Sandy Alderson spoke with media today in Port St. Lucie as detailed by Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com.

Despite his assistant GM, John Ricco, saying something to the contrary, Alderson gave a different tone about the Mets rotation:

“Notwithstanding many opinions to the contrary, I’m not convinced we need more pitching.”

“I actually think with where we are right now, we’re in pretty good shape. At the same time, we continue to monitor what’s out there and how we can continue to improve the team.”

Well, this is going to get the fans riled up a little. The Mets have been in need of a starting pitcher all offseason, and that hasn’t changed since they still haven’t added one.

However, do not get angry yet. This could very well be posturing just in case he can’t get any deal done. Now, everyone knows they need to get some insurance for the rotation. Alderson knows that and the whole organization knows that.

The latter quote is probably the more reliable one from this, as it would be hard to imagine Alderson not signing someone to a minor-league deal at the very least.

These quotes do appear to give off the vibe that they aren’t planning to sign anyone that will cost more than a one-year deal in all likelihood, though, unless if they find a bargain.

Rule out Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb.

It suggests Alderson really is likely looking at depth and that it is unlikely the Mets will sign anyone above the tier of the market that includes Jason Vargas, Andrew Cashner, John Lackey, and Jeremy Hellickson. At the very least, it is hard to imagine the team not signing someone like Ubaldo Jimenez to a minor-league deal.

The way the free agent market has progressed this winter, it is very possible one of these arms could fall into the Mets laps. However, they might not get their pick of the litter if they choose to go about it this way.

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The Mets went into the 2017 season with what seemed to be plenty of options for the rotation. After all they had Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman for five spots.

If anything they seemed to have a surplus of solid arms. However, baseball is not that cut-and-dry.

DeGrom was the only starter to pass the 30-start threshold and other pitchers like Rafael Montero, Chris Flexen, Tommy Milone, Tyler Pill, and Adam Wilk were thrown into the fire to try and replace those starters.

After what happened in 2017, it would be wise to add an experienced starter for 2018. While adding Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, or Lance Lynn would obviously be nice, none of them are in the Mets’ price range.

Still, there are plenty of experienced starters on the market that the Mets can add at an affordable price.

R.A. Dickey

At age-43, R.A. Dickey is still a viable rotational option. While few pitchers are productive in their forties, Dickey is the exception.

The knuckleballer is coming off a 2017 campaign where he logged 190 innings down in Atlanta. That included 31 starts, a 10-10 record, a 4.26 ERA, a 1.368 WHIP, and 136 strikeouts.

To give a little context, all those numbers mentioned (expect WHIP) were better for Dickey in 2017 than in 2016. As for his WHIP, it was only 0.001 point higher in 2017. Statiscally speaking, Dickey hasn’t shown signs of slowing down just yet.

While that could change immediately at his age like it did to Bartolo Colon from 2016 to 2017, his affordability makes signing him a low-risk move.

MLB Trade Rumors doesn’t even rank him in their top-50 free agent list. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports ranks Dickey as 59th on his list of the top-80 free agents. He predicts him landing a one-year $7 million deal and also lists an expert’s prediction of him getting paid $6.5 million for one year.

Not only would Dickey be affordable, but he would be coming back to where he found success and made a name for himself.

John Lackey

After a terrific season in St. Louis in 2015, the Chicago Cubs signed John Lackey to a two-year, $32 million contract to add to their World Series push.

Although it seemed like the Cubs overpaid for a 37-year-old starter, Lackey repaid the team by pitching well in 2016 when the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years.

Last year he did not live up to the $16 million investment as he went 12-12 with a 4.59 ERA, a 1.277 WHIP, and 149 strikeouts in 170 2/3 innings and 31 games (30 starts).

While that’s not promising as he is now 39, it was only one season. The last time Lackey even had a 4.00+ ERA was in 2011.

Furthermore, even if Lackey were to repeat his 2017 season, it would at least provide the Mets with an ample amount of innings; something they needed last season.

If Heyman’s prediction is accurate, Lackey is looking at a one-year, $9 million deal. The expert he lists, on the other hand, expects him to get $8 million for one year.

Jason Vargas

Jason Vargas stands out on this list for two reasons: he was an All-Star and led the American League in wins in 2017. It’s not often a player like that appears on a list revolved around affordable options.

However, he has a couple of things going against him. One of those things was a poor second half. Vargas made 32 starts in 2017. During the first 16 he went 12-3 with a 2.33 ERA, a 1.115 WHIP, and 73 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings pitched.

That contrasted greatly from his next 16 starts which included a 6-8 record, 6.66 ERA, a 1.609 WHIP, and 60 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings pitched.

If his first and second halves were swapped, Vargas would’ve been heading into the offseason with a lot of momentum.

The other reason why Vargas will be affordable is his age. At 34 year-old, Vargas won’t be cashing in on a big contract. MLB Trade Rumors has him signing a one-year, $10 million contract. The more of the offseason passes by, the more likely that already-reasonable price may drop.

Jhoulys Chacin

Jhoulys Chacin has a slightly different resume than the other three options on the list. He is by far the youngest member of this list as he will be entering his age-30 season.

Instead of having a recent track record of success, Chacin had his best season since 2013.

He went 13-10 with a 3.89 ERA, a 1.270 WHIP, and 153 strikeouts in 180 1/3 innings pitched across 32 starts.

Since there’s always the idea that one good year could an outlier, Chacin shouldn’t be receiving a big contract at this point.

Heyman ranks Chacin as 30th on his list of free agents and expects him to agree to a two-year, $20 million deal while the expert he lists believes the deal will be $17 million over two years.

MLB Trade Rumors believes he will receive a more modest deal. The website ranks him as the 33rd best available free agent this offseason and predicts he will eventually sign a two-year, $14 million contract.

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The defining moment of the Dodgers fate in reaching the Fall Classic came off the bat of their red bearded third baseman, Justin Turner, whose three-run walk-off blast in game two of the NLCS signaled the end of a 28-year old drought.

If you needed any more clues that this team was destined for something far greater than an NLDS title please quit your detective day job because you’re not cracking any more cases.

On a chilly night in Chicago, the ball club boasting the best regular season record in the Majors mauled the reigning champs 11-1 with their ace on the mound, and a masterful manager’s rejiggered line-up.

Clayton Kershaw’s previous postseason woes have been painful to watch, but tonight was a throwback Thursday for the ages. Staked to a 9-1 lead lifted a lot of pressure, to say the least, however the southpaw was formidable from the start.

His curves were curving, his slider slid and his velocity reached a vintage 96.

Kershaw had not pitched at Wrigley since Game 6 of last year’s NLCS, when the Cubs jumped on him in the first inning and tagged him for five runs in all.

This time around, his buddies had his back. Chris Taylor led off with a nine-pitch walk against starter Jose Quintana. Two batters later, Cody Bellinger drilled a 93-mph fastball into the right-field corner for an RBI double, took third on the throw and left stranded to end the inning.

In the top of the second Enrique Hernandez, donning a Dodger cap inscribed with sentiments to his native Puerto Rico, put LA up by two with a first pitch solo shot to center.

An inning later, the Dodgers made quick work of Quintana. Taylor led off with a double, Justin Turner singled him home and after Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig delivered consecutive singles to load the bases, Joe Maddon was forced to reach into his not very deep bullpen, the bane of his managerial existence.

Down 3-0, Maddon chose Hector Rendon over Jon Lester or Kyle Hendricks in the hopes they would be potential starters for a possible Game 6.

That possibility turned into a pipe dream when Hernandez ripped Rendon’s first offering over the right-field ivy covered wall, giving Kershaw a seven-run lead and enough breathing room to last what seemed to be a lifetime. After the Cubs were retired in order in the home half, Chicago veteran John Lackey replaced Rendon in the fourth where more of the same ensued. Logan Forsythe belted a double to left and seven runs bloated to nine.

The Cub’s first hit came via a home run by Kris Bryant in the fourth inning. Kershaw continued to cruise through the line-up and was lifted for reliever Kenta Maeda after tossing six spectacular innings. The 29-year old Texan went out in style, surrendering one run on three hits, striking out five.

Hernandez had one last hurrah in the ninth, a two-run shot to center to become the tenth batter in Major League history to do so, adding one for the record books with his seven LCS RBI.

Also, it couldn’t be more fitting for the prolific fill in, Charlie Culberson, recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma to replace Corey Seager, the injured reigning NL rookie of the year, to record the final out.

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In the ninth inning of a tied playoff game, Cubs manager Joe Maddon looked at his lineup card, shaking his head as if disappointed there weren’t an array of different choices in the way of relief.

With limited options in his undependable bullpen, Maddon turned to 38-year-old starter John Lackey, throwing for the second day in a row for the first time in his career.

The veteran right-hander took to the mound with two outs and an inherited runner on base compliments of his predecessor, Brian Duensing. Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who had already banked LA’s lone RBI, laced Lackey’s 1-0 fastball into the glove of a fan in the center field seats for the dramatic walk-off win.

Keeping with a true Hollywood ending, Turner’s heroics came on the day the franchise celebrated Kirk Gibson’s iconic 1988 walk-off World Series home run – perhaps a foreboding sense of what’s in store for the Cubs when the series continues at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.

“One of my earliest baseball memories was being at my grandma’s house and watching that game and watching Gibby hit that homer,” said Turner, who will turn 33 next month. “It’s incredible.”

Sunday’s sellout was another pitching duel in the twilight sun, much ado about offensive nothing until Addison Russell hit a leadoff homer off of Rich Hill to start the fifth.

Charlie Culberson, making the most of an injured Corey Seager situation, led off the bottom frame with a double to center field. After Chris Taylor’s ground out moved the hot hitting shortstop to third, Turner lined Lester’s 2-2 pitch to right, plating Culberson to even the score.

Hill was great on the mound, tossing five innings of one run ball on three hits while striking out eight with a walk, while Lester was lifted with similar stats after 4 2/3’s, the difference of five walks and a pair of punch outs.

Both bullpens kept each other off the scoreboard until Maddon, needing to hold onto the overworked closer Wade Davis in case a save circumstance was on the horizon, brought in three-time World Series champion John Lackey, the only arm available on the Cub’s roughed up relief staff.

“I really just needed him for the save tonight,” Maddon said when asked why he did not bring in Davis. “He had limited pitches. It was one inning only, and in these circumstances you don’t get him up and then don’t get him in. So if we had caught the lead, he would have pitched.”

After former pariah Yasiel Puig, showing more patience at the plate, drew a walk, and Taylor joined him on the bases doing the same, Turner put the Dodgers one step closer to fulfilling the promise of taking the team to the World Classic by giving the boys in blue a 2-0 National League Championship Series lead.

“They’re just good,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “They’ve got good pitchers, good hitters. They’re just getting us out.”

With LA without a loss in the postseason, they’ll look to Yu Darvish, coming off a strong outing against Arizona in the NLDS, to keep Chicago at bay against Kyle Hendricks who booted them out of the playoffs in the Cubs pennant-clinching NLCS Game 6 win in 2016.

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Jacob deGrom came back from the dead on Monday, defeating the Chicago Cubs 6-1 on a hot and humid night at Citi Field.

After getting pummeled in his past consecutive starts, deGrom vindicated himself in the most valiant way by pitching a complete game, the second of his major league career.

DeGrom (5-3) held the struggling reigning World Series champs to a single run on five hits. He walked four, while striking out six.

His counterpart John Lackey (4-7) fell to 0-4 in his last five starts, having no luck keeping the ball in the park – serving up 19 home runs this season, one shy of the most in the majors.

The Mets, riding a season high four-game winning streak, are suddenly showing signs of renewed life with their starting rotation.

Within their last five games the bullpen boned an effective Matt Harvey but another strong outing by Robert Gsellman coupled with the triumphant return of Steven Matz and Seth Lugo, there is a ray of hope that this injury-riddled ball club can recover from all the damage that’s been done.

Monday night the Mets defense did their due diligence by converting four double plays after shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera’s 11^th error of the season.

Jason Heyward led off the second with a routine popup in which Cabrera collided with Jose Reyes as they both camped under it – the ball glancing off Cabrera’s glove and falling to the ground.

But Cabrera made up for it in the bottom frame by launching a drive over the right center field fence for a 1-0 lead.

Then in the fourth, after Jay Bruce (3-3) added a two-run shot in the third, Cabrera struck again for his sixth home run of the year and sixth multi-home run game of his career.

On Tuesday, Zack Wheeler will give it a whirl for NY’s fifth win in a row when he faces John Lester and his 0-3 record away from Wrigley Field.

Thoughts from Rob Piersall…

Last night was one of those games that you feel proud calling yourself a Mets fan.

DeGrom showed shades of his classic form, the balls were flying out of the yard and everything broke right. It felt like 2015 all over again.

While the Mets have been in such turmoil for a majority of the season, there is finally a glimmer of hope and a sense that things could realistically come together, even it will be an uphill battle.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a perfect Mets victory as Yoenis Cespedes departed with a sore left heel in the sixth inning, and as a fan, that’s all you can hope that it is.

The starting pitching is finally starting to come to fruition as we are getting strong performances from the aforementioned deGrom and Matz, as well as Gsellman and Lugo who were so instrumental in getting the Mets back to the postseason in 2016.

Our offense has been great, no question about it, but our pitching needs to step up, and recently they have done just that.

The post Everything Fell Into Place For The Mets On Monday Night appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets could go on a run in the second half of the season but we know that they are built to win next year. While we’ve been hearing that for a few years, next year there will be no excuse. Matt Harvey will return to pitch alongside whichever pitchers are still here and David Wright and Curtis Granderson will anchor the offense. With an eye on 2014 there was no reason for Alderson to back down at the trading deadline.

He’ll have the entire off season to try and land another slugger and while it would have been nice to have that guy this year, they’ll really need him next year.

Colon represents another interesting development for Alderson. While John Lackey is six years younger than Colon with a much better contract situation, there isn’t a great discrepancy in their stats. Lackey has a 3.60 ERA while Colon has a 3.88 after 21 starts this year. Lackey was able to bring back Allen Craig and Joe Kelly from the Cardinals (from the Red Sox). If that’s the case, Colon should be able to get a similar return if Alderson is willing to eat some of the contract.

Free agency is becoming a harder and harder market to win in, especially with a payroll like the one Alderson is dealing with. Under the circumstances, paying a part or all of Colon’s salary will allow them to bring in a much better player, similar to Craig, without dipping into free agency. Although Alderson has publicly stated he would not eat any part of Colon’s deal, you’d imagine that if the right player was out there, his tune would change.

Colon allows Mets fans to stay focused on August 31st, the waiver trade deadline. Assuming Colon passes through waivers, the Mets could elect to trade him to a playoff contender if there is an unforeseen injury sometime before the end of August. Colon would obviously help a lot of teams out there and the Mets won’t have room for him next year. If he gets claimed off of waivers then the Mets will send him packing, freeing up $13 million or so for next year.

Sandy Alderson spent the trading deadline doing what he does. He didn’t overpay. He didn’t get bullied into a trade. He held onto one of the best hands in major league baseball and will be poised to make the move he wants to make once it presents itself in the off season.

The post Sandy Alderson Did What Sandy Alderson Does appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Pitchers

John Lackey – A very rough start to the season, but Lackey has rebounded somewhat. Lackey is 7-3 but has allowed 93 hits in 81 innings, walking 35 and striking out 44 putting up a 4.54 ERA. Lackey has only has one walk-free outing, and that was on June 11th. He has only K’d more then 3 in a game 5 times, with 6 being his season high. If Lackey would’ve been signed, then LF would’ve been filled from within or with a much cheaper player then Jason Bay.

Randy Wolf – Although Wolf has had some tough luck, he is 4-6 with a 5.31 ERA. He has struck out 49, but walked 39 and  allowed 88 hits. Essentially, he’s a bend-not-break pitcher, and he’s spent most of his season bending, with only 4 QS in his 13 outings.

Joel Pineiro – After walking 27 all of last year in 214 innings, Pineiro already has 21 walks in 84 innings. He’s been striking out more batters, but his 4.56 ERA says that when contact is being made, its being sent far. 11 HR allowed all last year, 9 up to this point. Also has given up 9 runs in 2 starts this year.

Jason Marquis – Currently on the DL, but that is probably a good thing. Jason went 8.1 innings, giving up 20 runs and allowing him to hold his 0-3 record and his 20.52 ERA closely. Signing him would’ve just been more money the Mets couldn’t have spent to replace him.

Hitters

Bengie Molina – After a torrid start where he was hitting well over .400, Molina has calmed down, hitting .261 with 3 home runs and 16 RBI. Uncharacteristically, however Bengie has walked 12 times to his 16 strikeouts. He also had a DL stint so far, and has only thrown out 19% of runners. Looking like a good idea to not sign him in retrospect.

Matt Holliday – The 120 Million Dollar Man is putting up decent numbers, but nothing near his worth hitting .295 with 6 HR and 25 RBI with 6 steals. With Albert Pujols hitting in front of Holliday, one would expect those numbers to be much higher but Holliday isn’t putting up the numbers

Garrett Atkins – .216/1/9 is his BA/HR/RBI slash line. He has since lost his starting position as the Orioles 1B to a combination of Rhyne Hughes/Ty Wigginton.

Johnny Damon – .280/3/18/4 is his BA/HR/RBI/SB slash, and nothing here says he is worth more then his 1 yr/8 million dollar deal, but it was to be expected once he was moved out of Yankee Stadium and that short RF porch his home run production would plummet.

Adam LaRoche – .250/7/36 is his BA/HR/RBI slash line. A notoriously slow starter, his average to above-average defense makes these stats tolerable until he decides its the 2nd half of the year and goes bonkers.

Chone Figgins – .228/0/16/13 is his BA/HR/RBI/SB line. Chone is a usually strong BA producer, but has been used at 2B and has not been able to consistently hit. He is still walking at a healthy pace, but it can’t offset the fact that he isn’t hitting the ball well.

It is always easier to look back on a situation and say the best decisions were made as an organization, but the Mets did not bite on any of these players who were grossly overpaid and have reaped the benefits of having some financial freedom going into next year to fill key positions that may be opening, or to cut ties with other positions that may be financially prudent (Castillo-release, anyone?). By not making snap-decisions, the Mets have produced an over .500 team without adding a plethora of marquee-type free agents.

The post 10 Free Agents The Mets Didn’t Sign appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Which MLB free agent will be the biggest bust in 2010?

Jeff S. –  John Lackey
Dave L. – Kelvim Escobar
Tom S. – Joel Pineiro
Satish R. – Randy Wolf
Michael B. – Joel Pineiro
Rob S. – Jason Bay
Brandyn C. – Ben Sheets
Joe D. – John Lackey

Which MLB free agent signing will have the best impact?

Who will be the first manager fired this season?

Who will throw the season’s first no-hitter?

The post A Few More 2010 MLB Staff Predictions appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In related news, the Mets have announced the signing of Jack Squat.  Squat hasn’t done much in the past and might go unnoticed in the Mets clubhouse, but that is due to the fact that no one ever knows he’s there.  Since he wasn’t a Type A or Type B free agent, the Mets pounced on Squat since they knew he would sign for next to nothing.

I have to joke about this because if I didn’t, I’d be crying.  The Mets are just twiddling their thumbs watching players they should have acquired not only sign with other teams, but get traded to teams that will have a great impact on where the Mets will finish in 2010 and beyond.

Not only are the top pitchers being signed and/or traded to other teams, but now the Mets might have to overpay for pitchers such as Jason Marquis and Joel Piñeiro so that they don’t sign with other teams.  I have nothing against either pitcher, but what if Santana gets hurt again like he did at the end of the 2009 season?  Neither Marquis nor Piñeiro is good enough to be the ace of a staff the way Halladay and Lackey were with the Blue Jays and Angels, respectively.

The 2010 Mets with a staff of Santana, Marquis/Piñeiro, Pelfrey, Maine and some $36 million pitcher looks a lot like the 2009 staff, meaning mediocre at best.  Of course, on the bright side, the Red Sox might not be able to afford Jason Bay now that Lackey will be getting a couple of bucks from them.  Unfortunately, Jason Bay can’t pitch and now that Halladay and Lackey appear to be off the radar, there is a dearth of ace-type starters for the Mets to consider.

The Citi Field press conference room is resembling a ghost town.

Let’s just put it this way.  The way the Mets have gone about this offseason, it looks like they’re taking the “let’s take our time and see how this all plays out” approach.  What might have worked in the past is not working this time around.  Omar Minaya can’t let other teams, especially his main rivals, scoop up player after player while he waits intently in the Citi Field press conference room for the player introduction that’s not going to happen.

While teams like the Phillies and Red Sox are giving their fans awesome stocking stuffers, Mets fans are just getting lumps of coal in their stockings.  At least we’ll be able to use that coal to heat up our stoves because it sure looks like the Mets’ hot stove isn’t using it.

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Free-agent right-hander John Lackey underwent a physical Monday with the Red Sox, an indication that he is close to an agreement with the team, according to a major-league source.

Rosenthal also speculates that the deal is expected to be similar to the five-year, $82.5 million contract that the Yankees awarded free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett last winter.

Obviously this is a big blow to any chance that Lackey would end up signing with the Mets, who failed to even make an offer because as a team source said, “we are focused on Jason Bay right now.”

In my opinion if the Red Sox do indeed sign Lackey, and it sure looks that way, it makes signing Jason Bay all the more important. It also now puts Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro squarely in the Mets’ sights, like it or not.

That said, it pisses me off that no offer was tendered to Lackey who would have been a more valuable acquisition for a team that desperately needs a compliment to Johan Santana.

I didn’t realize that the Mets front office has become so inept that it is only capable of focusing on one free agent player at a time.

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