Good morning, Mets fans!

The Mets will attempt to take a series win over the Marlins this afternoon as the Mets and Marlins continue their four-game series. The projected pitching matchup is Sandy Alcántara versus Chris Bassitt. The Mets will look to build off their 3-2 win yesterday evening.

Latest Mets News

Per Michael Mayer of Metsmerized, Mets outfield prospect Brandon McIlwain has been promoted to Double-A Binghamton. He is currently hitting .298/.389/.472 with seven doubles, six triples, three home runs and 12 stolen bases so far in 2022.

Latest MLB News

The Milwaukee Brewers announced on Saturday that they have designated outfielder Lorenzo Cain for assignment. They also selected outfielder Jonathan Davis from Triple-A Nashville.

Jim Callis of MLB.com released his list of 10 players who stood out at the MLB Draft Combine on Friday.

Latest on MMO 

Sam Klein recapped the Mets’ minor league affiliate games from Friday, June 17th. It included a three-hit night for Francisco Álvarez.

Mathias Altman-Kurosaki recapped Pete Alonso’s milestone night in which he hit a grand slam against the Miami Marlins.

Alex Horowitz talked with Ron Pope about music, the Mets, and his TV dreams.

Andrew Steele-Davis recapped Francisco Lindor’s explosive night on Friday with his Mother in attendance.

Nick Rucco recapped the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Marlins on Saturday.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays:

• Logan Verrett (32)
• Devin Mesoraco (34)
• Collin McHugh (35)
• Claudio Vargas (44)
• Doug Mientkiewicz (48)
• Bob Gibson (65)
• Bob Aspromonte (84)
• Larry Miller (85)

Let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Brewers DFA Lorenzo Cain appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

On Saturday, the Mets’ losing streak grew to four games, as they lost to the Braves by a score of 7-1. They look to rebound today to avoid the sweep, as David Peterson faces off against Kyle Wright. The game will be on at 1:10 pm EST and can be seen on SNY.

Latest Mets News

Infielder Max Moroff was added to the Mets’ taxi squad on Saturday.

As he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery, Noah Syndergaard is joined by Mets prospect J.T. Ginn, who also suffered from a torn UCL.

Latest MLB News

Brewers star outfielder Lorenzo Cain has decided to opt out of the remainder of the 2020 season.

Cardinals players are rumored to have gone to a casino prior to the team having an outbreak of COVID-19.

The Padres have placed first baseman Eric Hosmer on the Injured List with gastritis.

While it was initially planned to be postponed, the Phillies and Yankees game for Monday is now scheduled to play.

Latest NL East News

The Marlins had no new positive COVID-19 tests as of Saturday, remaining at a total of 18 positives.

Despite the Phillies playing the Marlins prior to Miami’s COVID-19 outbreak, the Phillies have had no positive COVID-19 tests.

Latest from MMO

Tim Ryder writes about the resurgence of J.D. Davis.

On This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Dae-Sung Koo (51)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and let’s go Mets!

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Looking To Snap Out of Losing Ways appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

By Tim Ryder

Rawlings handed out their 2019 Gold Glove Awards on Sunday evening during a live announcement on ESPN2. The best fielders in the game have been recognized with this honor celebrating their outstanding glovework each season since 1958.

The voting pool is made up of MLB coaches and managers (who can’t vote for their own players), as well as 25 percent of the vote coming from the Society for American Baseball Research’s (SABR) data.

In the American League infield, Oakland’s Matt Olson (13 defensive runs saved, 4.6 ultimate zone rating per 150 innings) took home the honors at first base for the second consecutive season, Chicago’s Yolmer Sanchez (11 DRS, 5.0 UZR/150) won his first Gold Glove at second, Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor (9 DRS, 7.4 UZR/150) won his second award (2016) at shortstop, and Matt Chapman of the Athletics (18 DRS, 12 UZR/150) won at third for the second straight season.

In the National League infield, the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo (3 DRS, 2.9 UZR/150) won his third Gold Glove and second straight for his play at first, St. Louis’ Kolten Wong (14 DRS, 4.9 UZR/150) took home the honors at second (his first career win), Arizona’s Nick Ahmed won his second consecutive award for his play at shortstop (18 DRS, 2.3 UZR/150), and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado (8 DRS, 12 UZR/150) to0k home his eighth straight Gold Glove for his sparkling play at third.

Alex Gordon of the Royals (1 DRS, 3.1 UZR/150; seventh Gold Glove, third straight), Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier (13 DRS, 9.8 UZR/150; third award), and Boston’s Mookie Betts (15 DRS, 13.3 UZR/150; fourth straight) took home the hardware for their terrific outfield play in the AL. In the NL, the Diamondbacks’ David Peralta (10 DRS, 9.5 UZR/150), Milwaukee’s Lorenzo Cain (20 DRS, 8.7 UZR/150), and the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger (22 DRS, 13.7 UZR/150) all took home their first Gold Gloves.

To clarify, each respective league’s outfield winners are listed from left field to right field, but their stats are their cumulative outfield stats, as per FanGraphs.

Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto (11 DRS, eight framing runs above average) took home his first Gold Glove for his defensive play behind the plate in the NL, beating out San Diego’s Austin Hedges, whose advanced metrics (22 DRS, 20.7 FRM) dwarfed Realmuto’s. Cleveland’s Roberto Perez (29 DRS, 9.6 FRM) took home the honors in the AL — his first Gold Glove.

On the mound, Houston’s Zack Greinke (4 DRS, 0.5 FRM; yes, it’s also a fielding metric for pitchers) won the NL Gold Glove — his sixth award — for his time with the Diamondbacks and Seattle’s Mike Leake (2 DRS, 1.1 FRM) — who also spent time with Arizona this season — won the honors in the AL for the first time in his 10-year career.

The post 2019 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winners Announced appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers will battle for the National League Wild Card Tuesday night. The winning team will advance for a chance to take the NLDS crown.

Rays Lineup

1. Yandy Diaz  1B
2. Tommy Pham  DH
3. Austin Meadows  LF
4. Travis d’Arnaud  C
5. Matt Duffy  3B
6. Avisail Garcia  RF
7. Willy Adames  SS
8. Kevin Kiermaier  CF
9. Mike Brosseau  2B

Athletics Lineup

1. Marcus Semien  SS
2. Ramon Laureano  RF
3. Matt Chapman  3B
4. Matt Olson  1B
5. Mark Canha  CF
6. Jurickson Profar  2B
7. Khris Davis  DH
8. Robbie Grossman  LF
9. Sean Murphy  C

Game Notes

The Oakland Athletics were 52-29 at home this season while the Tampa Bay Rays were 48-33 on the road.

In their season series, the A’s held the upper hand as they went 4-3 against the Rays.

Tonight’s game will air on ESPN.

The post Wild Card Game Thread: Rays vs. Athletics, 8:09 PM- ESPN appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The New York Mets (16-18) were defeated by the Milwaukee Brewers (20-16) by a score of 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Miller Park.

Hitting

The Mets’ bats couldn’t get going until the fourth when Keon Broxton hit a one-out ground rule double to center field. After a popped-up bunt attempt by Juan Lagares, Tomas Nido socked a two-out single to left field, scoring the speedy Broxton easily. Michael Conforto then came up to pinch-hit for Jason Vargas and walked before Adeiny Hechavarria grounded out to end the inning.

Amed Rosario led off the sixth inning with his third hit of the day but after a Brandon Nimmo fly out, Pete Alonso was robbed of an extra-base hit by a phenomenal play by Lorenzo Cain in right-center field. With Todd Frazier at the plate, Amed Rosario was caught trying to steal second for the third out of the inning.

With Zach Davies cruising, the Mets were running out of chances going into the top of the seventh inning. Todd Frazier lined out to second base and Keon Broxton struck out before Juan Lagares lined an opposite-field home run over the right field fence, bringing the score to 3-2.

At 108 pitches, Davies stayed in to face the newly entered Jeff McNeil who grounded out into the shift. Robinson Cano, still looking for #2500, struck out on the changeup for the second out. That would be it for Davies as after throwing 118 pitches and saving his bullpen, Matt Albers came in to finish out the 8th inning. Davies’ final line: 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 K. Of his 118 pitches, 76 were strikes. Albers struck out Rosario to end the inning, preserving the Brewers’ 3-2 lead.

Down to their last chance, the Mets were hoping for at least one run from J.D. Davis (pinch-hitting for Brandon Nimmo), Pete Alonso, and Todd Frazier. Davis started the frame by striking out looking at five Josh Hader fastballs, the last of which 97 mph on the outside corner. Alonso, who tied the game in the ninth inning Saturday night, was started off with a rare slider from Hader.

A couple fastballs later, though, and Alonso was walking back to the bench after striking out. Down to their final out, Frazier was the Mets’ last hope, but you could guess what happened next. Having struck out the side, Josh Hader has pitched 9.0 career innings against the Mets with an incredible 22 strikeouts, one hit, and two walks.

Pitching

Jason Vargas started for the Mets and looked very sharp through the first two innings, striking out three and allowing no hits. The Brewers caught on pretty quickly, though, as they struck in the third when Manny Pina led off with a double to the left-center field gap. Orlando Arcia then lined one to right field that got by Keon Broxton, a ball he absolutely should have caught. As Pina was tagging up, the back-to-back doubles put runners on second and third with nobody out.

Brewers pitcher Zach Davies struck out before Lorenzo Cain hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring the first run of the game. Christain Yelich, starting his first game in a week, then launched a two-run home run into the third deck down the right field line. That home run was his 15th of the season which leads the Major Leagues (Cody Bellinger has 14).

Despite saying he wanted to stretch Jason Vargas to 100 pitches today, and despite the bullpen being taxed after playing 18 innings the night before, Mickey Callaway opted to pinch hit for Vargas in the fifth inning after he had thrown 50 pitches. Apart from just a few mistakes, Vargas had been pitching relatively well. This move did not make much sense at the time, but it was later revealed that he was lifted due to hamstring tightness. His final line: 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K.

Tim Peterson, recalled from Triple-A today to help a tired bullpen, came in to pitch the fifth and tossed a perfect inning. He started the sixth inning by hitting Lorenzo Cain in the hand, prompting Ben Gamel to come in and pinch run for him. He was immediately erased when Peterson got Yelich to ground into a double play before Ryan Braun grounded out to end the inning.

Peterson stayed in for the bottom of the seventh and was greeted rudely by Jesus Aguilar who tucked a double just inside the left field line. He struck out Hernan Perez before being lifted in lieu of a lefty-lefty matchup. He ended up going 2.1 innings allowing one hit, one hit-by-pitch, and one strikeout.

Daniel Zamora was brought in to face struggling lefty Travis Shaw with a runner on second base and one out. He retired him via a fly out with three straight sliders but that would be it for him, as Mickey Callaway came out of the dugout to take the ball. He double-switched Jeff McNeil into the game and brought Tyler Bashlor in to make his season debut on the hill. Manny Pina did his best to stretch the Brewers’ lead to 5-2, but his long fly ball fell just short of the wall and was caught by Brandon Nimmo, now in right field.

Bashlor, staying in for the bottom of the eighth, induced a fly out off the bat of Orlando Arcia to start the inning. He then walked Eric Thames and allowed a single to Ben Gamel who stayed in for the injured Cain (X-rays on his hand came back negative). With runners on first and second and one out, the table was set for 2018 NL MVP Christain Yelich who already had a home run in the game. After falling behind 1-2, he worked the count full before striking out on a 96 mph fastball up in the zone. He then struck out the 2011 NL MVP as well to end the inning.

On Deck

The Mets will enjoy a change of climate as they leave Milwaukee and fly to San Diego as Jacob deGrom (2-3, 3.82 ERA) faces off against Chris Paddack (2-1, 1.91 ERA) at 10:10 PM ET at Petco Park.

The post MMO Game Recap: Brewers Complete Sweep, Beat Mets 3-2 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Looking to straighten out the course of his season, Noah Syndergaard took the mound against the Brewers on a chilly Saturday Night in New York City.

His night would start oddly, with a defensive miscue on an unnecessary throw by Pete Alonso allowed Lorenzo Cain to score from second to put the Brewers up 1-0 after a half of an inning. An inability to put hitters away with two strikes would haunt Syndergaard all night, and would also drive his pitch count up further and further.

In the second, Thor got himself in trouble right away, when he gave up singles to Orlando Arcia and Eric Thames, bringing up pitcher Brandon Woodruff with a chance to help his own cause. Syndergaard would strike out his counterpart, and then get Lorenzo Cain to ground into a double play after he walked Ben Gamel to load the bases. Syndergaard seemingly had his big moment that would stem the tide… until he didn’t.

Syndergaard gave up back to back singles to Christian Yelich and Mike Moustakas to set up a first and third with no outs for the Brewers, with Syndergaard effectively punting any momentum he had. He would strike out Yasmani Grandal and then walk Travis Shaw, setting the Brewers up with all the lily-pads on the pond filled with ducks. Thames would single into right field to score two runs, but the Mets defense would gun Shaw down at third to record a second out. Syndergaard got Arcia to ground out, ending the threat.

The fourth inning saw Syndergaard leave two pitches in two bad spots, resulting in home runs by Ben Gamel and Christian Yelich. Through four innings, Syndergaard had allowed two or more runners in every inning, totaling to nine hits and three walks. In the fifth, Syndergaard allowed a leadoff single and then retired the next three, two by strikeout and one via the ground ball.

Noah’s final line was not pretty: 5 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, and 2 HR. The main issue for Syndergaard, as it has been all season, was an inability to put hitters away with two strikes and an abundance of soft contact finding holes and slow rollers dying in the infield.

Is there anything Syndergaard can do about soft contact finding no man’s land? No. A BABIP against of .346 is absurdly high and unsustainable. His FIP entering today,2.93, was almost three full runs below his ERA of 5.90.

Syndergaard has been struck by bad luck early and often in 2019, but the numbers suggest that not much of it is to his fault. Although, it is fairly obvious that his two-strike approach on the mound must improve to keep his pitch count down and go deeper into starts.

That being said the right-hander showed an absolute loss for answers after the game as can be seen in the video below.

Noah Syndergaard says he’s losing faith in his off-speed pitches:

“Every time I get a new baseball out there, it feels like I’m holding an ice cube” pic.twitter.com/qtGlOuPAsJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 28, 2019

The post Syndergaard Struggles Again, Searching For Answers appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Los Angeles Dodgers (3-2) at Milwaukee Brewers (2-3)
Friday, October 17, 2018 • 8:39 p.m. ET • Miller Park • Milwaukee, Wisc
LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-0, 4.15) vs. LHP Wade Miley (0-0, 0.00)
NLCS Game 6 • TV: FS1 • Listen: AM 570 LA Sports, ESPN Radio, WTMJ 620

The Dodgers look to close out the series to meet the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 World Series. Dodgers are coming off a 5-2 on Wednesday behind seven superb innings from Clayton Kershaw.

Dodgers Lineup

1. David Freese – 1B
2. Max Muncy – 2B
3. Justin Turner – 3B
4. Manny Machado – SS
5. Cody Bellinger – CF
6. Chris Taylor – LF
7. Yasiel Puig – RF
8. Austin Barnes – C
9. Hyun-Jin Ryu – LHP

Brewers Lineup

1. Lorenzo Cain – CF
2. Christian Yelich – RF
3. Ryan Braun – LF
4. Travis Shaw – 2B
5. Jesus Aguilar – 1B
6. Mike Moustakas – 3B
7. Erik Kratz– C
8. Orlando Arcia -SS
9. Wade Miley – LHP

The post NL Championship Series Thread: Dodgers Have Clinching On Mind appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

2018 National League Championship Series Game 1
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
LHP Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73 ERA) vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez (10-11, 4.21)
October 12, 2018 • Miller Park • 8:09 p.m. ET, FS1

Dodgers Lineup

1. Chris Taylor – LF
2. Justin Turner – 3B
3. David Freese – 1B
4. Manny Machado – SS
5. Matt Kemp – RF
6. Enrique Hernandez – 2B
7. Cody Bellinger – CF
8. Yasmani Grandal – C
9. Clayton Kershaw – LHP

Brewers Lineup

1. Lorenzo Cain – CF
2. Christian Yelich – RF
3. Ryan Braun – LF
4. Jesus Aguilar – 1B
5. Hernan Perez – 2B
6. Mike Moustakas – 3B
7. Manny Pina – C
8. Orlando Arcia – SS
9. Gio Gonzalez – LHP

The post NL Championship Series Thread: Dodgers vs. Brewers, 8:09 PM appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Coming into the offseason, the Mets had a need to acquire an outfielder with only four of them on the entire 40-man roster.

They filled that need a few weeks ago after signing Jay Bruce to a three-year, $39 million contract.

The 30-year old hit .254/.324/.508 last season with 36 home runs and 101 RBIs to give him a 118 wRC+ last season. He also had six defensive runs saved playing right field last season while finishing with zero in a limited 91 inning sample size at first base. All of this combined to give him a 2.7 WAR.

His addition to the team, while clearly benefiting the team in the power department, has managed to cloud some other aspects of the roster going into the 2018 season.

Bruce’s signing has now forced the Mets to abandon their plan to let Juan Lagares and Brandon Nimmo share time in center field while also forcing Michael Conforto to play center field upon his return from the disabled list in early May.

Conforto graded out at -4 defensive runs saved in center field while recording one defensive run saved in both left field and right field.

So all this begs the question of whether or not Jay Bruce is a good fit for the team in 2018 and further points to another discussion.

With all of these concerns, why did the Mets not just sign a natural center fielder such as Lorenzo Cain?

Cain signed three nights ago with the Milwaukee Brewers on a five-year, $80 million contract to return to the place where it all began for him.

He was famously a major piece in the Zack Greinke trade between the Kansas City Royals and the Brewers in 2011. Cain went on to become a key player in Kansas City as well as a World Series champion.

The one-time All-Star has hit .290/.342/.421 with a 107 wRC+ in his career so far. He is also an elite defender as he has 92 defensive runs saved in the outfield, largely spent in center field.

The 31-year old had one of his best seasons to date in 2017 as he hit .300/.363/.440 with 15 home runs, 49 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases to give him a 115 wRC+ Defensively, he also accumulated five defensive runs saved. All of this combined to give him a 5.3 WAR on the season.

That last number had him ranked eighth among all outfielders in baseball in the category, thereby cementing him among the elite at the position currently.

So to actually get delve into the Bruce vs. Cain debate, a few different topics need to be dissected.

Offensive Fit

In terms of the lineup, Bruce and Cain both offer skillsets that could be useful for the team. Bruce provides the Mets with a power hitter that is much needed after trading away many of the team’s veteran sluggers at the trade deadline last season.

However, Bruce struggles to find ways to get on base otherwise with a career OBP of .319, which is less than satisfactory to say the least.

Cain provides a different skillset. He is a true lead-off hitter that can steal bases and limits his strikeouts fairly well. He has only struck out 100 times or higher twice in his career so far, which is impressive in an era where we are seeing more strikeouts and home runs than ever before.

Ever since the first time Jose Reyes was in orange-and-blue, the Mets have struggled to find someone that could fit into this role properly and have been forced to move middle-of-the-order hitters such as Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto into that spot.

Unless the Mets add a true lead-off hitter at second or third base, Juan Lagares will likely have to lead-off until Michael Conforto returns to reclaim that spot in the lineup.

The second area is where he lacks success in, though, as his career-high in home runs is 16. However, the Mets ranked second in the National League and eighth in all of baseball in that category in 2017, so it certainly could be argued that it is not really an area the Mets needed to address.

Defensive Fit 

This one completely shifts the discussion. Lorenzo Cain is a much better fit for the team in this category.

The addition of Bruce forces the Mets, as previously mentioned, to play Conforto in center field next season which just does not set the Mets up well up the middle.

On top of it, while Bruce graded out positively in the outfield in 2017, he had -11 defensive runs saved in right field the year before which could mean the Mets could have a below average defender in not just center field, but right as well.

Cain would have left the Mets with the ability to keep Conforto in right where he grades out more favorably while also adding an above-average defensive center fielder.

For a team that is so heavily reliant on pitching, Cain would have represented a much-needed change to the outfield configuration that has plagued the Mets since the team became aware that Lagares would not be able to hit enough to start in center field in 2015.

However, Bruce does offer them the opportunity to keep Lagares and see if he can win back the center field job in April, while Conforto is sidelined.

Had the team signed Cain, Lagares likely would have been traded as his defensive prowess might have been deemed not as valuable.

Even if the Mets have kept Lagares, he would not be in a position to start on this team once Conforto returns, as none of the outfielders would have been able to play first base.

Jay Bruce can play that position.

So, if Lagares or Nimmo were to able to impress the Mets enough to keep them in the lineup every day, Bruce could move over to first base and the Mets could either release Adrian Gonzalez or demote Dominic Smith depending on what results of that position in April.

If we are just looking at this as a strict fit of the player in the outfield configuration, Cain clearly has the upper hand, though.

Contract 

Bruce wins this category easily and its really tough to argue otherwise on this one.

While Cain only received $3 million per year more than Bruce, he received an extra two years as well.

That contract is despite the fact that Cain is 31 already and will turn 32 in April. That means the deal will carry into his age 36 season.

Bruce, meanwhile, turns 32 that same month, but will be a free agent after his age-34 season.

Now, neither contract is necessarily bad by any means. Cain certainly earned the deal he received. Bruce’s deal is a total bargain though, which if the Mets were looking for value, is tough to pass up on if given the chance.

For a guy who hit 36 home runs, $13 million per season is an extremely reasonable price, especially when considering Bruce was looking for a five-year, $90 million contract at the onset of the offseason.

Likelihood of Future Success 

So this is where this becomes understandable, at least to me, as to why the Mets would pick Bruce over Cain.

The fact is power does not necessarily decline with age. Many power hitters such as Carlos Beltran and David Ortiz managed to be very successful later in their careers on the offensive side.

Bruce will not even necessarily be too far past his prime (34)  at the end of his contract which bodes well for this deal to be successful.

Cain could be a different story. The length of his deal takes him potentially far past his prime. On top of it, his skill-set does not bode well for success towards the back-end of his career.

Defense and speed are not qualities that age well in the game of baseball, or pretty much any sport which means he could be in the midst of his decline within the next few years.

In fact, Cain could soon not be worthy of placing in center field every day, which could completely negate one of his biggest advantage points on Bruce.

Let me be clear. Cain was my first choice at the beginning of the offseason. I was very set on the idea that the Mets needed to pursue him and that he was the answer to many of the Mets questions.

However, after examining it closer and seeing how the market progressed, it makes sense that the Mets chose to pass on him.

If all things were equal here, Cain would have been the way to go in my opinion. They were not equal in this case, though, and that has to be taken into account. Jay Bruce very well might prove to be the better investment.

The post Should Mets Have Signed Cain Instead of Bruce? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Although many hoped that the trade of Christian Yelich and the signing of Lorenzo Cain would heat up the Hot Stove, that wishing amounted to naught as Saturday was another boring day on the free-agent front.

Latest on the Mets

Ken Davidoff of The NY Post lambasted Mets ownership in his most recent piece.

Callie Quinn’s prom tweet has finally reached 500k retweets! When the Mets promised her a chance to take prom pictures at Citi Field if she was retweeted 500k times, she stepped up the challenge and recruited celebrities and Mets players alike to help achieve her goal.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports breaks down the incentives in Jose Reyes‘s new deal.

John Harper of NY Daily Sports argues that the Mets should spend on Lance Lynn this offseason.

Latest in the MLB

Heyman reports that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed former-Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez to a minor-league deal with an invite to camp.

The Orioles plan to move Manny Machado to shortstop this season. Machado has been rumored to prefer a relocation back to his natural position.

Heyman lists the potential suitors for free-agent outfielder Melky Cabrera.

Heyman also believes that San Francisco Giants could be contenders for Bryce Harper next offseason.

Pirates pitcher Nik Turley became the third pitcher in the past two days to receive a suspension for taking PEDs.

Latest on the NL East

Today, the Braves revealed their new mascot, Blooper.

Latest on MMO

Mathew Brownstein released his interview with Mets pitcher Josh Smoker. Note: This interview occurred before Smoker was designated for assignment yesterday.

John Sheridan describes how Justin Dunn‘s stock has plummeted.

In a recent Fan Shot, Rob Walsh argues that the Mets should acquire J.T. Realmuto.

Rob Piersall writes about the changes in Juan Lagares‘s new swing.

Piersall also wonders which player would have the grandest impact on the Mets: 3B Todd Frazier or SP Alex Cobb.

This Date In Mets History

The Mets selected Ken Singleton in January’s amateur draft in 1967.

Tsuyoshi Shinjo turns 46 today.

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Set to Host Prom Pictures as Hot Stove Goes Cold appeared first on Metsmerized Online.