Meet the Mets (For Mets Fans Only!)

how about eliminating pinch hitters too, save for bona fide injuries.  

Awful idea which would save virtually no time in most cases.

I think he was joking, though it can sometimes be hard to tell.  

Yeah, he’s not funny.

Back to realistic baseball matters at hand.

deGrom has said he will not negotiate an extension during the regular season.  So the Mets and deGrom have about 6 weeks to hammer out a significant agreement.

Or not.

The process is highlighting an interesting battle of risk shifting and risk sharing between Owners and Players.

deGrom just got a $9.6MM raise to $17MM, avoiding arbitration.  He is subject to arbitration next year also, and can be a Free Agent in 2021.  He is 30 years old and has 897 MLB innings on his arm.

From the Mets' perspective you have to wonder if they will want to go for a five year deal.  He is going to ask for $25MM to $30MM per year or $150MM for the extension.  If the Mets just keep him for two years and if he pitches as well in 2019 as he did in 2018 he will probably get that $25MM in arbitration for 2020.  So the Mets get the best pitcher in baseball for two years at $42MM and then can see what the market is like for a 33 year old pitcher in 2021.  Pitchers are so prone to injury that it might be the smartest move the Mets can make.

Meanwhile, deGrom's agent (and Brodie's former CAA partner) recently countered this approach by saying that players who are NOT given long-term contracts should self-limit their field time to reduce the risk of injury.  I wonder what would happen if deGrom said he would only pitch every sixth day, or would not go past six innings in a game?  It may be the smartest move deGrom can make if the Mets do not give him a long-term contract that guarantees his future whether he is injured or not.

Going to be interesting to see how this plays out.  

Have you seen the photos of Cespedes reporting to camp?

Yo Knows Doughnuts, methinks.  Or beers.

I know he was not expected to break camp with the team this year, but he looks like he has retired.  It has to be hard to stay in shape with two bad heels, but the reality is he is nowhere near playing condition as an outfielder even if his heels heal soon.  

I would not be expecting him to play in 2019 at all.

I'm not expecting Cespedes this year. DeGrom is the only guy on the team I would be willing to sign to a 6 year contract. It is risky after the 217 innings he pitched last year, but he has been a top pitcher now for an extended period of time. I wasn't upset when they signed Wright to a long term deal and he got injured. There are certain guys I would like to be a lifelong Met. DeGrom is the only current player on my list. 

mfpark said:
Back to realistic baseball matters at hand.
deGrom has said he will not negotiate an extension during the regular season.  So the Mets and deGrom have about 6 weeks to hammer out a significant agreement.
Or not.
The process is highlighting an interesting battle of risk shifting and risk sharing between Owners and Players.
deGrom just got a $9.6MM raise to $17MM, avoiding arbitration.  He is subject to arbitration next year also, and can be a Free Agent in 2021.  He is 30 years old and has 897 MLB innings on his arm.
From the Mets' perspective you have to wonder if they will want to go for a five year deal.  He is going to ask for $25MM to $30MM per year or $150MM for the extension.  If the Mets just keep him for two years and if he pitches as well in 2019 as he did in 2018 he will probably get that $25MM in arbitration for 2020.  So the Mets get the best pitcher in baseball for two years at $42MM and then can see what the market is like for a 33 year old pitcher in 2021.  Pitchers are so prone to injury that it might be the smartest move the Mets can make.
Meanwhile, deGrom's agent (and Brodie's former CAA partner) recently countered this approach by saying that players who are NOT given long-term contracts should self-limit their field time to reduce the risk of injury.  I wonder what would happen if deGrom said he would only pitch every sixth day, or would not go past six innings in a game?  It may be the smartest move deGrom can make if the Mets do not give him a long-term contract that guarantees his future whether he is injured or not.
Going to be interesting to see how this plays out.  

 This is an interesting issue.  As popular as he is, who can expect him to pitch to the same level as last season?  If he has a merely good year, and not a best in the league year, will his long term price be lower this fall?  Or should they pay him to avoid the publicity backlash?

what would really save time is just give the Mets an 80-82 record every year and forego the games.

It’s always good to forego the games if you want to get there by the first pitch.

you just lost two games.

78-84

Actually the Mets have never had an 80-82 season in their history, or 78-84 for that matter. And that LaFrieda sandwich is well worth the money. Buying tickets when the heart of the order was John Mayberry and Eric Campbell? Not so much. 

Robert_Casotto said:
you just lost two games.

If that must be, then please let them be to the Phillies.

jfinnegan said:
And that LaFrieda sandwich is well worth the money. 

the real value is the LaFrieda marinated filet and melted cheese over waffle fries.  It's about $12 if my memory is correct.

I pretty much convinced myself that the Mets should offer deGrom a reasonable extension--say $20MM per year guaranteed for five years--and if he says no to that, then let him pitch for his FA contract over the next two years and see what happens. 
If he gets injured or his arm gets smoked, they are not on the hook.  

If he has two years like he had this year, well, that ain't so bad, is it?  With the team, behind him and deGrom pitching well the Mets will contend, which is great for fans.

If in 2021 at age 33 someone wants to give him another five at $20MM per, God bless them.  Or perhaps he would take three from the Mets at $12MM per and retire a local hero.

eta:  His family will still eat regardless.

FilmCarp said:

mfpark said:
Back to realistic baseball matters at hand.
deGrom has said he will not negotiate an extension during the regular season.  So the Mets and deGrom have about 6 weeks to hammer out a significant agreement.
Or not.
The process is highlighting an interesting battle of risk shifting and risk sharing between Owners and Players.
deGrom just got a $9.6MM raise to $17MM, avoiding arbitration.  He is subject to arbitration next year also, and can be a Free Agent in 2021.  He is 30 years old and has 897 MLB innings on his arm.
From the Mets' perspective you have to wonder if they will want to go for a five year deal.  He is going to ask for $25MM to $30MM per year or $150MM for the extension.  If the Mets just keep him for two years and if he pitches as well in 2019 as he did in 2018 he will probably get that $25MM in arbitration for 2020.  So the Mets get the best pitcher in baseball for two years at $42MM and then can see what the market is like for a 33 year old pitcher in 2021.  Pitchers are so prone to injury that it might be the smartest move the Mets can make.
Meanwhile, deGrom's agent (and Brodie's former CAA partner) recently countered this approach by saying that players who are NOT given long-term contracts should self-limit their field time to reduce the risk of injury.  I wonder what would happen if deGrom said he would only pitch every sixth day, or would not go past six innings in a game?  It may be the smartest move deGrom can make if the Mets do not give him a long-term contract that guarantees his future whether he is injured or not.
Going to be interesting to see how this plays out.  

 This is an interesting issue.  As popular as he is, who can expect him to pitch to the same level as last season?  If he has a merely good year, and not a best in the league year, will his long term price be lower this fall?  Or should they pay him to avoid the publicity backlash?

If Mets fans expect another season like last out of deGrom, they will almost certainly be disappointed.  The thing to worry about though is injury, not ineffectiveness.  I'm convinced a healthy deGrom is going to be a top tier pitcher for many more years.  And I don't base that on 2018.  I look to the consecutive games he had in 2017 against Milwaukee and Texas, where he gave up 15 runs and 18 hits in 8 innings, and ultimately ended up in tears in the dugout in Arlington.  His response to that was to go back to the drawing board and make adjustments.  He had a few rough games the rest of the year, but in his four starts after Texas, he gave up only 1 or 0 runs in each.  And then in 2018, he came back with a different approach to attack the "launch angle" guys who had been hitting HRs off him in 2017.

He's smart, he works hard, and he's obviously a very serious student of pitching.  Barring injury he's likely to be very good for a long enough time to justify a 5 year deal.  (Of course it's possible he will be terrible this year even if he's healthy.  That's baseball, Suzyn.)

Has anybody tried the brewery at CitiField? I'm looking forward to trying it. 

jfinnegan said:
Has anybody tried the brewery at CitiField? I'm looking forward to trying it. 

 It's top notch. Very solid. Nice selection. Good vibe. 

Thanks! I'm happy there's another option other than McFadden's. The crowd can get a bit unruly in there at times. 

There's already chatter that Mickey might be fired if he gets off to a slow start. Makes sense on a certain level because he's not Brodie's guy... I wouldn't lose any sleep over that one. 

Discuss. 

well if they do fire Mickey I hear Goofy’s available.

Looks like the blockbuster signing we've been waiting for:

Adeiny Hechavarria, pending a physical, will be joining the team tomorrow.

Ok, yes, I'm being facetious. But a true backup shortstop is a solid addition. It seems like a fair amount of tinkering this off season without a major overhaul. 

I think adding Diaz and Cano and subtracting Bruce was fairly major.

I'll defer to your judgement.  

What if anything would you still like for the team? Harper and Machado being out of the question.

team still needs a reliable 1B

mrincredible said:
I'll defer to your judgement.  
What if anything would you still like for the team? Harper and Machado being out of the question.

 Marwin Gonzalez.

mfpark said:

mrincredible said:
I'll defer to your judgement.  
What if anything would you still like for the team? Harper and Machado being out of the question.

 Marwin Gonzalez.

 I wanted them to sign Gonzalez. But with Lowrie on the roster it doesn't make sense now. 

ml1 said:
team still needs a reliable 1B

 https://theathletic.com/824140/2019/02/18/time-to-party-how-peter-alonsos-approach-to-defense-now-mimics-his-offensive-mindset/

mrincredible said:
Looks like the blockbuster signing we've been waiting for:
Adeiny Hechavarria, pending a physical, will be joining the team tomorrow.

Ok, yes, I'm being facetious. But a true backup shortstop is a solid addition. It seems like a fair amount of tinkering this off season without a major overhaul. 

 I thought their best minor league prospect was a shortstop.