Frankie Montas struggled yet again on Wednesday, making his place in the Mets’ rotation a point of contention. The newly acquired Montas had a line of 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K (80 pitches, 47 strikes) in his sixth rehab start since returning from a high grade lat strain. This outing actually lowered his ERA in rehab starts this season to 13.19 as he has given up eight home runs in 18 2/3 innings. Montas must be called up to the big league squad, assuming he’s healthy, but it could be hard to justify any major role given his struggles.

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

Atlanta continues to be a house of horrors for the Mets as they were shut out by Chris Sale for 8 2/3 innings while the Braves clinched the series win. The Mets turned mental lapses, defensive errors and a poor start from Paul Blackburn into a 3-0 deficit early on and could never climb back, resulting in their fifth straight loss. Click here for the full game recap.

The Mets will look to salvage the last game of this set as Clay Holmes (7-3, 2.87 ERA) will face Spencer Strider (1-5, 4.35 ERA) at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday night. 

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN released his MLB Mock Draft 2.0 and has the Mets taking LF Devin Taylor from Indiana with their first pick.

Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Brett Baty wasn’t available last night and is not sure if he will need an IL stint.

Latest MLB News

Dodgers owner Mark Walter is buying majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in advanced talks to sell the club to a group led by Jacksonville home builder Patrick Zalupski, per Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. Parties have signed a letter of intent and the price is roughly $1.7B. Click here for more on the potential purchase.

Former Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was named Team Puerto Rico’s manager for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Franmil Reyes, who is now playing in Japan, is being sued for failing to follow through on his earning stake, per Michael McCann of Sportico. When Reyes was a 21-year-old minor league outfielder, he agreed to a player investment contract where he’d give up 10% of annual earnings in exchange for $302K.

Latest On MMO

Francisco Alvarez continues to struggle.

The Rays are in advanced talks about selling the team.

Tyrone Taylor continues to shine!

On This Date in Mets History

2014: Zack Wheeler throws a three-hit complete game shutout, the first shutout of his career.

2004: Mike Cameron tallies his second walk-off hit in as many days.

1989: Dwight Gooden records his 100th career victory, joining Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman in the exclusive Mets club.

Born on This Date: Logan Verrett (1990), Devin Mesoraco (1988), Jacob deGrom (1988), Collin McHugh (1987), Claudio Vargas (1978), Doug Mientkiewicz (1974), Bob Gibson (1957), Bob Aspromonte (1938), Larry Miller (1937).

The post Morning Briefing: Frankie Montas’ Rehab Struggles Continue appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

This year’s All-Star game was broadcast on Fox. The network tried a few innovations during the broadcast, however, the game drew record-low television ratings.

The mid-summer classic, according to an article in The Athletic drew 7.5 million viewers, down 10% from the game’s 2021 audience. The home run derby on Monday drew 6.8 million viewers. Baseball’s All-Star game remains the most watched of all the major sports, but the gap continues to shrink. The 2022 All-Star game was the first to ever draw fewer than eight million viewers.

How much has the television audience shrunk? In the 1990s, the summer showcase of baseball’s best talent routinely banked an audience of over 20 million. The event has not attracted more than 12 million viewers since 2010.

There are many reasons why the All-Star game’s popularity has dropped, with inter-league play probably the most prominent. There simply isn’t the novelty nor intrigue of seeing players from the “other league”. In the 1960s and 1970s, the All-Star game was highly competitive, symbolized by Pete Rose‘s crash into Ray Fosse in the 1970 game that resulted in a walk-off National League win. It’s hard to imagine something like that happening in current times.

The low ratings were not for lack of trying by Fox, as the network tried some new things to bring the intricacies of the game closer to the fans. Consider the in-game conversation between John Smoltz in the booth and Alex Manoah of the Blue Jays who was pitching for the American League. Ken Rosenthal captured some key moments in an article in The Athletic.

“Make this slider look like a strike on the outside corner and make it disappear off the corner,” Smoltz said.

Manoah wasn’t so sure.

“I’m thinking the slider, too, but I think if I execute a good heater up …” Manoah said, rubbing the ball as he pondered his next move. “He has seen the sinker twice. Something that stays true (straight) might throw him off a little bit.”

Later in the game, Fox aired a live conversation between Nestor Cortes of the Yankees, and his teammate and ASG catcher Jose Trevino. Here is some of the dialogue from Rosenthal’s article, as Cortes and Trevino decided on their approach.

“What are you thinking?” Trevino said to Cortes before a 2-1 pitch to the Braves’ Austin Riley.

“Cutter, back door,” Cortes said.

“Get it there,” Trevino replied.

To some, the interactivity of the broadcast trivialized the game, making it seem like a Sunday morning softball game. To others, the eavesdropping on player conversations helped further an understanding of the game, and the thought processes the players go through. Braves’ pitcher Colin McHugh was in the latter camp. From Rosenthal’s article:

After viewing the sixth inning of the All-Star Game, Braves reliever Collin McHugh tweeted, “That was the single best inning of baseball I’ve ever watched. Listening to Nestor and Jose do that in real time was truly amazing.”

There was also “ump cam” during the game, attached to home plate umpire Bill Miller‘s mask. The innovations may not have positively impacted viewership, but give Fox credit for trying to infuse intrigue into an event that has lost much of its luster.

As an older fan, I prefer the days of the All-Star game being played seriously (not the home field advantage years). I miss when the two leagues wanted to beat each other. I loved the 1994 game when Fred McGriff dramatically tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Lee Smith of the Orioles.

Those days are over. The All-Star game is no longer the attraction it once was. Maybe interactive in-game conversations will help bring the game’s strategy closer to the fans, and subsequently, increase interest. Maybe those innovations will not. Time will tell.

If nothing else, the 2022 All-Star game broadcast was unique, if not widely watched.

The post All-Star Game Draws Record Low Ratings appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The March hot stove rolls on Friday evening as multiple reports surfaced that the Mets are sifting through top arms to help provide reinforcements for the bullpen.

While on The Michael Kay Show, ESPN’s Buster Olney said the Mets are focusing on said bullpen arms as free agency resumes, as MMO‘s Mathew Brownstein pointed out. The names he mentioned? Andrew Chafin and Milwaukee’s Josh Hader, the latter of whom is not a free agent. The Mets have loosely been connected to Hader in the trade market dating back to the 2021 trade deadline.

Hader would take a large trade package from the Mets as Hader still has two years left of team control. Over his first four-plus seasons, Hader has notched 96 saves in 232 games with a 2.26 ERA and insane 44.4 percent strikeout rate.

Chafin, on the other hand, is a much more affordable and realistic option. He’d fill the left-handed reliever role left vacant by Aaron Loup after he signed with the Angels. When debating whether the Mets should chase Chafin in free agency, MMO‘s John Flanigan wrote that Chafin is “coming off a career year and has been relatively productive and durable almost every other season prior to that,” and that he should be the top lefty arm the Mets go after.

MMO’s Michael Mayer also reported that the Mets are interested in old friend Collin McHugh. The righty has had a dominant run as a reliever since transitioning to that role with the Houston Astros in 2018. You can read our free agent profile of the reliever here.

After attacking the top end of the free-agent market before the lockout, it’s believed the Mets will spend time post-lockout filling out their roster with guys like Chafin, McHugh and Yusei Kikuchi rather than players like Freddie Freeman or Carlos Correa. However, with the whirlwind that will be free agency before spring training games start next week, anything is up in the air.

The post Multiple Reports: Mets Linked To Hader, McHugh For Bullpen Help appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Collin McHugh

Position: Relief pitcher
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 34 (6/19/1987)

Traditional Stats: 37 G (seven starts, all opening games), 6-1, 1 SV, 64 IP, 1.55 ERA, 74 K, 12 BB
Advanced Stats: 1.8 fWAR, 1.9 bWAR, 2.26 xERA, 2.12 FIP, 3.06 xFIP, 30 K%, 4.9 BB%, 256 ERA+

Rundown

Ah, our old friend Collin McHugh.

Way back in 2013, the Mets dealt McHugh to the Colorado Rockies after a dozen appearances with the team for Eric Young Jr. The team was trying to make a push for the playoffs way back then, and they got a guy who’d play nearly 200 games for the Mets over a year-and-a-half for a guy the Rockies designated for assignment after four starts.

But then McHugh met the now-lauded pitching machine of the Houston Astros.

The Mets’ 2008 draft pick transformed his career in Houston. He totaled 12.2 fWAR over six seasons, spending the first half of his career with the Astros as a starter and transitioning to a reliever role after an injury-riddled 2017. He was pretty darn effective, landing on a 3.63 ERA over 195 total appearances with the team.

In Houston, McHugh dominated with his curveball, and then he eventually developed a plus slider while with the team. While he mixed in fastballs, sinkers and cutters, his breaking pitches were his bread and butter with the team.

After reaching free agency, he signed with the Boston Red Sox, but he didn’t pitch in the 2020 season due partly to COVID and partly to an undisclosed injury to his elbow. Thus, he signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2021 season. He proved it.

McHugh pitched to a 1.55 ERA in 2021 over seven starts (all as an opener) and 30 relief appearances. Had he not missed about a month total due to arm fatigue and back soreness, McHugh might have been in the discussion as the best reliever in baseball. (Take a look at his insanely hot Statcast percentile chart.)

He didn’t allow a run in any of the games he opened (a total of 12 innings in seven games), and he still had a sub-2.00 ERA in his relief appearances. Most of his work came in mid-to-late relief, and 24 of his 37 appearances last season were over an inning long, as he routinely threw two or three innings. (A team like the Rays planned for that, especially with all of the bullpen games they threw.)

And that slider he developed in Houston a couple years ago? He threw it over 50 percent of the time in 2021 and essentially dropped the use of his curveball. It had the 10th-best run value among all pitchers in baseball with at least 500 sliders thrown, up there with the likes of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. He was essentially able to master a new breaking pitch that was just as effective as the one he mastered before.

Contract

McHugh has lived on one-year deals since reaching free agency after the 2019 season. He only made $1.8 million with the Rays in 2021, a steal for the organization after posting the numbers he did. (“Steal” and “Rays bullpen” typically go hand-in-hand these days.)

He’s never made more than $5.8 million in a season, and he made a total of $14.6 million over his three arbitration years. He earned that with a 3.85 ERA in 138 games (395 innings) over his final four years with the ‘Stros. (In included the fourth year–2016–as that’s what largely set the money he made in his first year of arbitration.) He made 35 starts and 85 relief appearances in the span.

There aren’t really any salary projections out there for McHugh, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him offered a couple million dollars for a one-year deal.

Recommendation

Post-lockout, the Mets’ biggest need is shoring up the bullpen, and McHugh is one of the best–if not the best–left on the market. Bring him home.

The Mets will have a handful of guys who haven’t proved recently they can pitch consistently deep into ballgames, especially as the season goes on. McHugh could piggyback the likes of Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and Tylor Megill, on nights they don’t have it. He’d also be a solid setup option in the seventh and eighth innings for the likes of deGrom and Scherzer.

Showalter has been noted to manage a bullpen extremely rest-wise well over the course of the season. (At least, Caleb Joseph, his former catcher, told me so on a podcast.) McHugh would give him a dependent utility tool in the belt for the upcoming season.

The post MMO Free Agent Profile: Collin McHugh, RP appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

When is enough, enough?

Well for the Mets the answer is never.

Despite already adding four pieces to the team for next season and beyond the Mets have not signaled any sign of slowing down. Owner Steve Cohen is expected to push payroll beyond heights imagined and hopefully spend his way to a World Series trophy in 2022.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post identified five targets the Mets could sign post-lockout with contract predictions.

1. Yusei Kikuchi (two years, $26 million)
2. Collin McHugh (one year, $8 million)
3. Ryan Tepera (two years, $16 million)
4. Andrew Miller (one year, $3 million)
5. Brett Gardner (one year, $3 million)

Kikuchi has been a popular name linked to the Mets after he declined a $13 million option for 2022 with the Seattle Mariners. Could the Mets sign a former Mariner for once?

Kikuchi was an All-Star in 2021 but had a second-half collapse akin to Taijuan Walker. When his velocity is up, Kikuchi’s numbers plant him as one of the best starters in baseball but when it begins to drop his ERA inflates vociferously. Still, he has been one of the most durable starters and has made 70 starts the last three seasons, tied for 23rd in baseball.

McHugh could make his valiant return to the New York Mets organization after being traded away for Eric Young Jr. in 2013. McHugh was one of the best relievers in baseball last season along with Tepera. Both strike out batters in bunches and suffocate lefties despite pitching from the right side of the mound.

Miller has one of the more dramatic pitching splits in baseball. The lefty reliever held opposing lefties to a .545 OPS but righties hit for a 1.151 OPS against the veteran. Sherman cited Miller’s clubhouse presence as a positive and that three of the best hitters in the NL East (Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman) are all left-handed batters.

Brett Gardner? In blue and orange? This one seems a little nuts. Gardner has played his entire career with the Yankees and he’d demolish that reputation for one year with the Mets. He’d likely be nothing more than a bench bat or defensive replacement. He’d make the Mets deeper for sure but his interest would be the question needing answers.

Sherman’s five additions add $35 million to the Mets payroll and no long-term investments. The Mets would be in a prime position to be title favorites when the 2022 season gets rolling.

The post Free Agents One Baseball Insider Thinks The Mets Could Grab appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

For the second consecutive game it was a walk-off at Fenway for the Boston Red Sox, sending the favored Tampa Bay Rays back to Florida with another bout of postseason sorrow.

Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez redeemed his ALDS Game 1 early exit loss with five innings of two runs on three hits, striking out six without a walk.

He won a 17-pitch battle over Austin Meadows in the top of the third getting a swinging strike on an 82 mph slider, exiting the game with a commanding 5-0 lead.

But both team’s calls to the bullpen backfired, beginning with Rays manager Kevin Cash replacing Collin McHugh with Shane McClanahan, the expected starter for Game 5.

Boston hammered the ball all over Fenway against the 24-year old starter, playing reliever, who’s used to coming out of the dugout instead of the pen.

The same guy, who fired five scoreless innings against them in Game 1, was mauled for five runs, sparked by Rafael Devers three-run blast. Christian Vazquez, basking in the glow of his 13th inning solo walk-off homer in Game 3, began the barrage by ripping a single up the middle, followed by Schwarber’s one-out four-pitch walk.

Devers, who’s been silenced by a right forearm injury, rocked a 98 mph offering over the plate 404 feet. After Devers’ blast, Boston’s relentless line-up had McClanahan on the ropes, like a wounded prizefighter.

Xander Bogaerts laced a single to left. Alex Verdugo launched an RBI double off the Monster, and J.D. Martinez roped an RBI base hit off the Green One, as well.

But the fat lady was far from singing as the resilient Rays bounced back. In the fifth, Jordan Luplow, hitting a buck sixty and change, led off with a double to left, scoring on Meadow’s groundout to first.

Kevin Kiermaier followed suit in the sixth, dumping a leadoff two bagger giving Rodriguez the hook for Tanner Houck, who kept Boston in it to win it in Game 2.

This time the tall drink of Mid-western water allowed Tampa Bay to chip away by surrendering a two-run homer to rookie Wander Franco, cutting Boston’s lead 5-3.

In the eighth, Red Sox manager Alex Cora dipped into the bullpen for Ryan Brasier, and the lights out right-hander unraveled. Mike Zunino doubled to right, Kiermaier brought him home on a double right of center, and Randy Arozarena roped a game-tying base hit, booting Brasier to make way for Garrett Whitlock.

The Georgia native retired six straight, and just when you thought it was going to be extra innings all over again, in the bottom of the ninth, Vazquez snuck a single through the hole past a diving Yandy Diaz, making his way to second on a sac bunt by Christian Arroyo. Travis Shaw was safe on a PH infield single putting Vazquez on third, and the man of the postseason hour, Kiké Hernández, hit the most important sac fly of his life, sending the Sox to the AL Championship Series.

I’m glad I’m not a betting girl because I had Tampa Bay going all the way.

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This was a historically strange week for the New York Mets. Relieving manager Carlos Beltran of his duties  — whether it was necessary or not, which is inconsequential at this point — for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal leaves New York in a precarious position with less than a month out from pitchers and catchers reporting to Port St. Lucie.

As complicated as this situation is — for the entire league, not just in Flushing — and as likely as it is to continue unfolding, the Mets have too much on their plate right now to look back and wonder. If they want to put themselves in an optimal position to succeed in 2020, this organization needs to turn the page and begin to move forward.

With an unexpected vacancy in the first seat on the bench, in addition to all remaining unfinished offseason business, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and team officials have to keep their eye on the ball and get to work. And the first item on the docket is naming one of the qualified candidates already within the organization to replace Beltran.

Whether that be current quality control coach Luis Rojas, who has over a decade in the organization under his belt, newly-hired bench coach and a longtime mainstay on Bruce Bochy‘s staff in San Francisco, Hensley Meulens, or first-base coach Tony DeFrancesco, who managed the Mets’ Triple-A squads the past two seasons, hiring in-house and eliminating the lag-time of a new hire getting acclimated to this roster would be prudent, considering the timeframe.

Though, whoever the team lands on — even if they choose to go the route of a more experienced skipper taking the reins, such as Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter, or John Gibbons, as odd a decision that may hypothetically be considering this team’s push towards a more analytically-based era in recent years — in all honesty, is background noise at this point.

Making sure that this roster is adequately prepared for what, on paper, is shaping up to be an exciting season in the NL East should be at the top of Van Wagenen’s to-do list.

We’ve seen the Mets add Dellin Betances, Brad Brach, and — in all likelihood, in some capacity — Michael Wacha to an already talented bullpen, but another quality reinforcement would eliminate another of those all-too-important ifs Van Wagenen seems to despise so much.

Adding former Astros (and Mets) right-hander Collin McHugh (4.70 ERA, 82 K, 30 BB, 1.23 WHIP, 74.2 IP, .174/.278/.371 slash line against versus lefties last season) would help that cause considerably. Per Baseball Savant, McHugh’s spin rate on his curve (88th percentile) and fastball (77th percentile) are above-average, as is his hard-hit rate (29.9 percent; 92nd percentile).

Those types of metrics combined with the ability to throw six pitches for strikes (four-seam, slider, cutter, curve, change, seldom-used sinker) are appealing. If the price tag is agreeable, the Mets should definitely be in on McHugh.

Former Braves righty Arodys Vizcaino — traded to the Mariners in the Anthony Swarzak deal (he’s also available, for what it’s worth) after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery — would be an interesting buy-low candidate (.213/.334/.338 slash line against versus lefties) if the team is so inclined to take a chance on the 29-year-old.

According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, veteran backstop and framing extraordinaire (95th percentile last season, per Statcast) Russell Martin hopes to latch on somewhere and is happy to assume a backup role. The soon-to-be 37-year-old brings leadership to a young-ish team and defensive excellence behind the plate.

The Mets should be exploring this option in earnest — he’d likely cost much less than Austin Hedges would in a trade with San Diego and fits New York’s needs to a tee.

And, of course, Starling Marte is still lingering out there on the trade market. Whether Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington is still dead-set on dealing the 31-year-old All-Star is debatable. But if the price is right (read: J.D. Davis and/or Brandon Nimmo are off the table), oh, what an addition that would be.

As you can see, for the tenants of the penthouse offices at 41 Seaver Way in Flushing all the way down to the guys in the clubhouse, there’s more important, pressing matters to address than what transpired this week. In a little over two months and counting, there’s a season to play. Let’s focus on the present and the future, not the past.

The post Mets Need To Turn The Page And Move Forward appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Unlike the last couple of offseasons, most of the free agent top-end talent is gone in early January this time around. Both the starting pitching and relief market have been thoroughly picked over and the market for a catcher is now slim pickings.

The strongest market left is right-handed hitters with multiple options that play different positions. When those names drop, maybe we will finally see some of the rumored names via trade – Nolan Arenado, Francisco Lindor, Mookie Betts, Kris Bryant – get dealt.

Let’s take a look at what’s left in the free agent market starting with players in MLB Trade Rumors Top 50.

No. 5 Josh Donaldson – 3B

The Twins, Braves, and Nationals have all been reported to have a four-year deal in the $100 million range for Donaldson coming off a 6 WAR season.

No. 8 Nicholas Castellanos – RF

The 27-year-old is looking at a nice contract coming off a strong .289/.337/.525 season between the Cubs and Tigers. Rangers are currently seen as the frontrunner, though the Giants and Reds have been connected as well.

No. 11 Marcell Ozuna – OF

Cardinals look like a perfect fit for Ozuna after they traded outfielders Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena on Thursday night to the Rays. The Reds and Rangers have also shown interest in the 29-year-old.

No. 37 Yasiel Puig – OF

Puig could be a cheaper fallback option for the team that loses out on Castellanos and Ozuna. The Marlins did meet with Puig during the Winter Meetings.

No. 39 Alex Wood – LHP

There’s been no rumors about the Wood after he posted an awful 5.80 ERA in only 35 innings last year for the Reds. However, he will turn only 29 on Sunday and had a 3.20 ERA in 304 inning for the Dodgers in 2017 and 2018 combined.

No. 41 Brock Holt – UT

The left-handed hitter has posted 109 wRC+ and 103 wRC+ the past two seasons while playing six different positions. He would make sense for a ton of teams, though the Sox signed Jose Peraza to fill his role.

No. 48 Ivan Nova – RHP

Nova has been durable over the last four seasons with 697 innings pitched in 126 games, but he had a 4.72 ERA, 4.98 FIP, and 1.46 WHIP in 2019. His 5.49 K/9 was the second lowest among qualified starters.

No. 49 Pedro Strop – RHP

One of the best relievers on the market despite pitching to a 4.97 ERA for the Cubs in 2019. He was able to still strikeout 49 batters in 41 innings and allowed only 33 hits. He had a 2.90 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in seven seasons with the Cubs.

No. 50 Drew Smyly – LHP

Pitching in the majors for the first time since 2016, Smyly had a 6.24 ERA (4.45 in second half with Phillies) in 114 innings last season. He allowed a whopping 32 home runs in that span.

The best of the rest includes INF Todd Frazier, RHP Brandon Kintzler, UT Ben Zobrist, C Russell Martin, OF Hunter Pence, INF Wilmer Flores, OF Alex Gordon, OF Cameron Maybin, Of Kevin Pillar, RHP Andrew Cashner, RHP Matt Harvey, RHP Felix Hernandez, RHP Aaron Sanchez, RHP Taijuan Walker, RHP Collin McHugh, and LHP Francisco Liriano.

The post What’s Left in the Free Agent Market appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The New York Mets have what feels like a herculean task in front of them. They have to figure out how to fix one of the worst bullpens in baseball on an incredibly tight budget. They’re only about $13 million away from the luxury tax threshold. For argument’s sake, let’s say that the Mets will be able to spend all of that $13 million.

They also have to address their fifth starting pitcher dilemma as well, so let’s take $5 million away to pay for that. That should cover the Mets’ signing a pitcher of Wade Miley or Rick Porcello‘s quality.  That leaves the Mets’ just about $8 million to fix the bullpen if they make no other moves.

That’s not a lot of money, especially when they need multiple pieces. They have a few spots clearly locked up. Justin Wilson, Seth Lugo, Edwin Diaz, Robert Gsellman, Brad Brach, and Jeurys Familia. That means the Mets will need to fill at least two spots on the major league roster. That’s not accounting for depth of any kind. So, how can the Mets fill those slots on a limited budget with decent players?

Players Who Are Out of Reach

Dellin Betances: The Mets have been connected to Betances a ton this offseason. He’s coming off an injury-plagued 2019, which should bring his price down. He’s also entering his age 32 season, which is around the time injuries tend to become more chronic and players decline. However, Betances has never had a season in which he’s pitched at least five innings and had a FIP of 3.25 or higher. His FIP has only been over 3.00 once in his entire career.

He’s been an elite reliever his entire career. That’s why no matter what the injuries or age concerns are, he’ll end up out of the Mets’ price range. Betances is expected to garner a contract in the $7-9 million range. Considering the Mets’ limited budget of just $8 million for two relievers Betances is clearly out of reach.

Will Harris: Harris is the best reliever left on the market. He was elite in 2019 and has been elite since 2013. Since 2013, Harris has only had one season with a FIP of 3.25 or higher. Unlike Betances, the Mets and Harris have not been connected yet, and they likely won’t be. Harris is projected to get a multi-year deal in the range of $9-10 million AAV.

The one thing that Harris has working against him is his age. He’s going to be 36 in August, which means teams are buying his age 35 ad 36 seasons. That means he could fall off a cliff at any moment. He’s already shown glimpses of that in the playoffs. Harris had a 4.50 ERA, allowed 4.5 HR/9, and his K/9 dropped substantially. If teams are worried about age Harris’ price could drop, but don’t expect it.

Affordable Major League Deals

Daniel Hudson: The Mets’ have been connected to Daniel Hudson this offseason already. They were in talks with him last offseason before he eventually signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays. Coming off an excellent 2019, Hudson’s price should be substantially higher. However, he likely won’t be in the same range as Harris and Betances. He could likely be had in the $4-5 million AAV range. However, unlike Kevin Gausman, Hudson will almost certainly require a multi-year deal.

Prior to last season, Hudson has been a mostly reliable middle reliever, but nothing more. He offers considerable upside as he showed with the Nationals, but he also comes with major risk. Hudson had a FIP of 4.38 and 4.34 in each of the two seasons prior. Last season was the first time Hudson has had an ERA under 3.85 since 2010. Hudson would be a gamble on a great season, but considering who else is in the Mets’ bullpen, even if he reverts to a solid middle reliever he would be a welcome addition.

Collin McHugh: Like many of the Mets’ acquisitions this offseason McHugh has prior connections to the Mets. McHugh was drafted by current Mets’ executive Omar Minaya in 2008. He played for the team in 2012 and 2013 before they waived him. During that time he was teammates with current Mets’ pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Since 2014 he’s been with the Houston Astros, it’s there that he played with current Mets’ manager Carlos Beltran. All of those connections should make McHugh a comfortable target for the Mets.

He should also come on a reasonable contract considering his down year in 2019. McHugh moved into the bullpen full-time in 2018 for the Astros to great success. He had a 1.99 ERA and 2.72 FIP playing a role similar to one Seth Lugo played for the Mets. That role changed in 2019 when McHugh was asked to be a spot starter and long man, which led to some injury issues. It also led to a major downturn in his play as McHugh put up a 4.70 ERA and 4.43 FIP in 2019.

McHugh has shown what he’s capable of as a full-time reliever, and the Mets could offer him that role. With McHugh and Lugo in the bullpen, both being extremely successful swingmen, the Mets would have one of the best twosomes in baseball. Lugo and McHugh’s ability to go multiple innings on any given night successfully would be huge for this Mets’ bullpen. That’s worth the likely $4-5 contract McHugh should command.

Steve Cishek: Cishek would be a huge get for the Mets. His age and diminishing stuff should push him into the upper-range of what the Mets could afford. Cishek has been unbelievably good since 2016. He’s had an ERA under 3.00 in each of those years, though his FIP’s were always near a run higher, oftentimes more. His K/9 and BB/9 numbers are both going in the wrong direction. That shows how his stuff is starting to fall.

However, it can’t be denied that he manages to put up elite results despite his poor peripherals every year. He’s the kind of pitcher that most teams in baseball are trying to avoid now. However, that could make his eventual contract a steal. If the Mets are looking to take a shot on a proven, but aging pitcher whose advanced analytics are falling, Cishek is the guy.

Smart Minors Deal Options

Tommy Hunter: The Mets’ were interested in Tommy Hunter in the offseason before the 2018 season, but he wound up going to the Phillies. Hunter was good for the Phillies in 2018 putting up a 3.98 ERA and a 3.63 FIP. However, his K/9 and his WHIP were higher than anyone would like. Then he got hurt in 2019 and missed nearly the entire season. Coming off surgery on his flexor tendon, Hunter will likely have to settle for a minor league deal.

If that’s the case the Mets’ should take a shot. Hunter has proven to be a reliable middle reliever since he moved to the bullpen in 2013. He’s never been elite, but he’s also never had a poor season out of the bullpen. Considering the price he’ll likely be forced to sign at due to his injury, this should be a no-brainer signing if the Mets’ get a chance.

Taijuan Walker: Walker is a former elite prospect who has failed to live up to his hype. He’s never come out of the bullpen, but that shouldn’t stop the Mets form trying. Walker has elite stuff with his slider and splitter being devastating breaking balls. His fastball, which has decreased in velocity due to a number of injuries, should also play up in the bullpen.

The biggest factor with Walker is his injury history. He has never had an injury-free major league season. In 2018 he tore his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery and that forced him to miss the majority of 2018 and 2019.

Instead of forcing Walker back into the rotation where he’s proven he can’t be healthy, a move to the bullpen makes sense. It allows him to throw fewer innings and his stuff would play up. He has the potential to be an elite reliever. It’s not often that players with Walker’s upside could potentially be had on a minor league deal.

The post How To Build Mets’ Bullpen On A Budget appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The New York Mets got back into the win column this afternoon after shutting down the Detroit Tigers by a score of 4-2.

Pitching: 

Matt Harvey toed the rubber for the Amazin’s and was terrific. The right-hander fired three scoreless innings, yielded just two hits and one walk and struck out one. He topped out at 96 mph as his velocity continues to climb up the ladder.

Jeurys Familia came on in the fourth and pitched a scoreless frame despite allowing a base hit and a walk.

AJ Ramos and Paul Sewald combined to keep the Tigers at bay through the fifth and sixth, while Jacob Rhame notched a scoreless seventh.

Drew Smith, who was acquired in the Lucas Duda trade last summer, went 1.1 innings and allowed one run on four hits. He was pulled in the ninth in favor of Drew Gagnon.

Gagnon allowed a sacrifice fly to trim the Mets lead to 4-2, but was able to lock down the final out.

Offense: 

The Mets got on the board early, thanks to a solo shot from Brandon Nimmo to lead off the game. It was Nimmo’s second homer of the spring.

Later that inning, Travis d’Arnaud drove in Wilmer Flores with a two-bagger to make it 2-0 Mets early on.

That score would remain until the bottom of the seventh where Jose Reyes doubled the lead with a double of his own.

This would prove to be enough to secure the victory for New York as they went on to win 4-2.

On deck:

The Mets will host the Houston Astros on Tuesday at First Data Field with the first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. Jason Vargas will get the ball for New York and be opposed by Collin McHugh.

The post Game Recap: Mets Silence Late Tigers Roar 4-2 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.