Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets are off to Port St. Lucie.

Next stop: Port St. Lucie! ⚾️🌴 pic.twitter.com/5FqniyZ7SL

— New York Mets (@Mets) January 30, 2023

With the help of Mr. and Mrs. Met, the team's equipment truck pulled out of the Citi Field parking lot today for the long trip to Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Some players are already in PSL. The first pitcher/catcher workout is 16 days away.

(📸 courtesy of the Mets.) pic.twitter.com/VVXigOGyqp

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) January 30, 2023

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Good morning, Mets fan!

Wayne Randazzo is leaving his role in the Mets’ broadcast booth and is expected to become the new television play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Angels, Sam Blum of The Athletic reported. Randazzo joined the Mets as the pre-and postgame show host for 710 WOR in 2015 and joined Howie Rose in the WCBS booth in 2019 following the departure of Josh Lewin. This year, Randazzo worked as a fill-in play-by-play announcer for Apple TV+, for whom he was on the call when Albert Pujols hit his 700th career home run.

Latest Mets News

The Mets introduced Japanese right-hander Kodai Senga in a press conference at Citi Field yesterday morning. Senga expressed that he is excited to join the team and hopes to live up to his contract for the fans. He also said that he was at first intimidated by Buck Showalter, but said he got to be comfortable around the skipper after hearing him crack some jokes.

Kodai's thoughts on meeting Buck: pic.twitter.com/1kIO8ZlWbD

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) December 19, 2022

Mets infield prospect Ronny Mauricio was named MVP of the Dominican Winter League. The 21-year-old led the league with 31 RBIs and 15 doubles while ranking second in the league with five homers, 11 steals, and an .803 OPS.

The Mets saw two of their relievers sign elsewhere yesterday. Seth Lugo agreed to a two-year contract worth over $15 million with the Padres, which will include an opt-out after 2023. This ends a 12-year run in the Mets’ organization for Lugo, which began when he was selected in the 34th round of the 2011 draft.

Mychal Givens has agreed to re-sign with the Orioles, the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2009 draft. Givens had an up-and-down tenure with the Mets, pitching in 19 games after being acquired from the Cubs at the trade deadline and turning in a 4.79 ERA. However, Givens ended the season by not allowing a run in the final 11 1/3 innings he pitched.

The Mets have hired Miguel Cairo to be their minor league infield coordinator. Cairo played 17 seasons in the majors, including one season with the Mets in 2005. This year, Cairo served as the bench coach and interim manager for the White Sox when Tony La Russa went on medical leave.

Latest MLB News

Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom told Joon Lee of ESPN that he has some regrets about the team’s negotiations with Xander Bogaerts and that he didn’t want to sign Bogaerts to a contract similar to the one he got from the Padres. Bloom also says the team wants to extend third baseman Rafael Devers, but Lee reports that the team is “galaxies apart” on an agreement.

Free agent infield David MacKinnon has signed with the Seibu Lions of NPB after he was non-tendered by the A’s. MacKinnon appeared in 22 games for the Angels and A’s in 2022, going 7-for-50 with no extra-base hits.

The Braves have signed outfielder Jordan Luplow to a one-year contract. The 29-year-old posted just a .176/.274/.361 (79 OPS+) batting line with 11 homers in 234 plate appearances this year, but he owns an .842 OPS in his career against left-handed pitching.

Latest on MMO

Nate Mendelson grades how Mychal Givens performed this season.

The MMO Roundtable discusses what they want from the Mets for Christmas.

On This Date in Mets History

1989: The Mets trade utility man Juan Samuel to the Dodgers for first baseman Mike Marshall and right-handed pitcher Alejandro Peña. A former All-Star, Samuel had a disastrous tenure with the Mets, posting an anemic .599 OPS after coming over from the Phillies that June in a trade for Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell. Marshall is coming off a bit of a down year in which he posted just a .733 OPS with 11 homers in 105 games, while Peña is coming off another fantastic year in which he posted a 2.13 ERA in 53 appearances.

1996: The Mets acquire first baseman John Olerud from the Blue Jays for right-hander Robert Person. A former batting champion, Olerud hit .274/.382/.472 with 18 homers and 25 doubles in 469 plate appearances while walking 60 times against just 37 strikeouts this past season. Person meanwhile is coming off a bit of a rocky year, turning in a 4.52 ERA in 128 1/3 innings.

Birthdays: David Wright (40), Erik Goeddel (34)

The post Morning Briefing: Wayne Randazzo Expected to Take Angels’ TV Role appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Besides shoring up the starting rotation, a bullpen makeover was among the Mets’ highest priorities coming into the off-season.

With the acquisitions of Brooks Raley and David Roberston this week, it’s fair to say that New York’s bullpen for the 2023 season is starting to take shape. 

The first order of business, of course, was to retain Edwin Diaz. The Mets got that done rather quickly, inking the All-Star closer to a five-year, $102 million deal dating back to Nov. 17. Even with dishing out the largest free agent contract ever for a reliever to retain Diaz, the majority of the 2022 bullpen innings came from guys that are now free agents in Seth Lugo, Adam Ottavino, and Trevor May. Additionally, left-hander Joely Rodriguez and swingman Trevor Williams have since found new homes, signing with the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals, respectively.

The Mets worked diligently to replace Rodriguez, as the organization was in dire need of a reliable left-handed reliever. New York made a move to address that weakness Wednesday, acquiring Raley from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for pitching prospect Keyshawn Askew.

Raley is coming off a career-best season in Tampa Bay, pitching to a 2.68 ERA in 60 games, while striking out 61 and walking only 15. The Mets have been searching for Aaron Loup’s replacement since he left for Anaheim last off-season. They seemingly found a suitable one in Raley, who held left-handed hitters to a .155/.200/.282 slash line in 2022.

The 34-year-old reliever has two years of team control, as he is under contract for $4.5 million in 2023 and has a $6.5 million team option for 2024.

The Mets weren’t done there.

Not to be overshadowed by Brandon Nimmo’s signing, the Mets found their set-up man in Robertson, who agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract Thursday. While Robertson will be 38 years old by the time the 2023 season rolls around, he’s proven to be a valuable backend reliever and a consistent one at that. 

Last season, Robertson pitched to a 4-3 record with a 2.40 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings.

Robertson has maintained a career ERA of 2.89 over the better part of 14 seasons, spending time with the Rays, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and most recently, the Philadelphia Phillies. In fact, Robertson was an integral part of Philadelphia’s late-season playoff push, aiding the Phillies in an unlikely World Series run. With the Phillies, the veteran righty compiled a 2.70 ERA in 22 appearances, striking out 30 batters in 23.1 innings, and saving six games, while pitching to a 1-3 record.

Prior to being traded to Philadelphia in exchange for Ben Brown the Mets had been scouting Robertson, who was enjoying a strong bounce-back season. While the Mets were a strong contender for Roberston’s services, they untimely ended up acquiring a different reliever from Chicago — Mychal Givens.

At the time of the trade, Robertson maintained a 2.23 ERA, while recording 14 saves for the Cubs. Throughout his tenured career, Robertson is known to be highly effective against both right- and left-handed hitters, which is why he’s often been a highly sought-after commodity.

Roberston’s arsenal includes three pitches— a cutter, curveball and slider. He features his cutter, which sits in the mid-90s, more than 50% of the time, according to Baseball Savant. Robertson’s curveball may be his most effective pitch, as opposing batters compiled a .093 batting average in 283 at-bats against his go-to off-speed pitch.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Diaz, Raley and Roberston are not the only notable additions that New York has made to its bullpen. Earlier this week, the Mets selected Zach Greene, a right-handed pitcher from the Yankees in the 2022 MLB Rule 5 Draft. New York also re-signed relievers Tommy Hunter and Sean-Reid Foley to minor-league contracts. 

Additionally, the Mets have also added arms like Elieser Hernández, Jeff Brigham, Stephen Ridings, William Woods and Tayler Saucedo to the fold, via trades and waiver claims. They also picked up their team option on righty John Curtiss early in the offseason. 

Beyond Diaz and Drew Smith, the Mets’ high-leverage options in the bullpen looked pretty bleak heading into the GM meetings in San Diego this week. General manager Billy Eppler has made a couple of notable acquisitions to rectify those concerns by adding two veteran arms with reputable track records.

The Mets are likely not done adding to the bullpen, but Eppler has done a nice job of adding proven commodities to the fold, while also building up the backend and taking low-risk gambles on high-upside arms.

That’s also without mentioning the likes of Joey Luchessi, David Peterson and Tylor Megill, all of which will have a chance of making New York’s Opening Day bullpen if the Mets’ pursuit of Kodai Senga does become a reality. Even after signing Nimmo, the Mets are still in play for the Japanese star, according to our own Michael Mayer.

In any event, the Mets are doing their best to mitigate important free agent losses in the bullpen, while also trying to properly address an area of concern, which was a point of contention last off-season and during the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline.

The post Mets’ Bullpen Starting To Take Shape appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

In a sea of leftover Halloween costumes and hackneyed, “Houston We Have A Problem” posters, the Phillies blanked the Astros 7-0, setting World Series records to boot.

The rainout on Monday was a gift from god for Philly on Tuesday with Ranger Suarez taking the reins from Noah Syndergaard. Who knows what the ex-Met with the Thor moniker would have done, and frankly, who cares?

Suárez took the mound and owned the Astros for five scoreless innings. His cutter cut, his breaking ball broke and his slider sunk. And unlike Game 2, Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena’s first pitches produced a pair of outs, and Yordan Alvarez’s big stick struck out swinging.

Phil’s outfielder Nick Castellanos, having a field day in right, added another highlight to his resume with a sliding catch that set the stage for the hungry home team.

‘Stros starter Lance McCullers walked the first batter he faced, Kyle Schwarber, and two batters later, he got a not so nice how do you do from Bryce Harper, who crushed his knuckle curve into the right field seats. The ex-Nat returned to the dugout to a series of hugs and high fives – the fans soaking it up – wildly waving their red October rally towels.

In the top of the second,  Suárez with trouble when Yuli Gurriel beat out an infield single, and rookie David Hensley, in his Postseason debut, singled the guy with the weirdest haircut under a Helmut, Gurriel, to third. Chas McCormick was then caught looking.

Matinee idol looking Alec Bohm greeted McCullers with a first pitch lead off home run – setting World Series record – three home runs in the first two innings. Then Brandon Marsh, who I’ve learned has wet, not greasy locks, launched a hanging breaking ball over the right field Budweiser banner. Tacking on yet another historical stat.

In between frames, sports reporter Ken Rosenthal tried to get some inside skinny on what Harper whispered to Bohm before his at-bat. The cagey third baseman didn’t bite – smiling, and in so many words politely inferred, that it wasn’t his business.

After a two-out walk in the top of the fifth,  Suárez allowed a single to Martin Maldonado, and questions from the booth surfaced as to whether Phil’s skipper Rob Thomson should keep his starter in the game. He did – and that’s why sports announcers shouldn’t manage because the young lefty got Altuve to foul out to first.

Dusty Baker on the other hand, with his black latex gloves, making him look like a stylist waiting to color his clients’ hair, kept his guy on the mound – which turned out to be a very bad move. Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins jacked two-strike back-to-back shots – the fourth and fifth of the game – for yet another record – the most in the World Series for the first five innings of play.

A slew of relievers, look it up in the box score, picked up the slack for the remainder of the night with the Phillies wrapping it up with a big, strike-out-looking, bowtie.

I’ve been pretty transparent that I’m rooting for the team that spawned the film, “Rocky”. So, as not to jinx this monumental statement of a win, I’ll say nothing. And hope, just by bringing it up, I didn’t jinx them in the process.

The post Phillies Take Game 3 With a 7-0 Shutout appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans!

The Houston Astros, off the bats of Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker, led the Astros to a 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners and have taken a 2-0 series lead in the American League Division Series. Alvarez’s go-ahead home run in the sixth inning makes him the only player to have multiple go-ahead home runs in the sixth inning or later with his team trailing in the postseason and both of those home runs came in back-to-back games, as reported by MLB‘s Sarah Langs.

The NL teams will return to action today, with both series tied at one game apiece. The Braves take on the Phillies at 4:37 p.m. ET, while the Dodgers play the Padres at 8:37 p.m. ET.

The New York Yankees announced that Thursday’s Game 2 Division Series matchup was postponed due to inclement weather and will be made up on Friday afternoon, at 1:07 p.m. ET. The rescheduled game will take place in Yankee Stadium and will be broadcast on TBS nationally.

Now onto the morning briefing!

Latest Mets News

Baseball America released their 2022 Draft Report Card for the New York Mets.

Former Mets infielder Kazuo Matsui has signed a two-year deal to become the new manager of the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. Matsui takes over for Hatsuhiko Tsuji, who announced his resignation from the position. Matsui retired as a player with the Lions in 2018 and then joined their coaching staff shortly thereafter. Matsui signed with the Mets in December 2003, making him the first Japanese-born infielder to play in the major leagues.

Latest MLB News

A few coaching changes have occurred in Colorado, as the Rockies announce that third base and infield coach Stu Cole has been reassigned to a Minor League staff position and hitting coach Dave Magadan and the club have mutually agreed to part ways. The rest of the Rockies coaching staff will return for the 2023 season.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Atlanta Braves closer Kenley Jansen earned his 20th career postseason save last night. Making him the second player since saves became official to reach 20 career postseason saves. Only Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera has more with 42.

Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register discusses what Padres pitcher Blake Snell said after being asked about facing the Dodgers for the first time since being pulled from his start in game 6 of the 2020 World Series while a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Latest on MMO

Michael Mayer discusses how the Mets bullpen can have a different look to it for next season and which players will receive a qualifying offer once the offseason begins.

Dan Quinones highlights why the New York Mets should not let Brandon Nimmo walk in free agency.

On This Date In Mets History

1969: The Mets beat the Orioles 5-0 in Game 3 of the World Series thanks to two brilliant catches by Tommie Agee in center field. Agee and Ed Kranepool homered as well.

1973: Willie Mays collects his final big league hit as the Mets win Game 2 of the World Series over Oakland by a 10-7 score.

1986: Nolan Ryan and Dwight Gooden faced off in a tense matchup at Shea Stadium for Game 5 of the NLCS. Both Ryan and Gooden would pitch deep into the game and both team’s relievers kept it tied until Mets catcher Gary Carter won the game in the bottom of the twelfth with a walk-off single, off Charlie Kerfeld, to win it for New York, 2-1.

Birthdays: Patrick Mazeika (29), Duaner Sanchez (43), Ryan Church (44), Brent Strom (74), Art Shamsky (81)

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Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets returned from their final time-zone-crossing road trip of the season with a 4-2 record, taking two-of-three from each of the Brewers and A’s. They clinched a playoff spot while in Milwaukee, and Pete Alonso shattered the team RBI record for a single season. And while they won’t be able to clinch the division during this next series, the Mets will look to keep chugging along toward that goal against the Miami Marlins.

So far, the Mets are 12-5 against the Fish this season, a slight improvement on previous seasons when the pesky Don Mattingly-led team would find a way to be a thorn in the team’s side. While Mattingly, who is coaching his last few games with the Marlins this week, may look to prod once more, the Mets are looking to remain at least one game ahead of the Braves before the two teams face off this weekend.

First, though, let’s preview the two-game set with the Marlins.

Photo by Chris Simon

Tuesday, September 27, 2022: RHP Pablo López (9-10, 3,88 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Carrasco (15-6, 3.79)

Carlos Carrasco will get his 28th start of the season on Tuesday. The 35-year-old, who sports a 3.79 ERA (3.39 FIP), has pitched extremely well against poorly performing teams, including the Marlins.

Over four starts this season against Miami, Carrasco has tossed 27 2/3 innings and allowed six runs (1.95 ERA). One of his best performances of the year came against the Marlins on July 30, when he went 7 2/3 innings and allowed no runs on four hits and seven strikeouts.

On the other hand, Pablo López cannot wait for the offseason, because it means he won’t have to pitch against the Mets until at least 2023.

In four starts against the Mets, he’s only gotten through 16 2/3 innings, over which he’s allowed 42 baserunners–34 hits, five walks and three hit batsmen. That is reflected in his ERA, which is a hefty 11.34 against the Mets this year. Against everyone else? He’s pitching to a 3.03 ERA. Four starts against the Mets have raised his ERA over three-quarters of a point.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday, September 28, 2022: LHP Jesus Luzardo (3-7, 2.57 ERA) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (12-5, 3.53)

This is a repeat of a matchup from the teams’ series earlier in September. Taijuan Walker got the best of Jesus Luzardo last time, allowing just one run over seven innings while Luzardo was roughed up for five runs in 3 1/3 innings.

After the game, Luzardo talked about how the Mets force starters to “grind” out innings “They really make you work,” he said. “They kind of foul off all the pitches that you feel like are good pitches and [aren’t] really chasing much and just kind of hitting the pitch that they want to see.”

They’ll look to do the same in the season finale, during which Mark Vientos and/or Darin Ruf will likely get a start. They two went a combined 0-for-9 in the last game Luzardo started. They were the only two in the starting lineup to not get a hit that day.

Prediction

There’s the possibility of this becoming a bit of a trap series ahead of the massive matchup with Atlanta this weekend, but the team hasn’t been caught looking ahead really at all this season.

That being said, this should be a quick sweep, so long as the bats continue to perform as they have. They’ve consistently been able to make contact against Lopez, and the bats showed the ability to knock around lefties this past weekend in Oakland. The series will also be preceded with a day of rest, which is crucial in coming home from the West Coast.

The post Series Preview: Mets Take On Marlins For Final Time in 2022 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets looked to put an exclamation mark on their series with the Brewers on Wednesday when they went for the three-game sweep in Milwaukee. Taijuan Walker was sharp through six innings, but Brewers’ offense exploded in the seventh inning to lead Milwaukee to a 6-0 win in the series finale.

Brandon Nimmo got the game started with an infield single before stealing his third base of the month and season. Despite having the runner in scoring position with nobody out, the Mets weren’t able to capitalize.

In the bottom of the first, Nimmo was pulled from the game after running in for a fly ball. Nimmo appeared to pull up while running in on a pop-up to start the inning. When the next batter hit a fly ball to shallow center field, Nimmo limped and had to be removed from the game. The Mets would later announce that Nimmo was removed with left quad tightness.

After both teams failed to score in the second inning, Mark Canha set a painful Mets record. Canha entered the game in place of the injured Nimmo and was hit by a pitch for the 23rd time in his first at-bat, breaking the Mets’ single-season record set by Nimmo in 2018. Unfortunately for the Mets, they failed to advance him any further thanks to line-outs from Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil.

In the bottom of the third, the injury bug reared its head again for the Mets. Christian Yelich hit a shallow fly ball to left field that Eduardo Escobar made an over-the-shoulder catch on for the out. In an attempt to avoid Escobar, McNeil slid. McNeil jammed his right knee into the ground, but he was able to stay in the game.

Both teams once again failed to score in the fourth inning, then in the top of the fifth, the Mets tied an MLB record. To nobody’s surprise, Canha was drilled for the second time despite not starting the game. The hit-by-pitch was the Mets’ 105th of the season, matching the record set by the 2021 Cincinnati Reds. Lindor followed with a two-out double, but McNeil was unable to drive in the two runners and struggled to run to first on a ground ball.

The Brewers got the scoring started in the bottom of the sixth inning. The red-hot Willy Adames led off the inning with his 31st home run of the season to put Milwaukee ahead 1-0. Walker walked Rowdy Tellez after the home run, but was able to work his way out of the inning with a double-play and a strikeout.

Walker was terrific through six innings, but in the seventh inning, the Brewers got to the right-hander. He walked Jace Peterson on five pitches to start the inning then allowed singles on back-to-back pitches to Victor Caratini and Tyrone Taylor to double the Brewers lead to 2-0. Walker was pulled with two runners on and nobody out. David Peterson came out of the bullpen and retired his first two batters on a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout before intentionally walking Adames to load the bases.

The Brewers sent Mike Brosseau to the plate to pinch-hit against Peterson, and Buck Showalter countered with Drew Smith, who hadn’t appeared in a major league game since July 24. Smith got ahead in the count 0-2, but he hung a slider that Brosseau turned on for a grand slam to blow the game open for the Brewers.

In the ninth, the Mets set the MLB record for batters hit by a pitch when Luis Guillorme was hit on the back foot by a breaking ball. Guillorme was the 106th Met to be hit by a pitch in 2022, adding to an already painful day for the Mets. One batter later, he was erased on a game-ending double play to close out the Brewers’ 6-0 win and put an end to a poor day for the Mets.

Player of the Game: Tylor Megill

Not much went right for the Mets on Wednesday, but if there was a positive to take away from the series finale in Milwaukee, it was Tylor Megill throwing a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the eighth. Megill returned from over three months on the injured list on Monday, but gave up two hits and two runs in his first inning back on the mound. The right shoulder injury has essentially made 2022 a lost season for Megill, but he can still play a large role in a Mets’ postseason run as a reliever.

On Deck

The Mets will head to the west coast for a series with the Oakland Athletics on Friday at 9:40 p.m. ET. Chris Bassitt (14-8, 3.32 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets making his first start against the team he had been a part of since 2015 before coming to New York.

During his time in Oakland, Bassitt excelled when pitching at Oakland Coliseum. He pitched to a 2.44 ERA over 258 1/3 innings at home as a member of the A’s.

Canha will also be returning to the place he had called home before signing with the Mets. Canha was originally drafted by the Marlins in 2010, but was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft before being traded to Oakland the same day.

The game will be broadcast on SNY, and the radio call will be on WCBS 880.

The post Mets Lose Nimmo To Injury As Brewers Take Finale 6-0 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.