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As noted yesterday, Ruben Gotay has been put on waivers.
News of Gotay’s fate should likely trickle in later 
today.
…i am still holding out hope that the little guy gets ignored, so he ends up back in the Mets minor league system, because i still believe he can be a good player for this club…
In the Bergen Record, Steve Popper writes: “Gotay sat alone in the clubhouse with tears in his eyes as he made phone calls to family and to his agent, trying to find out what is next.”
For more on Gotay’s sad day, read the Journal News.
Meanwhile, as of now, the final spot on the bench will either be Brady Clark or Fernando Tatis.
…the increased buzz from St. Lucie – and physical evidence, such as new-york bound luggage from the team – seems to be that tatis has the edge because he is more versatile…
For more on Tatis, who started at third base yesterday, read Bart Hubbuch’s report in the New York Post.
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Dam the kid was sitting there with tears in his eyes! I may be in the minority, but I hope Gotay gets picked up by another team that really wants him,some place where he could get a chance to play everyday. He doesn’t deserve to suffer down in the Mets minor league system, especially for Fernando Tatis.
Its not that the Metes don’t want him…I’m certain they do. Its just that they have very specific needs for the bench, and only one spot to fill it with – frankly Endy/Anderson/Castrova (combination castro-casanova)/and Easley are not going anywhere from the bench. With that last spot, the team needs a guy who can hit LHP’s, and Gotay simply has not shown the ability to do that, which is unfortunate, but the truth. Obviously should Castillo go down, Gotay will be the favorite to replace him no doubt.
Tatis hit .276 with 21 HRs in AAA last year. That’s not too bad. Let’s give him a shot. Perhaps he is the right handed 1B/LF that we were looking for and we didn’t even have to trade one of our few prospects.
I can’t believe in all these discussions that the Mets have had that no one has questioned Easley’s spot on this team’s bench.
It’s a real shame about Gotay, and I hope he makes it back to us. I think he’s a solid bat and he apparently really wants to be here. Besides, there are worse things than being in the minors waiting to fill in for an overwieght defensive-minded second baseman with no power and bad knees. I hope he keeps that in mind.
overweight? what are you talking about? the people who want gotay need to really evaluate the needs of the team. we’re talking about the 25th man on the team. the mets need a righty bat. gotay is a liability there. preferably your 25th man can play mutliple position moderately well. gotay hasn’t shown he can be trusted at second, let alone another position. not to mention, he’s still rehabbing the ankle with opening day three days away so what good is he to the immediate needs of the team?
a year ago, people were complaining omar traded keppinger for this guy and now he’s the second coming of chase utley?
Whoa, Chase Utley? A bit of a leap don’t you think? Nobody was saying that. On a team with an above average rotation, a pretty good bullpen and an offense that can struggle to score runs at times I don’t think a backup second baseman with pop and so-so defensive skills is a luxury.
a team with a suspect to weak offense can’t afford a weak defense up the middle. if you can’t hit, you don’t want guys who could lose the game for you in the field.
So you disagree with me. There it is. What can I say?
Yup. Minaya is still giving handouts and doing favors for old friends with no talent. Gotay was robbed.
I like the kid alot, but he needs to realize his career is not over. Yeah, this sucks, but he will find a spot and will be paid farily well. Worst case scenario, he picks up a $67,000 check on Monday.
Sounds like Jose Valentin might need surgery… so there goes some infield versatility… I hope he won’t retire.
I bumped into Valentin at Duffy’s when I was down in PSL last week, and asked him how the neck was feeling. “Not too good, man” was his response with a very depressed look on his face. He looked and sounded like he’s done. Too bad, I really liked Zorro.
It’s not little league. I hope he clears waivers and we can get him in our minor league system. He’d be a good young player to help develop within an already depleted system.
I really don’t mean any disrespect and I feel bad for Ruben but this is the big leagues and these are multi-million dollar corporations that are trying to win. Ruben’s job is to make the decision–on whether a team keeps him or not–a no brainer.
keep in mind that even if he clears, he is then a FA, so he could sign with any team to go to the minors. It doesn’t have to be the Mets.
And I bet that if he does clear, a whole lot more teams will be interested in him.
Oh Well. Maybe Tejada, or one of the other young guys, showed enough in ST that the Mets are OK with going with them s/t if Castillo goes down?
In any case, someone wil have to play 2B at AAA, and AA, right?
I don’t believe that to be the case. Since he was out of options, he had to be made available to all other teams that may want to give him a roster spot, before the Mets could send him to the minors.
He was placed on waivers, not waved/released.
If/when Gotay clears waivers, he then has the option of accepting the assignment and going to AAA, or not accepting the assignment, and become a free agent.
I don’t believe he has the major league service time required to refuse a minor league assignment.
He does. The reason the Mets had to waive him is because he is out of options. He can definitely refuse the assignment and become a FA.
Danny, a player must have 5 years of ML service time to be able to refuse a minor league assignment. I think Gotay only has 3.
Being out of options and being able to refuse assignment are not the same thing.
Coco Crisp can refuse assignment but still has options. Gotay may be out of options but not able to refuse assignment.
I presume the Mets have put him on outright waivers not unconditional release waivers.
I’m not sure 5 years is actually the criterion with waivers though – from what I read, a player can be outrighted to the minors without their consent once and only once in their career. Of course, it’d be so much easier to work this stuff out if MLB published the rule book ;)
Hmmm, I did not know that. Thanks for the correction.
From Wikipedia:
“If a player has 5 years of major-league service, he may not be assigned to a minor-league team without his consent, regardless of whether he has already been outrighted once, even if he clears waivers. If the player withholds consent, the team must either release him or keep him on the major league roster. In either case, the player must continue to be paid under the terms of his contract. If he is released and signs with a new team, his previous team must pay the difference in salary between the two contracts if the previous contract called for a greater salary.”
I know it’s Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, sounds solid enough to me.
well, that’s clear as mud now.
He will certainly clear waivers and become a free agent.
It is most likely another team will then offer to sign him.
why would he want to stay here when there is so little opportunity for him?
LGS- you keep referencing free agent status, which assumes that Gotay has been placed on irrevocable waivers. There has no report to that extent, as far as I’m aware. Consensus is that he’s on outright waivers rather than irrevocable waivers, in which case if he goes unclaimed, the Mets will assign him to AAA- and he will not become a free agent.
this is purely a numbers game. he has no options, he is not MLB ready yet and the mets don’t have wasted roster spots.
he’s just not ready to be on a MLB roster yet. why people are so up in arms over Tatis getting a spot is beyond me. he can play the outfield too. that is why tatis will get the spot over Gotay.
he’s ready to be on an MLB roster no doubt. Maybe not a championship-caliber roster, but there are regular players on crappy teams who are worse than Gotay.
A player hasnt been this upset about leaving the metsies since super joe mcewing!
hopefully Fernando Tatis doesnt play the outfield cause he was god awful in the spring training games.
At least he can hit or at least he did have 1 or 2 pretty good years.
Steroids anyone????
Yeah it’s amazing how Willie talks about how important the approach and routes to getting to flyballs when it comes to Pagan, but its ok for Tatis to stumble around out there like a chicken without a head.
All this talk about Fernando Tatis being so versatile is ridiculous. He’s a third baseman who can stand in the OF and catch it if it is hit right to him.
Agreed. He’ll pretty much be this team’s Rusty Staub, except that he’s nowhere near the kind of hitter Rusty was. It’s a waste of a roster spot, if you ask me. Brady Clark’s not a fantastic outfielder, but I would take him in a heartbeat over Tatis as a right-handed bench player.
And to the commenter who asked “steroids?” above, the answer is “yes, definitely.” Not too long ago, I watched a game from the 2000 NLCS, and he did the SAP announcement. Either he had just gotten 8 million bee stings, or that guy was bulky for very different reasons.
Brady Clark is also not Rusty Staub.
Why the hell is Fernando Tatis on this team but not Gotay? Let’s keep the washed up player ages past his prime who was in the Mitchell Report and throw away the switch hitting 2nd baseman in his 20s who showed great promise and could back up a gimpy Castillo. What a joke…
agreed, willie is stupid, the games already begin. he wants to play these vets and omar goes right along with it. tatis is a bum and so is brady clark, why in hell would we let the goat go
Brady Clark is this yrs David Newhan
why didnt we go after kevin mench when he was a FA? and why havent we heard anything about inquiring about matt murton? why do guys like david newhan, julio franco, and fernando tatis make this roster? i dont think ruben gotay is the next melvin mora or whatever but there were options out there this offseason and i feel like after we got johan we were a little to content with ourselves to realize we still had holes to fill.
the idea that Willie makes roster moves on his own is what’s stupid here.
Thank you! I was going to say the same thing.
It’s very, very simple.
Tatis is a RH bat. Gotay cannot hit lefties.
If we had the Cubs starting lineup, Tatis probably wouldn’t even be in our farm and Gotay would be a lock for the 25-man.
With the lineup we do actually have, we need RH hitters on our bench.
thanks for the small dose of logic. No crying in baseball people!
What a mistake. This is the first time I’ve ever bashed Willie on Metsblog, but he really has to get over his predisposition towards over the hill players. This team generally operates at one injury away from being rendered impotent. Putting your trust in guys like Gotay, who tends to rip the cover off the ball, would certainly help keep this team far more vital. From what I’ve seen of Gotay at second, I don’t mind his defense. Definitely not the cleanest player out there, but hell, didn’t Willie play above average second base? Take him on as your project Willie. He’s young, and will develop more. Other players have done it, and Gotay is not the exception to this rule. I’m very disappointed by this news, and hope that Reuben comes back, and becomes an important member of this team fro years to come. Unfortunately, with Willie at the helm, we’ll have to watch Castillo, and Tatis, and Easley go down with injuries before a young player gets the call.
I agree, it’s ridiculous. Of all the teams I root for, I have the least confidence in the Mets in terms of talent evaluation. It’s like they’re mentally stuck 10 years back in time.
ditto
they keep moving all these guys to the OF why hasnt Gotay been given a shot in the OF. He can’t be any worse than Tatis.
Gotay only plays 2nd. Tatis can play the infield. Tatis hits right handed, Gotay isnt good from the right side. That is why Gotay isnt here.
I recall Gotay playing a couple games at third last year, and he looked really good out there. I also think, given time, Ruben will develop into a dependable bat against righties & lefties.
Is there a reason for this. Is there anything in his history that shows he would be a good hitter against both righties and lefties? Or is it just a magical feeling you have?
Yes, I see it in the oracle.
At AAA in 2007, he hit .125 against LHP. In 2006 at AAA, he hit .236. In 2005 at the MLB level, he hit .212 and at AA he hit .143.
He doesn’t hit left handed pitching, hasn’t hit left handed pitching and likely will never hit left handed pitching.
Ahhh facts…
Yes I agree, facts are great, and important. However, Gotay is a good player, and can develop into something better. I’m a teacher, and I see average people develop in ways that facts can’t begin to explain. He’s young, has ability, and I believe that that should be further cultivated, rather than counting on a series of older injury liabilities.
And how do you know it isn’t the Mets’ plan to develop him in the minors? Maybe give him some time around the infield in NO.
I’ll be primed if he makes it back.
Yes, it is possible that Gotay develops into something better, in that he learns to hit left handed pitching. However, the chance that a player at his age and level of experience learns to handle lefties is extremely slim. “Time” and historical data are working against Ruben.
I completely agree. I like Gotay for what he is. But at the moment thats not something that has a place on our major league roster. If he can improve from the right side or on defense to the point where he’s servicable I think that would be great.
And even if he doesn’t improve in those areas I’m all for bringing him up if a need for a righty-masher arises.
I wonder if Gotay would be better against lefties if he faced them left handed. I would think that sometimes guys are just not strong from one side of the plate because of strength and coordination.
I must’ve been thinking about the Reuben sandwich. Ruben belongs on this team. However, maybe after Castillo, Tatis, Easley, and the pinched nerve all go down with injuries, Willie can just slap a Reuben from Katz’s deli out there at second, and hope that that’ll stop some sharply hit grounders.
You’d be surprised how sticky that saurkraut and Russian dressing mix can be. Also, a well-spiced pastrami has at least as much personality as Carlos Beltran. We’re talking leadership by example here. Delicious roster move.
I love it, delicious roster move.
Reminds me of what Backman went through. Held back by Doug Flynn, pushed aside by Teufel, then pushed out for Jeffries.
I have two problems with this. First, our only reserve who will be under 32 and did not spend a huge chuck of time on the DL last year is Angel Pagan (who is really a starter right now). The only other reserve under 32 is Chavez. Second, our only backup SS is Easley. I personally prefer Easley in Tatis’ role (a RH bat with some power who can play the corners and help out in other places), and I much prefer Gotay (or even A. Hernandez as a backup at SS/2B). Among other things, the construction of this bench does not give me faith that Reyes is getting a lot more rest this year.
Finally, I LOVE that our biggest complaints are on 5th starter and last bench slot.
the way i look at it is hopefully he clears waivers…is sent to AAA, can completely rehab his ankle. When ALou finally returns, maybe they then send down Tatis or Pagan and then Gotay comes back up as the option…
I’m not gonna freak out like most of you until hes actually off the team.
The statement that “this is baseball” is the correct one…
he is not and will never be a talent like a Wright or Reyes…and as Matt posted yesterday, he was sent down last year..
We don’t have room for another gimpy player..i’d rather have the room, at least for now..for a “healthy” player and hes young…let him give the ankle the rest it truly needs…
I would not count Gotay out for developing into a tremendous bat one day, given the chance. Similar sentiment from others is why there are people upset at all right now. While he’ll probably never be “gold glove”, I bet he can throw as well as Wright.
I think this team has some glaring questions other than last bench spot, on an already weak bench, and 5th starter. We ultimately have a weak offense, while we do have some solid components to the offense, there certainly are several holes, and can basically be pitched around to minimize damage. My major concern, and I believe this to be the Mets’ biggest Achillies heel, is the injury bug. We’ll see how this season unfolds, and I am excited. I just wish there was more of a commitment from Willie to embrace youth.
We have one of the strongest benches in baseball. What makes you think it is weak?
Weak offense? Are you a Yankee fan? Every single team in the NL would kill to have Reyes, Wright and Beltran on their team, not to mention Alou when he is healthy (holds the record for most hits in consecutive games for a met) and Delgado, while looking blind at the plate is still an ok hitter who matches up with most NL team’s 5th hitter…and our bench has been one of the best in the ML for years…hell, even old man Tiger said the mets were incredibly balanced and had one of the best benches in baseball during last years inter-league spat.
Some Met fans really need to take a step back, breath, go get a sandwich (preferably a Reuben) and realize we have the best team in the NL and even some luke warm ESPN pundits have come around to picking the Mets as the NL favorites…
Its competitive sports…the Mets had a horrible year last season but that was them playing under their talent level. Even great historic teams have had bad years.
seriously .. it’s not 1998 anymore .. this is a strong offense in this era. Everyone’s going to have to get used to a pitching dominated game again (thank god).
It sucks for Gotay but face it he is not good in the field. He needs to get his game up to an acceptable level. That doesn’t mean he needs to be a gold glove but he is pretty mutch a butcher and that has to improve. I don’t think he should be a switch hitter either.
Tatis……you got to be kidding me. This guy’s got nothing. Just another example of Willie and Omar & Company going with aging veterans instead of young guys with upside. Tatis, Easley, Anderson…..please. Keep Anderson as strictly a pinch hitter and cut Tatis and Easley and Stache and go get me some young guys with potential upside!
Your right. And it would be so easy too. Just trade Easley to Texas for Salty, Tatis for Adam Jones (the O’s don’t really want him) and Valentin would be great for the Redsox- they’d probably give us Ellsbury for him.
so you want your young guys sitting up at the MLB level sitting on the bench? thos eare the guys you want in the minors developing until they are ready to be a contributor. there is a reason why the bench players are veterans. because their role is already defined.
the reason they put Gotay on waivers is because they can’t send him to the minors unless he clears waivers. he is out of options.
Gotay needs to still develop. he won’t do it sitting on the bench in Queens. if he clears waivers, which I suspect he will, then he can develop in AAA. if the doesn’t clear waivers, then another team will need to use a roster spot at the MLB level for a player who really hasn’t earned it yet.
this is one of the more idiotic comments on here..
Anderson is basically a pinch hitter and a great one at that…Tatis will likely not be up with the MLB club long if we can recover from injuries…Easley was a great bench/role player last year and Stache may never play a MLB game again…
Do you follow the mets or just b*tch about them??
And the following post by metinDC23 was right on…young guys w/ potential need to develop…. role players are what tehy are…
BTW…what happens if opening day, Tatis hits a granny? How do you think these haters owuld react?? Not to say I think it would happen but I want it to happen cause..well, it’d be fun and I just wanna see these people who are hating on him..
ONCE AGAIN AS A DISCLAIMER I AM NOT SAYING I WANT TATIS PER SAY..BUT IT WOULD BE FUNNY
2007 AAA:
21 HR
5 triples
31 Doubles
.276 Avg
.359 OBP
.485 SLG
If that was a 24-year-old, we’d absolutely destroy the FO if they didn’t find a way to start this guy, or at the very least fit him on the 25-man roster.
Yet somehow Tatis has nothing?
In the high hitting PCL. People claiming how Humbers numbers were pretty good for pitching in a league with such small ballparks. A hitters league if I recall. So if a pitchers numbers reflect the league, the hitters numbers dont? Personally I hope he does well cause when Alou comes back it will be Pagan heading back down and not Tatis no matter what either has done with the bat.
Gotay can’t play short- he’d be terrible. Much better to just let Easley fill in when needed.
But he’s really on waivers because he CAN’T HIT LEFTIES! Thats what the Mets really need- someone else who can spot start or pinch hit against a good lefty.
Its not a love-fest for over-the-hill veterans and anyone who actually thinks that is retarded.
Very, very well said. However, you’re battling sentimentalists and conspiracy theorists. You won’t win.
In their eyes, Gotay WILL hit .340 (from both sides of the plate) despite a thoroughly unremarkable minor-league career, with good defense he’s never previously shown, and Tatis will CERTAINLY hit .095 and drop everything hit to him. It’s a fact, man.
Great job on the retarded remark. Very classy!
What can I say- seeing everyone comment like Gotay is the next Wright was a little fustrating…
Who said he’s the next Wright?
I exaggerated. Its just the general tone of everyone who’s freaking out over this. Its not that big a deal.
Gotay does one thing well- hit right-handed pitching. We already have a lot of that.
metinDC
I understand we need the right-handed bat and thats why he’s leaving, but tell me how he doesnt play SS. Looking at last year he played there. Even played better there than Easley, not an error. Played better than him at third as well without an error. He even played better at second to the point where he took over the starting job from Easley before Castillo came over. No, he’s not the greatest fielder but he’s better than what you armchair managers tend to believe. Ron Darling last year says Gotay has a tough time turning the doubleplay and everybody blows it out of proportion to the point where he’s called a butcher. As for Pedros Rooster, when he was in KC, the scouts said he will always be all glove and no bat, so he must have shown some kind of defensive prowess.
Again, I say if he could hit right-handed this conversation would be moot, but he cant so it is what it is. My thing is I wouldn’t put Easley anywhere near the infield anymore. I’ve been watching, he’s lost a step and some quickness, but thats what age does. If defense is the key word then AHern should be the 25th man. Really, how much will you need your 25th man to come up with a big pinch hit? If you have to go to that well that often then your not a championship team.
with all the media and blogging i think we can forget him being ignored.
be willing to bet are other teams are well aware.
If another team tries to pick him off the waiver wire, we’ll try to turn him into a piece that better matches our needs.
The Cubs need guys who can hit RH pitching and have a marginal MLer starting at 2B; the Rockies also have a marginal 2B. Both those clubs have pieces with some value we could trade for (Murton or Register – although we’re not exactly desperate for BP prospects).
I understand the reasoning behind this, considering that his defense is not great and that he hasn’t proven that he has an ability to hit lefties, but it still sucks. I like Gotay a lot and think he could develop into a very good hitter. It’s clear he wants to stay with the Mets, I just hope he is able to and finally gets a chance to play here.
I like Castillo too, but a 4-year deal for an aging guy with bad wheels is ridiculous. It doesn’t look like Gotay will have a chance to play every day here lie he deserves, unless he sticks around and Castillo goes down.
I agree. I loved rooting for him last year, and was kinda irritated when Castillo arrived. However, I have more faith in Castillo right now.
If Gotay stays, I can envision him stepping in for an injured Castillo at some point this season, and hopefully delivering some key hits with that nice, slashing, line-drive stroke. (Perhaps he could teach it to Reyes—the popups are really getting old.)
Irritated? I wasn’t irritated when Castillo hit a RBI against the Braves which led to us winning against them when they had been owning us all season.
A 4 year deal is a bit much, but he is a much better hitter and fielder than Gotay will be for some time…
…Am I the only one who saw Castillo’s on the ground stop and knee throw to first for the out the other day?
Castillo is the last person I would be irritated about. It sounds like people who knock Beltran as a CF when in reality he is the absolute best CF in the NL.
Not to be mean or anything, but learn to read.
“I was kinda irritated when Castillo arrived.” This means “when he arrived,” not now. I was irritated b/c I was enjoying Gotay hit .340.
“However, I have more faith in Castillo right now” means that I have more faith in Castillo right now—more than the faith I have in Ruben Gotay. I have watched all of the things that Castillo can still bring—excellent defense, taking pitches for Reyes, veteran stability and steadiness—and prefer him to Gotay.
I am quite happy with Castillo. This means that I am quite happy with Castillo.
Easley plays almost every position, and kills LH pitching (1.041 OPS in 101 PAs against lefties last year). Who in their right mind would question his spot on the bench?
I really like Inge
fat man? is that you?
This is a terrible move by the mets. They would rather have an over the hill, Tatis on the bench instead of Gotay, who has some potential. Do the Mets actually think there getting Tatis, in his prime, when he hit 2 grand slams in one inning.
Trivia Question – Does anyone remember who he hit the 2 homeruns off?
Seriously, people need to quit thinking about it in terms of the old vs. young angle. The Mets prefer Tatis over Gotay on the ML roster because he’s better hitting left handers; it’s that simple.
Oh, and Chan Ho Park.