Mets bring back Jeremy Hefner

By Steven Inman

Photo by CBS Sports

The Mets have brought back SP Jeremy Hefner on a minor league deal. Hefner will spend most of the season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery but will be under the Mets control as an arbitration eligible player after the season. The Mets will save about 500,000 on Hefner’s deal here and won’t lose any service time over the right-hander.

Before being shut down in August and undergoing surgery, the 27-year old posted a 4.34 ERA in 130.2 innings with the Mets.

Hefner had a nice year for the Mets last year and will be depth for the team in 2015 when a lot of their young players like Rafael Montero and Noah Synderrgaard are ready to anchor the Mets rotation.

Mets non-tender Justin Turner and Jeremy Hefner

By Steven Inman

Photo by Sports Illustrated

The Mets finalize their busy day of non-tendering players by letting IF Justin Turner and SP Jeremy Hefner go. The Mets 40-man roster now sits at a much more comfortable 35.

Turner,29, had another strong year off the Mets bench but the fact that Terry Collins was hesitant to put Turner at shortstop likely led to his demise. Turner was the Mets best bench bat and a steady clubhouse presence so he will be missed. He was projected to make about 1 million.

Hefner also wasn’t even arbitration eligible but was due to make $500,000 next year without throwing a pitch. Recovering from Tommy John surgery, Hefner was not expected to pitch at all in 2014. Hefner had a stretch over the summer when he was the Mets #2 starter and we were talking about trading him away before the balloon popped. Well… it popped.

The Mets can bring back both players at lower salaries or in Hefner’s case on a non guaranteed deal. I believe Turner will go elsewhere. He was a very consistent player for the Mets and made the most of his opportunity. Turner was claimed off waivers from the Orioles by former Mets executive Wayne Krivski a few years back. Krivski drafted Turner when he was with the Orioles. Now with Krivski working with the Twins it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him land there given their infield issues.

Will the Mets miss Justin Turner or Jeremy Hefner???

Mets sign Dice K, will join Mets rotation

By Steven Inman

Sandy Alderson has signed SP Daiskue Matsuzaka to a MAJOR league deal. Matsuzaka will join the Mets rotation in place of Jenrry Mejia who was lost for the year.

BrokeMets has reported that the Mets were interested in Dice K over the winter so it made sense that the Mets signed him now after losing Mejia and Jeremy Hefner to season ending injuries.

Matsuzaka, 32, has pitched all season for Triple A Columbus (Indians) and went 5-8 with a 3.92 ERA in 103 innings this season. He was released from the Indians on Tuesday when he believed he had another opportunity elsewhere which turned out to be with the Mets.

While Matsuzaka isn’t the pitcher he once was, this allows the Mets to put Carlos Torres back in the bullpen where he has been much more effective. That being said get used to 4 hour ball games when Dice K starts, and that’s just if the team doesn’t keep playing extra inning games.

The Mets have Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom  all close to the big leagues but none are on the 40 man roster and they are all on innings limits. Matsuzaka can be a free agent at the end of the season.

Mets activate Jon Niese, option Jeremy Hefner to Vegas

By Steven Inman

The Mets have activated LHP Jon Niese from the disabled list. To make room for Niese the Mets have optioned Jeremy Hefner to Las Vegas.

Hefner had been 0-2 with an ERA over 9 in five starts since the All- Star Break.

Jeremy Hefner has struggled badly since the All- Star Break

This allows the Mets to stay in the five man rotation which didn’t seem to be what the Mets wanted to do a few days ago. Hefner has been dealing with pain in his right elbow so he will fly to New York and get an MRI.

If there is anything structurally wrong, Hefner will go on the DL, if not he will go to Triple A until rosters expand in September. Hefner was great for a while but really regressed over the past few weeks. Hefner says he has been dealing with this elbow injury since Spring Training so I don’t think it has affected him that much unless it has gotten progressively worse since then.

Sandy Alderson would have liked to keep the 6 man rotation but there aren’t any logical candidates to be called up since Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom are also on innings limits.

This is a big stretch for Niese. The Mets need him to prove that he is a top to mid rotation starter. Niese was very inconsistent before getting hurt a few months ago. Remember Niese actually was the Mets opening day starter this year. That seems like an eternity ago.

Could Dillon Gee or Jeremy Hefner be trade options for the Nationals?

By Steven Inman

The Washington Nationals have been floundering around .500 all year long after being picked almost unanimously as NL East favorites. They have struggled to hit, actually scoring less runs this year than the Mets somehow but their biggest problem has been the health to their starting rotation.

Dan Haren has been injured and bad all year long and now Ross Detwiler has been dealing with a back injury after just returning from the disabled list.

The Nationals have been using rookie Taylor Jordan but seem to prefer finding a more established pitcher. They don’t seem to be in play for the Matt Garza’s of the world because of the prospects it would take.

You have to wonder if they would approach the Mets about one of Dillon Gee or Jeremy Hefner.  Gee and Hefner have been great the last month or so.

Gee in 50 career innings vs. the Nationals is 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA. Hefner has a 2.93 ERA in his last 13 starts.

Hefner has been the Mets second best starter this season and has really turned it on of late.

It wouldn’t cost an extraordinary amount to acquire one of these guys for the Nationals and with both of these guys making the minimum the Nationals could easily afford them.

So why would the Mets give one of these guys up with the way they are pitching?

With all of the pitching depth that continues to rise through the minor leagues these two guys might not be in the plans anyway.

Sandy Alderson would have no problem dealing within the division.

If the Mets and Nationals talked about one of these two pitchers the Mets could ask for SS/2B Danny Espinosa who has been battling injuries and was recently sent to the minor leagues after losing his job to Anthony Rendon. Espinosa seemingly doesn’t have a position anymore with the Nats and could be a change of scenery guy.

Espinosa, 26, has never been a great average guy but can play a good shortstop or second base and hit 38 homers between 2011 and 2012. However he hit just .158 this season before being placed on the DL and later being sent to Triple A Syracuse.

It’s time to move Shaun Marcum to the bullpen

By Steven Inman

The Mets plan on going with a six man rotation for the next few weeks. Matt Harvey has already publically complained about not getting the ball every 5^th day and I think it would be a major mistake to get young guys like Harvey and Zack Wheeler off of their usual routine.

It appeared that Dillon Gee and Jeremy Hefner were competing to keep one spot in the rotation. Both have turned their seasons around since then. Shaun Marcum hasn’t.

Marcum was ineffective again giving up five runs thru 4 2/3rds in Atlanta where after Marcum’s start Wednesday night vs. the Braves he fell to 0-9 on the season with a 5.43 earned run average.

Marcum’s best outing actually came out of the bullpen when he threw eight strong innings in a loss to the Marlins last weekend.

He is the only pitcher who is pitching poorly right now in the Mets rotation and it doesn’t make sense to consistently use a six man rotation.

Also Marcum has heavy incentives in his contract that are based on games started and innings pitched on top of the $4 million guaranteed. The Mets could save themselves some money if they move Marcum to the bullpen.

I thought if the Mets were out of the race, that they could move Marcum for something decently valuable at the trade deadline. That no longer looks possible as Marcum has pitched very poorly for the most part.

Marcum has been the Mets worst starter this season and if anybody should move to the bullpen it should be him.

Should Dillon Gee lose his rotation spot to Zack Wheeler??

By Steven Inman

Zack Wheeler is expected to make two more starts at Triple A including vs. Salt Lake today at 3:10. The biggest question now is who will Wheeler be replacing in the rotation?

Well Shaun Marcum has been much better over his last few starts including a strong seven innings with a career high 12 strikeouts vs. the Braves Sunday. Marcum is still looking for his first win as a Met however.

Jeremy Hefner has been hit and miss this season but has been a little better in May. The Mets have not won a game started by Hefner this season. Dillon Gee has gotten rocked throughout this season. He has had one quality start this season and that was his first start vs. the light hitting Padres.

Gee seems to pitch well for a few innings and then one big inning seems to be his downfall. Gee is 2-6 with a 6.34 earned run average. Batters are hitting 3.29 off Gee this season. He should be sent to the bullpen or to the minor leagues when Wheeler is deemed ready.

Gee was solid in his first few years as a Met but he has been a disaster so far this season and as an arbitration eligible player this offseason, his time in Queens could be numbered.

Scouting the White Sox

By Steven Inman

The Chicago White Sox are coming to New York to play the Mets for the first time ever. The series kicks off with Matt Harvey on the mound at Citi Field.  The Mets have played the White Sox in only one series before where the Mets lost two out of three in Chi town in 2002. This series will only be for two games.

The White Sox enter play Tuesday last in the A.L. Central at 13-17. They are coming off a nice win in extra innings against the Royals.

Offensively the White Sox are paced by Paul Konerko and Alex Rios who are tied for the team lead in RBI’s.

Luckily the Mets will miss ace Chris Sale in this series who pitched a strong game against Kansas City on Monday. The Mets will see long man/spot starter Hector Santiago who is off to a great start and former Padre Jake Peavy. The Mets will send out Harvey and Jeremy Hefner who is coming off a tough loss down in Miami.

The White Sox are led by former Met now manager Robin Ventura. After exceeding expectations last season, the White Sox are off to a slow start.

How many games should the Mets be able to take in this short series?

This bad weather could actually help the Mets

By Steven Inman

The Mets had two consecutive “snow days” in two different cities and now are trying to play a double header in Colorado starting at 3 p.m. today. Dillon Gee will start the first game and Aaron Laffey will start game two around 8:40 p.m. weather permitting. It is still heavily snowing near Coors Field as of Tuesday Morning.

On the positive side, Terry Collins can now try to push back Jeremy Hefner and Laffey as much as he wants in an effort to get Matt Harvey and Jon Niese as many starts early on as possible while keeping them on their scheduled days of rest while pushing everyone else back.

The Rockies have gotten off to a hot start this year thanks to a strong start from centerfielder Dexter Fowler, who has six homers already. I talked about how Fowler would be a great option for the Mets in centerfield last September. You can check out that article here.

The Mets were hoping to play 4 games in Colorado which doesn’t look all that likely now. Ideally the extra days off gives the Mets more of an opportunity to throw Niese and Harvey more often early on this season. Harvey is still expected to start the opener against the Nationals at CitiField on Friday.

Mets had a scout at Chris Young’s start Monday night, will opt out of deal

By Steven Inman

Chris Young had his last start with the Washington Nationals, Monday night and has elected to use his opt out clause in his minor league contract to become a free agent. Young was told by Washington that they have no room for him on their roster and that he could go to Triple A. Young believes he will find a major league job elsewhere and is now a free agent.

Many teams’ scouts were in attendance for Young’s final start with the Nationals including a Met scout according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The Mets are familiar with Young, since he pitched in New York the last two seasons but I guess there is no harm in sending someone out to see how he looked.

Besides the Mets, the Blue Jays, Orioles, Twins, Indians, Cubs, Cardinals, Red Sox, and Brewers all have scouts on hand for Young’s start against the Astros today.

Young, 33,  is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts with Washington this spring, having allowed four earned runs, seven walks, and two home runs while striking out nine in 16 innings. As of now Jeremy Hefner is slated to be the Mets 5^th starter but Chris Young could be added. He has interest from other teams and I think the most likely scenario is that he signs elsewhere.