While Wednesday did not present a lot of news from the baseball world, we did get some updates on interest the remaining free agents are garnering. One of the bigger pieces of news came from Jon Heyman, who said on a Bleacher Report live stream that the Los Angeles Angels are one of the team showing increased interest in Joey Votto. The long-time Reds first baseman is now a free agent for the first time in his 17-year career and the 40-year-old seems to be trending towards a change of scenery for the first time in his illustrious career. 

Votto’s numbers have declined drastically over the past couple of seasons, which saw him put up a .747 OPS in just 65 games in 2023. However, the former MVP can provide a veteran presence to a very young Angels club and whatever numbers he accrues at the dish will be a welcomed extra. 

Latest Mets News

Brandon Nimmo was named the second best left fielder in Major League Baseball by MLB Network. Read up on Nimmo’s ranking here!

Two of the Mets’ international free agent signees found themselves in Baseball America‘s top 30 list of this year’s international free agents. For more on the Mets signings, click here!

Mets pitchers and catchers will report to spring training on February 12. Learn about more important Mets spring training dates here!

The Baseball Hall of Fame released a list of players who will be eligible for election next season. That list includes former Mets Curtis Granderson and Carlos Gómez. They also noted that Daniel Murphy and Neil Walker will be eligible come 2026. 

Latest MLB News

Nathanael Pérez Nero of Diario Libre released a report that many prospects, who were supposed to sign with clubs during the internal free agency period, were altering documents. Millions of dollars worth of pre-agreements were annulled due to these prospects altering their identity, some changing their age by up to six years. 

Trey Mancini signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins which includes an invite to major league spring training, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

The New York Yankees announced that they have outrighted infielder Jeter Downs and outfielder Oscar González to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Along with that, the Minnesota Twins have claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Yankees. 

The Detroit Tigers signed RHP Drew Anderson to a minor league deal, per Evan Woodbery of MLive. Anderson spent the past two seasons in Japan, but has previously pitched in the big leagues for the Phillies, White Sox, and Rangers. 

MLB Network will be airing a countdown of the top 100 prospects in MLB on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. 

Latest on MMO

The Mets have shown interest in relief pitcher Ryne Stanek. Read more about the potential Met here!

Could David Stearns use his Milwaukee ties to swing another trade? Learn more about potential trade target Brandon Woodruff!

Read up on some of the Mets top international free-agent signings from this years cycle. 

On This Date in Mets History

2016: The Mets announce that they will be retiring Mike Piazza‘s 31 jersey number, less than twenty days after he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Piazza became the fourth Met to have his number retired, joining Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, and Tom Seaver.

2007: Mets manager Willie Randolph agrees to a three-year extension with the club after leading the Mets to a National League East title in 2006.

The post Morning Briefing: Angels Showing Interest in Joey Votto appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Less than a year ago, the Mets were lucky to score 12 runs in a series. On June 9, 2015, the last time the San Francisco Giants came to Citi Field, unheralded Chris Heston tossed a no-hitter. By April 2016, things had definitely changed. Yoenis Céspedes, a trade deadline acquisition who was the catalyst to the 2015 team and re-signed the past off-season, changed the dynamic of the Mets lineup.

The ability of the offense was maximized on a Friday night at Citi Field — and then some. When Céspedes unleased a laser beam of a home run over the left-field wall for a grand slam off San Francisco reliever Mike Broadway, the 12 runs scored in the third inning set a franchise record. It also ensured two personal milestones for New York’s dynamic outfielder. Céspedes set team records for most RBIs in an inning (six) and consecutive games with an extra-base hit (nine) in a 13-1 New York rout.

Giants starter Jake Peavy breezed through the Mets’ initial two tries at-bat, but then helped initiate the Mets’ opportunity for a big inning by issuing two straight walks — to Curtis Granderson and David Wright. Big inning? More like the biggest inning ever.

Michael Conforto doubled into left-center field for the Mets’ first run. Céspedes began his one-man one-inning destruction with a single to center, driving in Wright and Conforto.

After Lucas Duda walked, Neil Walker continued the trend of extra-base hits with a double that landed just inside the right-field foul pole. It drove in Céspedes and drove Peavy from the game.

New pitcher, same results. Asdrubal Cabrera delivered a double against Broadway. After a walk followed by a strikeout of Steven Matz, the top of the order kept the line moving.

Granderson sent a deep fly ball that was unable to be caught by right fielder Hunter Pence at the wall. It was scored an RBI single as Cabrera scored. Wright walked to fill the bases and Conforto singled to plate Kevin Plawecki. That once again brought up Céspedes. Providing the exclamation point to the scoring dozen, his slam broke Butch Huskey‘s individual record of five RBIs in an inning back on May 26, 1998 and surpassed the team record of 11 established in the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on July 16, 2006.

New York made a return trip to the postseason, capturing an NL Wild Card spot. But so did the Giants. And in a one-game showdown to determine who would move on to the Division Series, New York’s offense was completely shut down by Madison Bumgarner in a 3-0 defeat.

The post OTD 2016: Mets Explode for Record 12-Run Inning Against Giants appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Neil Walker, who played in over 1,300 major league games with six different organizations from 2009 through 2020, hopes that one word will accurately sum up his professional career, which came to an end when he announced his retirement in April of this year: Grinder.

Growing up in the Pittsburgh area, idolizing many of the players from the nineties Pirates teams, Walker dreamed of one day putting on the Pirates’ uniform and being a hometown favorite amongst the fans. With a blue-collar work ethic and a family that had major league experience (his father, Tom, was a pitcher for six years; his uncle, Chip Lang, made 30 appearances for the Montreal Expos), Walker’s dream came true when the Pirates drafted him with their first overall pick (11th overall) in the 2004 MLB Draft.

Drafted as a switch-hitting catcher, Walker found himself changing positions throughout his minor league tenure as needs arose for the major league club. By the time he reached the majors, the Pirates were in need of a second baseman, a position Walker had only played 21 games at in the minor leagues. Walker admits being nervous at second during his 2010 rookie season, though he got more and more comfortable at the position after eight-time Gold Glove winner and Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski worked with him in spring training in 2011.

While Walker’s defensive game was a work in progress, he regularly excelled on offense. Among qualified second basemen from 2010 to 2015, Walker hit the fifth-most home runs (93), and recorded the fifth-highest wRC+ (115), while posting the eighth-highest fWAR (15.8).

After spending the first seven seasons with the Pirates, Walker was dealt to the New York Mets in December of 2015 for left-handed pitcher Jon Niese. Walker got off to a terrific start with his new club, hitting nine home runs and posting a .962 OPS in the first month with the Mets in 2016. He became just the fourth different Mets player to hit nine or more homers in a single month for the club since 2010, joining Yoenis Céspedes (September 2015), John Buck (April 2013), and Ike Davis (July 2012).

Walker played in a total of 186 games for the Mets from 2016 until August 12, 2017, when he was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later (Eric Hanhold). During his time with the Mets, Walker slashed .275/.344/.462 with a 116 OPS+.

Following his retirement announcement, Walker, 36, worked as a color analyst for Pirates’ broadcasts late in the 2021 season. Walker emphasized how much he’d like to remain in the game, with broadcasting or working in player development as two areas he identified in particular.

The Pittsburgh-native who worked tirelessly to help a struggling Pirates organization get back to the postseason and remained steadfast in being a team player, hopes that what he learned from his professional career can help resonate with the future talent of the sport.

All non-grinders need not apply.

I had the privilege of speaking to Walker over the summer, to talk about growing up in the game, switching positions, his special bond with Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, and of course, his part in the famous “Ass in the Jackpot” game.

MMO: Who were some of your favorite players growing up?

Walker: It’s obviously well-documented that I grew up in the Pittsburgh area, so the early nineties Pirates were my favorites. [Barry] Bonds, [Bobby] Bonilla, [Andy] Van Slyke, Jeff King; all across the board. I was just a baseball fan in general as a young kid.

My dad and uncle played, and I was the youngest of four in my family, so I was constantly bothering people on a baseball field after my two older brothers’ games to take batting practice. But certainly, the early nineties Pirates were a major influence on me as a baseball player.

MMO: How did having a father and uncle that played professionally aid in your development as a player?

Walker: I think we (Walker and his siblings) had a different perspective on baseball. My dad and uncle kind of had a little bit better perspective on what the draft process was like, what it was actually like going through the minor leagues, and how difficult professional baseball is to get to the top.

My oldest brother played in the Tigers organization for about five years and was a late draft pick, so I had a few run-throughs with him, my dad, and my uncle to what it was like to go through the whole process of being drafted and dealing with agents and all of that stuff. I certainly saw it from a different lens getting into the professional game, and then once you’re there, it’s a dog-eat-dog world for sure.

MMO: So they were influential in a lot of the business aspects of the game?

Walker: Yeah, and it’s funny because there weren’t a lot of conversations in my house, even when I got to pro ball, with my dad and brothers. It was never about how I played on a particular night. It was never why aren’t you doing this better or why did you do this? It was more conversations about being a team player, being a leader, preparation, and doing what you need to do to succeed.

My whole family knew how difficult the game was to get hits or strike people out and to play consistently at a high level, so we never had many conversations about why did I go 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. It was more you’ve had a tough week; have you been prepared? Have you been doing the things you need to do? How’s your body feeling? How does your mind feel? Are you still doing the things you need to do to be a team player? All of those things wrapped into one.

MMO: At what point during your development did you start switch-hitting?

Walker: I started switch-hitting when I was probably 11 or 12, and I just kind of had a knack for it. I was a right-handed thrower and right-handed hitter when I was real young, but I would just kind of dabble hitting left-handed, and found that I saw the ball really well as a right-eyed dominant guy.

Once I got to high school, I started to do it later on. I realized that I wanted to play at the next level, and for me, it was when I was a sophomore and junior because I didn’t have much exposure across the country. I played in Maryland and Atlanta, from the northeast down to the southeast a little bit, but I never really was exposed. So, I didn’t really know how good I was, and I was looking at small D1 schools, and I wanted to go south because, being from the northeast, I wanted to get out of this weather.

I decided if I’m going to catch, especially trying to go to the next level, then why don’t I try switch-hitting as well. Like a lot of people know, that can be the holy grail if it happens right. Going through the draft process as a switch-hitting catcher was something that was highly valued.

MMO: Talk to me about the draft process and getting drafted by your childhood team.

Walker: It was amazing. Like I said, growing up in this area and watching Pirates games at Three Rivers Stadium, and then fast forward to my high school years, I went to a ton of games when PNC Park opened in 2001.

When I was playing baseball in my senior year, I didn’t think there was much of a chance [of being drafted by Pittsburgh]. I thought there was a possibility to be drafted late in the first or second round. But then I had a really good senior year, and we only played 19 or 20 games, but I played really, really good over the course of those games, and I started moving up draft boards a little bit. The Pirates were sitting there right at number 11 and I think the Orioles were eighth and the Cardinals were at 19. I had really good conversations with all three of those teams.

When it came down to draft day, the Pirates basically said if I was there at 11, they were going to take me. It was obviously a very exciting time around these parts because the higher-end athletes were football players going to Penn State, Ohio State, or West Virginia; there weren’t many baseball players that were going major D1 or being drafted. It was a lot of fun!

MMO: You were originally drafted as a catcher, then moved to third before being asked to move to second base. Can you talk about your positional transitions throughout the early part of your career, and how you were able to get acclimated to second? Is it true Bill Mazeroski helped you with your transition to second base?

Walker: Yeah, that is a true story. What happened was I got to Double-A about two years after I was drafted, and how it was explained to me was they valued me as a catcher, but they really thought that there was no third baseman in the organization and they wanted me to move to third. My initial reaction was, do you want me to play both? They said no and that they wanted me to be a full-time third baseman.

I thought long and hard about it just because I knew how valuable it was to be able to hit, and I had hit to that point, and I held some value. But I also knew that I could hit at many other positions too, so I played third base for a couple of years in Altoona and Indianapolis.

Then Pedro Alvarez was drafted by the Pirates, and he was fast-tracked as a college guy. I was sitting there in Triple-A for the second or third straight year, and I got this guy already breathing down my neck! Then suddenly they said we need you to bounce around a little bit. I think the year I got called up for good, I was pretty much playing left field and first base almost every single day. Then there was an injury to the second baseman, and they said we need you to take some reps at second, and the rest is history.

They threw me at second, and I stood at second for almost all of 2010, just praying that the ball didn’t get hit to me because I didn’t have a spring training or normal offseason to prepare. Fast forward to the next offseason, and yes, I had Bill Mazeroski, who always came down to spring training as a guest instructor, and he was just tremendous. It was his job to basically take me from ground zero, and I obviously had some infield abilities at the time but not on the right side of the infield.

He taught me so much around the bag at second base, and I think he was probably in his mid-70s when he was teaching me the footwork around the bag, and where to hold your hands, and how to do the transfer and positioning. It was interesting to just have conversations with him because you could tell that the era of baseball doesn’t change; there are things that get shifted and maneuvered, but the things that he was telling me that he did 30-40 years ago were the same things we were doing eight or nine years ago.

MMO: Your first few seasons in the majors were lean years for the Pirates. You personally had success and were one of the better overall second basemen in the game. How difficult was it from a personal and team standpoint to have to wait several years to be competitive?

Walker: There was a lot of change in the Pirates organization between the years of like 2008 and 2012. A lot of different moving pieces and guys like me and Andrew McCutchen got up right around the same time in 2009-2010. There were just so many other moving pieces from a roster perspective, and suddenly we got to 2012, and we had guys like Starling Marte knocking on the door, and they started to add some pieces to the puzzle that kind of weren’t really as much throwing things against the wall and seeing what sticks; it was actual players that could help us win. That’s when we really started to see things turn the corner.

[In] my personal development, I was very fortunate to be able to kind of settle in and in an organization that wasn’t in win-now mode. Which sounds kind of selfish, but at the same time Andrew and I weren’t under the scrutiny of the New York media and the L.A. media to produce now as a rookie and help this team win. We had the luxury of kind of taking our lumps and getting it brushed aside. Not that that is something we thought about at the time, but when you look back, you feel fortunate to be able to basically be able to play and not have people breathing down your neck.

As I said, we got to 2012 and we started adding some pieces and had basically a half of 2012 that was good, and then suddenly in spring training of 2013 we looked around and we knew we had a pretty good team around here. Then that year and the next two years we made the playoffs.

For me, it was always about doing my part, playing my role and trying to be as adaptable as I could. I wasn’t your typical second baseman, but I knew that I could help the team offensively and do just enough defensively to help the team. That was my mindset.

MMO: What were your initial reactions when you first heard you were traded to the Mets in December of 2015?

Walker: We all had a good idea. When you’re in a smaller market organization, if you’re not signing early or a team-friendly deal, there’s a chance with two years or one year remaining on your contract that you’re going to be moved. As a guy that’s seen that happen to many other players before, I went into the 2015 season with the mindset that I was going to do whatever I could to have that be my best season. And it was a very good season, and we had a good team that won a lot of games. But when the season ended, I remember having my last at-bat in the Wild Card game, which we lost, and thinking, This is probably my last at-bat in this uniform.

Fast forward to December, and that trade happened. I felt excited to be going to an organization like the Mets, that was in the World Series a year before and had such a great nucleus put together already. It wasn’t like I was going to another team that was starting from scratch or trying to rebuild. I felt somewhat of a lot of pressure off me because in Pittsburgh, and as a Pittsburgh guy, and someone that came up through the organization, I was the guy in the clubhouse that answered a lot of questions and people were always asking me for this and that and everything in between. When I went to New York, nobody knew who I was. The only people who knew who I was were Pittsburgh people that lived in New York. [Laughs.] That was somewhat refreshing.

It did take a little bit of adjusting and the transition was certainly something that I wasn’t prepared for as someone coming from a smaller city and a smaller market. But I had such great people that were there like David Wright. So many good people that kind of prepared me that spring training and going into the year of what a day was like in the clubhouse, and how many media members were there, and what the fans were like. I had a great appreciation for New York before I even stepped into that market.

As I sit here, I feel fortunate to have played in small markets, large markets, and kind of some markets in-between because it definitely is different on a day-to-day basis.

MMO: Are there any specific moments that stand out to you during your time with the Mets?

Walker: The Wild Card game was something that was really cool that I wasn’t able to be a part of because I was hurt. I had a really good first month of the season from an individual standpoint. That was something that was really nice because getting off on the right foot in a city like New York lets you calm down and just play your game. There were a lot of fun moments with teammates and things like that.

All in all, it was a season that had a lot of adversity. There were a lot of guys that got hit with the injury bug and guys that couldn’t catch track for a period of time, and some teams in our division like the Nationals that took steps forward. Certainly, some missed opportunities that year, but when you have Jacob deGrom go down for a period of time and not be available for the playoffs and a couple of the pitchers and me, it was definitely an uphill battle.

MMO: A moment that you’ll likely always be remembered for now – whether you like it or not – is the now-famous clip of Tom Hallion and his “ass in the jackpot” comment after Noah Syndergaard got thrown out for throwing behind Chase Utley in 2016. I know you were featured early on in the clip talking with Hallion on the mound. What memories do you have from that moment?

Walker: I wasn’t there the year before, and that was the first time we had played a series against the Dodgers at home. And obviously, with the whole Ruben Tejada situation and Chase Utley, we were well aware of that situation.

I think it was game two of the three-game series and Noah was pitching. We kind of knew that Noah was most likely going to take the situation into his own hands.

We were all kind of hoping that it would be maybe his third at-bat, and he had thrown about seven innings at that point and had about 120 pitches. But that obviously didn’t happen. So we’re standing there and we saw the first ball go behind him, and we’re like, oh no! I’m thinking, He’s going to get thrown out, and our bullpen is really going to be taxed.

As players, you try to have as good a relationship as you can with a lot of the umpires, and you try and figure out who the crew chiefs are and those types of things because there are times when things pop up you are able to throw your two cents in and you certainly want to do so.

I went up to Tom [Hallion], and I was just pleading my case, like, hey, there were no warnings before the game started. And he said, “His ass is in the jackpot,” which went totally over my head as I’m standing there. I took it as he had no other choice. And Terry [Collins] is obviously losing his mind at home plate, and we’re going, oh no, couldn’t this just have happened in Chase’s third at-bat because this is going to turn out to be a long night.

I’ve gotten more comments on that clip than I could ever have imagined!

MMO: When you look back on your career, what are you most proud of?

Walker: I think I’m probably most proud of being adaptive and reliable and being somebody that, when I was healthy and on the field, you knew what you were going to get: grinded-out at-bats, steady defense, balls that I got to were mostly outs, and a good teammate.

When you put team first over everything else and when you’re able to get that point in your baseball career, it’s a pretty great feeling. You can figure out who you are as a player and as a person, and you grow in this game as a baseball player but also as a man. I got to play for several different organizations and met so many great people and had so many great coaches and teammates and things like that.

I think if people thought about me in a certain way, I would hope that it would kind of be a grinder. And being from where I’m from in Western Pennsylvania, that’s about the highest honor somebody could say of you; that you’re a blue-collar type of grinder. I don’t know if people see me that way, but that was kind of what I was striving for in my career.

MMO: I’m sure it’s a sensitive subject but I always get goosebumps reading about the story involving your father and Roberto Clemente, and how he was so close to being on the plane that crashed that Clemente was on while traveling to deliver relief supplies to Nicaragua. Would you mind sharing your perspective on that?

Walker: It really is an interesting and heartfelt story, and one that my dad gets emotional today thinking about. I was the youngest of four, so I never got to see my dad play; he was working for a healthcare company by the time I was old enough to understand what was going on. He would tell stories about baseball players, and I remember Gary Carter showing up to the house when he came to play the Pirates one time, and you certainly take some of that stuff for granted.

I remember being old enough to when he said that story and it finally sunk in maybe in high school and thinking, Wow, it sounds cliché, but I really do owe my life to this guy. He’s at the airport in Puerto Rico playing in the winter league, and it’s between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and the teams aren’t playing, so there’s a lot of guys hanging around and about to go out to party for New Year’s. And Roberto is putting this plane together to help the earthquake in Nicaragua, and a handful of guys that are single down there are saying, “Let’s just jump on the plane, and we’ll go over and drop the supplies and come on back.” And initially, he said, “Yes, that’s a great idea.”

Then the plane got too full, and the guys are sitting there, including my dad, saying,”We’ll sit on boxes; it’s no big deal!” And he said, “No, no, no. I don’t like the idea of you guys having to do that. You stay here.”

I remember my dad telling me that he left the airport and went back to his apartment, and one of the neighbors heard over the radio what had happened, and they asked my dad if he heard about it. And he was like, “No, that can’t be right. I was just at the airport forty-five minutes ago. There’s no way that’s right.” When he woke up the next day, Puerto Rico and especially San Juan were just in a state of shock, and guys like Manny Sanguillén were just walking the beaches and combing the beaches to see if anything popped up for days at a time.

I was so fortunate in Pittsburgh because Vera Clemente and his boys would always come around, especially in September when they’d do Clemente Day. I always got chills every time I would see them. I would always tell Vera thank you, but I don’t think she understood the impact of what she means to me and my family, but I certainly try to convey that at any chance that I got.

It’s a story that will obviously be with me and my dad until the end of our days. It’s something that we carry with us with humanitarianism that Clemente contributed and all the things he stood for, not just as a baseball player but in the Latin community in baseball and the Latin community in general. Every story and everything that I’ve heard about this man is just impactful. To be wrapped in kind of the same web as he is not surprising to a certain degree, but at the same time very, very humbling.

MMO: I think it’s long overdue that Major League Baseball retire Clemente’s number across baseball.

Walker: I really do hope they decide to do that. In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer. Nobody really knows how they decide whose number gets retired, but it’s like, what kind of criteria is this guy not meeting?

MMO: Thanks so much for your time today, Neil. Congratulations on a terrific career!

Walker: Appreciate chatting with you!

Follow Neil Walker on Twitter, @NeilWalker18

The post MMO Exclusive: Former Mets Second Baseman, Neil Walker appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good Morning, Mets fans!

Last night the Mets dominated in a blowout against the Blue Jays scoring 18 runs on 19 hits, getting four-RBI nights from Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith, and Wilson Ramos. Jacob deGrom went six sparkling innings giving up only one earned run on three hits with nine strikeouts; his ERA went down to 1.67 and he got his fourth win of the season.

Tonight, Seth Lugo (2-2, 2.05 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets in Buffalo in game two of this three-game series versus the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays have yet to announce their starter for the game against the Mets. The Mets-Blue Jays game will be televised on SNY and broadcasted on WCBS 880 AM.

Latest Mets News

Charles Gasparino of Fox Business Network reported the latest on Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez‘s “last-ditch effort” to buy the Mets. Their latest bid includes bidding parter Marc Lore of Walmart.com who is now pledging hundreds of millions of his own money to their current bid.

Latest MLB News

Jeff Passan of ESPN announced the details of MLB’s new playoff bubble plan that is now firmly set in place.

The San Diego Padres game versus the San Francisco Giants was postponed. Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic reported the statement from the Giants stating that game was postponed due to a positive COVID test in the San Francisco organization.

There had been no positive COVID-19 tests among MLB players for 12 consecutive days according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, until Friday when a player on the Giants had tested positive, as previously stated

The Toronto Blue Jays made a few roster moves Friday: selected the contract of Alejandro Kirk, activated Ken Giles from the injured list, recalled Jacob Waguespack, designated Billy McKinney and Caleb Joseph for assignment, and optioned Sean Reid-Foley to their alternate site.

The Boston Red Sox selected the contract of Domingo Tapia.

The Cincinnati Reds outright infielder Matt Davidson; he accepted the assignment and will stay with the organization.

LHP A.J. Puk of the Athletics will undergo shoulder surgery next week.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided updates on Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and James Paxton. Boone explained that Judge and Stanton could return to the Yankees shortly after their at-bats at their alternate site this weekend. The only news on Paxton was that it may be “challenging” for Paxton to return for the 2020 season.

Latest NL East News

Ronald Acuna Jr. left Friday night’s Braves game after fouling a ball off his foot. The X-Ray show that there was no fracture and he is considered day-to-day.

Matt Gelb of the Athletic reported that former Met Zack Wheeler ripped the nail bed off his middle finger while putting on jeans, as mentioned by Joe Girardi in his press conference Friday. The Phillies have pushed back his start to Monday, if the nail gets repaired by then.

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports also reported that the Phillies have designated former Met Neil Walker for assignment and called up Ronald Torreyes for more versatile defense, since he can play the infield and outfield.

The Washington Nationals placed relief pitcher Sean Doolittle on the injured list with a right oblique strain.

Latest on MMO

Mojo Hill wrote about Jeff McNeil‘s recent resurgence.

Jordan Baron discussed the Mets’ slim playoff chances.

Michael Mayer interviewed several members of the Mets media about the season thus far and what steps the team should take going forward.

Tatiana Snedeker wrote about the deep impact the Mets have had on her life.

On This Day in Mets History

Happy Birthday to Luis Castillo (45), Tito Navarro (50), Keith Hughes (57), and Mickey Lolich (80)!

1984: Dwight Gooden breaks the season strikeout record for a rookie in the sixth inning on a strike out to Marvell Wynne. He completed this feat and tacked on a few more. Gooden ended up striking out 16 in his 2-0 complete game against the Pirates.

As always, stay happy, healthy, and safe!

The post Morning Briefing: MLB Sets Playoff Bubble Plan appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Ahead of the 2020 season, let’s take a closer look at the Miami Marlins’ free agents and see who may be worth pursuing in the offseason.

The Miami Marlins finished their season with a 57-105 record, marking 2019 as the third season in their history with 100 or more losses. They finished the season with 22 shutout games, the most in the big leagues this season. Despite the team’s rough season, they extended manager Don Mattingly in the hopes that the future will look better for the team. Miami has four impending free agents, a few of who are familiar faces to the Mets:

Martin Prado, 3B

Third baseman Martin Prado reached a milestone at the end of the 2019 season, hitting his 100th career homer in the last game of the season. Unfortunately, Prado was plagued by injury and only hit just one other home run and 57 hits throughout the season. He finished the season with a .243/.265/.294 slash line for the season, but at the age of 36, it is presumed that his success is slowing down.

Prado signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Marlins in 2016. That year, he ranked sixth in UZR (6.8) among third basemen. It’s no secret that he dominated on the field and at the plate when he was in his prime. In 2019, however, his numbers left a lot to be desired. Given this, Prado has been brought up in conversations for a coaching position on the Marlins for 2020, as he would likely only be sought out as a utility hitter or as a veteran in the clubhouse to support young players.

Verdict: Pass

Neil Walker, 2B

Neil Walker, a former New York Met himself, finds himself on the free-agent list for the 2020 season. Walker, who is 36 years old, signed a one-year deal with the Marlins in 2019. Given that he only signed the deal at $2 million, we can likely expect a similar offer to present itself next season. In this case, Walker will be used as a veteran utility player. After a lackluster season with the Yankees in 2018, Walker improved his hitting numbers slightly in 2019. He slashed .261/.344/.395 for the season and a .7 WAR, improved from the -.1 WAR he delivered in 2018.

Defensively, Walker has experience playing all over the field, having covered third base, second base, first base, and the outfield in his career. Though he could be valuable in a utility position for the Mets, his offensive numbers are not up to par, making him a risky choice. Aside from that, the team is already stacked in the infield, making it difficult to find a place for Walker to be successful or ultimately useful.

Verdict: Pass

Curtis Granderson, LF

Another familiar face, Curtis Granderson finished his 16th season in the majors in 2019. He batted a mere .183/.281/.356 with 12 home runs, indicating his career has likely come to a close. Despite this, Granderson put up impressive numbers throughout his career and demonstrates a true love for the game and a lot of heart. At the end of the 2019 season, he was named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year for the fourth time in his career.

Granderson indicated he is open to playing another season in the Majors, but there have also been talks that he might be fit for a managerial or coaching role – just not for the Mets. Though I’d love to see another season of Grandy, it doesn’t look promising that he will be stepping out on the field again.

Verdict: Pass

Bryan Holaday, C

Earlier in October, Bryan Holaday elected free agency and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A New Orleans, allowing him to sign in the offseason. In 2019, Holaday put up career-best numbers (.278/.344/.435) with a .779 OPS, primarily serving as a backup catcher. He earned the fourth-highest batting average for the team in the 2019 season.

Defensively, Holaday dominated his 2018 season with zero errors and led the majors with a 45 percent kill-rate on 38 attempted steals, and followed it up with a 20 percent kill-rate on 25 stolen base attempts in 2019. With solid offense and the potential for another impressive defensive season in 2020, Holaday might be worth pursuing in the offseason.

Verdict: Consider

The post Free Agent Watch: Miami Marlins appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Miami Marlins announced Tuesday morning that they have signed outfielder and former Met Curtis Granderson to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

Granderson, 38 in March, split last year between the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers, and hit a combined .242/.351/.431 with 13 homers and 38 RBI.

The Illinois native spent three and a half seasons in the Mets organization from 2014-2017, where he was a beacon of health and hit 20+ homers in three seasons.

The 15-year veteran will look to compete for a roster spot on a young and rebuilding Marlins team.

He will join former Met Neil Walker on the Marlins who signed with Miami last month.

The post Marlins Sign Curtis Granderson to Minor League Deal appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The Mets and 2B Neil Walker were never able to come to an agreement on a contract extension this offseason.

Earlier in the season, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported that during the 2016-2017 offseason Walker’s representatives initially rejected a $42 million extension, only to attempt to accept it later on.

This afternoon, Steven Marcus of Newsday reported that Walker told him there was indeed a three year, $42 million contract extension offered but Walker says the Mets pulled the offer off the table as opposed to his team rejecting it.

“It’s well documented that I never turned down anything. They can say what they want and I’m not going to get into that. As far as a miscalculation on my part, absolutely not,” Walker said.

Walker added, “Trust me, I’m a well-educated baseball player. What was out there, I was willing to take. There’s some gray area that I’m not willing to speak on. No stone was left unturned as far as that’s concerned.”

The 32-year old middle-tier infielder ended up having to wait until March 12 to settle on a cheap one-year, $4-million deal with the Yankees.

Walker started out the 2018 slow and was fighting for playing time. Due to multiple injuries, Walker has been able to fill in nicely as a utility man in the Bronx. Entering tonight, through 79 games Walker has hit .227/.299/.339 with 10 doubles, 6 home runs, and 30 RBI’s.

“It took me a while to get to a good place as far as producing. It’s good to be able to help, especially in a playoff run,” Walker said.

As far as his impending free agency this offseason, Walker says he is not too sure what to expect.

“I don’t know what will be out there. I thought there would be a clear-cut everyday job for me this past offseason. That wasn’t the case. You kind of hope for the best but prepare for the worse where we are now in the game for the middle-tier free agent, so we’ll see,” Walker said

Over two seasons with the Mets, Walker was a serviceable second baseman and hit .275/.344/.462 with 33 home runs, 22 doubles, and 91 RBI’s in 186 games.

The post Mets Reportedly Pulled Three Year Extension Offer from Neil Walker appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In recent weeks, the Mets have said they want to have a quick rebuild, they want position players, and they want to get more athletic.

That’s ideal but you’re not going to do that by trading rental players like Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Bautista. As we saw with Jeurys Familia, the rentals won’t get much in return and that is before we factor in the Mets not wanting to eat money.

I think they should absolutely eat money for a better return like they did for Neil Walker (Eric Handhold was throwing 98-100 MPH sinkers but has been out since June) but even then, the return will not be a 2019 difference maker.

You know who is athletic, a position player, and would be in St. Lucie or Binghamton really soon? Victor Victor Mesa. In the Familia deal, the Mets also got $1 million in international slot bonus which has led some, like Craig Mish of Sirius XM, to speculate that the Mets are on the Mesa train.

The Mets to their credit have been aggressive in the international market in recent years. They signed four top-50 prospects in the 2017-2018 free agency class as well as finding guys like Luis Santana, Sheryven Newton, and Andres Gimenez in the last three years or so.

One thing they have not tried though is signing the big time players in the Cuban market like Luis Robert or Yoan Moncada. These guys are a little older compared to Ronny Mauricio, Andres Gimenez, etc. but they are more advanced than those guys when they signed.

Victor Victor Mesa is in that category of Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada but unlike those guys, he will not command as steep of a signing bonus due to the new CBA rules.

Teams have a hard cap now so unlike previous years, they cannot go over the cap to sign international free agents. As Ben Badler of Baseball America writes, Mesa will likely get around $3 million.

Victor Victor is also one of Cuba’s best prospects since Moncada. Ben Badler wrote, “Mesa, 21, is a comparable player to Nationals center fielder Victor Robles, the No. 5 prospect on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects list.

He’s a premium defender in center field who at his best has shown 70 speed and at least a 70 arm on the 20-80 scale.” He also hit .354/.399/.539 in the 2016-2017 season in Cuba with more extra-base hits than strikeouts (27-to-19).

Also of note, the Mets have interest in Ben Cherington as their next GM per Buster Olney of ESPN. Cherington worked in Boston from 1999-2015 and served in the player development field from 1999-2011. Cherington was very aggressive in the international market and brought in guys like Xander Bogaerts, Rusney Castillo (whoops), Anderson Espinoza and Yoan Moncada under Cherington.

The Mets still need to acquire more money but it should not be very hard. The Mariners have quite a bit of money still and they have been mentioned as a trading partner for the Mets. The Orioles also give away their IFA money like candy. The Mets just need to make the commitment to sign him.

He fits them so well and it would allow them to get everything they were looking for at this deadline. No team acquires international free agency money just for fun. There has to be some end game in all of this.

The post The Mets Need to Go All-In on Victor Victor Mesa appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

With the absolutely embarrassing lineup the Mets put out yesterday, the Mets did what we all expected them to do — they lost.  That loss took the once 11-1 Mets, and it sunk them all the way to 14 games under .500.  Perhaps worse than that, the Marlins won last night meaning a Marlins team actively looking to lose games this season has more wins than the Mets.

With each passing game, the writing on the wall becomes clearer and clearer. It is time to rebuild this team. Unless there are changes in the front office, this means Sandy Alderson would be given the rare opportunity to conduct two rebuilds with the same franchise. Considering how much of a rarity that is coupled with his only having two winning seasons in his eight year tenure with the Mets, we should actively question whether he should get that chance.

Josh Finkelstein – Better Option Than Ricco

I’d like to say there is a clear answer to this question, but I honestly don’t know. In terms of trusting him to rebuild this team, right now I don’t. Do I think he should be the guy to do it though? Maybe, and I’ll explain why. I fear that the next person in command is going to end up being John Ricco who, at least to me, appears to be a Wilpon puppet who will not say much at all to them while allowing the Wilpons to meddle whenever they please. I think with Alderson, they at least have a guy who is well respected by the front office and will take a stand on certain things. That being said, I really don’t see a perfect solution here for the next rebuild, and I could see this ending very poorly one way or another.

Rob Piersall – A Hard No

It’s a hard no. Alderson should not be at the helm and see this team through another rebuild. Sans a late run in 2015 and 2016, Alderson’s career as general manager of the Mets has been lackluster. Sure, he made some smart trades (Yoenis Cespedes, Addison Reed, Neil Walker), some good free agent signings (Asdrubal Cabrera, Curtis Granderson), but since their World Series appearance and playoff berth in 2016, Alderson has done relatively nothing to try and improve this team.In 2017, we saw a carbon copy of the 2016 team and much is the same this year. The farm system is one of the weakest in baseball, and the in-season moves he’s made have been terrible to say the least. I think it’s fair to pin a lot of, if not most, of the state of the organization on the Wilpons, but Alderson hasn’t helped matters. It’s time to get some fresh blood in here because after eight years and one rebuild already, we are back at square one and he shouldn’t get a shot to do it again.

Tim Ryder – How Could You?

At this point, how could we? Clearly he’s been restrained by ownership to a degree, but even the moves he has made with the green light from upstairs he’s blown. Players continue to get hurt after lingering issues become worse. The farm system keeps churning out decent players, but they do the team no good if they’re spending the beginning of their prime years in MiLB. The logjam at the MLB level with overpaid, under-performing talent has put a roadblock in front of guys like Peter Alonso and Jeff McNeil, who could clearly be helping this team right now in any capacity. Instead, Jose Reyes and Jay Bruce (on DL now but we still have to deal with The Mummy in LF or at first base for another two-plus years) continue to take up dead and, in Bruce’s case, expensive space on a team that is stuck in the mud. No matter the payroll ceiling Alderson was given, he’s spent his allocated funds inefficiently too many times to be handed the keys to the family car ever again.

Dilip Sridhar – Sandy’s Gone Anyway

No, I don’t believe Anderson should be conducting the next rebuild but I do think he’ll finish out the season and they will fire him in the off-season. Of course, that would mean he’s allowed to sell off the guys like Jeurys Familia, Cabrera, and whoever else but I don’t see that as a big issue. In all likelihood, I think Sandy will “move to another role” like Terry Collins did. I thank him for his years of service to the team, but it’s clearly time to turn the page. I’d also like to add I don’t believe much will change because you can’t replace ownership. That said, it’s time go try and throw something else at the wall and hope it sticks.

Breanna Susa – No Trust

I don’t trust sandy for another rebuild since his first rebuild only gave the Mets 1-2 successful year s(2015,2016 playoff years). He couldn’t even trade Bruce, Reed, and Walker for decent prospects. Maybe teams would have given them better prospects if the Mets ate their contracts, but they didn’t. (Wilpons fault?). Sandy did trade Carlos Beltran for Zack Wheeler and R.A. Dickey for Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud. But those are the only two noted trades from the rebuild years. I’m sure we could get a lot for Jacob deGrom or Syndergaard but I’m not so sure Sandy would be getting a haul back in return. I’d say keep deGrom and Syndergaard and build around them. If the Mets rebuild it’s going to take another 4-6 years to be good again . . . just like from 2010-14.

John Sheridan – Poor Job Assessing His Own Talent

It is beyond absurd we are at the point of a rebuild.  This team has two aces atop the rotation with deGrom and Syndergaard. The team has cornerstone position players in Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo who have already performed well in the majors.

The talent needed to buttress those players are not that far away. Dominic Smith has restored some of his value, and Peter Alonso is pushing him. With prospects like Andres Gimenez, Justin Dunn,and David Peterson two to three years away, this team is in prime position to turn things around quickly. Of course, that is discounting a historic free agent class with players like Manny Machado, Bryce Harper and potentially Clayton Kershaw, who will be game changers for whatever franchise they sign with next season.

Of course, none of us believes the Mets will dip their toes in those waters, which is a big reason why the reigns should be handed to Omar Minaya.

Minaya is the rare Mets General Manager who has prodded the Wilpons to spend, and that spending helped create that 2005-08 window. After that window closed, Minaya left behind talent in the Mets system which would form not just the core of a pennant winner, but also players who could be moved to add to that core.

For his part, Sandy struck it big with the Dickey trade. After that, he’s done a really poor job assessing and scouting his own talent. It’s why he used his budget to sign Omar Quintanilla and non-tender Justin Turner. It’s why he went out of his way to part ways with NLCS MVP Daniel Murphy.  It’s why he parted with Michael Fulmer. More to the point, it’s why he had no faith in Nimmo, first trying to trade him for Bruce and later burying him behind Bruce.

A General Manager with that poor a read on his own talent should not be entrusted with another rebuild.

Overall, it appears our staff believes Sandy Alderson’s time in Flushing should come to an end.

Do you agree with us, or do you have an argument why Alderson should be entrusted with the next rebuild?  We look forward to continuing this discussion in the comments section.

The post MMO Roundtable: Should Alderson See Mets Through Another Rebuild? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Hard throwing righty Gerson Bautista made his major league debut earlier this week with a scoreless inning (struggled on Thursday night though) while Jacob Rhame was up with the New York Mets earlier this season and Jamie Callahan pitched last September.

All three of those right-handed relievers were acquired by the Mets during the trade off of veterans last season and another one of those arms could be in the big leagues soon, righty Drew Smith.

Smith, 24, came to the Mets when they shipped first baseman Lucas Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays. Smith entered the season as our No. 23 ranked Mets prospect after finishing the 2017 season with the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

The former third round pick of the Tigers in 2015 was fablous down the stretch for Binghamton last season with a 1.80 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings.

Smith received an invite to big league camp but had an uneven time this spring with a few good outings and also gave up a few uncharacteristic long balls. Given he had only 18.2 previous Double-A innings the Mets sent him back to Binghamton to start the 2018 season.

He didn’t stay there long, after only 4.2 innings with only three baserunners and six strikeouts he was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on April 14. Smith has impressed in two outings for the 51s with 4.1 scoreless innings and four strikeouts.

Smith is a guy that sits mostly 94-96 mph with his fastball that is perceived to be even faster because he throws across his body and hides the ball well. His best secondary pitch is his breaking ball that’s a strikeout pitch at times. He’s worked out some previous control issues and keeps the ball in the park.

Outside of the scouting report, his minor league numbers are absolutely incredible with a 1.76 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 5.9 H/9, 2.7 BB/9 and 10.1 SO/9. Smith has allowed only two home runs (one to Peter Alonso) in 148.2 minor league innings.

Now, with the Mets using relievers more aggressively this season there will be fresh relievers coming up often like we’ve already seen with Corey Oswalt, Hansel Robles and the aforementioned Bautista.

I absolutely believe we see Smith this season, the question becomes when and likely part of the reason he hasn’t been yet is he would have to be added to the 40-man roster to do so.

Should also note that Ryder Ryan (Jay Bruce trade) has yet to allow a run in 7.2 innings this season for the St. Lucie Mets and has a 18.2 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to last season. Right-hander Eric Hanhold (Neil Walker trade) has flashed plus stuff this year getting his fastball up to 99 mph and throwing a sharp slider for Binghamton where he as seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

The post Drew Smith Could Be Next Acquired Reliever to Make Debut appeared first on Metsmerized Online.