Frank Francisco told Jenrry Mejia to stay in Florida to collect disabled list money

By Steven Inman

Frank Francisco advised Jenrry Mejia to remain in Port St. Lucie to collect his Major League disabled list money during his rehab assignment, rather than work his way through rehab and go back to the minor leagues, organizational sources told Andy Martino of the Daily News.

“It impressed the Mets when Mejia opted to tune out Francisco,” Martino added.

Francisco reportedly recently received two cortisone shots in his elbow and could be cleared to resume throwing this week. He has not pitched in the Major Leagues this season. Mets doctors can’t find anything structurally wrong with Francisco.

This is just a horrible story and the idea that not only has Francisco been a colossal waste of money but he has been poisoning some of the young minds like Mejia down in Florida is terrible.

Francisco was a terrible signing by the Mets after signing a two year deal worth 12 million prior to the 2012 season. If he doesn’t plan on pitching this year and doctors can’t find anything wrong with him it doesn’t make much sense for the Mets not to release him.

When the Mets signed Francisco it was a questionable signing at best because the guy has had character issues in the past and at his best is an average reliever. Even when the Mets had their solid first half last season Francisco had an ERA well over 5.

As for Mejia he has put himself back on the map and remember he is only 22 years old somehow. Mejia will be on the mound Wednesday night in Miami.

As trade deadline passes no deals for Mets

By Steven Inman

John Buck and Marlon Byrd will have more celebrating to do after not getting traded from the Mets at the deadline

It’s 4:01 p.m. and the Mets did not make a trade at the deadline. They talked to teams about Marlon Byrd but couldn’t find the impact prospect they were looking for. There were reports that John Buck could be moved to the Cardinals after Yadier Molina went on the DL with a knee sprain but that didn’t happen.

There still is a possibility that Buck can be move in the August waiver period. With his $6 million 2013 salary there is a good chance he could clear waivers. I wouldn’t rule out him getting moved when Travis d’Arnaud gets called up.

The Mets let Rod Barajas go on waivers to the Dodgers a few summers ago and the same could happen next month with Buck.

This is likely the end of the Marlon Byrd trade rumors and now the Mets can just focus on finishing the season strong. The team also has some young prospects like d’Arnaud and Matt Den Dekker who could be called up sometime in August and play major roles for this club going forward.

Suspension could be looming for top prospect Cesar Puello

By Steven Inman

Binghamton right fielder Cesar Puello has had an outstanding season so far and many have asked, why hasn’t he been promoted to Triple A or the majors already?

Part of it is his inability to draw a walk. He has worked on this however and has drawn a walk in 6 of his last seven games and has a .411 OBP to go with his .333 average. He’s never going to be a on base guy but he’s improving.

Puello, 22, has 16 homers and 74 RBI’s for the B-Mets this season including .427 vs. lefties.

The real reason this kid isn’t in the big leagues or even promoted to Triple A is probably because a looming PED suspension could be coming to the young outfielder.

Puello has been linked to the Biogenesis scandal and 50 game suspensions could be handed down from the commissioners office as soon as Friday, which would end Puello’s season.

Puello came into the season as the Mets 5th best prospect and has had a breakout year offensively. I saw him in a few games at High A ball last year and he has changed where he places his hands before each pitch and more importantly has been a lot more selective at the plate.

His upside is as an everyday player but it remains to be seen how much the PED’s have helped him get as far as he has. It’s really too bad as if the Mets trade Marlon Byrd before today’s 4pm trade deadline (unlikely) Puello would have been the logical choice to be called up and play RF everyday.

Juan Lagares continues to hit as he gets the everyday centerfielder job

By Steven Inman

Through Juan Lagares’ first month in the big leagues, the outfielder hitting under .200 and didn’t draw a single walk. Ever since Terry Collins started playing him against lefties he began to hit a little and his defense in center continues to be outstanding. Lagares doesn’t have much power and doesn’t walk at all but he has caught fire in July.

Lagares has 16 extra base hits this month and has already received a National League Player of the week award. Terry Collins has said as long as Lagares continues to hit he will play everyday. The Mets optioned his platoon partner Kirk Nieuwenhuis to Las Vegas a few days ago so this appears to be Lagares job now.

Lagares doesn’t seem to make spectacular catches but simply out runs the baseball making tough catches look easy.

In Tuesday’s game against the Marlins Lagares had three hits in his first three at bats. In 196 at bats now for the Mets the 24- year old Lagares has hit .275 with 18 RBI’s.

It remains to be seen if Lagares will hit enough to play everyday. He has walked in less than 4% of his major league at bats which is around his minor league averages. Lagares has a gold glove in center which should certainly help his case to be an everyday player for the rest of 2013.

Angels listening to offers on Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick

By Steven Inman

The Angels have been the most disappointing team in baseball this season after spending an absurd amount of money on players like Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. Yesterday the Angels held up the white flag trading a very reliable lefty Scott Downs.

They don’t appear to be done though and have been listening to teams discussing trades for their middle infield combo SS Erick Aybar and 2B Howie Kendrick. Both infielders are under control long term and it’s very questionable why the Angels would even consider dealing their under control talented middle infield combo without other players to move in their position.

Remember the Angels traded shortstop prospect Jean Segura last summer. He has blossomed into an all-star player.

Kendrick, 30, has put together another strong season for the halos hitting .298 with 11 homers and 43 RBI’s. Kendrick has played mostly second this season but has played some left field, first base and third base the last few years in Anaheim. Perhaps most importantly Kendrick is under team control through 2015.

Kendrick is on the second year of a 4 year deal for $33 million he signed before the 2012 season. Kendrick has always been an underrated player who never really gets the recognition that he probably deserves.

Aybar,29, is a dependable solid shortstop. Nothing more nothing less. He has always been a high average guy without much power and doesn’t walk much but he plays a solid shortstop. Aybar is in the first year of a 4 year deal worth 35 million.

The Mets are playing Omar Quintanilla everyday so they clearly need to consider EVERY shortstop option.

I would think the Mets would have more interest in Kendrick than Aybar considering they could move Kendrick to left field and he gets on base and has power.

We heard Sandy Alderson last month talk about how he could actually buy a bat despite the Mets poor record. All of that talk has gone away and the only move the Mets could make is trading Marlon Byrd which now looks highly unlikely.

Just keep an eye on these two middle infielders, the Mets do have a lot of options to find the bats they are looking for and these are just two other names to think about.

Orioles willing to move Dylan Bundy

By Steven Inman

As the trade market begins to heat up with 48 hours to go, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Orioles will move top prospect Dylan Bundy in the right deal.

Bundy, 20, was generally regarded as one of the three best prospects in baseball prior to the season.  He was drafted fourth overall in 2011 out of high school and rocketed through the minors last year. Bundy made his major league debut with the Orioles last September.

While the Mets seemingly have a ton of right handed pitching, Bundy could be a superstar and a buy low candidate after undergoing Tommy John surgery a few months ago.

Guys who undergo Tommy John usually come back stronger if they don’t rush their rehab process.

I have idea what major league talent the Mets could give up for the contending Orioles but this is certainty a player to keep an eye on during the next 48 hours.

It’s time to bring Ruben Tejada back up

By Steven Inman

The Mets have been without Ruben Tejada for months now after he was hurt and then optioned to Vegas. Tejada has really turned it on in Las Vegas and looks ready to contribute at the big league level.

I think it is important to use these last two months to see if Tejada is your shortstop next year. Omar Quintanilla has been a solid glove and deserves to stay on this team as a utility man but he’s hitting .229 for the season. Quintanilla is not a long term answer anywhere at the big league level, Tejada might be.

The 23-year old Tejada went 4-4 yesterday for Triple A Las Vegas and is hitting .337 down there. With just two months left in the season, the Mets should recall Tejada and see if he has improved offensively and defensively since his demotion.

Can Tejada hit enough to be more than just a utility guy? We will never know if he stays in the minors.

 

Mets don’t expect to make any moves at the trade deadline

By Steven Inman

A lot can change before Wednesday’s MLB Trade Deadline but as of Monday the Mets don’t plan on making any moves. Their phones have been quiet and the Mets have never been a team to shop their own guys like some other organizations, thinking it diminishes a players trade value.

The price tag of Marlon Byrd has been a team’s top 10-15 prospect which certainly isn’t unreasonable considering the season he has had. With good scouting a top 15 prospect can be an everyday player.

Mets prospect Rafael Montero came into the season in that mold, a top 10-15 prospect. Now everyone sees him as the Mets 3rd best prospect behind Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard. Good scouting here and the Mets could find a gem.

So far though no team has stepped up to that asking price and with other bats still rumored to be moved, teams aren’t going to meet the Mets asking price until other more established bats (Alex Rios, Hunter Pence) are moved.

It doesn’t sound like the Mets will move Bobby Parnell or anyone else. There is an outside chance Byrd is moved or maybe a reliever but both are unlikely.

BrokeMets reported that Texas was interested in Byrd but Adam Rubin of ESPN New York says don’t hold your breathe on that. Texas and the Mets have never saw eye to eye on the value of both team’s prospects.

“The Mets have not had an easy time in the past dealing with Texas because of disagreements over the value of certain Rangers prospects.” Rubin explains

Remember Texas was heavily involved in trades for Carlos Beltran and R.A. Dickey only to see both players go elsewhere.

Expect a slow trade deadline around baseball, not just for the Mets.

 

Mets fail to capitalize on struggling Nationals team

By Steven Inman

The Mets were feeling as good as they have all season after game 1 on Friday. They blew out the struggling Washington Nationals and if they won the night cap they would have tied the Phillies for second place.

All of the momentum disappeared when Matt Harvey’s brilliant game 2 performance was wasted when the Mets could only give him one run to work with and gave up one on a Daniel Murphy error.

The Mets lost the next three in Washington including a 14-1 drubbing on Sunday. The Mets scored three runs in the final three games in Washington.

That’s been the problem with this Met team all year. They simply can’t score. When the Mets don’t hit homeruns they just don’t score and they don’t win games.

The Mets had a golden opportunity to get back into this race and instead it appears they helped resurrect rival Washington’s season.

The team is now 46-56 11 games out of first and 12.5 out of a wild card spot. Their just isn’t enough fire power in this lineup to make any kind of run.

Also this team is just terrible defensively. Even when they were winning they still lead the majors in errors in July. They are in need of some position player upgrades this offseason for sure.

Mets starting to make a run, could be in second place by the end of the day

By Steven Inman

In game one of a double header in Washington Friday afternoon, the Mets (46-53) exploded for 11 runs including two homers by Daniel Murphy and a 3 run homer by Ike Davis in the 9^th inning.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time” Daniel Murphy said postgame. Murph tied a career high with five RBI’s today including four hits. Over his last 12 games he has hit .400.

Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the day game was Jenrry Mejia who was called up to make his season debut went seven brilliant innings striking out seven and got the win.

I didn’t find it necessary to bring him up thinking we had seen enough of Jenrry as a starter. I was dead wrong as it looks like Mejia has developed a deadly slider that he used with his cutter to get his sven strikeouts.

He came up as the 26^th man so I don’t know how they keep him on the roster. Perhaps they decide to go with a six man rotation but Matt Harvey grumbled about that when they tried that last month.

The Mets now have fewer losses than the Washington Nationals and have their ace Matt Harvey on the mound for the night cap. They can’t let up now they need to score a few runs for Harvey tonight.

Juan Lagares had a field day in game 1 including his first two career stolen bases

The time for the Mets to make a run is now. They have three more in Washington then four in Miami. The Mets for some reason have been good on the road and terrible at home.

The Mets are the only team in the NL East with a record above .500 on the road. (25-23)

If the Mets win the night cap and the struggling Phillies lose to the Detroit Tigers the Mets will have fewer losses than the Phillies too.

The Phillies are still deciding if they should sell off and perhaps the Mets passing them this weekend will help them move some pieces.

Again the time for the Mets to move up in the standings is now. They face an underachieving Washington team followed by Miami and back to Citi Field for the struggling Kansas City Royals.

No more talk about trading off veterans like Marlon Byrd. They can make a legit run at the Braves here who just lost Tim Hudson for the year and have played .500 all year since a 12-1 start. The Braves are playing the best team in baseball record wise, in the St. Louis Cardinals.