MIAMI — The New York Mets have their staff ace Authentic Justin Bailey Jersey , at least for the next few weeks. The Miami Marlins hope they begin finding their next ace Friday night.
Rookie Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to make his season debut and his first major league start Friday night when the Marlins host the Mets in the opener of a three-game series between the two teams battling to stay out of the National League East basement at Marlins Park.
Both teams are coming off losses in their most recent games. The host Marlins fell Thursday afternoon to the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0. The Mets were off Thursday after suffering a 5-3 loss Wednesday night to the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates.
The present is pretty bleak for the Mets (32-46) and the Marlins (32-50), who have the two worst records in the NL.
But both teams may get a glimpse at things to come when the 22-year-old Alcantara steps to the mound against perhaps the best pitcher in baseball, New York ace Jacob deGrom (5-3, 1.69 ERA).
For the Marlins, who acquired Alcantara from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Marcell Ozuna last Dec. 14 as part of the organization’s latest teardown, Friday marks the latest step in the development of a pitcher believed to have upper-rotation potential.
Alcantara, who entered the season as Baseball America’s 70th-ranked prospect, throws in the high 90s and also offers an above-average curveball, slider and changeup. He was 5-3 with a 3.71 ERA in 14 starts with Triple-A New Orleans, for whom he exceeded 95 pitches in each of his final six appearances.
“He’s got all the weapons, so for him it’s just being able to sequence (pitches), stay ahead in counts and then the other part is managing the game holding runners Scott Laughton Jersey , things like that,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly told reporters Thursday.
Alcantara didn’t get a decision and posted a 4.32 ERA in eight relief appearances last season with the Cardinals.
As for deGrom, the next month should determine whether or not he becomes the Mets’ building block for the future, or the player whose trade sparks the organization’s rebuilding efforts.
John Ricco, who became one of the three men filling the general manager’s role with the announcement Tuesday that Sandy Alderson is taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on his cancer treatments, said Wednesday that moving deGrom and/or Opening Day starter Noah Syndergaard is not something the club is necessarily looking to do. But he also admitted that he, Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi need to entertain all possibilities as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
The Mets have a bottom-five minor league system and deGrom, who turned 30 earlier this month, has a 2.81 ERA in 123 career starts and does not become a free agent until after the 2020 season, would likely bring back the biggest haul of any pitcher on the market over the next month.
“For me, everything has to be on the table,” Ricco told reporters. “But you have to look long and hard before you move a game-changing Mike Reilly Jersey , top-of-the-rotation pitcher.”
Alcantara has never faced the Mets. DeGrom is 4-4 with a 3.62 ERA in 14 career starts against the Marlins.
Marcedes Lewis wasn't sure if the Green Bay Packers were the right fit for him. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tight end Jimmy Graham made him feel at home at Lambeau Field.
Lewis visited Green Bay last week thinking he wanted to explore his options during his first stint as a free agent following 12 years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He received calls from other teams, but he said that the Packers were the most persistent so he made Lambeau his first stop.
He never made another visit.
"This was the only place I took a trip ... I took my trip, and Aaron was here in the locker room. I started talking to him," Lewis said Thursday. "I started talking to Jimmy and I kind of made my decision that day.
"When I came down here, I didn't expect to sign anything," Lewis added. "I was just coming down here to get a feel. Once I saw Aaron and Jimmy, it was a no-brainer after that."
Lewis, 34, was released by the Jaguars in March after the team had picked up his one-year, $3.5 million option in February. His signing filled a glaring need - a blocking tight end - and gives the Packers another veteran at the position with Graham, a five-time Pro Bowler, and Lance Kendricks.
"I don't think we've had this much experience at the tight end position in my time here Cody Eakin Jersey ," said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who called Lewis a "prime-time player."
"An on-the-line tight end is something we haven't had a lot of, as far as the way we've played over the years," McCarthy added. "He can block any defensive end on the league, and that's definitely a huge asset."
Lewis, who said he felt he got a "raw deal" from the Jaguars, started 157 games for Jacksonville. He has 375 career receptions, including 24 for 318 yards and five touchdowns last year.
Still, Lewis hasn't caught more than 25 passes in a season since 2012, when he had 52 receptions. His best season came in 2010, when he earned his lone Pro Bowl selection by catching a career-high 58 passes for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The 6-foot-6, 269-pound Lewis said he takes the "blocking tight end" moniker as a compliment Authentic Conor Sheary Jersey , but added that "I pride myself on being a really good all-around tight end, whatever it is that I'm called upon to do."
It's the type of attitude that Rodgers loves to hear. Lewis' ability to help slow down pass-rushers should help an offensive line that has questions on the right side.
"Obviously, I'm a really good blocker, but don't get it mistaken. I didn't come here to be a tackle. ... Be on the other side of Jimmy doing some good things," he said. "It's going to be trouble out there."
Graham's strength is making tough catches. Kendricks provides experienced depth.
"Jimmy's not known as a blocking tight end, but he's willing. He will get in the way. He will punch you in the mouth," Lewis said. "So it's going to be interesting. We get in that personnel with three tight ends on the field and (defenses) have to leave base on the field, it's not going to be good."
Washington Redskins Elite Jerseys
« p on people who can get yoYouth Arizona Cardinals Jerseys »
Weitere Artikel der Kategorie Allgemein