Morning Briefing: Wheelin' and Still Reelin'

Good morning, Mets fans. Tonight, the New York Mets will take on the St. Louis Cardinals at 7:10 p.m. on SNY. Rafael Montero has the ball for New York and will be opposed by Michael Wacha.

Since Montero was recalled on June 14, he owns a 3.26 ERA (seven earned runs/19.1 innings pitched) in five games (two starts) with 23 strikeouts and seven walks.

Last night, the Mets lost 6-3 in a rather crazy game. Michael Conforto homered in the fifth to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Wheeler struggled in the sixth, giving up three runs.

He departed and Hansel Robles and Josh Edgin came in to promptly pour some gasoline on the fire. The Mets made a comeback attempt but fell short. In the ninth, Yoenis Cespedes represented grounded into a double play while representing the tying run.

Latest Mets News

According to Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have shown interest in Asdrubal Cabrera to play third base. They also maintain interest in T.J. Rivera but the Mets are unlikely to deal him.

Neil Walker ran the bases yesterday as he works his way back from a partially torn hamstring he suffered in June.

Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard played catch yesterday and threw off flat ground. It was a first step toward recovery but still no definite time table is in place for their returns.

With the trade season finally here, the Mets will be looking to be selling players including Jay Bruce. Bruce has a partial no-trade clause in his current contract, which expires at the end of this season. He has the right to veto any deal sending him to the Oakland A’s, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, and New York Yankees.

Marc Carig of Newsday reports that Addison Reed is generating plenty of interest on the trade market as one of the top relievers available.

Latest NL East News

Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post writes about the return of Edwin Jackson.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com goes into depth about Sean Rodriguez‘s recovery from a terrible car accident.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald talks about the trade market for some Marlins and their sale of the team.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports on a rejuvenated Odubel Herrera.

Latest on MMO

Logan Barer has six potential replacements for Terry Collins.

Rob Piersall talks with Double-A catching prospect, Tomas Nido.

Metscellaneous

Lucas Duda hit his 16th home run of the season with his solo homer in the sixth inning on Monday. It was his 124th career homer as a Met, tying him with Todd Hundley for seventh on the Mets’ all-time list. Duda’s 70 home runs at Citi Field are the most in the ballpark’s history.

He has homered in back-to-back games for the third time this season (also May 27-28 and June 13-14). Over his last four games, Duda is batting .375 (6-for-16) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI and four runs scored.

Michael Conforto connected on his 16th home run of the season with a solo shot in the fifth inning, extending his career-high. Six of his 16 home runs this season have given the Mets the lead.

Jose Reyes went 2-for-4 with two doubles and one run scored on Monday. Over his last 15 games, Reyes is batting .407 (22-for-54) with seven doubles, one triple, three home runs and eight RBI. He now has eight multi-hit games in his last 14 contests. Over his last 25 games dating to June 16, Reyes is batting .341 (30-for-88) with seven doubles, two triples, six home runs, 13 RBI and 14 runs scored.