Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton may be ready to return to the starting lineup as soon as this Friday, manager Don Mattingly told reporters, including MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, following last night’s win over the Braves. Stanton hit the disabled list with a Grade 3 groin strain that was supposed to effectively end his season in early August, but Miami activated him from the disabled list last week in a surprise move. However, Stanton has been relegated to pinch-hit duties until this point. Frisaro writes that Stanton has been running the bases and performed fielding drills in right field without any signs of discomfort. At 73-73 on the season, the Marlins are currently four games back from an NL Wild Card spot with 16 games remaining on the schedule. Seven of those games will come against the fourth- and fifth-place Phillies and Braves, though, while another three will come against the Mets, who currently lead the Fish in said Wild Card chase.
A bit more from the division…
- Travis d’Arnaud is beginning to lose his hold on the starting catcher’s job, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. Mets manager Terry Collins called d’Arnaud’s lack of home run pop in 2016 (four homers in 250 plate appearances) “frustrating,” writes Puma, and said he’s had extensive talks with the coaching staff to try to discern what has caused the downturn in d’Arnaud’s productivity, but to no avail. “You play the hot hand,” Collins explained in reference to starting journeyman Rene Rivera over d’Arnaud. “We’re in a situation now where we’ve got to go with, at this time last year or maybe a little earlier, hey look: The guys that are producing runs are the guys who are going to get in there.”
- Interestingly, Collins is seemingly electing not to apply that same logic in the outfield. The Mets’ skipper stood by the slumping Jay Bruce, writes the Post’s Mike Vaccaro, making a not-so-subtle statement about his confidence (or lack thereof) in current bench options Michael Conforto and Alejandro De Aza in the process. “If I take him out,” Collins said of Bruce, “I’d better be confident that someone can do a better job.” Bruce is hitting .192/.271/.315 since being traded to the Mets and is in the midst of a 3-for-25 skid over the past week (29 plate appearances). The Mets will have a decision to make on Bruce’s $13MM club option for the 2017 campaign, which doesn’t look nearly as palatable as it did at the time of the trade.
- Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos admits to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post that he became distracted by focusing too much on his impending free agency recently. Ramos, who has been mired in a significant slump (.196/.252/.314 over his past 111 plate appearances), homered last night and tells Castillo that he’s come to the park with a better, more focused approach after a supportive conversation with his wife. The 29-year-old is still hitting .304/.354/.496 even after factoring in a month of poor performance at the dish, making him one of the top free agents on the upcoming market.
I guess if neither one of your catchers can hit, might as well go with the better defender.
And I think the mets are just really desperate to make this Jay Bruce thing work. He went from slugging with the Reds (at home and on the road) and now he just looks completely lost. If he can get going he’s probably got better upside than de aza and Conforto tbh. Conforto is probably not getting another chance to play everyday this year.
Travis D’Arnaud’s struggles this year have been prodigious. In 2016, it has become clear that he is among the worst defensive catches in all of baseball. In limited time, he has managed to allow 56 stolen bases with only 16 runners caught. Earlier in the year, teams would run at will against the Mets, sending guys who had no speed to steal second or third routinely. Further, the opposite field power he has displayed throughout his career has vanished. Whether due to undisclosed injury or mechanics, he has become a singles hitter. Alderson will need to take a long hard look at the catcher position in the coming offseason.
To be fair, mets pitchers don’t hold anybody on.
They seem to hold guys on fine when Rene Rivera is catching…he threw out multiple runners in a recent game with Noah on the mound. Travis’ footwork is as weak as his arm. D’Arnaud would need serious mechanical coaching in the offseason to become an MLB average catcher. Right now, he hurts the team when catching and his bat (14 RBIs and only one more home run than Noah S) doesn’t come close to making the equation work.
I’d love to see the Mets sign Ramos, but I don’t see it happening.
The Mets could have probably added d’Arnod to what they gave up for Bruce, and gotten Lecroy, an impact bat at a position of need. Instead they got a player that even if he wasn’t slumping, wasn’t much of an upgrade over what they already had. Alderson should be the one on the hot seat more than Collins.
How so? The Brewers got the by far better defender with the same profile of pop with less service time in the Smith trade. Plus they also received a pretty good hitter at a premium position. Brinson can also play all three OF spots. d’Arnod is limited defensively and Herrera profiles at a spot they don’t need so that doesn’t really ring true.
Agree, they should have went all in for Lukeroy, Weiters is their Best chance for a hitting Catcher ( Although Playing in High School Baseball Park Camden Yards ) come with some reservations.
Mets should take a serious look at Ramos and Weiters for next season. They cannot go on with TDA anymore.
As for Jason Jay Bay Bruce- benching him this weekend should be the first step. If they make the playoffs and he continues to struggle like this, he should be OFF the playoff roster too!
Take Bruce out, worry about team winning first, Bruce confidence should be is his own problem, Big Boy , Grow up .
Making Millions would really help my Confidence!
It’s been interesting following d’Arnaud since the Jays dealt him in the trade that shall not be mentioned. I know when the Jays originally got him, scouts had their reservations about his health and defence and so far they’ve been fairly correct about him. It’s a shame because he really should be a top 5 hitting catcher in the league.
Purely asking and don’t think it’d actually happen, but since he’s arb eligible this off-season, what are the odds the Mets would non-tender him in the event they could not find a trade to their liking?
Not sure what the Mets will do with TDA. I do believe he has the capability to be an offensive force. Last season, he showed gap power and the ability to hit for average in spurts. He is brittle. His squat body shape doesn’t seem to project for any position aside for catcher or possibly second base. He is likely playing hurt given comments made around the time he went on an extended DL stint. He is a reclamation project at this point.
Also, the Jays / Mets trade was not a complete disaster for the Jays. TDA has been unreliable. Dickey, in the other hand, has filled many innings for the Jays over the years while Noah took some time to develop. Noah also seems custom made for the NY market. He truly enjoys the big stage and is making the most of it. We love having him and NYC affords him opportunities for media presence that would have been limited in Toronto.
Too little too late for the fish, they’re done
Agreed. They’ll have to go 12-4 or better to make the playoffs. They’ll play weak teams, but they still haven’t looked that dominant in recent weeks.
Stanton sure does recover quickly…