Mets bring back Adam Ottavino with bullpen help needed

*ernie

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Jan 28, 2024, 1:51:39 PMJan 28

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mets-bring-back-adam-ottavino-with-bullpen-help-needed/ar-BB1hmm3p?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=bdc55be409484c4caa460d91f721290a&ei=20

He was neither the reason they were good (when they were good), nor was
it his fault when they sucked (which was usually the case). It's just
another live arm, albeit one they're familiar with.

--
ernie k.
already...@hotmail.com

tmp

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Jan 29, 2024, 10:18:06 AMJan 29

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He's been mostly good for the Mets overall. He's pitched to a 2.62 ERA over his 2 seasons with them, and was a key cog in the pen in 2022. But he did fall off quite a bit last year, which could be a bad sign for this coming season when he'll be 38. He has his downsides....slow delivery to the plate making him vulnerable to the running game, and much less effective against LH batters than RH batters. His career OPS against LH batters is close to .800, and just above .600 vs RH batters.

Not a bad signing though, it's only 1 year so low risk in that way.

*ernie

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Jan 29, 2024, 8:27:41 PMJan 29

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That seems to be the trend this off-season. My guess is they're going to
wait until their minor league teams are ready to fill a pipe-line to the
majors; that's at minimum 2 years away. Newspapers say they're waiting
till next year to make a splash.

tmp

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Jan 31, 2024, 9:36:22 AMJan 31

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The free agent market is expected to be stronger next year, and that most likely has been affecting some of their decisions this off season.

The minor league pipeline needs work, although not completely hopeless. Minor league prospects lists can be more like educated guesswork than anything, but FWIW, the Mets have 4 players listed on the recently released MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects list for 2024. The highest ranked is Jett Williams, a 20 year old shortstop that the Mets drafted. The other 3 came back in the Scherzer/Verlander trades. Could see some/all of these players this year, including Williams, according to David Stearns anyway.
https://metsmerizedonline.com/mlb-pipeline-ranks-williams-gilbert-acuna-clifford-as-top-100-prospects/

*ernie

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Jan 31, 2024, 3:53:56 PMJan 31

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My opinion is that the guys they tout the most never seem to prosper.
Their successful rookies over the years were guys you didn't hear about
them until spring training. I don't remember them praising Alonso or
Nimmo when they were minor leaguers. Even going back as far as Gooden.
Strawberry was the last guy I remember who lived up to the hype. You can
add Seaver and Ryan if we're nitpicking; albeit Ryan came into his own
with California. I don't remember them hyping Koosman or Cleon Jones.
Cross fingers and hope for the best

poppingmad ontherun

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Feb 1, 2024, 8:26:57 AMFeb 1

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On 1/31/24 09:36, tmp wrote:
> The free agent market is expected to be stronger next year, and that
> most likely has been affecting some of their decisions this off season.

this years market had Shoi Otony the Cy Young Winner Blake Snell

tmp

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Feb 1, 2024, 11:25:56 AMFeb 1

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It was definitely the case with Nimmo. Forget hyping him - if anything it seemed like they downplayed him. But yes, there were a good number of over-hyped busts for sure. Not all were - Reyes and Wright come to mind. And Wright would have had an even better career if it wasn't for the serious back condition that cut his career short.

Jett Williams does look pretty good to me....he has put up an impressive .421 OBP so far in the minors at a young age - 19 last season. That's usually a good sign (that's a skill Nimmo always had too). Williams has speed and some power too, and plays middle infield, also a little CF. As always, time will tell.