The Mets had a golden opportunity to clinch a series win and an above .500 record on their West Coast swing last night. However, their bullpen let them down again. With two outs in the eighth inning and a runner on first, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza decided to go to Edwin Díaz to get a four-out save. Unfortunately, Díaz’s command was erratic again, leaving him in a bases-loaded situation with Corbin Carroll at the plate. Having to throw a strike, Edwin hung a slider over the middle of the plate, and Carroll gave the D-Backs a three-run lead with his second homer of the night. 

While 2022 Edwin Díaz might still be in there, the Mets $100 million closer has blown six saves on the season and has been especially unreliable lately. Díaz and Butto, perceived as the Mets most potent duo, also blew another game on their road trip against the Padres on Sunday. If the Mets’ back-end, particularly their former “reliever of the year” closer, cannot be relied upon, they will continue throwing away crucial games amid a heated wild card race.

To put the icing on the bullpen-mess cake, right-hander Dedniel Núñez was unavailable on Wednesday because of forearm tightness. Mendoza said the high-leverage reliever is currently day-to-day. Núñez has only pitched in one game, 1 2/3 scoreless innings on August 24, since returning from the injured list because of a right forearm strain.

The final game in Arizona will be a showdown between David Peterson (8-1, 2.85 ERA) and Ryne Nelson (9-6, 4.29 ERA) at 3:40 P.M. EDT.

Wild Card Update

The Mets created more distance between themselves and the three wild card teams with their loss last night. With Arizona’s win over the Mets last night, they increased their lead over the Mets to seven games. The Padres losing to the Cardinals also helped Arizona, putting them a full game in front of San Diego for the first wild card spot. The most consequential result for the Mets on Wednesday night was the Braves winning again, as they swept the Twins and are now 8-2 in their last 10 games. New York is four games behind Atlanta for the final wild card spot.

Latest Mets News

Luis Severino told reporters that he felt a lot of pain after getting hit in his foot by a come-backer in last night’s loss. However, Luis said that the x-rays returned negative and he is “100% sure” he will make his next start.

Mets 2024 first-round pick Carson Benge continues to rake. Benge hit his second home run in two days on Wednesday, bringing his OPS up to 1.106 in his seven games for the St. Lucie Mets. 

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza mentioned “speed and versatility” as two attributes that will be valued when the Mets expand their roster on Sunday, August 1st, per Mike Puma of The New York Post. That sounds like prospect Luisangel Acuña, who is on the Mets’ 40-man roster. 

Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported on a Bleacher Report “Walk-Off” stream, that Orioles starter and soon-to-be free-agent Corbin Burnes will be on the Mets radar this off-season. Click here for more information on the report.

Latest MLB News

Fans were lined up outside of Dodger Stadium 7 hours before first pitch for Shohei Ohtani bobblehead night on Wednesday.

Excitement level for Shohei and Decoy. 📈 pic.twitter.com/54viWyFYBY

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 29, 2024

The Kansas City Royals placed RHP Michael Lorenzen on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain. Lorenzen, who is on his fourth team in the past two seasons, pitched to a 1.85 ERA in his 24 1/3 innings with Kansas City since being traded from Texas.

The 7th pick in the 2023 draft and one of the Cincinnati Reds top prospects, Rhett Lowder, is expected to make his major league debut on Friday, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati. 

The Houston Astros sent former starting center fielder Chas McCormick down to Triple-A, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. This move comes a day after the Astros signed veteran OF Jason Heyward off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told the media that Miguel Andujar will be undergoing a season-ending core muscle surgery, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. Andujar is under control through 2025, Oakland hopes to have him back next season.

Veteran INF Thairo Estrada and left-handed relievers Tyler Matzek and Taylor Rogers were all placed on waivers by the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, per Grant Bisbee and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Unlike being DFA’d, the players will continue to play for the Giants until the resolution of their waiver process.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told the media that utility man Jorge Mateo will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the UCL in his left elbow. Mateo, known as one of the fastest players in the league, originally injured his elbow in late July and was hoping to make a return later in the season before the surgery.

Latest on MMO

Pete Alonso continues to climb the Mets all-time leaderboards.

See how the Mets and Braves schedules compare down the stretch run.

Could the Mets pursue Corbin Burnes to be their ace in free agency?

On This Date in Mets History 

2016: Yoenis Cespedes hits a walk-off solo home run to beat the Marlins 2-1.

2008: Carlos Beltrán launches a ball deep into right field for a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, giving the Mets a 5-2 lead over the Marlins.

Birthdays: Noah Syndergaard (32), Anthony Recker (41), Henry Blanco (53), Bill Latham (64), Rusty Tillman (64)

The post Morning Briefing: Dedniel Núñez Dealing With Forearm Tightness appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets will introduce Carlos Mendoza as their new manager in a press conference at noon today. He officially signed his three-year contract on Monday. The conference will be streamed live on SNY and on their social channels.

Latest Mets News

Kodai Senga finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll, who won unanimously. Senga received 22 second-place votes and five third-place votes. Carroll is the first Diamondback to win the award.

Latest MLB News

Gunnar Henderson unanimously won AL Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Oriole to win the award since Gregg Olson in 1989. This marks the fifth time that both Rookie of the Year winners were voted unanimously.

The Cubs officially named Craig Counsell the 56th manager in their franchise’s history. Counsell said during in his press conference that former Chicago skipper David Ross called him before the hiring was announced publicly. Counsell’s Cubs will also be featured on the first Sunday Night Baseball telecast in 2024, when they take on the reigning World Series champion Rangers on March 31.

The Yankees named James Rowson their hitting coach on Monday. Rowson, who attended high school in the Bronx, spent 2023 as the Tigers’ hitting coach, and previously held the same role with the Twins from 2017-19.

The Yankees interviewed Andrew Bailey to be their bench coach on Monday. The former two-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year has spent the last four season as the pitching coach for the Giants. Bailey also played for the Yankees back in 2015.

The Blue Jays have named DeMarlo Hale their associate manager. Hale was the team’s bench coach under John Gibbons from 2013-18. He was Terry Francona‘s bench coach in Cleveland for the last three seasons.

The Pirates have hired Justin Horowitz as their new Director of Amateur Scouting. Horowitz has spent the last dozen seasons with the Red Sox organization.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the Braves and Cardinals among teams showing early interest in free-agent starter Aaron Nola. Nola recorded a 4.46 ERA/4.03 FIP with 202 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings this season.

Shota Imanaga has hired Octagon to represent him. The 29-year-old lefty is said to be coming stateside after posting a strong 2.66 ERA with 188 strikeouts in 159 innings this season.

Topps announced the launch of Rookie Debut Patch Auto Cards. The 1 of 1 cards will be available in their Chrome Update Series on November 15.

Latest on MMO

To celebrate reaching 30,000 followers on Twitter, MMO is giving away a Francisco Álvarez New York Mets Star Rookie Bobblehead from FOCO. All you have to do to enter is retweet this tweet and followed @Metsmerized.

Allison Waxman and Patrick Glynn debate which former Met the team should look to re-sign.

Sam Neumann grades Omar Narváez‘s performance during the 2023 season.

On This Date in Mets History

2012: R.A. Dickey wins the NL Cy Young award over the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw. Dickey is the first ever knuckleballer to win the award, going 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA and a league-leading 230 strikeouts.

2018: Jacob deGrom wins his first Cy Young award, beating out the reigning two-time winner Max Scherzer. The 30-year-old deGrom won just 10 games but recorded a sparkling 1.70 ERA with 269 strikeouts in 217 innings during the season.

Birthdays: Darrell Sutherland (82), Tim Hamulack (47), Xavier Nady (45), Joely Rodríguez (32), Akeel Morris (31), Francisco Lindor (30)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets to Introduce Carlos Mendoza Today appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Kodai Senga. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Senga was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this past season, second in the NL in ERA behind Blake Snell with a 2.98 ERA, fourth in all of qualified starting pitchers in runs allowed with 60 and fourth in BAA with a .208. He also became the second Mets rookie since Dwight Gooden to strike out 200 or more batters.

The Japanese-born pitcher finished his season going 12-7 in 166 ⅓ innings pitched. He struck out 202 batters, allowed 126 hits, 77 walks, and had an ERA+ of 142. The ghost fork hurler was selected to his first All-Star game this past summer in Seattle. Fellow Mets rookie Francisco Álvarez did not receive a vote. The last Met who took home Rookie of the Year honors was Pete Alonso in 2019.

Carroll, on the other hand, was by no means a slouch. The speedy centerfielder from the National League championship Diamondbacks was a shoo-in for the award. He finished his award-winning year hitting .285/.362/.506/.868 with an OPS+ of 134. His ten triples led the league for the year.

James Outman of the Dodgers came in third in the voting for NL ROY. Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles unanimously won the American League Rookie of the Year, beating out Tanner Bibee of the Cleveland Guardians and Triston Casas of the Boston Red Sox.

The post Kodai Senga Runner Up, Corbin Carroll Wins NL Rookie of the Year appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Diamondbacks host the Rangers at Chase Field on Monday for Game 3 of the World Series. It’s the first World Series game hosted at Chase Field since Nov. 4, 2001, where the D-Backs defeated the Yankees in Game 7 to win their first and only World Series.

The D-Backs head home for Game 3 on a positive note. They defeated the Rangers in Game 2 behind a stellar performance from Merrill Kelly and an offensive outburst from the lineup, tying up the series at 1-1.

The Game 2 win was historic for the D-Backs. It was the first World Series road win in the organization’s history, snapping their previous 0-4 record against the Yankees and Rangers.

Now, with the series tied, rookie Brandon Pfaadt will take the mound at home and try to give the D-Backs a lead in the 2023 World Series. Pfaadt has been solid this postseason and has a 2.70 ERA in four postseason starts. He’s only gone past five innings once, which was against the Phillies in a 2-1 win in Game 3 of the National League Championship. Pfaadt will become the 51st rookie to make a World Series start.

Former Met Max Scherzer takes the mound for the Rangers. He’s only made two starts, both in the American League Championship Series, and has struggled. Scherzer allowed five earned runs in four innings in Game 3, where the Rangers lost to the Astros 8-5. He then only lasted 2 2/3 innings in Game 7, allowing two earned runs in the Rangers series-clinching 11-4 Game 7 win.

Evan Carter is batting cleanup for the Rangers in Game 3. It’s the first time Carter has batted cleanup in his career, which includes the minor leagues.

Tommy Pham is batting fifth tonight against the right-handed Scherzer in Game 3. Pham went 4-for-4 in Game 2, and could have become the first player in World Series history to go 5-for-5, but was pinch-hit for Jace Peterson in the ninth. Pham told reporters after the game he asked Bruce Bochy to be pinch-hit for so Peterson could get in the game.

While every game is pivotal in the World Series, Game 3 has historically been significant when the series is tied 1-1. In World Series history, when a team goes ahead 2-1, they win 67.9% of the time. However, this isn’t decisive, as the Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the 2022 World Series last year and lost in six games.

RANGERS LINEUP

2B Marcus Semien
SS Corey Seager
RF Adolis García
LF Evan Carter
DH Mitch Garver
C Jonah Heim
1B Nathaniel Lowe
3B Josh Jung
CF Leody Taveras

D-BACKS LINEUP

RF Corbin Carroll
2B Ketel Marte
C Gabriel Moreno
1B Christian Walker
DH Tommy Pham
LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
CF Alek Thomas
3B Evan Longoria
SS Geraldo Perdomo

The post World Series Game 3 Thread: Rangers vs. D-Backs, 8:03 PM appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Fall Classic is officially set. On Tuesday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks officially went from barely in the postseason to winning the pennant, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 on the road in Game 7 of the NLCS.

The Diamondbacks will play the Texas Rangers in the World Series, with the first game set for Friday night in Texas. 

MLB has announced the schedule for the World Series, which begins Friday night in Arlington: pic.twitter.com/yv8IuguPte

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 24, 2023

The Diamondbacks trailed 2-1 through four innings, but RBI singles from Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno gave Arizona a 3-2 lead in the fifth. A sacrifice fly from Carroll in the seventh extended the lead to two runs. 

Brandon Pfaadt started the game for Arizona, pitching four innings and allowing both Philadelphia runs. The Diamondbacks bullpen was impenetrable, pitching five shutout innings, capped by a save from former Met Paul Sewald. Ryan Thompson was credited with the win. 

An Alec Bohm solo shot in the second and a Bryson Stott double in the fourth encapsulated Philadelphia’s offensive output for the game. Ranger Suarez pitched 4 ⅔ innings and gave up three runs, and was credited with the loss. 

Latest Mets News

Jeff Passan of ESPN said he believes the Mets, entering a pivotal offseason, should be “front and center” in the race to sign Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. 

Five of the six players the Mets put on outright waivers on Friday elected free agency after not being claimed. Pitcher Anthony Kay was claimed by the Oakland A’s.

Mets radio broadcaster Pat McCarthy was hit by a car while jogging and underwent surgery, according to the Phillies Radio broadcast on WIP. McCarthy was said to be doing okay. 

MLB News 

Former Mets manager Buck Showalter is a candidate for the vacant Angels manager job, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. 

Craig Breslow has been offered the Boston Red Sox head of baseball operations job, and the expectation is for him to accept, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. 

The San Francisco Giants poached Bob Melvin from the San Diego Padres to be the team’s new manager. The news was first reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. 

The 2023 season was Dusty Baker’s final as manager of the Houston Astros, according to reporting from The Athletic. 

With a double on Tuesday, Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte has a hit in his first 16 career postseason games, tied with Marquis Grissom for the longest postseason hit streak to begin a career. 

Latest on MMO

Patrick Glynn looks at the free agent profile of starter Blake Snell. 

Tyler Antonelle breaks down how the Mets 2023 draft class in its first professional season.  

Shaun Chornobroff breaks down the Mets shortstop depth chart.

This Date In Mets History

1986: One of the greatest days in Mets history, Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The Mets defeated the Red Sox 6-5 in ten innings on a ground ball by Mookie Wilson that found its way through the legs of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner. The Mets went on to win Game 7 and the 1986 World Series. 

Birthdays: Pedro Martinez (52)

The post Morning Briefing: Arizona Diamondbacks Headed to World Series appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Snakes are alive. And they are well.

After dropping the first two games of the National League Championship Series in Philadelphia, the Diamondbacks pulled off two late-inning victories to tie the series at 2-2 in Arizona.

Ketel Marte was the hero in Game 3, walking off Craig Kimbrel in the bottom of the ninth for the D’Backs’ first postseason walk-off win since Luis Gonzalez‘s single to win the 2001 World Series.

Alek Thomas played the heroics in Game 4, clubbing a two-run homer off Kimbrel in the bottom of the eighth to give the D’Backs a 6-5 lead, which Paul Sewald saved in the ninth.

ALEK THOMAS TIES IT! 😱 #NLCS pic.twitter.com/bucXC3XFMz

— MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2023

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, Game 5

Now, with the series evened up, both team will throw their aces with the hope of heading back to Philadelphia with a lead. Zac Gallen gets another go at the Phillies after he allowed five earned runs on eight hits in Game 1.

Meanwhile, Zack Wheeler stands in the way of the D’Backs. Wheeler dominated the Snakes in Game 1, striking out eight batters while allowing two runs over six innings. The former Met has overpowered every lineup so far in the playoffs and has 26 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Pavin Smith is back in the D’Backs starting lineup after taking two pinch-hit at-bats in Game 4. He singled and went 1-for-2 in that game. Evan Longoria is also starting at third after DHing in Game 4.

The Phillies lineup remains the same in Game 5. Rob Thompson has the luxury to keep his potent lineup the same, as the Phillies have scored 21 runs across four games.

Phillies Lineup

LF Kyle Schwarber
SS Trea Turner
1B Bryce Harper
3B Alec Bohm
2B Bryson Stott
C JT Realmuto
RF Nick Castellanos
LF Brandon Marsh
CF Johan Rojas

Diamondbacks Lineup

RF Corbin Carroll
2B Ketel Marte
C Gabriel Moreno
1B Christian Walker
DH Pavin Smith
LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
CF Alek Thomas
3B Evan Longoria
SS Geraldo Perdomo

The post NLCS Game Thread: Phillies vs. D’Backs, 8:07 P.M. appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Before the game, the Marlins were 79-73 and needed a win to remain in the third National League wildcard slot.

Meanwhile, the Mets, who were nine games behind the Marlins in the standings, had their rookie sensation Kodai Senga pitching. And Tuesday’s start was another opportunity for the rookie to cement his case for two major awards.

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Senga wasn’t sharp on Tuesday but kept the Marlins off the board for the first three innings. He allowed two walks and singles in that frame but retired the side on softly hit groundballs and flyouts.

After having a baserunner every inning, the Marlins finally cashed in for a run in the bottom of the fourth. Bryan De La Cruz singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on Senga’s league-leading 14th wild pitch.

De La Cruz advanced to third on a ground out by Jesús Sánchez, and then came into score after Garrett Hampson flew out to center field. Senga escaped further damage in the inning by striking out Jacob Stallings to retire the side.

Surprisingly, the strikeout of Stallings was only Senga’s second of the night. He didn’t have his normal swing-and-miss stuff against the Marlins and finished his night with a mere three strikeouts.

Despite having only three strikeouts and having traffic on the bases every inning, Senga recorded another quality start on Tuesday. He allowed seven hits, two walks, and two runs in six innings.

15 straight starts with 3 earned runs or less for Kodai Senga pic.twitter.com/wR5ba6vG2v

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) September 21, 2023

Senga’s start against the Marlins also continued an impressive streak. He has recorded eight consecutive quality starts dating back to August 7, where he has gone 6-2 and recorded a 2.31 ERA.

Senga’s impressive streak, however, really started on June 23. Since then, Senga has a 2.50 ERA, 107 strikeouts, and 33 walks in 90 innings pitched. In those 15 starts, he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs.

Senga’s dominant stretch has put him in the conversation for not only the National League Rookie of the Year, but also the NL Cy Young award.

As it currently stands, Senga might have an easier path to the NL RoY. His greatest competition is Corbin Carroll, who is having a historic stretch for the Diamondbacks.

After homering on Wednesday, Carroll became the first rookie in major league history to record 25 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. With this historic season, Carroll (5.3) is also outpacing Senga (4.5) in bWAR. With a dominant start on Wednesday, Senga may be able to inch closer to Carroll for the award.

While the NL RoY is in reach, lefty Blake Snell has distanced himself from the competition for NL Cy Young. He leads the majors with a 2.33 ERA and 176 ERA+, despite also leading the majors with 97 walks.

Snell also solidified his status with a dominant start against the Rockies on Tuesday. He struck out 10 batters and didn’t allow a run in seven innings.

Senga simply doesn’t have enough time left to meet Snell’s ERA. Buck Showalter confirmed that Senga’s last start is on Wednesday, and even if he pitched a complete game shutout, he would still trail Snell by half a run (2.80 ERA).

Still, even if Senga misses out on both awards, which is likely, it shouldn’t take away from his amazing first season. As of September 21, Senga has a 2.96 ERA, 143 ERA+, and 194 strikeouts in 28 starts.

If the season ended today, Senga would be the sixth rookie starter in Mets’ history to finish the season with an ERA under three with at least 100 innings pitched. The others are Jacob deGrom, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, Tom Seaver, and Jon Matlack.

Senga also has one more start to chase another milestone — 200 strikeouts. He would be the 30th rookie in major league history to reach the milestone and the fourth Japanese rookie to do it behind Yu Darvish (2012), Daisuke Matsuzaka (2007), and Hideo Nomo (1995).

The milestone is achievable. He has 194 strikeouts and one more start against the Marlins on September 27.

The post Senga Recorded Eighth Consecutive Quality Start Tuesday appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Senga, who was fantastic in his last outing on August 25 against the Los Angeles Angels was able to turn up the heat a bit higher on Friday night. He matched his career-high with 12 strikeouts. He was dominant through the night, his only blemish coming from a J.P. Crawford solo blast in the fourth inning. Unfortunately for Senga, the Mets’ offense didn’t wake up until the late innings, leaving Senga with a no-decision after seven strong innings.

Senga has shown how great he can be at the highest level once again for the Mets. One of the most noticeable feats lately has been his ability to work deep into the game and keep his pitch count low, even while striking out double-digit batters. This was something he struggled with earlier in the year despite solid numbers. He is improving with each start he makes in his young MLB career.

He moved to third on the list for most strikeouts by a Mets rookie pitcher in franchise history on Friday night. While it’s unlikely he’ll catch up to Dwight Gooden‘s rookie record, he has impressed nonetheless. After his 12-strikeout performance, Senga pulled within two strikeouts of Jerry Koosman (178) for the second-most strikeouts by a Mets rookie.

To no one’s surprise, Senga’s signature ghost forkball was a huge reason for his career performance. It has been his best put-out pitch all season and has looked sharper as the season progresses. The Mets’ down year might be overshadowing Senga’s success, but there’s no doubt that his ghost forkball is one of the best pitchers in the entire league. His ghost fork has a 60.4% whiff rate this season, ranking among some of the best in the game.

Kodai Senga has the Ghost Fork working on #FridayNightBaseball.

(MLB x @Chevron) pic.twitter.com/IRPB9iKaRo

— MLB (@MLB) September 1, 2023

Friday night’s outing was another footnote in a dominant season for Senga. The start lowered his ERA to 3.08, which is the third-best in the National League and the sixth-best in the majors. With Corbin Carroll (133 OPS+) cooling off, Senga (135 ERA+) could run away with the NL Rookie of the Year award in the last month of the season.

Senga has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing year for the Mets and their fanbase. He may just be the Mets ace heading into 2024 and beyond. If he continues to pitch like he has, the Mets will definitely get their money’s worth out of his contract.

The post Kodai Senga Matches Season High 12 K’s appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Francisco Lindor. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have one All-Star in 2023. It’s not surprising considering that the Mets sit at 37-46, 19 games back in the division and nine games back of the wild card.

Bad teams, which is what the Mets have been so far, usually don’t have many All-Stars. With that said, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo both potentially deserve to be on the National League team this season, yet each will be watching from home.

Lindor

While he may not be completely living up to the expectations that come with a 10-year, $341 million contract, he is still an excellent baseball player.

Going into Sunday night’s game when the full rosters were announced, Lindor was hitting .225/.305/.450 with 17 home runs, 19 doubles, 55 RBI, and 49 runs scored. Yes, the batting average isn’t pretty, but he’s still hitting for a ton of power. 

Among MLB shortstops, Lindor has the most homers, RBI, and runs scored. Some of that is situational and depends on his teammates to get on base in front of him and drive him in, but the home runs aren’t. He has two more than Bo Bichette, who leads the American League, and five more than Paul DeJong, who is second in the National League.  

Among National League shortstops, he is tied for second in fWAR at 2.5 with Geraldo Perdomo, who also didn’t make the All-Star team. Perdomo is having a really nice season and definitely deserved consideration, but he has only five home runs and isn’t a qualified hitter. Lindor should get the nod before he does.

Among NL qualified shortstops, Lindor is tied for first in OPS (.755) and wRC+ (109) with Dansby Swanson, who made the team as a reserve. Swanson leads NL shortstops in fWAR, so why isn’t he the starter?

Because Orlando Arcia, who isn’t even a qualified hitter and is sixth in fWAR, won the fan vote. If it was a merit-based system, Swanson would be the starter and Lindor the reserve. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Nimmo

Heading into Sunday, Nimmo was hitting .282/.372/.462 with 12 homers, 40 RBI, and 47 runs scored. His .834 OPS ranks ninth among qualifiers and his wRC+ ranks fifth.

Nimmo’s fWAR ranks sixth among NL outfielders behind Ronald Acuña Jr., Mookie Betts, Corbin Carroll, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. The first four are deservedly All-Stars. The fifth finished up a PED suspension to begin the year. That doesn’t disqualify him from the All-Star Game, but it is some necessary context.

More importantly, none of those five players are full-time center fielders. Carroll has split time almost evenly between center and right field. Acuña, Betts, and Soto haven’t played center at all. Tatis has just 21 innings there compared to 529 in right.

The other two NL outfield All-Stars, Nick Castellanos and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., haven’t played center, either. Castellanos is the lone Phillies All-Star and is deserving in his own right. Gurriel, however, isn’t the lone Diamondback—Carroll is the starting center fielder. Nimmo has been better than Gurriel basically across the board.

Nimmo is one of the best full-time center fielders in baseball and arguably the best in the NL. Luis Robert Jr. and Mike Trout are superior in the AL, but Carroll doesn’t even play the position every day.

Nimmo’s offensive contributions already stack up with the best corner outfielders in the NL. Corner outfielders naturally hit more in the first place. Don’t be fooled by the one positional grouping for All-Star purposes: center field is a different animal than left or right and needs individual representation. That representation should be Nimmo.

There will be more players named to the All-Star team just as they are every year. Not everyone initially picked is healthy enough to play, and they will need replacements.

Lindor and Nimmo deserve to be on the top of that list.

The post Opinion: Lindor and Nimmo Are Bad Snubs From All-Star Game appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good morning, Mets fans!

With the series against Atlanta concluding on Monday, May 1, and the numerous rainouts that the teams have gone through, you would think the Mets would get a break when they flew out to Detroit for a series against the Tigers, right? Wrong.

For the third time in the last four days, the Mets have had rain postpone their game, this time being the series opener with the Detroit Tigers. The game will be made up with a doubleheader on Wednesday. Game 1 will begin at 1:40 p.m. with Game 2 scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Joey Lucchessi will take the mound in Game 1, and Max Scherzer will come back from his 10-game suspension in Game 2.

Latest Mets News

Two Mets rookies made the MLB Rookie Power Rankings Top 10 list, with Brett Baty coming in fourth place and Kodai Senga three spots behind Baty. The Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll, the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson and the Astros’ Hunter Brown ranked in the top three, respectively.

The Mets have reportedly reached out to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers about throwing out the first pitch at an upcoming Mets game, according to the quarterback on the Pat McAfee Show.

"The Mets have reached out but I haven't heard from the Yankees yet..

I would love to throw out a first pitch at some point" ~ @AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Gzg23IZQfQ

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 2, 2023

The St. Lucie Mets received their 2022 Florida State League Championship rings Tuesday night before their game. MMO’s Ed Delaney captured the pregame ceremony.

The St. Lucie Mets received their 2022 Florida State League Championship rings tonight.

Photos by @ed880 pic.twitter.com/RXc62IBfBC

— MetsMinors.Net (@Mets_Minors) May 2, 2023

Mets manager Buck Showalter says that Carlos Carrasco could rejoin the Mets in the next 10 days. Carrasaco has been sidelined with arm inflammation since his start in Oakland two weeks ago.

Latest MLB News

German Marquez of the Colorado Rockies says he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery, according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post.

Latest on MMO

On This Date in Mets History

1988: David Cone throws first career shutout against the Atlanta Braves.

Birthdays: Walker Lockett (29)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Rained Out Yet Again appeared first on Metsmerized Online.