The Mets have been without Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki for a week and have received just two hits from their patchwork catching tandem of Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido. However, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News hears that in spite of that, the Mets don’t plan to trade for a catcher before Plawecki returns in another two to three weeks. Ackert checked in on three AL clubs with “obvious” matches — speculatively speaking, Blake Swihart and Wilson Ramos would be a pair of clear on-paper matches — and was told that the Mets have not reached out. Rather, they’ve told clubs who’ve reached out that they plan to stay internal for now. Mike Puma of the New York Post paints a slightly different picture, reporting that the Mets have begun to kick the tires on some options. He lists Swihart, Ramos and Houston’s Max Stassi as “potential pursuits,” though there’s no mention of direct contact with the Red Sox, Rays or Astros regarding that trio in his report.
More notes out of Queens…
- With Jason Vargas nearing a return from the disabled list, the Mets will soon need to create a vacancy in their rotation, and based on performance, Matt Harvey would be the obvious starter to get bumped. However, the right-hander told the media following that he considers himself a starting pitcher and isn’t thinking about a move to the bullpen (links via Puma and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). Harvey cited his three scoreless innings to close out last night’s rough outing as evidence that he can “get people out still in the fifth and sixth inning when my pitch count gets up,” though the Braves had already pounced on him for six runs by that point. Harvey has more than five years of MLB service time, meaning he’d have to give his consent to be optioned to the minors. Asked about the possibility of being optioned, he told reporters: “I can’t answer that question right now.”
- MLB.com’s Bill Ladson sat down with Jay Bruce for a Q&A and talked about his return to the Mets, the team’s expectations and the work he’s done with hitting coaches Kevin Long (now with the Nationals) and Pat Roessler over the course of his Mets tenure. As Bruce explains, his return to New York was helped out by the fact that he had a chance to get to new new skipper Mickey Callaway in his time with Cleveland following last year’s trade. The Texas native acknowledges that there was some interest from Houston this offseason and that playing in his home state “would have meant a lot,” but he makes clear that he’s thrilled to be back in New York on a team that believes it can make a run at the postseason in 2018 and beyond.
of9376
Mets have to go get a catcher. They can’t survive this season with anyone on their roster at this point . They lead the league in most stolen bases against them. Plawecki is a backup at best due to his inability to throw out anyone
Out of place Met fan
While I am not a big Plawecki fan, the pitchers own some of the struggles against baserunners.
Megadro2000
come get James McCann!
firstbleed
Brewers will have a spare Catcher once Vogt is healthy. Either Bandy or himself will have to be traded or DFA’d since both are out of options. Plus they have Christian Bethancourt in AAA doing okay. Doubt they would trade Nottingham since he still has all of his options.
SaltandPepper
I wish the Mets would act like a big market team and absorb a bad contract from the Marlins like Prado to get Realmuto for lesser prospects.
atlbraves2010
marlins have said they aren’t interested in package a bad contract with realmuto i believe
elcarim_23
They mentioned they had no plans in dealing Realmuto or Bour early on but it’s the Marlins so pretty sure no one is untouchable..
jgoody62
I think Devin Mesoraco would be a perfect fit for the Mets. The cost would likely be low depending on how much salary they take on, and Cincinnati is essentially already out. Mesoraco hasn’t seen action like he has in the past, but this clear opening in the Mets roster could prove valuable.
mjbissonn
On the downside, Mesoraco might be lone catcher in baseball with a worse medical history than Travis d’Arnaud.
jgoody62
If that doesn’t scream Met’s, I don’t know what does!
gilhaggerty
Mets need a good catcher, Plawecki is a backup catcher, Harvey should be traded for a catcher
Ruben_Tomorrow 2
Mets should ask Harvey to try out catching. Can’t be much worse than his pitching.
Rob L. 2
Harvey wouldn’t fetch an ungraded Brandon Inge Donruss Rated Rookie card these days.
padam
Ouch.
Out of place Met fan
Is Harvey going to land a ML catcher at this point?
resident
You think Harvey could bring back a catcher better than what the Mets now have?????
mlb1225
Mets should ask The Red Sox about Sandy Leon. He’s not any sort of great batter, but he’s very good defensively, and can controlling the running game.
deweybelongsinthehall
Totally agree. Swihart still has more value than the Mets will pay for. Leon’s bat is consistent with what the team is used to and his defense is something they haven’t seen in years. An arm that can end an inning. Lin has shown he can stay in the big leagues and if Boston believes Sweihart can be the #2 behind the dish, barring injury a move will need to be made next month when Pedie returns.
jmi1950
If the Red Sox were to trade either Swihart or Leon they would be an injury away from needing a C. In 2016 they started with Hanigan, Vaz., & Swihart and had to trade for Leon and Haladay when all three were on the DL at the same time. Lin goes down when Bogey returns. If the whole roster is healthy when Pedey returns Holt has an option left and will be the odd man out. I also could see them using the 10 day DL to give anyone with a minor injury a break. DD and Cora are looking to win this year and will not give up the depth and flexibility that keeping both Leon and Swihart gives them.
Bruin1012
I’m sure the Mets have asked about Sandy but Sandy is more valuable for Boston as Porcello’s personal catcher. The two Red Sox catchers are extremely good defenders and with 16-2 start doubt they will move Sandy anytime soon. I think the odd man out is Swihart I hate to say that because I think he can be good but right now there is no way you break up the Vasquez, Leon tandem.
deweybelongsinthehall
Didn’t Cora say he didn’t want a personal catcher? Yes, the starting staff has been amazing but it I az just April. I just don’t think Lin deserves to be sent down when Pedie returns. A lot though can happen in the meantime. Laughing at myself because I just read a post I made in February asking if anyone wanted the Hanley contract. It is still early but sometimes the best trades are the ones not made.
Bruin1012
Cora did say that but Leon has caught all of Porcello’s starts and Rick has been awesome so I’m guessing he will continue to catch for Porcello at least for awhile. Lin will go back down when Xander or Pedroia come back. The Red Sox are going to have to make a decision some time on Swihart his future isn’t in Boston it appears Vasquez has been too good.
deweybelongsinthehall
With the contract Vasquez signed, I thought they were grooming Swihart to take Holt’s job if Holt’s concussion symptoms reappeared or his game didn’t. Thus, my thinking he has more value as a backup than Leon if they were comfortable with him catching. For some reason Porcello has been good in alternate seasons so I’m not sure how much Leon has to with it.
Unblockable
Mets window of competition is ending soon. It’s time to cash in the chips get realmulto and go for it
deweybelongsinthehall
What chips do they actually have? Jeter should be able to get more than what the Mets can offer. Add in that the teams are in the same division and I just don’t see a deal with the Fish happening.
Unblockable
Good points. I agree. Would be nice but it doesn’t seem realistic
deweybelongsinthehall
As a Sox fan, I like Leon a lot but I just think he might be a good fit for the Mets. The one year Vasquez was hurt and the job was his he actually hit. It came out of nowhere and with his defense, it would be az bonus. The problem with their catching is D’Arnaud was supposed to be the starter and a good hitter. Be it injuries or not, he’s been a disappointment. KP? Was not thought of as anything but a backup. Leon is not an all star but in my view an upgrade.
dlevin11
Sandy Leon would be a nice fit for Mets. He has played in NL in past and is used to being a backup
leftcoaster
Put the equipment on Nimmo and stick him behind the plate. Now, that would be entertaining.
jakec77
Mets are going to have trouble throwing out runners no matter what because their pitchers aren’t good at holding runners. Lobaton and Nido have both shown enough in the past (Nido in the minors) to believe they can handle the position defensively, but how long can an NL team handle having in essence a 2nd pitcher in terms of batting in the lineup (especially since they bat Rosario 9th).
You have to believe they will add a catcher eventually, but I’d wait if I was them- they do not have a deep farm system, and if they took on a contract like Ramos that might be all they can do inseason, and I’d rather stay flexible for the deadline.
jonk
Stolen bases are overrated and mostly on the pitcher.
deweybelongsinthehall
Depends on the situation. Is the launch angle era much different than the Earl Weaver theory of playing for a three run homer? It’s more of a cyclical thing but I’d still rather have a carcher than can throw out a runner. Unless you have silver slugger type players, defense up the middle is still important.
majorflaw
“Is the launch angle era much different than the Earl Weaver theory of playing for a three run homer?”
Weaver’s “theory” was 1) pitching, 2) defense, and 3) three run homers, all three items. And you aren’t framing the question well.
“It’s more of a cyclical thing . . . “
No, it’s not. The value of a stolen base depends on the run environment in which it occurs. In the ‘60s, for example, when fewer runs were scored, a stolen base which led to a run scored was more valuable than a stolen base which leads to a run scored in today’s higher scoring environment.
In a higher scoring environment individual runs are worth less hence components of runs—like stolen bases—are also worth less. There’s nothing cyclical about it, there’s a direct correlation. Others including Palmer, James and Tango have already done much work on the subject, it’s easy enough to find with a modicum of effort.
darkstar61
Stolen bases are hardly overrated – they are in essence hidden ISO/OPS.
deweybelongsinthehall
Laughing at myself because we agree on the value of stolen bases but I rely on the basics, percentage of success and the eye test. By looking it’s not hard to tell the impact of a pitcher’s ability to hold the runner or delivery speed. A great lefthander’s pickoff move does wonders for a catcher’s ability to throw out runners. Pettite, John Tudor, Bruce Hurst. Bobby Ojeda all had great if not ball moves to name a few. Yes, my age is showing but the last three came up basically together with the Sox in the early to mid 80s.
darkstar61
One can actually calculate the rough value to a slash line of a guys SB/CS numbers without having to rely on just an eye test.
Counting a CS as basically the equivalent of a groundout and a SB as the equivalent of a 2B (while canceling out a Single) anyone can do the lines to see things like:
And we will use 2016 Rajai Davis, counting all SB as just of 2B for ease sake
.249/.306/.388/.693 with 46 SB, 6 CS
Is rough equivalent to:
.236/.294/.469/.763
He is one of the more extreme examples, of course. But that rough translation of value shows why the Indians kept playing him despite a pretty poor looking slashline, and gives a clearer idea of the hidden value of a SB to OPS (and how it can make otherwise weaker guys as closer to valuable as big ISO producers power wise)
coachrsj
HArvey for Austin romaine
iplay_in_traffic
Call up Benito Santiago and see if he still wants to play
threed75
Why don’t they just trade Harvey to the Reds for catcher Meseraco? or wouldn’t that be a fair trade?
Leonard44
Do any of you actually watch games? If you did you’d realize what an upgrade Nido is defensively and he’ll give them enough offense to survive 3 weeks with him behind the plate. Question is can they survive the return of Plawecki defensively