Mets Sign John Mayberry Jr.

The Mets announced today that they signed outfielder John Mayberry Jr. to a one-year deal worth 1.45 million dollars. Last year in a combined season with the Phillies and Blue Jays, Mayberry hit .212 with 7 homers and 23 RBI's. He had an on-base percentage of .310 and a slugging percentage of .425. Against left-handed pitching, Mayberry posted a .913 on-base plus slugging last year and has a lifetime .857 OPS against lefties. I think Mayberry Jr was a good signing for the Mets since they needed to add a right-handed bat off of the bench. He adds some power and is a solid defensive player. He can start against left-handed pitching, which would allow Michael Cuddyer to play 1b. Mayberry Jr is an upgrade over Eric Campbell, who was going to the main right-handed bat off the bench. This was a good pickup by Sandy Alderson and hopefully there will be moves to come.

Morning News: Eric Young Jr, right handed bat, Gooden's comments.

Eric Young Jr. has been non-tendered by the Mets and is now a free agent. The Mets brass agreed to let Eric Young go a few hours before the December 2nd deadline. Eric Young is the only one of the seven arbitration eligible players to be let go, as it is believed Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada, Jenrry Mejia, Lucas Duda, Bobby Parnell, and Dillon Gee will all get contracts for the 2015 season.

Eric Young finished the 2014 campaign with a .299 average and was projected to earn $2.3 million in arbitration for the upcoming season.

The Mets are actively looking for a right handed bat to come off the bench, according to multiple reports. Names such as Justin Turner and Johnny Gomes have surfaced recently as possible candidates. The Mets would like to add a right handed hitting outfielder specifically for when Michael Cuddyer plays first base against lefties. The Mets bench currently constitutes as follows: Ruben Tejada, Matt Den Decker, Anthony Recker, and Eric Campbell. 

Former Mets rookie of the year and 1986 world series champion Dwight Goode, recently told Yahoo Sports, Dec 2 that he believes the Mets will contend for a world championship in 2016. Gooden also noted he believes the Mets will make great strides in 2015 and "should" be in a playoff position. But, on the 30th anniversary of the 1986 team, Doc believes the Mets will win it all.

For fun: How the Mets off season of 2005 compares to the off season of 2014

I know, there it is, the dreaded face of Omar Minaya, probably answering a question or two on how he could have built a team to collapse on consecutive years with an over $150 million dollar payroll. That's an argument for another day.

This past weekend I decided to go back into the archives, whether it be newspapers, blogs, or baseball magazines, and try to understand the "buzz" surrounding the New York Mets 2005 off season and the there-after optimism entering 2006. I was too young to fully comprehend the baseball world at this time, thinking every Mets season would result in a brand new slate with the same chances of making the playoffs as everyone else. While this is mathematically true, we know that from year-to-year some teams have a better chance than others based on no more than their roster.

The offseason of 2005 was the Mets "go-for-it" year, much like many are proclaiming the offseason of 2014 to be. If you remember, the Mets had just come off a season where they missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, three of which were under.500 campaigns. Today that seems like nothing compared to eight straight years of missing the playoffs, seven of which have resulted in under .500 campaigns, but nevertheless the Mets were, and currently are, in win now mode.

Omar Manaya's philosophy to building up his major league team differs from Sandy Alderson's. Omar's budget flexibility allowed him to secure the best of the best out on the free agent market, such as Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, and others. Sandy Alderson, while recently signing some key free agents, has taken a "build through the farm system approach," while operating on a more limited budget. No doubt Omar's philosophy will get you to the top quicker, Sandy's is more sustainable.

Heading into spring training in 2006, Mets fans were just hoping for the team to be competitive, watchable, and mired in a late season wild-card race. With the Braves having won fifteen consecutive divison titles, the division was a pipe dream. As it turns out, the Mets not only remained competitive that year, they dominated, wining the Eastern division title by more than 10 games.

This offseason, Mets fans, thanks to the addition of OF Michael Cuddyer and the return of ace Matt Harvey, just want to see the Mets competitive, watchable, and mired in a late season race. Sound fimiliar? This type of of fseason hasn't occurred since 2005/2006...and the Mets dominated that year.

Hot Stove: Nelson Cruz and David Robertson.

It was said recently that Sandy Alderson may be willing to part with his second round draft pick to sign another free agent later this offseason, much like the Orioles and Red Sox did with Stephen Drew and Nelson Cruz last offseason. Of the available free agents in the Mets price range, two are on the verge of signing. In fact, Nelson Cruz has signed a 4 year/$67 million dollar deal with the Orioles,  courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors, and David Robertson is said to be mulling multiple contract offers that would secure him for multiple years, courtesy of John Heyman. The only other available free agent that could fit the Mets budget would be OF Melky Cabrera.

Offseason 2014: Chances these players get dealt

In 42 minutes the clock with strike 12:00 AM, signaling the countdown to not only Christmas 2014, but to the baseball winter meetings. A fast paced offseason has already seen major talent acquired and dealt away as clubs retool for the upcoming marathon that will be the 2015 baseball season. Our beloved New York Mets headed into the offseason with three major needs: left fielder, short stop, lefty reliever. The Mets sprung out of the gate and acquired OF Michael Cuddyer on a 2-year deal on November 8th. With a rich pile of pitching depth to trade, the Mets will enter the second month of the offseason ready to pull the trigger to upgrade other areas of the team. Below are who the Mets are most likely to trade if such a situation arises at the Winter Meetings next weekend:

1. Bartolo Colon-60% chance the Mets find a suitor for the soon-to-be 42 year old starting pitcher. Colon's 1 year/11 million dollar contract is friendly enough to a team a pitcher or two away from serious contention. Colon was signed last offseason as the bridge to Matt Harvey's return in 2015. With Harvey's return imminent, the Mets will look to deal Colon, free up the 11 million, and slide a younger, long term option in the number 4 or 5 starter's spot in the rotation.

2. Dillon Gee- 45% Unlike Bartolo Colon in many ways, including age, contract, and recent history of durability, Dillon Gee seems to be losing favor within the Mets organization. Last season's opening day starter, Gee has not found the consistent health or performance the Mets would have liked to see, thus the idea of trading him in return for a lefty reliever, or in a package for a short stop, has been rather attracting to Sandy Alderson. Problem is, teams aren't necessarily jumping to acquire Gee, who's own inconsistency and health issues has scared off many teams in hope of contention.

3. Jon Niese-30% Niese's talent is there, and so are his injuries. Much like Dillon Gee, Jon Niese has struggled to stay on the field at times during the last few seasons. Niece's injuries deal with his left shoulder, an injury that many teams feel will require major surgery in a few year's time. Niese's team friendly contract and the fact that he's the only left starter on the team, are all reasons to believe Sandy will just decide to keep Niese, who should slide into the number 3 or 4 spot in the rotation should he remain healthy.

Mets News: Fores, Hall of Fame Ballot, Spring Training.

Wilmer Flores: The ever popular, and reliable, FansGraphs.com constructed a table recently of all short stops in major league baseball. The table predicted their stats, over the course of a full season, should they all remain healthy in 2015. Mets SS Wilmer Flores came in the middle of the pact, in front of Xander Bogarts, Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Stephen Drew. Flores's projected stats are as followed: .255 AVG; 14 HR; 56 RBI

Hall of Fame Ballot: It has been recently announced that Pedro Martinez, Mike Piazza, Carlos Delgado and Cliff Floyd, all former Mets, will be placed on January's hall of fame ballot for 2015. This will be Mike Piazza's third straight year on the ballot.

Spring Training: The Mets announced pitchers and catchers will report to spring training on February 19th. Positions players will report 2/24 and full practices will take place 2/26.

Non Mets related: The Red Sox are a powerhouse, again.

The die hard Mets fan in me has always had a very very small attraction for the Red Sox. The Knicks fan in me has a deep hatred for the Celtics, but that's a story for another day.

In 2012, the Red Sox were a disaster. Bobby Valentine was fired after one year and the Red Sox had seen their first losing season since the Revolutionary War (it felt like). Since then, Boston has picked up their third world series ring in the new millennium, and subsequently finished in last place in 2014. So, what does this mean for 2015? After today's it means the one thing we care about: The Yankees are screwed!

According to multiple reports such as ESPN and Yahoo! The Red Sox have agreed to terms with SS/3B Hanley Ramirez. With Bogarts settled at short, many would think the Red Sox would simply put Hanley at third base, where he played in 2012 for the Miami Marlins. Not so fast. Boston has also agreed to terms with 3B Pablo Sandoval on a similar 5 year/$100 million dollar contract. Ramirez is expected to play left field if both signings become a official.

Once again, the Red Sox have positioned themselves nicely after a down year. The last time it meant a world title. This time? We'll wait and see.