Mets sign Curtis Granderson

The Mets have signed outfielder Curtis Granderson to a four year, $60 million deal. The move will force the Mets to forfeit their 2014 second-round pick to the Yankees, since he was tied to draft pick compensation. 

Granderson, 32, played just 61 games for the Yankees in 2013 after breaking his hand twice on two hit-by-pitches. During that stint, he hit .229 with 7 homers, and a .317 OBP. 

One of Granderson's best seasons came in 2012, when he hit .232 with 43 homers and 106 RBI in 160 games played. The three time All-Star, and one time Silver Slugger has 217 homers in 10 career seasons with the Tigers and Yankees. Along with that, he also owns a career .261 batting average with a .340 OBP.

Granderson came over to the Yankees in 2009 as part of a three-way deal involving Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, and others. During his four years in New York, he hit .245 with 115 homers, but struck out 549 times in 2148 plate appearances.

He has been thought of as a player that benefited from the short right field porch at Yankee stadium, but advanced stats show otherwise. 

As seen in the graph, the majority of Granderson's home runs (from 2012) would have gone past the Citi Field fences.

This is a move that many believe had to be made from the Mets standpoint. Granderson alone won't change the entire team around, but bringing him in is definitely a step in the right direction, and makes the Mets a whole lot better looking than yesterday. 

I'm very concerned about Granderson's strikeouts, but from what I've heard his solid clubhouse presence and other intangibles could make him very valuable. In an ideal situation, giving him $15 million, especially when he's coming off of a down year, would seem idiotic. However, given the market and the Mets' need for a power bat, they needed to do this.

I'm hearing a lot of people saying that Granderson could be the next Jason Bay, and I completely disagree. Granderson has handled New York before in his four seasons with the Yankees, and can take the huge spotlight. Bay's big issue was handling the media while trying to fight his declining skills, and I don't think Granderson will come face to face with that problem. 

Overall, it's nice to finally see some real action by the Mets. With Chris Young, Juan Lagares, and now Curtis Granderson likely being the three starting outfielders next season, the team is beginning to take shape. Now, next week at the winter meetings let's just hope that Sandy and Co. go out and acquire a shortstop, maybe a few bullpen arms, and dangle Davis and Duda and see what he can get. 

Hefner to talk after he finds new team

UPDATE: The Mets have re-signed Hefner to a minor league deal. He will not play in 2014 due to Tommy John surgery recovery.

Jeremy Hefner was one of the five players non-tendered by the Mets last night. He will miss the entire 2014 season after having Tommy John surgery a few months ago. The Bergen Record asked him if he would share his thoughts on his future, but he politely declined to discuss the situation, saying that he will talk about it after he finds a new team. 

The 27 year old had a 4.34 ERA ERA in 24 games (23 starts) for the Mets in 2013. He went down with an injury to his right elbow in August. 

This can easily be translated into him not returning to the Mets next season to rehab, and the following season after that. My best guess is that he has some issues with either the front office or the medical staff, as they either mishandled his injury, or overworked him. If that's the case, I don't blame him one bit for trying to move on to another organization.

The injury did come out of nowhere, so maybe it was something that the Mets doctors knew about and downplayed, thus frustrating Hefner when they announced he would require Tommy John surgery. Either way, I really liked Hefner as Met, and while he is replaceable, I would have liked to see him be brought back to rehab, maybe get a few minor league starts in at the end of the season, and come back in 2015 as a rotation piece. Now that he wants a new team, it's safe to say that won't be happening.

Five Mets non-tendered

The Mets have announced that the following players have been non-tendered: Omar Quintanilla, Jordany Valdespin, Justin Turner, Jeremy Hefner, and Scott Atchison. These players are now free agents and can sign with any team. 

The Mets trimmed an estimated $4 million in payroll by cutting these players from their roster, which now stands at 35. 

Monday night marked the deadline for team's to tender contracts to their players. 43 players in total have been added to the current free agent class.

Quintanilla hit .222 with a .306 OBP in 95 games for the Mets last season. He was the team's primary shortstop while Ruben Tejada was in the minor leagues and on the disabled list with a knee injury. The former first round pick is a career .222 hitter with a .288 OBP. 

Coming into the season, Valdespin was expected to see some time in the outfield. In 66 games for New York, he hit .188 with 4 homers and 16 RBI. Following his demotion in June, he ripped manager Terry Collins, which put him in hot water throughout the entire front office. The year got even worse for him when he was suspended 50 games from baseball for using performance-enhancing drugs. He was reinstated on September 25th, but immediately assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. 

Turner being non-tendered comes as a surprise, as the utility man put up a respectable .280/.319/.385 line in 2013. The 29 year old filled in for David Wright for some time, and also saw some action at shortstop. He was originally acquired by the Mets from the Orioles via waivers in 2010. He hit a combined .267 in 3 career seasons with New York.

Hefner wasn't even arbitration eligible yet, but the move is justified by the fact that he will be missing the entire 2014 season following Tommy John surgery. The 27 year old had a strong 3.39 ERA through his first 18 appearances (17 starts), but fell off a cliff after that. In his final 6 starts, he sported a horrible 7.58 ERA. Most of that can be blamed on a lingering injury he was dealing with. In August he was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas, and a team doctor recommended him to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

Atchison, 37, came over to the Mets after a relatively solid season with Boston where he had a 1.58 ERA in 42 games. The veteran had a few DL stints with New York in 2013, and wound up putting up a 4.37 ERA in 50 relief appearances. 

Both Atchison and Quintanilla were expected to be cut, and they will probably not be brought back unless it's on minor league deals. Quintanilla did what he needed to do -- fill in for Tejada for the short-term. Atchison didn't really pan out as injuries kept him on the disabled list for a while, but since he was brought over for practically nothing it was a no-harm no foul situation.

I'm not too thrilled about letting Justin Turner go, as his versatility was underrated. Of-course, the Mets could look to bring him back on a cheaper deal, but now he's open to sign with anyone, and I'm already hearing rumblings about the Twins "really liking" him. He's a cheap, versatile player who can come through in the clutch, so I'm not entirely sure what the Mets are thinking here. 

Hefner's success in 2013 got me really excited, as I thought he could be a long-term back-end of the rotation kind of player. Actually, for a certain time in the season, he was the team's second-best pitcher behind Matt Harvey. The problem was his injury that lingered with him up until the point where the Mets couldn't hand him the ball every fifth day. When he was demoted, it was expected that something was up with his arm, as he looked fatigued out there. As for his long-term future, I'm not sure what it will bring. He will clearly miss the entire 2014 season, and after that the Mets may or may not hand him a minor league deal to get his value back up. In my opinion, I feel like he's going to leave the Mets because of either his anger towards the team for overworking him, or not properly diagnosing the injury at first. 

Finally, with Valdespin, he was bound to be let go some way or another, whether it was this or being traded to another club. His antics, ranging from excessive celebrations to even ripping the manager following a demotion, were not liked by the front office, and it was expected that he'd be gone. Many people agree with me when I say this: he's a million dollar player in term's of talent, but has a two cent head. He's the definition of raw talent, and any team that takes a flier on him should know that he comes with a considerable amount of baggage.

Mets are missing out on quality free agents

Thanksgiving still hasn't come yet, and many of the top free agents have already fell off the board. The Mets came into the winter with interest in several of these players, but as usual the price fell out of their hands. The only real move that Sandy Alderson has made so far has been signing outfielder Chris Young to a one year, $7.25 million deal that is considered a massive overpay. Granted, these free agents have been getting overpaid left and right, but the organization promised that spending would go up. The Mets have missed out on some quality players that could have really made a difference in 2014. 

Marlon Byrd is a good example. Byrd had a resurgent year in 2013, and did express interest in returning to the Mets. He clearly fell out of their price range and comfort zone, as he would go on to receive a two year, $16 million deal from Philadelphia a few weeks ago. Another former Met that was let go was 40 year old LaTroy Hawkins. Not only did the 19 year veteran serve as a solid veteran presence in the team's bullpen, but he also sported a fine 2.93 ERA in 72 relief appearances, and managed to notch 13 saves when Bobby Parnell was lost for the season. Hawkins signed a one year $2.25 million deal with Colorado not too long ago. Obviously $2.25 million is a lot of money for an older relief pitcher, but Hawkins intangibles alone would have been worth that price.

You can probably see a pattern here. The Mets should've also went after outfield David Murphy, but the former Ranger went on to sign a two year, $12 million deal with Cleveland. I'm not as upset over that one, since Murphy was coming off a down year, and did in fact get overpaid quite a bit. Tim Hudson was also linked to the team, but he went on to get a two year, $23 million contract from the Giants. Hudson is another aging player whose 2013 season ended in a scary way when he fractured his ankle. 

Josh Johnson was another low-risk pickup, and although I didn't fully advocate bringing him in, the Mets could've made a harder push for him. He went on to sign a one year, $8 million deal with San Diego, which translates as yet another overpay. 

Finally, Joe Smith, a former Met, took his talents to the Angels when he signed a three year deal worth a tad over $15 million last night. While I love Smith, that is a huge commitment to a relief pitcher. That is probably why I'm not as upset over the Mets missing out on him. 

Sandy Alderson is a passive General Manager. He doesn't jump to the gun like most, but rather makes smaller, more underrated moves. Whether those moves pay off or not is a whole different story, but my point is this 2013 Free Agent class, given the players and funds available, is not exactly working in the Mets favor at this point. Hopefully they can turn it around with a few big trades and perhaps a few decent signings. 

Robles clears waivers, outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas

Pitcher Hansel Robles has cleared waivers, and he will be outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the Mets. Robles was removed from the 40 man roster, and his spot will likely be taken by Chris Young, who was signed to a one year deal yesterday. 

Robles, 22, had a 3.55 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) between the GCL Mets and Single-A St. Lucie last season. He also participated in the Arizona Fall League, where he had a 4.00 ERA in six starts. 

Robles has been known as a mid-tiered pitching prospect for quite some time now. His best season was in 2012 where he had a 1.11 ERA in 12 starts for the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Mets could have afforded to lose him if he was claimed because of their abundance of young pitching, but now that Robles is staying, expect him to start the 2014 season in Double-A Binghamton. 

I feel like it is too early to give up on him, and the Mets are just sneaking him through waivers so they can fill in Young's roster spot. Logically, it would make more sense to cut Jordany Valdespin, who probably doesn't have a future with this team at all. However, the Mets may try to trade Valdespin, so letting him go on waivers wouldn't be too smart. 

Mets sign OF Chris Young

The Mets have signed outfielder Chris Young to a one year, $7.25 million deal. The deal will be officially announced next week after Young takes his physical, meaning that a roster move will be announced sometime next week as well.

Young, 30, hit .200 with 12 homers in 107 games for the Athletics last year. He is a career .235 hitter with 144 home runs in 8 seasons with the Diamondbacks and Athletics. In 2007 (his rookie season) he slugged 32 homers, but hit just .237 with a .295 OBP.  

He made $8.5 million last season. 

Young's role on this team is unclear at this point, but based on his high salary he will likely break camp one of the team's corner outfielders. He has more experience at center field, so the Mets may shift Juan Lagares to right to allow Young to feel more comfortable. 

Either way, Young's career 22.9 K % isn't very promising. Young has been fairly consistent throughout his career, but not in a good way. He has power and speed, but the strikeouts and the inability to work the count have been his biggest problems. 

It is nice to see that the Mets have brought someone on board, however. Young isn't going to change the direction of the franchise, and certainly won't be worth the $7.25 million that he will earn, but he can still present a moderate upgrade over last year's cycle of outfielders.

What I don't understand is, if the Mets are willing to give someone like Young $7.25 million, why did they pass up on Marlon Byrd, who will only make a tiny bit more than him. Byrd has proven that he could do it in New York, and even showed interest in coming back to Queens. 

All in all, the Mets gave up quite a chunk of money to bring Young in. Hopefully he is more than a platoon hitter, but his splits don't seem too promising. In his career, he has a .262/.363/.474 slash line against lefties, but a .225/.295/.415 slash line against righties. 

Met add four to 40-man roster

The Mets have added four pitchers to the 40 man roster to protect them from the upcoming Rule V draft. Those players are: Steven Matz, Jeff Walters, Jacob deGrom, and Erik Goeddel. The roster is now at 40 players. 

The rules go as follows: if a player is left off of the 40 man roster, he is unprotected in the draft, meaning that he can be selected by an opposing team. If he is selected, he must remain with the team that claims him for all of the following season, or he can be offered back to his original team. 

Matz, a former 2nd round pick, was hampered by injuries early on in his minor league career. This went on to delay his development, but at age 22, he still has time to turn it around. He started 21 games for Single-A Savannah in 2013, posting a 2.62 ERA while putting up a solid 10.2 K/9 ratio. 

Walters, 26, has been with the Mets since 2010 when he was selected in the 7th round of the amateur draft. He had by far his best season in 2013. With the Binghamton Mets, he had a 2.09 ERA in 53 relief appearances, and notched 38 saves. He also had 2.6 BB/9 and 9.6 K/9. 

As a 25 year old, Jacob deGrom is considered a lower-grade prospect. However, it was expected that the Mets would add him to the roster. The hard-throwing righty had a 4.52 ERA in 14 Triple-A starts in 2013. 

Erik Goeddel is a name that many are surprised to see. The former 24th round pick had a 4.37 ERA in 25 Double-A starts last season. He also managed to strike out 125 batters in 134.0 innings pitched, which translates to a relatively good 8.4 K/9 ratio.