den Dekker's role with the Mets

The Mets recently promoted outfielder Matt den Dekker to the Major Leagues. The 26 year old is expected to share time with Juan Lagares in center and right field for the remainder of the season. But does he have a long-term role with this organization?

den Dekker was drafted by the Mets in the 5th round of the 2010 draft. He quickly rose through the farm system, mostly because of his solid defense. In 2012, he hit a combined .274 with 17 home runs and 21 stolen bases in Double-A and Triple-A. As a 25 year old at the time, den Dekker's long-term future with the team as beginning to fade away. He came into the 2013 season with a legitimate shot at making the Opening Day roster. He had a strong Spring Training, but unfortunately broke his wrist during an exhibition game. The injury kept him out of baseball activities until the middle of May.

With the 51s, den Dekker hit .296 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI in 58 games. He also sported a .366 on-base percentage.

The Mets recently promoted him due to the loss of Marlon Byrd, who was dealt to the Pirates. den Dekker has every chance to prove himself for the rest of this season, despite competing against the fan-favorite Juan Lagares. 

Apparently, according to scouts and people throughout the organization, den Dekker's defense outshines Lagares'. That seems hard to believe, considering Lagares' incredible plays day after day this season. 

At the end of the day, it won't be den Dekker's defense that holds him back, it will be his offensive presence, or lack thereof. He had a major strikeout problem in the minor leagues, and will need to fix that if he wants to become a long-term piece for the Mets.

Even if he does change that, I don't know if he'll necessarily be a starter with this team going forward. Lagares has certainly earned the spot as the team's primary center-fielder, and it is likely that over the winter Sandy Alderson will need to acquire one, if not two corner outfielders that can supply a steady power supply. den Dekker's skills are intriguing, but at this point, I don't know if he'll ever be more than a solid 4th outfielder. 

Byrd and Buck traded to Pittsburgh

The Mets have traded outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor league second baseman Dilson Herrera, and pitcher Vic Black, who will be announced as the player to be named later. New York has also sent $250k in cash considerations to the Pirates. 

Herrera is playing his first full season in Single-A, where he has hit .265 with 11 home runs and 27 doubles in 109 games. The 19 year old was ranked as the team's 11th best prospect in the Pirates' farm system coming into the 2013 season, according to MLB.com. 

Jonathon Mayo of MLB.com recently said that Herrera could be in the Majors Leagues by 2016. According to Baseball America, he is the best defensive second baseman in the South Atlantic League. 

"While he's not the biggest guy in the world, he's shown that he can really hit and projects to be an above-average hitter in the future, with more power than you'd expect from a guy his size." Mayo said. 

"Herrera is a nice get for the Mets," Baseball America's Ben Balder said on Twitter. "Good hitter, premium position, solid pop for his size." 

Herrera will report directly to Single-A Savannah, according to Sandy Alderson. 

Black will need to clear waivers before being officially acquired by the Mets. But sometime soon he will be announced as the player to be named later. Black currently has a 2.51 ERA in 38 appearances with Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate. His 12.2 K/9 ratio is impressive, but his 4.0 BB/9 ratio is concerning.

MLB.com ranked him as the sixth-best prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system prior to this season. 

"His fastball can be plus, into the mid-90s with sink, and he combines it with a hard slider that could be a Major League average pitch," MiLB.com's Jonathon Mayo said. "Black's control, however, hasn't been as solid. Though his walk rate did drop in 2012, he had trouble throwing strikes during his Arizona Fall League stint. If Black can find the strike zone with more consistency, he has the stuff to pitch out of the back end of the bullpen."

Marlon Byrd originally came over to the Mets on a minor league deal over the winter. To say that he was a surprise would be an understatement. In 117 games with New York, the 36 year old hit .285 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI. The Mets decided to hold onto him at the trade deadline, due to the low-value offers that were given.

Buck was acquired by New York via the R.A. Dickey trade back in December of 2012. The 33 year old backstop got off to a great start in 2013, hitting ..290 with 7 home runs and 22 RBI in his first 17 games. However, since that point, he hit .199 with 8 home runs and 38 RBI in 84 games.

Buck was not expected to receive as much playing time as he did. Travis d'Arnaud was expected to be up in the Majors around mid-season, but a severe injury delayed his MLB debut. 

Overall, I truly think the Mets did well in this trade. Of-course, they are giving up their two best hitters not named David Wright in one single deal, but the prospects they are receiving are pretty special, especially for an August trade.

I've enjoyed everything Marlon Byrd has done this season, but in July I was strongly pushing for the team to sell him while his value was high. Byrd, from that point, has heated up even more, and raised his value enough for Sandy to get what he wanted.

Buck did a fine job for the Mets this season, despite the so-so hitting stats. At times it was noticeable that he was beginning to fatigue due to the every-day catching job, but he still went out and did as much as he could to help the team. I strongly believe that he was a solid veteran presence for the young pitchers he dealt with, as any veteran backstop would be.

As for the prospects the Mets received, I really like what they got. At 19 years old, Herrera still has plenty of time to develop into a Major league caliber player. If he does wind up with the big league team in 2016, like scouts have predicted, he would only be 22 years old, so he may have a bright future with this organization. His quick bat speed is something that scouts rave about, as well as his power and stolen base potential. However, his weak arm strength may force him to stay at second base for good.

As for Black, for a player to be named later, I was surprised to see his name. Black is such an interesting player to analyze because he has the potential to be a great late-inning guy because of his incredible strikeout rate, but his control has been a problem. I really hope that the Mets get to see the 25 year old hurler sometime in September, as he could have a solid role with the team in the 2014 season. He was really a solid pickup by Sandy and Co.

All in all, the Mets did what needed to be done. Last season they held onto Scott Hairston, and did not cash in on high value. This season they did not want to repeat the same mistake with Byrd, so they waited as long as they could, and finally pulled the trigger. From a long-term point of view, this trade is solid for the Mets.

MRI reveals a torn UCL for Harvey, TJ surgery possible

Today, Sandy Alderson announced that Matt Harvey has a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He will likely be shut down for the remaining of the 2013 season, and Tommy John surgery cannot be ruled out. If Harvey does undergo the procedure, he will miss the majority, if not all of the 2014 season.

According to Alderson, Harvey had swelling in his forearm, and did not experience pain in his elbow before his last start, just tightness. He will undergo another MRI once the swelling goes down in his elbow.

"This is not good news, obviously." Alderson told reporters. "There is plenty of time for us to see how he responds in the near term, but there will always be the open question of how long that ligament will hold up. This is not a career-ending injury under any stretch of the imagination. We're fortunate we have a lot of pitching depth in our organization."

"I'm going to do everything I can so I don't have to get surgery," Harvey said. "If the pain continues or gets worse, something will have to get done."

This is probably the worst news that Mets could have received this season. Harvey was having an unbelievable year. In his first full season, the 24 year old righty posted a 2.27 ERA in 26 starts, while striking out 191 in 178.1 innings. Now, not only will the Mets lose him for the rest of this season, but he'll likely miss the entire 2014 campaign as well.

At this point I'm assuming he will undergo the surgery, but that's pure skepticism on my part. If its a torn ligament, the only way it can be corrected is through surgery, and at 24 years old, Harvey needs to get this fixed as soon as possible.

I honestly believe that the Mets medical training staff should be fired on the spot. Not only because of Harvey's injury, but because of David Wright playing through a serious injury, Jenrry Mejia pitching with bone chips in his arm, Scott Rice going out almost everynight with a tired arm, Shaun Marcum rushing back from the disabled list, Jeremy Hefner continuing to pitch with forearm pain, etc.

The Mets are certainly snakebitten when it comes to injuries, but the medical staff needs to take the blame for most of the injuries in 2013. They could've been avoided if handled properly.

As for Harvey's future, it will depend of whether he undergoes the surgery or not. The plan right now is to have him get treatment, see if the swelling goes down, and see how badly the torn ligament really is. If Harvey goes under the knife and has the surgery, expect him to miss most, if not all, of the 2014 season.

Luckily the Mets do infact have nice pitching depth throughout the organization, so finding someone to eat up innings won't be a problem. However, the chances of these pitchers duplicating Harvey's production are slim to none.

Right now, it's going to be a wait and see approach. Either way you slice it, the Mets are a cursed franchise. 

Mets promote Duda, option Baxter to Triple-A

The Mets have recalled outfielder Lucas Duda from Triple-A Las Vegas. To make room for Duda on the roster, the team has optioned outfielder Mike Baxter to Las Vegas. 

Back in late June, Duda went on the disabled list with a strained intercoastal muscle. He returned from the disabled list on August 7, and the team optioned him to Triple-A. In Las Vegas, Duda hit .306 with 14 RBI in 16 games. 

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Duda will play some first base and serve as the team's DH in American League parks, but he is strictly a bench player at this point in time.

Baxter has appeared in 59 games with the Mets in 2013, hitting .208 with a .325 on-base percentage. 

The Mets were forced to call up Duda by the 26th of August. Had they not promoted him, they would have burned his final option.

I was once a big supporter of Duda, but at this point his presence at the plate is just not strong enough to support his below-average defense. I'd like to see him only as the team's backup first baseman, and nothing else. 

Ike Davis hasn't really done anything too impress, and that's putting it nicely. However, I'd still rather see him as the primary first baseman due to his defensive talent. Davis may be a huge liability at the plate, but at least he can give average/above-average defense on every given night.

As for Baxter, he's bounced around between the Majors and Triple-A this season. I expect that he'll continue to be like that throughout the rest of his Mets career, as he is a bench player at best. I like Baxter, I really do, but I think I'd rather have Duda at this point in time. Besides, in a few days, when the rosters expand, Baxter will be back in New York.