Lagares signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2006. While he was originally a shortstop, Lagares transitioned to being an outfielder in 2009. After spending seven seasons in the minor leagues, Lagares made his major league debut in April of 2013. While his bat produced just a 75 wRC+, Lagares flourished as the Mets’ everyday center fielder thanks to his glove, posting a sparkling 25 DRS in 108 games. Lagares followed up his rookie campaign with the best season of his career in 2014, improving his slash line to .281/.321/.382 (101 wRC+) in 452 plate appearances and recording his second straight season with 25 DRS. Lagares’ 5.2 bWAR and 2.9 fWAR were the best marks of his career. He earned a Gold Glove award at the season’s end, and he remains the last Mets player to earn that honor. The Mets rewarded Lagares with a four-year extension worth $23 million.

Unfortunately, Lagares was never able to match his production from 2014 in the ensuing years, battling injuries and mostly being relegated to a backup role after the team acquired Yoenis Céspedes in 2015. He had one more great defensive season in 2017 – posting 17 DRS in 85 games, but his year was truncated by a thumb injury. He had a few more notable moments at the plate – on May 22, 2019, he delivered a two-out, bases-clearing double against Sean Doolittle to give the Mets an eighth-inning lead against the Nationals. Later in the year, on September 12, Lagares crushed two homers, including a grand slam, driving in a career-high six runs to lead the Mets to a dominant 12-1 victory over the Diamondbacks to cap a four-game sweep.

The Mets declined Lagares’ option for the 2020 season, and he signed a minor league deal with the Padres, though he would end up re-signing with the Mets that July. He appeared in two games as a defensive replacement before being designated for assignment in August, ending his Mets career for good. Lagares signed with the Angels ahead of the 2021 season and spent parts of two seasons in Anaheim before heading to Korea for a 49-game stint with the KBO’s SSG Landers.

Lagares finished his Mets tenure with 7.6 fWAR and 12.3 bWAR over his eight seasons in Flushing. While he was never considered a superstar, he exceeded the expectations he had as a prospect, and fans fondly remember watching him patrol center field in orange and blue.

The post Juan Lagares Announces Retirement appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

At catcher, San Francisco Giants backstop Patrick Bailey got the nod. It was well deserved as Bailey turned in a sensational season behind the plate. He ranked in the 100th percentile in framing, had a plus-19 defensive runs saved, and a plus-30 fielding run value. Joining Torrens was Chicago’s Carson Kelly as the other finalist.

Like Torrens, Peterson also lost out to a San Francisco Giant in Logan Webb. Webb had a plus-seven defensive runs saved. For whatever it was worth, Peterson was at a plus-six. The other finalist was another Cub, Matthew Boyd.

This marks another season in which no Mets were awarded a Gold Glove. The last Met to win one was Juan Lagares in 2014.

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Tuesday night’s loss to the Red Sox in Boston marked the Mets’ first three-game losing streak of the season and pushed them a game and a half back of the Phillies for the division lead. After only scoring 10 runs in their last seven games, New York put half that run total up in Wednesday night’s win against Boston. Brett Baty drove in three runs from the nine hole and Tylor Megill struck out 10 in 4 2/3 innings in a Mets 5-1 win. Click here for the full-game recap!

After salvaging the series finale against the Red Sox, the Mets will head back home to Queens to prepare for a weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting Friday. The probable pitching matchups are Clayton Kershaw vs. Griffin Canning, Tony Gonsolin vs. David Peterson and Landon Knack vs. Kodai Senga. 

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Latest Mets News

Mets legend Mike Piazza mentioned Juan Soto‘s messy start being a Mets “rite of passage” in an interview with Joel Sherman of the NY Post.

Mets RHP prospect Jonah Tong has cracked MLB Pipeline‘s top 100 prospects list. 

Paul Blackburn and Ronny Mauricio led the Syracuse Mets to victory on Wednesday. Click here for more on the win!

Jett Williams and Jonah Tong find themselves in the top 50 prospects list according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.

Latest MLB News

Despite some media speculation of a possible trade of Paul Skenes, Jon Heyman of the NY Post reports that those rumors are invalid. A source from the Pirates said in response to a Skenes trade, “No chance, no way, no how.”

Pirates RHP Jared Jones underwent surgery to repair the injury in his right elbow, with no specification on what the surgery is, per Noah Hiles of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

MLB announced that Players’ Weekend is returning August 15-17, which came back in 2024 after a four-year hiatus.

NBC has made an offer to MLB to take over Sunday Night Baseball and the rest of ESPN’s baseball inventory starting next season, per Joe Flint and Jared Diamond of The Wall Street Journal.

Veteran infielder and former Mets foe with the Phillies, Jean Segura, called it a career after 12 big league seasons, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters that veteran pitcher Justin Verlander will be placed on the IL with pec discomfort.

Latest on MMO

Blackburn and Mauricio star in a Syracuse win.

ESPN’s top 50 prospects list features two Mets.

Brett Baty helps get the Mets back in the win column.

On This Date in Mets History

2019: Juan Lagares hits a three-run double and Rajai Davis hits a three-run bomb en route to a six-run eighth inning in a Mets win. Davis took an Uber from Lehigh Valley to Queens that day after being promoted to the major league club. 

1998: The Mets acquire Mike Piazza from the Florida Marlins in exchange for outfielder Preston Wilson and minor league pitchers Ed Yarnall an Geoff Goetz.

1972: Willie Mays appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Born on This Date: Collin Cowgill (1986).

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What a win! The Mets looked lifeless for the first eight innings of the rubber game against the Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon, going into the ninth with no hits. However, Bowden Francis, who was looking to complete his no-hit bid, was rudely greeted by the potential NL MVP Francisco Lindor. Lindor ripped a fastball into the right field bleachers to tie the game at one apiece. Francisco Alvarez would give the Mets some much needed insurance with a three-run bomb, leading the Mets to a 6-2 win. Click here for the full game recap.

Lindor, who has come up aces seemingly every time the Mets have needed him, continues to do so in a pivotal playoff push. The Mets star shortstop came into this game with only two hits in his last five games, but after his 0-for-3 start, he was ready to turn the game around. Lindor’s ability to contribute with his glove on an everyday basis, plus his continued clutch play at the dish, have put him in a serious race for the National League MVP.

After an exciting win in Canada, the Mets will have an off day in Philadelphia as they prepare to face the Phillies for a three-game weekend set. Jose Quintana (8-9, 4.09 ERA) is lined up to face Aaron Nola (12-7, 3.41 ERA) in the opening game of the series in Philly on Friday.

Photo by Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Wild Card Update 

With their win over Toronto and the Braves losing in Washington on Wednesday night, the Mets are now a full game up on Atlanta for the third and final Wild Card spot.

The Diamondbacks thrashed the Rangers by a score of 14-4, keeping their lead over the Mets at two games. The Padres lost to the Mariners, 5-2, so Arizona leapfrogged a half-game ahead of them for the first Wild Card spot.

Latest Mets News

With some key matchups coming up, the Mets are manipulating their pitching staff in order to have Luis Severino, David Peterson and Sean Manaea lined up to face the Braves in the penultimate series of the season, per Tim Britton of The Athletic.

The Mets wore first responder hats on Wednesday to honor all of the lives lost and effected by 9/11. 

Honoring and remembering the heroes 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4sjw0QXDmi

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 11, 2024

With his game-tying home run on Wednesday, Lindor became the fourth player this season to break a no-hit bid with a home run in the ninth inning or later, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com. This is the first time this has ever happened four times or more in a season on record.

Latest MLB News

Dave Roberts told reporters that former Mets and current Dodgers LHP Anthony Banda fractured his pitching hand by punching a “solid object” after another frustrating outing, per David Vassegh of SportsNetLA. Banda has struggled as of late, allowing seven runs and 10 hits in his last four outings, and is now on the IL with slim hope that he will be able to return this season. 

The Atlanta Braves placed starting pitcher Reynaldo López on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This move effectively ends Lopez’s breakout regular season, where he had posted a 2.03 ERA in 128 2/3 IP.

Tampa Bay Rays RHP Edwin Uceta was given a three-game suspension and fined for intentionally throwing at Nick Castellanos of the Phillies on Tuesday night, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Rays manager Kevin Cash was suspended for Wednesday night’s game as well.

Current Red Sox and former Mariners, Yankees, and Dodgers southpaw starting pitcher James Paxton plans to retire at the end of the 2024 season, per Rob Bradford of Baseball Isn’t Boring. Paxton, who has spent 11 years in the big leagues, was placed on the 60-day IL last month and would likely only return if the Red Sox made the postseason. 

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told reporters that current manager Derek Shelton is “the right person to manage this team in 2025,” confirming Shelton’s return to the club next season, per Kevin Gorman of Tribune-Review Sports. The Pirates were in the Wild Card race prior to August, where they went 8-19, subsequently falling out of the postseason race.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who rarely speaks publicly, told the media that “solutions won’t happen overnight” in the midst of Chicago’s historically bad season, per Jesse Rogers of ABC 7.

Latest on MMO

Brandon Nimmo gives his thoughts on being moved down in the lineup.

The Mets’ offense could use a September wake-up call!

A Canadian comeback brought the Mets back into the final Wild Card spot.

On This Date in Mets History

2021: Francisco Lindor hits three home runs and drives in five runs in a Mets win over the Yankees. With this performance, Lindor became the first player to hit three home runs in a Subway Series bout.

2019: The Mets set a franchise record by hitting six home runs in a home game. Juan Lagares homered twice while Todd Frazier, Tomás Nido, Robinson Canó and Michael Conforto all hit long balls in a 11-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

2009: The Mets complete a roaring comeback against the Phillies by scoring six runs in the last three innings at Citizens Bank Park. David Wright led the charge with two home runs, the second giving the Mets the lead with two outs in the ninth inning.

1984: Dwight Gooden breaks Herb Score‘s rookie strikeout record by throwing his 246th strikeout of the season. Gooden finished his rookie season with 276 strikeouts.

Born On This Date: Luis Castillo (1975), Tito Navarro (1970), Keith Hughes (1963), Mario Ramirez (1957), Mickey Lolich (1940).

The post Morning Briefing: Francisco Lindor’s MVP Bid Continues appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The ’19 team, managed by Allison Waxman, looked on their way to another shocking series win, but David Wright and the ’06 Mets, managed by myself, turned their real-life Game 7 woes around.

The ’06 Mets ultimately took the series in seven games behind a game-winning, walk off solo home run by Wright in Game 7. But the series ended up extremely entertaining, and damnit, Pete Alonso‘s rookie season fortunes translated DIRECTLY to Out of the Park. (He had six homers and 12 RBIs in seven games.) The total score of the seven games was 33-31 (advantage ’19)—pretty evenly matched despite assumptions made from the matchup on paper.

Check out how the series played out below and where the ’06 team will go from here!

Want to give Out of the Park Baseball a try? Get 10% off your purchase of the latest version of the game when you use the coupon code METSMERIZED at checkout.

Game 1

Game 1 was a drubbing, with the ’19 team winning 7-0.

Pedro Martinez got ambushed by Pete Alonso, J.D. Davis and Juan Lagares (yes, you read that right) with homers in the first three innings, and Jacob deGrom (with run support!) shut down the ’06 lineup, who mustered three hits all game.

’19 may have surprised in their last series, but they made a statement starting this one.

Game 2

Zack Wheeler took the hill for Game 2 and faced off against Orlando Hernández. Like his fellow rotation oldie Pedro Martínez, El Duque put up a dud, allowing five runs in three innings. That was capitalized by Pete Alonso’s second home run of the series, an opposite field bomb that brought in three. Wheeler was able to limit damage and pass the game over to Edwin Díaz and Seth Lugo, who shut the door for the ’19 team in an 8-5 win.

The 2019 team is now up 2-0.

Game 3

The 2006 team needed this one, but it wouldn’t come easy.

With Tom Glavine and Noah Syndergaard facing off, each offense popped a couple of homers off the other. Floyd and Beltrán each hit two-run jacks, and Todd Frazier and—guess who—Pete Alonso each got one off Glavine. But the ’06 team was able to string together singles and doubles in the sixth to bring the score to 7-4—a lead that the bullpen would barely hold onto, with Billy Wagner ultimately notching a save in a 7-6 win.

Game 4

Game 4 saw John Maine face off against Marcus Stroman (the ’19 starting rotation was pretty damn good on paper).

The ’06 team, though, went up 2-0 on an RBI single by Endy Chavez and solo homer by David Wright. But Pete freaking Alonso drew them even in the third with a two-run bomb. The game continued back and forth for the next three frames, entering the seventh tied at three. But the ’19 team started pulling away in the seventh. A bases loaded walk to Amed Rosario and a fielders choice by J.D. Davis made it 5-3. The next inning, Wilson Ramos knocked in two on a bases loaded single. Though Shawn Green brought it back within three with a solo shot in the eighth, an Alonso double brought home Jeff McNeil in the ninth to make it 8-4.

The final frame got dicey with Steven Matz on the mound. After getting the first two outs, a single and two walks by Beltrán, Wright and Delgado gave Paul Lo Duca a shot to tie the game with the bases loaded. But he grounded out to third base, and the ’06 team was now on the ropes.

Game 5

The ’06 Mets are now down 3-1 in the series with Jacob deGrom as the opposition in a must-win situation. A tall order. But the ’06 wouldn’t quit. Neither would Pedro Martinez. He tossed seven shutout inning, and the ’06 team strung together two solo home runs—by Carlos Beltrán and Cliff Floyd—and a sac fly from Shawn Green. All three runs were off deGrom in the first four innings. Then the ’06 bullpen shut the door the rest of the game, with Wagner notching his second save of the series.

Game 6

In a must-win Game 6, El Duque and Wheeler faced off again. But this time, Hernández got the best of the matchup with six one-run innings in a drubbing by ’06.

David Wright got his second of the series in the top of the first, and Alonso got his SIXTH in the second. But the ’06 team started pulling away in the fourth with a four-run frame—Cliff Floyd and Endy Chavez both contributed RBI extra-base hits. But Carlos Beltrán put the icing on the cake in the eighth inning with a grand slam, putting the Mets up 11-3 for good.

Game 7

Game 7. It didn’t go great for the real-life ’06 team. The ’19 team never made the playoffs. It ended up as a pitching duel between Marcus Stroman and Tom Glavine.

Through six innings, both starters allowed a single run—a homer each to Carlos Delgado and J.D. Davis. The game was handed over to the bullpen, and combinations of Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Robert Gsellman and Steven Matz pitched clean frames in the seventh and eighth.

Billy Wagner entered the game for the ’06 team in the top of the 9th, but three of the first four batters—Michael Conforto, Todd Frazier, and Juan Lagares—all got on base. Lagares was the third, and his single to center could’ve brought Conforto, but Waxman played conservative with one out and the bases now loaded. But Wagner settled in and retired Nimmo, and Chad Bradford entered to retire Rosario. Onto the bottom of the ninth.

Matz continued into the ninth with Seth Lugo warming. He started the frame getting Beltrán to fly out. Waxman weighed bringing in Lugo, but she stuck with Matz. David Wright came up and played hero, mashing a 438-foot homer to dead center. The 2006 team completed the comeback. Onto the semis!

MVP

David Wright wins the MVP of this series. He had three homers and seven RBIs, the most important one on the last pitch of the series. He got on base 11 times over seven games with a .878 OPS.

I debated giving this to Alonso, given his SIX home runs and 12 RBIs across seven games, but Wright had the last laugh and closed the book on this one.

What’s Next

The ’06 team will face off against either the 1988 Mets or the 1969 Miracle Mets in the semifinals. You can read a preview of that series here. Stay tuned to see who makes it!

The post Mets Madness Recap: ’06 Mets Best ’19 Mets in Thrilling Seven Games appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The game will feature many current and former major leaguers and a few former New York Mets, including one member of the 2015 National League Champion squad. 

Las Águilas Cibaeñas released their official roster for the Titans of the Caribbean series on Wednesday, headlined (at least for Mets fans) by 2014 NL Gold Glove winner Juan Lagares. A Met for parts of eight seasons, Lagares played 366 career games at Citi Field and is now back for three more.

Most remembered for his outstanding glove in center field, Lagares was among the best fielders the Mets have ever had. His 2013 and 2014 seasons are two of the top three in Mets history regarding defensive WAR, only trailing Rey Ordóñez’s 1999, and Lagares is the only player to have three of the top 20. He’s also one of only three outfielders in MLB history to have multiple seasons of at least three dWAR, joining Kevin Kiermaier and Andruw Jones.

Lagares joined Jay Horwitz on Amazin’ Conversations with Jay Horwitz to discuss his career and the upcoming series and said he “can’t wait for that day.”

Jonathan Villar, who had a productive season in Queens in 2021, is another former Met on the roster. In 142 games, Villar hit .249/.322/.416 with 18 home runs as he wound up the team’s primary third baseman. Daniel Palka, who has played in Triple-A for the Mets each of the past two seasons, is also there. Palka played 154 games for the White Sox between 2018 and 2019 and hit 29 home runs.

Former Met Melky Cabrera is on the coaching staff, and current Mets roving infield instructor Luis Rivera is also.

Other notable players on Las Águilas Cibaeñas roster for this series are Christopher Morel, Starlin Castro, Elehuris Montero, and Dinelson Lamet.

Los Tigres del Licey have not released their official roster for the series as of Thursday night. However, some notable former major leaguers have played for them this season, including former Mets Hansel Robles and Adonis Medina. They also have Nabil Crismatt, a former Mets minor leaguer with several solid years for the Padres pitching staff.

Robles pitched in over 400 games in his MLB career, 187 of which were for the Mets. He had a good first two seasons, putting up a 3.55 ERA in over 130 innings between 2015 and 2016, but struggled to find the same success after that before he was ultimately claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. Medina appeared in 19 games for the Mets in 2022 and famously picked up his first career save against the Dodgers by retiring Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith in the bottom of the 10th.

Ronny Mauricio, the league’s MVP last season for Los Tigres del Licey, is expected to join the team on Nov. 18, after this series.

Other notable Los Tigres del Licey players include longtime MLB veteran Emilio Bonifácio, Francisco Mejia, Danny Santana, and Arodys Vizcaíno.

Los Tigres del Licey are currently 10-8 and in second place in LIDOM, and they are the league’s defending champions. Las Águilas Cibaeñas are 5-13 and in last place, and most recently won the league in the 2020/21 season. 

Friday’s game will start at 6 p.m., and Saturday’s and Sunday’s games will begin at 1 p.m. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Sports Dreams Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on benefiting youth baseball and similar activities in the Dominican Republic and the United States. 

The post Former Mets Coming to Citi Field for Titans of the Caribbean Series appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

As the Carlos Mendoza era is ushered into New York, a former New York Mets manager will continue to have a role with the organization. Carlos Beltrán will serve as a special assistant in the new regime, new president of baseball operations David Stearns said in an interview with Andy Martino. 

Beltrán enjoyed a stint that lasted more than six years in Queens between 2005-2011. In November 2019, he was hired to replace Mickey Callaway as Mets manager, but was relieved of his duties before ever managing a game due to his name being involved in the Houston Astros cheating scandal. 

Stearns said he talked to Beltrán at the midpoint of the managerial search process and that he thinks Beltran is happy “where he is,” specifically citing Beltrán having young children he wants to be around consistently. 

In other front office news, the Mets added Eduardo Brizuela as a vice president and special assistant to David Stearns, according to Will Sammon of the Athletic. Brizuela spent more than 15 years with the Milwaukee Brewers prior. Brizuela was also the GM for Team Venezuela in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. 

Latest Mets News 

Mets owner Steve Cohen unveiled a plan to turn 50 acres of asphalt around Citi Field into a sports and entertainment park, including a playground, sportsbook, community sports fields and other attractions. Learn more about the project here. 

Stearns said he won’t hire a general manager this season. Read about this and more of what Stearns said from the GM meetings here. 

Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is expected to stay in his role under Mendoza, according to Martino. Read more here.

Eric Chavez, the Mets’ bench coach in 2023 and hitting coach previously, interviewed for the Yankees vacant hitting coach position before it was offered to James Rowson, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. 

Former Mets outfielder Juan Lagares expressed excitement about returning to Citi Field for this weekend’s Dominican Winter League series in an interview with Jay Horwitz. 

Ronny Mauricio will join the Tigres del Licey on November 18. The infielder was named the Dominican Winter League MVP last season for the Tigres del Licey.

Our own Michael Mayer reports that Mets minor league infield coordinator Miguel Cairo is leaving the organization after just one season to become the Nationals bench coach.

Latest MLB News

Among the names the Milwaukee Brewers are considering to replace former manager Craig Counsell are bench coaches Pat Murphy (Milwaukee Brewers), Don Mattingly (Toronto Blue Jays), Joe Espada (Houston Astros), according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Other names are Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough, Astros hitting coach Troy Snitker and former Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks.

The Los Angeles Angels are interviewing former Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington for their open managerial spot, according to Sam Blum of the Athletic. 

Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias was named MLB Executive of the Year after the Orioles won 101 games and the American League East last season. 

The White Sox are hiring Marcus Thames as their hitting coach, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. 

Multiple teams have inquired about Cincinnati Reds infielder Jonathan India’s trade availability, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. 

Free agent utility player Kiké Hernández underwent double-hernia surgery on Oct. 24 and is expected to resume baseball activities in three to four weeks, according to Rosenthal. 

Former Washington Nationals starting pitcher Erick Fedde is drawing MLB interest after going 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA with the NC Dinos of the KBO, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network. 

The Toronto Blue Jays announced Carlos Febles as their new third base coach. 

After carrying a team-record $155 million payroll in 2023, the Minnesota Twins will be lowering salary next season, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Latest on MMO 

Andrew Tripaldi writes about Aaron Boone’s praise of his now-former bench coach Carlos Mendoza. 

Johnluke Chaparro introduces Metsmerized readers to new manager Carlos Mendoza. 

Johnluke Chaparro gives his 2023 report card to pitcher José Quintana. 

The Metsmerized team reacts to Carlos Mendoza’s hiring in a roundtable.

John Sheridan explains why Jett Williams tools stand out among Mets prospects. 

On this Date in Mets History

1990: Darryl Strawberry officially leaves the Mets, signing a five-year contract with the Dodgers. 

Birthdays: Edgardo Alfonzo (50), Shane Halter (54), Jose Offerman (55), Ed Kranepool (79)

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Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Tylor Megill battled through 3 1/3 innings in his first start since May 11 before giving way to David Peterson on Friday night.

The towering righty walked one, struck out four and allowed five hits and two runs, both of which came on a two-run homer by Brandon Marsh.

Megill’s lone clean inning came in the bottom of the first, in which we struck out former Met Juan Lagares. Megill ran into trouble in the second, allowing a single to Jared Walsh before Marsh sent a hanging change-up 449 feet to center field.

In the third, Megill allowed a lead-off single to Lagares but escaped the inning, striking out Walsh to strand Lagares on third base. Megill once again had traffic on the bases in the fourth, walking Max Stassi and allowing a bunt single to Marsh, before striking out Jo Adell to end his night. The Southern California native threw 64 pitches, 39 of which were strikes.

Megill relied heavily on his fastball tonight, using it for 56% of his pitches. He had life on the pitch, hitting 99.2 miles per hour in the first inning and averaging 96.4 mph overall, which is over his season average of 95.6. His slider was sharp too, averaging 42 inches of vertical break, which is greater than his season average of 37.

Megill only threw eight changeups on the night, one of which was the homer by Marsh. Despite the four strikeouts, Megill generated just seven whiffs on the night on 31 swings. His fastball, slider and changeup all had spin rates that exceeded his season averages by a fair margin.

Megill left the game with a 4-2 lead, but wasn’t able to get a victory due to his early exit. While far from his best outing, it was certainly a step back in the right direction after giving up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings to the Nationals on May 11.

Through 35 1/3 innings, he carries a 4.33 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP with 38 strikeouts into his next start, which will likely be against the Marlins.

The post Tylor Megill Strikes Out Four In Return From IL appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Over the span of a few hours on Black Friday last November, the New York Mets completely remade their outfield by signing Mark Canha and Starling Marte to join Brandon Nimmo. And, as it turns out, they may not be done supplementing to this part of the roster once the lockout ends sometime this century.

With all the innings he’s logged in center field, it was easy to assume Marte would man that position and push Nimmo to a corner spot. I thought it was interesting that Nimmo — who recently hired Scott Boras to be his agent — came out and said quite plainly he’d like to stay in center this upcoming season. As our own Patrick Glynn pointed out when this news dropped, Nimmo has a point, too.

If we only look at what happened in 2021, advanced defensive metrics favor the Mets’ incumbent center fielder over the one just joining the party. Nimmo entered 2021 with a career Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) of -12 in center field before producing a +4 mark through his most recent 678 2/3 innings played there. As for Marte, he’s been worth -12 DRS over the past three seasons, with a -4 mark through 1,022 2/3 frames in 2021. Statcast’s Outs Above Average (OAA) metric has the race between these two a little closer, as Nimmo was worth 4 OAA last year, while Marte checked in with 2.

Marte was actually much better in left field during the earlier portion of his career, winning back-to-back Gold Gloves for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015  and 2016. We’ll eventually see what defensive alignment the Mets will go with for their outfield this season, but it certainly feels like this area of the roster has been strengthened quite a bit. When thinking about this, I was curious as to how the cumulative outfield defense has performed, according to advanced metrics, in recent years. All I have to say is my goodness, it’s been an absolute roller coaster ride. Thankfully, it appears New York has gotten past the low point. At least, we can hope so.

Here’s a quick look at how the Mets’ cumulative DRS in the outfield has looked since 2014, which was when the organization last had a Gold Glove winner in Juan Lagares.

Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum, right? Three straight years within the top-10, followed by two straight years in the bottom 10. It was encouraging to see such a shift from 2019 to 2020, but we also needed to take it with a grain of salt because the latter was such a shortened campaign. So, that’s why it was even more encouraging to see those improvements hold steady over a typical 162-game schedule in 2021.

Obviously, the Mets’ overall defense took a huge step forward in multiple areas last season. Part of that was because a Gold Glove-caliber fielder in Francisco Lindor was added to the mix, but also because New York just started shifting and positioning its fielders more often and more effectively.

The Mets posted 48 DRS as a squad in 2021, which was among the top-10 in baseball. To put this number in perspective, they produced -21 DRS in 2020 and -44 in 2019. What’s interesting here is how the Mets’ rate of shifting has changed over this period of time — it was 14.1% in 2019 (28th in MLB), 21.4% in 2020 (27th in MLB), and 50.2% in 2021 (second in MLB).

Assistant General Manager, Ben Zauzmer, brought this change when he arrived from the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2021 season, and it’s paid off. With more natural outfielders on the roster and in the everyday lineup, we can hope this positive shift in production can continue into 2022.

Although Nimmo is a team player, it’s clear as to why he’d like to stay in center field. Not only has he shown progress in recent years at the position, but it also makes him a much more valuable commodity on the free-agent market (especially if he pairs it with a fully healthy season). For a club like the Mets, one that has been centered around the starting staff for the better part of the past decade, improving the performance floor of the defense is important. It’ll obviously help maximize the starts made by Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, but also for the rest of the rotation, which has some question marks at the moment.

So, I don’t necessarily think the eventual alignment is going to be all that crucial. Since they used analytics effectively to improve the team’s defense last year, they’ll continue to lean on the numbers to make informed decisions on who will play which position. As we saw with Nimmo playing a deeper center field in 2021 (and it working well), I’ll be more interested in seeing where the Mets position the players to maximize their production on a consistent basis.

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With the 2021 Mets reeling after a 1-6 road trip, low-lighted by being swept in a series by the Phillies, who passed the Mets and moved into first place, this may be a good time to think about a positive memory from the not-too-distant past.

Let’s wind the clock back two years to August 9, 2019. The Mets had begun their phoenix-like rise from the ashes. They had won six in a row and 14 of their last 17 coming into the Friday night game at Citi Field against the Washington Nationals. Their record stood at 59-56, but they were in fourth place, 8.5 games behind the division-leading Braves.

Marcus Stroman made the start for New York, his second in a Mets uniform after the trade with Toronto. The Nationals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run home run from Juan Soto. However, the Mets quickly battled back, tying the score in the bottom of the frame on a two-run homer by Pete Alonso and a solo shot by J.D. Davis.

Stroman was done after six innings, and Justin Wilson took over in the top of the seventh. To the surprise of no one, Met killer Anthony Rendon put Washington ahead 5-3 with yet another two-run dinger. Things looked bleak for the Mets when Luis Avilan uncorked a wild pitch in the ninth, allowing Trea Turner to score. The Nationals led 6-3, and the Mets were in trouble.

Hoping for late-inning magic, New York came to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Davis singled and Wilson Ramos doubled, both off Nationals closer Sean Doolittle. The Mets had a fighting chance with Todd Frazier stepping to the plate. Frazier delivered a game-tying home run, and it was so dramatic that Gary Cohen gave it the double “outta here!”

The game was now tied, but with the Mets’ bullpen, extra innings did not seem appealing. Juan Lagares singled. After two outs were recorded, Amed Rosario singled. Enter Michael Conforto, and cue suspense-building music. Conforto lined a shot over Adam Eaton‘s head to score Lagares, and everything broke loose.

On this night, a new “thing” began when Pete Alonso ripped off Conforto’s jersey. Conforto would repay the favor later in the season. You can relive the excitement in the video below.

The Mets would win again the next night and continue their surge through the middle of August before running into trouble against the Cubs and Braves to end the month. Though they ultimately fell short of the postseason in 2019, their 39-21 record in the final 60 games provided quite a few thrills.

The 2021 team can use some similar magic. Ironically, after an off-day on August 9, they begin a three-game series against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. This year’s version of the Nationals will not win the World Series, as the 2019 team did, though.

The Mets need to take advantage of the rebuilding Nationals and get things going in the right direction. And we don’t care if players lose their shirts in the process.

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