Morning Briefing: Matz Among Early Arrivals to Camp

Good morning Mets fans!

Latest Mets News

Clay Davenport released his 2019 team projections. The Mets pace the NL East with 91 wins, two games ahead of the second-place Nationals.

SNY posted a video of left-handed pitcher Steven Matz throwing a bullpen session in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The official report date for pitchers and catchers is February 13.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com posted the television schedule for Mets spring training games. SNY and WPIX will broadcast 14 of the Mets exhibition games.

Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that the Angels have agreed to a deal with former Met infielder Ty Kelly.

Latest MLB News

William Weinbaum of ESPN reports that a woman at a Dodgers game dies after being hit in the head by a foul ball in August. The details of the woman’s death were obtained by ESPN in December.

Jonathan Judge of Baseball Prospectus details updates and improvements made to Deserved Runs Created+ (DRC+), a new metric to measure composite batting.

Jason Bay, Ryan Dempster, manager Gord Ash, and coach Rob Thomson are being inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, per Jerry Crasnick.

Baseball America announced that it is transitioning to a monthly magazine, but subscribers will continue to get the same number of total pages each month.

Heyman reports that right-handed reliever Sergio Romo is close to signing a one-year contract. Heyman does not list any suspected teams.

Heyman also hears that Brandon Guyer has agreed to a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the Texas Rangers will retire No. 29 in honor of Adrian Beltre on June 8. Beltre posted a .304/.357/.509 slash line with 199 home runs for the Rangers between 2011 and 2018.

Latest NL East News

Heyman reports that the Miami Marlins will hold auditions for an in-game host, a public address announcer, anthem singers, and Marlins Mermaids in an effort to increase attendance.

Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports notes that the Philadelphia Phillies could be a player in the JT Realmuto sweepstakes. Realmuto rumors have swirled all winter, but the all-star backstop has not yet been dealt from the Marlins.

The Miami Marlins agreed to a minor league deal with former-Met Curtis Granderson yesterday.

Latest on MMO

Rob Piersall lists three relievers to watch in Mets camp this spring. Luis Avilan, Kyle Dowdy, and Arquimedes Caminero could make an impact with the major league roster in 2019.

Piersall also examines the comments that Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen made on Monday after the equipment truck departed for Port St. Lucie.

John Sheridan posts the report on MMO’s No. 15 Mets prospect, right-handed pitcher Tony Dibrell. Dibrell, a fourth-round pick out of Kennesaw State University in 2017, posted a 7-6 record and a 3.50 ERA with Columbia in 2018.