, there were still some clutch, tip of the cap moments. One of which was this two-run bomb which brought the team to a victory against the Red Sox.

2021 Outlook

Luis Rojas has explained that the status of who will be playing third base is up in the air for 2021. With that knowledge, it’s hard to say if Davis would fit in well with next season’s roster when both his bat and fielding have been lacking. Davis could be used as a trade piece, alongside players such as Brandon Nimmo and Amed Rosario.

If he does end up staying, Davis could see some playing time at either third base or left field, although it is unclear if he would be an everyday player. Depending on the other offseason additions the Mets make, Davis could be utilized as a right-handed power bat off the bench.

Hopefully, Davis will also continue doing the Cookie Club with Dom Smith (as that was a fan favorite) and continue to be a good presence in the Mets clubhouse.

The post 2020 Mets Report Card: J.D. Davis appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Good Morning, Mets fans!

Thursday’s press conference was a really great way to get to know more about James McCann and learn more about Sandy Alderson’s outlook in this new chapter for the Mets franchise.

Let’s go take a look at what else is happening around baseball!

Latest Mets News

Check out Tim Healey’s profile on Mets owner Steve Cohen, exclusively for Newsday.

MetsMinors.net takes a look at the Rule 5 Draft prospect Drew Ferguson.

Carlos Cortes and Manny Rodriguez made their Australian League debut, via MetsMinors.net.

Latest MLB News 

The MLB has added the Negro Leagues to their official records after many years of overlooking their accomplishment,  via Tyler Kepner.

The Cubs have signed former Yankees pitcher Jonathan Holder, according to Patrick Mooney.

The Twins have signed eight players to minor league deals, via MLB Trade Rumors.

Ian Desmond elaborated on his decision to opt out of the 2020 season in this statement.

Latest NL East News 

The Phillies have been in “early discussions” with J.T. Realmuto per PhilliesNation.com.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports that Marlins manager Don Mattingly is an advocate for more rule changes, as he believes the game needs more action.

Latest on MMO 

Rob Piersall breaks down what we’ve learned from Thursday’s press conference with James McCann.

Check out what the MMO team’s favorite Christmas movies are with this roundtable!

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Willie Blair (55) 

Have a good weekend, Mets fans!

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Fans Excited For McCann Post Press Conference appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In the Thursday press conference introducing James McCann to the Mets, Sandy Alderson went on to explain that he doesn’t feel the need to sell players on changes to the Mets franchise.

“I think the excitement around the Mets right now is self-evident” Alderson stated.

The Mets have been considered the lesser New York baseball team for the longest time, and due to this, the former manager elaborated to say that “People know who we are now, where we’re going. As a result, that part of the conversation disappears and we get to talk more about nuts and bolts.”

New Mets owner Steve Cohen and Alderson both noted that changing the perception of the franchise would be key going forward. It looks like they’ve done that in quick order, with both Trevor May and McCann noting in their press conference that the Mets were a desirable franchise.

The post Alderson: We Don’t Need to Sell Players On Mets’ Outlook appeared first on Metsmerized Online.