Yankees

Mets Trade Miguel Castro For Joely Rodriguez

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The Mets have announced they have traded right handed reliever Miguel Castro to the Yankees for Left handed reliever Joely Rodriguez. The 30 year old Dominican pitched to a 4.66 ERA between the Yankees and the Rangers.

However, the lefty does have team controll until 2026, while Castro would have been a free agent next offseason. There is also lot to like about Rodriguez, as he has a low FIP 3.43, which could indicate him improving on his ERA. My main concern is his high WHIP as it stood at 1.53 last year.

In the shortened 2020, Rodriguez pitched well with a 2.13 ERA with a 1.69 FIP. Over the last two years he owns a 4.12 ERA with a 3.06 FIP in 59 major league innings. After he went to the Yankees last year, he did well with a 2.84 ERA over 19 innings in the Bronx.

Rodriguez throws a sinker that averaged 94mph most of the time (41%), with his change-up as his best secondary pitch (-6 Run Value). He also a 4 seamer and an occasional slider.

Looking at his Baseball Savant page, you get why the Mets made this move. He limits hard hit contact and his XERA was solid. He also had one of the highest chase rates in the game. The main reason to me is still him being a lefty and having control years.

Rodriguez will join righties Diaz, May, Ottavino, Smith and Lugo in the Mets bullpen.

Update: according to Joel Sherman Joely Rodriguez can become a Free agent after this year.

Photo Credit: MLB Trade Rumors

MetsJunkies Recap: Doubleheader split, Mets take series against Yankees

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No Jacob deGrom? No problem. Ok, not really, however in a series in which the two-time Cy Young award winner didn’t pitch, the Mets were still able to come out victorious.

The first game of the doubleheader featured another high scoring contest, as both Pete Alonso and Dom Smith went yard.

Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil, and Luis Guillorme all had a multi-hit game.

Marcus Stroman hit the mound and threw five innings, giving up five runs, three earned, on six hits. The right hander unfortunately did not pitch well enough for the win, however the Mets’ offense was more than capable as the team won 10-5 over the Yankees.

Corey Oswalt would make his third appearance of the season in the second game but would only pitch four innings. Oswalt ended up giving up three runs on four hits while striking out four in the 2-4 loss

Pete Alonso homered for the second time of the day as he lined a two-run shot over the right field fence. The home run would come in the fourth inning and plate across Dom Smith as the team’s only runs.

The Mets will host the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday evening with Tylor Megill taking the mound against righty Brandon Woodruff.

MetsJunkies Recap: Mets aggressor in Subway Mugging

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Taijuan Walker has been an absolute steal for this New York Mets ball club and he continued his great season against the Yankees on Saturday. Walker hit the mound and ended up tossing about five no-hit innings before it would be broken up in the 6th.

Walker would end the day pitching 5.2 innings while giving up two runs on two hits. The Shreveport, Louisiana native also walked two but struck out five in his outing.

The Mets offense was led by Brandon Nimmo as the outfielder returned to the lineup with a three-hit game. After missing approximately a third of the season with what was later described as a pinched nerve, Nimmo now has a slash line of .333/.435/.444/.880.

While a whole slew of players had a multi-hit day, Dom Smith’s performance stood out as the first baseman drove in three runs with his three hits. Smith is currently hitting .256/.324/.392/.716 with 34 RBI’s on the campaign.

The Mets bullpen continues to flourish as they combined for 3.1 innings while giving up a run (Miguel Castro), and striking out five.

The Mets look to make it a sweep on Sunday, however it’ll be a tall order as both teams are scheduled for a doubleheader.

Pete Alonso: I Don’t Care What They Use

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New York Mets’ first baseman Pete Alonso told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that he doesn’t care what a pitcher uses when on the mound. This is in pertains to MLB cracking down on pitchers that use a sticky substance to gain advantage over the batter.

I’d rather guys have as much stick as possible and focus on throwing the ball in the box as opposed to taking it away from them”

Pete Alonso on SNY

What was next said what quite interesting, however. Alonso stated, “The biggest concern is MLB manipulates the baseballs year in and year out depending on the free agency class.”

It’s no secret that the MLB seems to make changes to the baseball quite often and this is a very interesting take from someone that is embedded in the baseball fraternity. Players such as Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole, and even Jacob deGrom as of recent, have been accused of doctoring the baseball for extra RPM and movement of their pitches.

Mets acquire a reliever

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Mike Puma is reporting that the New York Mets have claimed left hander Stephen Tarpley off of Waivers from the Miami Marlins.

Tarpley pitched in 9 innings during the shortened 2020 campaign and put up a 3.00 ERA while striking out 13 but also walking six.

Tarpley is able to hit 95 MPH with his fastball but has a four-pitch repertoire that includes a good curveball, solid change-up, as well as a slider he mixes in occasionally.

Photo from SI.com

DJ LeMahieu: A Mets Pipe Dream.

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By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the stories that the Mets were in contact with the 32 year old infielder who recently played for the Yankees. While LeMahieu was one of the best infielders in the league in 2019 and 2020 for the Cross town rival Yankees, LeMahieu’s demands in Free agency are astronomical. LeMahieu is demanding a 5 year deal that pays over 100 Million Dollars (20 Million Dollars per).

It was last reported that The Yankees and DJ LeMahieu were 25 Million Dollars apart, Meaning that LeMahieu wanted 5 years 100+ Million and the Yankees were offering perhaps 4 years 75 Million (18.75 Million Per). If the Yankees are hesitating on signing a Free agent, it says a lot. Why this is an issue? Every team that isn’t the Mets, lost money due to the Pandemic shortened season. Not a lot of teams are going to be spending a ton of money on Free agents, but we did just Recently see the San Diego Padres trade for Blake Snell, Yu Darvish & Victor Caratini all in exchange for prospects.

LeMahieu, as mentioned earlier is 32 years old, wants a long term deal of 5 years and 20 Million Dollars per year. That’s a lot for a 32 year old Infielder. While LeMahieu can indeed play almost, if not every infield position, for the Mets, it wouldn’t be a Smart deal unless the following happens:

A. JD Davis or Jeff McNeil are traded

B. Robinson Cano is traded after this upcoming 2021 season.

C. George Springer doesn’t sign with The Mets.

Why would Springer not signing with the Mets make for a possible DJ LeMahieu signing? Not only due to the Mets needing to make a Splash signing for a big name player, but also to fill a void. If Springer doesn’t sign with the Mets, that most likely pushes Brandon Nimmo to Center Field, Jeff McNeil to Left Field and that’s when you would sign DJ LeMahieu to play 2nd Bae. If JD Davis is traded away, The Mets can slot DJ at 3rd Base and have McNeil as the Full-time 2nd Baseman with Nimmo as the Full-time Center Fielder and possibly picking up another Outfielder or using one of Guillermo Heredia or Mallex Smith. This only happens if George Springer isn’t signed by the Mets.

Remember, Robinson Cano is suspended for the entire season due to a second PED violation, one more violation and he’s out of the game permanently. If the Mets were to sign LeMahieu, Cano must be traded before, during or after the season. However, I don’t think LeMahieu is signing with the Mets, It doesn’t make much sense for the Mets, especially with what they have.

While the Mets are indeed in contact with LeMahieu, The Yankees view DJ as a high priority free agent for them to sign this off-season. This could be a tactic by the Yankees to let LeMahieu talk to other teams and if they offer a 5th year to DJ, The Yankees can easily swoop in and offer the 5th year to LeMahieu seeing as both DJ and the Yankees want to be on the same page and agree to a deal.

In my Honest opinion, I honestly don’t see the Mets signing DJ LeMahieu, especially to a 5 year 100+ Million Dollar deal. It would be a disaster signing for the Mets, especially since they would have to move pieces around and by the time the 4th and 5th years come around, DJ will be 36-37 years of age. The Mets have both Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso as their primary 1st Baseman and Designated Hitter. Assuming that the Mets sign LeMahieu to what he wants, by the time he’s 36-37, DJ may not be as versatile to play 3rd Base or even 2nd Base. The Mets would have to play LeMahieu at 1st Base, sacrificing one of Pete Alonso or Dominic Smith to accompany the need for DJ to play 1st Base.

The Yankees have a more open approach to signing LeMahieu. They can slot Gleyber Torres at Shortstop and have LeMahieu as a mainstay at 2nd Base. If the Yankees end up signing LeMahieu (Which I think they will), They can have him play 2nd Base for most of the contract and then shift him to First base if need be seeing as Luke Voit may be a questionable piece in the Future for the Yankees.

Photo Source: NJ.com

Robinson Cano to play baseball, again.

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Disgraced New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano will join Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Winter League beginning starting on Sunday.

This will be the third time Cano has joined this team in his career. However, this time I’m sure it’s to stay in as best shape as possible as he won’t be suiting up in the Majors until at least the 2022 season.

This time around, Cano will also be suiting up with the young phenom from the San Diego Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr.

On the field, Cano hasn’t been terrible in his Mets tenure however, considering how much he’s making and that he’s also on PED’s, he should’ve had a better run.

Will Cano be back with the Mets in 2022? His contract says yes, but I’m sure that there’ll be discussions going on about how Steve and crew can get up out of it.

Photo from Bleacher Nation