Kuzul

With the Arizona Diamondbacks sitting at 26-41 and 12.5 games out of first place in the NL West, it is obvious that they will be sellers when the trade deadline arrives.

The Diamondbacks have already started trading players. They swapped Connor Jackson for minor league reliever Sam Demel on July 15.

Another player that the Diamondbacks are rumored to be looking to move is Kelly Johnson.

Johnson started off the year with a bang. He hit .313 with nine home runs and 18 RBI in the month of March. Over the past two months, he has come back down to earth, hitting .250 with four home runs and 16 RBI over that span.

Johnson is probably due for a bit more regression throughout the course of the season. His ISO is .250 this year. Kelly has never posted an ISO greater than .180. Then again, at age 28, there is the chance that Johnson is having a breakout season. Either way, Johnson will provide above average offense from second base.

It is well-known that the New York Mets have had issues at second base all season.

With Luis Castillo on the disabled list, the Mets have turned to Ruben Tejada. While Tejada is solid defensively, he leaves something to be desired on offense. He is the third youngest player in the majors at 20 years old and still needs time to develop.

With the Mets looking more and more like a playoff team…(to read the rest and find out who they Mets may trade click on the link below)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The last time an update was available on Carlos Beltran’s status, it was good news. Carlos had been able to play five innings of an extended spring training game and got six at-bats.

However, this last piece of news out of Port St. Lucie is not as good. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York has reported that Carlos Beltran is still running with a limp. There are also reports that Beltran is not yet explosive when running.

While Beltran has obviously improved since the start of the season, he is not ready for a minor league rehab assignment. Mets officials believe that Beltran is getting closer to returning because he is able to do just a little bit more every day.

The officials also do not believe that Beltran will be cleared to play by the training staff this week. Beltran cannot begin playing in the minors until he is cleared by the Mets’ medical staff.

Once this happens, Beltran will be able to spend up to 20 days on a rehab assignment. Carlos will most likely spend at least 10 to 15 days on the rehab assignment because he has not faced major league caliber pitching since last season.

Right now, post All-Star break looks like an optimistic return date for Carlos Beltran. I would expect that he won’t be back until… (to read the rest of the article and get more Carlos Beltran updates click the link below)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There are rumors that the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners have been in discussions regarding pitcher Cliff Lee.

Lee obviously will not bring back the package he did the past two times he was traded. He will be a half season rental and has stated that he wants to test the waters of free agency after the year. This is a smart move by Lee as he is likely to get more money on the open market with this winter’s weak free agent class.

The Mariners would most likely be able to bring in one or two young players or big league ready prospects plus a mid-level prospect for Lee. There is one player in particular on the Mets that has caught the Mariners eye: pitcher Jon Niese.

It has been reported that the Mariners have lots of interest in Niese. He has been a solid starter this year and appears to have a bright future ahead of him. So far New York has been reluctant to include Niese in a deal for Lee.

It appears that the Lee’s price will drop the longer the Mariners hold on to him. The Mets can attempt to play hardball, wait it out until the deadline and then put together a package for Lee that does not include Niese. This may work, but New York will be bidding against more teams who want Lee’s services.

With all that being said, Lee would be… (to read the rest of the article click on the link below)

This article was also posted at www.mrmetsdaily.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There have been rumors that the New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners have been in discussions regarding Cliff Lee. Lee obviously will not bring back the package that he did the past two times he was traded.

Lee will be a half season rental, and has stated that he wants to go to free agency. This is a smart move by Lee as he is likely to get more money on the open market with this winter’s weak free agent class.

The Mariners would most likely be able to bring in one or two young players or major league ready prospects plus a mid-level prospect for Lee. There is one player in particular on the Mets that has caught the Mariners eye.

It has been reported that the Mariners have lots of interest in Jon Niese. Niese has been a solid starter in his appearances for the Mets this year. He has a bright future ahead of him and is one of the Mets’ top young players. It appears that the Mets have been reluctant to include Niese in a deal for Lee.

It appears that the Lee’s price will drop the longer the Mariners hold on to him. The Mets can attempt to play hardball and wait it out until the deadline and then put together a package for Lee that does not include Niese. This may work, but they will be bidding against more teams who want Lee’s services.

With all that being said, Lee would be… (to read the rest of the article click on the link below)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Carlos Beltran was able to play five innings in an extended spring training game today. This is another big step in his rehab. He got six plate appearances and played center field.

It appears Beltran is getting closer to starting a minor league rehab assignment. Once he is cleared by doctors, he can be in the minors for up to 20 days before he needs to be called up.

Jerry Manuel wanted to have Beltran back to DH against the Yankees this weekend, but that does not appear to be a possibility.

If he spends all 20 days in the minors, he should return right around the All-Star break. His return will be a major addition to the Mets offense.

For more Carlos Beltran updates and other Mets news check out www.mrmetsdaily.com

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

According to an interview conducted by Mike Silva (check out his site here), RP Heath Bell would be interested in coming back to the Mets if the Padres decide to move in a different direction.

Bell even goes as far as saying that the Mets would be his first choice, and that he would love to “lead the Mets to a championship.”

Bell is one of the best relievers in the National League, if not all of baseball. He would be a tremendous addition to the Mets’ bullpen. He would be the perfect set-up man for K-Rod. Also, if needed, he could give K-Rod a break and close every now and then.

Bell has been lights out this year. In 27 appearances, he has pitched 27 innings and has posted a 1.33 ERA. He also has struck out 35 batters for a 11.7 K/9 rate and has posted a 1.296 WHIP. Bell would be expensive, but he would shore up the Mets’ bullpen. He is definitely someone to keep an eye on during the trade deadline.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

As many of you are now aware, Jonathon Niese pitched the 24th one-hitter in Mets history last night. Niese had six strikeouts during his outing and looked dominant.

Obviously, we cannot expect Niese to pitch this well every time he is on the mound. The real question is what can we expect from Niese the rest of the season? 

Neise had moderate success in the majors last season in five starts. He went 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This small sample size does not give us a lot to predict Niese’s future.

If we look at Niese’s 2008 and 2009 minor league numbers, we should have a better indicator of what to expect.

In ’08, Niese spent time in both AA and AAA. His combined stats were an 11-8 record with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Niese also was able to post a 2.48 K/BB ratio. Part of Niese’s success was tied to his ability to keep the ball in the park. He gave up 0.5 HR/9.

Jonathon spent time in AAA in ’09. He went 5-6 but posted a 3.82 ERA and a 1.283 WHIP. He once again was able to post a strong K/BB rate (3.15 K/BB), and a low home run rate (0.7 HR/9).

Niese has clearly shown that he can handle the minor leagues. At only 23 years old, he still has a lot of development ahead of him. There will definitely be some bumps along the road.

Before the season started, ZiPS projected that Niese… (click the link below to read the rest)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Mets currently sit at 31-27, three games out of first place in the NL East and three games back in the Wild Card race. With just less than two-thirds of the season left, the Mets are going to need to make some things happen if they want to make the playoffs.

1)    Carlos Beltran Needs to Return Before/At the All-Star Break

Carlos Beltran had been an important part of the Mets lineup for the past five seasons. The Mets are clearly missing his production in the middle of the order. While Jason Bay, Angel Pagan, and Jeff Francoeur have been good this year, none of them has shown the elite power than Beltran has.

Beltran would instantly give the Mets another run producer. Having Beltran return would also allow the Mets to platoon Pagan and Francoeur in right field. Francoeur is a notoriously streaky hitter and this option would allow the Mets to avoid some of his terrible cold streaks.

2)    John Maine Returns to Form after Recovering From his Injury

John Maine is a very important piece to the back end of the Mets rotation. Maine struggled significantly during the early parts of this season. He saw his walk rate rise from 4.2 BB/9 in ’09 to 5.7 BB/9 this season. One positive this far from Maine’s starts has been that he has posted a career best 8.8 K/9. If John can straighten things out and maintain this high strikeout rate, then he can once again post a low 4.00 ERA, if not better. This would stabilize the back end of the Mets rotation.

3)    Acquire a Middle of the Rotation Starter

The Mets already have two top of the rotation starters in Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey. However, they do not have a true number three starter. The Mets should look into a few different pitchers. Javier Vazquez appears to have recovered from his early struggles and would not be very expensive. He has had a lot of success in the National League and would be an interesting option.

However, it is hard to believe that the Yankees will trade him if they are still in contention. A name that has not been mentioned but would be a good pickup for the Mets is…(view the rest at www.mrmetsdaily.com)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Mike Pelfrey is one of the top five starters in the National League.

Before the season started, this would have been a ridiculous statement to make. Now, Pelfrey has taken the proper steps forward to prove this statement true.

Pelfrey was the ninth overall pick in 2005 draft. He was put on the fast track to the Majors as he started his first season in high-A ball and ended up in the Majors before the end of the year. Pelfrey once again spent time in both the Majors and Minors during his second year.

He began to live up to his potential during his third season in the Majors posting a 13-11 record with a 3.72 ERA. These are very impressive numbers for a 24-year-old pitcher.

Pelfrey regressed a bit during his fourth season as he went 10-12 with a 5.03 ERA.

This season, Pelfrey has been phenomenal. He has established himself as one of the top starters in the National League. Pelfrey is second in the National League in wins with eight. Pelfrey is also ranked ninth in the NL with a 2.23 ERA.

Pelfrey also ranks in the top 10 in HR/9 (sixth), win percentage (third), innings pitched (10th), wins above replacement or WAR (third), winning probability added or WPA (second), and ERA+ (ninth).

The most significant of those stats is Pelfrey’s WAR and WPA rankings. Those stats are important as WAR determines how many wins a player has been worth to his team versus a replacement level player and WPA determines how many wins he has been responsible for based on…

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Round Three

Norman (Blake) Forsythe, C, University of Tennessee

At Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tennessee, he earned both All-Region and All-American honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association after his senior season. He was an All-State pick both his junior and senior seasons.

Forsythe did not get much playing time his freshman season at Tennessee. He hit only .173 with four RBI in 52 at-bats his freshman year. Forsythe improved significantly his sophomore year. He managed to hit .347 with 15 home runs and 46 RBI in 196 at-bats. During his junior season, Forsythe once again hit 15 home runs. This year, he drove in 57 runs and batted .286.

Forsythe is a power-hitting catcher. He could fill the void that the Mets have had since Mike Piazza left in 2006. Forsythe could move ahead of Josh Thole as the top Mets catching prospect by the end of next year.

Round Four

Cory Vaughn, CF, San Diego State

Cory is the son of former pro baseball player Greg Vaughn, who spent time with the Padres, Brewers, Reds, Devil Rays, and Rockies during his 15-year career.

In high school, Vaughn was a two-time varsity letter-winner at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California. He had been selected in the 43rd round (1,288th overall) of the 2007 draft by the Phillies.

During his freshman year, Vaughn saw regular playing time and hit .243 with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 169 at bats. Vaughn improved during his…

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com