Conine

            The Mets paid much more for Jeff Conine than they did for Luis Castillo, while getting less back.  My initial reaction to the trade and Conine’s overall batting line was fairly negative, but upon further analysis, I like the move. 

            Why?  Simply, Conine still hits lefties a little.  He’s hitting .266/.327/.477 against southpaws with nine doubles and six home runs in 128 at-bats.  As long as he’s used strictly against lefties, he can be a very useful part on a Mets team that needed another option from the right side.

              Make no mistake, the Mets’ rash of injuries dictated this trade.  With Delgado hurting, Shawn Green has played first in a left/right platoon with Damion Easley.  Easley’s now done for the month if not the year.  Green is hitting a paltry .193/.267/.284 against lefties.  Delgado was hitting .257/.307/.372. 

            Before analyzing the trade, consider the null set, without an external move.  Not much is left in New Orleans.  The best Zephyr right-handed bat is Chip Ambres who was hitting .282/.380/.507.  The outfielder hasn’t played a single game in the infield this year.  The other two most productive Zephyrs both left-handed hitters: 1B Andy Tracy (.272/.381/.473) and David Newhan (.352/.404/.549).  The Mets didn’t have what they were looking for – a righthanded bat who can play first - in-house. 

            Before you go ga-ga for Conine’s grizzled veteran experience and World Series rings, understand that at 41, he’s no longer the hitter he once was.  Conine was hitting .265/.320/.409 overall for Cincinnati.  His VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) expressed in total runs was 3.4, 12th on the Reds.  His WARP1, (Wins Above Replacement Player expressed in wins) which includes fielding is a mere 0.5.  The 41-year-old Conine is a barely above replacement level – fitting since he passed through waivers.   However, he can still help the Mets.

            In the abstract, I wouldn’t like sending Jose Castro and Sean Henry to the Reds for a month and a half (in the regular season) of Jeff Conine.  However, the specifics, pressures and roster demands of a pennant race change the analysis significantly.      Unlike the kids sent to the Twins (Drew Butera and Dustin Martin) for Luis Castillo, if you squint hard enough, you can project some type of MLB future for those sent to the Reds for Conine although both are no better than second tier prospects.  Trade one had no real risk, with this one there is a slight possibility that Mets fans will be shaking their heads in a few years. 

            Sean Henry, who turned 22 last Saturday, was hitting .293/.355/.456 with 26 doubles, 7 triples and 11 home runs in 114 games in the Florida State League.  A toolsy former shortstop, who moved to the outfield in 2006, he was ranked by Baseball America as the Mets 23rd best prospect entering 2007.  In my last on-the-fly rankings of Mets prospects, I had Henry around 15.  It’s conceivable that he’ll grow up to be a MLB centerfielder, but, in the event he does make it to the show, a fourth outfielder is more likely.  In an organization with Beltran, and fellow 1982 babies Milledge and Gomez, already in the big leagues, Henry didn’t really have an obvious spot.

            Jose Castro is a tiny switch-hitting shortstop (5’8”, 160 lbs) who burst onto the scene this year with a .318/.363/.383 performance in St. Lucie after hitting .219/.286/.251 for Hagerstown in 2006.  I’ve heard scouts criticize his approach (Duh!) but also his glove work at short, suggesting that if he had a big league future it would be at second.  Just 20, Castro had committed 17 errors in 77 games and was just 7-for-17 stealing bases.  I had him a few places behind Sean Henry in evaluating the Mets system.  In a Mets organization with Ruben Gotay or Anderson Hernandez preparing to do battle for second base in a post-Castillo world, Castro, who was years away anyway, had little future. 

            Anyway, it’s worth spending a few grade B prospects to acquire some right-handed depth. 

 

Pedro & Endy

            In St. Lucie, Pedro allowed just one hit and a walk through four innings.  In the fifth, after a leadoff single, two errors on shortstop Emmanuel Garcia and a Pedro wild pitch after a bunt led to two unearned runs.  Pedro touched 89 multiple times, and all reports were positive.  I recommend the New York Times story and the one on Mets.com for more on Pedro’s fine performance in front of Rick Petersen and many other familiar faces.  At last check, he was scheduled to make a triple-A appearance before heading back to NYC.  I’ll be in New Orleans next week and hope to catch Pedro in person. 

            Endy Chavez was 3-4 and scored a run.  He’ll only make the Mets more left-handed. 

 

Roster Madness

            It’s been a crazy day of movement in the organization, so I’ll try to give the quick version below. 

            Ricky Ledee has retired, so the Mets placed him on the restricted list.  Jason Vargas will return from the DL.  The Mets acquired 29 year old outfielder Luis Matos from the Pirates.  Matos was hitting .257/.325/.356 for Indianapolis in the International League. 

            The B-Mets were involved in six different transactions.  Marcelo Perez and J.E. Cruz were placed on the DL while Michael Devaney was activated from the DL.  Eddie Camacho was sent down from New Orleans, Luis Rivera was promoted from Savannah and Edwards Guzman was signed from the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League. The 30-year old was hitting .408/.460/.583 in 25 games.  I have very little context for those stats. 

            St. Lucie merely lost their starting shortstop and their second starting outfielder in the last month. Two days ago, Victor Mendez joined St. Lucie from the GCL.  Jeramy Simmons, who was on the Sand Gnats’ DL, is now listed on the St. Lucie roster.

            Savannah sent Luis Rivera to double-A, but received outfielder Richard Pena and Brandon Richey from Kingsport. 

            Ezequiel Carrera, who was tearing up the GCL to the tune of .341/.430/.436, joined Brooklyn. 

            Note carefully: Brooklyn was the only minor league affiliate to get better Monday. 

           

 

Stars of the Day:

AAA: Chip Ambres/Joe Smith

AA: Jose Sanchez/Luis Rivera

A+: Pedro Martinez/Endy Chavez

A: Richard Pena/Jonathan Castillo

SSA: Dylan Owen & Stephen Clyne & Eddie Kunz

R-App: Michael Olmstead

R-GCL: Nathan Vineyard & Gabriel Zavala

 

 

AAA – New Orleans (Pacific Coast League)

Oklahoma RedHawks (65-63) 6, @ Zephyrs (66-64) 2

 

            The slumping Zs fell out of first place and into a tie with Oklahoma, one half game behind the Albuquerque Isotopes who were rained out Monday. 

            Dave Williams was Dave Williams, allowing five runs on four walks and seven hits in six innings.  In happier mound news, Joe Smith worked a scoreless, eighth with a hit and a strikeout. 

            Chip Ambres launched two solo home runs and David Newhan was 2-4 from the top of the order. 

 

AA – Binghamton (Eastern League)

Mets (54-71) 6, @ Portland Sea Dogs (64-61) 2

 

            Jose Sanchez (4-7, 3.90) allowed one run on three hits in six innings.  Michael Devaney returned from the DL and struck out a batter, but gave up a run on three hits.  Eddie Camacho earned his first EL save of 2007 with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with three punchouts. 

            The bottom three hitters in the B-Mets order, Vince Harrison, Jamar Hill and Luis Rivera add had two hits.  Harrison and Hill each doubled, while Rivera drove home two in his double-A debut.  Mike Carp hit his ninth home run of the year. 

 

A+ -- St. Lucie (Florida State League)

@ Mets (30-25) 4, Brevard County Manatees (28-27) 3

 

            We’ve already been over the big news here – Pedro’s major step forward, and Endy’s three hit game.  Only Josh Petersen, (.293/.334/.436) who was 2-4 also added multiple hits.

            Knuckleballing Joe Hietpas followed Martinez with two scoreless innings. 

            With the Mets eighth win in a row, combined with the Manatees third straight defeat, the Mets now hold a two game lead over Brevard County. 

 

 

A – Savannah (South Atlantic League)

Kannapolis Intimidators (27-29/59-67) 2, @ Sand Gnats (19-36/39-86) 1

 

            Richard Pena, who hit .227/.365/.357 in the Appalachian League, drilled a home run in his first SAL game. His home run was one of just five Gnats hits on the evening.

            Jonathan Castillo was solid over 6.1 innings, but allowed two runs on four walks and six hits.  He fanned five.  David Koons fanned two in working through the eighth inning. 

 

SSA – Brooklyn (New York-Penn League)

@ Cyclones (37-18) 1, Staten Island Yankees (34-23) 0

 

            Dylan Owen allowed just three hits over six shutout innings.  He fanned five and walked two.  Stephen Clyne worked around three hits in two innings, but struck out two in the seventh and eighth.  Eddie Kunz whiffed one in the ninth for his third save. 

            The Cyclones scored the game’s only run in the bottom of the first when J.R. Voyles single home Micah Schilling.  

 

SSA – Kingsport (Appalachian League)

Princeton Devil Rays (26-32) 3, @ Mets (30-31) 1 (11 innings)

 

            Michael Olmstead gave up just one hit in six innings, walking three and punching out six.  Eventually, the D-Rays got to Jason Lavorgna for two runs in the 11th. 

            Nicholas Giarraputo and Bradley Hubbert each had two hits. 

 

R – St. Lucie (Gulf Coast League)

GCL Mets (19-31) 9, @ GCL Nationals (22-29) 4

 

            Nathan Vineyard struck out eight (!) in four innings without walking a batter.  He yielded two runs, only one of which was earned. 

            Gabriel Zavala (.278/.347/.468 – age 20) was 2-5 with a double and drove home five. 

 

Toby Hyde has written Toby’s Mets Minor League Report since 2004.  Please pass this along to friends, family, co-workers, enemies and most importantly Mets fans.  To subscribe to the email newsletter, sign up here: http://groups.google.com/group/mets-minors?hl=en.  Archives are available at http://metsminors.metsblog.com.