The Mets made an attempt to acquire left-hander John Means from the Orioles during the offseason, but Baltimore rebuffed New York, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The Mets surely weren’t alone in trying to acquire Means, who’s making a minimal salary this year and still has three years of arbitration control remaining. Means proved himself as a capable mid- to back-of-the-rotation starter from 2019-20, but he has taken his game to an entirely different level this season. The 28-year-old has pitched to a microscopic 1.21 ERA with impressive strikeout and walk percentages of 28.0 and 5.3, respectively, over 52 innings. This has been a May to remember for Means, who no-hit the Mariners on the 5th and then tossed six scoreless innings against the team that wanted him, the Mets, this past Tuesday.
Here’s more on the Mets and a couple other East Coast clubs:
- The Yankees announced Friday that designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with tightness in his left quad. The issue sidelined Stanton on Friday, and he’s now “day to day, hopefully nothing more than that,” manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com and other reporters. Stanton endured a pair of injury-ruined seasons from 2019-20, in which he played in 41 of a possible 222 games, but has mostly stayed healthy this year. The 31-year-old slugger has been in excellent form with a .282/.347/.534 line and nine home runs in 144 plate appearances.
- Sticking with the Yankees, right-hander Luis Severino is at the “start of spring training mode” as he works his way back from February 2020 Tommy John surgery, Boone said Friday (via Marly Rivera of ESPN). Severino threw 23 pitches of live batting practice Friday and averaged between 96 and 97 mph. The 27-year-old was one of the game’s elite starters from 2017-18, leading the Yankees to sign him to a four-year, $40MM extension, though he totaled only 12 innings in 2019 as a result of shoulder problems and hasn’t pitched since. To its credit, New York’s rotation has done well this year without Severino; nevertheless, the team will surely be glad to welcome him back if he’s healthy.
- Nationals righty Stephen Strasburg will make a Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com tweets. Manager Dave Martinez said the hope is that Strasburg will go five innings and throw 75 to 80 pitches. Washington has barely gotten anything in 2021 from Strasburg, who’s in the second season of a seven-year, $245MM contract, as a result of shoulder inflammation. This is the second straight injury-limited year for the former World Series MVP, who has totaled just 15 innings since 2020.
- Mets third baseman J.D. Davis and reliever Seth Lugo will soon begin rehab assignments at the Triple-A level, Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes. While the Mets hoped Davis would exit the 10-day injured list Saturday, he’s still not ready to come back since suffering a left hand sprain on May 1. The club has gone all season without Lugo, who underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow in February. Lugo started in seven of 16 appearances last season, but he’ll return to a relief role when he rejoins the Mets, per manager Luis Rojas.
Means coming along from just being a random guy to the pitcher he is now is really quite amazing, especially for a team like Baltimore who is notorious for not being able to develop starting pitching.
Very amazing, almost suspiciously amazing…
I’m not pointing fingers, but there seems to be a lot of video circulating with him having a foreign substance in his glove. I hope it’s not true. I like late bloomers.
Buddy, Means is already an all-star and he’s only 28, thats not what “late blooming” is, he’s improving because he’s at the exact point of leveling up where normal “blooming” happens and furthering his game. He would have been here earlier if not for the interrupted season.
I agree, Lou Whitaker (and Bobby Grich) belong in the HOF though. The anti-2B bias gotta go!
Lou will hopefully get in like Trammell did through the veterans committee. The best double play duo in major league history missing a man in canton is just a shame.
If Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer are allowed to use it, everyone else should be too.
Sorry, but youtube videos are being made about Gerrit Cole being a cheater while John Means is being credited with developing his changeup.. Not saying Gerrit is definitely a cheater and Means is not, but there’s probably a better chance Means — kind of like Johan Santana — succeeded in developing a great change-up.
youtube.com/watch?v=-SDIb2rf9EA
I think the new baseball ops department under Elias is going to be a heck of a lot better at developing pitching. They’re only notorious for being bad at developing pitching because their player dev sucked under former GMs.
This is correct. While the stats haven’t improved across the board there’s a big difference in how pitchers within the org are throwing the ball. (Even a guy like Zimmerman (not saying he’s going to be great) showed flashes of an improved changeup yesterday.
Means is hardly a “random guy”: he’s an all-star who’s 28 years old who missed a lot of last year like everyone did. If you cant see this kind of breakout coming from a mile away, then you might be “new to the game” and welcome, if so.
He was a random guy before his all star year… non roster invitee from the minors, not a rated prospect
Kind of like Johan Santana – another guy who was not a highly regarded as a young pitcher. Only after he perfected his change up was he dominant
Wow. Imagine that Mets rotation with Means? Holy moley.
With Syndergaard and Carrasco coming back as well along with the overall offensive drop.
That contract that Stras signed at 30+ for 240 million should totally work out well, for him.
I like him, and he has had a great career, but is this the beginning of the end health-wise.
A bad contract from the day it was announced.
Stanton is injured again? I’m so surprised!
Judge will soon follow on the IL? Does anyone know what the Mets offered for Means. Can never have enough pitching
The Mets offered Ends.
Post of the day. Actually laughed out loud.
I’m glad somebody got it.
Sounds like a justifiable offer.
But gave up ways
Also from the Yankees, Aaron Hicks could return after a couple more days of rest, hit the IL for a short period, or undergo surgery.
Man.
When did Yankee fans become so downtrodden?
Ya know? “Won’t see Stanton until August.” “Judge is next.” The hell happened to the toughest city in the world, man?
“If it is a good morning which I doubt”. ~ Eeyore
@Ducky.. that isn’t hyperbole. They honestly don’t know about Hicks’ wrist injury. I’ve never heard of something so crazy, as far as injuries go, before.
Oh, yeah.
That is really weird stuff.
That wasn’t directed at you either, btw.
I’m probably just being judgemental. But…jeeez, it seems like every Yankee thread becomes a weird competition over who can post the most negative take.
Ducky.. Gotcha. You’re right, Yankees threads have more than their share of negativity.
It is definitely a sea change, @Joe.
Look.
I grew up going to The Stadium with my grandfather. As such, I’ve seen players like Reggie booed. But it wasn’t a forever thing.
For real. Are these guys even watching the Yanks? Without Stanton & Judge I don’t think we would be in second running down the sox, man. We’d be duking it out with the Orioles for 4th place, serious.
Boo a golden sombrero. Or an ugly error or getting picked off first, or whatever. I get that. But these 2 are carrying our offense! Yet it’s just a constant bashing of them. Ah well. Everyone fans their own way.
That way is just not really my thing, however. & I fail to see how it makes being a baseball fan fun in any way.
Not trying to be sarcastic, Ducky…..
I think it’s because fans ARE watching the Yankees. They don’t play good baseball – poor fundamentals, poor defense, poor situational hitting, poor baserunning. Sure, they can bully their way to victory by K’ing and HR’ing against the Tigers, Orioles and other rebuilding teams as well as those in a downtrend. But against the better teams there has to be multiple ways to win a game…speaking of the Sox.
Casey had the 50’s-early 60’s Yankees playing solid baseball. Two of his protégé’s went on to be great managers – Billy Martin and Whitey Herzog. The Yankees you went to see played solid baseball. So did a number of teams in the Jeter era. Martin, Torre and Girardi worked on demanding strong fundamental play (I loved watching the Yankees when they managed). But this new era of statistics – HR, W, K – under Cashman and Boone is not fun to watch, and experienced fans know full well that when the stretch run approaches and the playoffs began, no one HR’s, K’s and W’s themselves to the WS.
–
You had a post a week or so ago saying the teams that outhomered other teams won in the playoffs last year. I haven’t looked it up, but that may well be true. What you didn’t factor in is the pitching. In 2020 the Yankees finished 5th in MLB in HR’s, while the Rays finished 14th. Yet you’re saying the Rays outhomered them in the playoff’s. Why? Because teams can fatten up their stats during the season against the weak sisters. But come the playoffs it’s a different game (in all sports). Even Billy Beane admitted years ago that the stats worked well during the season, but not the post-season (A’s seldom win post-season series). Pitching, the defense that supports it, stringing hits and walks together, along with smart baserunning wins those games. The Yankees don’t do those things with any consistency.
Sure you are, but it’s cool.
Felt such a long response & well worded post deserved some type of response.
During this current stretch, Yanks have taken series’ from the Astros, Nationals, & Rays. These are all decidedly not: “rebuilding teams”. You & all your narratives, man.
(this is where I question whether *you* have been watching, uh?)
Look.
If you want to argue that aesthetically it’s an ugly way to play baseball, well no argument from me. It would be similar to if the ultimate evolution of football was “3 yards & a cloud of dust.” If that were true, I bet football wouldn’t be America’s favorite sport.
But to argue against the efficiency of TTO offense is just another version of yelling at the clouds, bro.
& I can’t use stats or data with you, because you routinely bash fangraphs, savant, etc probably because you don’t understand them. You can find all kinds of tutorials & dictionary’s to figure them out.
Or.
You can site Casey Stengel & a bygone era of MLB.
Bottom line: lot’s of inaccuracies & misconceptions in this post.
No I’m not. I’m talking baseball. Thought that was what you wanted.
Ever hear “”Good pitching stops good hitting”? The sayings been around every Fall for 65 years that I remember. Don’t tell me about “bygone eras” – that’s BS.
Tell me the last 2 teams that got to the WS by HR, K’ing and W’ing their way there while playing 2nd rate D, having so-so pitching, doing poor situational hitting, and running the bases poorly?
Baseball is baseball. Last year it was the Dodgers and Rays. The year before it was the Nationals and Astros. Before that the Dodgers and Red Sox. All those teams played strong fundamental baseball (although the Astros cheated).
The great thing about any art form – baseball, music, acting, etc. – is that even people that don’t understand it know what’s good and what’s bad even if they can’t explain why. They watch or listen a bit and pick up on what’s right. I’ll tell you politely that I’ve been getting “Yankees Suck” comments from Yankee fans for 2-3 years now – in person, on Internet videos, chatrooms, etc. Now you write a post saying that they need to change their attitude. Uh, no.
C’mon, man. There wasn’t even a DH when Stengel managed.
The. Game. Has. Changed.
Whether you like it or not.
The End.
& every single one of those teams you mentioned had multiple TTO hitter’s in their respective lineups as well.
Oh, hey. Remember your HOTTAKE that the Orioles are better than than the Yanks?
Have a good night, @Samuel.
Ducky droppin the mic damn.
Stanton is “day to day.”….problem is, the next “day” will be in August.
August and Everything after….
Means had a lot go on in his life last year but he finished the season very strongly. His strong finish was ignored though and he was trashed on this website heading into the season, so it’s very nice to see him doing well.
It’s time to see what Florial can do to replace Hicks
genuinely curious, but what did happen with him last year?
Florial? He came up for game went 1-3 I believe and went back to alt site.
What John Means was going through. An incredibly moving story.
theathletic.com/2488704/2021/04/01/orioles-john-me…
.
@darkside. I think the comment was referring to Means father passing from pancreatic cancer. He didn’t pitch for 2 weeks afterwards. Understandable.
The Yankees’ team health is terrible and will only get worse as the years go on. Stanton was such a mistake. If Cashman can’t turn things around he will waste the primes of Torres, Cole, and LeMahieu.
Means is nasty this season, gotta love to see hard work and ADJUSTMENTS pay off!
As a Marlins fan, I can’t understand why Jeter gifted Stanton to the Yankees.
To get out from under his terrible contract.
As for JD Davis, don’t the Mets know that they should’ve expected the injury to take a little longer than they expected. Hands of stone tend to falter when hit with baseballs.
The Mets haven’t been known to handle injuries well.
Don’t know what you ppl see, but lucchesi sucks.
I’m starting to come around to that opinion myself
Who will pitch more this Season? Former acting coach Lee Strasborg or Steve Strasborg
Susan Strasburg
Lucchesi is fugazy
It’s likely that Seth Lugo won’t return to the major league roster before the end of May. The Mets could have put him on the 60-day to open up a roster spot temporarily, but chose not to do it.l