The Mets aren’t likely to acquire an outfielder in advance of the trade deadline, sources tell Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link). Collectively, the Mets outfield has batted .236/.297/.369 this season, with much of that production coming courtesy of Curtis Granderson’s very solid .243/.340/.417 batting line. The offensive contribution from Mets outfielders has been roughly 10 percent worse than the league-average batting line when accounting for park factors, evidenced by their wRC+ of just 90. Michael Cuddyer, Juan Lagares and John Mayberry Jr. have all provided little to no contribution with the bat, leaving considerable room for an upgrade. The Mets do have one of the best outfield prospects in baseball in the form of 2014 first-rounder Michael Conforto, though to this point all media reports pertaining to a Conforto promotion have indicated that such a move is not close.
Elsewhere in the National League East…
- The return of Travis d’Arnaud to the Mets’ anemic lineup would be another way to boost the club’s run production, and Marc Carig of Newsday tweets some positive news on his recovery. D’Arnaud is out of the brace he had been wearing on his injured elbow and is participating in “limited baseball activities,” GM Sandy Alderson tells Carig. The timetable on d’Arnaud’s return remains cloudy, but the update is nonetheless encouraging for Mets fans.
- News on the Braves’ injury front isn’t as positive, as president of baseball operations tells Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Freddie Freeman may be sidelined into the month of August. The Braves had hoped Freeman would be activated right after the All-Star break. “It’s more serious than we expected,” said Hart. “…He’s working hard to get back but it’s a slow-healing injury and it still gives him pain when he swings. … We gave him an injection and thought he would be back in two or three days but it was no better. We did further tests and found it was more serious than we thought.” A prolonged absence for the club’s best hitter does little to instill confidence that the 42-47 Braves can right the ship.
- On the heels of a dismal first half for shortstop Ian Desmond, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo gave a vote of confidence to the struggling star. “He’s our shortstop, he’s gonna be our shortstop,” said Rizzo to James Wagner of the Washington Post. “He’s a leader of the ballclub. He’s a three-time Silver Slugger that we think he’s going to be Ian Desmond in the second half. He’s got a great attitude, a great work ethic.” The strong words seem to indicate that there are no present plans for a changing of the guard at short, even an internal switch such as giving the revitalized Danny Espinosa some more at-bats at shortstop. Desmond, of course, is a free agent at season’s end, so the poor first half comes with serious financial implications.
- Though Marlins players generally like manager Dan Jennings, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the GM-turned-skipper did upset some of the club’s pitchers when stating that pitching help was on the way in the form of Jose Fernandez. Some within the clubhouse took the comment as a slight. Jackson hears that some within the clubhouse think Jennings’ motivational tactics are better suited for a room of executives than a group of players.
.243/.340/.417 is “very solid?”
750 OPS…look at the rest of the league
League average is .710
111 OPS+, 117 wRC+. Yes, it’s very solid. One thing they should do, though, is consider sitting him against lefties, as he has been atrocious against them this year. Mayberry could play RF and despite his overall numbers has hit lefites decently.
Really? In what league.
above average defense, above average base runner. .750 OPS, probably hits over 20 hrs.
I think the upside of Cuddyer, Grandy and Larages is more incouraging then Tejada, so an upgrade at SS would seem more likely.
A few buy-low options like Alexei Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins or Starlin Castro could make sense and you take a shot at their upside.
Someone like Jose Ramirez (1.8 WAR in 68 games last season) could make some sense.
Ben Zobrist is another guy who won’t cost a ton because of a down season and could help you out at SS and in the OF.
I’d rather them run what they have out on the field and if it doesn’t work out you get ready for a busy offseason. They just need d’Arnaud to get back, and for a tick more production all around, and they can get closer to 90 wins. It’s hard to think of them as wasting another year, but patience needs to win out here.
Not this again. Tejada and Flores have comfortably outperformed all three guys you mention. It would make the team worse to get any of them.
Not only would it make the on-field team worse, you’re also giving up assest to get them. Keeping Flores and Tejada costs nothing in either prospects or money and they’re better than the options out there.
Zobrist would be a really great fit! But i think that actually, his cost will be higher than what the mets are willing to pay.
Rollins in a Mets uniform? Besides the fact that Tejada and Flores have been doing what Rollins has already been doing. Castro? Since when is Castro a buy-low option? Last time the Cubs were talking Castro, they wanted Syndergaard or DeGrom. The Mets already have plenty of underperforming and overpaid players. Zobrist won’t cost a ton? This is the first I’ve heard that. Everybody else says he will cost more than he should. The A’s don’t want to trade him. He has a high demand. He can also be offered a QO. Which of those things make it so he won’t cost a ton?
I don’t know much about the Ramirez twins, so I refrained from comment on both. The other candidates mentioned are all distasteful for one reason or another.
Honestly, I think the Mets hit the FA or trade market this offseason for their SS. The only name you mentioned that MIGHT garner some attention at that point, would be Zobrist.
It seems like it’s been said a bunch, but Castro is not an upgrade for the Mets. Neither is Alexei or Rollins.
Zobrist would be an upgrade, but I disagree both with the assertion that he won’t cost a ton and that he’s having a down year. Several teams have been linked to Zobrist, the As aren’t out of it (check their Pyth W-L), and you’re dealing with Billy Beane.
Also, Zobrist’s OPS+ this season is in line with his career number despite a pretty bad BABIP. If the As decide to trade him, he’ll cost plenty.
I imagine Jose Ramirez gets traded, because he is a shortstop who will play at least the major league average or above in WAR. But hes not a current upgrade for the Mets
I doubt the Marlins will ever have a better motivational manager than Trader Jack Mckeon. He knew how to get the best out of each of his players and find how to get to that untapped talent.
Without any changes from where the Mets currently are, they are projected to go .500 on most projections. With the re-addition of d’Arnaud, not trading anybody, and finding a “lightning in the bottle” September call up I think the Mets can sniff out a division win. I do not believe they are a playoff team quite yet, and with three very good central teams holding the spots for the wild card I don’t think they are going to be able to compete for a wild card birth. The Nats are vulnerable, though. As good as they look on paper, you can almost see that things aren’t quite right. It’s hard to tell if they can grind their way to October without a healthy core to their lineup. I think if they can make it and get everyone healthy, they will be a much tougher ballclub because of what they have fought through so far, which can really test a team out. Can’t wait for the second half to see what happens.
The last month on the Mets schedule is truly pathetic. They will be playing about 27-30 games against truly atrocious teams, several of which will have sold off most of their talent by then (10v phillies for example). They will be in a position to legitimately go 20-10, if not better, in those games, which will push them easily into the 86-88 win zone. They just have to not fall apart before then. They have to be, at worst, 60-60 going into that stretch.
88 wins isn’t going to win the division and isn’t likely to be the second Wildcard.
There is also strong potential now that Cole Hamels will not be pitching in those games anymore.
Mets need to Get tulo now, he fixes a lot of problems with Bat , Glove and Experience.Niese and One of Young Guns gets him !
No, Niese and one young gun doesn’t.
Just saying.. If they take on Tulo’s 100m left on his contract until the 2020 season? Giving up a really good SP kid.. Such as Wheeler/Snydergaard/Harvey, or deGrom may be the cost. Tulo’s value isn’t what it was a couple of years ago.
With the explosion of tv deals his contract is good, at the most premium position other than maybe catcher. Injuries will always be a concern but u cam say the same about pitching.
Yes, injuries are always a concern, but Tulo is older, has a proven track record of injuries, and is being paid a premium compared to any of the Met arms.
If it is a year from now and they have Harvey, deGrom, Syn, Matz, and Wheeler doing well AND they have at least one of Fulmer/Ynoa/Meisner tearing it up in AA/AAA….then maybe you trade Wheeler or one of F/Y/M. You can never have enough pitching, so the Mets should only trade with a full cabinet of arms and a couple in the wings.
Unfortunately the Rockies’ ownership values him more than anyone else, let alone his injury risk. If he were pushing to get out (and was vocal about it), then maybe the Mets could swing something around Rosario, Nimmo, + a couple other A/AA guys….but all of their top arms should be off the table. You can never have enough pitching and Tulo *can* be great, but that is a lot of money for someone who misses 40-50+ games a year and is on the wrong side of 30.
What are the Marlins players thinking? Fernandez was in the conversation for best pitcher in baseball when he went down. How is it a “slight” for him to be noted as an improvement? He’s by far the most talented pitcher on the team. Any pitcher on that team thinking he’s better than Fernandez is completely delusional.
I would just guess it would not take much in the line of prospects to pry Choo from Texas, and Texas would likely eat a good bit of his contract. Choo is out hitting everyone in the Mets outfield despite having a slightly down year.
Prospects? All it would take is a phone call. LOL
Granderson’s numbers are way better than Choo’s. Choo is hitting only slightly better than Cuddyer.
And Texas would have to cover a huge amount of the salary (like, over 50%), which I’m not sure would make sense for them. Choo’s given them zero WAR over a season and a half and is owed $100MM more. Better for them to try to ride it out with Choo for another season or two and hope that he turns it around.
“He’s our shortstop, he’s gonna be our shortstop,”………..Words that typically preceeding the following announcement “Desmond has been traded to the……….”………especially when that player is going to be a free agent at the end of the season!
He’d probably be gone by now if it wasn’t for the Nats constantly having 5 opening day starters on the DL most of the season.
I’m thinking two big trades, or no major trades. Maybe a trade of Desmond to a faux-contender and then a trade for another bat somewhere else.
The Braves medical staff has been slow to diagnose and has mis-treated some injuries the past few seasons…Maybe that’s something they need to review
I wonder if the “club house” is Jared Cosart again. Hasnt he learned?