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According to the results of his CT scan, Ruben Gotay did not fracture his leg or foot, instead they are calling it a sprained ankle.
For more on Gotay, and the other Mets injuries, check out David Lennon in Newsday, as well as Joel Sherman in the New York Post, who writes that the Mets are back in the market for backups.
Speaking of backups, during his weekly appearance on WFAN yesterday, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said the Mets and Tigers are discussing a trade that would send Marcus Thames to the Mets for Jorge Sosa.
Also, in a second reporter for the New York Post, Sherman explains why he has tried to avoid the organizational spin regarding Carlos Delgado.
In the Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch breaks down Billy Wagner’s new approach to pitching.
Lastly, in Newsday, Lennon explains why Carlos Beltran is worried while recovering from off-season surgery.
Easley and Chavez could be worse off then the other bench guys. Easley had a gruesome injury, and still isn’t healed, so will he be able to give them anything? And Chavez seems to be permanently hurt at this point, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he can’t go 4/1.
But, all is not lost. Endy really hasn’t done anything since “the catch”, so will he really be missed, if Pagan can step in and give them a solid #4 OF? And Easley was clogging up the works as the RH bench guy with some pop, since I worry about him in the field. Say he got replaced by Thames, would it really be that great of a loss?
I did look up Thames yesterday. Much older than I though (31). He does have some HR pop, but a pretty low BA, and he does K a bunch. So not really sure what to make out of him, but if Delgado needs significant time off, and Easley can’t do anything, he could be a strong BU 1B/OF. basically the Nady role.
nady is in my opinion and significantly better hitter than thames but im assuming the cost is higher to the point where its not worth it. i mean id do sosa for nady straight up but im sure pitt wouldnt. either way this injury bug thing is really starting to bother me. wasnt the idea of beltrans surgery to make him healthier? i wonder if carlos is regretting those “team to beat” comments now.
I thought re signing Easley in the first place was pretty dumb, considering the injury he had. To give him a guaranteed contract and basically depend on him wasn’t a good strategy. They should have looked elsewhere from the beginning. I’d take Thames over Easley any day.
New rules for the Mets going forward:
NO MORE PLAYERS UNDER THE AGE OF 30!
I meant OVER the age of 30. LOL!!!!
72 strikeouts in 269 at bats last year. 65 hits and 13 walks for a wonderful .303 OBP. YUCK! I wouldn’t trade Sosa for 2 of these guys. His only upside is that he “got pop”…
Make that .278 OBP…even worse than i thought…career .306… please let’s not even mention his name ever again…
I listened to Jon Heyman on WFAN yesterday as well. He did not say the Mets and Tigers were discussing a trade of Thames for Sosa. He merely stated that Sosa was a possibility if the Mets were to seek out a trade with the Tigers.
If the Mets are looking to trade Sosa to the Tigers, I wonder if he’d be enough to land Brandon Inge? Inge seems like the odd man out in Detroit, now that they’ve got Miguel Cabrera. He can play almost every position, catcher included, which could allow the Mets to use Castro as pinch hitter if needed.
The Tigers would probably want more than Sosa for him, and Inge is said to be annoyed at not having a starting job (and he probably wouldn’t have one with the Mets, either). But I hope it’s something the team is at least exploring.
inge sucks, why do people keep mentioning him hes not an upgrade over anyone we have on our bench so theres no point in trading for him.
The reason Inge wants out of detroit is because he doesn’t want to be a utility guy and definitely doesn’t want to catch. He also doesn’t play 1B and hasn’t logged more than 7 innings in the OF since ‘04. Doesn’t seem like a good match unless we move Wright to 1B (his eventual position anyway)
The Beltran article was VERY DISCOURAGING. If Beltran is this worried (and it seems to me, from the article, that he is way behind), why would he make the comment to Rollins? According to this article, Lennon makes it sound as if it will take a couple of months for Beltran to get 100%.
Matt can you talk to Lennon to try to get clarification? As a fan, after reading that article, I’m VERY worried.
It doesn’t say in that article that Beltran himself is worried about being able to play on opening day. He may be, but that’s not what the article says.
All he says is that he’s not ready yet and can’t stop and turn. Lets wait and see where he’s at in 3 weeks before getting too concerned.
The name of the article is:
“Mets’ Beltran worried as he recovers from surgery”
That’s why I was hoping Matt could get clarification form Lennon. The title suggests that Beltran is worried, but I don’t see a quote from him that says that.
It is somewhat mysterious. How common is this surgery he had? Was the prognosis for a 100% recovery? Is that what the trainers and doctors say? Is it just a matter of time?
I wish the beat reporters would do a better job of filing in those blanks on Castillo and Beltran.
My point is it’s too early to get concerned about Beltran and Castillo if it’s just a matter of time and rehab before they are game ready.
Beltran could miss the first 2 weeks of the season and I think they’d be OK. Anything longer and it could be a problem especially if Delgado doesn’t bounce back from his down year last year.
Hey, recovery is not a perfect science, and can take longer than expected.
Right after the Mets were eliminated i had Pedro surgey (i.e. rotator cuff surgery).
They told me I would be better in four months. Well, four months has past. And althoug I have my mobility back with no pain, the muscles in my shoulder are still severly weakened.
(Similar to what Beltran is describing in his quads).
It is not so easy to develop that muscle. And that is me.
Belran as an elite athlete requires his muscles to be in exception state.
As such, I am fearful that either Beltran will not be ready for a couple months or if he does come back, because his muscles are not strong enough, he will be susceptible to injury (despite correcting his original problem with the surgery).
Lets keep the fingers crossed, but I think more than a miracle is needed here. We very well may need a stop gap for Betran for at least a month or two.
I wonder if the problem is that he couldn’t work out? maybe having the knees done led to overall weakening of the legs, since he couldn’t do his regular workout routine?
Anyway, the Mets have all kinds of trainers and facilities (and can bring in any experts needed), so hopefully he is on a clearly defined strength and rehab plan (he has to be), and he is just frustrated now because he isn’t where he wants to be.
If he is ready to play by opening day, even if not at 100%, the Mets should be fine. He can start slow and work up to hot!
Castillo? Probably the same boat, but theoretically he is a lot less dependant on his legs than Beltran.
Well, the doctors actually told the Mets Pedro would need a year to fully rehab. The surgery Beltran had is not as severe and I’m sure their estimate of his recovery time included being ready for opening day.
If he needs a “month or two” more for rehab before he is game ready, then that could be very bad for the team’s chances this year. It would also indicate a possible problem with either Omar and/or the medical training staffs in terms of adequately planning for the coming season.
But we are not at that point yet where we know Beltran will need that much time. Lets wait till we have better facts before we get too worried. There’s still a long way to opening day.
I could understand Minaya wanting to trade Shoenwiess, Duque, Sosa or even Anderson Hernandez, but we’re already giving up on Joe Smith. I know we have a few arms like Register and Stokes, that the Mets want to make to roster, but I still think Smith has a ton of potential.
Sherman is reporting that the Mets have made it known that Smith, El Duque, Schoeneweis, Sosa, A’Hern, and Gotay are available.
We are so light in the middle IF that I would prefer them not to go that way. And no one is going to take El Bunion at this point. But Smith, Schoe, and Sosa could definitely be dealt to one of the many good teams w/relief problems…
Wonder if the Angels have any interest in dealing Kendry Morales. He’s getting no playing time there and is a stud in the making. Don’t know if our scrub relievers would be enough though.
Juan Rivera would be a good fit.
How about Dan Johnson from the A’s? (Has had health issues himself in the past, but could be a potential steal.)
NO way the Angels make that trade… that’s insane to even suggest.
Why do you say that? Anaheim has Hunter, Matthews, Guerrero, Anderson, and Willits for OF. Here’s the rundown on Juan:
The Angels have an overloaded outfield, with six players contending for at-bats — and most with more ability than Rivera. Rivera has enough talent in his own right to deserve some at-bats, though, so maybe he’ll pick up a handful more with the added versatility.
Seems to me he’s an extra.
Matt Murton, I think, will be a better option than Thames. The Cubs are actively shopping him and would make a fine partner to platoon with Church.
They don’t really have a spot to carry a platoon corner OF, and beisdes, Chruch doesn’t need to be platooned.
What they need is a solid back up OF/1B guy that hits righthanded. I personally like Murton, but he might be more of a regular at this point.
Too bad A Hern can’t hit, he would be the perfect MI back up guy.
Or if the mets could just live with 11 pitchers, they would have room for a real back up IF and OF.
And Easley on a guaranteed contract was a poor move. Was there really that much demand for him that they coulrn’d get him as a ST invite?
Easley and Anderson being mostly PHs that should rarely be in the field certainly limits the flexibility.
Yeah Matt Murton would be a better option???? You think??? I’m sure we could get him for our long reliver who makes over a million for no apparent reason then….
Yes we can get Kendry Morales…for FMart, maybe Pelfrey, maybe Niese….
Also it seems Pujols doesnt like St. Louis, you think we could trade Joe Smith straight up for him? Seems like the best fit…
why not he can play the OF, and 1B and he bats RH. hes perfect. i like joe smith but id have to pull the trigger on that one.
(since i know alot of people on this site have a problem with identifying sarcasm let me just say that entire comment was sarcastic)
thanks Zeile, Im sick of being the only one who posts with sarcasm…not as sick as hearing outlandish trade proposals, or the obligatory “we should get Player X” and follow it up with nothing….
Chill man. I was just naming different directions we can shoot for, and mentioned Matt Murton because I know that his name has been often the subject of trade talks this winter by the Cubs. I obviously figure that if Murton platoons with Church, it frees up Easley to concentrate his time this spring towards being the back-up first baseman. As for what the Cubs would want, I do not know what they are looking for in return. I absolutely understand though that you need to give in order to get, and agree that the likes of Jorge Sosa aren’t going to cut it.
Come on do you really even watch baseball or just make sarcastic comments.
Do you know how far down on the depth chart Kendry Morales is? The Angels have a ton of money invested on this team and if they thought that they needed relievers then Morales would be on the move. He will not get any time at DH and is listed as the backup 1B. He is not even listed on the OF depth chart that goes about 7 deep. He has played in 100 games in 2 years. Potential or not he is blocked. Not only that the team does not veiw him as a long term solution at 1B as they resigned Kotchman and tried to get Konerko. Looking at their roster, however, they don’t really need much of anything.
As for Murton you do realize that the Cubs tried to trade him for Marlon Byrd and the Rangers turned it down? You mean that the Cubs would not take Sosa and someone……?
Add something to the conversation please.
Thank you therealsince86.
Yes, thank you. Comparing Morales to Pujols is ridiculous, even if sarcastic, and Rivera is another example. They are just blocked all the way around. Maybe the Angels are just greedy and want a sick bench, but they have a ludicrous payroll and look at their bullpen and bottom of the rotation starters. It is not absurd that they might want Sosa. As for Schoe — the only LHP in their bullpen is Darren Oliver.
If Morales is just going to be blocked into infinity, considering Kotchman is just as young, why not trade him for a reliever + prospect?
I have been sitting here looking at their roster and I don’t even know how they are going to cut it down to 25. There is a lot of talent there. Brandon Wood will come of the bench if not the Chone Figgins will. That’s a nice problem to have.
The Mets seem to have a load of injury problems every year. Guys who never got injured in their careers come over to the Mets and all of a sudden they have tweaks and flexors and all sorts of “minor” problems that keep them from being 100%. Is this a complete excuse because the NY media is so overbearing or do we have one of the worst medical staffs in the league? Seriously, are we going to start April with half of our regular lineup unable to play because that is what it looks like right now.
You can’t continually blame a medical staff. The Mets revamped their medical/training staffs after Omar came aboard precisely because the previous one wasn’t doing a great job.
Some of the recent stuff is just bad luck (the cabbie accidents with Sanchez and Glavine). But a lot of it is signing players at the end of their careers and/or who already have poor injury histories (Alou and El Duque).
Omar likes to say he likes experience, but he’s gotten the risky kind and he has to live with the consequences of his decisions.
But even young guys like Carlos Gomez, Gotay, Beltran and now Abreu get hurt. I understand injuries happen but reading different baseball blogs it seems that the Mets are just so much more injured than other teams around the league. I wonder how much of these injuries are due to an overbearing media where in Kansas City there may be injuries but reporters aren’t pressing for it. Then again, I am not hearing nearly as many negative press out of Boston, Yankees or LA so who knows.
Does anyone know how our medical staff is considered around the league?
Didn’t Gomez get hit on the hand with a pitch? That is NOT a medical or training issue.
Beltran is older and past his prime and plays a position that depends on being close to full health. . Look at Damon. He’s not that much older than Beltran and physically he can’t even play center anymore. So Beltran’s aches and pains go with the position he plays and his age.
Gotay and Abreu are not seriously injured. And besides, Abreu is also said to be 32 or maybe older.
The Mets for the last 3 years have had one of the oldest teams in the majors so it’s no surprise they have had a lot of injuries. Sure younger players get injured too, but the older players get injured at a higher rate and their recovery times are longer.
You can disagree, but I think the reason for the high amount of health issues is the age of the team.
The Mets current medical doctors (Altchek, etc) are some of the most respected in the business.
Look at the number of older Mets who were DLed last year not due to accidents or injuries like being hit with a pitch on the hand:
Alou
El Duque
Delgado
Lo Duca
Easley
Valentin
Pedro
The only younger players who were DL’ed due to similar injuries were Milledge, Beltran and Chavez.
So, it seems clear to me that age has been a big factor in the injuries and health issues over the last few years.
Milledge and Beltran and Chavez
You make good points VCarver and I appreciate it. I am less concerned by our older players than the younger ones. Beltran really isn’t that old but maybe it is the demands of the position. I thought Gomez tweaked a hamstring after the hand injury and that’s why it took so long for him to come back. Also F-Mart was injured, Carp was injured and, as you mentioned, Milledge was injured and that concerned me. With the rash of injuries we have right now it did not speak well of our staff. I wasn’t sure what the rep of our medical staff was and wanted to make sure that it is ok.
The injury to Carlos Gomez was his hand. AFAIK, that was the primary health issue with him last year.
The other injuries you named are all minor leaguers who are almost all entirely younger, so of course the injured farm players will be younger. If half their farm system were players 32 or older, I can practically guarantee you that the rate of injuries in the farm system would have even been much higher.
So I stand by my point that with aging players, your rate of injuries is going to be higher. The young players will always get hurt. But the older players will get hurt at a higher rate. That’s the risk you put on the team when you sign a lot of older players.
As for Altchek and the Hospital for Special Surgery, they are very well respected. The Boston Red Sox recently used Altchek for their third opinion on Schilling, and Altchek was also chosen by both Muldur and Hampton to do their recent arm surgeries.
Speed guys like Chavez and Gomez are hamstring strains waiting to happen (and yes, Gomez did have hamstring probs last year).
A whole bunch of the Mets’ injuries have been part of the game - collisions, slides-gone-wrong, balls fouled off the foot etc., and aren’t indicitive of conditioning problems.
The players’ recovery times mostly don’t seem to be too far from the norms, so I don’t think there’s a problem with the medical staff.
i guess beltran made those team to beat comments bc he knew there would be no pressure on him to perform since he WONT BE ON THE FIELD! ugh
I hope the Mets are expecting a shipment of HGH to arrive soon, or we could potentially be in big trouble.
As far as Thames goes, he’s got some pop but strikes out way too much for my liking. Besides, if Sosa is goe, who’s gonna be the long man?
Don’t even think of saying El Duque…
El Duque?
Sorry, had to do it!
maybe Register? Who knows, since Willie never uses him, just elimnate the position.
no thames, please
Can Barry Bonds play first?
i have actually been thinking about that. im sure he could if given the opportunity. it isnt an extremely difficult position.
long man….hmmm….anyone is better than aaron sele, so lets start with Tony Armas, Showenweis, Register, Matt Wise all capable of pitching 3-5 innings of pen relief
Out of the likely 25 man roster is Sosa not the most expendable????
I would say that Gotay is first, then Show, then Sosa.
I am starting to think that beltran will be moving out of CF sooner than expected. maybe all the worry that he is blocking all the CF prospects (or at least the ones we used to have) wasn’t valid.
He is on the far side of 30, seems to have chronic leg problems, is now more of a power hitter (clean up guy) that still has some speed but doesn’t run like he used to.
Maybe moving over to LF to save wear and tear isn’t such a bad idea?
Probably a moot point unless the team thinks that another OF will be better than Beltran in CF. I could have seen that with Gomez, but maybe not F mart, or Church.
I know, if he really wants to save his legs, turn him into a 1B!
Getting back to Morales. I was wrong, he is not even the backup 1st baseman and may not even make the team out of spring training.
thereal, i replied to you above but i agree. morales was up and down 100 times last year and every time they brought him up he produced. They still clearly went with Kotchman at 1B and all their many sick OFs at DH. Why are they hanging onto this guy? He shouldn’t be a benchplayer at 24. (Granted, we would be asking him to do the same, but at least Delgado is up this year and is old, compared to 1983-born Kotchman).
I just don’t see him even making the opening day roster.
Lineup
OF Anderson, Vlad, Hunter, Mathews, Rivera, Wilits are all ahead of him. That’s 6.
IF Kotchman, Aybar, Kendrick, Izturis, Figgins, and Quinlan. That’s 6
C Napoli and Mathis. 2 More
That’s 14 players and no Morales. That’s if they only carry 11 pitchers.
Why not ask to see how much he would cost. I really think he could take over for Delgado next season.
Morales is really the best addition the Mets can make for the present and future. He shores up the bench for this season and becomes a mainstay at first base next year and beyond. He’s only 24 years old and has succeeded at every level in the minor leagues. I would be very excited if Omar was able to pry him away from the Angels as there is no way Morales will get much of any adequate time there in that organization. He’s truly a hidden gem.
Marcus Thames vs Lefties - .263/.333/.512/.845
Has played 1B/LF/RF in the past.
Isn’t that exactly the type of bat that everybody has been begging Minaya to bring in? A power bat that can play 1B and Corner Outfield, and can mash lefties.
Beggars can’t be choosers, you really think Xavier Nady is going to be content in a bench role here? Thames would be a good fit for this team. Or do you actually believe we can get Nady for Jorge Sosa? Yeah, right.
Tigers fan here. Thames is very good against LHP. You guys would be very pleased with him offensively. Defensively he is adequate at best in the OF and below average at 1B (but that is to be expected since he just started learning the position)
While I could see the Tigers trading him, I have to believe they would want more in return than Sosa. They have a lot of BP arms in spring training right now and I am not sure Sosa would be an upgrade over any of them competing for a spot.
If a trade did occur, I would not be surprised if it involved a RP that had some options left. Most of the guys that the Tigers have in camp right now have none left.