Tejada breaks leg, will miss rest of season

Ruben Tejada has a broken fibula, and is out for the rest of the season. Tejada injured his leg in a collision with Andrew Brown during Wednesday's game against the Giants. 

Tejada was recently called back up to the Mets on September 10, after spending a few months in the minor leagues. 

Tejada hit .209 in 50 games for the Mets before hurting himself, and ultimately being demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the season. 

Since being brought back, in the 7 games that he has played, he has hit .143 with a .182 OBP.

Tejada was recently called out on his lack of work ethic by the General Manager Sandy Alderson, and probably needed a strong September to prove his worth.

It's really a sad situation all around, as now we won't be able to fully determine what Tejada is, and now he probably wont be getting another fair chance at showing what he's capable of.

I've always been relatively easy on Tejada, as I loved his strong glove, and knew that sometime his bat would come along. At age 23, I'm not ready to completely throw in the towel on him, but he could definitely be upgraded on this winter.

There will be shortstops out on the market. Erick Aybar, Stephen Drew, and possibly even the mighty Troy Tulowitzski. I expect Sandy Alderson to be involved in trade talks, but I don't know how quick he would pull the trigger on such a deal.

Harvey elects to avoid surgery, for now

Matt Harvey recently saw Dr. James Andrews, and after seeking his opinion, he will not undergo Tommy John surgery for the time being. Harvey will try to rehabilitate the torn ulnar ligament in his elbow for the next six to eight weeks, and see how the arm feels after that. 

"I've never had pain in my actual elbow area, where the UCL is," Harvey told reporters. "For me, it felt like why jump into surgery in a situation where I never had tingling, numbness, shooting pain in my elbow? If rehab is the way to go...then that's what I want to do."

Harvey had relatively positive news when he saw Dr. James Andrews.

"Nothing was moving in places it shouldn't." Andrews said. 

Tommy John surgery isn't out of the question, and if he does end up undergoing the procedure, he could wait until December. If he waits until then, the timeline wouldn't be much different from what it is now, as either way would likely keep him out the entire 2014 season. 

Harvey had an incredible 2013 season, posting a 2.27 ERA in 26 starts, while striking out 191 batters in 178.1 innings.

Despite that success, Sandy Alderson doesn't think that Harvey's presence will be missed too much if he is lost next year.  

"It won't effect our plans as much as suggested," Alderson said. "We have depth at starting pitching. I don't see us working hard if he can't come back."

At this point, everyone involved in the situation can just keep their fingers crossed and hope for the best. The initial thought of losing Harvey for the entire 2014 season was heartbreaking, but if surgery is what he needs to come back and get stronger, then I'd be all for it.

However, since he is electing this route, we can only hope that his elbow continues to get stronger. The word is that if over 30 percent of the ligament is torn, then it would require Tommy John surgery. However, Sandy Alderson has not given out an official percentage on that.

If Harvey is lost for the 2014 season, I disagree with Alderson when he said that he wouldn't be missed too much. Pitching depth is always incredibly important, but Harvey is supposedly the team's ace, and if the Mets have any intent on contending next year, you would think that having their ace out there every fifth day would give them an advantage.

All in all, we'll just have to wait and see. Short term this may work in Harvey's favor, but long-term hopefully this doesn't handcuff him. 

Prospect Spotlight: Noah Syndergaard

Name: Noah Syndergaard
Age: 21
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 240 lbs
Drafted: Blue Jays, 1st round, 2010 Amateur Draft
Acquired: Via trade 
Throws: Right
Bats: Left

Estimated MLB debut: mid-2014

Where does he currently stand in the minor leagues:

Syndergaard started the 2013 season with the St. Lucie Mets, posting a 3.11 ERA in 12 starts. He also sported a solid 9.0 K/9 ratio with a 2.3 BB/9 clip. He was promoted to the Binghamton Mets in the middle of the season, and went on to put up a 3.00 ERA in 11 starts with them. He also had a 11.5 K/9 and 2.0 K/9 ratio.

What does he project to be?

He projects to be an ace, plain and simple. Syndergaard has everything that an ace would have: a pitchers body, an arsenal of solid pitches, and the work ethic. Scouts have said that Syndergaard could be better than Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, and at 21 years of age, he seems very advanced.

Does he have a long-term role with the Mets?

Syndergaard is, or at least should be, viewed as untouchable this winter. I don't care if the Mets are going after Giancarlo Stanton, I do not want him dealt away: he is the real deal. Syndergaard will likely be promoted to the team mid-season like Zack Wheeler this year. Hopefully he makes a good enough impression during the final half of the season to open some eyes, and give the Mets some much-needed pitching.

Conclusion

The Mets clearly got a steal in the R.A. Dickey trade. The deal was centered around catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud, and Sandy Alderson really pushed for Toronto to add in Syndergaard as well. At this point Sandy is looking like the clear cut winner, even with Syndergaard only in Double-A, and d'Arnaud getting a small taste of the big leagues in the final month of the season. Syndergaard seems to be a thought of as the team's third best young hurler behind Harvey and Wheeler, but I'm confident that he has the ability to be better than both of them, and that is saying a lot. 

Mets would like EYJ back as 4th OF

The Mets would like to bring back Eric Young Jr. this winter, and plan on making him the backup outfielder, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com

"Young is seen as an excellent fourth or fifth outfielder." Heyman said.

Young will earn a total of $492,000 this season, and can be brought back in 2014 through the arbitration process. He will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, and is under team control through the 2016 season. 

The 28 year old, who was acquired from Colorado earlier in the season, has hit .262 with a .338 on-base percentage in 74 games with the Mets. He also has 29 stolen bases in 35 attempts.

I'm a big fan of Young, but I know that he is not a starting-caliber player. At this point it seems like the Mets are going to commit to either Juan Lagares or Matt den Dekker in center field (neither of whom have any power,) and Young just doesn't have enough power to his bat to be an everyday left or right fielder. However, Young does have many great qualities. He's a switch-hitter, speedy on the base paths, plays decent defense, and is cheap. 

The cheap aspect is probably the most important one of all. Young will earn a slight salary raise from this year's, but will still be very affordable, and will give solid production for his worth. 

Considering that the Mets have been chasing after Young for a few years, I highly doubt they'll non-tender him and let him walk. His speed is very important, and I believe he's earned a spot on next year's bench due to that quickness. 

Mets unlikely to acquire a first baseman in off-season

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, the Mets are unlikely to pursue a first baseman outside of the organization this winter. 

"The Mets expect to have their first base answer in-house, between Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, and Josh Satin," Heyman writes. "That will leave shortstop and the outfield corners as the main areas for import."

In a recent report, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York also said that the Mets are unlikely to non-tender Ike Davis this winter.

If the Mets decide to keep Ike Davis AND Lucas Duda, that would be a disgrace. There is no way Duda is going back out in the outfield, and I figure he will be the odd man out here. As the season is coming to an end, he has seen his fair share of first base, presumably to get his trade value up for this winter. 

If I had to choose between Davis and Duda, I would easily choose Davis. Despite his struggles in 2013, he still possesses a massive amount of potential, and has incredible raw power. Not to mention he is solid defensively.

If I was the GM, my first focus would be to chase after recently defected first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu. He is said to be better than Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes, and would be a high risk, potential high reward signing. The Mets have money, and they are going to need to excite their fans. Making a big splash like Abreu would definitely draw more fans to the ballpark, and would give the team a solid hitting first baseman.

Granted, Sandy Alderson doesn't seem like the GM that would go too heavily in a bidding war. Since there is a massive amount of interest in Abreu from several teams, I don't know how likely it will be that the Mets land him. So with that in mind, there are some other options out there.

I would entertain a potential Corey Hart signing. Hart, coming off a season ending knee injury, has had great success with the Brewers over his career. He technically can still play outfield, but due to his knee problems, he would likely stick at first base. He would be a great buy low candidate, and if the Mets struggle in 2014, the could ship him off at the deadline.

I also like Justin Morneau, despite his injury history. Morneau has had a resurgent 2013 season with the Twins and Pirates, and probably wouldn't demand a huge contract. Maybe a 2-3 year deal while earning $7-$10 million annually would cut it.

The final, and probably most favorite name of mine is Kendrys Morales. Morales has quietly had a nice season with Seattle, hitting .280 with 21 home runs and 76 RBI. I've always been a fan of him ever since his solid 2009 season with the Angels where he smashed 34 home runs with 43 doubles. Seattle may try to lure him back by offering him a qualifying offer at the season's end, but that wouldn't affect the Mets as they'll likely have their first round pick protected under the new collective bargaining agreement. 

Parnell to undergo surgery, officially out for season

The Mets have announced that Bobby Parnell will undergo surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck, and he will officially miss the remainder of the season. Parnell has been on the disabled list since August 6, and Terry Collins said that he would make a decision on surgery sometime in September. 

"If I do have surgery, they said I'll be ready for spring training next year." Parnell said last month. 

Overall, the 29 year old hurler posted a 2.16 ERA with 22 saves for the Mets this year. As his first season as a closer, most people would call it a success.

I really liked what I saw from Parnell this season. Unlike previous years, he would come in to games and have a certain poise that showed you that he meant business. That along with his strong fastball and nasty knuckle-curve made him an intimidating player in the back-end of the bullpen.

I'm sure he'll still have the closer's job next season, and I look forward

to seeing how he continue to improve his game.

Frank Francisco to be activated

The Mets announced that Frank Francisco will be activated from the disabled list. To make room for him on the 40 man roster, Jenrry Mejia has been transferred to the 60 day disabled list. Francisco has not pitched all season due to elbow soreness.

The 34 year old right hander posted a 5.53 ERA with the Mets last season. He originally signed a two year, $12 million deal with the team after the 2011 campaign, a deal that Sandy Alderson must regret giving out at this point.

Francisco underwent surgery in December to clean out his elbow, and made a few relief appearances with the Mets' minor league affiliates this season while on a rehab assignment. 

Personally, this move is going to be questioned by many because of Francisco's actions. Earlier in the year, he was convicted of telling Jenrry Mejia to take it extra slow when returning from his injury so he could collect his money without doing anything. From that point Francisco has been hated by the entire fanbase.

Francisco will be a free agent after this season, and the Mets will not bring him back. However, they have brought him up to either A) boost his free agent value or B) to trade him to a contender sometime this month. Of-course, if they trade him he will not be eligible for the playoffs, but could still provide decent bullpen depth, which is always needed.