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Ozzy

Edgy MD Oct 21 2020 07:48 PM

If you're Corey Oswalt, you've appeared in 23 games over parts of the last season, with only occasional bouts of success. But you also have an almost uninterrupted record of success in the minors. if you're Corey Oswalt, you started 14 games two years ago, and the team seems not only committed to avoiding any return to that precedent, giving you only one start over the last two seasons, but has really knocked you down the depth chart — not only calling up other guys before you, but rarely calling your number when you are up. Nonetheless the team hasn't removed you from the roster and tried to slip your Oswaltian ass through waivers, so they still see some value there, if only some. This may change as the Rule V draft approaches, but the team has so many players on their roster becoming free agents, they probably won't have to clear a lot of room to add fifth-year prospects to the roster. If you're Corey Oswalt, do you have any future with this ballclub? The numbers game seems to be working against him as a Met, but he probably has a chance waiting on him somewhere. The minor league figures alone seemingly put him a lot higher on the depth chart than the organization's callup decisions seem to.

MFS62 Oct 22 2020 06:55 AM Re: Ozzy

I think he's the kind of pitcher who needs a good defense behind him. So he may have a major league future, but not with the Mets. Later

Benjamin Grimm Oct 22 2020 07:35 AM Re: Ozzy

The Mets have so little starting pitching depth right now. They shouldn't be ruling anyone out at this point. I'm even regretting that Walt Wallet slipped away!

Edgy MD Oct 22 2020 08:01 AM Re: Ozzy

Sewald is in a very similar position. Consistent minor league success. Dwindling opportunities at the big league level (despite the bloated rosters of 2020). Out of options.

Lefty Specialist Oct 22 2020 09:01 AM Re: Ozzy

AAAA. Seen enough.

Edgy MD Oct 22 2020 10:24 AM Re: Ozzy

I haven't at all. I think we see a guy get chances over three years, and it's easy to conclude that he has failed, when he has in fact got a paucity of chances, and his continued roster presence leads us to think he's been in regular rotation. Familiarity leads to contempt and yadda yadda. But Oswalt has appeared in six MLB games over the last two years. I totally haven't seen enough.

Fman99 Oct 22 2020 10:29 AM Re: Ozzy

He really needs to seize his opportunity and bite the head off of that thing.

Edgy MD Oct 22 2020 10:33 AM Re: Ozzy

Certainly, but the way teams rotate players in and out on the back end of the bullpen, what we call opportunities are becoming less and less fair. Guys come up, get two appearances, and if they are good or bad, they disappear for a month, and maybe come back and get zero appearances, before disappearing again. Such a system isn't conducive to transitioning talent into the big leagues.

batmagadanleadoff Oct 22 2020 10:53 AM Re: Ozzy

I commend you for simply keeping track of these fringy pitchers, not to mention coming up with three of four readable paragraphs on them. I still conflate Oswalt with Chris Flexen. And I'd probably conflate them with Jacob Rhame if it weren't for Rhame's conspicuous eyewear. And that's pretty much most of what I know about Rhame: his eyeglasses.

Edgy MD Oct 22 2020 11:14 AM Re: Ozzy

I don't blame you. But I think using them interchangeably not only conflates our perceptions of them, but conflates the organization's and the staff's. Most pitchers are one or two adjustments away from succeeding in the bigs. For 10 seconds there, even deGrom was in a position that might have gotten him tagged as AAAA. But give a guy two to four weeks on a callup, you can form a meaningful opinion on whether you can work with him and get him to make those one or two adjustments and make them consistently stick. Give a guy three days and send him packing for two months, and you don't even know if you've seen all his pitches. Beyond that, a lot of pitchers get their first taste of relieving only after getting called up to the bigs, so they have a lot of adjustments to make, and swapping them in and out because you're terrified of arm injuries doesn't really help them or the organization.

Johnny Lunchbucket Oct 22 2020 12:02 PM Re: Ozzy

No, I agree the Mets have tended to gather in and develop a buttload of fringy pitchers in recent years (good) but don't exhibit any courage of their convictions in committing to them (bad--for them and the pitchers). As a result we run through these guys like popcorn. It's true that a small number of them will ever develop into something better but it doesn;t seem like they even have interest in seeing that happen. McHugh and Gee are examples of guys of that ilk who can succeed but only Gee really ever got a full-blown, actual opportunity and that was mainly because he came up during a period when they couldn't afford as many options. They never act like a team that just says we're gonna go with Oswalt/Rhame come what may and relegate them to light duty if they must. Instead it's one start here, 2 blowout relief jobs there, etc etc . Probably difficult enough to be a prospect without overwhelming stuff; this kind of treatment can't help them.