Links for Friday, as interleague play begins…
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he expects to have the flexibility to make deals this summer. That doesn't mean the Dodgers be able to take on much payroll, though.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com thinks the Nationals will call Stephen Strasburg up in mid-June. The team will limit him to about 100 major league innings (Twitter link).
- The Nationals don't expect Brian Bruney to be claimed on waivers and the pitcher isn't sure what he'll do if he isn't claimed, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter links).
- As WEEI.com's Alex Speier explains, the Red Sox considered trading for Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez last winter, but acquiring either player would likely have meant giving up Jacoby Ellsbury. The Red Sox wanted to keep him, so they signed free agents instead.
- Trying to predict which teams might become sellers? The Orioles, Astros and Pirates each have less than a one percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus' postseason odds.
- Top July 2 prospect Eskarlin Vasquez has questions swirling around his age, according to Frankie Piliere of FanHouse (via Twitter).
- GM Frank Wren told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Braves liked walk-off hero Brooks Conrad's versatility and power when they signed him to a minor league deal before last season.
- Former Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he's very excited to return to Pittsburgh. This time, it's as an opponent.
- The Mets will probably fire at least one coach if they fire manager Jerry Manuel, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets can't build their team around Jose Reyes and David Wright at this point.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post confirms (via Twitter) that the Rockies will have interest in Kazuo Matsui once he clears waivers.
I’m sorry, but that article by Joel Sherman is pretty ridiculous. The part on Mejia is absolutely correct, and I 100% agree, but talking about Wright no longer being a building block? Are you kidding? Reyes may no longer be the catalyst he used to be, and I think the Mets could trade him. But Wright is the cornerstone of this team, and you can’t just remove him and expect the team to be good. Wright has had the pressure of the entire Mets team on his shoulders, and that would get to anybody. Give Wright a week or so. He’ll heat up, Ike Davis will continue strong, and I think Wright will start to feel the pressure a bit less. The other sections of the article are valid, but the concerns over David Wright are pretty radical.
All of these outlandish concerns stem from him getting hit. He seems to be back to his norm to me, but others think he is “never going to be the same.” I disagree though. I could see them trying to move Reyes though, but I think it’s a little too late to get the value they would expect for him.
Yeah I agree with you 100%
Sorry but I gotta go with ‘Vader on this one. I don’t see “concussion” written on D-Wright at all. To me he IS the same guy he was before the beaning incident – but not the same guy he was before the Mets moved to the new Stadium.
It’s bigger news when there isn’t a July 2nd player with questions surrounding his age.
When don’t these guys have questions surrounding their age anymore though?
When did the Mets ever build a team around Wright and Reyes in the first place? Famous guys in their mid-30s and discarded utility players don’t really count as building.
The mets team IS built around Wright, who is only 27…
the point is those guys were brought in to complement what Wright could do, and until last year, it worked
My point is they’ve made Wright and Reyes the center of the team, but they haven’t really BUILT around them. Just kind of dumpster dived or bought expensive old people to put around them.
McLouth has been quietly turning his season around lately. Over the last two weeks he has hit .262/.380/.429/.809 while using his speed on the basepaths to score 9 runs in 12 games hitting mainly 8th. He is now performing like the guy we thought we had: lots of walks, lots of strikeouts, good speed, good power, solid if unspectacular defense in center, and unfortunately an inablitly to hit LHP.
I wouldn’t be at all suprised to see McLouth finish with a slash line of .250/.350/.450/.800 with 15-20 HR and SB even with his cold start.
I just think he is overrated, and basically the white version of Curtis Granderson.
I can’t agree with Wright, even if he’s in an awful slump. He’s got the fans hearts, while on the other hand Reyes does not. He wasn’t performing well last year and this year is no better. I had a dream where the Mets traded Jose Reyes for Carlos Santana and Justin Masterson. Great dream, though never coming true.
Hmm….too much of a sweeping statement there. D-Wright still has many of the fans’ hearts partly because of his affable nature, good looks, and the fact that the team markets him that way. Obviously those aspects are not at all about baseball & performance. Meanwhile, I notice that that the “Wright is right” mentality has begun to shift. Before it was like he could do no wrong – even when he did do wrong. However now as I sit in the stands, walk around the stadium and listen to fan commentary elsewhere, I am beginning to hear folks starting to reconsider about him, which was definitely not happening before. So it is clear to me at least, that the sheen is starting to wear off.
I think David Wright should be a untouchable in the mets organization, but with dumb asses like Omar Minoya running the show, I’d expect him to screw up and say something in the media about his head injury and how he could become unreliable. . to recap, Reyes = expendable, and Wright = untouchable.
There’s no harm in putting him on the block and asking the moon for him.
You can pratically build the team around him.
David Wright is on pace to be a 30/30 player. David Wright is still the best 3B in the NL. Stop saying he’s in a slump just because he’s striking out. Jose Reyes is going to rebound. Obviously. The end. And, if you’re a big market team like the Mets, it makes ZERO sense to trade Reyes, since it is almost inevitable that his value will increase. And, its not like elite SS grow on trees. I mean, Jeter and Hanley aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and nor are guys like Escobar (Yunel or Alcides) and Tulo and Bartlett and Andrus.
Just put more good players around the two. A team that is Johan, Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Niese, Pelfrey, Bay, Davis, and then a slew of replacement level guys won’t get anywhere.
“David Wright is on pace to be a 30/30 player. David Wright is still the best 3B in the NL. Stop saying he’s in a slump just because he’s striking out.”
While I agree that he’s still the best 3B in the NL, he’s striking out at an unbelievable rate. He just ended a streak in which he struck out in 15 consecutive games, and he leads the NL in strikeouts, eclipsing guys that have struck out more than anybody in history in one season, such as Mark Reynolds. While his other numbers look fine and he seems to have regained his power, striking out is the worst thing a hitter can do as it puts zero pressure on the defense to make a play and gives you zero chance of reaching base. Im sure he’ll get that .262 average up around .300 before its all said and done, but if he doesn’t stop striking out then we may see it hover around that number for a while.
“Jose Reyes is going to rebound. Obviously. The end.”
Obviously? Its not obvious to me at all. He’s batting in the low .200’s right now without any power whatsoever. And I know power isn’t the asset of his game, but his ability to hit double digit homers combined with his speed is really what set him a part as an elite shortstop. He also has all of 9 walks, and a horrendous OBP. I don’t see any promise in his numbers right now, besides the fact that he hasnt seemed to have slowed down as a basestealer. I’m not saying he won’t rebound, but it’s certainly not obvious. And I’m definitely not saying they should trade him, as his value is as low as ever.
the mets are 10x better when reyes is on his game. but his name is jose reyes. not James Schneider, so u know the barometer is a little different for guys with deep tans.
Guess Melky+Dunn+Viz is supossed to be in the neighborhood of Ells? Like the two pitchers, but Melk?
Good to know. You can make moves but won’t have any payroll flexibility? Colletti is gonna make the Santana/Blake Bell/Sherrill trades look like good deals this year.
eh, he would if we still had any decent prospects left in our system to trade. Unfortunately even our top prospects (Withrow, E. Martin, Lindblom, Eovaldi) are putting up terrible numbers, as are Elbert and McDonald. Or they’re suspended for drugs (Lambo).
Gordon is the only guy that I’d be really disappointed to lose.