Saturday night, Acuña went 3-for-6 with a triple. Meanwhile, Mauricio went 1-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and two RBIs.

Acuña is now slashing .285/.399/.555 (.954 OPS) with 18 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs. He has 25 walks to 32 strikeouts across 137 at-bats. His OPS ranks sixth in the league while his eight home runs rank eighth.

Meanwhile, for Mauricio, he is only slashing .186/.265/.349 (.614 OPS). He has a much smaller sample size than his infielding peer, with only 43 at-bats. He last played in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2023-24, when he injured his knee. He had a 1.178 OPS before going down.

As we have seen in the past, Winter League results can often hold little-to-no weight when it comes to regular season performance. For example, Acuña his .337 with a .914 OPS last Winter League season, but struggled mightily in the regular season with the Mets. Regardless, nice to see him playing well once again.

The post Acuña, Mauricio Continue Their Winter Ball Slate appeared first on Metsmerized.

Marte had arguably his best night of winter ball on Saturday. He went 3-for-5, scoring a run, and stealing a base. Marte flashed that speed he so long has built his career upon laying down and beating out a bunt. Then, adding the aforementioned stolen base. His big Saturday night has pushed his Winter League OPS up to .884.

Marte getting back to anywhere near the player he was when he posted an .814 OPS in 2022 would go a far way in helping the Mets be competitive in 2024. Last season’s troublesome performance (.625 OPS), and injury struggles, before being shutdown to heal was one of the main reasons for New York’s underperformance in 2023.

Hopefully, he can continue his strong ways in the Winter League and use it to propel himself to a bounce-back 2024. Marte is under contract through 2025 at $19.5 million.

The post Starling Marte Continues Winter League Success appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Caribbean Baseball Confederation is made up of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico and offers spots to three additional countries. This year it includes Curaçao, Nicaragua, and Panama. In past years, the tournament has also included Colombia and Cuba. Similar to World Cup style events, these teams are not national teams and thus are allowed imported or foreign players. Each team may bring five foreign players with them and, unique to baseball, may include top players from other teams around the league to join in on their teams for the Caribbean Series.

Long before the big tournament begins, however, these leagues are nose to the grindstone from October to January, playing up to six games per week. While some leagues are shorter and begin a bit later (Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, and Curaçao), others begin in October (Venezuela, Mexico, and Dominican Republic). Curaçao doesn’t have a normal winter league but is joining the Caribbean Series for the first time this year after forming an agreement with the Caribbean Baseball Federation. Leagues will play anywhere from 30-60 games in the regular seasons and then begin playoffs in January before training for weeks between the conclusion of their seasons and the Caribbean Series.

Ronald Acuña Jr. David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

The leagues are mostly made up of players native to the league’s respective countries with the aforementioned five imported players per team. Typically, imported players in these leagues have either major-league experience or Triple-A experience as they often are paid higher salaries and are expected to be starters or high-leverage relievers. Many major-league players, especially position players, return to their home countries to play in the winter, making the rosters loaded with top talent. Ronald Acuña Jr.’s tenure in Venezuela this winter, coming directly after winning the National League MVP award, is one of many examples of players at the game’s highest level electing to return home for the offseason and play in front of their local crowds.

Despite the high stature of many of these players, salaries typically range in the sub-$10,000 per month range but will exceed that for the top players ($20,000-30,000 maximum range). While lucrative, these salaries don’t even compare to the major-league minimum salaries. This surely disincentivizes rostered major-league players from playing and risking injuries, yet they play anyways. A simple way to analyze the decision would be to equate the majors as a paycheck and winter baseball as a point of pride and passion. Winning in these leagues is everything.

Fans in winter leagues are not like major-league fans. As seen in the World Baseball Classic last year, some of the games featured horns, drums, and louder fans than games in the United States are used to. Drums and cheerleaders are some of the sights fans can see at these games with organized cheers and chants and active announcer engagement. Thousands of fans sounds like tens of thousands, and when games have a packed house, rivalries reach a whole new level.

For example, Venezuela has a particularly intense rivalry between the Leones de Caracas and Navegantes de Magallanes which sells out every game. The newly built major league-caliber Monumental Stadium of Caracas Simón Bolívar recently set a new attendance record with over 34,000 fans attending a game in November. The previous record was set earlier this season

It speaks magnitudes of the passion of the population towards baseball land their respective teams when the monthly minimum wage of the country of Venezuela is roughly $20 (USD) and tickets to games cost between $3-to-$5 (USD) and still tens of thousands show up. The fans travel to games, live and die with their teams, and make major-league games feel like polite society gatherings. As a result, players play with passion, pitchers pitch three or four days in a row, and former major-league stars battle through injuries not to keep their careers alive but to chase championships.

Players and coaches alike are focussed, roster decisions happen quickly, releases and trades are frequent, and team meetings to address the causes of on field issues happen regularly in the locker rooms. Children come into the locker rooms pregame trying to sell trinkets or home made ice cream, and the veterans tip them well, likely supporting families for weeks. There is a sense of unity in the Latin American cultures and immense pride in playing in their home countries.

Fans may often wonder why players would risk their health for something so unimportant as winter baseball or the World Baseball Classics, however, with these games broadcasted on television in these countries, fans living and dying with each pitch, one could ask what would make these games less important than MLB games. Obviously, the financial aspect isn’t quite comparable, however, once an individual has enough money like many of these players do, their focuses in life could reasonably change to enriching their culture and winning for pride. For the players, winter baseball is not second fiddle to the summer season, it’s as different as their salaries, one league provides financial support, one league provides fulfillment.

The post The Ins And Outs Of Winter League Baseball appeared first on Metsmerized.

Having recently gained approval from the Mets, Ronny Mauricio is set to play for the Tigres Del Licey, primarily at third base during the Dominican Winter League. The 22-year-old’s journey began last offseason when he earned the LIDOM MVP title, leading the league in various offensive categories. For his inaugural appearance for the Tigres, Mauricio was slotted in at designated hitter and penciled in the second spot in the batting order. In his LIDOM season debut, Mauricio went 0-for-4 but managed to draw a walk.

Now onto the morning briefing!

Ronny Mauricio. John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Latest Mets News

The New York Mets officially announced the signing of infielder Joey Wendle. As reported by Joel Sherman from the New York Post, aside from the $2 million base salary, Wendle has the opportunity to earn an extra $100,000 for achieving milestones at 250, 300, 350, 400, and 450 plate appearances.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic advocates for a long look at former Mets infielder David Wright and his case for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This is Wright’s first year on the Hall of Fame Ballot alongside former infield mate Jose Reyes.

Michelle Margaux of SNY asked Mets legend Mike Piazza on how the Mets and Pete Alonso extension negotiations should play out. Piazza replied by saying, “He’s a great player and guys like him don’t grow on trees… I hope there is synergy there and they’re able to come to an agreement”

Latest MLB News

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Brewers and 19-year-old standout center field prospect Jackson Chourio are poised to finalize the most lucrative contract ever for a player yet to make his major league debut. The anticipated agreement is likely to span eight guaranteed years, approaching $80 million, and will feature two team options.

As reported by Eno Sarris of The Athletic, sources from Britt Ghiroli and him reveals that Sarah Gelles is set to join the Pirates as an Assistant General Manager. Gelles began her professional career with an internship at the Pirates before progressing through the ranks in Baltimore and Houston.

For the third consecutive season, Major League Baseball announced Shohei Ohtani as the recipient of the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. This award, presented annually to the top designated hitter since the introduction of the DH rule in 1973, was renamed in honor of Edgar Martinez in 2004.

Former MetThomas Szapucki, left-handed pitcher, has been re-signed by the Giants on a minor league contract, as noted by the transactions tracker on MLB.com. Despite being non-tendered by the club just a couple of weeks ago, he has now been assigned to Triple-A Sacramento.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Arizona Diamondbacks have addressed their player development director position by appointing Shaun Larkin. Larkin, who served the last eight seasons with the Dodgers, holding the role of field director, steps in for Josh Barfield. Barfield departed the organization in late September to join the Chicago White Sox.

Latest on MMO

On the latest episode of MMO Weekly, our very own Rivka Boord joins the show to discuss the recently announced Luis Severino and Joey Wendle signings, Rivka lays out her dream offseason plan for the Mets (spoiler: it includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto), the latest on Pete Alonso, and much more!

Michael Mayer highlights the Mets latest front office moves.

On This Date in Mets History

1998: On December 1, 1998, Mets GM Steve Phillips orchestrated a three-way trade involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles. Todd Hundley was sent to the Dodgers, along with Charles Johnson, in exchange for Roger Cedeño. However, Johnson was quickly traded to Baltimore for reliever Armando Benitez. The Mets, buying low on these players who had fallen out of favor with their original teams, saw both Cedeño and Benitez flourish. Benitez had a standout 1999 season, recording 128 strikeouts in 78 innings with a 1.85 ERA. Cedeño, given the opportunity to play regularly, set a Mets record with 66 stolen bases and contributed to the team’s success, ending a 13-year playoff drought in 1999.

Birthdays: Josh Walker (29), Javier Báez (31), Greg McMichael (57), Julio Machado (58), Herm Winningham (62), Tom Filer (67), Dan Schatzeder (69), Dan Warthen (71), George Foster (75)

The post Morning Briefing: Ronny Mauricio Makes Winter League Debut appeared first on Metsmerized.

As Mets fans wait for the news of the Carlos Correa signing becoming official, infield prospect Ronny Mauricio keeps producing in the Dominican Winter League. The regular season LIDOM MVP had a big night on Tuesday as the Tigres del Licey beat the Estrellas de Oriente 8-5 in the round robin playoffs.

• SS Ronny Mauricio 3-for-3, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB

Mauricio got the Tigres del Licey on the board in the first inning with an RBI double to the right-center field gap as a right-handed hitter. The 21-year-old doubled again in his second at-bat, this time on a line drive to left field. Mauricio would later single and then walk when he faced former Met Gerson Bautista.

Big night for Ronny Mauricio in the Dominican Winter League round robin:

3-for-3, 2 2B, BB, RBI, 3 R

pic.twitter.com/7AEmM3OX4I

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) January 4, 2023

The switch-hitter is now hitting .302/.333/.419 with four extra-base hits in 10 round robin games. Mauricio was back at shortstop on Tuesday night, but he’s also played games at third base and a couple of games at second base as well.

Assuming Mauricio is in the organization when spring training starts, it will be interesting to see where the Mets decide to play the youngster. He’s slated for Triple-A Syracuse to begin the 2023 season. Mauricio could see a boost in his chances to ultimately make a big league roster with the Mets if they decide to trade veteran Eduardo Escobar.

The post Ronny Mauricio Continues Strong Winter Ball Showing appeared first on Metsmerized.

Ronny Mauricio, Photo by Dan Fritz

Good morning, Mets fans!

On Thursday, it was announced that Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio won MVP of the Dominican Professional Baseball league, receiving 61 of 69 votes for the award. As a result, Mauricio will receive a brand new Chevy Colorado MVP Edition truck. The 21-year-old had five home runs, 31 RBIs and an .803 OPS in 47 games. He is currently the Mets’ sixth-ranked prospect and has been an exciting member of the Mets’ farm system for a few years.

Now onto the morning briefing!

Latest MLB News

Farhan Zahidi, President of Baseball Operations for the Giants, said that the organization made a good-faith effort to get a deal done with Carlos Correa before it ultimately fell through. The team has stayed in contact with Correa recently but believe his camp is “focused on a deal elsewhere at this point.”

Aaron Judge was named the AP Male Athlete of the Year after his historic 62 home run season with the Yankees.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that veteran Evan Longoria is signing a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks.

Heyman also reported that the Cubs and Orioles are showing interest in free agent Eric Hosmer.

Dennis Linn of the Athletic suggested that the Padres may consider trading Trent Grisham or Ha-Seong Kim in exchange for starting pitching.

Veteran reliever Steve Cishek announced his retirement on Friday.

Latest on MMO

Jack Markowski listed the top five home runs by Mets hitters during the 2022 season.

Brian Wright ranked Roger Cedeño as the 10th-worst free agent signing in Mets history.

Michael Mayer wrote about which Mets prospects improved their stock in 2022.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Kevin Kaczmarski (31), Rick Aguilera (61)

The post Morning Briefing: Ronny Mauricio Named MVP of Dominican League appeared first on Metsmerized.

The Ronny Mauricio show continued in the Dominican Winter League on Wednesday night as the 21-year-old shortstop had a three-hit performance that included two doubles and two RBIs in a 10-8 Tigres win over the Gigantes. Box Score

• SS Ronny Mauricio: 3-for-5, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SB, .350 AVG, .961 OPS

Another big night for Ronny Mauricio in the Dominican winter league:

3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, SB, .961 OPS

pic.twitter.com/dPwSrOeiS1

— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) November 3, 2022

Mauricio wasted no time putting his stamp on this game. In the first inning, he laced a leadoff double to give Licey an early 1-0 lead. He added another double in the fourth inning, his seventh of the season, and would later steal third base. Mauricio would drive in another run with a single in the eighth that would help Licey to a 10-8 win. Through 14 games, Mauricio has driven in 15 runs, along with seven doubles and six stolen bases. All of those lead the league, as does his 15 RBIs in only 60 at-bats.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, Kevin Kendall and Luke Ritter each contributed to a Peoria 7-1 win that brought them up to the .500 mark. Box Score

• SS Kevin Kendall: 0-for-4, 2 R, BB, SB, .233 AVG
• 1B Luke Ritter: 0-for-3, R, BB, RBI, .125 AVG

Despite the two Met prospects going hitless in this game, the pair still had an impact on Peoria’s win. A leadoff walk to start the game by Kendall would later lead to a run and a 1-0 advantage for Peoria. Kendall would score again in the third inning, thanks to an RBI walk by Luke Ritter. Ritter would be driven in later in the inning on a double off the bat of Jose Caballero.

No Met pitchers made an appearance in this game. The Peoria Javelinas are back home again on Thursday as they welcome in Scottsdale at 3:35 ET.

The post Ronny Mauricio With Big Night in Winter Ball appeared first on Metsmerized.

Earlier this offseason there was a chance that the Mets could have lost outfield prospect Wuilmer Becerra in the Rule 5 draft but thankfully teams decided to take a pass on the opportunity. Becerra extended his hitting streak last night to seven games with a 4 for 4 night. He knocked in his 11th run, was hit by a pitch, and scored twice for the Tigres de Aragua.

Wuilmer is 13 for 29 during his hitting streak with a homerun which you can see here. Overall during the Venezuelan Winter League he is batting .405/.416/.500 with a double, two homeruns, and 13 runs scored while playing right and left field.

New Met shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was the hero for the Leones del Caracas last night hitting a walkoff single to right field in the Venezuelan Winter League. You can watch the hit here. He was 1 for 3 last night with the RBI and two walks as the designated hitter. In three games Cabrera is now 2 for 11 with two RBI, two walks, and five strikeouts. The hit sends the Caracas into a one game playoff today for the right to play in the postseason.

In his third game for the Toros del Este in the Dominican League playoffs Alejandro De Aza was 1 for 3 with a walk while playing right field. He is now 1 for 10 with two strikeouts since being added to the roster last week.

Johnny Monell has struggled of late going 5 for 32 over his last ten games dropping his slash line down to .269/.392/.420. He was 1 for 4 with a strikeout last night for the Criollos de Caguas in the Puerto Rican League. He has walked 22 times compared to 20 strikeouts and has stolen four bases.

Last night was the final day of the regular season in the Mexican and Venezuelan League.

For more winter ball cover head over to MetsMinors.net where we also had our latest installment in the Top Minor League Performances of the Year.

The post Wuilmer Becerra Hitting Over .400, Asdrubal Cabrera With Walkoff Hit appeared first on Metsmerized.

Wilmer Flores has been diagnosed with a fractured left ankle and has been fitted with a walking boot, assistant general manager John Ricco told reporters on Tuesday. He says Flores should be ready for spring training.

As first reported by MMO, Flores suffered the injury when he was struck by a pitch while playing winter ball in Venezuela on Nov. 26. After a five-day absence, he returned and tried to play on it, but was eventually shut down.

December 5

According to the Bravos de Margarita, Wilmer Flores is being evaluated for a possible left ankle injury and could miss the rest of the Venezuelan Winter League season. He left last night’s game in the bottom of the first inning after hitting into a double play to end the top half of the frame.

On November 26th, he was hit by a pitch on his left ankle and sat out the next five days before returning to game action on December 2nd. He has gone 4 for 14 with two doubles, a homerun, two RBI, five runs scored, and two walks in five games. He has played the last two games at third base after playing the first three at second.

The post Wilmer Flores Suffered A Fractured Ankle appeared first on Metsmerized.

We’ve waxed poetic on MMO about how we believe Jeurys Familia can develop into a powerful weapon in the Mets bullpen beginning as soon as this season.

The hard-throwing righty has just completed a dominating performance in Winter Ball that had more than one scout raving about his 100+ MPH fastball.

Today, Bernie Pleskoff of MLB Pipeline, provides some validation:

“If he can control his best pitches, two-seam and four-seam fastballs and a slider, he will make a tremendous impact at the end of a ballgame. With his 95-96 mph velocity on his four-seam and sinking fastball, Familia has the pitch that can miss bats and induce highly desirable strikeouts when they are needed the most. Once the hitter is set up with the heater, his 82-83 mph slider buckles knees and has the hitter swinging at air.”

Pleskoff hits on the one thing Familia needs to improve on, that is his command. But the reports from the Dominican Winter League were promising on that front.

Familia, only 24, is big and strong at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds which makes his presence on the mound even more intimidating. Peter Anselmo recently ranked Familia No. 14 on our MMO Top 25 Prospects. He’s one of the young Mets we are very high on.

The post Familia Can Become A Powerful Weapon In Mets Bullpen appeared first on Metsmerized.