While trade rumors between the Mets and Pirates were rampant yesterday, nothing came to fruition. Meanwhile, Jay Bruce was reintroduced at Citi Field.

Latest Mets News

According to MMO’s own Jacob Resnick, the Mets have DFA’ed RP Kevin McGowan to make room for Bruce on their 40-man roster. McGowan made his major league debut this season pitching to a 5.19 ERA in 8.1 innings.

Josh Harrison rumors were abound yesterday. Mike Puma of the NY Post reports that the Mets are balking at the Pirates current asking price of Brandon Nimmo.

At Jay Bruce’s press conference yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson claimed that the Mets still have the room in their payroll for “one significant addition”. Although the signing of Bruce took away much of their offseason budget, the Mets are still lacking a starting second baseman.

Free agent options include old friend Neil Walker, Eduardo Nunez, Brandon Phillips, and Jose Reyes.

Alderson also gave his thoughts why he believes this year’s free agent market is so slow-paced.

Finally, Alderson revealed that the Mets will be without budding superstar Michael Conforto for at least the first month of their season.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports breaks down the incentives in Bruce’s contract.

MetsMinors.net resumed their countdown of the top prospects in the Mets system.

Latest MLB news

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Red Sox have offered J.D. Martinez a five year deal worth approximately 100 million dollars. This proposed contract pales in comparison to his asking price, which is rumored to be around 180 million dollars for eight years.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Brian Duensing signed a two-year deal worth $7 million with the Chicago Cubs. Duensing had a career year with the Cubbies last season, pitching to a 2.74 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.

R.J. Anderson of CBSSports.com disclosed that the reason why journeyman Dioner Navarro did not sign with a team in the 2016-2017 offseason. His wife of 18 years has suffered severe medical problems for the past few years and instead of chasing a Major League career, he insisted on caring for her everyday and still refuses to give up hope of a full recovery. This story is very touching and highly recommended.

Latest NL East News

Bob Nightengale of USA Today talks about the Nationals secret weapon, GM Mike Rizzo.

In an interview with MLB Network, Peter Gammons claimed that the Marlins have asked for Ronald Acuna and others in a proposed trade for Christian Yelich.

Joel Sherman of the NY Post writes how Yelich only has himself to blame for staying through another Marlins sell-off.

Latest on MMO

John Sheridan explores Jeff Wilpon’s reluctance to talk to the media after Jay Bruce’s press conference.

Rob Piersall describes the steps that Amed Rosario is taking to become more patient at the plate.

Piersall also writes about Jacob deGrom‘s goal for the 2018 season: win a Cy Young award.

This Day in Mets History

The Mets signed defensive wizard Willie Harris to a contract on this date in 2012.

The post Morning Briefing: Say Hey, Jay! appeared first on Metsmerized.

MMO will be looking at multiple bargain options that are still available for the Mets this offseason. With Sandy Alderson reportedly having about $10 million left to spend, the Mets best chance to fill holes will be shopping at the dollar store.

This offseason has not played out the way anyone wanted it too so far. The Mets are showing no willingness to spend any money to put out a strong product in 2018.

This issue has extended to their second base pursuit in which they no longer appear likely to acquire Jason Kipnis, lost out on Ian Kinsler, and do not appear to be too interested in signing Neil Walker.

The Mets, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, have only about $10 million left in available funds this offseason. That is not a lot of money at all.

They still have a plethora of needs that include a new second baseman, a first baseman/outfielder type, another reliever, and possibly a starting pitcher.

As a result, they’ll have to go cheap somewhere. That place very well could be second base and Brandon Phillips would be as strong of a gamble as anyone.

The three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove Award winner has been one of the most consistent sources of production at the keystone over the past decade as he has a career .275/.320/.421 slash line over the course of his 16 years in the league.

He remained productive this past season too in his first year in Atlanta as he was hitting .291/.320/.416 with 11 homers before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels.

Phillips struggled in his brief stint with the Angels which lasted a mere 24 games in September as he only had a .255/.269/.382 slash line with two home runs.

Despite this, there are a couple of qualities that stand out above the rest.

The first is his strikeout rate. Phillips struck out only 73 times in 572 at-bats this season and he has only finished with over 100 strikeouts in a season once.

The Mets have been lacking hitters with this ability and he could potentially make a solid two or six-hole hitter in the lineup with that ability.

Yes, the on-base percentage is not nice, but if he is going to consistently put the ball in play, I think his shortcomings on that end can be forgiven.

Is this anyone’s first choice? Of course not. However, it is starting to seem unlikely that the Mets are going to go out and spend the amount of money the fans deserve from this franchise. So, this means that Sandy Alderson will have to get creative and cut back in some areas.

Jon Heyman of the FanRag Sports Network projected him to receive a one-year deal worth $6 million. Now, that is also the same price he projects Jose Reyes at.

There is a legitimate chance that neither one will get that though and if they could get Phillips cheaper than that they should consider signing him and saving the remaining money to fill at least one of the other needs that still have not been addressed.

This situation is less than ideal, but Alderson will have to find a way to make it work, and Phillips could end up in a Mets uniform as a result.

The post Shopping At The Dollar Store: Brandon Phillips, 2B appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Mets have targeted the keystone as a point of interest to improve upon this offseason.

However, the free agent market for the position doesn’t yield any sexy names. New York could potentially reunite with Neil Walker, but that ship seems to have sailed. Eduardo Nunez has played second in the past, but figures to spend more time at the hot corner going forward.

Beyond that, the only other choices that are out there are Howie Kendrick, who spent this past season in a reserve role for the Washington Nationals and the over-the-hill Brandon Phillips and Chase Utley.

If the Mets decide they want to get external help at second base and have Wilmer Flores and T.J. Rivera in different roles, there are a few names the team could potentially target on the trade market.

Ian Kinsler

Ian Kinsler has an option on his contract that vested when he reached the 600 at-bat plateau. So he won’t be hitting the open market this year.

However, the Tigers who are looking to change the tone in Detroit dismissed Brad Ausmus at the conclusion of the season and have slowly dismantled their team.

Kinsler is one of them, as the Tigers will look to sell the second baseman this offseason.

The 35-year-old is having a down year at the plate hitting just .236/.313/.412 this season with a 92 wRC+ and .313 wOBA. However, he has some pop left in his bat, launching 22 homers and driving in 52 runs.

The four-time All-Star also remains healthy year in and year out. He has appeared in 100+ games every year of his 12 year big league career.

His advanced fielding metrics are also very solid even at his age. He has 6 DRS and a 6.2 UZR while being good for 2.2 WAR.

The Mets have lost a lot of home runs and are one of the youngest teams in baseball. Bringing in a player like Kinsler who has been around the game for a long time would do wonders for New York.

Dee Gordon

Dee Gordon, 29, would be a nice fit for the Mets, who have seriously lacked speed the last several seasons and have relied on a committee of players at the keystone since Daniel Murphy took his talents to Washington.

In 158 games for Miami in 2017, Gordon hit .308/.341/.375 with two homers and 33 RBI in 695 plate appearances. He also had a 92 wRC+, .312 wOBA and was good for 3.1 WAR, while swiping 60 bags.

In the field, he committed 12 errors in 1,293.1 innings while being good for 3 DRS and a 6.4 UZR.

The two-time All-Star is signed through the 2020 campaign with a club option for 2021. He is slated to make $10.8 million in 2018, before seeing boosts in his pay day the following seasons, making $13.3 million in 2019 and $13.8 million in his final year.

The new Marlins ownership is looking to strip payroll down to the $90 million range and with Gordon’s contract one of the biggest on the payroll, the team figures to try and move him.

Jason Kipnis

The year 2017 wasn’t the sharpest of Jason Kipnis‘s career, as the second baseman appeared in just 90 games and hit to a .232/.291/.414 clip in 373 plate appearances.

As a result of this, the Cleveland Indians could choose to shop Kipnis this offseason. Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets could be interested in his services.

“He has either two years at $30.5 million or (if his 2020 option is picked up) three years at $44.5 million,” Sherman said in his column. “Cleveland is a win-now team, yet still always has to worry about what is now a larger payroll than ever before. One NL executive said he thought the Indians were very open to moving Kipnis and might even eat dollars to do so.

“The Mets do not have a ton of financial wiggle room or trade commodities. Gsellman and Seth Lugo will probably intrigue analytic-leaning teams that see mostly untapped upside potential there if their stuff is deployed in a different way. Lugo, though, has a chronic elbow issue that lowers his trade value.”

For his career, he is a .268/.340/.422 hitter in 3,737 plate appearances with 88 long balls and 389 RBI. In his last full season in 2016, he also had a 116 wRC+ and a .347 wOBA.

In 620 innings at the keystone in 2017, the 30-year old Kipnis had seven errors with -2 DRS and a -1.5 UZR. However, the year prior his advanced metrics were better, with 4 DRS and a 7.3 UZR in 1,309 innings.

The post Three Best Trade Options For Second Base appeared first on Metsmerized.

Going into next season, you could say a few spots on the New York Mets roster are pretty much finalized. First base and shortstop on the infield, two of three outfield spots, most of the rotation, and the back end of the bullpen are pretty much set in stone for the 2018 season.

However one position that is still in the undecided column for the Mets is second base. While the names of Gavin Cecchini and Matt Reynolds have been floated around as candidates of late, the solution could be right under the Mets’ nose: Wilmer Flores.

He Can Hit, And The Mets Need Hitters

The strongest aspect to Wilmer Flores‘ game is and has always been his bat. As of now the Mets have a fairly light-hitting team going into next season, and outside of third baseman Mike Moustakas there aren’t many free agent sluggers that make much sense.

In Flores, the Mets already have themselves a powerful bat under team control, and it would behoove them to finally find a permanent place for him in the line-up.

While Flores has had trouble hitting right-handed pitching in the past, 2017 has been a different story. So far this season, he has hit .275 (55-200) against RHP compared to .276 (27-98) against LHP.

Since May 8, Flores is batting .310 (52-168) with nine doubles, one triple, nine homers and 28 RBI versus right-handed pitching.

While you might have noticed that “low” batting average against lefties, interestingly enough, he has hit .196 against them at home but .346 in away games. Even more interesting is that against righties he’s hit .306 at home but .239 away.

Overall he has hit 15 home runs this season in only 323 plate appearances, right in line with his 16 homers in 335 plate appearances last season.

There has never been any question about whether or not he could hit lefties, but the uncertainty surrounding his ability to hit righties is what kept him out of the line-up on a regular basis. Now that he has shown he can hit righties and lefties with equal proficiency, there isn’t any reason to keep him on the bench.

Second Base Is His Best Position

We can all agree that Wilmer Flores is not a good shortstop or third baseman. In limited exposure to the position he has shown decent ability at first base, but with Dominic Smith done with the minor leagues there isn’t room for him there. What remains is second base, which just so happens to be Flores’ best defensive position.

Flores has played 667 career innings at second base, accumulating a 0.3 UZR and -7 DRS since 2013. Considering his being shuffled all over the infield for five seasons, that’s not bad at all. If he were to get more consistent playing time at the position then perhaps we can see some marked improvement.

The season in which he played the most innings at second base was 2015, and it’s no coincidence that he posted his best defensive statistics at the position. In 292.1 innings, he posted a 2.0 UZR and -1 DRS. Those numbers give credence to the theory that more innings at second base for Flores means he’ll get more comfortable and play better defense.

Consider The Alternatives

Among free agents, familiar face Neil Walker leads second basemen this offseason. The next-biggest name is 36-year-old Brandon Phillips followed by 33-year-old Jed Lowrie and 34-year-old Stephen Drew.

Eric Sogard, 31, is having a career year with the Brewers, posting a .283 batting average and .394 on-base percentage. However with just 184 at-bats as well as his never posting an OBP above .322 over a full season, the sample size is too small to chalk up this season as anything more than an outlier.

Flores is younger and cheaper than all those players, and would probably put up better offensive numbers than any of them.

I believe it’s very important for the Mets to stick Flores at second base and let him play every day for the rest of the 2017 season. Tell Wilmer that he is their second baseman from now on and let him grow comfortable at the position. With a little luck the Mets might find themselves with one of the top second basemen in the league.

He is young at 26 years-old, relatively cheap, and under team control through the 2019 season. He will not win a Gold Glove, no. But he is certainly capable of winning a NL Silver Slugger Award if he plays an entire season at the keystone for the Mets.

The post Giving Wilmer Flores A “Second” Chance appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets will host the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7:10 tonight. Robert Gsellman will start for New York against Taijuan Walker.

Yesterday, the Mets could not take the rubber game against the Marlins. Jacob deGrom was not at his best but his defense did not do him any favors. The Mets made a late surge but ultimately fell short as they lost 6-4.

Latest Mets News

Matt Harvey continues his rehab assignment with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies tomorrow. He will likely throw 60 pitches or so judging by his previous starts.

The Mets acquired Jacob Rhame as the player to be named later in the Curtis Granderson deal. Rhame was the Dodgers 28th ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline. He throws hard with good command.

Lefty Josh Edgin has a tear in his meniscus and Tyler Pill has bone spurs and chips in his pitching elbow which you can read about here.

Latest NL East News

Trea Turner and Jayson Werth will begin rehab assignments. Both will have key roles on the Nationals postseason roster.

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald recaps the trade of Tom Koehler.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com talks about Gold-Glover Brandon Phillips‘ transition to third base.

Matt Gelb of Philly.com thinks prospect J.P. Crawford will be called up soon.

Latest on MMO

Rob Piersall writes about the Mets’ youth movement.

This Day in Mets History

2015: Yoenis Cespedes has his coming out party as a Met. The slugger swats a grand slam as part of his three-homer game against the Rockies.

Birthdays: Bruce Berenyi turns 63, John Stearns turns 66, Felix Millan turns 74

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Look To Eclipse Diamondbacks appeared first on Metsmerized.

Now that Neil Walker has taken his talents to Milwaukee, the Mets have some decisions to make about next season.

With the team’s incumbent second baseman gone, the Mets have no clear-cut choice to play second base on Opening Day in 2018. There are a few internal options, a few external options, and a whole lot of uncertainty surrounding the keystone position.

In the immediate future, it looks as though Jose Reyes will be taking over at second, with Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilmer Flores playing third while T.J. Rivera is out of commission. With Reyes up for free agency and Cabrera possibly leaving too, it’s safe to say the Mets’ 2018 starting second baseman will not be Jose Reyes.

The Mets have a couple of internal options to cover second: They could put T.J. Rivera there, although he seems to be the top contender for third base next season. He’s been a fantastic hitter when healthy, batting .304/.335/.445 in 106 career MLB games. If the Mets end up filling third base with someone from outside of the organization, Rivera could be a good choice to play second.

Another internal option would be Wilmer Flores. Flores has played 88 career games at second base and while he’s proven to be a solid utility infielder, he has yet to prove he can be a solid everyday player defensively. This means that Flores will probably continue to be a regular part-time player again in 2018 rather than a full-time second baseman.

Internal option No. 3 is contingent on the Mets deciding what to do with his option. Asdrubal Cabrera has played third base since being moved off of shortstop, save for a short period at second. He demanded a trade after being moved to second base in July, but has since backed off of that demand.

Cabrera has an $8.5 million team option for next season, and the Mets are reportedly weighing whether they should pick that up or not. If they do, we could see some combination of Rivera and Cabrera at second and third, probably the most likely scenario. You’d like to do better than Cabrera, but $8.5 million isn’t the worst price for a starting second baseman– and as we saw last week with the Jay Bruce trade, the Mets still care an awful lot about price.

The last internal option, unlike the other three choices, has very limited Major League experience. Gavin Cecchini could win the starting second base job out of spring training, but the difficulty of that task will of course depend on how many suitors there are for the position.

Cecchini, 23, is 6-for-20 (.300) in his MLB career, and has hit an impressive .283/.348/.395 across six minor league seasons. He is not known for his power, however he does have one Major League home run – which he hit off Clayton Kershaw. Cecchini is a Mets prospect, and if he impresses enough between now and next March, he would certainly be a serious contender for the 2018 second baseman job.

The second base free-agent crop this offseason is actually pretty slim. It’s led by, you guessed it – Neil Walker. The Mets could opt to bring back Walker, whose market has reportedly been hampered by the hamstring injury he suffered earlier this season. This could make for a deal that’s both shorter-term and cheaper.

Another option that could make more sense is Brandon Phillips, who is batting a solid .285/.328/.423 for the Braves this season. At 36, he probably won’t net more than a two-year contract. It’s worth noting that Phillips had a 35-game hitting streak in Flushing snapped this season which dated back to the Mets’ Shea Stadium days. Other free-agent second basemen include Jed Lowrie, Stephen Drew and Chase Utley, though it’s safe to say the Mets won’t be signing Utley.

So who will be the Mets’ second baseman in 2018? It depends largely on how Rivera, Flores and Cabrera play the rest of this season, as well as how much the front office is willing to spend between November and March.

The post Who Will Be Mets’ Second Baseman in 2018? appeared first on Metsmerized.

The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday night at Citi Field after 12 innings of baseball.

Pitching:

Jacob deGrom made his 2017 debut against former Met Big Sexy Bartolo Colon. The 28-year old was dominant as he shutout the Braves for six innings, striking out six. He also gave up two hits and walk during his 95-pitch start.

Hansel Robles took over for deGrom in the seventh and did not do well. He got Matt Kemp out on a soft grounder to Travis d’Arnaud, but that was all. He proceeded to give up a triple, walk, and RBI double which tied the game at one. His night came to an end one batter later after he hit Kurt Suzuki.

Jerry Blevins had to come into the seventh inning with the bases loaded. He was able to get out of the inning unscathed as he struck out Emilio Bonifacio and got Ender Inciarte to ground out to first.

Fernando Salas pitched the eighth. He was able to get two outs before giving up a double to Kemp and intentionally walking Nick Markakis. He kept the game tied though as he struck out Brandon Phillips for the third out.

Addison Reed pitched a perfect ninth and Josh Edgin followed with a perfect tenth.

Rafael Montero was the Mets seventh pitcher of the night. He gave up a walk to Kemp and a hit to Phillips in the 11th inning. The hit to Phillips extended his hit streak in Flushing to 35 games. Montero got out of the inning on a double play ball to Adonis Garcia. Montero wasn’t as lucky in the 12th inning as he gave up two runs on a RBI double by Kemp. Josh Smoker came in to get the final out of the inning.

Offense:

The Mets managed only one hit and one walk against Colon for the first four innings. Jay Bruce put the Mets ahead in the fifth inning with a solo shot to right center field.

After the home run, the Mets weren’t able to get much going until the bottom of tenth. With one out, Bruce hit a double and Lucas Duda was intentionally walked. No runs were scored however, as Travis d’Arnaud and Ty Kelly both struck out.

Bruce finished the night 3-5 with a home run, RBI, and run scored.

On Deck:

The Mets will finish their homestand against the Braves on Friday at 7:10 PM. Matt Harvey will make his 2017 season debut as he will face southpaw Jaime Garcia who will make his Braves debut. Harvey will try to keep Freddie Freeman in check as the first baseman has a career .167 batting average in 18 at bats against the Dark Knight.

The post Rapid Reaction: Mets Fall to Braves 3-1 In 12-Inning Game appeared first on Metsmerized.

Saturday’s Mets-Reds game was suspended due to rain after six innings with the teams tied at 1. The teams will resume play tomorrow at 1:10 PM and finish the first game, before playing their scheduled game. The Steve Miller Band concert, scheduled for Saturday, will be held after the second game on Sunday.

Matt Harvey pitched well for the Mets, going six innings and allowing one run on five hits (it should have been no runs on four hits), striking out three and walking two.

The Mets had Reds starter Michael Lorenzen on the ropes early and often, but failed to do much damage, wasting doubles in three separate innings and leaving the bases loaded in another. Their lone run came on a solo shot from Curtis Granderson in the third.

Granderson, however, failed to make a fairly easy catch in the fifth inning (the play was unfairly scored as a double), and the Reds ultimately tied the game on an RBI double by Brandon Phillips.

Harvey was done for the day regardless of the weather, having been pulled for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning. Carlos Torres was introduced as the new pitcher before the game was called, so he will have to throw at least one pitch when the game resumes. The action picks up again tomorrow at 1:10 PM.

After the suspended game is done, Steven Matz (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his MLB debut and face Josh Smith (0-0, 12.00 ERA). Good Luck, Steven!

The post Mets-Reds Matchup Suspended At 1-1 After Six Innings appeared first on Metsmerized.

Despite the Mets 2-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, there was one bright spot worth noting, and surprisingly it came from the bullpen.

After a solid start by Jon Niese who tossed 6.2 innings in his return to the mound, the Mets bullpen took over with Gonzalez Germen, Kyle Farnsworth, and Jose Valverde combining to throw 3.1 scoreless innings.

Gonzalez Germen came on in the 6th inning with two outs and men on 2nd and 3rd. He walked the first batter on four pitches, but after that he was perfect. Germen got a groundout from Zack Cozart with the bases loaded to get out of the jam, and then stayed in for the 7th. He coaxed a pop out and two strikeouts, and his stat line for the day: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 Hits, 1 BB, 2 Ks.

Kyle Farnsworth came in to pitch the 8th inning and while he did give up a hit to Ryan Ludwick and a walk to Jay Bruce, he also got three big outs from some threatening Reds. He struck out Brandon Phillips, got Joey Votto to fly out and finally Todd Frazier to ground out. Farnsworth, who was called up when Bobby Parnell went on the DL, ended up with the following stat line for the day: 1 IP, 0 R, 1 Hit, 1 BB, 1 K.

Jose Valverde was the third Mets reliever to deliver the goods, and he has yet to allow a run in three appearances this season spanning 3.1 innings pitched. Valverde, like Farnsworth, assumed a new role when Parnell got injured, taking over as the team’s closer. His only blunder was a harmless single to Brayan Pena. Other than that, Papa Grande got Cozart to fly out, and then struck out Chris Heisey and Roger Bernadina. His stat line for the day: 1 IP, 0 R, 1 Hits, 0 BB, 2 Ks.

With the way the Mets bullpen has been struggling to begin the season, it was nice to see some solid performances as the Mets closed out their homestand. Just taking a positive out of a Mets loss.

The post Efficiency From The Mets Bullpen appeared first on Metsmerized.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: JUAN LAGARES

For a guy who was questionable to even make the major league roster, Juan Lagares is certainly the most surprising (and delightful!) person to see take this title in the first week. During the offseason, it was clear that the biggest question mark surrounding the Mets was Lagares’ ability to be a productive offensive force, but with his extraordinary work ethic and determination, he has made major improvements to his game at the plate. So far this season, he has drawn three walks while only striking out four times. While this is only a small sample size, anybody who has been watching the games can see the huge progress Juan has made with his plate discipline; he has been chasing far less pitches and is consistently working the count each at bat; not to mention he has shown early signs of power as well. If he can keep this up in addition to his established astonishing defense, it is not too far fetched to consider Juan a serious contender for the All-Star Team.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: ERIC YOUNG JR

With all the drama surrounding whether this guy would be an everyday outfielder, the sudden injury to Chris Young thrust Eric Young Jr. into the leadoff and left field spot. He clearly did not do anything at the plate, but he did make some nice grabs in the field. Considering that there were little overwhelming defensive plays this week, EYJ gets the title due to his leaping grab to rob Brandon Phillips of a home run on April 4th, which was undeniably fantastic. EYJ was a pleasant product in the field last season, but his pitiful start and underwhelming arm really highlights his true nature as nothing more than a fourth outfielder. With Chris Young sitting on the DL, though, it is critical that EY keeps the great defense consistent for a few more weeks.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: JENRRY MEJIA

There is no question now that Jenrry Mejia belongs in this rotation! I had the pleasure of experiencing Mejia’s start in person Friday night and I can sincerely say that a great amount of his off-speed stuff made the Reds hitters look absolutely silly. His slider was a fierce killer and his rising fastball in the misty rain was a harsh combination for any man at the plate. He went six innings strong, letting up a mere 4 hits and 1 run in a lineup featuring a 2-3-4 of Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Although his 5 walks were a blemish that he will continue to hone, his 8 strikeouts were the most he has ever recorded in his young career. With pitchers like Wheeler, who has had exposure to the major league atmosphere, and Syndergaard and Montero not too far from Flushing, Mejia will have some fantastic company in a starting rotation that displays much promise for the Mets’ future.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Anthony Recker is a great guy to have as a backup to d’Arnaud, but nothing says this more than throwing out guys who are really, really fast. Recker is deserving for an honorable mention solely for his on-the-money throw to nail the overhyped rookie Billy Hamilton at second base during Friday’s game. This proved to be a huge moment in the game, as Hamilton being safe would have put the fastest runner in the league in scoring position with only one out.

Dillon Gee also gets a very worthy mention in this category for his very positive starts on Opening Day and Saturday’s come from behind win. Gee seems to be susceptible to the long ball early on, but his pitch count has stayed relatively low in conjunction to the innings he has pitched (averaging more than six so far). The interesting trend of Gee’s ERA climbing as the game goes on has been prominent in enough of his starts to render it logical to remove him after six innings and still considering his day a success. I do not doubt that Gee can work to close out his starts strong, but for now it may be safe to pull him if the strings start to fray late in the game. Otherwise, we can all enjoy watching him pitch gems for the first half of the game– if only the bullpen could hold down the lead for him!

The post MMO Players of the Week: The Unlikely Heroes appeared first on Metsmerized.