The Mets completely botched the Dillon Gee situation

By Steven Inman

After six seasons with the New York Mets, the Dillon Gee era is over. The right-hander imploded Sunday in a spot start against the Atlanta Braves, giving up eight runs and raising his ERA to 5.90. The Mets designated the right-hander for assignment a few moments ago. It’s a mystery why the Mets DFA’d Gee instead of just optioning him to Las Vegas (AAA). Since Gee doesn’t have five years of service time he can’t refuse the option but the Mets elected to wipe him off the 40-man roster completely. They now have 10 days to find a trade partner or they will have to give Gee his unconditional release.

The whole situation is very similar to the Ike Davis situation last season in that it was completely botched. The Mets who desperately needed Gee’s $5.3 million salary off the books, now will most likely be on the hook for all of it except the league minimum. The Mets fielded trade offers for Gee last winter but elected that the players they were getting back weren’t worth losing their rotation security blanket. The Mets didn’t get many offers for Gee but they definitely could have moved the right-hander if they lowered their asking price.

Even if they weren’t being offered much a Gee trade could have opened up $5.3 million for the Mets, which could have allowed them to be active in trade talks for a bat right now. The Mets were picky in what they were asking for and held Gee, like Davis last season, to a higher asking price in trade talks than the rest of baseball.

The Mets were asking for a haul two winters ago for Davis, turning down some pretty good offers in the process. In the end, like Gee, the Mets hung on to Davis far too long and were lucky to move him to Pittsburgh in a salary dump in the end.

Teams like the Rangers, Royals, Twins. Rockies and Giants all inquired about Gee this winter. All of those clubs could use another starter now.

If the Mets just traded Gee last winter they would be in a much better spot right now. Although the six man rotation seemed like a great idea to limit their young starters innings, it seemed to cause most of their pitchers to struggle, most notably Gee. A few Met starters complained publicly about the new rotation messing with their routines. The Mets kept yanking Gee around to various roles all season so it really wasn’t a surprise that he struggled. The Mets will likely find a trade partner for Gee within the next ten days but it remains to be seen how much money the new team would be willing to take on.

Sandy Alderson may have overplayed the Dillon Gee market

By Steven Inman

In one of the more shocking developments of the 2014-15 Met off season, Dillon Gee is still a Met. Gee, 28, is scheduled to make $5.3 million in 2015 but doesn’t seem to have a rotation spot with the Mets. Gee will be a free agent after the 2016 season. With Matt Harvey coming back after Tommy John surgery in 2013, Gee appears to be the odd man out.

It appears the Mets overvalued Gee’s market during the Winter Meetings and now they are stuck with an expensive long man. The Mets have no desire to pay that kind of money for any of their relievers let alone a swingman who would much rather be starting somewhere.

It is a very similar situation to what happened with Ike Davis and the Mets last winter.

The Mets got some decent offers for Davis but elected to hold out for a better offer that never came. Instead Sandy Alderson kept Davis into the 2014 season and then moved him in a salary dump in late April. The Gee situation looks eerily similar.

The Mets don’t want payroll to exceed $100 million so keeping Gee now could prevent the Mets from making a key move at the deadline that could push them into contender status. Gee has been a solid pitcher for the Mets but based on their rotation and current payroll he has more value in a trade than on the Mets. Their best chance to move him now is having a pitcher on another team get injured in spring training and then calling the Mets on their available right-hander.

Mets Most Memorable Moments of 2014

By Steven Inman

With less than a week left in 2014, lets go back and look over the most important moments of the 2014 Mets year, on and off the field.

We did this the previous two years. The 2013 post can be found here and the 2012 article can be found here. In case you were living in a cave over the last year here is everything you need to know about the Mets in 2014. There were a lot of positives for the Mets but the team also had a lot of negatives. Here’s the list.

6. Bobby Parnell undergoes Tommy John surgery: Parnell didn’t look right all spring as his velocity was way down in Florida but the Mets elected to put him on the Opening Day roster anyway. Parnell blew the save on Opening Day against the eventual division champion Nationals and was sent for an MRI shortly after that revealed the need for season-ending surgery. The bullpen was a major liability for the Mets for much of the first half after Parnell went down as place holders such as Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth were ineffective as late inning options. Both players were let go midway through the season. The Parnell injury was a major reason the Mets fell in such a large early season hole that they were never able to climb out of. Bobby Parnell will not be ready for Opening Day but for some reason, the Mets elected to pay his arbitration price again.

5. Jacob deGrom win NL Rookie Of the Year: The most pleasant surprise of the 2014 Mets was their

Jacob deGrom was magnificent as a rookie in 2014

ninth round pick of the 2010 draft, Jacob deGrom. The right-hander was dominant all season and was easily the Mets best pitcher in 2014. If deGrom can perform as well as a second year player, the Mets rotation should be a force in 2015. DeGrom’s special year was capped off when he was awarded NL Rookie of the Year. Jacob is the first Met to win Rookie of the Year since Doc Gooden in 1984.

4. Mets will bring in the Citi Field Fences once again: In what has become a common discussion in recent years, the Mets have elected to bring in the Citi Field fences yet again. The new dimensions are very similar to Shea Stadium but if the Mets had the money to bring in better hitters, this probably wouldn’t be #4 on our list. The Mets needed to get creative to solve their need for power bats. Regardless David Wright and Curtis Granderson should benefit in 2015 from the more hitter friendly dimensions at Citi Field.

3. Mets sign Michael Cuddyer: The Mets made the first move of the MLB offseason by signing outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two year contract worth $21 million. Cuddyer will cost the Mets the 15th overall pick in the 2015 draft but will provide a much needed bat to the middle of the New York lineup ,should he stay healthy. When the Mets struck unusually quickly to sign the former All-Star most expected this to be a busy offseason for Sandy Alderson and company. That has not been the case as the Mets have been quiet since that move in November.

2. Mets trade Ike Davis to Pittsburgh: The debate over who should be the Mets first basemen mercifully came to an end when the Mets traded shipped the former first round draft pick to Pittsburgh. While the Mets didn’t get much back in exchange for Ike Davis, the move freed up such much needed money and more importantly allowed Lucas Duda to play first everyday.  The left-handed slugger blossomed after being handed the job and hit 30 homers to go with 92 RBI’s for the Mets. Duda will be critical for the 2015 Mets.

Davis did not play well in Pittsburgh and has since been moved to Oakland as a salary dump where he will serve as depth in the A’s first base puzzle.

1. Sandy Alderson’s 2013 offseason signings don’t pan out: Unfortunately the Mets most significant moment of 2014 is a negative one. Last offseason Alderson and company signed OF Curtis Granderson and Chris Young along with P Bartolo Colon to lucrative deals, none of which have worked out. When you are operating at such a small payroll like the Mets, you must hit on all of your free agent acquisitions and the Mets hit on none from last winter. Granderson had a dismal year and received the boo birds often at Citi Field. The former Yankee is still owed $47 million over three years by the Mets. The Grandy Man has now not hit over .232 since the 2011 season. Granderson should benefit from the fences coming in power-wise but must improve on his .227/.326/.388 triple slash in his first season in Queens.

Chris Young was a disaster for the Mets and was released midway through the season. Young was the worst signing in Sandy Alderson’s tenure as Mets General Manager. Young badly struggled even just putting the ball in play as a member of the Mets.

While Bartolo Colon was a reliable veteran presence for the Mets in 2014, but the team simply over payed him. Colon,41, is still owed $11 million in 2015 which is far too much money for a 5th starter on a team that doesn’t want payroll to exceed $90-95 million. The Mets attempted to trade Colon but couldn’t find a team willing to take on his entire salary. Signing Colon last winter is preventing the Mets from finding a shortstop now.

The 2014 Mets year was mostly uneventful but expect 2015 to be a much more interesting year in Queens. With Matt Harvey back along with a rejuvenated David Wright this Met team should improve on 2014’s 79 wins.

Opening Night is now only 100 days away….

What are you looking forward to most from the 2015 Mets?

Mets Deserve Credit for picking Lucas Duda over Ike Davis

Photo by Metsblog

By Steven Inman

While a lot has gone wrong in yet another mid 70’s win campaign for the Mets, a lot has also gone right and that all starts with Lucas Duda. Duda came into the 2014 season in hopes of winning the first base job over Ike Davis. Nothing was decided by the Mets even after Spring Training except that Duda would no longer be playing the outfield.

The Mets started the season with three first basemen all going to split time. Duda, Ike Davis and Josh Satin all struggled out of the gate and a decision on the position was well over due.

The Mets made the decision to trade Ike Davis on April 18^th in basically a salary dump and Duda was named the starter. We did a poll in December and only 18 percent of readers believed the Mets should trade Davis, not believing he needed a change of scenery. Well it turns out that Mets were right about their Davis/Duda dilemma even if it did take them some time to decide on it.

The 28-year old Duda has blossomed into one of the better power hitting first basemen in the National League this season. Duda is hitting .255 with 26 homers and 76 RBI with an OPS of .848, by far the highest on the Mets. Duda is 3^rd in the National League in homers entering Thursday.

Make no mistake about it, Duda not having to worry about his defense anymore in the outfield definitely has impacted his offense in a very positive way.

Duda has 23 homers in the 110 games he has played in since the Davis trade.

Keep in mind that Ike Davis has a.242 average with nine homers in 107 games for the Pirates. Their have been serious discussions in Pittsburgh about making Pedro Alvarez the full time first basemen for the Pirates.

The Mets still have control over Duda for three more seasons after this one as a Super Two player. Expect Duda to get a hefty raise on his 2014 salary that is a tick over $1.6 million but he should still be a bargain for our beloved BrokeMets.

Sandy Alderson had a rough offseason but he and his staff deserve enormous credit on their patience leading to the emergence of Lucas Duda.

Now don’t get me wrong Duda is not a complete player. He doesn’t hit left-handers at all (.148 BA) and is still a very streaky player but he makes the Mets winter a whole lot easier knowing the team doesn’t need to think about addressing first base.

Ike Davis is not working out in Pittsburgh

By Steven Inman

Ike is still struggling even after his trade

Former Met first basemen and first round pick Ike Davis is still badly struggling even after his trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis, 27, was hitting .208 with a .367 OBP and a homer before his trade from the Mets a few weeks ago. After hitting a grand slam in his first series as a Pirate, Davis has badly struggled. He is hitting just .178 with a homer and five RBI’s in his first 45 at bats in Pittsburgh.

It has gotten so bad for Davis in Pittsburgh that there have been reports that GM Neal Huntington is seeking another upgrade at first base, just weeks after acquiring Davis. Huntington has denied such reports.

Even though the Mets didn’t get much for Davis it looked like a wise move as it appeared that he simply needed a trade. He looked like a guy who could thrive after a change of scenery but that has simply not happened. It still has not been reported who the player to be named later coming back to the Mets is in the Davis trade.

Ike could be designated for assignment by the Pirates soon if he doesn’t produce. He is probably safe for a while as the team really doesn’t have many other options at first base besides Gaby Sanchez.

Just for comparison Lucas Duda, the first basemen the Mets picked over Davis, is hitting .261 with a .356 OBP along with four homers and 15 RBI’s in 88 at bats.

Mets trade Ike Davis to Pittsburgh

By Steven Inman

The Mets hope that Ike Davis won’t breakout after leaving New York

The Mets have traded 1B Ike Davis to the Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Zack Thornton and a player to be named later.

Thornton, a right handed reliever, is 25 years old. He was pitching in Triple-A Indy for the Pirates, and has posted a 1.23 ERA and 1.091 WHIP in 7 1/3 innings this season. The 6-3, 220-pounder has issued one walk and struck out eight.

Thornton is considered a soft-tosser and isn’t much of a prospect. He was left off the Pirates 40-man roster over the winter so the Mets or any other team could have claimed him in the Rule 5 draft if they wanted. He went unclaimed at the time and will report to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Last season, Thornton pitched at three levels in the Pirates system, posting a 2.63 ERA over 75 1/3 innings. He had 90 strikeouts and walked just 12.

Thornton was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 23rd round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft from the University of Oregon. He was traded to the Pirates in exchange for righthanded pitcher Chris Resop on November 30, 2012.

Davis was hitting .208 (5-for-24) with a double, home run, five RBI and four runs scored in 12 games this year.

The other prospect the Mets should get should be more significant but the main incentive for New York is the team will save around $3.14 million by trading Davis.

So why is the other player to be named? It could be for four reasons. The first is that information just isn’t available yet and should be public shortly.Secondly and most likely the player was just drafted in the last draft and can’t be traded for a full year.
Third would be after the trade deadline and the player is on the 40 man and must go thru waivers like Vic Black last season.
Lastly and the teams haven’t decided on the player yet and have given the acquiring team (mets) a list of players they can take after further scouting.

It is the end of an era in Queens with Davis, a former first rounder being traded out of town. The Pirates were desperate for a first basemen and getting a guy who could succeed with a change of scenery makes a lot of sense.

“You can’t play a major league season with three first basemen” Davis told reporters after hearing the news.

It is pretty clear that the Mets are buying into Lucas Duda and he will now get even more playing time after being named the everyday first basemen last week.

We said last week that the Mets have put off the Davis/Duda dilemma for two years now. Well on April 18th, 2014 the franchise has finally made their decision.

Lucas Duda has been great since being handed the first base job

By Steven Inman

The Mets had debated Ike Davis or Lucas Duda at first base for seemingly forever but Terry Collins elected to go with Duda last week as the full time starter at first base in a surprising move. Duda didn’t earn the job as he was hurt throughout the spring and didn’t have a hit until being named the official first basemen before the fourth game of the season. Duda has taken off since and is starting to get the confidence he needs to succeed. Duda had a four hit game on Monday in Arizona and leads the team with three homeruns.

Duda is hitting a healthy slash line of .275/.341/.500 in 14 games so far in 2014. The Mets had been inclined to trade Davis and not Duda over the winter. They really believe Duda can succeed when he is playing his more natural position, first base. They believe this will be a breakout year for the 28-year old slugger.

It makes sense as Duda has struggled with confidence so far in his major league career so moving back to first base full time where he is more comfortable could do wonders for his offensive numbers.

Duda is not in the lineup Wednesday afternoon in the Mets series finale vs. the Diamondbacks.

Is Lucas Duda poised for a breakout campaign with the Mets?

Mets seem to have ditched first base plan already

By Steven Inman

Having three first base only players will cause a lot of roster inflexibility son for Terry Collins Photo by Newsday

Just days after Terry Collins announced that Lucas Duda would be the Mets first basemen, the team has seemingly ditched that idea. Collins has started Ike Davis a few times since making that announcement and also stated that Davis will start on Thursday in the series finale vs. the Atlanta Braves.

I guess the Mets don’t know yet but the season has started already. Auditions should be over the team should have picked a first basemen years ago (or at least a few weeks ago) but this audition could go on for the foreseeable future.

Honestly the Mets have no idea what they have out of their first basemen but it is in their best interest to pick one for the job and let him play their everyday for the next five or six weeks. That doesn’t appear to be the plan however.

Neither player can get into any kind of rhythm when they are in a three man platoon.

Duda is hitting .182 with two homers and four RBIs through 22 at-bats this season. Meanwhile, Davis is hitting .400 with one homer and four RBIs in only 10 at-bats. Josh Satin should play a lot this weekend when the Mets take on the Angels who will throw out two pretty good left-handed starters.

Who should be the Mets first basemen?

Lucas Duda will be the Mets first basemen for awhile

By Steven Inman

Davis and Duda have been battling for the first base position for two years now. (Photo by NY Daily News)

Terry Collins said postgame that he will go with one first basemen vs. right-handed pitching instead of having Lucas Duda and Ike Davis basically try out for the spot every day. The Mets have been using three first basemen, none of which have endured much success yet. Josh Satin will still play against left-handers.

I believe the Mets should throw Ike Davis out there every day as he has the most potential of any of the Mets three first basemen. That being said, it certainly is a positive to see that the Mets seem to have finally picked a first basemen for the foreseeable future. Duda, 28, is 0 for 7 so far on the young season but had a couple of decent at bats vs. spot starter Tanner Roark on Thursday.

Davis will be used as a pinch hitter from here on out.

Are the Mets making the right decision here?

Mets 2014 Season Outlook

By Steven Inman

David Wright and Daniel Murphy will once again be relied upon to carry the Mets lineup
Photo by NY Post

It is almost here, the greatest day of the year, Opening Day. Just 48 hours from now we will be enjoying Mets baseball once again. So now it is time to breakdown their upcoming season.

Infield: The infield is the only part of the team that Sandy Alderson didn’t address this winter. Ike Davis likely gets the first crack at being the lefty platoon at first base with Josh Satin. With the team going to play the LA Angels in the second week of the season they will need a DH so Lucas Duda should still see plenty of at-bats early on in April.  Having three first basemen on the roster certainly hurts Terry Collins’ roster flexibility which may need to be addressed at some point.

Ruben Tejada is still here and looks to be the guy at shortstop despite a poor 2013 season and a rough Spring Training to say the least. Wilmer Flores with a strong spring has put himself in a position to be Plan B at shortstop despite being sent to the minors. Omar Quintanilla will make the team as the backup middle infielder.

Travis d’Arnaud goes into the season with a lot to prove but is still just a rookie. He was having a rough spring with the bat until this past week so it looks like he is getting hot at the perfect time for New York. Many expect him to compete for Rookie of the Year in the National League. He likely will start the year down near the bottom of the order.

Obviously the Mets have two quality hitters at third base and second base with David Wright and Daniel Murphy respectively. The duo just needs to stay healthy as they will be expected to continue to anchor the Mets lineup. Murphy needs to improve upon his OBP if he wants to stay a Met long-term.

Outfield: The Mets spent most of their offseason budget on their outfield which looks to have improved. Curtis Granderson was an overpay coming off a lost year but he will certainly help give David Wright protection and put less pressure on guys like Ike Davis and Travis d’Arnaud who can bat lower in the lineup now.

Chris Young is the X-Factor for this Mets team. He is coming off a lost year for the AL West champion Athletics but has looked very good offensively and defensively this spring. He doesn’t have the elite outfield arm he once had but is still a good outfielder. It will be important for him to adjust to Citi Field’s unique dimensions quickly especially playing in a corner outfield spot, a position he isn’t all that familiar with. Young was given a 1-year “prove it” contract so he has a lot to prove to not just the Mets but to all of baseball this season. He was still given $7.25 million however and for a team like the Mets with a very small payroll ($87 million) they badly need him to produce. When Eric Young Jr. is in the lineup Chris Young will bat 5^th and when Juan Lagares is in the lineup Chris Young will likely bat leadoff. Lagares should play every day as his defense is just too good to keep on the bench. There has been a power struggle between Collins and Sandy Alderson on which outfielder should play more. Collins wants EY Jr. in their as he doesn’t believe anyone else can hit leadoff on this team. Both outfielders should see a lot of playing time.

Starting Rotation: Obviously the talk about the Mets starting rotation is about the guy who isn’t here and that is Matt Harvey. He expects to be back before September but it would be very irresponsible for the Mets to let Harvey rush back like that. Besides who know if they will even be in the race that long. At the top of the Mets rotation is a pair of strike throwers in Dillon Gee and Bartolo Colon. Both have looked good this spring and could be ready for big seasons.

As the only left-hander on the staff Jon Niese must stay healthy if the team has any desire to stay in contention. Zack Wheeler continues to fly under the radar and if he can throw enough strikes, could be a candidate for the All-Star team in Minnesota this season. Wheeler has a dynamic arm. Daisuke Matsuzaka will start the year in the minors but will be used as rotation depth if Jenrry Mejia struggles in the fifth spot or gets injured.

Bobby Parnell has lacked the velocity he needs to be an effective closer
Photo by NY Daily News

Bullpen: The Mets bullpen is their biggest weakness and will likely become their downfall this season. It all starts with the closer and Bobby Parnell doesn’t look like the same guy that was an All-Star candidate last summer. His velocity is down big and the team is already talking about him not pitching anything more than back to back games. Jose Valverde will be relied on to start the year as the 8^th inning guy. He is an older pitcher and is a prime suspect for overuse to start the season should he have a few successful outings. Remember this is a guy who was released by Detroit last season, a team that was desperate for bullpen help.

Scott Rice will be depended on heavily as well after a strong rookie campaign. He is also a suspect for overuse as he was overused badly by Collins in 2013 and scouts have all said his velocity has been down as well. John Lannan will hope to assist Rice in the lefty specialist role, a role that Lannan has no experience in. Jeurys Familia has an elite arm and it would a major surprise if he isn’t near the back end of the bullpen by Memorial Day, likely as the 8^th inning guy. Collins wants to ease Familia into that role.

Bench: The Mets bench will be very interchangeable. It will include one of EY Jr./ Lagares and two of Satin/Davis/Duda. It also will have backup catcher Anthony Recker as well as Omar Quintanilla. Andrew Brown is expected to make the team as the 5^th outfielder until they need the roster spot for Jon Niese.

Prospects: The Mets have many prospects that will make their major league debuts in 2014. Unfortunately due to service time, none will make their debuts any time soon. Rafael Montero is the pitcher closest to the big leagues but likely won’t be up until mid-June for arbitration purposes. The same goes for Noah Syndergaard. We have already seen Wilmer Flores but the infielder will be up after the first infield injury or if Tejada struggles. He is not in the minors because of service time simply to get an opportunity to play every day. Jack Leathersich is a left-handed reliever the team thinks can get big league lefties out soon.

Projection: 80-82 Third Place This Met team looks better than the past few years because of depth. If they lose a starter early on in the season they don’t have to go to an Aaron Laffey or someone like him. They have legitimate pitching prospects in the system. The N.L. East is not what it once was but the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves both have much more talent than the Mets currently. Also if the Mets find themselves in it at the trade deadline, do they have the money to go take on a contract to go get the hitter they likely will need? The Mets are improving but this doesn’t look to be their year.

Strengths: Starting pitching, Depth

Weaknesses: Bullpen, Shortstop, Payroll flexibility

Breakout Candidates: Travis d’Arnaud, Wilmer Flores, Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee

Regression Candidates: Jon Niese, All of the first basemen, Curtis Granderson, Bobby Parnell

1. Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves
3. New York Mets
4. Philadelphia Phillies
5. Miami Marlins