NL East (2018)

[welch]

Mets' interim GM says anyone can be traded, but team is not in rebuild mode.

Amid a disappointing season in Queens, the Mets figured to be among the most active clubs at the Trade Deadline -- with or without general manager Sandy Alderson. But when assistant GM John Ricco spoke with reporters on Wednesday for the first time in his new leadership role, that assumption was made even clearer.

In fact, Ricco suggested that even Mets star pitchers Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard might be available for the right offer.

"I know Sandy was on the record with one point of view," said Ricco. "We'll get together and discuss it. Those are two huge pieces for us. And we'll have to consider ... for me, everything has to be on the table, but you've got to look long and hard before you move game-changing, top-of-the-rotation pitchers like that."

However,

Ricco did echo Alderson's previous sentiments, however, that the Mets are not about to enter a wholesale rebuild.

"I really don't see that as a strategy," he said. "It's not something we've really discussed, a complete teardown."

https://www.mlb.com/mets/news/noah-syndergaard-jacob-degrom-could-be-traded/c-283313924

[Vega]

Mets' interim GM says anyone can be traded, but team is not in rebuild mode.

However,

https://www.mlb.com/mets/news/noah-syndergaard-jacob-degrom-could-be-traded/c-283313924

Maybe that indicates that they want majors ready talent in deals like Pittsburgh got in the Cole trade.

[welch]

Maybe that indicates that they want majors ready talent in deals like Pittsburgh got in the Cole trade.

Article yesterday in the NY Times suggests that the Mets have one of the worst farm systems, so, yes, they can't wait long for players to develop. However, the current team is filled with guys like Kevin Plawicki, Devin Mesorocco, Jay Bruce, Jose Bautista, Jose Reyes, Asdrubal Cabrera, Wilmer Flores: nobody who can snag the next Gleyber Torres or Juan Soto.

In the fifth inning, with the Mets down by 3-2, Brandon Nimmo reached third base with no one out. He’s a fast kid and game for fun: A perfect time to have a batter lay down a bunt and send Nimmo home and vaya con dios. At least it might stir the stuporous crowd.

The coaches had Nimmo stand motionless as the next two batters struck out and the third grounded out meekly.

A few innings later, the Dodgers pulled a squeeze bunt at the plate. The run scored and Robert Gsellman, the Mets relief pitcher, appeared rattled. A few pitches later he gave up a grand slam.

The next day, Callaway was asked after yet another loss why Dominic Smith, the Mets’ young prospect, had not bunted despite having a wide open infield in extra innings. Smith, the manager replied, had never bunted in his professional career. That piqued my curiosity about the quality of the Mets’ finishing school.

The Mets’ minor league system ranks 28th on Sickels’s list. When they need players, they must call upon the likes of Gerson Bautista, who can throw 100 miles per hour with little to no idea where that ball is going. Sickels notes that the Mets’ system is “far off its peak” but “has enough talent to push off despondency.”

Despondency is the reserve of the major league club.

Of late, hopeful writers claim to divine hope in one of the Mets’ odder projects. Alderson signed Tim Tebow, a failed professional quarterback, a couple years back, although he had not played baseball since high school. He’s a charismatic evangelical, and he helped increase attendance last year at the Mets’ Class A affiliate in Columbia, S.C.

Reporters from USA Today and the New York Post recently claimed Tebow is “proving he belongs.” I have reasonable eyesight and I see a soon-to-be 31-year-old man who is hitting .256 and ranks sixth on his team with five home runs in Class AA Binghamton.

I wonder if the time spent helping Tebow learn to hit a curve ball might be better spent teaching Dominic Smith how to bunt?

by Michael Powell, 6/27/18: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/sports/mets-alderson.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbaseball&action=click&contentCollection=baseball&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront

[Slateman]

Braves next 10 games are going to test them - 10 games road trip 3 @ St. Louis, 3 @ NYY, and 4 @ Milwaukee.

They are rising to the occasion

[Air Desmond]

5 games back at the halfway mark.

9-16 in June.

Fire Davey or you’re punting on the season.

[varoadking]

5 games back at the halfway mark.

9-16 in June.

Fire Davey or you’re punting on the season.

We get it...you're posting this in every thread multiple times a day...

Take a deep breath and relax...its baseball... 

[Natsinpwc]

We get it...you're posting this in every thread multiple times a day...

Take a deep breath and relax...its baseball... 

He's taking it more seriously than it appears the team is.

[rileyn]

They are rising to the occasion

Yes, they are. 

[Natsinpwc]

Just two games out in the loss column. Of course lots of teams in play.

[Slateman]

5 games back at the halfway mark.

9-16 in June.

Fire Davey or you’re punting on the season.

Yes. This is the manager's fault.


Dusty would have waited until the playoffs to freak it up

[dcpatti]

Our tailspin began when Kendrick went down. 25-19 before, 17-21 since. That injury was important not not just because Howie was a huge part of our offense, but because it  represented the limits of how many substitutions the lineup could tolerate.  If Murphy isn’t healthy, they have absolutely got to upgrade at 2B; I love Difo and he’s been very good at sneaking a single over the infield when we need him to, but he’s not the answer. Nor is Adams the answer at 1B (although I’d gladly take him any day over Mark Reynolds). 

Simply put, we have a lineup that’s full of holes and it shouldn’t be a surprise that we can’t beat even the Phillies.

Fortunately, rental  infielders tend to be fairly cheap closer to the trade deadline. We got the jewel already — Kelvin Herrera— let’s go shopping for some bats.

[hotshot]

I'd take Cabrera in a heartbeat if he can be had relatively cheap. Also, the Sickels' rating of farm systems mentioned above with the Mets ranked 28th; the Nats ranked 18th.

[rileyn]

Our tailspin began when Kendrick went down. 25-19 before, 17-21 since. That injury was important not not just because Howie was a huge part of our offense, but because it  represented the limits of how many substitutions the lineup could tolerate.  If Murphy isn’t healthy, they have absolutely got to upgrade at 2B; I love Difo and he’s been very good at sneaking a single over the infield when we need him to, but he’s not the answer. Nor is Adams the answer at 1B (although I’d gladly take him any day over Mark Reynolds). 

Simply put, we have a lineup that’s full of holes and it shouldn’t be a surprise that we can’t beat even the Phillies.

Fortunately, rental  infielders tend to be fairly cheap closer to the trade deadline. We got the jewel already — Kelvin Herrera— let’s go shopping for some bats.

Kelvin Herrera might be the most unnecessary jewel in our possession if we don't get some late inning leads.  Maybe we can flip before the deadline if we are 7 games out.

[bluestreak]

Kelvin Herrera might be the most unnecessary jewel in our possession if we don't get some late inning leads.  Maybe we can flip before the deadline if we are 7 games out.

He was worth it to keep from the Braves and Phillies

[Optics]

Division is probably out of reach but we could still get in via the Wild Card, and then who knows.

[spidernat]

Division is probably out of reach but we could still get in via the Wild Card, and then who knows.

Gio on the mound for the wild card game.

[Air Desmond]

7 gb. The division is out of reach before the all star break. Even with the injuries, I never saw this coming. Hard to comprehend.

[JanuaryHos]

Well, we're 7 games back now. When do we start trading guys?

[imref]

Well, we're 7 games back now. When do we start trading guys?

We aren’t selling.

[JanuaryHos]

We aren’t selling.

It'd be a mistake not to. Our window is closing. Trading Bryce and Murphy, even someone like Herrera, would help restock some things so we can make another run. Losing those guys for nothing isn't going to solve anything.

[aBaltoNat]

We aren’t selling.

I don't think we will sell either but they will pack it in soon.

[Slateman]

It'd be a mistake not to. Our window is closing. Trading Bryce and Murphy, even someone like Herrera, would help restock some things so we can make another run. Losing those guys for nothing isn't going to solve anything.

Herrera and Doolittle are the only pieces worth trading, and we've seen how little Rizzo has given up for them.

If Murphy and Harper were hitting, then there is no reason to trade them.

It's barely July.  It's only 7 games for the division, and 3.5 for the WC. It would be insanely foolish to give up now.

[imref]

FWIW, davey’s cubs were around five back at a similar point last year.  Still too early to throw in the towel.

[JanuaryHos]

Herrera and Doolittle are the only pieces worth trading, and we've seen how little Rizzo has given up for them.

We know the Braves were interested in Herrera, and they'd definitely be interested in Doolittle. Doolittle isn't a rental, so Rizzo would be able to get back more than what he gave up for Herrera. If we're going to lose the division to them, we might as well take some of their kids.

[bluestreak]

The Nats are not selling. That would be insane.