We’ve already covered a handful of National League notes today. Here’s more from the Senior Circuit.
- Like most teams, the Mets imposed pay cuts for many employees this summer in response to pandemic-driven revenue losses. However, Mets employees will receive their full salaries from November 1 onward, per Tim Healey of Newsday. Likely incoming owner Steve Cohen drove that decision. Cohen’s still awaiting formal approval from 23 of the league’s 30 owners (which he’s expected to get) before his reported $2.475 billion purchase of 95% of the franchise becomes official. He’s permitted to consult on organizational decision-making in the interim, Healey notes.
- The Mets’ forthcoming sale also figures to bring substantial changes in personnel. Cohen has already confirmed plans to hire Sandy Alderson as team president if and when he formally takes the reins. A few potential staffers Cohen and Alderson could pursue for various roles this offseason (via Andy Martino of SNY): Nationals assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler, Athletics assistant general manager Billy Owens, and Rays special assistant Bobby Heck. Roessler was on the Mets’ coaching staff from 2015-18, overlapping with Alderson’s time as the franchise’s general manager. Owens, meanwhile, has been in the Oakland front office for nearly two decades and reportedly drew some consideration last offseason for the Giants’ GM job, which eventually went to Scott Harris.
- On the heels of an early playoff exit, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein plans to meet with chairman Tom Ricketts next week to discuss the club’s long-term future, per David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago. Epstein’s contract expires after the 2021 season, and Kaplan points out the possibility he could turn over baseball operations to general manager Jed Hoyer and look for opportunities elsewhere once his deal wraps up. Per Patrick Mooney of the Athletic, though, Epstein isn’t expected to depart the organization this winter.
If I’m the Mets and see someone from the Rays organization as a potential anything, no doubt I’m hoping on that. The Dodgers get so much praise for development, tradings, drafting, etc but are just the Rays with a pocketbook.
“Just the rays with a pocketbook”
Yet NO ONE else is able to replicate them. Ok
Has nothing to do with them actually being better at scouting, developing, ID’ing talent, etc. NAH. Anyone could do it. The 28 others just all choose not to. Why muddy the field?!?
Gotcha
Remember when the cubs were supposed to have that pipeline of talent for years to come? I’m sure they coulda done it, but decided against it. Right?
Dodgers payroll is Insane. They once spent $45 million just to sign a OF prospect out of Cuba names Puig. They gave Mookie Betts $400+ million. They have a closer on a deal in excess of 80$+. It’s not just all scouting. But until they win a title…:
@andre proving my point exactly. Spending big money on names like Puig and Jansen just to appease a fan base because they’re a big market. Sometimes it’s okay not to get a name, but get multiple, cheaper names that can produce the same production you’d get if you gave a blank check to a big name (although there are certain guys you give a blank check to…. Trout, Betts, Arenado, etc)
And they still can’t win.
@commonsense then why aren’t you developing and scouting players if “anyone could do it?” The Cubs have talent so I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not just about talent, but about finding players/personnel that compliments one another. The Cubs did one thing that the Rays haven’t done yet and that’s spend “stupid money” on a name like Heyward that hinders them from addressing other issues. Even if the Rays could, they’d never spend that type of money for a guy that does the same thing 10+ guys in their system could do
What an exquisitely crafted counter argument. Were you ever on a debate team?
They spent stupid money on Lester and that worked out great
He also spent big on Darvish. Now, not doing anything last off season except bringing in a new manager and still winning the division is impressive. If the cubs continued to finish near the 500 mark the past few years that’d be one thing. This team however has made the post season several times in recent years with a WS title which is more than Jim Hendry ever did and that man may have been worse at spending money.
As for trading off the farm, his bosses wanted to win but cried poor. When you have to get creative with very little resources, what other options do you have?
155/6 years isn’t that bad. Considering Gerrit Cole got twice that plus 14mil. For 4 extra years. Absolutely stupid money.
They have not won a Championship in 32 years! Justin Turner hadn’t started kindergarten and Clayton Kershaw was in diapers, so you can save us the dripping sarcasm of how awesome the organization is. I guess they could’ve won 3 or 4 for in the last 3 decades, but decided not to, Right?
The Dodgers landing Friedman from TB all those years ago was such a huge move that doesn’t get as much attention as it deserved. I agree. I remember reading that he wanted to reroute the big spending money into scouting and development and it looks like it’s working despite no WS yet.
He still has to deliver a championship.
Epstein is OVERRATED. He built the Cubs for only 1 Championship. The Wheels have already come off the Cubs Championship team.
Cubs Ownership has wealth mostly on paper. They have said they won’t spend much while Covid 19 is going on and while the revenue streams from live fans are gone until further notice.
It would not surprise me if Epstein walked and left the mess he created (barren farm system, under performing major league roster, untradeable contracts like Jason Heyward), for someone else to clean up….
Yeah a guy who helps 2 teams win titles for the first time in over 100 years is overrated for sure. Three titles overall. I’d love to be overrated
The fact it had been awhile is irrelevant. He spent a ton of money to do it, he didnt build the 04 sox team. His tenure with the cubs has shown
“The fact it had been awhile is irrelevant.”
It absolutely is not. No one was able to guide either team (two of the most iconic franchises in the sport, btw) to a championship in around a century (86 years and 108 years). In the Cubs case, they’d never really even been close.
He did it with one team, then went over and did it with the other. He’s a Hall of Fame executive for that alone.
And to say that he ‘didn’t build the 04 sox team’ is wrong. He signed David Ortiz. He traded Nomar. He acquired Curt Schilling, Bronson Arroyo, and Kevin Millar. He signed Timlin and Keith Foulke. No wonder you think he’s overrated. You don’t seem to know anything about him.
My first Cubs game at Wrigley was in 1964. The fact that he brought a World Series to the Cubs is unparalleled. They had other good teams. But the pressure was so intense that they always crumbled. Kudos to Joe for keeping them loose when all others failed.
I think Theo is great at building organizations from nothing. Maintaining them is not so good. He should be a 6 year GM then bring in someone to keep the ship moving.
He doesn’t get credit for 04 and 07?
Padres458
“The fact is has been awhile is irrelevant”?
About as irrelevant as the Padres have been in their entire existence?? Is that what you mean?
Not sure your assessment—especially re two teams with title droughts—amounts to much. However, there’s a great deal with which to substantiate the claim that he’s overrated.
And there’s a great deal to substantiate the claim that he isn’t. As a GM, his teams have won three championships.. Few others can say that.
Team President Larry Lucchino and his entire front office staff built the Red Sox team that won the WS when Epstein was in Boston. Remember, Lucchino gave Epstein his start when Lucchino was Team President of the San Diego Padres and Kevin Towers was GM. Larry Lucchino helped build a contender in San Diego and was primarily responsible for getting the Padres new stadium, Petco Park built in San Diego. Epstein worked in “Media Relations” with the Padres under Team President Larry Lucchino.
When Larry Lucchino moved to the Red Sox, Epstein was hired by Larry L:ucchino to train in the Red Sox system. Epstein was just one of many voices in the Red Sox Front Office at the time. So to say Epstein built the Red Sox Team that won the World Series in Boston is not entirely true or accurate. Larry Lucchino put together the Front Office with numerous voices and trained those guys. Larry Lucchino had the final say in all trades and personnel decisions in Boston at that time as Team President.
That is why Espstein left for Chicago…Epstein .He wanted to prove he could do it on his own. Well, Esptein did it with the Cubs. However, he built and then stripped the Cubs farm system in short order for one run at a title…the same thing that some Red Sox fans have accused Dave Dombrowski of doing in Boston….But, “All Hail Theo Epstein” for those true believers who don’t know all the facts of the story….and will believe what they want to believe that fits their narrative…
2015 – 2018 was their window to win a world series before the bills became due. He won one.
Its almost unheard of that a window stays open for more than 5 years, if that. Guys regress, guys leave, finances get tight paying good players.
Epstein won the cubs a WS and Red Sox a couple. More than majority of teams can say since he became a GM.
Cubs would be foolish to let him go.
Window would have been bigger than that if Theo kept Torres and Eloy. I dont wanna hear about how great it was to trade a stud young SS for a rental relief pitcher. Chapman blew a save in every series of their playoff run, they could have done it without him. Eloy for Quintana is going to be one of the worst deals of the decade.
No way cubs win without Chapman . He shut the door against giants then dodgers and even stopped Indians in the 9th for there to be a magical 10th. So since cubs started run how have other champs done? 2015 royals ? 2017 Astros ? 2018 Red Sox ? 2019 Nationals? All one and done . Eloy or Torres have.a ring yet ? Theo does
Dodgers may have won a world series by now had they made moves to sure up weaknesses on their roster these past couple years.
The Torres deal? Got them a world series.
The Eloy deal? Waste of assets.
Just because Joe Maddon ran his arm into the ground doesn’t mean they couldn’t win without him. He didn’t do a thing against the Dodgers, they blew out LA 3 straight to end that series. They had a ring and Eloy. Didn’t need to trade him.
At the time of the trade cubs had a 3 game lead on the Nationals and Giants.
Sometimes a move is about blocking competitors as much as it is improving the team.
Cubs got 26.1 innings over 28 ga.es for 1.01 era and FIP 0.82.
What if the dodgers or nationals wound up trading for Chapman instead?
He helped them the final 2 months and played a role in them winning it all in 2016.
Sounds more like sour grapes from a dodgers fan than you looking at it objectively.
I think Tatis Jr for James Shields will be by far the worst. Or Semien for Samardjiza.
LOL when has a player of Gleybers caliber with full team control ever been traded for a rental relief pitcher. I have no bias towards the Cubs and actually like them more than any other central team. But Theo has gotten stale and fallen victim to the same problem Maddon had. They need new blood.
I’m still missing something—-over four years later what has Eloy really done? He is not the focal point of that team now—-Robert is. He’s just a piece and has done nothing (yet) to be “the guy”. Maybe in another four years it may turn out to be a heist, but to date—not really.
Factually, trades like Dempster for Hendricks or Feldman and Clevinger for Strop and Arrieta are much better or worse trades depending on which side of the table you are on.
You clearly haven’t seen him play. As any baseball fan knows, you can pretty much throw out a good chunk of a highly touted prospect’s rookie season, that was thre first half of ‘19 for Eloy.
Since then, he has been a straight up monster. He might never be a great fielder but just wait until we get a full-162 game schedule, He’ll be blasting 40-50 HRs each year and have an OPS above or near 1.000.
Oh, and by the way, don’t forget about Dylan Cease as he showed numerous times in this short season that he can his floor is a #4 SP and his ceiling is low-end #2/high-end #3.
… and another thing, it makes us White Sox fans sad with all the hate they direct at Jose Quintana.
We *loved* Q on the South Side.
Lol, is this guy (Mike) serious, what has Eloy done?
Eloy is, is already actually, going to be a Nelson Cruz like hitter for the next ten seasons. He won’t stick in the outfield for much longer, but who cares if you can hit 290 with 30-40 home runs every season.
The real question should be, what has Luis Robert done? The league figured him out and he hit 136/237/173 his final 23 games.
And the Tatis-Shields trade showed the baseball world accountability. It got Kenny Williams fired as GM (“promoted” out of the way) and Rick Hahn and the rebuild started. More organizations should follow the White Sox lead and stop rewarding failure.
Like I said—-and you both said—-“going to be a Nelson Cruz”; “he’ll be blasting 40-50 homers”…..I get it——his ceiling is enormous. His talent is great……but four years later, he’s played in one playoff game. There are dozens of players in the game that profile to Eloy (and yes, most are stars)
And Briffle, if for one second you are inferring that Eloy is better or more important than Robert you have proven my point. (Go ahead and focus on three or four weeks if you would like).
And please—I am not discounting Eloy’s talent/potential in any way——he’s an enormous player—-Theo just doesn’t ‘t always fail in evaluation.
I’m sure the Cubs would like that trade back—-or maybe——a different player. The only reason this trade gets scrutinized the way it does is because it’s between Cubs and Sox FANS. I really don’t see a bunch of Royals fans jumping in here with the “ha ha, you traded Soler for Davis”.
On the baseball side, I am sure both Rick and Jed/Theo have there reasons and can sleep at night.
Eloy is 23 and has raked in his MLB time. But who needs great young OFs when you have Schwarber and Heyward.
GoLandCrabs
Oh so you do not want to hear the truth? You want to hear your ignorance coming out of others mouths?
The window may have been longer with Torres (who hit like .225 this year) but the window would not include the drapes (the world championship which is the entire point).
If you think the Cubs win without Chapman you are lacking in baseball acumen.
Playoffs 5/6 years. Got to the championship series 3 times and won a WS. This is not the era of a team winning many championships with one group. Only the giants have done that in decades. Theo did a great job
Cardinals called and challenged your statement of a team who made the World Series consistently.
The Cardinals championships were 7 years apart and didn’t have the vast majority of the same guys on both teams
Cards were in 4 World Series in a 10 year span. Tell me again who had more success !
But the Giants actually won three titles, Cards only two, in that timespan, which was the point of johnrealtime’s comment.
Cardinals finished last once in the last 80 years. No team matches that feat.
Overrated brings Championship to Red Sox and Cubs two franchises that had a “curse”. Yep….
I think Bryant’s production drop off and lack of taking the field consistently and performance with runners on base, has been a major reason the Cubs have fallen off.
Might also look at all the upper cuts and emphasis on homeruns over contact.
Would you rather be one who gets into the playoffs each year or actually win?
Cubs will be gutted!
It’s gonna be another century before they compete for WS!
Enjoy!
The current problem isn’t Theo. It’s the Ricketts being very cheap. They’d rather spend 100 mil on a partnership with Draft Kings. They refuse to spend money to improve the team.
Overrated or not he end nearly 200 years of championship droughts. Only 12 years apart.
If the White Sox don’t win a World Series does that mean their front office is a failure? Look at the Braves winning the division every year for a decade. Look at the Dodgers. I think making a competitive team every year for over 5 years is an accomplishment for a front office.
I’d take him in a heatbeat for my Halos. I would sacrifice 10 years of mediocrity for one WS championship. Angels have one WS title in 60 years of existence. So yeah, I’d take that production.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. MARK MY WORDS. THE METS WILL BE 2021 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS. CONFORTO WILL WIN THE TRIPLE CROWN. DEGROM WILL WIN CY YOUNG. THEY WILL GO 110 and 52. ROJAS WILL WIN MANAGER OF THE YEAR. JUMP ON THE 7 TRAIN NOW WHILE THERE ARE SEATS.
What are you smoking
Well, he supports NY, so probably crack.
If i had a double of what you took ,I’d be dead
lolmets fans
The only realistic thing that could happen is a 21 WS win but even than teams like the Braves and dodgers would have to obviously be favorites that year
A deGrom CY isn’t realistic?
Mets starting pitching was absolutely horrendous this year. Look at the FA market, there’s not a whole lot out there. Their rotation is going to cause the same problems for them next year.
Best we can hope for is that Stevie Cohen YOLOs on Realmuto and Tanaka, but how likely is that to happen?
So Bauer and stro don’t exist ??? Mets can’t go after one of them or both? And our pitching doesn’t have to be amazing just decent. Decent would have got us to the playoffs this year.
1. Bauer will get overpaid this offseason and has been super inconsistent his entire career.
2. Stro bailed on the team this year the second he qualified for free agency. I don’t want him back, the Mets FO probably doesn’t want him back and neither should you.
Why would the Mets go after Stroman when he just used them?
Bauer might implode in a N.Y. media environment.
Mets need to start looking at the personality and mentality, not the stat lines. Bring in a winning ambition like deGrom.
Baseball, in general, has lost putting emphasis on ‘the it’ factor and overemphasize statistics. The Mets need pitchers who WANT to be #1’s (even if they are actually #3’s), guys who don’t think their work day is over once they hit 95 pitches. At the very least, starters who understand that they might not go past 110 and thus manage their pitches better to get later into games. Pitching 5 and hitting the pine isn’t helping your team! I want to see my starters consistently going 7, which eliminates the need to rely on your weaker bullpen arms day after day.
Bauer wants to pitch every 4 days instead of every 5. How does that not signify a guy who wants the ball as much as possible? I doubt Bauer would choose NY anyways given that he’s explicitly stated he wants to go to a team that has top tier technology and data usage. I think it’s likely he stays in Cinci
Is Bauer the Jack Parkman of the MLB? Is the quote below a quote from Parkman or Bauer?
“I’m the only winner on this team. The rest of ’em, they’re losers. Either by choice, or by birth.”
I wouldn’t touch Tanaka on a long term deal. I know he’s been healthy and durable, but he’s going to 32 and that elbow is just waiting to blow.
If I’m the Cubs. I trade Bryant. Yes u are selling low but his career is heading downward
Good thing you’re not the Cubs. And good thing you’re not the Brewers—that poor Yelich guy……or the Dodgers and Bellinger…or the Reds and Suarez and Votto.
If Kris Bryant get traded (highly possible) it will have NOTHING to do with his career heading downward—-it will have everything to do with being in his final arbitration year with a projected salary of near $25M or have to do with him becoming a free agent at the end of next season and risking no return at all.
And considered he won Rookie of the Year and then MVP in his first two season it was hard to imagine going anywhere but downward (and yes, that’s facetious…I know what you mean about the stat drop).
Yeah teams can’t wait to give up their farm for Bryant on a 1 year $25mm deal. Hahaha
He’s also not going to make 25 mil. You have to produce to get raises through arbitration and he surely hasn’t done that….he’ll be lucky to make 15 Mil and even at that rate – he has absolutely no trade value
Players almost never receive arbitration cuts. He made $18.6M this year, he’s not going to drop down to less than $15M.
Exactly but done tell bot that. He’s not a baseball fan, he’s a Cubs fan
The Cardinals sure wouldn’t want Bryant. His stats were way to boring this year.
Epstein did deliver a WS championship to Wrigleyville, but he financed it with a payday loan. The team just hasn’t clicked since that World Series, and when you look at the practically barren farm system (he’ll leave it the way he found it), the primary option for Hoyer is to launch another rebuild far sooner than anyone ever dreamed of. There are few viable options than to sell of assets with real trade value like Rizzo, Contreras, Baez, Bryant, Hendricks, Schwarber, and Happ. This winter may also be their best opportunity to find a taker for Darvish. Cubs are just going to have to live with the Heyward and Kimbrel contracts. One if the biggest priorities for Epstein’s successor is for CHC to do whatever is necessary to start developing pitchers internally.
Great analysis
Realistically, the Cubs don’t have to go full tear down like you’re saying. Trade Rizzo, Baez, Bryant and Schwarber. Use the money from them and that’s coming off the books to sign DJ and maybe Marcus or Trevor. They would still have a competitive team, some younger pieces from the trades and some money to work with. Will they be a Dodgers type loaded team, no, but going full nuclear seems a bit extreme.
You want to trade Baez and Rizzo and Replace them with Lemahui and Stroman? And you think that’s a better team in the long run? No way.
You’re right, because 1 year of two guys that are up and down like waves, and are atrocious in the playoffs, is definitely what you would prefer over one of the best hitters in baseball and a guy that would one of the best 3rd starters in baseball……..
Trading Bryant and another top guy would be helping that system. It maybe 2-3 years of mediocre baseball with the Cubs. But I’d do a move now while teams are interested. Bryant can easily land in NY (both clubs), San Francisco, Angels, or even Nationals. Mets would be intriguing options because some pieces Cubs can use, are rotting away in Mets system.
I don’t see where Bryant fits on the Yankees roster. Their outfield is full and they have Urshela at third. They’re also RH heavy in the lineup so I doubt they’d prioritize trading for another righty bat on a one year expensive deal
Rizzo, Baez and Contreas ain’t going anywhere. Bryant ans Schwarber are the likely ones going. If they can get 3 or 4 players for Bryant including a ready SP. It will be good. Gotta be at least 1 top 30 prospect for him. Ian Anderson or Kyle Wright plus 2 players with potential thats a fair trade.
Cubs cashed in a ring. They had their window. Key guys have stopped hitting. Some trades and signings haven’t worked as well as they hoped. Still a successful run.
Despite the early playoff exit. The window isn’t closed.
In case of fire, break the glass.
Give me
Bauer
Realmuto
Stroman
I’ll be good
Everybody will in on Bauer and Realmuto, but I’m real curious on Stroman’s market. The Mets may not even give him the time of day. I have no idea what a deal for Stroman looks like.
I think Mets would have the edge on Stroman. They can give him a qualifying offer. At best, he gets the same offer as Wheeler (5 years, $125 million?). But I’m thinking 4 years/$80 million, similar to Ryu. Hopefully he can be guilted into taking that offer after stealing a year of control which the BS he pulled this year.
He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to be guilted into anything, but 4 $80 seems realistic. I just don’t feel comfortable pulling that trigger.
Yeah. I’m not expecting the Mets to get all of them. But I hope they at least try lol.
Don’t forget Springer and Hendricks.
Pass on Springer. Sure, he’d be nice on a short 2 year deal, but I’m sure he gets one that’s 5+
It’s time for Theo to go. Some very questionable decisions over the past few years. Arrow pointing down (sadly).
If all these teams aren’t gonna spend money, who’s signing everybody? Dodgers? Yankees?
Pirates and Royals…..
IMHO if Theo goes anywhere, it’s to NY with the new owner, Cohen. Theo likes rich owners, and the chance to become a “rockstah” in Boston, Chicago, and New York would be too much to pass up…I mean, you ain’t done it ’till you done it on Broadway.
He could end up in Anaheim too if the Cubs will let him out of his last contract year (which I’m sure they would do, especially if they get a draft pick out of it). Theo loves offense, so there’s not much of a better place to go than Anaheim for that.
That’s exactly where he found go. Anaheim. Mets hired or are going to hire (recycle) Sandy Alderson for that position.
Angels seem like a good landing place
Cano is killing the Mets. He hits amazing. But his defense is atrocious. I think he’ll be a good 3b bc his hands are amazing. I hope the Mets put mcniel at 2b and cano at 3B. I think that would help us a lot. I’m not to mad about kelenic tho. Mets fan overrate him tbh. He’ll be another conforto at best ( who is a good player) but they think he’ll be a trout type player for some reason. And he is a corner OF. We already have two. Nimmo, andConforto . There would be no room for him. Unless we wanted to continue and play horrible defense. And we really need this years Diaz next year. If the pitching doesn’t get hurt next year they should be good if they sign some FA pitchers like Bauer, stroman, ray, Tanaka, Jake odorizzi. Like 2 of those Bc Syndergaard won’t be back till after the ASG.
I’m a Mets fan and there are about a thousand things wrong with that post
What wrong Kelenic wouldn’t fit on our team.. he isn’t a CF. He will be a good player and we lost the trade but I’m not dying over it.
Cano defense is horrible bc of his range. If he could play 3B it’s better for the Mets..
Lie pitching being hurt killed us last years. You he 2 out of the names I named and they stay healthy we should be good.
Nothing I said was wrong
First of all, NOBODY has ever suggested Kelenic will be the next Trout-type. Nobody. It’s a straw man argument folks use to justify the very misguided premise you are putting forth. Enough with it already.
I don’t think Cano is that awful at 2b but I like the idea of McNeil at 2b and Cano at third.
I think Cano ends up at DH and Dom Smith gets traded.
I think they go
Alonso DH
Smith 1B
Davis old man out.
That’s why I’m saying cano should move to 3B to help our defense.
If he could do it of course. I understand if he can’t. But I’m assuming if his reaction time is good enough his hands and strong arm would let him transition rather quickly. His range is killing us at 2B
Canos defense is atrocious…but he’ll be good at 3B bc his hands are amazing…lmao
Dude you’re a joke
I didn’t really want to get into it. A common baseball fan would know I didn’t really just mean that.. it goes into many things. 3B is a better position for cano if he could play it. And I was talking about hands bc if he had good reaction times and he would be fine bc everything that touches his hands is often caught. If you followed baseball you would know that cano main problem is his range. You could hide the range at 3B way better than 2B.. it wasn’t that hard to put 2+2 together..
haha, I was thinking the same thing. ‘Cano is bad at defense, so let’s put him at a potentially more difficult position that he’s never played before for his age 38 season’ makes no sense.
You guys really don’t understand how baseball works. 3B could be a perfect position for him. He could his his range at 3B and he is a good enough fielder to learn it quick.
“Why” is Cano a second baseman?
Doesn’t have the arm for 3b.
Doesn’t have the reaction time for 3b.
Doesn’t WANT to play 3b.
Doesn’t have the experience to play 3b.
Why move an aging player currently at his ‘best’ position to another position where his defense could even be worse?
Just DH him, move McNeil to 3b, let the rookie “glove” shortstop move to second and add an impact right handed hitting true center fielder.
If the defense is costing them games, then move on from the defensive issues – get rid of them.
Personally, I feel most of the defensive issues stem from poor pitching. Other than deGrom, these guys give up too many walks, pitch too often behind in the count and give up too many hard hit balls against defensive positioning.
Maybe it’s time for deGrom to go every 4th day, eliminate pitch counts for the other starters, utilize former starters as openers, move on from Matz, Syndergaard, Gsellman and Familia.
Maybe cano doesn’t want to change position but he definitely has the arm and reaction for 3B I’ve seen him play. His range at 2B kills us and Alonso is the DH smith 1b. So it’s either cut trade 2B or 3B. I don’t think they cut or trade him. And him at 3B and McNeil at 2B helps are defense so much if cano is about to do it imo. Davis and Rosario are trade prices this year
The Mets defense as a whole is subpar. Moving Cano to 3rd doesn’t solve this, and in fact makes them worse. Smith plays a nice 1b. Alonso is a DH.
If you saw him play 2B this you wouldn’t be saying that. I obviously know you can’t just move a guy and think he’ll be good at 3B. That’s why I said. If he could and does it good( which I think he could bc of his arm reaction time and hands) it would help the Mets a lot up the middle. And he has played 3B before too.
Nah, there’s a logic to it. Second baseman need range, whereas 3rd is all hands, arm and reaction. You can have bad range at 2nd but be good at 3rd, at least theoretically.
Thank you, smart man
Mets always seem to have to the individual pieces (on paper) to compete for the post season, but continue to come up short. Why?
Lack of depth always seems to be an issue. Anytime a starting hitter goes down, no one seems capable (from the minors) to step in for a few weeks.
Back end of the bullpen has been an issue for way too long.
This one is just a thought – but they haven’t been the same since Wright played regularly. That says they are missing that in field leadership, example, motivation, etc.
I believe the young core of McNeil, Alonso, Conforto and Rosario bring a lot of the ‘Wright’ mindsets to the field. DeGrom and Lugo have on the pitching side. But overall, something always seems to be missing.
When you look around at consistent post season attendees, what do you see?
1. Veteran leadership
2. Contact and clutch hitting
3. Solid Defense
4. Role players who excel in their opportunities
5. Health
6. Players who excel in their team’s coaching dynamic
7. “Gamers” – players who put winning as a priority over stats.
8. Minor league player development and assessors who know who to keep and who to trade.
9. Winning teams always seem to add quality pieces they need.
10. Pitching – starting and closing. So winning teams consistently rely on their 11th, 12th and 13th best pitchers to win games?
The Mets fail in at least 6 of those year after year.
The Mets have horrible depth but a a amazing 25 man team. At least with Syndergaard and stroman healthy. But the lack of depth killer them. But if they stay mostly healthy they are a playoff team. Imo. At least better than the marlins. Marlins making it was a joke and I hope we never have a 60 game season again.
You are the most entertaining poster on this site. I mean that in a good way.
What would actually happen if the Mets simply released Cano?
What amount if his contract would they be held responsible if another team picked him up?
100% (minus maybe the league minimum)
If they placed him on release waivers and another team claims him, the new team would pay the entire contract (not gonna happen). If he clears waivers and signs elsewhere as a FA, the Mets would pay the the entire contract and the new team would only have to pay the MLB minimum (~500K).
Smart move by Cohen. Brings refreshing life for all employees as it symbolizes a positive change.
3yrs running the Cubs choked in September, barely squeaked into the playoffs. Winning the 2020 division was Fools Gold because of a 13-3 start and played under .500 after that. I’m sick of hearing about Epstein’s past, he and his toady GM and Farm Director have slept walked for 4 yrs in building a “sustained” winner. They haven’t won a playoff game since ‘17. Not even competitive. Ricketts doesn’t understand the Cub fan and it shows, the area around the park is built up with Frat boy fake bars and restaurants -like Main St. Disneyland not to mention a boutique hotel that is not for the average fan. He has exploited the fan base and milked 1WS with his crap marketing. I’ve been a Cub fan since 1966-When Boy Genius was hired I bought into the talk, but that’s all it was-they did not change the culture at all,trading good young players while holding onto players because they are popular is so Cub. They are exactly where they were when he was hired.
Once they lost 4 of the last 7 and 3 to the pirates. It proved they didn’t belong. They should’ve swept both pirates and white sox.
Ricketts doesn’t care about winning. He claims he’s a cubs fan. He went to one game in 1984 in the bleachers. And he was a lifelong fan. He was 21 but 99% of other cubs fans were fans from birth. He was 21 years too late. Going to DePaul doesn’t make you a fan.
Oh so he went to just 1 Cubs game back then huh genius?
Going to DePaul may not make you a Cubs fan but then again since Tom and his brother received their B.A. degrees from University of Chicago I do not see the relevance?
And you are saying you cannot become a Cubs fan at age 21 (he was 18 when he came to Chicago by the way)?
So you have to be born a Cub fan? Have to be from Chicago to be a Cubs fan?
Are all Cub fans as clueless as you??
@ jhanley108
They are not “exactly where they were” when he was hired. Theo did change the culture and he did walk the walk. They won the world series … duh
He can call him out for his failure the past few years but to say he did nothing is absurd.
What an ignorant comment.
I don’t think we know how the virus is going to shake out financially for all the teams. We don’t know who may be available, but seems if Cohen is confirmed he will open spending gates enough to fill needs. At this point starting pitching. Next comes right handed hitting position players. Last year they were dominated by left handed relievers. Because Alonso took a slight step back as did Davis, Ramos and Rosario they became a strong left handed hitting team.