One of the most exciting defensive plays in baseball occurs when there is going to be a play at the plate. This situation is brought upon when an outfielder can make a great throw to try to nail the runner that is heading home.
Throughout the history of baseball, there have been some outfielders that have had cannons for arms. Runners were afraid to take the extra base when these outfielders had the ball in their hands.
Every MLB team is looking to make one or two moves to improve their team before pitcher and catchers are expected to report. Even if deals don’t get made before Spring Training, the groundwork can be laid for moves that will be made later in the year.
This list has been complied with consideration given to multiple criteria: coveted prospects, movable young talent, payroll flexibility, ability to contend and an unfixable hole in a team’s roster.
Earlier in the week, it was announced that the Mets had signed Willie Harris to a minor league deal. It had appeared that he had a pretty clear path to making the Mets roster.
That, however, is no longer the case. According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, an organizational source has confirmed that the Mets have signed outfielder Scott Hairston to a minor league deal.
Hairston now appears to be the front-runner for one of the last spots on the Mets roster.
Last season, Hairston batted .210 with 10 home runs and 38 RBI for the San Diego Padres. In parts of seven seasons in the majors, Hairston has played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics in addition to his time with the Padres. Hairston is a career .245 hitter with 68 career home runs and 25 career stolen bases.
While these numbers may not seem great, if we look at Hairston’s 162-game average, we see a pleasant surprise. This average still show that Hairston still puts up .245 batting average, but it would come with 20 home runs and a .435 slugging percentage.
Hairston also has shown the ability to play numerous positions in the field. Hairston has played over 100 games in both center fielder and left field. In addition, he has played 86 games at second base.
He is one of five members of his family to have played in the major leagues. His grandfather Sam played with the White Sox, his uncle John played for the Cubs, his father Jerry played for the White Sox and Pirates, and his brother, Jerry Jr., currently plays for the Padres. There is extensive baseball knowledge within his family, which bodes well for any player.
Hairston serves as a great low-risk/high-reward addition to the Mets. He should make the Opening Day roster, and he has the ability to contribute off of the bench.
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The Mets have made yet another small move: They have agreed to a minor league contract with Willie Harris.
In addition to this, he will be invited to spring training for a chance to make the major league team.
Harris has spent the last three years with the Washington Nationals. During that time period, he has made many great defensive plays in games against the Mets.
Offensively, Harris is not much of a threat. He is a .239 hitter with 37 home runs, 187 RBI and 101 stolen bases in 2,157 career at-bats. Harris is known for his abilities as a fielder.
Last season, Harris posted a .183/.291/.362 line. He had some power, hitting 10 home runs in 224 at-bats. Harris will obviously need to improve on these numbers if he wants to stick with the Mets.
Harris also provides the Mets with some versatility in the field. He played all three outfield positions, second base, third base and shortstop during his stint with the Nationals.
The Mets are looking for a fourth outfielder, and it appears that Harris may fill this spot. Harris will have competition for the spot, however. Lucas Duda and Fernando Martinez will also be fighting it out for that roster spot. There is a chance that Kirk Nieuwenhuis could also be part of the competition, but at the moment he is not on the Mets’ 40-man roster.
This is yet another move that involves no risk for the Mets. Since it is just a minor league contract, Harris will have to earn the rest of his salary. The better he performs, the more he gets paid.
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The Mets have decided to do it again. They have signed another pitcher that has missed a full season in the past two years.
This time, the Mets have signed Taylor Tankersley.
He missed all of the 2009 season with an elbow injury. He split the 2010 season between the Triple-A and the majors. He pitched fairly well in the minors with a 3.42 ERA, but he struggled in the majors, posting a 7.50 ERA in 27 games.
Tankersley pitched very well in both 2006 and 2007. He has a career 4.58 ERA despite the fact that he struggled in both 2008 and 2010.
The Mets have given Tankersley a minor league deal. It has been confirmed that the deal also includes a Spring Training invitation. It appears as if Tankersley would be willing to accept a minor league assignment if he does not make the major league roster.
Tankersley is a former No. 1 overall pick by the Florida Marlins in the 2004 draft. Tankersley had previously spent his whole career with the Marlins. It is possible that a change of scenery may be what he needs to become successful.
This is yet another low-risk/high-reward signing for the Mets.
If Tankersley can return to his 2007 form, then the Mets have found a great lefty reliever to have in their bullpen. The worst-case scenario is that Tankersley does not make the major league roster and he stays in the minors as organizational depth.
Either way, since he is signed to a small contract, the Mets can’t lose.
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There is nothing more intimidating for a hitter than being stared down by a power pitcher who can blow a fastball right by them. Fans also get excited as these pitchers light up the radar gun and rack up the strikeouts.
The rankings on this list will be determined by a combination of the pitchers’ talents, stats and their ability to bring the heat.
Robert Alomar and Bert Byleven have been elected to Cooperstown this year. Both men narrowly missed out on being elected last season.
Alomar spent time with seven different teams during his Hall of Fame career. It is amazing to that a player of his caliber bounced around so often and never spent more than five seasons with one team. Alomar was a 12-time All-Star and won 10 Gold Gloves as a second baseman. In addition, he also won four Silver Sluggers and was the 1992 ALCS MVP, as well as the 1998 All-Star Game MVP.
Alomar received 90 percent of the writer’s votes this year. It should also be interesting to see what cap he will be wearing on his Hall of Fame plaque.
Byleven will also be enshrined in the Hall of Fame this year. Byleven had a lengthy 22 year career in which he played for five teams. He did spent half of his career with the Minnesota Twins. Byleven won 287 games in his career and also ranks fifth on the all-time strikeouts list with 3,701. He was selected for two All-Star Games during his career.
Byleven received 79.7 percent of the votes this year after narrowly missing out and receiving 74.2 percent last year. It has been argued that the advent of sabermetrics greatly helped Byleven’s Hall of Fame chances. This certainly makes sense as he lacks some of the awards and milestones (such as 300 wins), that many Hall of Fame pitchers have. Byleven actually has the 13th highest WAR for pitchers in MLB history, which certainly helped his case.
There were only two other players who received more than 50 percent of the writers’ votes. Barry Larkin received 62.1 percent of the votes and is someone to keep an eye on in next year’s voting. Jack Morris received 53.5 percent of the votes, which is only slightly more than the 52.3 percent he received last year.
The other story of the voting is tied to players who have been involved with steroids.
Mark McGwire, despite his outstanding career and the fact that he at one point held the single season home run record, was only able to garner 19.1 percent of the votes. Additionally, McGwire’s 583 home runs rank as 10th all-time and he was a 12-time All-Star. McGwire publicly admitted this year that he took steroids.
Rafael Palmeiro was only able to get 11.0 percent of the writers’ votes. Palmeiro is 12th on the all-time home run list with 569 homers. He is also a four-time All-Star. Palmeiro went in front of a congressional committee and testified that he had never used steroids. Just months later, Palmeiro was suspended for violating the MLB’s steroid policy.
Jeff Bagwell was able to get 41.7 percent of the writers’ votes. There is a lot of speculation going around that Bagwell took steroids, but it has never been proven. Bagwell is a four-time All-Star and is also one of the few players with at least 400 home runs and 200 stolen bases.
It is clear that the baseball writers have taken a strong stance on steroid users. McGwire and Palmeiro, both who have been proven to have used steroids, struggled to get votes. Bagwell, who was never physically linked to steroids, was able to get a good percentage of votes for his first year on the ballot. It should be interested to see if this trend continues in the future and how it affects the voting on players such as Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.
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Last week I took a look at some of they best young sluggers who could make an impact in the majors next season. This week it’s time to take a look at some young pitchers that could put up impressive numbers in the big leagues this year.
Some of the players that will be listed made short appearances in the majors last year. Others are prospects who may finally be ready to get their shot in the major leagues.
Earlier this week, Mets Gazette writer Frank Gray suggested that the Mets look to former Brewers as a means to sure up their pitching staff. The Mets have done exactly what Frank suggested. They signed Chris Capuano to a one-year deal.
In addition to the Capuano signing, the Mets have also signed Taylor Buchholz. In response to these moves, the Mets designated Ryota Igarashi for assignment. It appears as if the Mets are looking to make low risk/high reward signings.
Both Capuano and Buchholz have undergone Tommy John surgery. Capuano has actually undergone the surgery twice. However, both were able to pitch fairly well in the majors last season.
Capuano went 4-4 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in 24 appearances (nine starts) last season. He has had some solid seasons in the past. In 2005 and 2006, Capuano posted a 3.99 ERA and 4.03 ERA, respectively. In ’06, he pitched well enough to earn a spot on the National League All-Star team.
Capuano provides the Mets with a versatile pitcher, since he has experience pitching in the rotation and out of the bullpen. He could start the year in the rotation and then move to the bullpen once Johan Santana recovers.
Buchholz was rated the 50th best prospect in baseball in 2004. He was originally a starter, but he struggled in that role. He was moved to the bullpen full time in 2008 and he was very successful there, posting a 2.17 ERA in 63 appearances. A pitcher like Buchholz would help fill one of the holes in the Mets’ bullpen.
After undergoing surgery, Buchholz was able to work his way back to the majors for nine appearances in 2010; he was able to post a 3.75 ERA. It is good to see that he was able to pitch well once he returned. He should be able to win a bullpen spot out of spring training.
This could also spell the end of Ryota Igarashi’s time with the Mets. There has been talk floating around that if he is not claimed, the Mets will bring him to spring training as a non-roster invitee. Unless he has learned to adjust to the American game, Igarashi will not make the roster next season.
Could these signings also spell the end of Oliver Perez’s time with the Mets? If both Capuano and Buchholz make the Opening Day roster, Perez might not have a spot. However, there is a chance that Perez would be given the opportunity to play until Johan Santana comes off the disabled list.
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Consistent with the moves that the Mets have made this season, they have acquired shortstop Chin-Lung Hu from the Dodgers for lefty Michael Antonini.
This is a move that will likely have little impact on the Mets next year. Hu will most likely serve as a back up to Jose Reyes. Hu also has limited experience at second base (38 games), but he may be in the competition for the starting job.
Hu was once a highly-regarded prospect. Baseball America ranked him as the 55th best prospect in baseball before the 2008 season. He saw regular playing time in the majors in 2008 after getting called up, but has not been able to play consistently since then.
In 173 plate appearances in the majors since 2007, Hu has posted a .191/.241/.283 line along with two home runs, 17 RBI and three stolen bases. Hu is a career .299 hitter in the minors over 754 games, so there is a chance that he can be a serviceable backup in the majors.
Michael Antonini spent time at both AA and AAA last season. He went a combined 8-12 with a 4.49 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 168.3 innings. He was left unprotected during the Rule 5 draft this year and he went unclaimed.
Antonini was thought to have a chance to become a member of the Mets bullpen prior to the 2010 season. It is likely that Antonini will pitch in the minors for the Dodgers with a chance to win a spot in the bullpen during Spring Training.
This deal likely does nothing more than give the Mets another potential option for their second base vacancy. It makes me wonder if management has forgotten about Daniel Murphy.
Murphy had a good year with the Mets in 2009. He hit .266 with 12 home runs and drove in 38 runs in 2009. Murphy missed most of the 2010 season due to injury and was only able to play 11 games in the minors.
He is likely the best option that the Mets have at second base, but it appears that he may not be the favorite for the job.
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