Here’s the latest out of the National League:
- Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday left last night’s game with what looked to be a fairly significant quadriceps strain, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The severity of the injury is not yet known, but we can expect more information today. While the team does have options in left — Randal Grichuk, Peter Bourjos, and Jon Jay are all available on the MLB roster, and top prospect Stephen Piscotty is waiting at Triple-A — any lengthy loss would be a huge blow. Holliday, 35, has put up a typically strong (although atypically low-power) .303/.417/.421 batting line thus far. And St. Louis is already dealing with the loss of first baseman Matt Adams to a severe quad injury, leaving some questions in the middle of the order.
- The Mets are in an interesting spot as the trade deadline approaches, with some useful trade chips that are also somewhat redundant assets. Among the young, big league level players who the team could conceivably deal, catcher Kevin Plawecki is not really an option to be moved, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Though he’ll likely be replaced soon by Travis d’Arnaud, the Mets don’t want to sacrifice depth behind the plate. But righty Rafael Montero could well be moved, says Puma, though he’ll need to get over his shoulder issues and back on track to carry the kind of value the team would hope.
- While the Mets continue to receive strong results from their rotation, the club’s handling of the staff has been problematic, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Top lefty prospect Steven Matz is being held down until Super Two avoidance can be assured, says Sherman, while the club struggles to figure out what to do with Jon Niese and Dillon Gee.
- Sherman adds that the club “may have been able” to get Juan Uribe from the Dodgers in exchange for Gee, but passed on the opportunity because the team did not yet appreciate the severity of David Wright’s back problems. The club is now struggling to fill in at the hot corner, particularly with Daniel Murphy joining Wright on the DL.
Wish they would package Plawecki, Montero, and another pitcher to get a bat.
They need a big bat and they have several spots they could opt to fill: 3B,SS, 2B, OF. Yes they have talent at those positions but their IF players have experience all over the IF. OF is an issue b/c Granderson isn’t hitting the ball, at all. If he can hit even remotely well, they can go after a guy like Tulo and move Flores to 2B. I’ve seen rumors of Segura and Ramirez from Milwaukee but I’m not sure how well Ramirez would do 1/2 a season away from retirement when he’s already hitting in the low 200’s. Though, Segura would be a nice addition to the IF.
Don’t know why my comment is waiting to be approved by MLB Trade Rumors. All I said was that you need to take on Ramirez if you want Segura who is 25 (part of the future). Adding those two could potentially upgrade the bench, defense, offense, and rotation if Gee or Niese is included in the deal because Matz would be brought up.
Ramirez is only going to get traded if he agrees to it. The Brewers aren’t going to look to dump him. I’m not sure why the Brewers would want Gee, they have plenty of mediocre pitching.
Why wouldn’t the Brewers look to free up money? Also, Gee wouldn’t be the main arm in the trade but just depth in the rotation.
Sigh mets fans. Just because you dont want him doesnt mean you can include him in every trade. The brewers want youngsters back.
Well Gee isn’t necessarily old, he’s 29. Also, like I said he wouldn’t be the main arm in the trade. If they were to get Segura and Ramirez a return of Montero, Molina +
True….but you guys need pitching. Gee and Niese are both very serviceable #4 / #5 pitchers. I’m not saying they are world beaters, but they are much better than what many staffs have on their roster currently in those spots.
This is a pipe dream but I would love to see a combination of Segura and Braun/Gomez. Braun’s contract is an albatross around Milwaukee and would free up space for them. Gomez won’t be back after the ’16 season; so they’re on borrowed time. Any combination of Segura + Braun/Gomez would allow Granderson to go to the bench and give the Mets immediate depth all round. But, again, that’s a pipe dream.
Its a pipe dream because we have broke owners who wont spend money!! i wish they would sell and make everyone happy
Grandy hasn’t been that bad…he is just streaky. Unfortunately the Mets also have Murphy (injured but streaky) and a bunch of other bats who aren’t consistent. Cuddyer is the bigger problem at the plate right now. I tried to be optimistic w. his signing, but it is looking foolish now.
with wright gone i bet his biggest value now is mentoring the younger players
we need Plaw. TDA is injury prone and we need the insurance
I’d love to, but TDA needs to prove he can stay healthy. Plaw needs some more work (blocking balls, calling a more aggressive game, and tweaking his approach at the plate)…BUT…he can be a middle average to above average catcher in this league, and that is value to 20 of the 30 clubs who don’t have a young stud or veteran behind the plate.
The lack of vision for the Mets front office shows their complete ineptitude to get anything done the right way for their ball club. How could you fail to see the severity of Wright’s injury when you have the luxury of several top notch doctors at your disposal. Their blind loyalty to Wright, and lack of willingness to spend any money, is going to nosedive the organization. Just at a point when they’re poised to be great. Was/Is Uribe the answer? Probably not. Would it have been worth a look and a call? Absolutely. Wright’s injury is going to dog him for years to come. Even if he can play, 3B is probably not the most ideal spot for him (twisting turning). Couple all that with the complete lack of depth on their roster and this year looks bleak for the Mets.
Spinal stenosis is commonly misdiagnosed even by the best doctors. Its most common in people over 50 years old, its symptoms mimic those of many other more common ailments. It is common for to strike people who have no history of back problems and many times it is not properly diagnosed until it is accompanied by unusual leg symptoms. A friend of mine was diagnosed with it but only after years of seeing a multitude of specialists, so pointing to it as ineptitude is a bit of an assumption.
and we’re still in first place and the Gnats are about to get spanked by Dairy free, gluten free and sugar free Mark Texeira
Does building a top 5 farm system and rolling towards having 4 elite arms in the starting rotation equal “lack of vision”? Because that kind of sounds like a lot of vision. They are playing winning baseball and are in first place despite half of their team being on the DL, not sure what more you want out of them. If they were even remotely healthy they’d be one of the best teams in the NL,
Absolutely. They have vision and they have had a lot of injuries….but they have also had a lot of missed opportunities bc their ownership is CHEAP and INFLEXIBLE when it comes to payroll. They are in the #1 media market and they spend like they are the freaking TB Rays.
Agreed the owners are just awful. The worst in baseball.
the payroll will go up once they start extending good players. like almost every other team. The Nats were at $90 million 5-6 years ago and went up as they rebuilt the team.
no sense giving up draft picks like the yankees do by signing up free agents everywhere
Could potentially be 5 elite arms. Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, and Wheeler are all already excellent or projected to be excellent.
The team’s “vision” has been clear from day one of this administration. Clear deadweight (Bay, Castillo, LOLlie, K-Rod, Beltrán) and acquire young, impact talent (Wheeler, TdA, Syndergaard, Herrera) while effectively developing players already in the system (Harvey, Matz, Duda, Lagares). They did all of this without sacrificing the future. Their drafting has been solid, too. We’re looking at unspectacular competence, not ineptitude, but it’s easy for some people to ignore what happened because it doesn’t fit their incorrect beliefs.
And there’s plenty of depth on this roster. Wright was replaced by Murphy, TdA was replaced by a top catching prospect when he got hurt, Dillon Gee was replaced by Syndergaard when he went down.
You can’t seriously say that a team that has managed to stay right around first place missing two of its best hitters for most of the season lacks depth.
They do lack depth. Where is the pop off the bench? Soup plays 3B ? Tejada is fine as a defensive replacement but he cannot be counted on to pinch hit. Corner outfielders are mediocre at best and where is 4th outfielder? Guys coming up from AAA so far (hitters) are not very good or not ready. I agree they have pitching depth (although Parnell is not ready and cannot be counted on), and they are staying around 1st place because they built a huge lead and the other teams are not very good so far. I would trade if i found a partner among the following: Gee, Montero perhaps a lower prospect like Meisner (who projects well), Meija, and perhaps a Nimmo. There is some talent there and redundancy right now for Mets (with exception of Nimmo).
You want to trade scraps. What do you expect to get back for them?
Well that was a pointless rant.
“Was/Is Uribe the answer? Probably not.”
Ok.
“Would it have been worth a look and a call? Absolutely”.
According to the article it looks like that’s exactly what happened.
“Just at a point where they are poised to be great”.
Ok.
“Couple all that with the complete lack of depth on their roster and this year looks bleak for the Mets.”
Dude you are all over the place.
The lack of depth that has kept them right up there with the Nats and currently leading the division by a .5 game? I know neither team has played particularly well, but I bet very few people here thought would be .5 games up on the Nats as of 6/9/15.
The fact that Matz is not in the big leagues doesn’t have much to do with Super Two (yet, anyway). It is because they have six major league starters on the team right now. They have to move at least Niese before Matz will come up. Not sure what Super Two has to do with it when there are potentially six guys ahead of Matz for five spots in the rotation. In a perfect world, they’d have already traded Gee and Niese, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Though that info regarding Gee for Uribe is interesting.
I was good until I read the comment regarding Uribe; then I just got pissed. lol As a fan, I’m completely fed up with the Wilpons and the overall sheepishness of the Organization as a whole. Maddoff or not, you’re in the largest MLB market in the World and you’re acting as if you’re located in Houston (no offense to the Astros, referring only to budget).
Houston is a very good baseball market. They just haven’t been good enough to warrant spending much. And the mess with the TV contraxt. But the Astros of the early 2000’s carried a competitive payroll and they will again soon. Much like the Cubs.
Agreed, but Houston is a huge city with a good baseball market. They drastically cut spending in order to do a total rebuild which seems to be working out fantastically.
So, Matz is being held down because of super two and totally not the fact they have 7 MLB starters on the active roster. I mean, pshhhh, call the kid up, go with 8 starters.
Matz and Montero to the A’s for Zobrist and Reddick…..
no
yes
Reddick can’t stay on the field, and when he does he’s not that great.
Adding Reddick to this lineup would mean replacing Cuddyer’s anemic at-bats against righties with basically another Lucas Duda. That would be tremendous.
one of the best LHP prospects for two guys one of whom goes FA end of this season and the other one end of next season. will never happen
montero and niese for those two guys, not Matz
Apparantly you missed when addison russell got traded for shark and hammell
the A’s were in win now mode last year. with our injuries this year and maturing players 2016 looks to be our year. we still have major rotation issues this year which have to be worked out for 2016.
Yes and no. They pulled the deal because shark had value for 2016, they turned him into semien for 5 years + prospects
only because all the guys the A’s traded for had a year or two left, were too expensive for them and had to be traded for younger players to a team with plans to compete this year
they signed butler for 10 mil a year, thats not the reasoning, they thought they were getting more value is why they made the deals. also at the time of the semien deal they needed a middle infielder.
Lol another awful Matz suggestion? You’re 0-2.
That was a Montero suggestion…Matz was just spare parts throw-in….
Gotcha didn’t realize you were trolling. Carry on with your fine work!
heck no. Matz, if anything, should be parted for an ELITE hitter, not decent regulars.
Decent regulars? Reddick would be the best player on the mets, hes also hit 30 homers before. Zobrist is sneaky good. Top 5 player in the bigs the last 5 years.
Yes, Reddick’s a decent regular, if he can stay healthy. Zorbist is good regular, I like him-but not at the cost of Matz, who could be as good as Kazmir.
Could.. vs proven.
The problem with most Mets fans is they are starting to think like Alderson and that’s why nothing gets done. The front office and owner really don’t want to make a move and they are afraid to make a trade for one of their young pitchers.
Just because you might be able to make a move, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right move to make.
I like Zobrist abd Reddick but I like Matz more.
I wouldn’t be so eager to get rid of Montero, I think he’s going to be a good one.
Where will he fit? They have Harvey, deGrom, Wheeler, Syndergaard, and Matz.
And there’s usually about one team per season that makes it through the season without a significant injury to the rotation. Most teams use 8+ starters in a season.
Well they still currently have Niese and Gee. Also, young guys powering their way through the system like Marcos Molina, Gabriel Ynoa, Michael Fulmer, and Matt Bowman.
He fits in once somebody inevitably go’s down with season ending injuries…..
we’ll have colon pitching till he’s 50
As Casey used to say, you can never have enough pitching, if Harvey or de Grom go down they would be in trouble!
The Mets are in an interesting spot as the trade deadline approaches, with some useful trade chips that are also somewhat redundant assets.
Carlos Gomez (would be a nice reunion)(and i know you guys have an A++ defender already in CF, but you guys could make room for Gomez and that bat) and Aramis Ramirez for a young arm plus more from the Mets? Thoughts? Brewers fan here…
Depends on which young arm….
As Mets fans, what would you give for Gomez (Controllable this year and next year) and Ramirez (retiring end of season)?
I’m not quite sure how to value Gomez…Gee + Montero and a mid-tier prospect? I figure Gee is a #5 on the downside and a #4 on the upside. Montero should slot in as as #4 and have an upside as a #3 in another year…so two serviceable arms that can step in today. Two MLB caliber arms isn’t super sexy, but there is value in solidifying the SP. I know Gomez is flashy and is going to get paid as an UFA…but anyone considering a trade knows he is walking after 2016, which hurts his value a bit.
The mid-tier prospect…I dunno..Molina? Gsellman? I haven’t watched the minors as closely this year. Ynoa and a few other guys who were lower ranked are looking promising, so the internal rankings have been shuffled.
Matt Dominguez is DFA’d by Houston, at 25 and former 1st rounder with a good glove, I’d give up Gee for him as a shot in the dark and give him a try till Murph and Wright got back. Either way, Wright will need a caddy the rest of the season anyway.
I would be creative and try to package Lagares, Gee and say Thor for Carlos Gomez/Segura. A RH power bat with speed to play CF with 2 more years of control at a decent price will go a long way to filling out the lineup.
That’s a horrible package. Gomez is only signed through ’16 and he is not going to re-up w/o testing the market. Lagares covers up range issues of both Grandy and Cuddyer. Thor…well…he is a beast. No way I’d trade all of that for Gomez and Segura. Montero + 2 mid-tier prospects would be my limit.
Gomez and Segura for Syndergaard (Or DeGrom or Matz), Gee and 1 or 2 prospects.
As to Gomez and Segura for an injured Montero and 2 mid prospects?? Not a chance
For A. Russell (Cubs) I’d move one of those guys, but not Gomez. The Mets aren’t moving a blue-chip arm for less than an elite bat that is under team control for a number of years. I still think they should sit on their pitching and try and plug holes in the line-up thru FA and their farm (e.g. Conforto).
You Mets fans are all dreaming if you think Niese or Gee is going to get you Segura. Brewers are perfectly content holding on to Segura, who recently turned 25 and is under team control through 2018. Do they have some depth at SS in the system? Yes but the real standout of that group, Orlando Arcia is just 20 and at AA. Brewers are in no rush to start his arby clock anytime soon. Figure Arcia to take over in 2017. That gives Segura plenty of time to increase his value in the market.
Brewers aren’t even that anxious to take Gee for Ramirez. Sure he’d add some veteran depth, but how would he play in hitter friendly Miller Park and is he even worth tendering for 2016? Brewers are auditioning internal starting pitching options and aren’t looking to muck things up with a so-so veteran.
Brewers would like Niese because they lack lefties, but obviously Ramirez isn’t enough to get him.
Here’s a more realistic scenario. Scooter Gennett is close to returning after nearly a month getting straightened out in AAA. He’s hit .324 and .289 his first two seasons but struggled out of the gate this year. If he’s back to his 13-14 form over the next month, a Gennett for Niese deal might make sense allowing the Mets to move Murphy to 3B.
as a mets fan, i think the only way we trade gee or niese is to a team like the 2012 mets with lots of dead money on the books, no farm or young players ready for MLB level and a need for warm bodies to fill roster spots no matter how bad they pitch