Good Morning, Mets fans!

On Thursday, the Mets won a thriller of a game, beating the Yankees in ten innings by a score of 9-7. After honoring the life of the late Tom Seaver, the Mets’ first ever Rookie Of The Year, reigning Rookie Of The Year Pete Alonso won the game for the team with a two-run walk-off home run.

Today, the Mets look to beat the Phillies in the first of their four-game series. Rick Porcello will face off against Jake Arrieta. The game will be at 7:10 pm EST and can be seen on SNY.

Latest Mets News

The Mets are expected to unveil their Tom Seaver statue some time in early 2021.

Hank Aaron shares his memories of his time spent with Tom Seaver.

Ron Swoboda speaks on the passing of his teammate and friend Tom Seaver, stating that a statue for Seaver is “overdue”.

Latest MLB News

The Brewers have designated first baseman Justin Smoak for assignment and claimed Daniel Vogelbach.

Mariners shortstop Dee Gordon has informed the team that he would like to go by Dee Strange-Gordon, in honor of his late mother.

MLB Pipeline ranked the top farm systems of all thirty teams, with the Mets landing at 20th.

Latest NL East News

The Phillies celebrated the career of Dick Allen, retiring his number 15 in a ceremony on Thursday.

The Braves released first baseman Matt Adams.

Latest on MMO

Michelle Ioannou writes about the Mets honoring the life of Tom Seaver during their game on Thursday.

The MMO Team share their thoughts on the legacy of Tom Seaver in the latest roundtable.

On This Day In Mets History

1985: Mets catcher Gary Carter tied  a then-MLB record by hitting five home runs in the span of two games.

Birthdays: Andres Gimenez (22), Chris Beck (30), Joe Depastino (47), Luis Lopez (50), Mike Piazza (52)

Let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Alonso Honors Seaver With Majestic Blast appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets have had a predicament for the last few years in which the team has struggled to find a legitimate, every day true center fielder.

They have tried multiple avenues to address this issue with Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson, and Brandon Nimmo all having spent significant chunks of time there with Juan Lagares often on the disabled list.

As of now, if the team were to make no other moves, Lagares would be slated to man the position every day in 2019.

However, with his lengthy injury history, it probably wouldn’t be smart to bank on him as an everyday option, which is why the team has reportedly been looking to add a center fielder.

The free agent market, though, is not really a great place to find a center fielder right now as A.J. Pollock is the only true one on the open market that is of significant note, with contract demands reportedly in the five-year, $80 million range.

After that, the market drops down to the likes of Denard Span and Jon Jay, who are probably platoon options at this point in each of their respective careers.

Another option for the team would be to sign another outfielder such as Nick Markakis or dare I say Bryce Harper and move Brandon Nimmo or Michael Conforto to center field, with the former being the more likely of the two to patrol the middle of the outfield.

There is another internal option that really deserves some consideration. Jeff McNeil could simply slide into center field.

So, this is the part of the article where everyone might tune me out and think I am crazy after seeing the debacle that was the Daniel Murphy outfield experiment and Lucas Duda‘s miserable attempt as well.

Hear me out, though.

There are actually a lot of former middle infielders that now roam center field with regularity and are actually top-notch at the position. You don’t even have to look any further than the Mets roster to find the first one on the list in Juan Lagares, who actually was a shortstop before moving to the position.

Next, we will move to the 2018 AL MVP, Mookie Betts, who played second base and shortstop in the minors outside of one game in the outfield. While he plays right field mostly, and a very good one at that (87 DRS in five years), he also has played center field.

Not only has he played the position, but in 1,517 2/3 innings he has accumulated 11 DRS and had a 4.0 UZR. The only reason he no longer plays the position regularly is because of the fact that the team has Jackie Bradley Jr., who happens to be one of the best defensive outfielders in the game.

Another great example of success is Billy Hamilton who played second base and shortstop in the minors as well outside of, strangely, one game as well.

Hamilton, 28, also is phenomenal in center field as he has accumulated 51 DRS and a 45.5 UZR in 5,576 innings manning center field.

So with three positive examples in the league, there stands reason to believe a switch could work despite an example like Dee Gordon that did not work out in 2018 (-8 DRS). Keep in mind, though, that his numbers were accumulated at Safeco Field, which is one of the more spacious outfields in baseball.

One thing that has to be considered when actually deciding if an experiment like this could work is if McNeil is fast enough to cover that much ground. Well, his six triples and seven stolen bases in 63 games would suggest he would be able to handle the position just fine. Over the course of a full 162 game season that would have had him at around 15 triples and 17 stolen bases on the year.

Some of you may be wondering why on earth I would want him to play center field specifically when he hasn’t played the outfield at all while Nimmo and Conforto have both patrolled center in the past.

Well, there are two reasons for that. One is that Nimmo (-5 DRS, -4 UZR in 434 2/3 innings) and Conforto (-11 DRS, -2.4 UZR in 869 1/3 innings) are simply not good at the position.

The other is that they are roughly league average on the corners as Nimmo had one defensive run saved in left field in 2018 while Conforto had the same on both corner spots this past season.

Terry Collins once talked about a lesson he learned from Jim Leyland, in which he essentially said that you only make one guy adjust at a time, that way it doesn’t upset the whole dynamic if changes are needed.

Well, by putting Jeff McNeil in center field the team would avoid moving two other players out of position in the process. That would also allow for Lagares to become a natural late-game replacement or play center against a tough left-hander.

McNeil’s bat is definitely worth getting into the lineup as he hit .329/.381/.471 with 11 doubles, three home runs, 19 RBI, and 35 runs scored to give himself a 137 wRC+ and 2.7 WAR.

Given the team’s acquisition of Robinson Cano, though, they are only set to use him in a super-utility role right now.

Moving McNeil into center field would allow the team to focus on acquiring depth in other areas such as the bullpen and the starting rotation, where they arguably need more of it than they do the lineup at this point.

While this could end up poorly like Murphy’s and Duda’s experiment, there is just as much of a chance that he could end up as successful as Lagares or Hamilton.

In Spring Training, the McNeil could shadow Lagares and work with him to learn how to man the position properly so he could be ready to handle the job come Opening Day. Who better to learn from than someone who actually made the switch?

This theory is out there for sure, but it might very well be worth exploring.

The post Bold Strategy: Let Jeff McNeil Play Center Field appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

If Jason Vargas can not retire Orioles hitters tonight, it’s a complete embarrassment. They’re by far the worst team in the Majors and they just traded away their core so they can begin a long-awaited rebuild. The Mets will travel to Baltimore tonight to begin a quick two-game series. Vargas (2-8, 8.75 ERA) will face Andrew Cashner (3-10, 4.83 ERA) at 7:05 p.m.

You may not believe me, but last night, Mets offense adequately supported Jacob deGrom, who dazzled for 6.1 innings. He recorded 12 K’s, tying the Mets record for strikeouts against the Yankees and effectively shut down the debate who is the best pitcher in New York.

Latest Mets News

On heels of the news that the Mets removed their offer of a three-year extension from Neil Walker, he revealed to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff that he’s anxious about his impending free agency.

Jay Bruce will begin a minor league rehab assignment today.

The Mets called up Tim Peterson and Jack Reinheimer and demoted Luis Guillorme and Jacob Rhame.

David Wright went 0-for-1 with a walk in his second game for the St. Lucie Mets.

Mickey Callaway doesn’t believe that Jacob deGrom‘s win/loss record should decide the National League Cy Young award.

The St. Lucie Mets made a bevy of transactions. Some of the most notable ones were activating Desmond Lindsay and Jacob Zanon from the DL, placing Wuilmer Becerra back on the DL, and promoting Stephen Villines to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Noah Syndergaard isn’t looking forward to the Little League World Series, per Mike Puma of The New York Post. Either he doesn’t like watching “12-year-olds” playing baseball or he remembered the last time he hung around kids.

Latest MLB News

Tom Withers of the Associated Press revealed that Leonys Martin was battling a life-threatening bacterial infection, but he is getting better now.

Joel Sherman of The New York Post revealed that Jay Bruce can block a trade to the Athletics, the Mariners, the Blue Jays, the Rays, and the Orioles.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic argued why David Bote‘s bat-flip was good for the game of baseball.

Jayson Jenks of The Athletic discussed Dee Gordon‘s traumatic journey to the Majors.

Baseball America profiled Joey Bart‘s impressive start.

The Blue Jays officially called up Sean-Reid Foley and Danny Jensen, DFA’ing Brandon Cumpton and optioning Danny Barnes to Triple-A to make room for the pair on the active roster.

Doug Fister will be shut down for the remainder of the year

The Yankees promoted George Kontos and sent C.C. Sabathia to the DL with right knee inflammation

Sports Illustrated examined one of the trends that is taking over baseball.

Jeff Paternostro of Baseball Prospectus analyzed Kingsport’s potent infield.

The Braves released former Met Fernando Salas.

Homer Bailey committed one of weirdest balks in baseball history.

Latest on MMO

John Sheridan talked about Gavin Cecchini‘s fall from grace.

Sheridan also continued his 3 Up, 3 Down series.

John Flanagan questioned why Peter Alonso is currently not mashing in the Majors.

Flanigan also believes that Austin Jackson should return for the 2019 season.

Flanigan noted about Drew Smith‘s recent run.

Mike Musico believes that the Mets’ starters are finally fulfilling their hype.

Jacob Resnick interviewed Stephen Villines, one of the fast-rising players from the 2017 draft.

On this Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Eric Cammack (42), McKay Christensen (42)

Let’s go Mets

The post Morning Briefing: Vargas Again Looks to Get on Track appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Seattle Mariners have acquired outfielder Cameron Maybin in a trade with the Miami Marlins, as first reported by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

Maybin will likely serve as a right-handed bat off the bench as the Mariners wait to activate suspended second baseman Robinson Cano in the middle of August.  In the meantime, they’ve been trying to keep afloat with playing Guillermo Heredia, but his .649 OPS in 264 plate appearances has obviously compelled Seattle to seek out a more impactful hitter off the bench, even if a rental.

Maybin is hitting just .237/.326/.356 over his last two seasons, but has stroked .333/.448/.500 since the end of the first half, and is slashing a much more sustainable .271/.386/.333 off the bench with the Marlins this season.

The Marlins will receive international bonus pool money as well as a player to be named later, adds Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

The post Marlins Trade Cameron Maybin to Seattle appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Congratulations to the Patriots and Eagles as they both won Sunday and will compete against each other in the Super Bowl on Feb. 4. It seems every front office GM was glued to those games as the baseball world was quiet on Sunday.

Latest Mets News

Mike Berardino of The Twin Cities Pioneer Press reports that Mets have recently shown interest in fan favorite Bartolo Colon. Colon resurrected his career with the Mets, pitching to 3.90 ERA throughout his three seasons in the orange and blue. Sandy Alderson has been looking for starting pitching this offseason and Colon has always been a reliable source of innings.

David Adler of MLB.com believes that Brandon Nimmo can have a successful 2018 season if he can continue his 2017 plate discipline.

Latest MLB News

Jerry Cransick of ESPN indicates that a trade involving the Brewers is likely. The Brewers are looking for second base help and may be willing to dangle one of their young outfielders in a potential trade.

Mike Petriello writes about the youth revolution in the MLB.

According to a report from Yahoo Japan, The Brewers have made an offer to ace Yu Darvish.

Latest NL East News

Dee Gordon rips the Marlins new ownership in a recent interview with the Sun-Sentinel.

Talking Chop debates if the Braves should trade for Adam Duvall.

That Balls Outta Here predicts that the Phillies will not sign any more expensive free agents.

Latest on MMO

Mathew Brownstein interviews former Mets backstop Rene Rivera.

Josh Finkelstein wonders if Kevin Plawecki can fulfill on his hype in 2018.

Wall Flores believes that the Mets can go to the playoffs in 2018 if they sign a couple of free agents.

This Date in Mets history

The Mets acquired speedster Bernard Gilkey from the Cardinals in 1996.  That year, Gilkey hit .317/.393/.562 in a career season and still holds the Mets record for most doubles in a campaign.

Former Mets outfielder Wayne Kirby was born on Jan. 22, 1964.

The post Morning Briefing: Bringing Big Sexy Back? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets overall mindset has been what has held the organization back and it was never more evident than in the fall-out from the Giancarlo Stanton trade to the New York Yankees.

The 2017 Yankees arrived early based on prognostications. A bunch of young kids and some useful veterans helped the Yankees to climb within a game of the World Series.

Despite the achievement, and despite already having one of the most feared lineups in the league, the Yankees went out and acquired yet another slugger – and they did it in a matter of hours, while all the Mets have done is ‘talk, talk, talk.’

Similarly, the 2015 Mets arrived a bit early. New York’s “five future aces” combined with some timely trade additions, and took advantage of an underachieving Washington Nationals team to win the NL East and take the NL pennant.

Since that run, there was a playoff appearance marred by injury in 2016.

The belief is that ‘unlucky injuries’ cost them in 2016 and bringing back the same team would garner different results in 2017.

It was different results, but very bad results. Instead of making the playoffs, the Mets finished 70-92.

Now, Mets’ ownership and Mets’ brass seem to be falling into the same trap again: A belief the team was better than its record, and the players’ stats were better than what shows on the backs of their baseball cards, particularly with regards to the pitching staff.

The team’s stated goal is to win the World Series and that this is not a time of rebuilding, but the actions don’t seem to match the words.

While Stanton was never coming to the Mets, as the player held all the cards with the blanket no-trade clause in his contract, Dee Gordon could have been acquired.

Seemingly, the only thing that held the Mets back from even offering a trade for the second baseman – a position of major need for New York – was money. The team seemed unwilling to take on the roughly $35 million owed to Gordon.

Money was what forced a fire-sale during the summer which didn’t bring back the types of prospects it could have were the Mets to have taken on some, if not all of the salary they were already scheduled to pay the players they traded.

Now, as the Winter Meetings continue, word has come out that it is possible that the Mets are working with even worse budget constraints than first reported at the start of the offseason.

The fans were told the Mets were ‘going for it’ and they were in ‘win-now mode.’ However, the actions are those of a team caught between as the Mets have been for years.

The Yankees are never satisfied, neither are Mets fans, but the organization seems to be satisfied with playing second fiddle. There is a reason the Mets never have sustained success and it’s that the team always go into a season hoping for the best while never preparing for the worst.

This isn’t new.

When the Yankees danced all over Shea Stadium in 2000 after predictably winning the Subway World Series, in that offseason, the Mets lost Mike Hampton to ‘better school systems’ in Colorado while the Yankees went out and got the best pitcher on the market, Mike Mussina.

While Sandy Alderson is not going to “jump into the inferno,” The Yankees dive in head first.

Yes, the Mets do not directly compete with the Yankees, but the mindset of the two organizations, though separated by just 10 miles, is seemingly thousands of miles apart.

The post Stanton, Gordon Deals Give Mets Fans Reason To Be Upset appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

We are starting to see some major moves. Tyler Chatwood signed with the Cubs and Dee Gordon got traded to the Mariners.

Though the market still waits on the NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton who we now know will accept a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros.

This comes from a report by Craig Mish of SiriusXM, who has done a great job covering the saga.

Latest Mets News

Brandon Nimmo played Santa Claus in the Mets holiday party. Noah Syndergaard, Jerry Blevins, and Kevin Plawecki played his elves. Nimmo

MMO’s own, Rob Piersall, was there and has full coverage on the event. A much recommended read for everyone.

Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com writes about what the Mets could do next week.

The Mets will also host their annual coat drive next Wednesday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Anyone who donates will get two tickets in 2018.

According to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports, considered Mitch Moreland. He added that it’s unlikely.

Former Met, Tracy Stallard, passed away yesterday. We at MMO send our condolences to his family.

Latest MLB News

The Mariners officially got Dee Gordon. They also got $1 million towards their international bonus pool in the deal. The Mariners plan on using Gordon in center field and now have the most slot money possible to get Shohei Ohtani.

The Cubs signed Tyler Chatwood on a three-year deal for $38 million.

Bill Livingston of Cleveland.com submitted his Hall-of-Fame ballot. He voted for two people, Omar Vizquel and Jim Thome because he covered both and knows they are clean. Livingston is going off his assumptions and no one asked him to be the moral arbiter of baseball.

Latest NL East News

Mark Zuckerman of MASN answers questions from Nationals’ fans.

Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes about the Gordon trade from Miami’s side.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com talks about what the Braves can do in the winter meetings.

Matt Breen of Philly.com writes about what Gabe Kapler thinks about Rob Thomson.

Latest on MMO

Joe D. posts his offseason plan for the Mets.

Mathew Brownstein talks with Glendon Rusch.

This Day in Mets History

1983: The Mets acquire southpaw, Sid Fernandez, from the Dodgers. The lefty was one of the more underrated pitchers in Mets history.

Birthdays: Alex Torres turns 30. He got a new hat as a gift.

The post Morning Briefing: Stanton Will Approve Trade to Four Teams appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

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 Online.

Monday officially begins the GM meetings in Orlando, Florida. After a 70-92 finish in 2017 and more questions than answers, the Mets find themselves in a position where moves are a must. Deals are more uncommon at these meetings in comparison to the winter meetings (which will be held from Dec. 10-14), but these meetings help kickstart a lot of the offseason chatter.

If the Mets are quite active during the offseason, it is likely they will be involved in some trades. As things look now, the Mets appear to have about $30-$40 million available to spend this offseason. A few trades could bring in less expensive players to fill needs and/or rid themselves of some players’ salaries.

While the GM meetings are usually for preliminary talks with players, the Mets have made splashes over the years, most notably signing Michael Cuddyer to a two-year deal back in 2014. Sandy Alderson also first met with Asdrubal Cabrera at the GM meetings in 2015.

The Mets could realistically upgrade at most positions, but the most probable ones they will be linked to are third base, second base, outfield and pitching.

While Mike Moustakas, perhaps the most appealing name on the free agent list for third baseman will likely be too rich for the Mets taste, Todd Frazier and Eduardo Nunez will be names that are tied to the Mets.

Frazier, 31, would help solve a few needs for the Mets. Most importantly, it would give the team an every day third baseman who can hit for power, while also being able to play first base if need be.

In 147 games and 576 plate appearances in 2017, Frazier hit 27 homers and drove in 76 RBI while hitting .213/.344/.428, with a 108 wRC+ and .335 wOBA while being good for 3.4 WAR.

In the field, he committed 13 errors at the hot corner, while having 10 DRS and a 6.7 UZR in over 1,100 innings.

The 30-year-old Nunez is a more versatile option that can play third, second and shortstop.

Between the San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins in 2017, he hit .313/.341/.460 with 12 homers and 58 RBI in 491 plate appearances. He also had a 112 wRC+ and .342 wOBA.

In the field, Frazier is a more soft handed option. Nunez spent the most time at third base in 2017, where he committed nine errors and had 0 DRS with a -1.9 UZR in 447.2 innings.

If the Mets want to move Asdrubal Cabrera to second base, Todd Frazier could be the better fit at third. If they decide to focus on finding a second baseman, then trading for either Jason Kipnis or Dee Gordon could be options.

The former had a down year in Cleveland, and with the team using Jose Ramirez at the keystone predominantly, the Tribe could look to shop the infielder.

He appeared in just 90 games with Cleveland in 2017 and hit to a .232/.291/.414 clip in 373 plate appearances.

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.

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.

Additionally, the Mets could pursue an outfielder who can play first base in the event that Dominic Smith‘s struggles continue into 2018. Possible matches are  Adam Lind, Jay Bruce and Logan Morrison. The latter of whom as been thrown around as an option by several names, including former Mets GM Jim Duquette.

Bruce is the long-shot out of this group after it was reported that he’s seeking a five-year, $80-90 million deal. Lorenzo Cain is another name, but only if the Mets choose to focus primarily on outfield.

Cain would be a nice fit for New York as he would solidify the outfield and bring a much needed veteran presence to the team.

He’s an above-average defender, one that has saved 77 runs above average in 634 games in center, and he’s batted .300/.352/.437 since 2014. Better yet, he stole 26 bases last season — and was caught just twice. Cain is a five-tool player who has been pivotal to the Royals’ recent success.

Cain also posts some pretty impressive advanced stats. He’s posted an fWAR of at least 4.0 in three of the last four seasons — he missed 59 games with injuries the only year he failed to do so. He’s also had wRC+ marks of 109, 128, 99 and 115 respectively over the last four seasons, and he has substantially  improved his strikeout rates over recent seasons. His 15.5 percent strikeout rate last year was the best mark of his career.

As for relievers, Alderson and company will likely be looking to add one more name to the back end of the bullpen that already includes incumbents Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos and Jerry Blevins.

Bryan Shaw, Steve Cishek, Brandon Morrow, Matt Albers, Luke Gregerson and Addison Reed are all possible options. Signing either Greg Holland and Wade Davis, on the other hand, would be a reach with what they’re expected to get in free agency.

Shaw is perhaps the most intriguing on the list and has a history with new Mets manager Mickey Callaway.

In regards to starting pitching, names that will surely be linked to the Mets include Lance Lynn, Jason Vargas, and Bartolo Colon as veteran options that can bring stability to the back end of a rotation filled with question marks. Other names to keep tabs on are Alex Cobb and Tyler Chatwood.

As the days go by and the Hot Stove gets warmer, we will see how many of these player, if any, the Mets will acquire.

The post Mets Have Tall Task Going Into GM Meetings appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

While the Mets have a need to fill at second base and the rival Miami Marlins plan to shop Dee Gordon, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com opines the two teams are unlikely to match up for a trade.

On Thursday, Nov. 9, DiComo answered a series of questions leading up to the Winter Meetings next week and when fielding a question about Gordon, he says that New York’s financial restraints and Miami’s asking price will ultimately stop any preliminary talks in its tracks.

“The odds the Mets trade for Gordon are low,” DiComo said. “Just because the Marlins are reportedly looking to shed salary does not mean they are going to just give away their top players for free. Want to deal Amed Rosario for Gordon? Derek Jeter will probably return your phone call. Short of that, the Mets just don’t have the type of prospect capital necessary to outbid other teams.

“Moreover, they don’t have much budget flexibility to acquire a player like Gordon, who is guaranteed $37.9 million over the next three seasons. Before signing a single free agent, the Mets are on the hook to pay their top 21 players about $119 million in salary — a figure that includes all their guaranteed contracts, estimated arbitration raises using MLB Trade Rumors’ figures, and league-minimum deals for everyone else.

“Alderson has already said he went over budget on last year’s $156 million Opening Day payroll, with a promise to sell off pieces — Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson et al — if the team fell out of contention. Based on Alderson’s comments, it is difficult to imagine the Mets surpassing that $156 million figure in 2018. More likely, they will clock in lower.”

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 rest of the questions DiComo answered can be found here.

Gordon would be a great fit for the Mets, both to fill the hole at the keystone and to give the team a quality lead-off hitter.

It’s likely New York won’t be able to replace all the power they shipped away in July and August, so manufacturing runs using small ball could be beneficial to the team.

Gordon has a knack for stealing bases and gets on base a solid amount. His advanced metrics are low (most of it can be chalked up to him not hitting for much power), but even still, he would be a better option than anything the team has in house.

I don’t know if the Mets would necessarily have to give up Amed Rosario (nor should they even entertain that), but still, their farm system is not nearly as strong as it was to be able to land players like Gordon.

The market hasn’t completely shaped up yet, so who knows what the cost for Gordon might be, but if I’m Sandy Alderson, I’d still be on the phone with Jeter picking his brain and feeling out what he wants.

What’s the most important thing for Miami this offseason, from what I’ve learned, is that they want to drop payroll down to the $90 million range. Gordon’s contract is one of the most lucrative ones they have on the books, so if they really want to reduce payroll, they will find a way to trade him.

Yes, it’s been reported that the team will only have somewhere in the $30-$40 million range in adding new contracts, but if they took on some of Gordon’s salary, it could lessen what the team would have to give up prospect wise and you’d have a second baseman for the next three and possibly four years. However, it all comes down to the Wilpon’s willingness to be flexible or a lack thereof.

While, at least at this point, it seems like a long shot, I’d at least hope the team will be checking in with Miami from time to time as well as having some discourse at the upcoming Winter Meetings.

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