Heading into his first spring training as Mets general manager Craig Biggio Jersey , the former player agent has already engineered a major roster overhaul that has New York eyeing the playoffs in a beefed-up NL East.In a flurry of offseason moves that began with a blockbuster trade with Seattle, the Mets added second baseman Robinson Cano, closer Edwin Diaz, catcher Wilson Ramos and infielder Jed Lowrie. They also brought back reliever Jeurys Familia, traded away last summer, to serve as their eighth-inning setup man.All of them recent All-Stars.Add those newcomers to a talented rotation headlined by NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, and suddenly the Mets look like potential contenders again after consecutive losing seasons.“We had a very specific agenda when we started the offseason and we’ve just been going down that list,” Van Wagenen said last month. “We feel really good about what we accomplished and we feel really good about the team that we have.”Of course, the Mets have felt good going into spring training before — only to have their last two seasons ruined by injuries and underperformance. With that in mind, Van Wagenen and his new colleagues focused on building depth and versatility to better absorb the inevitable setbacks.New York spent big bucks to take on Cano’s contract and about $80 million more in free agency, spreading it around to upgrade several areas. Speedy outfielder Keon Broxton and corner infielder J.D. Davis were obtained in trades to boost the bench, at the very least. Established veterans like pitcher Hector Santiago, reliever Luis Avilan and outfielder Rajai Davis were signed to minor league contracts as insurance George Springer Jersey , and maybe more.“We recognized that we had multiple needs,” Van Wagenen said. “We needed to get better in the bullpen. We needed to increase our run production. … The goal from the beginning was to try to address all of our needs in the most efficient way that we could.”Not only on the field, either.In the dugout, new bench coach Jim Riggleman and hitting instructor Chili Davis join manager Mickey Callaway’s staff. In the front office, additions were made in analytics, scouting and player development.When he was introduced as GM last fall, a confident Van Wagenen vowed New York would win now and in the future. His bold moves this offseason led him to say the Mets consider themselves NL East favorites — and he challenged their division rivals to “come get us.”“He’s working hard, that’s all I can tell you. And the rest of the crew around him is working hard,” chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said. “It’s coming together. There’s a new feeling around the office that everybody is rolling in the same direction.”The first workout for pitchers and catchers is Thursday. Some things to keep an eye on as the Mets begin spring training:NEW LOOK: There are newcomers all over the diamond, including at catcher (Ramos), second base (Cano) and third base (Lowrie). Todd Frazier could move from third to first. Broxton could challenge Juan Lagares for playing time in center field. Jeff McNeil, who impressed as a rookie last season, shifts from second base to the outfield and a potential utility role.“I’m really excited people think we have too many good players. And I’m not concerned at all about finding playing time for the best 25 guys that we have http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-gattis-jersey , and I don’t think any of our players are concerned about that,” Van Wagenen said. “We are going to use our versatility to our advantage.”ROOKIES TO WATCH: Top power-hitting prospect Peter Alonso, who led all minor leaguers with 36 homers and 119 RBIs combined at Double-A and Triple-A last season, gets a chance to win the first base job. Former star quarterback Tim Tebow also will be in big league camp and is ticketed for Triple-A Syracuse to start the season.THEY’RE SET: If healthy, the front of the rotation should be a strength again with deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler. The back of a revamped bullpen looks good, too, with Diaz, Familia and new lefty Justin Wilson joining holdovers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman. The infield is crowded and the corner outfield spots are manned by productive youngsters Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo as the Mets wait for slugger Yoenis Cespedes to return from surgery on both heels. He’s not expected back until at least mid-July. “We are confident that he’s going to be able to come back. The timing for when he comes back, we’ll have to wait and see,” Van Wagenen said.THEY’RE NOT: Despite the big arms at the top, one or two significant injuries could really derail the rotation. New York is hoping for a breakout season from No. 4 starter Steven Matz and a bounce-back year from lefty Jason Vargas.ON DECK: Several roles are up for grabs and multiple players will be moving around to different positions all spring. The season opener is March 28 at rival Washington. NEW YORK (AP) — James Paxton spent the first two months of the 2016 season in the minor leagues after an awful spring training caused his demotion.When he returned to the majors, he quickly emerged as the Mariners’ ace Carlos Correa Jersey , and now the Yankees hope he can bolster the thin rotation that contributed to New York’s loss to Boston in the AL Division Series. New York acquired the 30-year-old left-hander from the rebuilding Seattle Mariners on Monday for top prospect Justus Sheffield and two other minor leaguers.“I think I’ll be a great fit. They seem very committed to winning, and so am I,” Paxton said.New York sent the left-handed Sheffield to the Mariners along with right-hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams.Paxton turned 30 on Nov. 6 and went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts last season, including a 16-strikeout start against Oakland on May 2 and a no-hitter at Toronto six days later. He struck out 208 and walked 42 in a career-high 160 1/3 innings, allowing 23 home runs.Paxton is 41-26 in six major league seasons, making six trips to the disabled list in the last five years. He missed nearly four months with a strained left latissimus dorsi muscle in 2014, 3½ months with a strained tendon in left middle finger in 2015, 10 days with a bruised left elbow in 2016, 3½ weeks with a strained left forearm and a month with a strained left pectoral muscle in 2017, and 2½ weeks with lower back inflammation this year.“I continue to try to work towards being healthy for an entire season,” he said. “All the injuries that I’ve had haven’t reoccurred. I’ve learned how to make sure those things don’t happen again through exercise or whatever.”When he went to Triple-A two years ago, he worked with former big league pitcher Lance Painter, who told him to drop his arm angle back to three-quarters. When Paxton returned to the Mariners Dallas Keuchel Jersey , he studied reading swings with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.“It’s taken me a little longer I think in my career because I have had so much time off,” Paxton said. “But having those larger chunks the last couple years has really allowed me to come into my own and really make some big strides, and I look forward to continuing to make big strides in my game. And I think that my best baseball is still to come.”A proud Canadian born in a fishing village in the suburbs of Vancouver, British Columbia, Paxton is also known for keeping his composure as a bald eagle mistakenly landed on his shoulder prior to a start at Minnesota in April.He joins a rotation projected to include right-handers Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka and left-hander CC Sabathia. General manager Brian Cashman wants to add at least one more starter, address the shortstop opening created by Didi Gregorius‘ elbow surgery and add to his bullpen.Paxton made $4.9 million last season and is eligible for salary arbitration. He can become a free agent after the 2020 season.In his one game at Yankee Stadium, Paxton entered with a 10-start unbeaten streak and allowed two-run homers to Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar in the first inning of a 4-3 loss on June 21 this year.Seattle decided to rebuild after going 89-73 and finishing third in the AL West, 14 games behind division-winning Houston and six back of Oakland.“Clearly we’ve opted 2019 be a year that we take a step back hoping to take two forward,” general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “When I say 2020 and 2021, it’s simply gauging the ages of the players we’re building around here.”Sheffield is rated among the top minor league prospects, made his big league debut in September and pitched in three games for the Yankees. He had a 2.48 ERA in 25 minor league appearances at Double-A and Triple-A this year, striking out 123 in 116 innings and allowing just four home runs.Sheffield had just finished playing golf when he saw Cashman’s number on his cell phone.“Definitely caught me by surprise,” Sheffield said.Sheffield won’t turn 23 until May and could become a future anchor to Seattle’s rotation.Swanson http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-jeff-bagwell-jersey , 25, started the year at Double-A Trenton but spent most of 2018 at the Triple-A level with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he made 13 starts and had a 3.86 ERA. Swanson had 78 strikeouts and 14 walks in 72 1/3 innings in Triple-A. He pitched 121 2/3 total innings last season overall and was rated among the top 25 prospects in the Yankees organization by MLB.com.“I think both of them are going to compete for a spot in the rotation,” Dipoto said. “We absolutely expect to see both guys before the summer is through in Seattle and they will start cutting their teeth here and hopefully set us up for what we think will be a pretty exciting group as we enter 2020 and 2021.”Thompson-Williams, 23, has never played above Class A and will turn 24 next April. He had 22 home runs, 20 stolen bases and a .299 average across two Class A affiliates this year.Cashman is aggressively pursuing pitching from outside the organization, even after Sonny Gray flamed out during 1 1/3 seasons with New York, shaken by repeated booing at Yankee Stadium.“I can’t tell you we’ve learned anything further other than we drill down as much as we can, whether with players that have played with somebody as teammates that we know or coaches who have coached or people who have managed or anybody, whether it’s all the way back in the amateur ranks,” Cashman said. “We just try to ask a lot of questions about how they compete. This environment can bring out a different experience for some. So I don’t have a new secret formula to address predictability on who will thrive and survive and who won’t here in New York.”
