Daily Archives: November 21, 2007
The Mets sent several players to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, which ended last week.
For a full statistical rundown, go to MiLB.com.
However, here is a wrapup of how some of the Mets players performed.
Mike Carp continued his down season by struggling in the AFL, though he 
did come on late, hitting .315 in his last ten games.
Overall, the 21-year old first baseman, who struggled and missed time with a hand injury during the summer with Double-A Binghamton, hit .243 in 107 at bats for the Scorpions. He had nine doubles, but no home runs, and drove in 16 runs.
Recently in Baseball America, who dropped him from its Top Ten Mets Prospects List two weeks ago, a scout was quoted as saying of Carp…
“I don’t believe in the power at all. He doesn’t make good, hard contact, he’s inconsistent in his approach and swings and misses too much. And he’s not going to play anywhere else but first base.
“His performance here defines what he is for me.”
…carp’s stock has no doubt taken a hit after two strong seasons in a ball…how much the hand injury has to do with it remains to be seen, as those types of injuries are often the hardest for hitters to deal with, especially power hitters…and given his strong power displays in the two previous seasons, it’d be understandable if the injury played a significant part in his struggles…
…the Mets have no clear successor for Carlos Delgado at first base, so if carp is not traded this off-season and can re-establish himself, he still has a chance to be at Opening Day at Citi Field in 2009… chances are slim, however, at this time
The Scorpions did, however, get a surprisingly strong offense performance from 25-year old OF Caleb Stewart. After hitting just .252 with 16 homers at Binghamton, Stewart put up a .318 average in Arizona, with a pleasant-surprise six homeruns.
…he’s probably nothing more than a fourth outfielder given his age and double-a performance, but he’s always hit, and could be a nice, smaller chip in a trade later this winter given that he no doubt opened a few eyes down in arizona…
The Mets’ supplemental first-round pick Eddie Kunz was in the bullpen for Scottsdale, and he continued his pro struggles. In nine games he put up a 10.13 ERA, allowing 15 hits, eight walks and 12 earned runs in 10 innings pitched.
…kunz struggled down the stretch for Oregon State, as well, so he hasn’t pitched well in quite some time… still, Baseball America has him in their top ten, and his hard, at times dominant stuff is still present… it’s just his command that he’ll have to harness if he wants to stay on the fast track the Mets hope to have him on…
More encouraging was the pitching of lefty Adam Bostick, whom the Mets acquired from the Marlins last off-season.
After a subpar year in Triple-A New Orleans (5.66 ERA in 21 games), Bostick was 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA in six starts for Scottsdale.
He threw 23 innings, and while he walked 13 batters, he punched out exactly one batter per inning.
…he’ll be 25 on opening day, and at this point should be ready for a big-league role, probably somewhere in the bullpen…
…the Mets need bullpen help, so it could be in New York, or elsewhere, given the number of people he had to have impressed in the AFL… again, another nice surprise that could bolster the Mets hopes of having enough young talent to make a deal…
Tagged Mike Carp, Minors |
Jimmy P from Brooklyn sent in an e-mail asking…
“Now that Johnny Estrada is here, who will play more? Him or Ramon Castro?”
…well, i still believe the Mets will try to trade for C Ramon Hernandez, among others, and i will not rule out Paul Lo Duca until i see him sign with another team…so, if a new catcher is acquired, which is still a possibility, estrada may not even actually factor in to any on-field decisions…
…that being said, if estrada sticks, come opening day, my hunch is that Willie Randolph will simply continue to play the hot hand…despite their praises, the Mets clearly do not trust castro as a full-season, every-day catcher…however, if willie starts castro on opening day, and he stays hot, keeps playing well, and never relinquishes the job, well, so be it and good for castro…on the other hand, i would not surprised to see it go the other way…
…realistically, though, i suspect we’ll see castro for a few days, then estrada for a day or so, and it’ll go back and forth all season, or until one of the two establishes himself to be the man…
Tagged Ramon Castro |
Buster Olney of ESPN.com is reporting that Oakland executives will meet next week to discuss the trade value of both RHP’s Dan Haren and Joe Blanton.
According to Olney, Omar Minaya has told the team he is going to make sure he lands a front line starting pitcher this winter, however he will be competing against the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and possibly the Yankees for Haren and Blanton.
…something tells me billy beane will make this year’s winter meetings very interesting…
…posted by Matthew Cerrone…
…furthermore, the buzz from california seems to be that should the Angels end up acquiring Miguel Cabrera, it will encourage the A’s to cut bait with guys like blanton and haren…
Tagged Omar Minaya |
Christopher Reina of RealGM Baseball, grades the Mets Johnny Estrada-for-Guillermo Mota swap with the Brewers.
Reina notes the Mets will be Estrada’s fourth team in four years, but believes the he may be a good fit for the Mets, writing…
“Estrada is four years younger than Paul Lo Duca, the catcher he will replace, has better pop, but is still a below average offensive player. His .715 OPS over the past three seasons ranks him 22nd amongst catchers, just below Lo Duca’s .731. Torrealba, the Mets’ intended target, is even worse with a .692 OPS during the time span. “
…estrada’s low ops is mostly due to the fact his on-base percentage is one of the lowest in the nl, but he had the sixth highest slugging percentage (.403) among nl catchers last season…
Overall, Reina grades the deal as “B-” for the Mets.
…this was a terrific deal by Omar Minaya…the Mets acquired a decent switch-hitting catcher, who, as reina noted is a better hitter from the left side, for mota, who seemingly became a less desirable option from the bullpen for Willie Randolph as the days wore on in late september…
…if the Mets end up offering estrada arbitration, i’d be much more comfortable with an estrada/castro platoon in 2008 than any catching platoon that included Yorvit Torrealba…
Tagged Mike Nichols |According to the Los Angeles Times, given the recent acquisition of RHP Jon Garland, the Angels may look to ‘parlay a pitching surplus’ into a power bat, such as O’s SS Miguel Tejada, which Gerry Fraley of the Sporting News agrees with, as well.
Meanwhile, at Fox Sports, Ken Rosenthal believes the Dodgers are now the front runners to acquire Marlins 3B Miguel Cabrera, though the Angels have interest, too.
…why does this matter to the Mets…well, from what i can gather, the only teams who a) have the necessary players to trade for Twins RHP 
Johan Santana, but who also b) will do so because they are confident santana will sign an extension with his new team, are the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Angels and Red Sox…
…so, if the Angels acquire tejada, and the Dodgers acquire cabrera, they will not be players for santana, since they will likely no longer have the chips to acquire him, leaving the Mets to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox…
…according to endless rumors, reports, buzz, online speculation, etc, the Red Sox will be expected to part with a small group from OF Jacoby Ellsbury, LHP Jon Lester and RHP Clay Buchholz, among others; while the Yankees will be expected to part with some combination of RHP Phil Hughes, OF Melky Cabrera and RHP Ian Kennedy…
…the question will be, which team is going to overpay just to get santana in house, in hopes of signing him to an extension, which, i assume, will need to be more than the seven-year, $130 million given to Barry Zito…
…on the surface, the Mets cannot compete with what the Red Sox and Yankees can offer, which is why the popular rhetoric seems to always insist on including Jose Reyes, which i don’t understand…i mean, if the Yankees are unwilling to part with hughes, as they keep insisting upon, but the Mets will part with whomever is needed short of reyes, then why should the Mets have to part with reyes…i don’t get it…the same is the case should the Sox say ellsbury and lester are off the table…the question isn’t necessarily about reyes, it’s whether the Mets best offer is better than what the Red Sox and Yankees are willing to offer, in total…
…yes, hughes and lester are far more valueable than Mike Pelfrey according to you, me and the experts…but, if hughes and buchholz are off the table, who cares who is more valueble to you, me and the experts…all that matters is that the Twins accept the best possible offer…
The Royals designated 1B Craig Brazell for assignment yesterday.
Brazell was selected by the Mets in the fifth round of the 1998 draft. In 34 at-bats with the Mets in 2004, he hit .264 with one home run.
…just another example of why i must be cautious when getting too excited about any one prospect…it’s a long, long hike from double-a stardom to long-term success at the major-league level…
As noted yesterday, the Mets traded Guillermo Mota to the Brewers in exchange for C Johnny Estrada.
According to multiple reports, the Brewers will pay Mota’s $3.2–million salary for next season.
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old Estrada hit .278 with 10 homers and 54 RBI in 120 games for for the Brewers last season.
In the Daily News, Adam Rubin speculates that if the Mets ultimately trade for another catcher, ‘they could always decline to offer Estrada a contract in December, which would make him a free agent without any money owed.’
…so, at minimum, this deal costs the Mets nothing if they cut estrada, because the Brewers are paying for mota, or it costs the Mets roughly $1 million, since estrada will likely earn around $5 million in arbitration, should the Mets keep him…either way, it gets rid of mota, and gives the Mets a temporary, two-headed solution at catcher should a more substantial acquisition for a catcher never come down the pike, such as O’s C Ramon Hernandez, who i am sure omar still has his eye on…
…one thing is clear, though, omar has no interest in trading any young player if he’s not bringing back that front-line starter, which has me getting very, very excited for the winter meetings…
For more out of the Mets blogosphere, check out Brooklyn Met Fan, Mets Fever, TMaBtS, and It’s Mets for Me.
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