Despite the sad Sunday in which we lost Kobe Bryant, the New York Mets kept generating news. They signed a pitcher for depth, for example, and players voiced their pleasure about working with new manager Luis Rojas.
Here are the New York Mets’ daily links:
Jesse Sanchez: The New York Mets signed right-handed pitcher Erasmo Ramirez to a Minor League deal. The pact comes, as it usually does by this time of the year, with an invitation to Spring Training.
Ramirez, despite being around for what it seems like a while, is still only 29. If he is in shape, he could potentially make the team. He has the ability to function as a starter or reliever, depending on need.
He only made one appearance with the Boston Red Sox last season, and it didn’t go particularly well. Ramirez also struggled in Triple-A to the tune of a 4.74 ERA. For the price of a minor league deal, it may be worthwhile.
MLB.com: The New York Mets seem to have a good amount of faith on new manager Luis Rojas. Pete Alonso was among his biggest fans in the team’s Fan Fest, held over the weekend.
“Seeing him manage a game, I mean, the dude never loses cool, he never hits the panic button, he’s always so prepared, and he doesn’t just use his knowledge of the game, he uses his instincts very, very well,†Alonso said. “He’s paid his dues managing in the Minor Leagues, he’s paid his dues managing in the Dominican [Winter League], he’s been in the playoffs in the Minor Leagues a ton, and he’s won championships in the Dominican. I think people don’t really understand how difficult that is. Because in the Minors, you have a shuffling of players going up, down, guys signing, guys getting released — it’s a revolving door. Same thing in the Dominican Winter League.
MetsMerizedOnline.com: One of the stalwarts of the Mets’ rotation, Steven Matz, aims to improve even more in 2020. Jeremy Hefner, Jeremy Accardo, and the rest of the coaching staff (and the organization as a whole) are eager to help him reach a new level.
“I worked a lot with [pitching coach Phil Regan] and [assistant pitching coach] Jeremy Accardo on a few different things but not really one thing I can put my finger on. I think I was just learning as I went out there every time. So just going out there is huge for me,†he said at the fan fest.
Matz praised Jeremy Hefner and implied that he is happy to work with him. “[Henfer] understands the analytics side of it really well and he understands how to communicate that to guys that are playing that can make sense and you can translate that,” he said. “I think that’s a big thing. All of this analytics is new and sometimes it’s tough for us to understand what it even means and how we can make adjustments based on that stuff. He’s really good at articulating and kinda giving us cues to make small adjustments.”