I don't have Senga that high on my worry scale. I'm actually more worried about names like Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes because my faith in them as starters is less high. The Mets have enough pieces in AAA and their bullpen that they can deal with a handful of pitching injuries.
I am not concerned about Senga. I am concerned about the rotation as a whole. Not worried, just concerned. Would like an ace to be able to go two games in a seven game series with the Dodgers. Speaking of the Dodgers, Manaea should have started game one against the Dodgers in the NLCS. What would suck is if one of our starters sustains a major injury in spring training and Stearns signs Sir Junkalot to replace him.
SNY reports that the Mets are re-signing Drew Smith to a one-year deal with a club option. No mention if it's a minor league deal. FG says Smith does not have an option remaining and the 40-man is currently filled.
"Smith will earn $1 million in 2025, while the option for 2026 is worth $2 million, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, who reports that the contract also includes incentives.
It's possible Smith returns at some point during the 2025 season, but the more likely scenario could result in him being ready to go for Opening Day of 2026."
It's my understanding that you can't just start a guy on the 60-day IL. He has to be on the 40-man and then move to the 60-day. That's assuming an MLB contract
I hate this signing. Just loathe it. You’ll recall how aggravating it was to see Hansel Robles shoot his hand up to point at a ball in the air only to see it land in the bleachers for a HR. That’s how I feel whenever Smith throws his lazy-ass curveball right in someone’s wheelhouse. I’ve said for a long time that he should be fined $10,000 every time he throws that pitch for a strike. I’d rather have read they signed Jeurys Familia.
Think there is worry, then there is W o r r y. My worry level that he does not come close to 2023 is easily a 10. It doesnt keep me awake at night though. Until he shows he can pitch consecutive starts and remain healthy, the only information we have is he cannot. Our last view of Senga was a disaster. Sure you might say he pitched 5 great innings before succumbing to a calf strain that has sidelined him for 7 months, but what kind of calf strain needs 7 months recovery and hes still not ready. I dont buy it for 1 minute. There is zero evidence he is capable of making a full season of starts; quite the contrary.
I think Stearns did a very poor job on the rotation. Im not at all impressed with his junkyard of projects hoping to shine. I very much want to be wrong, however. He gets his due to be sure. And he knows all kinds of things we dont have a single bit of data on. But until Senga starts throwing in competition, no one does.
I am not worried about the pitching staff. My biggest worry about the Mets is Alvarez going down for any length of time.
But overall, I am a freaking fan that doesn't freak out - I have no financial risk in this team. There are other things to worry about than baseball (although I tend to not worry about much anyway).
I take solace in the fact that I am not a long-term diehard White Sox fan.
"What, me worry" Alfred E Neuman. In the spring of 2023 we didn't know what we had with Senga, in the spring of 2024 they relied on him and he was injured and he came back and suffered another injury. In both extremes it worked out for the Mets. Don't worry about problems, just deal with them when they occur. "What, me worry" , Metsense.
Stearns philosophy is to not give starting pitcher past 30 years old more than a three year contract. With those parameters then he did what he had to do. It seems like the Mets are going to employ a semi 6 man rotation this year. If that was their intent then I wouldn't have signed Griffin Canning so early in the off season. I would have tried traded for the Mariners Luis Castillo after Pete Alonso was signed. Or he could have tried to sign a desperate Flaherty. If those fell through then he could circle back to Canning or Quintana or someone else. The other five rotation spots I am satisfied with.
For what it’s worth, I’ve enjoyed the random posts from years ago. I gave you the benefit of doubt and thought there was a purposeful message you were sending. They are a nice reminder of the progress that 2024 brought.
Given that he reinjured himself so quickly and then sucked in the playoffs, gives me pause as to what he will do. Then he has his own special private training regime that reminds me of Thor who built too much muscle doing his own thing that came back to haunt the Mets. It’s a broken record for me but they need one more front line pitcher and going into the season and hoping that Montas and Holmes are solid starters is no sure bet. If Senga is back to 2023 form then the staff can make do. But if not they will wish they picked up an established ace. Wonder if Bartolo would consider a comeback 🤪
Senga is definitely a wildcard, and it is very reasonable to both expect less than his 2023 performance level and have overall concern about the quality of the Mets’ starting staff. On the plus side, they do have starter depth, even if it is mediocre compared to the doth that the Dodgers have. And, since Stearns didn’t deal any prospect depth, they should be able to compete for starting help at the trade deadline should that make sense. Overall, even if they aren’t clearly the standout best team in their division, and even if they are seen as far behind the Dodgers, I am not worried…I am more excited…this team should have a lot of offense and be exciting to watch and have a chance to win on most days.
Well, the Dodgers have great depth on paper. How often have those pitchers been on the IL recently, though? It feels to me if the Mets had those same pitchers, all people would talk about here is how injury-prone they are.
So…….. the Padres signed Nick Pivetta. So, now the opportunity to trade Dylan Cease is greater. What do you give up for one year of a very good pitcher, and please don’t call him an ace because he is equal in ace hood to Manaea and Senga, so he isn’t. I’m sure the Padres will start calling him a “generational talent” after the complete heist they got from the Yankees. He is a rental with lots of strikeouts and a mid-3’s ERA, at best.
This was the Rays-Dodgers trade, from Sports Illustrated, and the Dodgers had a window to negotiate:
“Pepiot, 26, has split his time in the past between the rotation and the bullpen. But if any org can figure out how to get the most out of his fastball-changeup pairing and learn how to maximize his impact? It’s probably the pitching-savvy Rays. (He’s also worked on developing a slider in the last two years.) Pepiot comes with a spotty injury history of his own—he missed a good chunk of last season with an oblique strain—but will likely see his first full season in the big leagues in 2024.
Deluca, meanwhile, looked capable in his first exposure to the majors last year. He adjusted decently well to big league pitching (a 97 OPS+) and played all three outfield spots. Deluca’s skill set is relatively similar to Margot’s: Both are contact hitters (with very little power to speak of) and effective defenders. That means Deluca should be able to replace much of what the Rays are losing by trading away Margot—at a fraction of the salary and with a much longer time horizon. The 25-year-old will not hit free agency until 2030.”
That’s what’s I’d give the Padres: Butto/Megill (prefer it to be Megill), Baty/Vargas, and Marte (paying down Marte), and they better say thank you! The Mets will not have a window to extent Cease, so that sucks, but that’s my offer. They will not get anyone in the top ten.
Alex Bregman signed a 3/$120 deal with the Red Sox, with opt outs after the first two seasons. While I'm sure Bregman wanted a 7-year deal, this is a great contract for him, much better than the one Alonso got, even if that was a very good one for Alonso.
I'm not sure of all of Scott Boras' high-end clients but he got great deals for Alonso, Bregman and Soto. Perhaps talks of his demise after last year were a bit premature.
I would argue that there were only 5 'great' deals signed this year - Soto, Corbin Burnes, and Blake Snell were the Boras clients and Fried and Adames use CAA as their agents.
I have to knock down my ratings if the player did not get what they were asking and they got close to or into spring training to sign. Alonso and Bregman got very good AAV deals in the the end, but great would have been the 6 or 7 year contracts they thought they deserved to start with.
I don't think that Boras has met his demise, but I do think the teams are getting a bit better at not being played. Boras clients will get the money for their value, but it seems he used to get much more than value. I think free agency in general is finally getting a little more sane. I don't think we'll see many Josh Hamilton contracts doled out in the future.
For those of you that have a The Athletic subscription I direct you to the article today about Alvarez, who apparently spent the off season at a hitting center in Atlanta at the encouragement of JD Martinez, whom Alvarez peppered all 2024 about hitting. He only spent 2 weeks in Venezuela right after the season ended, the rest was in Atlanta. The short of the story is this: Alvarez has apparently completely revamped his swing to go from pull hitter to using the entire field.
Some quotes from Alvarez:
“I had to fix my swing,”
“So picking J.D.’s brain, and (understanding), ‘You know, maybe I don’t have to hit it as far; a single can get the job done. Maybe that’s something to it.’”
“I think I can put the ball in the air more, hit the ball to the opposite way more,” Alvarez said. “I’m very powerful; I don’t have to pull every pitch. Really, I just wanted to take the time to get better.”
This is encouraging news. While I have little interest on Alvarez hitting singles, I very much want him to use the whole field, to be more like Vientos and hit HR to CF and RF. He's strong enough to do that.
As Rudolf Abel from Bridge of Spies says about worrying…would it help?
I don't have Senga that high on my worry scale. I'm actually more worried about names like Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes because my faith in them as starters is less high. The Mets have enough pieces in AAA and their bullpen that they can deal with a handful of pitching injuries.
I am not concerned about Senga. I am concerned about the rotation as a whole. Not worried, just concerned. Would like an ace to be able to go two games in a seven game series with the Dodgers. Speaking of the Dodgers, Manaea should have started game one against the Dodgers in the NLCS. What would suck is if one of our starters sustains a major injury in spring training and Stearns signs Sir Junkalot to replace him.
SNY reports that the Mets are re-signing Drew Smith to a one-year deal with a club option. No mention if it's a minor league deal. FG says Smith does not have an option remaining and the 40-man is currently filled.
"Smith will earn $1 million in 2025, while the option for 2026 is worth $2 million, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, who reports that the contract also includes incentives.
It's possible Smith returns at some point during the 2025 season, but the more likely scenario could result in him being ready to go for Opening Day of 2026."
It's my understanding that you can't just start a guy on the 60-day IL. He has to be on the 40-man and then move to the 60-day. That's assuming an MLB contract
I hate this signing. Just loathe it. You’ll recall how aggravating it was to see Hansel Robles shoot his hand up to point at a ball in the air only to see it land in the bleachers for a HR. That’s how I feel whenever Smith throws his lazy-ass curveball right in someone’s wheelhouse. I’ve said for a long time that he should be fined $10,000 every time he throws that pitch for a strike. I’d rather have read they signed Jeurys Familia.
Im with you AB, and extra points for rolling in an Hansel and Regrettle reference. I’d rather have seen them give 3M$ more to Pete.
My favorite Hansel Robles moment was when I heard Howie Rose say with disgust after a homerun, “well, he certainly has the right initials”.
That is truly funny!
Think there is worry, then there is W o r r y. My worry level that he does not come close to 2023 is easily a 10. It doesnt keep me awake at night though. Until he shows he can pitch consecutive starts and remain healthy, the only information we have is he cannot. Our last view of Senga was a disaster. Sure you might say he pitched 5 great innings before succumbing to a calf strain that has sidelined him for 7 months, but what kind of calf strain needs 7 months recovery and hes still not ready. I dont buy it for 1 minute. There is zero evidence he is capable of making a full season of starts; quite the contrary.
I think Stearns did a very poor job on the rotation. Im not at all impressed with his junkyard of projects hoping to shine. I very much want to be wrong, however. He gets his due to be sure. And he knows all kinds of things we dont have a single bit of data on. But until Senga starts throwing in competition, no one does.
I am not worried about the pitching staff. My biggest worry about the Mets is Alvarez going down for any length of time.
But overall, I am a freaking fan that doesn't freak out - I have no financial risk in this team. There are other things to worry about than baseball (although I tend to not worry about much anyway).
I take solace in the fact that I am not a long-term diehard White Sox fan.
"What, me worry" Alfred E Neuman. In the spring of 2023 we didn't know what we had with Senga, in the spring of 2024 they relied on him and he was injured and he came back and suffered another injury. In both extremes it worked out for the Mets. Don't worry about problems, just deal with them when they occur. "What, me worry" , Metsense.
Stearns philosophy is to not give starting pitcher past 30 years old more than a three year contract. With those parameters then he did what he had to do. It seems like the Mets are going to employ a semi 6 man rotation this year. If that was their intent then I wouldn't have signed Griffin Canning so early in the off season. I would have tried traded for the Mariners Luis Castillo after Pete Alonso was signed. Or he could have tried to sign a desperate Flaherty. If those fell through then he could circle back to Canning or Quintana or someone else. The other five rotation spots I am satisfied with.
For what it’s worth, I’ve enjoyed the random posts from years ago. I gave you the benefit of doubt and thought there was a purposeful message you were sending. They are a nice reminder of the progress that 2024 brought.
Given that he reinjured himself so quickly and then sucked in the playoffs, gives me pause as to what he will do. Then he has his own special private training regime that reminds me of Thor who built too much muscle doing his own thing that came back to haunt the Mets. It’s a broken record for me but they need one more front line pitcher and going into the season and hoping that Montas and Holmes are solid starters is no sure bet. If Senga is back to 2023 form then the staff can make do. But if not they will wish they picked up an established ace. Wonder if Bartolo would consider a comeback 🤪
Senga is definitely a wildcard, and it is very reasonable to both expect less than his 2023 performance level and have overall concern about the quality of the Mets’ starting staff. On the plus side, they do have starter depth, even if it is mediocre compared to the doth that the Dodgers have. And, since Stearns didn’t deal any prospect depth, they should be able to compete for starting help at the trade deadline should that make sense. Overall, even if they aren’t clearly the standout best team in their division, and even if they are seen as far behind the Dodgers, I am not worried…I am more excited…this team should have a lot of offense and be exciting to watch and have a chance to win on most days.
Well, the Dodgers have great depth on paper. How often have those pitchers been on the IL recently, though? It feels to me if the Mets had those same pitchers, all people would talk about here is how injury-prone they are.
So…….. the Padres signed Nick Pivetta. So, now the opportunity to trade Dylan Cease is greater. What do you give up for one year of a very good pitcher, and please don’t call him an ace because he is equal in ace hood to Manaea and Senga, so he isn’t. I’m sure the Padres will start calling him a “generational talent” after the complete heist they got from the Yankees. He is a rental with lots of strikeouts and a mid-3’s ERA, at best.
This was the Rays-Dodgers trade, from Sports Illustrated, and the Dodgers had a window to negotiate:
“Pepiot, 26, has split his time in the past between the rotation and the bullpen. But if any org can figure out how to get the most out of his fastball-changeup pairing and learn how to maximize his impact? It’s probably the pitching-savvy Rays. (He’s also worked on developing a slider in the last two years.) Pepiot comes with a spotty injury history of his own—he missed a good chunk of last season with an oblique strain—but will likely see his first full season in the big leagues in 2024.
Deluca, meanwhile, looked capable in his first exposure to the majors last year. He adjusted decently well to big league pitching (a 97 OPS+) and played all three outfield spots. Deluca’s skill set is relatively similar to Margot’s: Both are contact hitters (with very little power to speak of) and effective defenders. That means Deluca should be able to replace much of what the Rays are losing by trading away Margot—at a fraction of the salary and with a much longer time horizon. The 25-year-old will not hit free agency until 2030.”
That’s what’s I’d give the Padres: Butto/Megill (prefer it to be Megill), Baty/Vargas, and Marte (paying down Marte), and they better say thank you! The Mets will not have a window to extent Cease, so that sucks, but that’s my offer. They will not get anyone in the top ten.
Alex Bregman signed a 3/$120 deal with the Red Sox, with opt outs after the first two seasons. While I'm sure Bregman wanted a 7-year deal, this is a great contract for him, much better than the one Alonso got, even if that was a very good one for Alonso.
I'm not sure of all of Scott Boras' high-end clients but he got great deals for Alonso, Bregman and Soto. Perhaps talks of his demise after last year were a bit premature.
I would argue that there were only 5 'great' deals signed this year - Soto, Corbin Burnes, and Blake Snell were the Boras clients and Fried and Adames use CAA as their agents.
I have to knock down my ratings if the player did not get what they were asking and they got close to or into spring training to sign. Alonso and Bregman got very good AAV deals in the the end, but great would have been the 6 or 7 year contracts they thought they deserved to start with.
I don't think that Boras has met his demise, but I do think the teams are getting a bit better at not being played. Boras clients will get the money for their value, but it seems he used to get much more than value. I think free agency in general is finally getting a little more sane. I don't think we'll see many Josh Hamilton contracts doled out in the future.
For those of you that have a The Athletic subscription I direct you to the article today about Alvarez, who apparently spent the off season at a hitting center in Atlanta at the encouragement of JD Martinez, whom Alvarez peppered all 2024 about hitting. He only spent 2 weeks in Venezuela right after the season ended, the rest was in Atlanta. The short of the story is this: Alvarez has apparently completely revamped his swing to go from pull hitter to using the entire field.
Some quotes from Alvarez:
“I had to fix my swing,”
“So picking J.D.’s brain, and (understanding), ‘You know, maybe I don’t have to hit it as far; a single can get the job done. Maybe that’s something to it.’”
“I think I can put the ball in the air more, hit the ball to the opposite way more,” Alvarez said. “I’m very powerful; I don’t have to pull every pitch. Really, I just wanted to take the time to get better.”
This is encouraging news. While I have little interest on Alvarez hitting singles, I very much want him to use the whole field, to be more like Vientos and hit HR to CF and RF. He's strong enough to do that.
Frankie Montas has a lat strain - shut down from throwing 6-8 weeks
https://sny.tv/articles/mets-frankie-montas-injury-update-spring-training-2025
and so it begins. Im exoecting we wont see him until the ASB