Yeah, that is a great deal.Jay Bruce signed with the Mets. 3/$39. Very reasonable contract.
Yeah, that is a great deal.Jay Bruce signed with the Mets. 3/$39. Very reasonable contract.
Well, they're the Mets. But Conforto played a fair amount of center last year, so there will probably be a typical Mets mix and match on a daily basis.But for the next few years, their best two players are Conforto/Cespedes and all three of those guys are corner OFs in a no-DH league, none should really play CF (and they have Lageres/Nimmo who can). So when Conforto/Cespedes are both healthy, Bruce bumps Dominic Smith at 1B? That seems pretty premature to me to give up on a top 100 guy, the Mets always seem to acquire guys who are bad fits with their existing personnel. Am I missing something?
I dont believe it but supposedly one of Andujar or Frazier was on the table. Either one alone would have beat what they got from the Astros IMOGerrit Cole to the Astros for Joe Musgrove and Colin Moran, per Tim Browne.
Seems very light. Cashman could have beat that without batting an eye.
Edit: RP Michael Feliz in the deal too.
I don’t think the Yanks are in on Arrieta or Cobb—neither of whom throw sliders—and Lynn’s too vulnerable to LHH. I think they’re trying to trade for Archer.Yeah, that's strange, it seems like Cashman was definitely offering more than that at some point, but maybe they had stopped negotiating so HOU could get him for less.
Pretty curious to see what it takes in the end to sign Darvish, this should take HOU out of the FA SP market. NY could trade Gardner and Warren (about $15M saved) and give Darvish 5/110 and Avila 2/12 and still be about $8M under $197M as I figure it. That's probably not enough to get Darvish, but it does feel like at least one of these top SPs (Darvish/Arrieta/Lynn/Cobb) is going to have to settle for a lot less than expected.
I see Bruce more as evidence they're giving up on Lagares, not on Smith. CF was basically his to take for a long time, but the combination of injuries and crappy hitting seems to have led them to be willing to accept Conforto or Cespedes in CF.Dominic Smith had a 13.3% swinging strike rate last year, the same as Aaron Judge. He was being very aggressive, and trying to showcase his ability to hit for power. Smith had 26 RBI in the 49 games he played, so there is some success to be found when runners were on base. He had 49 PA's with RISP, producing a .283/.306/.565 triple slash line (.871 OPS). That's the silver lining for a first round prospect who just needs to ignore the expectations and get comfortable and confident at the plate (and in the field, he was surprisingly poor there too) every time.
Not only did the Mets trade their leading home run hitter from last year during the season, they topped it by signing him as a free agent this offseason. The Mets traded away Jay Bruce in August, so that their outfield was set with Cespedes in left, Lagares in center, and Conforto in right. That lasted a little more than two weeks. Cespedes and Conforto missed the last 35 games due to hamstring and shoulder injuries, respectively. Cespedes only played 81 games last year due to hamstring issues, and Conforto's shoulder injury may keep him out part of this season. Signing Jay Bruce gives the Mets some options they won't find in their minors for corner outfield and 1B depth. Once Conforto is ready to come off the DL, they can send Nimmo or Smith to AAA based on performance.
If Dominic Smith is a bust, last year's swinging strike rate won't be the first comparison made to Aaron Judge. I'm sure the New York media will remind everyone the Mets picked Smith 11th overall in the 2013 draft, and the Yankees picked Judge 32nd.
Unless Sea Bass is coming out of retirement, I'm pretty sure the Mets have signed Adrian, not Alex.I see Bruce more as evidence they're giving up on Lagares, not on Smith. CF was basically his to take for a long time, but the combination of injuries and crappy hitting seems to have led them to be willing to accept Conforto or Cespedes in CF.
Smith may be the future, but he's going to have to earn it, not get it by default after his debut last year
There's also a rumor they've signed Alex Gonzalez now (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22089304/adrian-gonzalez-reaches-agreement-new-york-mets), which I guess means Bruce is 1B depth at most and primarily in RF, unless one of the two is going to play some 3B
In a way, I can understand the logic - this is probably the last year to roll the dice and hope DeGrom / Syndergaard / Harvey / Wheeler all stay healthy and put together great years, and if that happens they need the offense to just be 'ok' - i.e., they don't need Smith to be a young superstar, they need someone who has a long enough history that they won't put up a .200 average at 1B.
It's even in the link url and I still typoed it... dumb!Unless Sea Bass is coming out of retirement, I'm pretty sure the Mets have signed Adrian, not Alex.
Leg issues limited Cespedes to 81 games last year. That would solve a lot of problems if he comes back this year as the legitimate RHH CF platoon to Nimmo and Conforto as the LHH CF side. They can give up on Lagares, but these four are their only current options for the MLB team in CF this year.I see Bruce more as evidence they're giving up on Lagares, not on Smith. CF was basically his to take for a long time, but the combination of injuries and crappy hitting seems to have led them to be willing to accept Conforto or Cespedes in CF.
Smith may be the future, but he's going to have to earn it, not get it by default after his debut last year
There's also a rumor they've signed Adrian Gonzalez (edit - stupid ) now (http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/22089304/adrian-gonzalez-reaches-agreement-new-york-mets), which I guess means Bruce is 1B depth at most and primarily in RF, unless one of the two is going to play some 3B
In a way, I can understand the logic - this is probably the last year to roll the dice and hope DeGrom / Syndergaard / Harvey / Wheeler all stay healthy and put together great years, and if that happens they need the offense to just be 'ok' - i.e., they don't need Smith to be a young superstar, they need someone who has a long enough history that they won't put up a .200 average at 1B.
I'm curious about the return (can't see Twitter from work if it's been bouncing around there). I'm guessing substantially less than Cole got them. Maybe Beede and a lotto ticket?Rosenthal just tweeted said the Pirates-Giants deal involving Andrew McCutchen is agreed to pending a physical.
No return has been reported yet but Bob Nightengale said that it's not expected to include any of the Giants best prospects.I'm curious about the return (can't see Twitter from work if it's been bouncing around there). I'm guessing substantially less than Cole got them. Maybe Beede and a lotto ticket?
Both Chris Shaw and Tyler Beede have been told they are not in the deal, per Bob Nightengale and others.I'm curious about the return (can't see Twitter from work if it's been bouncing around there). I'm guessing substantially less than Cole got them. Maybe Beede and a lotto ticket?
Thanks. So a very light return. Not surprising given the 1 year of control and the fact that Cutch isn't Cutch anymore.Both Chris Shaw and Tyler Beede have been told they are not in the deal, per Bob Nightengale and others.
Nightengale said they were never in on him. The big question now is will Arizona up their offer because their division is getting even stronger?ONe less suitor for JD Martinez or were the Giants considered out of the picture already?
A great year? He had a 122 wRC+, his lowest hard hit % since 2011 and more than 4% lower than his peak years, which coincides with his highest two soft contact percentages in that span. While he would have been, arguably, the best hitter on the Red Sox last year, that's more an indictment of the Sox than praise for him.Hopefully Crick isn't the centerpiece. He'll be a solid reliever in Pittsburgh but for Cutch in his walk year coming off a great year he should fetch a little more than a couple lotto tickets with Crick.
I say great year because the year prior it looked like he fell off a cliff and was borderline replacement level. So while great might be overstating it he rebounded extremely well.A great year? He had a 122 wRC+, his lowest hard hit % since 2011 and more than 4% lower than his peak years, which coincides with his highest two soft contact percentages in that span. While he would have been, arguably, the best hitter on the Red Sox last year, that's more an indictment of the Sox than praise for him.
He had a good year. But great is what he was doing from 2012-2015.
well doneThis and the Longoria deal probably put the Giants in the driver's seat for the 2013 NL Pennant
And IIRC, he had a lot of trouble hitting fastballs above 94mph last year. He is a good candidate to bust again.A great year? He had a 122 wRC+, his lowest hard hit % since 2011 and more than 4% lower than his peak years, which coincides with his highest two soft contact percentages in that span. While he would have been, arguably, the best hitter on the Red Sox last year, that's more an indictment of the Sox than praise for him.
He had a good year. But great is what he was doing from 2012-2015.
Hopefully Crick isn't the centerpiece. He'll be a solid reliever in Pittsburgh but for Cutch in his walk year coming off a great year he should fetch a little more than a couple lotto tickets with Crick.
This covers his arb years and gives them two team options after that, my guess is he will be dealt within the next year or so (and he will bring back a lot).PIT has also signed Filipe Rivero to a 4 year deal.