Michael Conforto Remains Open To Extension Talks
There are quite a lot of moving parts in Queens, but that hasn’t shaken the dedication of outfielder Michael Conforto. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports, Conforto remains interested in exploring a long-term contract to stay in New York.
Conforto acknowledged the obvious: the upcoming ownership transition has left him pondering “what kind of things are going to change and what this team’s going to look like when we come back.” But he says he’s going to stay focused on the present until the season concludes.
When it comes to his contractual future, Conforto made clear he’s excited to continue playing for the Mets. “I love it here,” he said. “This is everything I know.”
That’s not to say that a new deal is assured. For one thing, not much groundwork has been laid. Outside of “a really, really brief and preliminary chat this spring,” says Conforto, the sides haven’t talked extension.
At this point, the Mets will need to come with a big offer to lock in Conforto for the foreseeable future. The 27-year-old is headed for one more trip through the arbitration process this fall. He’s sure to command a big raise on his present $8MM salary. Through 229 plate appearances, Conforto carries a monster .328/.419/.525 batting line.
Steve Cohen Could Bring Sandy Alderson Back To Mets
Twenty-three votes from MLB owners are all that stand between billionaire Steve Cohen and a 95 percent stake in the Mets franchise. So long as he’s approved by the league’s other owners, he’ll step in and assume control of the club from the Wilpon family for a reported sale price of $2.475 billion. But while the Wilpons may be on their way out the door, another familiar name could return to the fold. SNY’s Andy Martino reports that Cohen is likely to bring former GM Sandy Alderson back to the organization — though not as general manager. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that Cohen is mulling an advisory position for the 72-year-old Alderson.
Alderson was the Mets’ general manager from 2010-18 and only stepped away from the position when a cancer recurrence prompted him to take a medical leave in July 2018. Alderson would not return to the role, candidly acknowledging even while stepping away that, “on the merits, I’m not sure coming back is warranted.” The Mets went through an exhaustive search and ultimately went way outside the box when they hired high-profile agent Brodie Van Wagenen, who represented Jacob deGrom (among other Mets players), as their new GM. Months later, Alderson was hired by the Athletics as a senior advisor. Alderson was Oakland’s general manager from 1983-97.
Sherman adds that Cohen could make a push to bring former vice president of player development Paul DePodesta back to the organization. DePodesta departed in 2016, two years before Alderson, when he made the bold move to jump not only to another club but to another sport entirely. He’s spent the past four years serving as the chief strategy officer for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. As with Alderson, a potential role for DePodesta is unclear, but Cohen is plenty familiar with both veteran executives, having long served as a minority stakeholder.
Questions abound with any ownership change, and that is particularly true in this instance. Beyond the potential returns of some high-profile names, the most immediate question is: what would this mean for Van Wagenen? He was hired due in part to a strong existing relationship with Fred Wilpon, and it’s common for new owners to install their own appointees in the baseball operations department. The Mets, meanwhile, missed the postseason in Van Wagenen’s first year on the job and are all but certain to miss in 2020 as well.
Van Wagenen can’t be saddled with the blame for Noah Syndergaard‘s Tommy John surgery or Marcus Stroman‘s decision to opt out of the season. He can, however, be held accountable for the regrettable trade that sent Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn to the Mariners in exchange for Edwin Diaz and half of Robinson Cano‘s remaining contract. The Jed Lowrie signing has been a circus. Wilson Ramos and Jeurys Familia haven’t been as impactful as hoped.
As with virtually any GM, there are highlights, too. The Kelenic/Cano/Diaz swap often overshadows the team’s trade for J.D. Davis, but Davis was acquired for a relative pittance and has emerged as a quality bat. DeGrom would be in position to make far more than $130MM in free agency this winter had the two sides not worked out an extension during Van Wagenen’s first spring on the job. We don’t know the exact financial limitations placed on Van Wagenen & Co., but we know that despite playing in New York, the Wilpons have spent more like the Cardinals than the Yankees or Dodgers.
Van Wagenen is under control for another two years beyond the current season, but there’s no guarantee he’d get the opportunity to see that play out under Cohen. The fate of manager Luis Rojas is similarly uncertain. It’s tough to evaluate Rojas based on this of all seasons — particularly when he spent much of the offseason expecting to open the year as the quality control coach under manager-that-never-was Carlos Beltran. As with Van Wagenen, there are low points and high points in Rojas’ brief time on the job, and it’s possible that Cohen would prefer more input on who is running the day-to-day in the clubhouse.
Sherman raises the possibility of former MLB agent Arn Tellem, now the vice chairman of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, also having a role with the Mets, but Martino tweets such a move is unlikely. If nothing else, the fact that it’s been considered or speculated upon only further underscores the organizational turnover that’s likely to come to the Mets in the event that Cohen is approved by his potential ownership peers.
Mets Release Yefry Ramirez, Trade Stephen Villines To Rangers
The Mets announced a pair of transactions, including the news that right-hander Yefry Ramirez has been released. New York also completed the August 5 trade with the Rangers that brought Ariel Jurado to Citi Field, as right-hander Steve Villines was sent to Texas as the player to be named later.
Ramirez signed a minor league deal with the Mets over the offseason and was part of the team’s 60-man player pool, though he never received a call-up from the alternate training site. The 26-year-old righty has a 6.32 ERA, 1.71 K/BB rate, and 8.9 K/9 over 89 2/3 career innings in the big leagues, all with Orioles and Pirates from 2018-19. Originally an international signing for the Diamondbacks in 2011, the 26-year-old Ramirez has posted some solid numbers over 605 minor league innings (3.57 ERA, 2.96 K/BB, 9.1 K/9), starting 103 of his 137 games.
Villines was a 10th-round pick for the Mets in the 2017 draft, and has worked exclusively as a reliever over 155 career innings in New York’s farm system. He wasn’t a top-30 prospect for the Mets nor a member of their 60-man player pool, though the 25-year-old’s unconventional sidearm-esque delivery has some outstanding minor league numbers — a 2.67 ERA, 5.31 K/BB rate, and an 11.1 K/9 over 155 innings. That dominance didn’t translate to 16 Triple-A innings last season, as Villines posted a 6.75 ERA over that admittedly small sample size.
Orioles Acquire Victor Gonzalez From Mets, Release Chandler Shepherd
The Orioles have acquired infield prospect Victor Gonzalez from the Mets as the player to be named later in the August trade that sent Miguel Castro to New York. The 17-year-old Gonzalez has been added to Baltimore’s 60-man player pool, while right-hander Chandler Shepherd was released to make room.
Gonzalez, hailing from the Dominican Republic, signed for a $250K bonus as a member of the Mets’ 2019-20 international signing class. With the 2020 minor league season canceled, Gonzalez has yet to officially begin his pro career, and he wasn’t part of the group working out at the Mets’ alternate training site. Baseball America’s Ben Badler described Gonzalez as having “a good chance to stay at shortstop” since he has “a quick first step, covers ground well and has a strong arm for the position.”
Shepherd joined the Orioles on a waiver claim in May 2019 and made his MLB debut last season, posting a 6.63 ERA over 19 innings for the O’s. The righty was outrighted off the 40-man roster after the season but remained in the organization, and was briefly called up to the Orioles’ roster this season but didn’t appear in a game before being designated for assignment in August.
Originally a 13th-round pick for the Red Sox in the 2014 draft, Shepherd has a 4.17 ERA, 3.44 K/BB rate, and 8.6 K/9 over 455 2/3 career minor league innings in the Boston and Baltimore organizations. Somewhat unusually, he began his pro career as a reliever before becoming mostly a full-time starter prior to the 2018 season. (Three of Shepherd’s five Major League games were starts.)
Jed Lowrie Won’t Play This Season
The 2020 campaign will go in the books as a lost season for Mets infielder Jed Lowrie, who won’t play this year on account of left knee problems, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
The Lowrie signing surely counts as one of the worst in team history for the Mets, who inked the ex-Athletics standout to a two-year, $20MM contract before last season. The switch-hitting Lowrie was coming off two healthy and productive seasons in Oakland at the time, but his knee troubles have since limited him to nine games and eight plate appearances – all of which came in 2019.
Soon to turn 37 years old, Lowrie has undergone platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections in his knee of late, per Healey. It’s unclear whether Lowrie will play again, then. However, if he does try for another deal, it’s quite likely to be of the minor league variety.
The Mets, for their part, haven’t necessarily needed Lowrie over the past couple years, during which they’ve had a crowded infield. Lowrie’s primarily a second and third baseman, but the Mets have Robinson Cano, J.D. Davis and Jeff McNeil around to handle those spots. Those players are all slated to remain with the team in 2021.
Jacob deGrom Leaves Start Early
7:46pm: deGrom is dealing with a right hamstring spasm, the team announced.
7:06pm: Mets ace Jacob deGrom left his start against the Phillies on Wednesday after two innings, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer was among those to report. The reason for deGrom’s exit isn’t yet known, but he met with trainers after his final inning. The Mets then replaced deGrom with right-hander Michael Wacha.
DeGrom departed his outing after yielding three earned runs, making it his worst start of 2020. The back-to-back NL Cy Young winner entered Wednesday in strong contention for the award again with a 1.67 ERA/1.96 FIP and 13.17 K/9 against 2.17 BB/9 over 54 innings. Prior to Wednesday, deGrom hadn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his starts this season.
There would be no replacing deGrom for the Mets if he has to miss time, but the fact that they went into Wednesday at 21-27 makes it unlikely they’ll earn a playoff trip, anyway. With that in mind, the bigger question may be how a deGrom injury would impact the NL Cy Young race, where Yu Darvish and Trevor Bauer are also among those competing for the honors.
Latest On Dellin Betances
The Mets have been without reliever Dellin Betances since he went on the injured list Aug. 30 with right lat tightness, and it doesn’t appear a return is imminent. Manager Luis Rojas said Wednesday that Betances’ “timeline is uncertain,” Tim Britton of The Athletic relays.
With little time left in the regular season and the 21-27 Mets looking unlikely to make the playoffs, it’s possible Betances has thrown his last pitch of 2020. Either way, this will go down as the second straight injury-shortened year for Betances, a former Yankee who missed almost all of 2019 with shoulder and Achilles problems. The four-time All-Star then signed for a guaranteed $10.5MM with the Mets last winter, but thanks largely to a couple of rough outings, Betances hasn’t put up his usual numbers.
Before going on the IL, the 32-year-old Betances pitched to a 6.10 ERA/4.27 FIP with by far a career-worst 6.97 (he owns a lifetime 14.44 K/9) and 6.1 BB/9 in 10 1/3 innings. Along the way, Betances averaged 93.3 mph on his fastball – well below his personal mean of 97.2.
The deal Betances inked with the Mets includes options for 2021 and ’22. For next season, he’ll be able to return to the club on a $6MM player option. Considering how this year has gone for him, it seems unlikely Betances will reject that sum in favor of a $3MM buyout.
Steve Cohen Agrees To Purchase Mets
4:54pm: SNY is not in the deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
4:17pm: Billionaire Steve Cohen has agreed to purchase the Mets from Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Cohen will need approval from 23 MLB owners to acquire the team, and if they sign off on his purchase in November, he’ll own 95 percent of the franchise, according to Tim Healey of Newsday. The deal values the Mets at roughly $2.475 billion, Healey adds.
“I am excited to have reached an agreement with the Wilpon and Katz families to purchase the New York Mets,” Cohen announced.
The Cohen purchase has been a long time coming for the Mets, who have been in on-again, off-again negotiations with him dating back to last winter. Cohen was seemingly in line to buy the team for $2.6 billion before, but the prior deal between him and the Mets collapsed in February. Cohen, who’s a minority owner of the Mets now, would have ended up with 80 percent of the franchise had that agreement gone through. He’ll now take over almost the entire organization, though it’s unclear whether he’ll get the coveted SNY Network in the sale.
After the Mets resumed their attempt to sell the team, Cohen vied against an Alex Rodriguez-Jennifer Lopez team and a Josh Harris-David Blitzer tandem, among others, in order to land the club. Cohen won out for exclusive negotiations on Aug. 28, though Rodriguez was reportedly none too pleased with the Wilpons for how they handled the process.
Of course, Mets fans also aren’t big fans of the Wilpon family, who have been part of their ownership since the 1980s. The Mets have recently endured serious struggles under the Wilpons, who are at the helm of a franchise that hasn’t won a World Series since 1986, has gone to the postseason four times in the 21st century and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016.
At 21-26 this season, it doesn’t appear the Mets will snap their playoff drought. Considering the difficulties they’ve faced over the past couple seasons, it’s anyone’s guess which changes Cohen will make if he takes over the team before next season. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen could end up on the chopping block, though, as the beleaguered second-year exec has overseen back-t0-back disappointing teams.
NL Injury Notes: Arenado, Matz, Senzel, Gott
Rounding up some injury news from around the National League:
- Rockies’ star third baseman Nolan Arenado was held out of the lineup today with a left shoulder injury, per the Athletic’s Nick Groke (via Twitter). Colorado is hoping he’ll avoid an injured list stint, says Groke. Arenado’s obviously of immense importance if the 21-24 Rockies are to erase a game and half deficit and get into the postseason.
- The Mets activated lefty reliever Steven Matz from the injured list this afternoon. He’s been out about two weeks with discomfort in his throwing shoulder. It has been a disappointing season for Matz, who got bumped from the rotation after five poor starts before leaving his first relief appearance with the aforementioned injury.
- Reds’ center fielder Nick Senzel has been on the injured list for undisclosed reasons since August 19. He’s nearing a return, manager David Bell told reporters, including Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Indeed, it’s possible Senzel returns for tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Pirates. The 25-year-old is hitting .244/.327/.489 in 53 plate appearances this year.
- The Giants are placing right-handed reliever Trevor Gott on the 10-day injured list with right elbow inflammation (via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). It has been a nightmarish season for the 28-year-old. After seemingly breaking out in 2019, Gott has allowed 13 runs (all earned) in 11.2 innings with eight strikeouts and walks apiece.
Latest On Jed Lowrie
It doesn’t appear Mets infielder Jed Lowrie will end up playing for the club this year, Tim Britton of The Athletic relays. The regular season is only a couple weeks from ending, but manager Luis Rojas said Wednesday he’s not sure whether Lowrie is participating in baseball activities.
“I don’t know what he’s doing,” Rojas said of Lowrie, who Britton notes has been eligible to come off the 45-day injured list for a week.
Lowrie has missed all but nine games since last season as a result of leg problems, including to his left knee this year. Since signing a two-year, $20MM contract with the Mets before 2019, Lowrie has totaled zero hits over eight plate appearances. That obviously wasn’t what the Mets had in mind when they picked up the switch-hitting Lowrie, now 36, off two straight healthy and highly impressive seasons with the Athletics.
Lowrie spent his best seasons in Oakland at second and third base (primarily the keystone), but New York hasn’t been without solutions at those positions during his prolonged absence in 2020. The Mets have mostly given second to a resurgent Robinson Cano and third to J.D. Davis, while Jeff McNeil and Luis Guillorme have been among those to fill in at those spots when necessary. The club’s still a disappointing 19-24, but it’s certainly not because Lowrie has been unavailable. And after back-to-back frustrating seasons, it seems likely the Mets will wave goodbye to Lowrie in free agency during the upcoming winter, ending what has been a regrettable union for the club.