Mets Rumors

NL Central Notes: Cards, Melvin, Pirates, Kang

By Mark Polishuk and Zachary Links | August 2, 2015 at 6:23pm CDT

The Cardinals were rumored to be looking for starting pitching depth at the deadline, but instead beefed up the relief corps in the form of Steve Cishek and Jonathan Broxton. As GM John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, adding quality relievers essentially becomes starting depth as it takes less pressure off the starters to go deep into games. The new arms also will help cut down on the workload of Kevin Siegrist, Randy Choate and Seth Maness, all of whom have pitched quite often this season. Some more from around the NL Central…

Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter links) that he feels “the Mets have taken some unfair criticism about asking for money back in the [Carlos] Gomez deal.” Melvin explained that teams often for money in one form or another in deals, as “it’s all part of the GM landscape these days.“
Brewers manager Craig Counsell isn’t sure how long his team’s rebuilding process will take, he told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), as “we’re always going to be trying to win a baseball game….But evaluating it from a bigger picture is part of our jobs as well.” Haudricourt wonders if the Brewers and their fans would be able to stomach a multi-year rebuilding effort as the Cubs did for the last few years.
The Pirates stuck to their recent trend of making “modest upgrades while not giving away their top prospects,” writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. While getting an ace pitcher could’ve come at a big price for the Bucs and come with no guarantee of a playoff spot, Sawchik notes that the rotation is suddenly lacking depth with A.J. Burnett’s season now in doubt.
Also from Sawchik’s piece, he argues that Jung-ho Kang deserves a regular starting job even when Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer return from the DL. It’s hard to argue Sawchik’s point given how Kang entered today with a .299/.372/.460 slash line over his first 312 Major League plate appearances, giving the Pirates some badly-needed help given their injury-riddled left side of the infield.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dodgers, Mets, Hamels, Jays, Astros

By | August 1, 2015 at 8:22pm CDT

An elite starting pitcher was a luxury good for the Dodgers, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That’s why Los Angeles passed on talents like Cole Hamels, David Price, and Johnny Cueto despite possessing the prospect depth to acquire their pick of the litter. Instead, the club flexed its financial might to acquire Mat Latos, Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan, and Jose Peraza. The biggest piece dealt away by the Dodgers was 30-year-old Cuban infielder Hector Olivera. The utility man has not yet reached the majors after signing a six-year, $62.5MM deal with the Dodgers. A full $28MM of that was in the form of a signing bonus.

Here’s more from Rosenthal:

Cynics may find a way to criticize the Mets deadline transactions. Perhaps they didn’t add enough to the payroll or were too small minded? However, the moves for Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Kelly Johnson, and Juan Uribe provided essential upgrades to a roster that was showing signs of stress. GM Sandy Alderson deserves kudos for improving the club while working within tight constraints. To me, this was Rosenthal’s money quote, “Mets fans will not be satisfied – and should not be satisfied – until the team raises its payroll to a level more commensurate with the New York market.“
Echoing the sentiments of many analysts, both the Phillies and Rangers did well in the Hamels trade. With the Phillies taking on Matt Harrison and chipping in cash, the Rangers will pay Hamels an average of $13MM to $14MM per season if his option vests. They also hung onto top prospects Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara. On Philadelphia’s end, acquiring three quality prospects will do much to bolster their future.
The Blue Jays, unlike the Dodgers, are often described as a cash strapped organization. Instead of taking on payroll like L.A., the Blue Jays dealt 11 prospects and Jose Reyes to acquire Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Ben Revere, Mark Lowe, and LaTroy Hawkins. They’re 6.5 games back in the AL East and 1.5 games behind the Twins for the second Wild Card slot.
The Astros also spent their prospect chips for major league upgrades. They made the first deadline strike by acquiring Scott Kazmir then paid a princely sum for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. Interestingly, mid-market teams like the Astros, Blue Jays, Mets, and Royals used prospects in their search for October baseball. The Yankees and Dodgers opted to use money or stand pat.

East Notes: Valencia, Red Sox, Fulmer

By charliewilmoth | August 1, 2015 at 3:45pm CDT

The Blue Jays’ somewhat surprising decision this morning to designate Danny Valencia for assignment confused many fans. Valencia has, after all, had a very strong season at the plate, batting .296/.331/.506, and he’s capable of playing several positions and raking against lefties. As Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith explains, manager John Gibbons told GM Alex Anthopoulos that he wanted new acquisition Ben Revere to play every day rather than platooning, leaving one of Valencia or Chris Colabello without much of a role. The Blue Jays ultimately decided to keep Colabello, and Anthopoulos thinks Valencia will be claimed on Monday. The GM suggests the Jays aren’t done tweaking their roster, so they could make a minor move or two to improve it, perhaps adding an outfielder.

The Red Sox were relatively quiet at the deadline, but they expect to look quite different by April, Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston writes. “I think it’s incumbent upon us to make real improvement between now and Opening Day,” says GM Ben Cherington. “We didn’t feel like it had to be this week. And so we went into it with the mindset, we’re going to pursue things we think fall in line with ways we need to improve between now and Opening Day.” Cherington notes that it’s still possible the Red Sox could make deals in August. Potential trade candidates include Mike Napoli and Alejandro De Aza.
The Mets repeatedly refused to trade pitching prospect Michael Fulmer, and were able to acquire Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers only when they finally relented, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. To Tigers exec Dave Dombrowski, Fulmer was the key to the deal (which also included another solid pitching prospect, Luis Cessa). “We consider Fulmer a premium-type guy,” Dombrowski says.

NL East Notes: Mets, Amaro, Braves

By charliewilmoth | August 1, 2015 at 10:58am CDT

The Mets did well with their series of trades before yesterday’s deadline, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes. The addition of Yoenis Cespedes significantly improves the Mets’ offense, and while the Mets did give up a fair amount of pitching talent (particularly Michael Fulmer), they have plenty of good young starting pitching and were trading from depth. Here are more quick notes from the NL East.

After the collapse of their trade for Carlos Gomez, Friday couldn’t have worked out better for Sandy Alderson and the Mets, David Lennon of Newsday writes. Not making a deal could have resulted in a “public relations catastrophe,” which the Mets avoided by turning their attention to Jay Bruce and then to Cespedes, finally making a trade right before the deadline.
In Philadelphia, meanwhile, Mike Sielski of the Inquirer wonders whether Ruben Amaro might have saved his job with his performance in the Cole Hamels trade. The Phillies got three top prospects in Nick Williams, Jake Thompson and Jorge Alfaro as part of their return for their ace. “In this day and age, teams are much more willing to dole out money than they are prospects,” says Amaro. “The value of the prospects has increased dramatically. I’ve had to make a personal adjustment on that, to understand that a bit better and make the adjustment there. I think we did that with this deal.” Sielski writes that it was also striking that Amaro was the one speaking to the media, and Pat Gillick and Andy MacPhail weren’t present.
One player who wasn’t traded yesterday was Braves outfielder Jonny Gomes, and he wants to remain in Atlanta, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. Gomes also isn’t ruling out that the Braves can contend this year, even after trading a number of players (including Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, Alex Wood, Luis Avilan, Jim Johnson and Bronson Arroyo) near the deadline. “In 2012, Oakland A’s were 14 1/2 games back in mid-August, and we were in first place for the last four innings of the season,” says Gomes. “[I]ndividual accountability, how we’ve got to play the game — that doesn’t change.”

AL Central Notes: Cespedes, Tigers, White Sox

By Zachary Links | July 31, 2015 at 5:42pm CDT

Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and Mets GM Sandy Alderson got to know each other a little bit better on Friday.

“We must have had at least 20 conversations with Sandy Alderson today,” the Tigers GM said, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com (on Twitter).

All of that talking wasn’t for nothing as the two sides agreed to a deal sending Cespedes to New York this afternoon. The Mets didn’t want to part with Michael Fulmer until today, but they had a change of heart that paved the way for the deal. Here’s more out of the AL Central..

The Tigers made the Yoenis Cespedes deal with the Mets with the belief that they’ll be reunited again this winter, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
Dombrowski said the Tigers didn’t come close to making any other trades, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
White Sox GM Rick Hahn is a little bit frustrated that he couldn’t make a splash today as he was optimistic something would get done, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com tweets. In the end, he says that the cost did not justify the return.
Hahn said the only big change in the White Sox’s strategy was considering short-term rentals, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Ultimately, however, he didn’t want to hurt the club’s long-term future.

Mets Notes: Upton, Bruce, Wheeler

By Zachary Links | July 31, 2015 at 5:23pm CDT

The latest post-deadline news out of Queens..

The Mets also discussed Justin Upton before dealing for Yoenis Cespedes, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Mets preferred Cespedes in part because of his defense and the Padres also pulled back near the end.
A Jay Bruce deal was on the table for a week before the Reds backed out and decided they wanted more from the Mets, according to Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter links). While talks were serious and the teams exchanged medical info, the deal never got all that close to happening.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson said that he discussed adding another bullpen arm with teams, but he’s happy with the Tyler Clippard addition, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com tweets. The GM also noted that there are waiver trades in August, which could be an indication of what’s to come.
Zack Wheeler called Alderson early this afternoon and expressed his desire to stay and the GM said that made an impact on him, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.
Alderson says the Mets are going for it, but wouldn’t term it as playoffs-or-bust, Matt Ehalt of The Record tweets.

Mets Acquire Yoenis Cespedes

By Jeff Todd and charliewilmoth | July 31, 2015 at 3:32pm CDT

The Mets have officially acquired outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers, as Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com first reported on Twitter. In return, Detroit will get righties Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa from New York, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported on Twitter. GM Sandy Alderson says the Mets will pay all of the approximately $3.75MM remaining on Cespedes’ 2015 salary, David Lennon of Newsday tweets.

With the move, New York finally lands the power bat it was rumored to be pursuing for some time in the lead-up to the deadline. New York had already added reliever Tyler Clippard, third baseman Juan Uribe, and utilityman Kelly Johnson. After a widely-reported deal for Carlos Gomez fell through, the Mets turned their sights to alternatives and ultimately landed the 29-year-old slugger.

The Mets were said to be going after a controllable piece that was capable of playing center field, such as Gomez, but changed course in adding the free-agent-to-be Cespedes, who has spent most of his time in left. With Michael Cuddyer potentially out longer than had been hoped, Cespedes figures to take over there. But the club is also reportedly considering utilizing Curtis Granderson in center in some situations, as incumbent Juan Lagares has struggled since signing a significant extension before the season.

Cespedes is highly talented, if sometimes inconsistent, but he’s been outstanding in 2015. He’s hitting close to the levels he did in his breakout rookie campaign back in 2012, after two high-power/low-OBP seasons in between, with a .293/.323/.506 slash and 18 home runs through 427 plate appearances. Cespedes is delivering more hard contact, a better line-drive percentage, and more home runs per flyball than he has over any single full season. And Cespedes has increased his output on the defensive side of the ledger as well, drawing strong reviews from defensive metrics.

MLB.com now ranks Fulmer and Cessa the fifth- and ninth-best prospects, respectively, in an improved Tigers farm system. The 22-year-old Fulmer, the 44th overall pick in the 2011 draft, was in the midst of an impressive season at Double-A Binghamton, posting a 1.88 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 86 innings. MLB.com notes that his fastball is regularly in the mid-90s, and that he has a strong slider and a changeup good enough that he could one day be a Major League starter.

Cessa, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old converted infielder who performed well for Binghamton, with a 2.56 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 77 1/3 frames. He struggled after a promotion to hitter-happy Triple-A Las Vegas, but maintained his solid peripherals, striking out 24 batters and walking four despite allowing an unsightly 23 earned runs in 24 1/3 innings there. MLB.com notes that his fastball is generally around 93 MPH, and that he could wind up in the back end of a big-league rotation.

Cespedes now finds himself on his fourth team since last summer. He was dealt from the Athletics to the Red Sox, then to the Tigers over the winter, before landing in New York. It’s an unlikely series of transactions, all said.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mets Making Push For Yoenis Cespedes

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2015 at 1:32pm CDT

1:32pm: Talks between the Mets and Tigers “reignited” on Wednesday night after there had been little contact between the two clubs, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, who calls a Cespedes acquisition a possibility for the Mets.

1:27pm: The Mets are making a push to acquire Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Earlier today the Mets were linked to Cespedes in connection with some doubt regarding Michael Cuddyer’s health.

The Mets have been working fervently to acquire an outfield bat over the past couple of days. After a near-deal for Carlos Gomez disintegrated, they’ve been tied heavily to the Reds’ Jay Bruce, though those talks are now also said to have cooled. Cespedes wouldn’t fit the Mets’ desire to add a bat that is controlled beyond the 2015 season, but he would certainly provide a boost to a Mets offense that has failed to score enough runs to support an outstanding young pitching staff.

The Tigers figure to be extra-motivated to deal Cespedes, as he’s ineligible to receive a qualifying offer this winter and thus can’t even bring back a draft pick as compensation if he isn’t moved today.

Mets May Have Concerns With Cuddyer; Have Interest In Tigers’ Yoenis Cespedes, Rajai Davis

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2015 at 12:05pm CDT

12:08pm: New York is talking with Detroit about Cespedes, Rosenthal tweets. At this point, he’s one of many options, per the report.

12:05pm: As previously reported, the Mets are open to numerous outfield possibilities as the trade deadline approaches. The club has some concern that outfielder Michael Cuddyer “may not be back,” Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links), which certainly would appear to add a new component to the decisionmaking process.

The veteran had been expected to experience only a relatively short DL stint. It’s not entirely clear, though, what the new issues are that are referenced by the report, or what kind of absence might be expected.

Per Rosenthal, the names currently being considered by New York include not only the oft-discussed Jay Bruce (Reds), Yoenis Cespedes (Tigers), Justin Upton (Padres), and Will Venable (Padres), but also Rajai Davis of the Tigers. Davis is a speedy right-handed hitter who is capable of playing center field, where Rosenthal says the team has real concerns about incumbent Juan Lagares (who fits a similar general profile).

Mets “May Have Lost Momentum” On Jay Bruce Deal With Reds; Could Add Two Bats

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2015 at 11:44am CDT

11:44am: The talks between the Mets and Reds regarding Bruce “may have lost momentum,” ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Cincinnati is “having second thoughts” about the package being proposed by New York, per the report. Meanwhile, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that New York has concerns both with Bruce’s salary and his inconsistencies at the plate.

11:36am: It’s possible that the Mets could add two hitters today, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports. In addition to Bruce, the club is pursuing other options. We’ve heard discussion that the team could look at rental players like Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, and Will Venable, and Martino notes all three as hypothetical possibilities.

9:48am: Rental outfielders are still in play for the Reds, but they won’t move Wheeler for a rental, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). One specific rental that’s still in play for New York is Justin Upton, but Bruce remains their primary focus at this time.

9:22am: The Mets are still working on other outfield options, David Lennon of Newsday tweets.

8:38am: The clubs are reviewing medicals on Bruce and Wheeler, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (Twitter links). He adds that it remains unclear whether other players are involved.

8:11am: The divide between the clubs as of last night was whether or not Wheeler alone was sufficient to get a deal done, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets.

7:44am: The Mets and Reds continued to work towards a deal that would send outfielder Jay Bruce from Cincinnati to New York, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Reports emerged yesterday indicating that the Mets were indeed pursuing the left-handed-hitting slugger.

There is a growing sense in the industry that something will get done, Rosenthal adds. Though he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, Mets righty Zack Wheeler is said to feature prominently in discussions.

Bruce, 28, is back to posting his typically excellent production at the plate. He’s slashing .257/.341/.486 on the year and also fits the Mets’ desire for future control over a significant outfield addition. While he isn’t really an option in center, as New York is said to prefer, the club could consider utilizing Curtis Granderson as at least a part-time option up the middle while shifting the recently-extended Juan Lagares into a less regular role.

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