Mets Morning News: Who’ll stop the rain

Meet the Mets

The Mets and Yankees were rained out with a makeup date scheduled for August 13.

The turbulent skies not only hung over the stadium, but seemingly over the Mets organization as well.

Assistant GM John Ricco finally met with the media in an effort to clear up several situations. The first was Yoenis Cespedes’s status. Despite being on the disabled list for nine weeks, the Mets were still caught by surprise that Cespedes might need foot surgery. Ricco said that the team is hopeful for a more conservative approach to his injury.

Despite the fact that both the player and front office were saying different things to the media, Ricco insisted there was no miscommunication.

Surgery or not, Cespedes’s injury could get worse before it gets better.

The next topic Ricco attempted to address was the trade of Jeurys Familia that has been almost universally panned. Some reactions to the trade have been disbelief (paywall alert), another was that they undersold, and finally that it was a sign of utter hopelessness by the organization.

Ricco stated that the trade met their expectations and that the team is still willing to eat salary in future trades.

The final topic was a bit of a bombshell by the Assistant GM. He revealed Noah Syndergaard contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease and would have to go on the DL.

This press conference, and the events leading up to it, did little to clear the organization’s reputation of being inept and reinforced the belief that they are tone deaf.

It was also clear that the three GM tandem is not a good way to conduct business.

Finally, some things go beyond bad luck when the organization as a whole is decaying.

The 2018 team is bad but it is nothing compared to the antics of the 1993 team.

On a positive note, prospect Andres Gimenez received a well-deserved promotion to Double-A.

Justin Dunn has been impressive since being promoted to Double-A and has arguably become the Mets’ best pitching prospect.

Around the National League East

The Braves have shown some interest in acquiring several players on the Orioles. Atlanta fell to Washington 6-2.

Drew Steckenrider could be an interesting trade piece for the Marlins. Miami lost on a walk-off grand slam to the Rays. The Marlins could get some help from intriguing prospects after the trade deadline.

The Padres hammered the Phillies in the first game of their doubleheader 10-2. Philadelphia got their revenge in the second game and shut out the Padres 5-0. After the lengthy day of baseball, they optioned Aaron Altherr and Mark Leiter Jr. to Triple-A.

The Nationals traded struggling outfielder Brian Goodwin to the Royals. Closer Sean Doolittle will be out an extended period of time as he deals with a stress reaction in his foot. The Nationals came out victorious against the Braves.

Around Major League Baseball

The Blue Jays are looking to trade third baseman Josh Donaldson even though the slugger is currently on the disabled list.

The Pirates are baseball’s hottest team right now but can they be considered a playoff contender?

Jacob deGrom headlines the stars that have been discussed leading up to the trade deadline, but there are others that are more likely to move.

Matt Harvey has also been the subject of trade rumors with the Reds, but he suffered a disastrous outing against the Pirates.

Chris Sale helped lead the Red Sox to their 70th win.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Vasilis Drimalitis wrote about Syndergaard’s illness.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1999, the Mets traded for pitcher Kenny Rodgers. The following year the team attempted to acquire Barry Larkin but he vetoed the trade after they wouldn’t grant him an extension.