2K24: New York Mets

[ThatRogue]

So you are hoping to be Senga-ing his praises?








(I'll show myself out)

LOL I certainly hope so…

[madducks]

Mets hire former manager Carlos Beltran as a special assistant to GM Billy Eppler.

[revo]

Uhhhh, I think Edwin Diaz just blew out his ACL celebrating a walk-off win in the WBC

[Sour Masher]

Uhhhh, I think Edwin Diaz just blew out his ACL celebrating a walk-off win in the WBC

Heartbreaking. The best closer in the game may be out for the year....I know celebrations are fun to watch, but nothing is more brutal than a player getting hurt celebrating.

[revo]

Heartbreaking. The best closer in the game may be out for the year....I know celebrations are fun to watch, but nothing is more brutal than a player getting hurt celebrating in a meaningless game.

Fixed

[madducks]

The title of "best closer in the game" is quickly becoming a curse. First Chapman, then Hader, then Hendriks, and now Edwin Diaz.

[Ken]

The title of "best closer in the game" is quickly becoming a curse. First Chapman, then Hader, then Hendriks, and now Edwin Diaz.

Yeah it's almost like we shouldn't ever draft early closers. I wish someone had been recommending that for years

[harmon]

Yeah it's almost like we shouldn't ever draft early closers. I wish someone had been recommending that for years

I think after Hendricks and Diaz this year going down before the season even starts that will be the strategy du jour next year.

[Ken]

I think after Hendricks and Diaz this year going down before the season even starts that will be the strategy du jour next year.

The combination of :

a) being a pitcher - which means you're going to get hurt it's just a matter of when it happens,
b) the job itself being so fluid that 50% of the closers today won't be closers in a few months and
c) mlb teams no longer value saves they are putting more and more of the best short inning relievers in fireman roles;

Suggests that putting our fantasy $/picks in this bucket is unwise. Now could it anecdotally work out, sure, but is it a wise investment? IMO nope.

[The Feral Slasher]

I think after Hendricks and Diaz this year going down before the season even starts that will be the strategy du jour next year.

So people are going to consider relievers more risky because of these two? What happened to them was unrelated to relief pitching.

[Sour Masher]

The combination of :

a) being a pitcher - which means you're going to get hurt it's just a matter of when it happens,
b) the job itself being so fluid that 50% of the closers today won't be closers in a few months and
c) mlb teams no longer value saves they are putting more and more of the best short inning relievers in fireman roles;

Suggests that putting our fantasy $/picks in this bucket is unwise. Now could it anecdotally work out, sure, but is it a wise investment? IMO nope.

I agree for the vast majority of closers. I almost never pay up for closers and saves are not super hard to find cheap, if you can anticipate who loses their jobs and who is next in line. But for all of these reasons, the very few truly elite options, like Diaz was this year (in fact, I had him alone in the elite tier this year), are worth an investment imo. My strategy is to land one of those top 2 or 3 elite guys when I can, which is rarely, because I don't like spending big at closer, but I ain't letting those really top tier guys go cheap, when the stars align, and the top guys seem to have it all--health, strong team, a decently long track record of elite performance, etc. I think there is a lot of value in their relative stability at a very volatile position, and the real elite options really stand out in overall numbers. I may not get them often, but I make sure they go for full fair market value and if I do land one, and I do try to trade for them when the teams that paid up for them end up dumping .

[Sour Masher]

Fixed

A Mets fan may feel that way, but not the fans watching WBC. I think it is a lot of fun and is good for baseball on the whole. Players get hurt all the time in spring training too. The part that really frustrates me is that these celebration injuries have happened many times and players don't seem to learn to calm that crap down. I get the joy of winning and you want to celebrate, but there is too much at stake to be going crazy. Why threaten your career jumping in the air with cleats on, hacking up shoulders and knees, etc. Bellinger has never gotten right after his celebration injury. Diaz is probably out for the year with his. He didn't get hurt playing. He got hurt celebrating. I guess we can both be old men shouting from are lawns about this very frustrating injury, but I prefer to shout about how it happened during a celebration, which I never get, especially when a bunch of guys jump up and down bouncing off each other in cleats, it is a recipe for disaster, vs how it happened in the WBC, which I think is a lot of fun and good for the game. I just wish everyone celebrated without acting like they were in a mosh pit or slamming into each other in weird ways they are not used to.

[GwynnInTheHall]

So people are going to consider relievers more risky because of these two? What happened to them was unrelated to relief pitching.

Like Ken, I've advocated waiting on closers or avoiding them altogether and FAABing them. Again, like Ken said, they're no sure bet to keep the job even if they start with it out of ST. In the 5 leagues I'm in I have only 2 traditional closers to start the season only 1 of whom I drafted (this year). I draft handcuffs and high leverage RPs in the later rounds and actively use FAAB to glean the rest. I can recall how many times I've been burned trading for closers to make a money run, but it's been quite a few times. So much so that I'm just over it.

Whether an unrelated injury or an in game injury or just general ineffectiveness, closers are the least secure investment in rotoball from my perspective. even the $1 buck Bender you dealt me last year was one buck too much.

Just my .02

[harmon]

So people are going to consider relievers more risky because of these two? What happened to them was unrelated to relief pitching.

I think the high profiles of Diaz and Hendricks are going to resonate with drafters next year.

Every team ends up with several starters, if one of them goes down it's not the end of the world. If you invest heavily in a top tier closer that goes down it is the end of the world as you don't have multiple guys to pick up the void. Handcuffing is tough, you usually need to overpay to be sure to get the one you want and damn near always it becomes some sort of crazy committee that was totally unpredictable.

I just go in to one draft every year (always in January) so I know who to cheer for. I picked Diaz as the second last pick in the 2nd round of a 15 teamer this year mostly because being at the turn I knew the top closers would be gone before it got back to me. I didn't feel good about it at the time but held my nose and passed on some really good hitters. I went in to serious buyer's remorse as the draft went along and now I guess this was the Baseball God's message to me to follow your instincts.

[virgonomic]

I think the high profiles of Diaz and Hendricks are going to resonate with drafters next year.

Every team ends up with several starters, if one of them goes down it's not the end of the world. If you invest heavily in a top tier closer that goes down it is the end of the world as you don't have multiple guys to pick up the void. Handcuffing is tough, you usually need to overpay to be sure to get the one you want and damn near always it becomes some sort of crazy committee that was totally unpredictable.

I rarely draft closers early (or spend big bucks at auction) because the position is so volatile. This was never as evident as last year when around half the Opening Day closers lost their jobs. There will be myriad replacement closers during the season - the key is to follow player news (RJ is great for that) and pounce when the opportunities arise (or stash prospective save candidates).