213 Miles From Shea

Non-Roster Invites in spring generally break down into two broad categories – prospects that the team wants to give an extended look at, sometimes against major league caliber talent, and plan C players. These are players (sometimes MLB Veterans, sometimes MiLB journey men) that should only be playing on the major league squad if the starter and the major league roster back up player (plans A and B) both find themselves off the field.

The Mets last year invited 26 players to camp on Non-Roster Invitations. Seven of them have already seen major league playing time this season and one should have seen playing time, but the Mets just completely trashed his situation.

Devin Mesoraco: We’re going to start with the player the Mets really messed up. Mesoraco was put into a ridiculous situation where the Mets essentially forced him to retirement. Pretty much immediately after the Mets put him into this boat, the Mets announced that they moved d’Arnaud to the IL and had to use Tomas Nido (who now the Mets pitching staff prefers catching them over Wilson Ramos). Anyway, Devin should have been a 2019 Met and unlike other players on the list, he would have been completely a positive choice.

Luis Avilan: It was pretty clear from when he was signed that Avilan was going to make the team. The team lacked lefties in general and Luis fit the bill. Still his time with the Mets has been pretty awful, allowing 11 runs over a small sample size of 11.0 innings in 12 games with a 5.20 FIP and 2.000 WHIP (46 ERA+). He was injured near the start of May and recently came back.

Hector Santiago: I irrationally like Hector because he came up through the Ironbound little league (let’s go Brick City! Newark!) but if he landed on the Major League roster at any point this season, a lot of things had to go wrong. Well a lot of things went wrong. Before being DFA’d he played in 8 games totaling 8.0 innings allowing 6 runs. He leaves the Mets boasting a 5.20 FIP, 1.875 WHIP and 63 ERA+ in his ridiculously small sample size.

Pete Alonso: The MVP of the first half of the season was an NRI to camp. All of that was normal though and not unexpected. The only surprising thing looking back to Spring was that there was even a debate about whether the Mets should put him on the roster at the start of the season, starting his clock. He’s had a historic start to the season despite everything happening around him.

Adeiny Hechavarria: On a team with so many infielders there was no reason that Hechavarria should have been called up. But he’s here and playing quite a bit. Personally, I see his playing time as a direct reflection on Lowrie situation, the Frazier injury, the mishandling of Jeff McNeil, the mishandling of Luis Guillorme and all the injuries in the outfield (leading to a further deficit in the infield). He’s already had 100 PA’s hitting .229/.260/.427. He’s getting on base nearly 30 points lower than his career OBP of .289, but he is hitting a good amount of pop (career slugging is .427). This is one of those cases where his OPS right now is better than his career (.687 vs .637) but honestly the Mets need people to just get on base. Or be healthy.

Rajai Davis: Davis (and Gomez in the next entry) weren’t supposed to see Queens. Plans C and D. The Mets had too many outfielders! They needed to squeeze in Jeff McNeil, split the time of Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton and at some point Yoenis Cespedes was coming back. In reality: Brandon Nimmo got injured (and moreover, the Mets mishandled his injury), Keon Broxton didn’t work out, Cespedes broke his ankle and landed himself on the IL for the rest of the season. So Rajai Davis got a short cup of coffee. He played in 4 games getting 7 PA’s collecting 2 hits including a big homer. Then once Conforto came back from his concussion (left out of the list of outfield problems earlier), Davis was sent back down.

Carlos Gomez: Carlos Gomez had a homecoming of sorts, coming back to his original team. Carlos Gomez is also a free agent now, so things weren’t great. He got substantial playing time over 34 games, getting 99 PA’s hitting .198/.278/.337. He hit three bombs. He was fun for story lines and remembering a time when the Mets weren’t completely inept.

Well the Mets end the first half of the season today. It’s been a rough first half, with both stars in the marquee trade (Cano & Diaz) not playing at the level originally thought, the bullpen overall has struggled and it feels like the Mets are wasting another strong season from All-Star Jacob deGrom, and an amazing rookie start from Pete Alonso, plus a second strong hitting season from Jeff McNeil. The Mets will now have four days off from today to figure out how they will handle the trade deadline, regroup and see what happens next.

Part of the trade deadline: Zack Wheeler. The Mets put Matz into the bullpen to probably give Wheeler another chance to show-off his stuff. Wheeler is 6-5 over 18 starts and 114.0 innings this year with a 4.42 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 1.246 WHIP and a 92 ERA+. In his last three starts he has pitched 19.1 innings with a 1.86 ERA and an opponents batting average of .182 including a start against the Phillies where he allowed 1 run off 2 hits in 6.0 innings of work. The Phillies have the following numbers against Wheeler:

• Bryce Harper 6-34, 2 HR, 4 BB, 14 K
• Cesar Henandez 9-21, HR, BB, 4 K
• Maikel Franco 3-14, 2B, HR, 2 BB
• Rhys Hoskins 1-14, 2 BB, 7 K
• J.T. Realmuto 7-14, 2B, 3 K
• Jean Segura 1-9
• Jay Bruce 0-6, K

Aaron Nola is 7-2 over 104.0 innings with a 3.98 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.327 WHIP, 115 ERA+. Nola has been tremendous the last two games he has tossed 15.0 innings allowing no runs off 5 hits and 18 strikeouts including a game where he shut out the Mets over 7.0 innings and struck out 10. The Mets have the following numbers against Nola:

• Michael Conforto 4-26, HR, 3 BB, 10 K
• Amed Rosario 4-20, 2B, 6 K
• Todd Frazier 0-13, BB, 4 K
• Wilson Ramos 4-13, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Dominic Smith 3-15, 2B, HR, 6 K
• Jeff McNeil 5-13, 2B, 4 K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 2-5, 2 BB
• Pete Alonso 1-5
• Robinson Cano 2-5, 2B, BB

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets had a rare week where they had two off days, before a week where they are going to have a four. It’s a great opportunity to get some rest but if they don’t rack up wins, it makes falling behind an even steeper hill tonight. Last night the Mets bullpen, specifically Edwin Diaz collapsed again, ala last week’s 7 game losing streak, completely blowing the game up in the ninth inning. Now Noah Syndergaard will look to get the Mets on the right track.

Noah Syndergaard is 5-4 over 16 games and 100.2 innings with a 4.56 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.242 WHIP with a 89 ERA+. He’s been mostly average in the month of June leading to 11 runs, 10 earned over 25.1 innings in four starts with a 3.55 ERA. This is being skewed better by one start where he allowed no runs over 7 innings. The last time he faced Philly this year was in April and he allowed 5 runs over 5.0 innings. The Phillies have the following numbers against him:

• Bryce Harper 8-27, 2B, 3 BB, 8 K
• Cesar Hernandez 10-25, 4 BB, 6 K
• Maikel Franco 6-21, 2B, 5 K
• Rhys Hoskins 4-11, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 BB, 4 K
• J.T. Realmuto 2-10, 2 BB, K
• Jean Segura 5-10, 2B, 3 K

Jake Arrieta is 8-6 over 17 games and 103.2 innings with a 4.43 ERA, 5.14 FIP, 1.418 WHIP and 102 ERA+. His last two starts have been quite rough, allowing 9 runs in 12.0 innings from 17 hits and 3 walks. One of those starts was against the Mets where he allowed 5 runs from 9 hits in 6.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Jake:

• Robinson Cano 6-28, 2 2B, 4 BB, 6 K
• Todd Frazier 8-29, 2B, 2 HR, 10 K
• Michael Conforto 4-19, HR, 3 BB, 6 K
• Jeff McNeil 10-17, 2B, 3B
• Wilson Ramos 5-13, 2 BB
• Amed Rosario 2-13, HR, K
• Pete Alonso 3-11, 2B, 2 K
• Domonic Smith 2-4, HR, 2 BB, K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets had an off-day yesterday, which is weird considering it’s a National Holiday and that they had an off-day on Monday but whatever. Glad the bullpen could get extra rest and hope the players had time to relax with friends and family. The Mets are back at it tonight after splitting the series with the Yankees (thus also splitting the season series with the Yankees).

Jacob deGrom brings us back for the final weekend of baseball before the All-Star break. He is 4-7 over 17 games and 103.0 innings with a 3.32 ERA, 3.12 FIP, 1.107 WHIP and 123 ERA+. He is coming off a fairly average start against the Braves where he allowed 3 runs over 6.0 innings and in his last 8 starts has posted a 2.65 ERA over 51.0 innings. Jacob hasn’t faced the Phillies at all this year and last year allowed only 1 run, unearned, over 18.0 innings in three starts against them. The Phillies have the following stats against deGrom:

• Bryce Harper 10-31, 2 2B,2 HR, 7 BB, 9 K
• Cesar Hernandez 5-24, 4 BB, 6 K
• J.T. Realmuto 3-22, 7 K
• Maikel Franco 6-22, 3 K
• Nick Williams 4-15, 5 K
• Rhys Hoskins 3-11, 2B, 3 BB, 4 K
• Jean Segura 3-12, 3 K

The Mets bats will get a look at Vince Velasquez who is 2-5 over 19 games and 9 starts with 51.1 innings of work posting a 4.73 ERA, 5.37 FIP, 1.422 WHIP, and 96 ERA+. He has had one good start (1 run, 5.0 innings) and two poor starts (combined 6.2 innings, 8 runs) since returning to the rotation on June 16th. He was a starter the last time he faced the Mets in April, holding the Mets scoreless over 5.0 innings in probably his best start of the season. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 6-14, 3 HR, 4 BB, 3 K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 2-8, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
• Robinson Cano 2-4, 3 BB, K
• Amed Rosario 2-6, 3B
• Jeff McNeil 3-6
• Wilson Ramos 0-5, 2 K
• Dominic Smith 1-4, 2B

Let’s Go Mets

The Mets won two games in a row! The Mets yesterday had a come from behind victory against the Yankees, and several cosmic events aligned to make it happen. Outside of one inning where Wheeler allowed 2 runs, he was quite good in a long outing (probably to showcase his stuff). After blowing through a lot of pitches early he settled down and had a nice rhythm. Michael Conforto came through a critical time, knocking in the go-ahead runs to put the Mets in the lead. Edwin Diaz was able to overcome an infield hit that should have been an error (my opinion) and an interesting safe call on a stolen base to lock down the end of the game. And the Mets snapped the Yankee’s homer streak!

Jason Vargas will look to keep the good times rolling today (as long as he doesn’t see the press? Is it too soon to joke about how the Mets completely ignored this / downplayed this yet?). He is 3-3 over 14 games and 13 starts with 66.1 innings posting a 3.66 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.281 WHIP and 111 ERA+. He’s been steady in his last three starts allowing 2 earned runs in each (but 9 runs total) leading to a 3.60 ERA over 15.0 innings. Opponents are hitting only .148 against him and getting on at a .246 clip. He did start against the Yankees earlier this year allowing 3 runs over 6.0 innings from 7 hits and 2 walks (also setting up an uncommon situation where he and Wheeler started both games of both two game series vs the Yankees in 2019). The Yankees have the following numbers against him:

• Edwin Encarnacion 8-32, 2 HR, 11 BB, 2 K
• Brett Gardner 5-16, 3B, HR, 4 K
• Aaron Hicks 4-14, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Cameron Maybin 4-10, BB
• Gary Sanchez 1-8, BB, 3 K
• Didi Gregorius 3-7, HR
• DJ LeMahieu 2-6, K
• Aaron Judge 0-3, 2 BB, K
• Gleyber Torres 2-3

The Mets bats draw Domingo German who is returning from the Injured lIst today. On the season he has pitched in 13 games and made 12 starts totaling 70.0 innings with a 3.86 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 1.114 WHIP and 117 ERA+. Before landing on the injured list after his start on the 7th, he had a bad stretch of three starts allowing 14 runs over 14.2 innings from 21 hits and 3 walks. During that time he allowed 7 homers. He started against the Mets twice last year allowing 7 runs over 9.2 innings from 10 hits and 2 walks. Three of those 10 hits were homers. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 1-5, 2B, K
• Amed Rosario 1-5, 2 K
• Todd Frazier 1-3, HR, 2 K
• Wilson Ramos 1-3, 2 K
• J.D. Davis 1-2, HR, K
• Adeiny Hechavarria 1-2, HR, K

Let’s Go Mets!

It’s the subway series and a week to go to the All-Star game and it seems like there are a ton of different things to follow. The Mets finally snapped their 7 game losing streak on Sunday thanks to some late inning hitting. Is it a start of things to come? Who knows! At least it wasn’t another game where the Mets lost after having the lead at some point.

Meanwhile the Yankees, injury burdened, come to town as the dominate team in the AL East. They are also coming off an off-day but unlike the Mets, the Yankees had to travel from London. Will that impact them? Who knows! Will playing back to back four hour plus games in a sandbox stadium where the ball was flying out impact them? Who knows! (Actually – that sounds a lot like Yankee Stadium).

Zack Wheeler gets the start tonight. He is 6-5 over 17 games and 107.2 innings with a 4.51 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.263 WHIP and 90 ERA+. Barring a month long winning streak – the Mets are probably going to tear down in July and Wheeler could be on the move. His starts now are essentially try-outs. He’s been great in his last two starts! After allowing 14 runs over 10.2 innings, he has allowed 2 runs over 13.0 innings, lowering his ERA from 4.94 to 4.51. One of those bad starts was against the Yankees, allowing 9 runs, 5 earned in 4.2 innings. The Yankees have the following numbers against him:

• Giancarlo Stanton 3-17, HR, 3 BB, 3 K
• Cameron Maybin 1-7, BB, 3 K
• Brett Gardner 4-6, 3B, K
• Luke Voit 3-6, 2B, HR, 2 K
• DJ LeMahieu 0-4, BB, K
• Clint Frazier 0-3, 2 K
• Didi Gregorius 1-3, 2B

The Mets bats draw the Yankee trade acquisition from the off-season: James Paxton. Paxton is 5-3 over 13 games and 64.1 innings with a 4.34 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.430 WHIP, and 103 ERA+. He’s coming off a rough start where he allowed 6 runs over 4.1 innings against Toronto. In the month of June he was either great (11.0 innings, 3 runs) or terrible (11.2 innings, 16 runs), as such his ERA has ballooned. One of those poor starts was against the Mets where he allowed 6 runs over 2.2 innings form 7 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Todd Frazier 0-7, BB, 5 K
• J.D. Davis 1-7, 3 K
• Michael Conforto 2-5
• Wilson Ramos 1-5
• Adeiny Hechavarria 2-4
• Pete Alonso 1-1, HR, BB
• Jeff McNeil 1-2, 2B
• Amed Rosario 0-2

Let’s Go Mets!

Well yesterday went pretty much like every day in the last week. Matz struggled at the start of the game, then there was a rain delay, then the bullpen took over and did great for a while, the Mets even got the lead! Then the Mets blew it late, and then they lost and it capped a horrible week. So now the Mets will start a new week tonight with Noah Syndergaard back on the mound and maybe the next 7 days will be different.

Noah Syndergaard is 5-4 over 15 starts and 95.0 innings with a 4.55 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.211 WHIP and a 89 ERA+. He is coming off a hamstring injury where the Mets did the un-Mets thing and put him on the IL pretty much right away. Shockingly, he has not faced the Braves at all this season. Last year he faced them 3 times and totaled 18.0 innings allowing 6 runs from 20 hits and 3 walks while striking out 14. The Braves have the following numbers against him:

• Nick Markakis 7-17, 2B, 2 BB, 3 K
• Freddie Freeman 8-18, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 4 K
• Ender Inciarte 4-14, BB, 2 K
• Dansby Swanson 5-11, 3 K
• Ozzie Albies 2-9, HR, K
• Adam Duvall 0-9, 6 K
• Ronald Acunda Jr 2-7, 2B, 3 K
• Josh Dondaldson 1-6, 2B

Max Fried gets the start for the Braves tonight. He is 9-3 over 18 games and 16 starts with 88.2 innings posting a 3.96 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.331 WHIP and a 116 ERA+. In his last two starts he has allowed 4 runs over 12.0 innings from 10 hits, 6 walks and 14 K’s. One of those starts was against the Mets where he allowed 2 runs over 6.0 innings from 8 hits. The Mets have the following numbers against Max:

• Michael Conforto 0-6, 2 BB, 4 K
• Amed Rosario 2-7, 2B, 4 K
• Juan Lagares 2-6, K
• Todd Frazier 1-5, K
• Jeff McNeil 3-5, 2 2B K
• Wilson Ramos 2-4, 2B, K
• Pete Alonso 0-2, BB, 2 K

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets and the month of June just don’t get along. Last night the Mets lost for a sixth consecutive time. It was a little different last night as they never held the lead in the game, but a three run inning by Gsellman in the 8th inning put the game way out of reach for a line up struggling to find much of anything. Pete Alonso hit his 28th homer last night, continuing a historic season while the Mets themselves just flutter into obscurity.

Steven Matz looks to play stopper today. He is 5-6 over 15 starts and 78.0 innings with a 4.85 ERA, 5.49 FIP, 1.462 WHIP and 84 ERA+. One thing we have learned this year is Matz does not like to pitch in Philly. His last time out he allowed 7 runs over 4.1 innings, including his 9th and 10th homer in the first inning. Overall he has allowed 15 runs, 13 earned in Philly this year over two starts (and 4.1 innings since in the first one he didn’t retire a batter). His start before Philly was Atlanta, and that also didn’t go so well. He allowed 5 runs over 5.0 innings. The Braves have the following numbers against Matz:

• Freddie Freeman 7-21, 2 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Nick Markakis 3-18, 2B, BB, 4 K
• Tyler Flowers 2-13, 2B, 2 BB, 4 K
• Ender Inciarte 2-7, BB
• Dansby Swanson 208, 2B, BB, K
• Ozzie Albies 2-8, 2B
• Ronald Acunda Jr 2-5, 3B
• Josh Dondaldson 1-5, HR, BB, 3 K

The Mets have to deal with Julio Teheran tonight who is 5-6 over 17 games and 91.1 innings with a 3.94 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 1.336 WHIP and 116 ERA+. Things haven’t been great for Julio in his last two starts either as he has allowed 13 runs over 8.0 innings from 17 hits and 6 walks. One of those starts was against the Mets where he allowed 6 runs over 4.0 innings, a game where the Mets won 10-2 and possibly their last solid showing in the month of June. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Adeiny Hechavarria 8-35, 2B, 3B, 8 K
• Michael Conforto 7-28, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, 3 K
• Carlos Gomez 5-19, 2B, HR, 3 BB, 9 K
• Todd Frazier 3-21, 2B, HR, BB, 3 K
• Juan Lagares 4-21, 5 K
• Wilson Ramos 5-20, 3 2B, HR, BB, 4 K
• Amed Rosario 2-18, 3B, 2 BB, 7 K
• Jeff McNeil 4-11, 2 2B, BB
• Robinson Cano 2-7, 2B

Let’s Go Mets!

Was yesterday the worst Mets loss of the season? While that title is debatable, the loss guaranteed that the four game set was the worst for the Mets this season and the last 5 games have been the worst the Mets have performed in quite some time. Since last Sunday and throughout the series with the Phillies, the Mets have the lead in the game, only to have to have the bullpen squander it. Yesterday was the most extreme example with Edwin Diaz, the star trade acquisition and the reason the Mets parted with Kelenic, give up two homers in the bottom of the 9th, taking the score from 3-1 Mets to 6-3 Phillies. A disaster of a series.

But the Mets look to turn things around with the Braves at home tonight. Jacob deGrom gets the start. He is 4-6 over 16 games and 97.0 innings this year with a 3.25 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 1.093 WHIP and 125 ERA+. In his last 7 games he has allowed 12 runs over 45.0 innings, a 2.40 ERA with an opponents batting average of .232. Against Atlanta this year he has made two different starts. Back in April he allowed 3 runs over 5.0 innings. Ten days ago he made one of his best starts this season allowing 2 runs over 8.1 innings while striking out 10. The Braves have the following numbers against deGrom:

• Freddie Freeman 13-50. 2 2B, 3 HR, 5 BB, 13 K
• Nick Markakis 11-45, 2 HR, BB, 9 K
• Ender Inciarte 7-37, 2 2B, 2 BB, 9 K
• Ozzie Albies 4-26, 2B, BB, 6 K
• Tyler Flowers 4-16, HR, 3 BB, 7 K
• Dasby Swanson 4-16, 2 2B, 3 BB, 8 K

The Mets will most likely see Mike Soroka tonight. He left his last start with a right forearm contusion but should be able to pitch tonight. On the season he is 8-1 over 13 games and 78.1 innings with a 2.07 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 0.970 WHIP and a 222 ERA+. His last full start was against the Mets where he allowed 3 runs over 6.0 innings. It was during a four game stretch that despite allowing 1 run over 8.0 innings in one game, he had a 4.21 ERA. His ERA right now at 2.07 is impressive but he went into the month of June with a 1.07 ERA, so it feels like his season is at a key inflection point. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Michael Conforto 2-9
• Todd Frazier 1-8, 2 K
• Amed Rosario 2-6, 2B
• Pete Alonso 1-3, K
• Robinson Cano 1-3, HR
• Jeff McNeil 0-3
• Wilson Ramos 0-3

Let’s Go Mets!

This has been a rough week so far for the Mets in Philly. Each day the bullpen has been handed the lead and each day the bullpen has fallen apart, giving the game to the Phillies. Yesterday the Mets were walked off in Philly during the 10th inning after the bullpen couldn’t hold on to a 4-0 lead earlier in the game. The Mets will try to salvage the last game this afternoon with Wheeler taking on Nola.

Zack Wheeler stepped up in his last start. On the season he has 16 starts and 101.2 innings with a 4.69 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.298 WHIP and 86 ERA+. In his last outing he held the Cubs to 1 run over 7.0 innings, dropping his ERA from 4.94 to 4.69 in the game and ending a torrid run for himself. He faced the Phillies in back to back starts in April holding them to 3 runs in 14.0 innings of work while striking out 16. Those numbers are skewed by a gem he tossed against the Phils in Citi Field where he held them scoreless over 7.0 innings, striking out 11. The Phillies have the following numbers against Wheeler:

• Bryce Harper 5-31, HR, 4 BB, 13 K
• Cesar Hernandez 9-19, HR, BB, 4 K
• Maikel Franco 3-12, 2B, HR, 2 BB
• J.T. Realmuto 7-14, 2B, 3 K
• Rhys Hoskins 1-12, BB, 5 K
• Scott Kingery 1-6, HR, 2 K
• Jay Bruce 0-3

The Mets bats draw Aaron Nola for the finale who is 6-2 over 16 games and 89.0 innings this year posting a 4.55 ERA, 4.40 FIP, 1.449 WHIP and 100 ERA+. Similar to Wheeler, his last start was also his first strong start in a few starts. Last time out he held the Marlins to 2 runs, 1 earned over 8.0 innings while striking out 10. Before that, over three starts he allowed 14 runs in 16.1 innings. His last start against the Mets back in April was good for the Mets – they scored 5 runs off 7 hits and 3 walks in 4.0 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him

• Michael Conforto 4-24, HR, 2 BB, 9 K
• Amed Rosario 4-17, 2B, 5 K
• Todd Frazier 0-10, BB, 4 K
• Wilson Ramos 4-10, 2B, BB, 3 K
• Dominic Smith 3-12, 2B, HR, 4 K
• Jeff McNeil 5-11, 2B, 2 K
• Robinson Cano 2-5, 2B, BB
• Pete Alonso 1-2

Let’s Go Mets!