Marlon Byrd has been great, raising his trade value

Marlon Byrd has played very well for the Mets this season. The 35 year old veteran has hit .259 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI in 65 games with New York. Byrd, who served a 50 game PED suspension in 2012, has rebounded his career and his trade value is currently very high. 

Picking up Byrd has definitely been one of Sandy Alderson's better moves, and teams will certainly be calling for him next month when the trading season starts to heat up.

Personally, I think the Mets could get a B-minus prospect out of Byrd if they play their cards right. Sandy Alderson knows that Byrd has been extremely valuable to this team, and could serve as a nice corner outfielder or bench piece for a contender. With that being said, he will make sure he gets what he wants. 

The best part about Byrd is that he is under a team-friendly deal. He signed a minor league deal with the Mets back in the off-season, and money will not be an issue in a potential deal. Nowadays, teams are always looking to acquire cost-controlled bats, and Byrd would fit that mould perfectly.

Now, it would be unfair to expect Byrd to continue playing like this for years to come, but if he keeps up this pace he'll likely receive a multi-year deal in the off-season. 

Overall, Byrd has been a great signing by the Mets, and the team will reap the benefits once they trade him for a decent prospect. I'm excited to see how Sandy Alderson and Co. handle this, because his value is high right now, and that could very well not be the case in a few weeks if he has a cold streak. 

Tejada may return, not guaranteed of being starting SS

Ruben Tejada has been on the disabled list since May 30 with a strained right quadriceps. Before the injury, Tejada was hitting a mere .209 in 187 at-bats with the team, and was close to a demotion. Omar Quintanilla was called up to replace Tejada, and has hit .235 in 85 at-bats. However, he has been very solid defensively. 

"Based on what we're seeing right now, Ruben has got to go earn it back." Terry Collins said on Thursday. "He's got to go play. He's got to go get his game together. He's got to go get himself in good, really top shape. We know he can. But there's no reason why we're going to take {Quintanilla} out of the lineup unless it's fatigue. He's played very, very well offensively and defensively."

Tejada will likely begin a rehab assignment this weekend with Single-A St. Lucie. After that, he'll likely spend some time with Triple-A Las Vegas. 

"We sent him out for a reason. He wasn't playing well." Collins said.

I think it's very interesting that Collins is talking about Tejada as if he was demoted instead of injuring himself. Of-course, a demotion for Tejada was likely if he hadn't gotten injured due to his poor play, but Collins is talking like Tejada needs to prove himself and work his way back.

I like Tejada, and at this point, I'd rather see him out there than Omar Quintanilla, who has no future role with this club. The Mets are a rebuilding club, and Tejada was once seen as a building block for this team. At age 23, he still has plenty of time to make adjustments to his game, and be the player that fans expected him to become.

Quintanilla has played well defensively while filling in for Tejada, but offensively he has been awful. He's hit .245/.367/.664 in 26 games for the Mets this season. I like him as a bench piece, but he just doesn't cut it as an every-day player.

Hopefully Tejada comes back relatively soon and proves that he belongs. Sandy Alderson recently said he wasn't a "core" player for this organization, so hopefully Tejada uses that as motivation to prove the doubters wrong. I know he's capable of being a good player, it's just a matter of staying off of the disabled list.

Mets trade Cowgill to the Angels

The Mets have traded outfielder Collin Cowgill to the Angels in exchange for outfielder Kyle Johnson. The Mets designated Cowgill for assignment last week, and were reportedly trying to trade Cowgill to the Angels over the weekend. 

Cowgill hit .180 with 2 home runs in 61 at-bats for the Mets this season. He was originally acquired by the team over the winter in a trade with the Athletics that sent prospect Jefry Marte to Oakland. 

Johnson, 23, was hitting .308 with 16 doubles and 30 stolen bases in 68 games for Single-A Burlington this season. According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Johnson has been assigned to Single-A Savannah. He was drafted by the Angels in the 25th round of the 2012 Amateur Draft.

In all fairness, Cowgill didn't really get a fair shot with the Mets. 61 at-bats shouldn't determine someone's worth to a team. Given the weakness of the outfield, I expected the Mets to give him everyday at-bats, but I was wrong.

The Mets gave up a decent prospect in Jefry Marte to acquire Cowgill. However, Marte is struggling, so hopefully that trade is just a lose-lose for both clubs.

When Cowgill was designated for assignment, I wasn't sure if the Mets would get ANYTHING for him, but the managed to get a decent player in Kyle Johnson. Johnson is 23 years old and is still in Single-A ball, but could rise his way up in the system if the organization pushes him along. He is incredibly fast, stealing 30 bases in 68 games, and I'll certainly keep an eye on how he is doing down in Savannah.

Eric Young Jr. has been a spark plug for the Mets

Eric Young Jr. has been great for the Mets, and has given the team some much needed energy.

"He's been a shot in the arm for us," said David Wright. "I think it's unfair to expect him to keep up at this pace. He's been great in the outfield. He's set the table. And he's provided some thump as far as some extra-base hits. He can steal a bag. And I think sometimes pitchers worry about him on the basepaths and might leave one over the plate for you."

Before being acquired by the Mets, Young had hit .242 in 165 at-bats with Colorado. The Mets received him in the trade that sent Collin McHugh to the Rockies. 

"Young has long been a favorite of assistant GM Paul DePodesta," says Mark Simon of ESPN New York. "This was the Mets' second attempt to obtain him, having been unsuccessful in attempts to trade for him in the 2011-12 off-season."

Since joining the Mets, Young has hit .364 with a .417 OBP over 5 games. 

Young has been a fantastic lead-off hitter for the Mets so far, and I now understand why the organization has been eyeing him down ever since Jose Reyes left two years ago. Young is obviously not the player Reyes was, but he is still capable of providing a spark to a lineup that has struggled all season long. 

Young is exactly the type of player I would want on my team. He is versatile, aggressive, and doesn't strike out too much. I'm excited to see what his role will be with this team moving forward, and how he fits into their long-term plans. 

Mets tried to trade Cowgill to Angels, turned down

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets recently tried to trade Collin Cowgill to the Angels for pitcher Matt Shoemaker, but the Angels declined. Cowgill was recently designated for assignment, and is still in DFA limbo. In 23 games with the Mets, Cowgill hit just .180 with 2 home runs. Shoemaker has a 4.49 ERA in 16 Triple-A starts on the season. 

It's obvious that the Mets are trying to trade Collin Cowgill, but I don't see why. He gives the team much needed outfield depth, and despite his struggles, is a guy that I would want on my bench. He provides speed and, on most occasions, above-average outfield defense. However, he will most likely be with another organization any day now. 

Shoemaker isn't really anything great, and that just shows you how low Cowgill's trade value is right now. The Mets are trying to get rotation depth with Niese's injury, and the question marks in Dillon Gee and Jeremy Hefner. The only thing I like about Shoemaker is his walk ratio (1.6 BB/9). However, what's done is done, and this trade won't be happening. 

Ike Davis named PCL Player of the Week

Ike Davis has been named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week. Davis, demoted to the minor leagues earlier in the month, hit .474 with 4 home runs and 7 RBI last week. Overall, he has hit .333 with 5 homers and 10 RBI in 13 games. According to a Las Vegas 51s insider, he believes Ike Davis will be recalled on Friday when the Mets host the Nationals at Citi Field. 

I still believe that Davis should stay in the minor leagues for a little while longer. The team didn't demote him so he can stay there for two weeks and come right back up. He needed to seriously adjust his approach at the plate, but the numbers are Triple-A look very promising. It's clear that Wally Backman has found a way to rejuvenate Ike's game, but let's see if he can do this at the Major League level. 

Lucas Duda to DL, Lutz called up

The Mets have placed outfielder Lucas Duda on the 15 day disabled list with a left intercoastal strain. The team has recalled Zack Lutz from Triple-A in a corresponding move. Duda was hitting .235 with 11 home runs on the season. Lutz hit .286 with 7 home runs and 37 RBI in 53 games for Triple-A Las Vegas this season.

Yikes....another injury. Duda has struggled at the plate this season but getting him out there everyday was/is crucial in determining his future with this organization. His struggles at the plate and in the field have made it seem likely that he will not be the core player that many expected him to be. Inter-coastal strains take some time to come back from, but hopefully he has a monster second half to prove his worth.

As for Lutz, he has always had success in the minor leagues, but hasn't been given a fair shot to prove himself at the big league level. He'll probably sit on the bench, but he should be getting some playing time because we know he has a solid bat. At 27 years old, his time has basically ran out to become an every-day player, but the best we could hope for is to have him raise his trade value up, and for him to be packaged sometime over the off-season.

Niese hits the DL with torn rotator cuff

Assistant GM John Ricco said that Jon Niese has a partially torn rotator cuff. Niese has been placed on the 15 day disabled list, and will be reevaluated after two weeks of rest. Greg Burke will take Niese's spot on the roster, and the Mets will now shift back to a 5 man rotation. 

This is a huge hit for everyone involved. Granted, Niese was struggling this season, but he is an important piece to this organization long-term, and possibly losing him for the season could really hurt his development. I doubt that this tear will heal up after rest, because tears are only fixed through surgical procedures. If Niese undergoes the surgery, he's automatically lost for the season, and it also puts his long-term status up in the air as well.