Goodbye Gary

I know I’ve been running behind schedule but I didn’t think I’d miss the entire Gary Sanchez Era. The Mets solved the problem of too many catchers today and designated the former Yankee for assignment. We’ve got to stop giving catchers No. 33, it did so little for James McCann.

Tomas Nido is back but he’s not about to be the starter any longer now that Francisco Alvarez has settled in. He’s pretty good. Brett Baty isn’t bad either though he may be having his first Big League slump. Mark Vientos? His swing looks long to me and I’m afraid he’s going to strike out too much. I’m a little scared to pull the plug on Tommy Pham yet.

I was in the stadium when Josh Walker made his first and still only appearance as a Met. He became the first 91 since Carlos Gomez broke it in in his brief return to the Mets in 2019.

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Catch Them While You Can

A flurry of fast-vanishing minor league palookas have inhabited the bullpen lately. We’ve seen Edwin Uceta (64), Zach Muckenhirn (71), and Dominic Leone (50), not to mention emergency starters Jose Butto and Denyi Reyes. Leone appeared so suddenly he beat the transactions column.

While inputting some of these guys I realized I’d neglected to mark the end of their predecessors like RJ Alvarez for Muckenhirn and the unforgettable Nate Fisher for Uceta. Early May seems too soon to be this deep into bullpen depth, but these guys are churning already. Only Leone is still up, now that Tommy Hunter and Stephen Nogosek are back from injury.

I’m not certain how the Mets shake themselves out of this malaise but more consistent work from the top three in the lineup would a place to start. They gave off “Worst Team Money Can Buy” vibes this week in Detroit.

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The Extra S

Joey Lucchesi slipped back into the 47 jersey he’d left behind nearly two years ago and authored the best starting pitching performance of the Mets season last night in San Francisco. It continued a seemingly unlikely hot streak for the Mets who are not only on a dreaded West Coast road trip, but losing guys to injury and suspension left and right.

You’d figure a veteran like Max Scherzer could figure out a way to cheat without getting caught, but he’s out for a turn in the rotation. Tommy Hunter returned last night from the disabled list and John Curtiss was the odd man out (the extra S is for Syracuse). It looks like we’ll be seeing more starts from guys like Jose Butto, Lucchesi and TBD for the time being.

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The Cookie Crumbles

As uninspiring his outings have tended to be, losing Carlos Carrasco to elbow problems is not what the Mets needed right now, seeing as they’ve already got two dudes in the rotation who might not have been in the blueprint, since Jose Quintana and Justin Verlander have yet to appear. Is Joey Lucchesi the next to appear? I’m not sure.

Last night (I didn’t stay up to watch) Jeff Brigham made his first Met appearance and struck out the only two guys he faced. Brigham came over in a small offseason trade with the Marlins and has some experience with them. He’s the immediate solution for Carrasco till his turn in the rotation comes up.

Also with the big club now are Edwin Uceta, who came up along with Brett Baty, when Tim Locastro went onto the disabled list. Uceta, whom the Mets acquired on a waiver claim from Pittsburgh, has been issued No. 64.

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Happy Ron Hodges Day & 50th Anniversary

The new beach towel attached to the sleeves of the Mets jersey looks even worse on the road, doesn’t it? Fortunately the Mets look a little better than that.

A 10-game West Coast road trip has gotten off to a promising start on Oakland although the Mets experienced the first roster churn of the year when Stephen Nogosek went down with an injury and Max Scherzer‘s start was delayed.

In Nogosek’s spot is Jimmy Yacobonis, whom I saw throwing in the bullpen yesterday wearing 42 in honor of Ron Hodges Day but who looks likely to turn up in the same 73 he wore in spring. That would appropriate for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Swingin’ A’s World Series championship being held in Oakland today. The Mets by the way aren’t going to bother with an Old-Timers day this year.

Adding Yacobonis to the 40-man roster meant designating the out-of-optins Dennis Santana for assignment; he looked okay to me so hopefully he clears and accepts a Syracuse appointment. Pitching instead of Scherzer this afternoon is Jose Butto who we saw briefly last year wearing No. 70.

 

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Sour Patch Kids

So much for the Mets not screwing up the jersey-sponsor patch opportunity. It’s enough to desecrate the uniform itself with advertising; but to do so in the wrong color is inexcusable. The “white space” in the patch represents the allowable sponsor real estate on the sleeve but clearly doesn’t help the design, it’s an eyesore through and through and a tragic moment in Met uniform history.

On the bright side it looks like Francisco Alvarez will be here for the home opener ad Omar Narvaez lasted a week till needing the injured list. And just in– Alvarez has been issued No. 4 and the 50 he wore late last year. I don’t want to overstate it but this season seems teetering on the edge of going way wrong already.

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Losing Ugly

You wonder if this isn’t some psychic damage from having lost Diaz and Quintana and Verlander at inopportune moments, but the Mets look awful in Milwaukee so far.

Last night if you could bear to watch you saw Max Scherzer give up a buttload of hard hit balls and get relieved by Denyi Reyes, who was making his Mets debut. Reyes was in because Tommy Hunter went to the injured list after himself getting beaten up the day before. Reyes, who was signed as a minor league free agent and has a few innings of MLB experience with the Orioles, was wearing 72, last seen on the back of Jake Reed last season.

You’re bound to get thumped a few times over the course of a long season but you’d prefer they not be in a row during the season’s first week. It makes you look unprepared and that’s a thing that has to rankle Buck. Let’s hope they get out of Milwaukee with some dignity and a winning record.

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Happy New Year

Belated opening day greetings and welcoming nine new guys to the roster this year: John Curtiss (46); Tim Locastro (26); Omar Narvaez (2); Tommy Pham (28); Brooks Raley (25); and David Robertson (30). We’re still waiting to see Dennis Santana (46 65), Kodai Sega (34) and the injured Justin Verlander (35). Drew Smith (40) is officially in a new uni.

I’m not sure what to make of this group yet, other than to say it’s pretty much last year’s team with a few changes and that was a pretty good team. LGM!

 

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Timber

As exciting as it would have been I had a hard time seeing how Brett Baty or Mark Vientos would have fit on the Mets’ veteran-soaked roster. The Mets cut both guys yesterday and sent ’em to the minors where they’ll await injures or inconsistency in the third-base or DH positions.

Both things could happen. While I’m somewhat confident Daniel Vogelbach is capable of keeping up his end of the DH platoon, Darin Ruf and/or Tommy Pham on the right side is a bigger question. Then there’s Eduardo Escobar. We can’t wait 4 months for him to heat up again this time around.

By the way the Mets new Speakeasy in the right field corner, an exclusive club normal people like you and me will never step inside, has made the right field corner some eight and a half feet closer to home plate this year, so that’s good news for Vogelbach, (and possibly bad news for Max Scherzer). The club was named after Joan Payson (actually, it’s named after Cadillac), who was also filthy rich and probably was chauffeured in a Cadillac, but who in real life sat in field level seats among the people.

Catching up on the news, Dennis Santana, who was acquired from Minnesota after Edwin Diaz went down, is wearing No. 65 in camp, taking the number formerly belonging to Rule 5 acquire Zach Greene, who was returned to sender.  Former top draft pick Dylan Bundy was signed to a minor league contract the other day, giving depth now that Jose Quintana is out. I think we’d have been better off just resigning Taijuan Walker.

Reports say Tommy Hunter has made the roster, but that’s an easier thing to do now that Diaz is out. Stephen Nogosek has an edge for a bullpen spot due to his veing out of options. John Curtiss has pitched well enough to make the squad, and Brooks Raley could made the opening day roster if his injuries heal in time. Then there’s new closer David Robertson, and from last year’s group Drew Smith and Adam Ottavino.

Thanks to commenter John below we know coach Dom Chiti is wearing 58.

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2023 Spring Roster

The Mets distributed their spring rosters this week. I’ve arranged this year’s clip-and-save version a little differently, calling out nonroster guys italics and coaches in blue. Non-40-man-roster guys are just occupying the jersey vs. belonging to one.

As it stands now that makes: 4, 5, 7, 8, 16, 18, 48, 58, 61, 64, 67, 68, 69, 75, 88, 89 and 99 free. With the way Steve’s been retiring numbers my ears perk up at 16 and 18.

 

Number Name Notes
0 Adam Ottavino, P
1 Jeff McNeil, INF-OF
2 Omar Narvaez, C was Dom Smith
3 Tomas Nido, C
4
5 Unassigned (David Wright)
6 Starling Marte, OF
7
8 Unassigned (Gary Carter)
9 Brandon Nimmo, OF
10 Eduardo Escobar, 3B
11 Buck Showalter, MGR
12 Francisco Lindor, SS
13 Luis Guillorme, INF
14 Retired Gil Hodges
15 Danny Mendick, INF
16
17 Retired Keith Hernandez
18
19 Mark Canha, OF
20 Pete Alonso, 1B
21 Max Scherzer, P
22 Brett Baty, 3B
23 David Peterson, P
24 Retired Willie Mays
25 Brooks Raley, P
26 Khalil Lee, OF 
27 Mark Vientos, 3B
28 Tommy Pham, OF was Darin Ruf
29 Tommy Hunter, P
30 David Robertson, P
31 Retired Mike Piazza
32 Daniel Vogelbach, DH
33 Darin Ruf, DH/OF was James McCann
34 Kodai Senga, P
35 Justin Verlander, P
36 Retired Jerry Koosman
37 Retired Casey Stengel
38 Tylor Megill, P
39 Edwin Diaz, P
40 Drew Smith, P was 62
41 Retired Tom Seaver
42 Retired Jackie Robinson
43 Jeff Brigham, P
44 T.J. McFarland, P
45 Sam Coonrod, P
46 John Curtiss, P
47 Joey Luchessi, P
48 was Jacob deGrom
49 Jeremy Barnes, hitting coach
50 Francisco Alvarez, C
51 Eric Chavez, bench coach
52 Eric Hinkse, asst. hitting coach
53 Glenn Sherlock, catching/strategy coach
54 Wayne Kirby, OF/1B coach
55 Jeremy Hefner, pitching coach
56 Joey Cora, INF/3B coach
57 Elieser Hernandez, P
58 Dom Chiti, bullpen coach
59 Carlos Carrasco, P
60 Ronny Mauricio, SS
61
62 Jose Quintana, P was Drew Smith
63 Bryce Montes de Oca, P
64
65 Zach Greene, P  Dennis Santana, P was Trevor May
66 Stephen Ridings, P
67 was Seth Lugo
68
69
70 Jose Butto, P
71 Zach Muckenhern, P
72 Denyi Reyes, P
73 Jimmy Yacabonis, P
74 William Woods, P
75
76 Aaron Meyers, BP pitcher
77 Dave Racaniello, bullpen catcher
78 Eric Langill, bullpen catcher
79 Danny Barnes, asst coach
80 Raphael Hernandez, BP pitcher
81 Jose Peraza, INF
82 Abraham Almonte, OF
83 Tim Locastro, OF
84 Michael Perez,  C
85 Stephen Nogosek, P
86 DJ Stewart, OF
87 Jonathan Arauz, INF
88
89
90 Nick Meyer, C
91 Josh Walker, P
92 Eric Orze, P
93 Grant Hartwig, P
94 Connor Grey, P
95 Kevin Parada, C
96 Alex Ramirez, OF
97 Lorenzo Cedrola, OF
98 Hayden Senger, C
99 was Taijuan Walker
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