As we all know the Mets have 4 starting pitchers “penciled” into the rotation. Johan Santana followed by John Maine, Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey in some order. Ideally headed into this season we would have been able to pencil in Jon Niese as the #5 but his hamstring injury last year has set him back a bit. From speaking to some of the beatwriters it appears that while Niese is “coming along fine” the Mets are operating under the assumption he may be a month or so behind “ready for opening day” status.
The Mets also have the issue of Fernando Nieve who showed flashes of why he was once a top prospect in the Astros system but is out of options and thus would be subjected to waivers should he not make the Mets. Nieve would likely be claimed so Omar Minaya’s proclamation a few weeks ago that Nieve was the early favorite for the 5th spot shouldn’t have caught people by surprise as it did. The Mets also signed 34 year old soft-tosser Hisanori Takahashi to a minor league deal with guaranteed money if he makes the team who will likely be given a chance to compete for the #5 spot but another option remains available and his name is Yunieski/Yuniesky Maya. Maya is a 28 year old righty from Cuba waiting to be cleared so he can sign with a MLB team. Maya is NOT the top of prospect fellow countryman Aroldis Chapman is and is unlikely to see money close to what Chapman got. That said… “Who is Maya?”
- 5’11/6 feet tall
- FB 88-92
-Curve, Slider, Change
-Considered more of an “El Duque” aka smart pitcher than a guy with “great” stuff
-Pitched well in the WBC posting a 1.23 era in 7 1/3 innings
You can see video of Maya pitching here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50QsmRL0VY8)
The upside/downside to Maya really comes down to $$$ and how much he wants. The Red Sox reportedly are hot for him but his agent has inferred he 100% prefers to start and would like to sign with a team that he will have that opportunity. If the Mets can sign him to a deal which allows them to start him in the minors to get acclimated to this country and deal with the roster numbers crunch as well as the fact they can skip the #5 to open the year I think it would be a smart move. That said Cuban players traditionally haven’t fared as well as the hype so expecting him to be something he is not is not going to be very fruitful.
45 comments
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-10:58am at 10:58 am (UTC -4)
According to fromwhaticangather.com, Maya is/was training in the Mets Dominican Training Center.
metro
2/16/2010-11:02am at 11:02 am (UTC -4)
Case this is true but it doesn’t mean that much in terms of where he will sign. Julio Lugo as well as the 16 year old SS who the Indians signed over us last year (im blanking on his name) we happen to have the best training facility.
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-11:32am at 11:32 am (UTC -4)
good to know the Mets have such a good facility down there. SNY should start a reality series following some minor leaguers around. I’d be hooked. Gotta be better than watching Jersey Shore.
metro
2/16/2010-11:47am at 11:47 am (UTC -4)
Also…. it’s illegal for a team to sign a player prior to being cleared so obviously the Mets feel comfortable enough knowing they would be “in trouble” if there were some impression he had a deal with them
metsfan4decades
2/16/2010-11:03am at 11:03 am (UTC -4)
LOL – fromwhaticangather.com
metsfan4decades
2/16/2010-11:02am at 11:02 am (UTC -4)
You can never have too much pitching.
That being said I know nothing about Maya other than what you’ve posted here. When does he project to be cleared to sign anywhere? In time for ST?
Looking at the depth on this pitching staff, I’d hate to lose Nieve to waivers come April. He might be expendable later in the season, depending on so many things (like our record, injuries, etc.).
metro
2/16/2010-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
Reportedly he will be cleared shortly as Ruiz and Leslie Anderson were cleared last week. If we signed Maya it wouldn’t mean we had to lose Nieve as we still have 1 bullpen spot wide open in my opinion and WORST case (aka Maya looks amazing and Nieve looks amazing) Parnell and Green have minor league options.
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-11:11am at 11:11 am (UTC -4)
I agree that at reasonable cost this guy should be signed.
Like MF4D said above I know virtually nothing about him, perhaps even less than I know about Ryota Igarashi for example.
But after reading this last night it seemed a worthwhile gamble to me for a team so clearly light on SP:
http://metsfever.blogspot.com/2010/02/maya-update.html
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-11:14am at 11:14 am (UTC -4)
Whoops, that was the wrong link. This was the one that made a favorable impression on me:
http://metsfever.blogspot.com/2010/02/is-this-starter-mets-want.html
njstuckintx
2/16/2010-11:13am at 11:13 am (UTC -4)
Never could hurt. If memory serves (which it does less and less these days) the Mets do not have much of a track record with Cuban players, no?
metro
2/16/2010-11:18am at 11:18 am (UTC -4)
In general Cuban players have not lived up to the hype but again that’s like saying “The Mets draft poorly so lets trade all prospects”. Maya is intriguing at a price. He doesn’t have huge upside but potentially he could be as good or better than some of the 15 million dollar guys like Marquis, Pineiro etc. I wouldn’t make a huge commitment (Alay Soler was supposed to be good too) but I also wouldn’t worry about “not enough room” they have Parnell and Green with options and only K-Rod, Feliciano, Igarashi and Escobar as “absolute locks no matter what happens this spring” figure Nieve probably is either the #5 or the longman and there is still room should a Takahashi or Maya be THAT good this spring. And worst case you send down Green or Parnell for a bit.
metro
2/16/2010-11:13am at 11:13 am (UTC -4)
The SS who worked out at our facility for a while but didn’t sign with us was Jairo Kelly
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-11:28am at 11:28 am (UTC -4)
Anyone have access to Olney’s Felipe Lopez advertisement.
saltygary
2/16/2010-12:52pm at 12:52 pm (UTC -4)
“Felipe Lopez would be a good fit for the Cardinals, writes Bernie Miklasz. He would also be a great, great fit for the Mets, because he could contend for a starting job at second base and play all over the place, and because he probably would be inexpensive now”
Article he linked too:
http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/bernies-extra-points/bernies-extra-points/bernies-5-minutes/2010/02/pssst-felipe-lopez-and-other-takes/
metsfan4decades
2/16/2010-11:48am at 11:48 am (UTC -4)
Ed Coleman reporting in from Port St. Lucie this morning on WFAN….
He said as far as catching goes, if it’s apparent in ST that other than Blanco, if Santos/Thole/whoever are having a negative effect on pitchers games that the Mets will have to do something in bringing in another veteran catcher. Said he does not believe they’re satisfied with what they have, including Thole who they think defensively is just not ready yet.
That answers the question I had earlier about if they were really serious about the pitcher/catcher problem they thought they had last year with Schneider and Santos.
Makes me wonder just how vocal Johan and others might have been internally with a catching problem.
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-11:51am at 11:51 am (UTC -4)
Still don’t see why they haven’t signed Barajas.
metsfan4decades
2/16/2010-11:58am at 11:58 am (UTC -4)
With all these ‘reports’ and speculations coming in, I confess to having absolutely no idea what is in their mind for catcher. They wanted Molina, didn’t get him. If catching defense is such a problem as we’re hearing, you would have thought they would have made a deal by now.
Maybe they just did not like who was available and are taking a wait and see type attitude for ST. Ought to be interesting to see what they do if they don’t like what they see…
stickguy
2/16/2010-11:58am at 11:58 am (UTC -4)
well, if Eddie’s info is correct, then it makes a ton of sense to get Brajas. of course, I am basing this on reports about his good receiving/game calling skills.
None of the options can actually hit or get on base, but at least Hot Rod can hit an occasional long ball (so I guess he is from the Molina school).
if he is cheap now, grab him.
If I had to guess, the Mets are stringing things along until they get a look at the crop they have in ST, but if they wait too long, there may not be any other viable options.
Just get Rowdy Roddy now for the 1-2 mill he is likely to get and hedge your bets.
trs86
2/16/2010-11:58am at 11:58 am (UTC -4)
Perhaps his reputation on defense or game calling is not as good as we think?
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-11:59am at 11:59 am (UTC -4)
I know Johan was vocal at least in an indirect way, he had some influence in Blanco’s being here.
From what I’ve read about Riggans, if healthy (don’t we always say that?) he perhaps could be the defensively sound guy. Mets Fever presented a lot of supporting evidence for this possibility recently:
http://metsfever.blogspot.com/2010/02/im-impressed-with-riggans.html
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-12:10pm at 12:10 pm (UTC -4)
meh, so what if Riggans was ranked higher than Santos. Plus, the article suggests Blanco would be the main catcher for the bottom of the rotation, even though he’s supposed to be Johan’s personal catcher. Seems like Riggins is another backup, not a starter.
metsfan4decades
2/16/2010-12:15pm at 12:15 pm (UTC -4)
I was just thinking the same thing. Not sure where metsfever is going here but from everything I’ve been reading, if Blanco is on the roster he’s going to be catching Johan. Not sure why this author thinks otherwise.
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-12:19pm at 12:19 pm (UTC -4)
The problem inherent with the current competitors for the Mets starting C job is that they are ALL back ups. For the Mets to get anything truly positive out of their C position in 2010, someone MUST step up and Riggans seems to me to have just as good a chance at doing that as any of the others.
I disagreed with the author on the part about Blanco catching the “bad guys” in my guise as RobCarpenter26 (a name I set up years ago to post on a football Giants blog). I was using the author’s post as a starting point, then putting my own thoughts onto it resulting in Blanco/back up, Riggans/starter and given the competition I don’t see how that’s any more of a stretch than Santos/starter or Coste/starter. Thole is the wild card, if he’s ready defensively the problem solves itself.
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-12:24pm at 12:24 pm (UTC -4)
I guess I’m saying Riggins seems to be the same as Santos in that neither are starters, and the Mets need a real starter.
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-12:30pm at 12:30 pm (UTC -4)
I guess I’m saying that I don’t know either way but that there is at least some opinion out there that Riggans is a solid defensive catcher while there is at least some opinion out there that Santos is not, and if those two fairly equally inept offensive catchers are my options for starter, I choose Riggans.
I agree that they need a “real” starter. I think I’m probably stuck waiting for Thole to become that. If the team wants to bring in Barajas at this point I’m not going to complain about it but so far at least they don’t seem inclined to do so and I don’t think he is so great that I need to campaign for his signing, therefore I’m picking and choosing from what’s already here.
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-12:33pm at 12:33 pm (UTC -4)
In that case, I might go w/ Santos who at least is familiar with M.O.P.S. and the hitters in the NL East. Plus if we can get a couple more hits out of the 8 spot, I’d be happy.
Oh, Santos also has a short swing
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-12:39pm at 12:39 pm (UTC -4)
On the short swing we agree
stickguy
2/16/2010-12:43pm at 12:43 pm (UTC -4)
Is that what kids from the short bus play on at recess?
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-12:49pm at 12:49 pm (UTC -4)
Yes when hangin’ wit da shorties!
stickguy
2/16/2010-12:01pm at 12:01 pm (UTC -4)
hey, if they can get the cuban guy for a reasonable price, why not? He does sound like a Marquis level guy, and some more experienced depth certainly won’t hurt, especially if they can stash him in AAA.
Neive makes the team, but I amperfectly fine with him coming out of the pen. Let him join the scrum for the late inning set up roles, and he would be nice as a swing man.
It would really be good if they had a true long man/spot starter in the pen, so they won’t have to cut a guy if they need a 1 start for weather fill-in. Like last year with O’day.
oleosmirf
2/16/2010-1:29pm at 1:29 pm (UTC -4)
well Maya would prob be our #4 SP at least after Ollie tanks
trs86
2/16/2010-1:50pm at 1:50 pm (UTC -4)
Why is it a certainty that Ollie tanks? He did put together two decent seasons in 2007 and 2008.
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-1:58pm at 1:58 pm (UTC -4)
The last thing I read last night before going to bed was this article which put forth some sound reasoning why Perez might only not tank but be the 2nd best starter on the team:
http://fonzieforever.blogspot.com/2010/01/oliver-perez-will-be-our-2-starter-in.html
trs86
2/16/2010-2:20pm at 2:20 pm (UTC -4)
Great article. Do you have time to throw that up?
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-2:27pm at 2:27 pm (UTC -4)
Yes, will do.
oleosmirf
2/16/2010-2:44pm at 2:44 pm (UTC -4)
i mean it isnt certain but I believe his success is based off a tricky delivery but once teams learn to take pitches and get more familiar with him, he becomes a lot less successful.
I just dont think there is any way he rebounds to be anywhere near what he was in 08 (minus september where he killed us) let alone 07.
Rub it my face if im wrong but unfortunately I dont see him finishing the year with an ERA under 5.00
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-12:21pm at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)
If Pagan replicates his 09 performance (minus the mental mistakes), Frenchy regains his All-Star type performance, and F-Mart finally has a healthy year while putting up some good numbers, what do you do for 2011?
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-12:32pm at 12:32 pm (UTC -4)
This would seem a pleasant problem to have. I would hope one then gets traded to fill a need elsewhere.
stickguy
2/16/2010-12:37pm at 12:37 pm (UTC -4)
try to get tickets for the game where they raise the WS championship banner?
GravediggerHebner
2/16/2010-12:40pm at 12:40 pm (UTC -4)
In my best Flava Flav impression I say “Yeah Boyeeee!”
metsfan4decades
2/16/2010-12:44pm at 12:44 pm (UTC -4)
Nice!
CaseStreet
2/16/2010-1:48pm at 1:48 pm (UTC -4)
I’d trade Frenchy so F-Mart can start and let Pagan backup all OFers.
Mr North Jersey
2/16/2010-1:36pm at 1:36 pm (UTC -4)
baseball talk kool!!!
any word on my sleeper Carter?
Is he still sleeping?
stickguy
2/16/2010-1:41pm at 1:41 pm (UTC -4)
hopefully he launches a bunch of moonshots and looks respectable with the glove, and wins the last spot on the bench (LH PH, BU corner OF and 1B).
whataputz
2/16/2010-5:02pm at 5:02 pm (UTC -4)
I’m always willing to take a risk on a Cuban. Based on 0 research, I’m willing to say they have good track records.