The Mets should NOT sign Arroyo this winter

Mike Puma of the New York Post recently said that pitcher Bronson Arroyo could be targeted by the Mets this winter. Arroyo, 36, is 14-11 with a 3.60 ERA in 31 starts in his eighth season with the Reds. He expressed interest in coming to New York.

"I definitely think the Mets are a team that I would look at," Arroyo told Puma. "There's going to be some ballclubs, maybe like the Mets, that have a nice mix of young arms, but need somebody to kind of anchor a rotation with 200 innings, so it's going to be a very interesting off-season for me."

I've liked Arroyo, and I always have. Normally I would advocate signing him, but to my understanding he will likely demand a big deal, perhaps a three year deal, and at age 36 I don't know if he'll continue to pitch at the level he is right now. There is no question that Arroyo is a work-house, and he would be an ideal fit for the Mets rotation, but they need to concentrate their money spending on big hitters. Their pitching depth is fine right now, so obtaining Arroyo isn't a must.

The Mets need to prioritize everything this winter. Pitching, with or without Harvey, is pretty much under control. However, the offense is going to need to get going. That said, I'd rather have the team go out, sign a Hunter Pence or Shin-Soo Choo, and give Terry Collins another weapon in his lineup. No disrespect for Arroyo, I just think he'll be too expensive, and not worth all of the money that he'll wind up getting. 

Off-season outlook: Sign Infante, and move Murphy to first?

The Mets have big decisions to make this winter, one of them being first base. At this point, most Mets fans would love to see the team non-tender Ike Davis, stick Lucas Duda on the bench, and sign a big name bat like Cuban defector Jose Dariel Abreu. Sandy Alderson seems determined to spend this off-season, but what if he misses out on Abreu? Would the Mets settle with a veteran like Justin Morneau or Kendrys Morales, or perhaps stay-in house by moving Daniel Murphy back to his original position.

Understandably so, Murphy doesn't possess the big time power that most first baseman in the league currently have. However, he is easily the team's best hitter not named David Wright, and as a first baseman he plays good enough defense to get by unscathed.

Of-course, moving Murphy to first base would just create a different problem -- who plays second base? Assuming he doesn't get traded, young Wilmer Flores could be ready to take the job. However, after a so-so stint with the Mets late this season, where he hit .211 in 27 games, the Mets may want to consider proven talent.

In comes Omar Infante, who will likely be let go by Detroit after this season through the free agent process. Infante, a career .279 in 12 seasons with the Marlins, Braves, and Tigers, has been relatively consistent throughout his career. At age 31, he may demand a deal along the lines of 3 years, $25-30 million, but the Mets could afford to overpay. With most buyers looking at the big target, Robinson Cano, Infante will probably fly under the radar this winter, which easily gives Sandy Alderson and Co. the opportunity to swoop in and snag him. 

Infante would be an ideal number 2 hitter for the Mets lineup, and should have someone like Daniel Murphy as his protection. The Mets are an up and coming team that won't be afraid to break the bank so Infante should strongly consider coming to Queens. 

Wheeler shut down with shoulder stiffness

The Mets have announced that pitcher Zack Wheeler has been shut down for the final week or so of the season due to shoulder stiffness. 

"With what's happen with Matt, it's not time to take chances," Terry Collins explained.

Wheeler will not undergo any tests at this time because it is assumed that it is just shoulder fatigue. In his rookie season, the 23 year old went 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA in 17 starts after being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas in June. 

This move is very cautious and I like it. Why risk running him out there when he would only be making one more start on the season anyway. I'm not too worried about the stiffness itself, as I expected he would fatigue a bit down the stretch. Wheeler threw a total of 168 2/3 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas and the Mets in 2013, and he threw 149 innings in the minors during the 2012 season, so he did increase his workload. 

Overall, it was a very promising season for the young hurler. Despite his slight control problems, he showed the fans what he was capable of, and he certainly has the pitching arsenal to be a top-notch pitcher in this league for years to come.

I've trade possibilities regarding Wheeler, but I'm confident that they will not be dealing him this winter. I can see a lower grade prospect like Rafael Montero being dealt instead. The Mets do, after all, have a significant amount of pitching depth with or without Matt Harvey in 2014. 

Mets to promote Wilfredo Tovar

The Mets have added infielder Wilfredo Tovar to the big league roster. Tovar is expected to join the team in Philadelphia on Friday, and he will help fill a hole that was created once Ruben Tejada was lost for the year. 

With Double-A Binghamton this season, Tovar has hit .263 with a .323 on-base percentage, while playing most of his games at shortstop.

He is already on the 40 man roster, so adding him will not require a corresponding move.

Personally, I see Tovar as a very similar player to Ruben Tejada. They are both pre-dominantly defensive specialists with a light bat, and are young enough to be seen as potential long-term pieces to this organization. I don't value Tovar as high as I do with Tejada, for some reason that even I don't know how to explain, but I still would like to see him get the bulk of the playing time at shortstop for the final 10 games of the season.

I like to think optimistically, and with that being said he can't be much worse than Omar Quintanilla. If Tovar manages to hit around .250 while playing outstanding defense, I'd be satisfied.  

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.