Chris Carter DFA’d
According to MLBTradeRumors (hat tip to NY Baseball Digest), the Red Sox have DFA’d Chris Carter — presumably the other “player to be named later” in the Billy Wagner trade.
I’m not sure what exactly this means, mainly because I don’t own (nor can I find online) an official guide to MLB rules regarding waivers, the “end” of the season, “designated for assignment”, and players to be named later.
What I do know is that once a player is “designated for assignment”, his team has ten days to trade, release, or waive him. I *think* Carter would have to clear waivers before being traded to the Mets — otherwise this move would’ve been made weeks ago. I’m also not sure how the “ten days” figures in, considering that the regular season ends before then. I *think* that the ten days can include the postseason — and run right through the World Series and perhaps a few days after the last game of the WS.
I’m going to take a wild stab and guess that Carter will now be subjected to irrevocable waivers — meaning if he’s claimed, the Bosox can’t pull him back. But since they’re irrevocable, I don’t believe the claiming team has to give up anything in return — so the “trade” part of the DFA doesn’t apply.
Further, if no teams claim Carter before the Mets get their chance, does that mean the deal is complete when/if the Mets do claim him?
If you can find an official link explaining what can happen here, or if you are a licensed MLB agent, please comment below.
Watch Carlos Beltran on Twitter
Just a quick note… According to MetsBlog, Carlos Beltran will be playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones on Thursday night (9/3). The Cyclones are taking on the Hudson Valley Renegades at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill, NY.
For those of you interested in seeing Beltran play, you can watch it live on Twitter. Just follow @hvrenegades and there will be a link when the broadcast starts. You will be able to see the game starting at 7pm.
While you’re at it, follow @metstoday and @smallballusa too. Thanks.
Steven Matz Update
The update on Mets’ top draft pick Steven Matz is … that there is no update.
Matz, selected in the second round and #72 overall, has reported to freshmen orientation at Coastal Carolina, still waiting to receive an offer from the Mets.
Before you get yourself into a tizzy wondering about the holdup, it’s likely because Matz is seeking a $1.1M signing bonus, which would be above the “recommended” bonus for second-round picks — and MLB is holding up all current contract offers that are “above slot”. For legal reasons, there’s nothing truly “official” about the slotting system, but for whatever reason, Commissioner Bud Selig is able to prevent above-slot contracts from being signed before August. Don’t ask me how or why, as none of this slotting business makes sense to me. All I know for sure is that the Mets have historically followed Selig’s rules to the letter. How this helps them, I’m not sure … maybe it gets Fred Wilpon an invite to Bud’s annual yacht party.
Outside of Matz, the Mets have signed 29 of their 39 picks thus far, which is a good amount. They have until August 17th to sign any players eligible for college classes.
One of those signees, lefthanded-hitting outfielder Nicholas Santomauro has gotten off to a nice start with the Brooklyn Cyclones, with 20 total bases in his first 18 games as a pro. He went 3-for-4 with a triple two nights ago against the Vermont Lake Monsters. I mention him because he’s a local boy — from North Caldwell, NJ, by way of Dartmouth (where he was Ivy League Player of the Year). Good luck, Nick!
Available Players to Consider
Do the ailing and injured New York Mets need to bring in outside reinforcements? If so, a few have become available. One by one:
Vicente Padilla
The righthanded pitcher was waived by the Rangers after a miserable 3-inning, 7-ER start against the Yankees. He’s 3-3 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP through 9 games and 53 innings.
He must be really bad, if the Rangers are willing to eat his $12M contract to get him off the roster; few teams will be willing to take on the $8M he’s owed between now and the end of the season.
But, he has shown signs of effectiveness — for example the three starts prior to the Yankees massacre, in which he pitched 23 innings and gave up only 12 hits and 4 earned runs. Think about that — in his last four starts, he’s pitched eight innings twice and seven innings once.
Though he hasn’t allowed a ton of homeruns — 4 total, and none in his last 5 starts — he does give up a large number of fly balls, something unusual for a sinker-slider pitcher such as himself. In his 8-inning win over the Angels two weeks ago, he allowed 21 airballs. Strangely enough, he’s had one game in which he induced 14 ground balls (also an 8-inning victory).
A move to the NL and a spacious ballpark could be a good thing for Padilla. But, he’s an eternal enigma, often beating himself and crumbling in the face of adversity (see: Oliver Perez). Additionally, he’s been fighting a shoulder issue for the past month. Is he worth the headache? Tim Redding’s next start may provide the answer, though I might prefer seeing Nelson Figueroa on the roster.
Wilson Betemit
Oh how quickly and how far mighty talents can fall. It wasn’t so long ago that Betemit was a phenom in the Atlanta organization, a sure-handed, switch-hitting shortstop with corner-infield power. A few years and four organizations later, he finds himself DFA’d by the White Sox, dragging with him a .200 average in 50 at-bats.
Is he worth picking up? If this were two weeks ago, when Jose Reyes first went on the DL? Probably. One week ago, when the Mets were scrambling to find someone better than Ramon Martinez to play SS? Definitely. Now, with Alex Cora back, Wilson Valdez playing well, and Martinez on the DL? Absolutely.
Here’s why: Betemit is a natural shortstop who can play all four infield positions and both outfield corners. He hits from both sides of the plate, and shown a bit of power in the past. He’s 27 years old. Need I go on?
The negative is that he swings and misses — a lot. Last year he struck out 56 times and took only 6 walks in 204 plate appearances. So you can compare him to Billy Hall — a super utilityman with a little pop and a lot of whiffs. I still like him better than some of the other 25th-man options that we’ve seen thus far.
Tom Glavine
We discussed this yesterday. On paper, he might be worth a try, and the Wilpons love him. I don’t think the fans can stomach his return, however.
Jorge Julio
15 walks and a 7.79 ERA through 17 innings was too much for Milwaukee to handle. Rick Peterson’s tight leash made him almost valuable as a one-inning guy, but I don’t think he’d flourish in the Dan Warthen era. He still throws in the upper 90s, so someone will take a chance. No thanks.
Pat Misch
Who is Pat Misch, you ask? He’s a crafty lefthanded reliever most recently employed by the San Francisco Giants. He’s not particularly good — a career 5.20 ERA through 97 MLB IP (and double that this year) — but he’s slightly more effective vs. LH hitters than righties. As long as Ken Takahashi continues to struggle against lefthanded hitters, the Mets need to at least take a glance at any and every southpaw on the market. Maybe he’s worth giving a look-see in AAA.
Murphy vs. Martinez
While the Mets are hurting now, parts of the cavalry are making their way back. Carlos Beltran should be feeling better soon, and Ryan Church can come off the DL about a week from now, which means Fernando Martinez will likely be sent back to AAA Buffalo.
Or will he?
Because Carlos Delgado is out until at least July — maybe longer — there has been some chatter regarding the acquisition of a big bopper to take his place in the middle of the lineup. Unless Mike Piazza comes out of retirement, it’s obvious that the import would be a first baseman and/or outfielder.
If indeed the Mets bring in, say, a Matt Holliday or Jermaine Dye, then Dan Murphy has a chance to stay at first base. But, if they acquire a first baseman — Nick Johnson, for example — that puts Murphy back in the outfield, possibly in a platoon situation.
There’s a problem with that second scenario, though, which is that the Mets have decided that Murphy is not an outfielder. The other issue is that the outfield is already crowded, once Ryan Church and Angel Pagan return.
And then there’s Fernando Martinez, who is not being overmatched at the plate.
Whether F-Mart can keep it up is anyone’s guess, but if he does, that changes the situation — it puts the focus on getting a first baseman, displacing Murphy. Add in another factor: Ryan Church is the Mets’ most eligible everyday player to be dealt. He’s only 30, under contractual control for another year, inexpensive, and undervalued by Mets management. The Mets have no “MLB-ready” prospects in their minor-league system, which means they almost certainly would have to provide at least one starting player from the 25-man roster in a blockbuster deal. Church fits the mold — as does Murphy.
If Martinez continues to show he belongs in the bigs, the Mets might consider giving him the right field job and moving Church to obtain a first baseman (Garrett Atkins? Chad Tracy?) — particularly if Murphy continues to struggle at the plate. Though not yet the complete package, Martinez right now has better raw tools than Murphy in the areas of speed and defense, and he might have the edge in power. Hitting under .250, Murphy brings little value to the starting lineup — his defense is a detriment in the outfield, only adequate at first base, he has below-average power for a corner infielder, and is below-average to average as a baserunner. In other words, if Murphy’s not hitting .300+, there isn’t much point in playing him.
Martinez, on the other hand, can at least give you solid defense and baserunning, and he might smack a few extra-base hits. Of course, his batting average needs to improve by at least 75 points — but if it does, it may be enough for him to stick.
The next two weeks could turn out to be a competition of survival between Fernando Martinez and Danny Murphy. Which one will remain standing?
Read: BP in the New World
MetsGrrl has a post about the new rules regarding fan access during batting practice:
You can no longer get behind the dugout unless you are ticketed for that section. You can’t get behind the photographer’s well, the next section over. You have to go all the way to the outfield corner. There was no reason given. In addition to being much further away from the players, it’s a much smaller area, so it’s now much more crowded. Yes, you can go in the outfield, but that’s kind of useless if you’re trying to get photographs of players, or if you’re a kid hoping for an autograph.
It is a very informative and extremely disappointing post. Read it all here.
September Callups
With the roster expanding to 40, the Mets added the following players to their roster:
RHP Carlos Muniz
LHP Richardo Rincon
RHP Bobby Parnell
LHP Jonathan Niese
RHP Al Reyes
C Gustavo Molina
2B Argenis Reyes
INF Ramon Martinez
INF/OF Marlon Anderson
Obviously, the Mets welcome any and all arms to their pitching staff. The question, however, is whether Jerry Manuel will trust any of the “new” arms in key situations. If he doesn’t, there isn’t much point of their presence.
Personally, I think Ricardo Rincon will be a key guy from the left side. I don’t expect Rincon to be a closer, nor do I expect him to be a multiple-inning guy. However, I believe he’ll be effective as a LOOGY. Hopefully he can give Scho and Pedro Lite a rest.
Jonathan Niese will start on Wednesday against the Brewers, which will be a tough assignment considering they are a righty-heavy lineup. However they are also a wild-swinging bunch, which can play into Niese’s favor.
We kept hearing that Bobby Parnell was an “untouchable” … from what I saw in spring training, Steven Register was a better pitcher — by a wide margin — and Register was returned to the Rockies by the end of March. Perhaps Parnell made tremendous strides since then and will prove to be an impact arm. The Mets certainly can use another reliever.
The promotion of Ramon Martinez makes zero sense, and I’m guessing this is more about somebody owing somebody a favor. Nothing against him, he’s a solid utilityman, but this is a team filled with utility players. It’s on par with the Mets adding Gerald “Ice” Williams to their roster a few years back.
The Gustavo Molina promotion is a little bit strange, only because Robinson Cancel is a better-hitting version and Raul Casanova was left behind. I did like Molina’s defense when he was up with the Mets, but his hitting is atrocious. In contrast, Casanova’s glovework is acceptable at best, but he is a switch-hitter with some pop. I guess the Mets feel a defensive-minded catcher is more important than a switch-hitter off the bench. It’s still early though, so Casanova could still be added.
Al Reyes had some arm issues this season, but if he’s healthy he could pitch meaningful innings. The Mets gave up nothing for him, and had nothing in AAA better than him, so his presence makes plenty of sense.
Since the New Orleans Zephyrs have ended their season, it’s curious as to why some other players weren’t immediately promoted — though we’ll likely see more promotions over the next week. For example, where is Valentino Pascucci? Certainly there were reasons not to bring him up earlier in the year, but with the roster expanded to 40 and flexibility on the roster due to players on the 60-day DL, what more did Val need to do to earn a September callup? Other than Pascucci, I’m guessing we’ll see Claudio Vargas make a reappearance — though like Pascucci would need to kick someone off the current 40-man (though I don’t get putting Ramon Martinez ahead of either of them). Those who are on the 40-man and may receive callups in the coming days include Ruddy Lugo, Adam Bostick, Eddie Kunz, and Willie Collazo. If Amby Burgos is healthy, he could also get a promotion.
Since we haven’t heard hide nor hair of Matt Wise, Trot Nixon, or Jason Vargas, your guess is as good as mine as to whether we’ll see them in September. I’m guessing no on Vargas, in which case he should be transferred to the 60-day DL to open up a roster spot (same goes for El Duque, whose season is already officially over). Nixon and Wise, if healthy, could be contributors down the stretch, but no one knows anything about their status.
Finally, we might see Fernando Martinez and Mike Carp come up for a cup of coffee once their season with the B-Mets ends. Their last game is September 1st and they did not make the playoffs.
Background Noise
If you have a life and therefore missed hearing me on “Live From Mickey Mantle’s” on Friday night, then be sure to download the show and listen to it at your leisure. For example, offload it to your iPod and listen to it as background noise while on the treadmill, or during a long car ride.
You can listen or download the shows (there are two episodes, we covered the Mets / NL East in episode 1) by going here or by clicking the Blog Talk Radio button to the right.
Stocking AAA
Looking at the New Orleans Zephyrs roster, there isn’t much to call on for help. The Mets might benefit from stocking the team with a few veterans and “let’s hope to catch lightning in a bottle” guys.
Suggestions:
- Esteban Yan, who hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2006 and was released by the Orioles after posting a 5.7) ERA at AAA Norfolk. Yan, however, still throws gas and struck out 55 in 47 innings, walking only 15.
- Alex Escobar, who was recently released by the Nationals. I’m sure that MetsToday loyalist Micalpalyn supports this suggestion.
- Chris Resop, a hard-throwing outfielder-turned-pitcher who the Braves just released. He’s had control problems, but can reach 98 MPH. Maybe all he needs is a tweak to get him on track.
- Marcos Carvajal, another flamethrower who can’t find the plate. I cried and moaned when the Mets dropped him from the 40-man last year, and now he’s available again after getting lit up in the hitter-friendly PCL. Yes, he has been with six organizations in as many years, but the kid is still only 23 years old and approaches triple digits on the gun. TRIPLE DIGITS. Remember, the Mets traded Brian Bannister for a very similar biological oddity (Ambiorix Burgos). Get the kid back into the system … if not AAA then AA.
Again, I don’t believe any of the above players are guaranteed to help the Mets this year. But you never know, and though each of these individuals were tossed aside for one reason or another, each also has something of value — some potential. Remember that many players are released by one organization, only to flourish in another (for example, Carlos Pena and Jorge Cantu).
BTW, both of the players traded to the Cubs for Angel Pagan — Corey Coles and Ryan Meyers — have been released. I’m not sure that the Mets have any interest in re-obtaining either of them.
Anyone else out there? Please post your suggestions below.
Junk To Jump On
What’s that saying? One man’s junk is another’s treasure?
The Mets are desperate for arms — for both the bullpen and the starting rotation. The relievers are out of gas and ineffective, and the Mets will have to plan for absences by John Maine and Pedro Martinez. I hope I’m wrong, but my gut tells me that Pedro will be back on the DL shortly, and that Maine will have problems with his shoulder for the rest of the season.
So let’s take a look at the scrap heap.
Freddy Garcia
He’s a free agent and scheduled to be auditioning on August 5th. If I’m the Mets, I don’t wait — I roll the dice, sign him today, sight unseen, send him to the minors, and hope for the best. I’d give him two years, in fact, so there’s backup depth for ‘09.
Livan Hernandez
Livan was DFA’d by the Twins yesterday after posting a 5.48 ERA. You know what? He’s leaving the Twins with a 10-8 record. How many Mets have 10 wins? Um, none. Yes, he was hit hard in the AL, but he is fine as a #5 in the NL. Pick him up, put him in AAA, and have him ready when Pedro or Maine goes down. At worst, you have someone as a backup in case Jon Niese isn’t the Sandy Koufax the Mets keep telling us that he is.
Matt Clement
The Cardinals finally gave up on Clement, who decided he wasn’t progressing quickly enough. Chances are, he won’t help this year, but you never know. Sign him to a contract through 2009, send him to Port St. Lucie, and tell him to take all the time he needs. If he can’t make it back to MLB this year, you have a possibility for ‘09 (see Freddy Garcia). Who knows, he might get back just enough velocity and endurance to be a middle reliever in September.
By the way, the Red Sox just signed Joe Borowski to a minor league deal. I suggested that the Mets pick up the Bayonne Bullet and put him in AAA a month ago, so send that idea to the circular file.
Oh, and don’t get me wrong — the Mets should, and will have to, give the kids a shot now. Jon Niese, Eddie Kunz, Bobby Parnell (a.k.a., “The Untouchables”), and anyone else down on the farm should be promoted, pronto. My suggestion is to promote the youth and pick up these junky veterans to take their places in the minors — this way there’s a backup plan in case the rooks aren’t quite ready. It’s always a good idea to hedge your bets. Plus, I’m of the belief that a big league bullpen, in this day and age, requires a minimum of 10 pitchers who appear in at least 10 games to get through a season (see bullpen articles ONE and TWO. The Mets have only 8 relievers who have appeared in at least 10 games to this point.
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