Mets outfield prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis recently told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com he was frustrated he missed so much of the 2011 season because of injury, saying:
“I felt like I was so close to being there, and now I’m kind of in stall mode. It was hard to sit on the couch and watch my teammates play. It was frustrating not being out there, as it is with any injury. But being in the middle of a big year like that, it was a little more frustrating, for sure.”
DiComo suggests if Neiuwenhuis had stayed healthy and continued to develop last year, it’s possible the Mets would not have acquired Andres Torres from the Giants.
However, DiComo says Nieuwenhuis could serve only as a placeholder while Matt Den Dekker develops in the minor leagues.
Nieuwenhuis, 24, hit .298 with a .403 OBP, six home runs and 14 RBI in 188 at-bats for Triple-A Buffalo in 2011. He had shoulder surgery in July and missed the remainder of the season. However, in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, Nieuwenhuis was added to the 40-man roster in November.
Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com recently named Nieuwenhuis as the organization’s 11th best Mets prospect to watch.
As far as Nieuwenhuis’ future is concerned, it’s difficult right now to project where he might end up defensively. Jason Bay presents the biggest obstacle for all of the Mets outfield prospects because, assuming he isn’t traded, Bay will likely be the team’s left fielder through 2014 (given his easily attainable option). But, if Nieuwenhuis hits, the Mets presumably have to find a place for him, and a lot will depend on how Den Dekker, Lucas Duda, and later, Brandon Nimmo develop. In a way, this surplus is a very good problem for the organization.
It seems as though for the better part of the last 36 months, the discussion surrounding the Mets has been about lawyers, lawsuits, reducing payroll and costs, injuries, justifying and defending moves and decisions, losing, and other issues surrounding ownership – not about baseball.
In a few short days, baseball will return to Port St. Lucie and, in less than two months, baseball will be back. I will be in Port St. Lucie for a day this week and then again towards the end of February when pitchers and catchers arrive – and I can’t wait to bring you the story both in writing and in photographs as it happens. My hope is we, as fans, can celebrate the birth of the new season at that time, and start talking about this baseball team and the game. Why? Because as a Mets fan who has suffered through thick and thin with this franchise since 1985, I am sick of not talking about baseball and my favorite sports team. I am sick of the legalese, the mocking, the fear over the future of this franchise, and a theoretical inevitability that the Mets will lose. Everyday I hope the negativity will end, that the dramatics will end, and there can be a return to normalcy and winning. Continue reading →
According to the Ottawa Citizen, the Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League will be bought and moved to Ottawa for the 2013 season, and the new owners would pursue an affiliation agreement with the Blue Jays which would go into effect at the same time.
If the deal goes through, the current B-Mets owners are expected to purchase the Class-A Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League, which is not affiliated with the Mets (the Brooklyn Cyclones are their New York-Penn League affiliate).
The Mets affiliation agreement with the Binghamton club expires after 2012 and, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, their Double-A affiliate could be in New Britain, Connecticut beginning in 2013. The Mets have been affiliated with Binghamton since 1992.
However, B-Mets President Michael Urda told the Binghamton Press-Sun Bulletin:
“The Binghamton Mets have not been sold, and we have not been contacted by anyone interested in our club,” Urda angrily said. “There’s 12 teams in the Eastern League and we have to address it every single week … Enough’s enough.”
In September, 2006, the Mets announced their 38-year relationship with the Tidewater/Norfolk Tides had concluded, and that they had reached a two-year affiliation agreement with the New Orleans Zephyrs for their Triple-A team. After the conclusion of that agreement in 2009, the Mets signed a two-year agreement with Buffalo and became affiliated with the Buffalo Bisons. In 2010, that agreement was extended through the 2012 season.
For more on this, check out Toby Hyde’s post to Mets Minor League Blog.
Prepping for trip. Bought 4 like-new tires at chop shop across from Citi. He threw in free wiper fluid. Better than the Wheeler deal!
— Sandy Alderson (@MetsGM) February 10, 2012
