The New York Mets‘ news are here. Former player Curtis Granderson, who had several fine seasons in Flushing, announced his retirement on Friday.
Here are the New York Mets’ links and news for the day:
Curtis Granderson: Former Mets player Curtis Granderson announced his retirement today via his official Twitter account. The outfielder had a fantastic playing career that ends with 47.6 fWAR.
In 16 seasons, he finished with a slash line of .249/.337/.465 with a .347 wOBA and a 115 wRC+. He belted 344 homers, scored 1217 runs, drove in 937 and stole 153 bases.
Granderson spent four years with the Mets, from 2014 to 2017, although he finished that last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
His best year with the New York Mets was definitely 2015, where he slashed .259/.364 /.457 with a 131 wRC+ and hit 26 dingers, scored 98 runs, drove in 70 and had 11 thefts. He had a 5.3 fWAR that season.
“This journey would not be possible without those who came before me, breaking barriers to allow a young Curtis Granderson to live out his dream. It’s been an honor to wear my socks high,” he said in his heartfelt goodbye note.
Mike Puma: Luis Rojas, the New York Mets’ manager, picked the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl 37-24 over the San Francisco 49ers.
“I am rooting for Pat Mahomes’ son because he was a Met and it was exciting to watch him play. I am pretty certain they root for us also,” he said.
MLB.com: The league’s official website ran a story about each team’s best non-top 100 prospect. The official list came to light a few days ago, and this exercise was about seeing who was on the outside looking, but came close to making the group.
The Mets’ representative in the not-quite-top-100 list was right-handed hurler Matthew Allan. Here is what MLB.com wrote about him:
“The Mets saved enough money with their first two picks in the 2019 Draft that they were able to sign Allan, arguably the top prep arm in the class, for $2.5 million (roughly four times his slot value) after taking him in the third round. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder is the definition of a high-ceiling prospect, as he already features a plus fastball-curveball combo as well as a changeup that should be at least above average.”
Michael Baron: The Mets have six starters for five spots. That means that one between Michael Wacha, Rick Porcello or Steven Matz will start the season in the bullpen. Unless the team decides to go with a six-man rotation. Remember that Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman are the first three starters.
Michael Baron shared his thoughts about the idea via Twitter while replying to a fan question. “I think they’ll go to a six-man rotation as-needed. Perhaps if they’re in a long stretch of games. But I don’t see this becoming mainstream for the Mets,” he wrote.