Category: Mets

Mets

The Mets Are Interested in Corey Kluber

The Mets recently completed a trade for 8-time All-Star Robinson Cano and Edwin DĂ­az, the AL Reliever of the Year. This move by Brodie Van Wagenen sent a message to all Mets fans that the organization is attempting to build a win-now team, and more transactions could be on the horizon.

According to reports, New York has also expressed interest in standout starting pitcher Corey Kluber.

Kluber has been a force to be reckoned with in the past few years. He had a 2.89 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with 222 strikeouts during the 2018 season, finishing third in the voting for the American League Cy Young Award. This is not unfamiliar territory for Kluber, who won the coveted award the year prior as well as in 2014.

He is one year removed from the best season of his career. During the 2017 season, Kluber’s numbers were astounding, posting a 2.25 ERA (1st in the AL), 18 wins (1st), and 265 strikeouts (2nd).

Kluber has been particularly effective in the last three years, being named an All-Star in each season as he quickly rose to one of the most dominant pitchers in the MLB today.

Although the Mets gave up their No. 3 & 4 prospects in the Cano deal, they still have plenty of young studs in their farm system that they could move to acquire the Indians starter. If New York can work out a deal, pairing Kluber with deGrom would undoubtedly be the deadliest 1-2 punch that the MLB has seen in a long time.

While it remains to be seen whether or not the Indians have any motivation to trade their ace, Brodie Van Wagenen and the Mets front office have made it clear that they are willing to pay top dollar to compete next season.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/ Erik Drost

Mets

Could Bryce Harper be an Option for the Mets?

Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen has spoken about bringing a “culture of positivity” to Queens by bringing in established stars in the league that would instantly transform their offensive production. One free agent that would meet these dreams would be the 2018 Home Run Derby Champion, Bryce Harper.

Some fans are skeptical that the Mets have any interest in the phenom, but Mike Puma of the New York Post has set the record straight.

“Van Wagenen has made it clear, according to sources, that he is interested in the All-Star outfielder,” Puma wrote. “But there is skepticism within the industry that team owner Fred Wilpon would approve an outlay of $300 million-plus for that type of acquisition.”

New York hasn’t exactly made a habit of giving out monster contracts to superstar players, but opportunities to land players of the same caliber as Bryce Harper don’t come around every day. It’s time that the Mets embrace a “carpe diem” mentality, which translates to “seize the day.”

Harper, 26, has been a top player in the MLB since he entered the league in his early 20s. In his short seven years in the league, Harper has put together quite the resumĂŠ. He has been named an All-Star 6-times and has taken home the Rookie of the Year Award, among other accolades.

His best season by far came in 2015 when he batted an outstanding .330 to go along with a league-high 42 home runs and 99 RBIs. In recognition of his fantastic performance that season, Harper was bestowed with the NL Hank Aaron Award, Silver Slugger Award, and the NL MVP Award.

Although he hasn’t duplicated this kind of output in the past few years, Harper has still been a productive player. Last season, he posted a .249 BA with 34 HRs and a career-high 100 RBIs.

 

Harper is a five-tool player who is able to field, throw, run the bases, hit, and hit with power. This unique combination does not come around that often, and the Mets should recognize that signing Harper could be a complete 180 for the organization. They should take advantage of the opportunity before them, no matter what the cost.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/ Matthew Straubmuller

Mets

Mets Aggressively Trying to Work Out Deal for Robinson Cano

The Seattle Mariners have been looking for a potential trade partner to take on Robinson Cano, and the club has contacted both New York teams in an attempt to move the second basemen.

Although the Yankees don’t seem to be that interested, the Mets are being aggressive in their pursuit of the 8-time All-Star.

Cano has a strong connection within the Mets organization, being the formal client of GM Brodie Van Wagenen. Van Wagenen negotiated Cano’s monster 10-year $240 million deal with the Mariners back when he was an agent, and now he is looking to bring in a familiar face to bolster New York’s struggling offense.

While Cano was suspended half the season for violating baseball’s drug policy, he did manage to bat .303 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 80 games played.

While these numbers may not be that impressive, it is worth considering how successful Cano has been in years past. In his 14 year career, he has batted over .300 nine different times, holding a .304 career average to go along with 22.2 homers and 88 RBIs. His best season came in his final year with the New York Yankees when he hit .314 with 27 HRs and 107 RBIs. His stellar career has allowed him to accumulate five Silver Slugger Awards along and two Gold Glove Awards, not to mention the fact that he was a World Series Champion in 2009.

Cano has experience playing in the Big Apple and knows what fans will expect from him. While he may not be the player he once was, the Mets are desperate for a big bat, and Cano could help fill that void.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/Keith Allison

Mets

Introducing Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen

The New York Mets recently filled their front office vacancy by hiring Brodie Van Wagenen to replace Sandy Alderson as the organization’s GM.

Van Wagenen has established himself as one of the most prominent professionals in the sports business industry as an agent with the Creative Artists Agency. As the Co-Head of CAA’s Sports’ Baseball division, Brodie has represented many high profile clients, including  Ryan Howard, Robinson CanĂł, and Ryan Zimmerman. He has also had a number of current Mets as clients such as Yoenis CĂŠspedes, Noah Syndergaard, Tim Tebow, and Cy Young candidate Jacob deGrom.

Although he does not have any front office experience, the Mets have the utmost confidence that Van Wagenen will be able to use the skills he has acquired over his career to guide the Mets’ front office, making the team relevant in the MLB landscape once again.

His knowledge of all things baseball makes him a perfect candidate for his new role, any many professionals in the industry agree.

“He’s built to run things; he’s built to lead,” said his ex-teammate Kyle Peterson. ““In many ways, he’s been preparing for this role for the last 25 years. He was one of the leaders in his industry. It’s not like he needed a job and I know he wouldn’t have taken any job. He’s going to surprise people who don’t think he’s ready. He has a million things to learn, but if you’re assuming he can’t learn them, you’d be wrong.’’

“He lives in this market, he knows our team, knows the pace of the city, said Mets Assistant GM John Ricco.” “So he doesn’t have the institutional knowledge, well, we have a lot of people in-house that do. Can we cover it? Those are the questions I was asking myself. I’m a little less a believer that this is a real leap of faith. I think he brings a lot of the things the good GMs have already and we can cover the things he doesn’t have.”

While being a front office member of a New York team is never easy, the consensus is that his transition into his new position will be relatively smooth and will bring the same impact he had on his clients as an agent to the entire Mets franchise as their leader.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/ Doug Kerr

Mets

David Wright to Play in Final Home Stand Before Likely Retiring

David Wright hasn’t played an MLB game since 2016, and many fans around the league thought he might never make a return to the field after battling lingering back and shoulder injuries, but the Mets have announced their intentions to start the captain one final time on September 29th before he likely retires from the game.

Wright has been the face of the Mets franchise for a long time. He has been on the club since 2004 and has experienced his share of success during his years in the Big Apple. Over the course of his career, he has been selected to seven All-Star Games while winning the Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger Award twice. He has shown tremendous dedication and loyalty to the Mets organization which earned him the title of “Captain” in 2013.

You can’t deny the impact that Wright has had both on and off the field. From day one, he has dedicated himself to the organization and making it the best possible place to play the sport he loves.

He has solidified himself as one of the best players in Mets history. He is the franchise’s career leader in RBIs (970), hits (1,777), runs (949), and stolen bases (196), all while batting .296 in his career.

This will be the end of the road for “Captain America,” but it is impossible to undervalue the effect he has had New York Mets baseball. He will forever bleed orange and blue.

David Wright is a Mets icon, one of the finest players and people ever to wear the uniform, Mets uniform or any uniform, and clearly our fan favorite,” said COO Jeff Wilpon.

 

Featured Image via Keith Allison

 

Mets

Jacob deGrom ties MLB record with 25th straight starts allowing three runs or fewer

Jacob deGrom has been outstanding this season, maintaining a 1.68 ERA to go along with 230 strikeouts. He continued his historic campaign last night by making MLB history, tying the record for 25 straight starts allowing three runs or fewer, a record that dates back to 1913.

Despite this accomplishment, deGrom remains focused on the task at hand: winning baseball games.

“I honestly have not been looking at stuff like that, just trying to get ready for my next start,” deGrom said. “I am out there trying to put this team in a position to win. I don’t like giving up runs.”

Mickey Calloway likes what he sees from his ace, but is even more impressed by his attitude when he takes the field. “He’s been the best pitcher in all of baseball,” Callaway said. “It’s grit and determination. He just won’t be beaten.”

As usual, deGrom didn’t pick up the win. He went six strong innings against the Dodgers while striking out six and allowing only two hits and one earned run. However, the Mets only offered the All-Star one run worth of run support, so he got the typical no decision he is used to. That one run also came off his own bat when he drove in Jay Bruce with a single that put his club on the board.

His teammates feel for deGrom as he deserves to have a better record than 8-8. “It is what we come to expect from Jake every time. It is almost not fair. We expect him to go out there and pitch seven innings and give up zero or one run every time. For him to keep doing that and then not get these W’s is unfortunate.”

Every time people doubt his abilities and argue that he shouldn’t win the Cy Young Award, the young pitcher gives them a reason to reconsider.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/slgckgc

Mets

Jacob deGrominates the Philadelphia Phillies

In yet another spectacular performance by two-time All-Star Jacob deGrom, the Mets pitcher pitched a complete game while allowing no earned runs, lowering his ERA to an MLB-best 1.71.

His attitude towards the game is what makes him one of the best, determined to blank his opponents by any means necessary. “I definitely wanted to go out there and throw the ball well,” deGrom said. “But every time I take the mound, I want to put up zeros. What other guys do is out of my control.”

Eight innings deep, the Mets ace had thrown 99 pitches and was due up third in the batting order as the Amazins came to bat. Typically, MLB managers would pinch hit in a situation like this in an attempt to add some extra run support to cushion their lead, but when a player is throwing the way deGrom was, this is no easy decision to make. His pitching coach left it up to Jacob.

“Do you want it?” Dave Eiland said to his pitcher. “Yeah, I’ll finish it,” deGrom replied. “You sure you want it?” Eiland continued. “You don’t have to.” “I want to finish it,” deGrom said. The rest is history.

This makes two wins in a row for the Cy Young candidate, a stat that has not come easily to the 30-year-old thus far this season. Despite his excellence, he has struggled to put tallies in the win column, through no fault of his own. This can be attributed to New York’s lack of offensive prowess.

The Mets have had a tough time putting up runs when deGrom is on the mound. In fact, he ranks 4th to last in run support per game with an average of 3.76 runs behind him per nine innings. As a result, he only holds an 8-7 record this season.

However, his win-loss totals should not cover up the fact that deGrom has been arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball. He is the only pitcher to have an ERA this low in the last 18 years with at least 25 starts under his belt besides Zack Greinke in 2015.

He makes a strong case for the Cy Young Award, bestowed upon the best pitcher from each league in the MLB. Jacob has undoubtedly earned the right to be in the conversation, and if the voters of Baseball’s Writers’ Association of America can overlook his modest win total, he is deserving of this recognition, to say the least.

Mets manager Mickey Calloway agrees with this assertion, saying that “Jacob has continued to prove why he is probably the front-runner at this point.” He has also been quoted stating, “If we ended the season right now, he should win it.”

It’s not every day that you see a pitcher in the majors with an earned run average south of 2.00, and if this honor eludes him merely because he is on a club that can’t produce runs to back up his dominance, then the league seriously needs to contemplate the criteria by which they give out the coveted award.

 

Featured Image via Flickr/Keith Allison