The first waves of Spring Training cuts have come in for Boston, the Mets, and the Yankees. The Red Sox made their first cuts on Thursday when they optioned 3B Will Middlebrooks and CF Che-Hsuan Lin to Pawtucket and LHP Drake Britton and 2B Oscar Tejeda to Portland. They made their second wave of cuts on Friday when they released RHP Carlos Silva. The team made its third wave of cuts on Saturday when they optioned RHP Stolmy Pimentel to Portland.
The first wave of cuts came on Thursday for the Mets when they optioned LHP Robert Carson, RHP Jeurys Familia, RHP Jenrry Mejia, 2B Reese Havens, 3B Zach Lutz, and CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis to Buffalo and RHP Armando Rodriguez, SS Wilmer Flores, and LF Juan Lagares to Binghamton. The second wave of cuts came for the Mets yesterday when they optioned RHP Jeremy Hefner to Buffalo and RF Cesar Puello to Binghamton.
The Yankees made their first cuts of the Spring on Friday when they optioned 2B Corban Joseph and CF Melky Mesa to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and 2B David Adams and CF Zoilo Almonte to Trenton.
Showing posts with label mets third basemen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mets third basemen. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wright's Injury Diagnosed, Timetable set, sort Of
Mets 3B David Wright has now been diagnosed with a tear in one of his abdominal muscles. He is currently wearing an ice cap over the injury. Wright will wait 48 hours for the cortisone shot to take effect, and then get back into baseball activities and be ready by Opening Day, which is the timetable he has set for himself.
But even Wright admits that that is only a tentative schedule. After all, Wright has torn his left rectus abdominis (an injury that was underdiagnosed for ten days), the same injury that ended in surgeries for Washington 3B Ryan Zimmerman and Baltimore RF Nick Markakis. Wright insists that his injury is less severe than those of the other two players.
Right now, the timetable for Wright's return is Opening Day. This news comes a day after manager Terry Collins blew a gasket (publicly) over the high number of injuries on his team after IF Ruben Tejada went down with a groin injury. Collins explained later that he was merely frustrated and was not blaming his players in any way for being injured.
But even Wright admits that that is only a tentative schedule. After all, Wright has torn his left rectus abdominis (an injury that was underdiagnosed for ten days), the same injury that ended in surgeries for Washington 3B Ryan Zimmerman and Baltimore RF Nick Markakis. Wright insists that his injury is less severe than those of the other two players.
Right now, the timetable for Wright's return is Opening Day. This news comes a day after manager Terry Collins blew a gasket (publicly) over the high number of injuries on his team after IF Ruben Tejada went down with a groin injury. Collins explained later that he was merely frustrated and was not blaming his players in any way for being injured.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Byrdak Undergoes Surgery
Mets LHP Tim Byrdak will have surgery tomorrow to repair a torn meniscus in his left (push-off) knee. There is no timetable for his return. Byrdak was re-signed to a one-year, $1 million contract after posting a 3.82 ERA in 72 appearances last season as a lefty specialist.
Byrdak was the clear front-runner to remain in the bullpen as a lefty specialist, reprising his role from 2011, this season, although he was ostensibly competing with fellow returnee LHP Daniel Ray Herrera (who was acquired for RHP Francisco Rodriguez as a player-to-be-named later in September), Mets Minor Leaguer LHP Robert Carson, and non-roster invitees LHP Chuck James and LHP Garrett Olson, and one of those four will likely fill that role on Opening Day, unless Byrdak makes a miraculously quick recovery. In other Mets news, 3B David Wright is being examined in New York and may undergo an ultrasound-guided cortisone injection on his strained left rib cage.
Byrdak was the clear front-runner to remain in the bullpen as a lefty specialist, reprising his role from 2011, this season, although he was ostensibly competing with fellow returnee LHP Daniel Ray Herrera (who was acquired for RHP Francisco Rodriguez as a player-to-be-named later in September), Mets Minor Leaguer LHP Robert Carson, and non-roster invitees LHP Chuck James and LHP Garrett Olson, and one of those four will likely fill that role on Opening Day, unless Byrdak makes a miraculously quick recovery. In other Mets news, 3B David Wright is being examined in New York and may undergo an ultrasound-guided cortisone injection on his strained left rib cage.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Mets Third Basemen
The Mets are attempting to tread water this season as their rebuilding phase enters its second season. As such, they are proceeding with a mix of returning players, young players and prospects, and veteran free agents. One area with a returning player in place is third base.
1. David Wright: Wright had a largely mediocre season last year. He batted .254 with only 14 homers and 61 runs batted in, and he only stole 13 bases. On the plus side, his defense was probably the best it had been since 2009. The Mets are hoping for a stronger and healthier season from Wright this year, and they're hoping that the moved-in fences will allow for some of Wright's opposite-field power to return and for his defense to remain strong.
2. Justin Turner: The notion of Turner serving in any large capacity as a backup third baseman is probably remote, unless a major injury befalls Wright. In all likelihood Turner will win the starting second base job and IF/LF Daniel Murphy will serve as Wright's backup. But right now Turner is banking on his versatility, because if he doesn't win the second base job (against all odds) he'll be battling against IF Ronny Cedeno for the utility player job and against OF/2B Scott Hairston for the right-handed pinch hitter job, competitions he's not likely to win.
3. Josh Satin: Satin is a former College All-American and MVP of the Florida State League who has come up through the Mets system. He got a call-up in September last season and didn't look too good, batting .200 in 25 at-bats. To his credit, he was probably rushed to the Majors. It looks like he'll need some more time at Buffalo before he's ready to conquer the Major Leagues. He has still has options left so a demotion will not be terrible, but Satin is still competing for a job as a utility player and/or right-handed pinch hitter in Spring Training, although he's likely to lose both of those competitions to Cedeno and Hairston, respectively.
4. Zach Lutz: Lutz is a guy who has come up through the Mets system who they have opted to protect from the Rule V Draft by placing him on the 40-man roster. Lutz spent an injury-riddled season at Buffalo in 2011, batting .295 with 11 homers in 220 at-bats. In addition, Lutz is known more for his defense at third than for his bat. He's probably ready for a job in the Majors now, though there doesn't seem to be a place for him. It's possible he could be traded in Spring Training to a team who needs a third baseman, but until then he'll be competing against Turner, Satin, Cedeno, and Hairston for a spot on the team as a utility player or pinch hitter.
The Mets look like they have a lot of potential at third base, but the potential for results is questionable. The Mets are hoping for a fully healthy season from Wright and a return to his 2008 levels with the fences being moved in, or at the very least a return to 2010 when he hit 29 homers and had over 100 runs batted in. Turner is probably going to be the team's starting second baseman or playing second base at Buffalo. Satin and Lutz are players who look somewhat promising and could help the team in the future.
1. David Wright: Wright had a largely mediocre season last year. He batted .254 with only 14 homers and 61 runs batted in, and he only stole 13 bases. On the plus side, his defense was probably the best it had been since 2009. The Mets are hoping for a stronger and healthier season from Wright this year, and they're hoping that the moved-in fences will allow for some of Wright's opposite-field power to return and for his defense to remain strong.
2. Justin Turner: The notion of Turner serving in any large capacity as a backup third baseman is probably remote, unless a major injury befalls Wright. In all likelihood Turner will win the starting second base job and IF/LF Daniel Murphy will serve as Wright's backup. But right now Turner is banking on his versatility, because if he doesn't win the second base job (against all odds) he'll be battling against IF Ronny Cedeno for the utility player job and against OF/2B Scott Hairston for the right-handed pinch hitter job, competitions he's not likely to win.
3. Josh Satin: Satin is a former College All-American and MVP of the Florida State League who has come up through the Mets system. He got a call-up in September last season and didn't look too good, batting .200 in 25 at-bats. To his credit, he was probably rushed to the Majors. It looks like he'll need some more time at Buffalo before he's ready to conquer the Major Leagues. He has still has options left so a demotion will not be terrible, but Satin is still competing for a job as a utility player and/or right-handed pinch hitter in Spring Training, although he's likely to lose both of those competitions to Cedeno and Hairston, respectively.
4. Zach Lutz: Lutz is a guy who has come up through the Mets system who they have opted to protect from the Rule V Draft by placing him on the 40-man roster. Lutz spent an injury-riddled season at Buffalo in 2011, batting .295 with 11 homers in 220 at-bats. In addition, Lutz is known more for his defense at third than for his bat. He's probably ready for a job in the Majors now, though there doesn't seem to be a place for him. It's possible he could be traded in Spring Training to a team who needs a third baseman, but until then he'll be competing against Turner, Satin, Cedeno, and Hairston for a spot on the team as a utility player or pinch hitter.
The Mets look like they have a lot of potential at third base, but the potential for results is questionable. The Mets are hoping for a fully healthy season from Wright and a return to his 2008 levels with the fences being moved in, or at the very least a return to 2010 when he hit 29 homers and had over 100 runs batted in. Turner is probably going to be the team's starting second baseman or playing second base at Buffalo. Satin and Lutz are players who look somewhat promising and could help the team in the future.
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