MLB Team Report – New York Mets – INSIDE PITCH
For the first half of last season, the Mets were one of the surprise teams in the majors, delighting fans with underdog play not all that dissimilar to that of the Orioles and A’s. It was not until the All-Star break that things went south for good.
That is the underdog attitude that they are breaking camp with again this year, more out of necessity than anything else. This team is largely unchanged from the one that lost 88 games last season, meaning the Mets will need to figure out something different to avoid finishing fourth in the NL East for the fifth consecutive season.
“A lot of things have to go right,” manager Terry Collins said. “You have to get big years out of guys you don’t expect — huge years. A lot of things have to happen, but it can happen. And there’s no reason why it can’t happen here.”
But it’s going to be difficult. Over a seven-week spring training, the Mets lost starting pitcher Johan Santana and closer Frank Francisco to injury, also going long stretches without third baseman David Wright and second baseman Daniel Murphy. Even one of their brightest young prospects, outfielder Matt den Dekker, broke his wrist in his final weekend of camp.
The Mets are used to all that, suffering numerous issues to critical players throughout the past four seasons. But their roster is as thin as ever heading into 2013, so they at least need to be healthy if they want to make a surprise playoff run.
So far, most things are going wrong.
That is not to say the Mets can’t complete. Fresh off signing his new eight-year, $138 million contract, Wright has the ability to carry the Mets offensively. Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler are two of the brightest young arms in the game, while Jon Niese is developing into a workhorse lefty. The bullpen boasts multiple new names and a new closer in Bobby Parnell, though it’s anyone’s guess how that experiment will turn out.
Taking a step back, the Mets know they may be at least a full year away from serious contention. But if they see positive signs for the future throughout the summer in 2013, they will consider this a successful season.
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MLB Team Report – New York Mets – NOTES, QUOTES
–LHP Scott Rice, a first-round pick in 1999 who spent the next 14 years in the minors, earned a spot on the New York Mets’ Opening Day roster on Friday. Rice, 31, is on a major-league roster for the first time. The left-hander will work out of the bullpen after he compiled a 3.18 ERA in 11 innings of work in the spring. Rice, 31, had a 4.40 ERA for the Dodgers’ Triple-A team last season.
–LHP Johan Santana has a “probable re-tear” of his left shoulder capsule, Mets GM Sandy Alderson announced during a March 28 conference call.
Santana, a two-time Cy Young award winner, was examined in New York this week and an MRI revealed the tear. The news comes less than three years after Santana underwent surgery to repair the capsule in his left throwing shoulder.
Alderson said Thursday that a second surgery is a “strong possibility.” Such a procedure could end the 34-year-old’s season, and possibly even his career.
Santana missed the 2011 season after his first shoulder surgery but returned to the Mets last season. He pitched the first no-hitter in team history on June 1, but his performance proceeded to spiral downward before he was placed on the disabled list in August. Santana was 6-9 with a 4.85 ERA in 21 starts in 2012.
Santana is in the final year of a six-year, $137.5 million contract with the Mets. Alderson said the $31 million left on his contract is not insured.
–3B David Wright, who had been sidelined with a strained rib-cage muscle, played five innings at third base on Thursday in a minor-league game and went 0 for 4 with two walks. He was expected to play Friday in a Grapefruit League game with the Mets. Wright suffered the injury on March 14 while taking batting practice with Team USA in preparation for the World Baseball Classic and there were questions about whether he would recover in time to start the regular season. But the Mets’ willingness to put him in the lineup before spring training ends indicates the team has no plans to place him on the disabled list.
–Wright was named the fourth captain in franchise history. The Mets officially gave Wright the honor March 21, adding him to a club that includes Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter and John Franco. Wright joins Derek Jeter of the Yankees and Paul Konerko of the White Sox as the only active captains in the big league, though he does not envision his role changing that much. “I think it’s more leading by example,” Wright said.
–LHP Jon Niese has drawn his first career Opening Day assignment for the Mets. The team originally named LHP Johan Santana its Opening Day starter, but Santana’s left shoulder weakness created a hole that they needed to fill. Enter Niese, who posted a 1.53 ERA over his first four Grapefruit League starts, and is coming off a season that saw him set career highs in innings, strikeouts, wins and ERA.
–OF Matt den Dekker broke his right wrist attempting to make a diving play on Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson’s triple on Sunday. Chasing the fly ball toward the center-field wall, den Dekker lunged and landed awkwardly on his wrist; an x-ray later revealed the break. One of the Mets’ top prospects, den Dekker drew rave reviews for his defense all spring, but hit just .205 with 16 strikeouts in 44 at-bats.
–INF Omar Quintanilla won a three-way battle for a backup infield spot on the Opening Day roster. Though Quintanilla did not exactly shine, hitting .225 with little power over his first 20 Grapefruit League games, he impressed Mets coaches with his defense. That was enough to earn him a roster spot over INFs Brandon Hicks and Brian Bixler, whom the Mets sent to minor league camp on Sunday.
BY THE NUMBERS: 4 — Year John Franco served as Mets captain, the longest run in franchise history. Wright is under contract for the next eight seasons.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “This is probably one of the proudest days of my career so far. I’m honored and very proud to be on that short list of guys that have been considered captain of this franchise. For me, it’s a dream come true to say the least.” — 3B David Wright.
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MLB Team Report – New York Mets – ROSTER REPORT
The Mets are essentially the same team that lost 88 games last season, minus Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and injured veteran LHP Johan Santana. They replaced Dickey with RHP Shaun Marcum, added some veteran pieces to the bullpen and signed a few spare parts to the bench. But they also lost OF Scott Hairston to free agency and will proceed this season with a similar lineup to the one that ranked 25th in the majors in runs scored last season.
ROTATION:
1. LHP Jon Niese
2. RHP Shaun Marcum
3. RHP Matt Harvey
4. RHP Dillon Gee
5. RHP Jeremy Hefner
If all goes according to plan, Harvey will be the clear ace of this staff by season’s end, with top prospect Zack Wheeler also making an impact. Harvey was electric throughout his 10-start introduction to the majors last season, striking out 70 batters over 59 1/3 innings with a 2.73 ERA. Many scouts believe Wheeler is even better, potentially giving the Mets an impact one-two punch at the top of their rotation for the rest of this decade.
The rest of the rotation remains in flux, with Johan Santana on the disabled list, Hefner filling in and Gee returning from a frightening blood clot in his right shoulder that prematurely ended his 2012 season. The rock of this bunch is Niese, who set career bests last season in innings, strikeouts, wins and ERA; the Mets will need him to continue improving if they hope to compete, perhaps surpassing 200 innings for the first time in his career. Among the five starters in the Opening Day rotation, Niese and Harvey are the best bets to fill in large chunks of the innings left behind by Dickey.
BULLPEN:
RHP Bobby Parnell (closer)
RHP Brandon Lyon
LHP Josh Edgin
RHP LaTroy Hawkins
RHP Scott Atchison
LHP Robert Carson
RHP Greg Burke
The Mets entered spring training intending for RHP Frank Francisco to be the closer. But inflammation in Francisco’s elbow kept him out of Grapefruit League action for the entire spring, forcing the Mets to name Parnell the closer. It could turn out to be a significant move, if the hard-throwing Parnell takes the job and runs with it. But Parnell has struggled in recent ninth-inning opportunities, so the Mets are wary.
Lyon, Hawkins and Atchison give the Mets three experienced arms that could improve last year’s 29th-ranked bullpen. Lyon, in particular, may prove valuable to the Mets for his closing experience, should Parnell falter. Collins is used to having only one left-hander in his bullpen, so Carson will ease some of the stress off Edgin, who tired down the stretch last season. The Mets are also curious to see what they have in Burke, a journeyman who began pitching submarine-style last spring.
LINEUP:
1. CF Jordany Valdespin/Collin Cowgill
2. 2B Daniel Murphy
3. 3B David Wright
4. 1B Ike Davis
5. RF Marlon Byrd
6. LF Lucas Duda
7. C John Buck
8. SS Ruben Tejada
The Mets’ entire infield will return this summer, with Buck taking over at catcher from the departed Josh Thole. In the outfield, new faces include Byrd, who made the team on a minor league deal, and Cowgill, who will platoon with Valdespin at least early in the season.
For the Mets to succeed with any sort of consistency, Wright will need to have another strong year while Davis enjoys another 30-homer season. The Mets’ outfield situation is still very much in flux, so the team will be counting on its infielders to carry much of the offensive load. That means good at-bats from Tejada, who is still just 23 years old, and a little more power from Murphy. The Mets hope also that Buck will be a significant improvement over Thole, who was one of the least productive catchers in baseball last season.
RESERVES:
C Anthony Recker
INF Omar Quintanilla
INF Justin Turner
OF Mike Baxter
OF Jordany Valdespin
At least early in the season, Valdespin will play the role of super-sub for the Mets, platooning in center field for Cowgill while also filling in at second base if necessary. Valdespin was hot all spring, so the Mets want to get his bat in the lineup any way they can.
Turner, whose best positions are second and third base, is the club’s top right-handed pinch hitter. Baxter is the top lefty off the bench, and could eventually earn significant at-bats in right field. Don’t expect Recker to play all that much; his stay in New York will probably end when top prospect Travis d’Arnaud arrives midsummer.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–3B David Wright (strained left intercostal) played five innings at third base on Thursday in a minor-league game and went 0 for 4 with two walks. He was expected to play Friday in a Grapefruit League game with the Mets. Wright suffered the injury on March 14 while taking batting practice with Team USA in preparation for the World Baseball Classic and there were questions about whether he would recover in time to start the regular season. But the Mets’ willingness to put him in the lineup before spring training ends indicates the team has no plans to place him on the disabled list.
–2B Daniel Murphy (strained right intercostal) received a cortisone shot in mid-February and missed the first month-plus of Grapefruit League games while recovering from his muscle strain. Murphy suffered a setback in mid-March, but returned to minor league action on March 24.
–LHP Johan Santana (left shoulder weakness) likely re-tore his left shoulder capsule. He will open the season on the disabled list, and he probably needs surgery that could end his season — and possibly his career.
–RHP Frank Francisco (right elbow inflammation) resumed throwing bullpen sessions in mid-March, but he will not break camp with the Mets. Francisco, who underwent surgery in December to remove a bone spur from his elbow, will not appear in a game until he no longer feels discomfort in his arm.
–LHP Tim Byrdak (left shoulder surgery in September 2012) re-signed with the Mets on a minor league deal. He might miss the entire season.
