New York Mets Update

By MR. MET

Staff Writer NFL PRO ZACH

Now that the Super Bowl is here and over with it is officially baseball season!

·       First the Mets reached a 1 year deal avoiding arbitration with Daniel Murphy, this is always a good thing for the club and the player as the arbitration process can often bring about hard feelings between the parties involved.

·       The New York Mets also reached minor league agreements with Left Handed Relief Pitcher Pedro Feliciano bringing him back to the Mets after a lost 2 seasons with the cross town rivals; it will certainly be nice again to hear Gary Cohen announce that Perpetual Pedro is once again entering the game for the Mets.

·       The Mets have also reached agreements this past week on minor league deals with veteran Right Handed Relief Pitchers Scott Atchison & LaTroy Hawkins; these are solid signings by the Mets to fix a bullpen that was one of the worst in MLB last year. The good thing about these deals is that they a minor league deals so if these guys aren’t healthy or don’t outperform Mejia or Familia the Mets can either release them or keep them in Triple A as an insurance policy.

·       The Mets also signed Outfielder Marlon Byrd to a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training. If healthy and ready to perform (fresh off his PED suspension) Byrd can provide the solid defense and right handed pop the Mets need in the OF.

·       According to CBS Sports Jon Heyman the Mets are also reportedly close to a deal with Right Handed Relief pitcher Brandon Lyon and according to multiple reports they are also showing serious interest in other Right Handed Relief Pitchers Brian Wilson, Francisco Rodriguez, and Jose Valverde as well as starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. These are interesting development because if the Mets sign one or two of these guys it certainly may implement a situation of flux for Jeurys Familia, Jenry Mejia, and possibly Dillon Gee. So I’m thinking that if the Mets get their way and get these guys on some team friendly deal we may see a deal built around one of these guys (Familia, Mejia, or Gee) for an Outfielder now this is just total speculation on my part but I feel it might make some sense.

·       According to CBS Sport's Jon Heyman the New York Mets have agreed on a 1 year deal with right handed starting pitcher Shaun Marcum worth about 4 Million dollars in base salary and another 4 Million in incentives. Marcum in 21 starts for the Brewers last year went 7-4 with a 3.70 ERA in 124 innings; however, he did spend 2 months on the Disabled List with an elbow injury.  My Take here:  The Mets wanted a solid veteran starter on a 1 year deal to fill out their rotation for this year and somebody that can potentially be moved and not block Mets top pitching prospect Zach Wheeler if and when he is deemed ready this year. Marcum himself seemed like the guy Alderson wanted in earlier reports this year, although, not much has been said lately until the signing. This is a good job here by the Mets as Marcum is a welcome addition to a staff with a lot of uncertainty.

·       As far as the Outfield goes with the Braves uniting the Upton brothers in their OF. That means the end of Michael Bourn in Atlanta. In other news the Chicago Cubs and Scott Hairston agreed on a 2 year deal worth around 6 million dollars with incentives according to metsblog.com's Matthew Cerrone. Cerrone also states that the Mets offer was up to around 3 million dollars for 1 year but the Mets were unwillingly at this point to go to the 2nd year whereas the Cubs were. Hairston's concerns dealt with the amount of playing time he would receive and with the Mets looking to bring in a bigger name outfielder this was certainly a concern on his part. Speaking of big name outfielders according to multiple reports from ESPN New York's Adam Rubin and metsblog.com's Mathew Cerrone the Mets are currently in the process of asking MLB to protect their first round 11th overall pick in this year's draft so they can seriously make a run at pursuing OF Michael Bourn. The Mets are arguing that if the Pirates signed their first round pick last year they would have the 10th overall pick in this year's draft not the 11th and thus they would only loose a second pick for such signing. The Mets believe that in this case they should still have their first round pick protected and only loose the second pick because the Pirates pick is essentially a compensation pick for not signing their pick from last year. If the Mets win this case it seems that they will be a serious candidate for Bourn's services. As of right now the Mets opening day OF is a mess and with the potential trade of Upton to the Braves and news of Hairston signing with the Cubs the Mets can certainly use Bourn in their OF.

·       Here is the breakdown of the trade

 

Atlanta gets:

 

            OF Justin Upton

            3B Chris Johnson

 

            Arizona gets:

 

            RHP Randall Delgado

            3b Martin Prado
            1b prospect Brandon Drury

            Pitching prospect Zeke Spruill

            SS prospect Nick Ahmed

 

            My Take:  Obviously the Braves gave up a lot here in terms of future potential players as well as a pitching prospect whose ready to help the team right now on Delgado and current 3b Martin Prado but they get back a dynamic player in Justin Upton for their OF as I wrote here on this blog numerous times I think he was exactly what the Mets needed but now he gets plugged into an OF that already consists of Jason Heyward and his brother BJ which will most likely now be at the very least the best OF in the NL East and compared to the Mets well let’s not even discuss that right now. They also get a capable young 3b in Johnson who can either play every day or platoon with Francisco. In my opinion the Braves now have the best lineup in the NL East and without giving up top pitching prospect Julio Tehran have the potential to have a pretty good pitching staff as well. They set themselves up here for years to come along with the Washington Nationals. The Mets lack of activity has defiantly hurt them here. What would Mets have had to give up to at least match the deal from Atlanta I'm not sure that would be speculation what I am sure about is this the Mets were probably unwillingly to match that deal and in doing so this is a blow to any short or long term plan the Mets have in place to compete for a playoff spot!

As far as Bourn and the situation with the compensation pick many reporters, insiders, and bloggers believe that the Mets appeal or grievance does have some legs to it. But I ask you this question with the current developments in Atlanta and Washington is Bourn going to make a difference at age 30 or would he simply be a waste of money at this point. I'm not completely sure but Ken Rosenthal of fox sports believes the Mets interest in Bourn is "sincere" but clearly loosing Scott Hairston will hurt this ball club.

 

 For more on the Mets, the NL EAST, the WBC, the Bourn situation, and to discuss anything Mets follow me on twitter @MrMetNFLPROZACH