The Mets have inked first baseman Matt Adams to a minor-league deal, per a club announcement. He’ll receive an invitation to participate on the MLB side of Spring Training.
Adams, 31, just wrapped up a stint with the division-rival Nationals. While he had a strong showing for the team in 2018, he stumbled to a .226/.276/.465 batting line last year. There’s obviously still loads of power in Adams’s bat, and he has been a quality overall hitter in the not-so-distant past. However, the Nats elected to move on and signed fellow lefty slugger Eric Thames.
There isn’t really an opening to make the Mets’ roster for the veteran first baseman, but that could change if the team ends up trading (or optioning) fellow left-handed-hitting first baseman Dominic Smith. There hasn’t been much chatter to that effect, but the former top prospect is in an awkward spot with Pete Alonso slated to handle almost all of the action at first base. Adams could conceivably fit as a bench bat if Smith isn’t on the roster, but he otherwise looks like upper-minors depth or perhaps a player who’ll use his spring stint with the Mets as an audition for other clubs, as is common for veterans on minor league pacts that time of year.
Sheep8
Good depth move
Wanted to get that comment out of the way
Rangers29
Are the Mets anticipating the DH moving to the N.L?
nymetsking
The DH in the IL.
baseballpun
Big City to the Big Apple.
moe 3
You beat me to it…best of luck to Big City!!
vtadave
Some competition for Alonso.
rocketman21
Competition? Wtf??? Are you high right now?
vtadave
It’s a joke genius.
astrosfansince1974
An emoticon or a smiley would have helped convey the jokiness, “genius”
bobbyvwannabe
I’m high
Keithyim
Mmmkay
Dutch Vander Linde
For the locker room couch that is.
MarlinsFanBase
Competition for Alonso?
Pie Eating Contest, right?
stevecohenMVP
alonso is better than every single person on your team
MetsFan22
The Mets have like 5-10 players that might have better careers at their positions than anybody in their organization.
MarlinsFanBase
I’m not sure how mocking someone that said that Matt Adams is competition to Alonso results in knocking the Marlins with Alonso.
But, I’ll nibble for a little bit. If making guarantees on Alonso based on ONE MLB SEASON is your thing, enjoy. Ike Davis says hello.
Bill M
The entire Marlins roster says goodbye
MetsFan22
Lol at comparing Ike to Alonso. Bro Alonso is probably a better hitter than the marlins will have in the next 25 years.. Ik it sucks to be a marlins fan tho it’s ok
mrdozo
Brody….what are you cooking up ?
Kevin28786
I like Big City, but he’s strictly a first baseman and pinch-hitter. No versatility…..
johnnybadd2019
It’s always good to have depth
Baseball Expert
The Mets are obviously setting up a Pete Alonso trade. Monitor JP Morosi for the latest rumors on this blockbuster.
Rangers29
Alonso to the Rangers for Todd Frazier.
didi gregorious nose
We can throw in degrom too just to make it fair
Rangers29
You know what, I think the mets might be giving up to much in that package, so y’all can have Choo and Odor too, to just even it out.
Badfinger
Alonso’s value will never be as high as it is right now.
YankeesBleacherCreature
I propose Betts and Price (plus $48M) for Alonso and Nimmo.
carlos15
Lol why would the Mets ever do that?
Dbird777
Honestly, after the Diaz fiasco, people believe the Mets will do just about anything.
MarlinsFanBase
LOL! Why would the Red Sox do that? Nimmo and Alonso together won’t get Betts, and you’re thinking they’d kick in $48 million to take Price off their hands?
vtadave
Pretty sure Alonso and Nimmo would be enough for one year of Betts at $27 million
MarlinsFanBase
You’re assuming that Nimmo has value to people. The league has figured out that he’s only effective against pitchers that can’t find the strike zone. For pitchers that throw strikes, he doesn’t do much.
So, essentially that would be Alonso for Betts, which ain’t happening. Nobody knows whether Alonso is the next great slugger or another Dave Kingman type or a PED suspension waiting to happen.
Again, Boston would not do this deal unless Brodie was their GM instead of the Mets GM.
Panthre1
Wait the Marlins have a fan? Base?
rct
“The league has figured out that he’s only effective against pitchers that can’t find the strike zone.”
And yet Nimmo still, in a down year full of injuries, had an OPS+ of 112 (OBP .375). Marlins team leader had only 114 (and .344 OBP led the team), FYI. A healthy Nimmo would be the best hitter on the pathetic Marlins, my man.
MetsFan22
I lost brain cells reading this. Nimmo would be your best OF
MarlinsFanBase
LOL
@rct, you are using stats, but don’t seem to know what they correlate to.
So, you’re trying to debate my statement that the league has figured out that he’s only effective against pitchers that can’t find the strike zone. Then you go to OBP and OPS, which both ignore batting average. You know….batting average…the thing that shows a guy’s ability to hit his way onto base. When you’re a .250 career hitter with a high OBP and OPS, it’s because your walking a lot and hitting mistake pitches hard. If you were effective against pitchers that threw strikes, you would have a higher batting average to go with those other numbers.
So, in your effort to debate me, you supported my statement that the league has figured out that Nimmo is effective against pitchers that can’t throw strikes…not so effective against the pitchers that can because when he’s forced to swing, he’s a .250 hitter. Look at his numbers when his AB ends with a swing. Or do you want to ignore that stat or do you not know about that?
MarlinsFanBase
Nimmo would be the Marlins best OF? Did we trade Corey Dickerson already? Did we trade Harold Ramirez? I wonder how our upcoming OF prospects will fit into this as the season goes on.
Wait, I remember this same conversation a few years ago. It was when you Mets fans were saying that Juan Lagares was better than Christian Yelich and Marcel Ozuna. I wonder how that turned out.
Joggin’George
Nimmo has value to people who understand how baseball works… OBP, WRC+, WAR all value him highly. I don’t think many in the baseball world but into your crazy theory about Nimmo and pitchers.
Joggin’George
So Nimmo sucks because his batting average and drawing a lot of walks means he can only succeed against certain pitchers? Ok, 1963 called, it wants it’s analytical theories back.
MetsFan22
I’m losing more brain cells. You’re the only person on this planet that thinks Harold Ramirez is better than nimmo.. I know you guys don’t really watch baseball bc they suck but still cmon. It’s common knowledge
nymetsking
I propose that you’re a moron.
findingnimmo
Why can’t people u defat and sarcasm in this world anymore? Obviously he was joking with that trade proposal
MarlinsFanBase
Probably Alonso to anyone as long as they take Familia, Cano, and Cespedes.
There you go.
Panthre1
Fanbase in Miami?? Hahahahahaha
Bill M
Troll base in Miami
ace4400
I never understood how some players are able to hold on to roster spots after being mediocre at best for so long..
Over the last 5 seasons (over 500 games) he’s accumulated a whopping war of 2.1 combined
honestly theres no disrespect to matt adams and i know its a depth move but is there something Im missing here? is war not a great way to evaluate players?
Rangers29
It’s not a negative WAR, so he is not hurting the team, he just doesn’t make much contributions. Bench bat.
Ab95
WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement; replacement level essentially meaning an average player. It is a 0-base stat. Above 0, you are worth that much more to the team than Joe Shmoe. Below 0, Joe Shmoe is worth that much more than you. At 0, you are Joe Shmoe.
jmag1976
LOVE THIS GUY!
eyesaiah
Dom Smith on the move
Rangers29
Pls be to my Rangers, if we don’t get Bryant, I want Smith. I have watched him play with the mets enough to know that the Rangers need him. The mets can have Odor for him so that we can finally start Solak at 2nd, and get the team younger and better.
Maybe Lowrie and Smith for Odor, Hearns, and Trevino.
377194
The Mets already have an odor.
Rangers29
Are you saying the mets stink?
TRS86
What would the Mets do with Odor? You taking Cano?
Rangers29
Heck no, but we can eat some of his salary, and he can fill in as Cano’s replacement or he can platoon. Something.
TRS86
He only plays 2B. The Mets have tons of options for 2B. Not a fit. Smith to the Rangers could be a fit, but not with Odor involved.
rangers13
Would love Smith and Lowrie, add Thompson, Martin, or Goody to get it done.
Rangers29
I’d get rid of Bubba Thompson to get the deal done, with Taveras it looks like there is no need for him.
Ma4170
If the Mets trade smith I’ll be one sad Mets fan… he will be very good and showed that ability last year.. and w DH coming Alonso can DH and dom can play 1b
metsie1
Baseball fans so bored right now that a signing of Matt Adams to play 1B for the Syracuse Mets gets 20 comments. Is ST here yet?
bravesfan
It is a bit unusual for the Mets to get any comments, as their fans tend to come and go based on their record
MetsFan22
I think you just describe Braves fans lol
MarlinsFanBase
No, he’s right. Mets fans are the fan base in the NL East that squawks until reality hits them some time during the season.
metsie1
The Marlins have fans? And you are talking about Mets fans?
metsie1
A bit unusual for Braves and rotten fish fans to be commenting on the Mets AAA first baseman.
Panthre1
I live in Miami, there’s 2 or 3 fans
Ma4170
Been a fan for 43 years and Believe me, it hasn’t been easy most of those years
MetsFan22
It must be easy to be one of the 4-5 marlin fans. Bc they never have hope so their hearts never break. They know they are the clowns of MLB
MarlinsFanBase
It could be worse. Our last championship could be in 1986.
Joggin’George
Could be even worse, our last winning season could’ve been over ten years ago
MetsFan22
They don’t understand how bad their franshise is. Two lucky wins as a WC team and they think they are a better franchise than Mets.. we win more than them all the time… the Mets will win a WS before they do. They are our little brothers of the division… they won’t win a WS in 100 years. I’m calling it now.. if any team could do it it’s them.
PiratesFan1981
Pirates are offended! They want the crown of “clowns of MLB”
fba0017
Woo hoo gonna wrap up that third place finish with that signing!
MetsFan22
Nice try. Try again.. Mets have the best roster rn in the NL east
MarlinsFanBase
I don’t think you got the memo that the Braves are in the NL East. That’s the best team in the NL East…and it’s a distinct difference. Mets are there with the Nats and Phillies.
steven scott
if it wasn’t for the Mets bullpen last year Mets would have been ahead or with the Braves
MetsFan22
I don’t think you get the memo how much losing Donaldson will hurt the Braves this year.
MarlinsFanBase
Did you not pay attention to their additions? Those very likely offset Donaldson and perhaps still make them better than last year’s team. Cole Hamels and Markakis take care of replacing Donaldson’s leadership. And Marcel Ozuna, if healthy, can replace and even surpass Donaldson’s offensive output from last year.
And they were distinctly better than the Mets last year. The Mets added maybes and ifs and even a managerial mess up already. What did the Mes do to gain on the Braves? Nothing. In fact, of all the NL East teams, the Mets have done the least to improve their team. And yet, you think they’ve gained and surpassed the Braves? OK, enjoy.
Keep in mind, while I am very well understanding that the Marlins will finish in last, this year, I’m not 100% sure about it because of the Mets and Phillies abilities to implode. The reality that a Marlins fan has a slight bit of hope of passing your team min the standings should so how fragile your team is and how most NL East fans find it laughable that you would state that you have the best team in the division…even after the Braves have won consecutive division titles…and their young players are still getting better.
zauberman12
Right on.
MetsFan22
Lol the Marlins have a 0% chance of passing the Mets. The rosters are night and day.. rn if you look at numbers and not bias. The Mets have a better lineup and starting pitching. Rn the Braves have a better bullpen but if you get Diaz and familia go bounce back and bentances bounces back. Our bullpen will be top 3.. this team has a lot of potential and most of the players are young. Like or not you’ll be looking up at us and Braves in the standings a lot the next 5 years
bravesfan
Hit 20 bombs as a part time player, although he had a healthy amount of AB’s. I’d say that’s a solid bench piece to have….
homerheins
That’s dumb signing one of the most one-demensional players when you’re in the National league.
metsie1
Not really when he will be playing at their AAA affiliate which they own. The uninformed people on here are the best.
homerheins
So this was to sell minor league tickets? That’s a novel take
Questionable_Source
One-dimensional? So, according to you, pitchers have no value?
steelerbravenation
Ppl on here need to relax he was signed to get some at bats in spring training and see if a team comes down with a need and then they will move him. If not he gets some more ABs in AAA & when his opt out comes up teams will look and see if they can use him.
You will see a bunch more signings like this coming up before ST.
homerheins
That would be smart, if we knew that was how they are thinking, but when was the last time this management group did that?
zauberman12
Exactly. Done every single year.
throwinched10
Odd move…they already have Dom Smith.
Rsox
This allows the Mets to trade Smith and have a backup for Alonso in place if they want to. Or it could just be a way for Adams to get ABs in spring training to try to latch on elsewhere.
homerheins
Lol
homerheins
Yeah Adams is a real solid depth piece, if you don’t understand the value of all the other things you need to win games—defense, base running, positional flexibility, etc—but I am sure his clubhouse and clutch hitting value supersedes all that meaningless WAR calculation. If you just want home runs, there are tons of guys that can actually run and play more than one position. Elite first base is difficult, but Adams is below average first base, so you could put anyone that runs there and it would be 10x better than him. Face it, the Mets don’t have a clue what they are doing outside of being blessed with pitching a some recent good fortune with young hitters. They need to trade those players to teams that can actually win and don’t sign Adams.
jmag1976
dude… it’s Friday. Go have a drink
moviemang80
Pirates missed an opportunity here
hozie007
This is a great move….nice depth, affordable, and tradeable piece if need be….
of9376
Signing Adams might signal that Dom Smith will be traded soon.
alproof
Unload Nimmo Cano Adams Sewald Gimenez Familia; put Conforto in CF every day; get Cespedes & Drew Smith back; seriously teach Smith how to play some OF; have Cespedes Conforto Davis Smith Marisnick in the OF; play McNeil & a new real ballplayer at 3B & 2B or vice versa every day. Do all that and we’re at MINIMUM in the postseason and better than that Bronx garbage.
hammer_time24
Look, I hate the Yankees as much as the next guy, but you really think the Mets can even approach them? The Yankees are better at practically every position except 1b.
JackStrawb
Another pointless move for another old player with nothing to offer the major league team. He can keep balls hit to SS then thrown to first from zipping into the Syracuse dugout, but that’s about the limit of Adam’s value at 31.
Is Van Wagenen aware that there are minor leaguers who are no longer prospects, but do have a little upside? Even finding guys who project to be replacement level (ie 0.0 WAR, or what used to be called AAAA-players) will help the major league club, given how often the Mets had to turn to sub-replacement level players in 2019 and 2018.
Otherjayz
Hey Jack. Someone on MMO mentioned this comment, so I got on to find you. Miss you on MMO. I hope you are well, and that your Habitat project went well.
turner9
I dont want to pile on against people who cheer for “bad teams”, because mine has been dreadful at times, but when I read the part about depth and having the option to trade or send former top prospect Smith down, I honestly thought to myself,
“watch them trade Smith to Boston or Baltimore and he hits like 55 HR a season while Alonso peaked last year and starts to stink….such a Mets thing”
I hope for your guys sake this new owner who takes over in 5 years changes the way outsiders see your Team. If I’m seeing the mets that way and I rarely pay attention to them, the Wilpons must be horrible.
zauberman12
I cheer for the Marlins because of the tremendous upside and low expectations. The new regime is going to turn the Marlins into winners.
zauberman12
I cheer for the Marlins because of the tremendous upside and low expectations. The new regime is going to turn the Marlins into winners.
MarlinsFanBase
I’m glad you see it. Funny thing is that these Mets fans are taking us for granted (like always) and networks like E!SPN and FOX Sports are ignoring and cracking jokes on the Marlins. All the while, this regime has stocked this team with young talent that is coming up. It’s so funny and enjoyable because we’re now seeing the Marlins fans that bailed on the team during this last fire sale, are now coming back because they see the plan falling into place now.
Oh, I’m enjoying that these Mets fans are talking all this stuff. They’re going to see. They better find a way to get past the Braves and Nats soon, because if they don’t, it’s going to be rough once the Marlins rise again…and this time with an ownership that plans on, as Jeter, MJ and the rest of the ownership has said all along, “sustained success”.
The rebuild is reversing.
MetsFan22
Lol ain’t no Mets fans scared of marlins futur… LOL!!
You guys already had good prospects come up (Stanton,Ozuna,Yelich) just to name a few and couldn’t win anything.. the two prospects that have come up already look like bust.. brinson and Diaz.. marlins are just a accident waiting to happen. They’ll never have ongoing success. Maybe 1-2 food years here and there but they’ll always mess up. It’s the marlins things to do..
hammer_time24
You say that like the Mets have a history of ongoing success. Do you actually watch your team? Honestly, the Mets have been the team to have 1-2 good years here and there over the last few decades before doing something like the Cano trade and ruining it all.
whynot 2
The fish have no fan base to speak of, therefore sustained success is a dream.
brucenewton
Another no defense, no speed lefty bat.
Love4Catholicism
At the risk of sounding presumptuous, let me offer THE common-sense approach to improving The Mets for the upcoming 2020 season. Ready?
❶ Trade Cano, Lowrie, Familia, JUST TRADE THEM, eat up most of Cano’s contract.
❷ Either put McNeill at 2nd base where he belongs — OR, better yet, convert him to 3rd base, and make Luis Guillorme the everyday 2nd baseman. That kid’s got some serious potential!!!
❸ Work on Dominic Smith being an outfielder, (and of course, he’s your backup first baseman.) Work on that. Work on that.
DO NOT TRADE DOMINIC SMITH!!!
There, was that so hard?
john carpenter
WHY