Mets Fans Did Not See This Coming...

Mets fans did not see this coming. Luis Robert, who's been playing much better baseball in recent weeks, has all of a sudden been placed on waivers and his future with the Mets will be decided in the next 36 hours as David Stearns is looking to move off of the outstanding $5 million left on Robert's deal this year and see if any other team that's in contention would be interested in the veteran right-handed outfielder. What's going on guys? I'm Josh Byrne. You're tuned into Mets Digest. Guys, thanks so much for all the support as always, especially on that Pete Alonso video yesterday where I was essentially just ranting about the horrible decision that that was. And if you're one of the 68% of viewers that are watching these videos and not subscribed, it would certainly mean a lot if you would consider doing so. Now, David Stearns decided, let's put myself back into the headlines. Now, I'm not saying he's egotistical like that, but nonetheless, I frankly did not see this coming. I don't think a lot of Mets fans did, but Luis Robert, who's been one of the bright spots recently in the Mets lineup, well, he may not be in the Mets lineup much longer. Now, one thing that happened yesterday that was also a little bit surprising just in terms of the timeline and logistics was that Juan Soto was activated from the injured list. And what was surprising wasn't that he was activated. I think it was well-known that he was going to come back at some point before the end of the season, but what was surprising is that it didn't require an IL stint. We'll talk more about that later today. But it begs the question, with Robert also being placed on waivers yesterday, was it coincidence? I don't think it was. I think Stearns was waiting for Soto to come back and wanted to see if he could save a little cash here at the end of the season for a player in Robert that was floated around quite heavily around the trade deadline. And frankly, the Mets were not drawing nearly the amount of interest that they thought they were going to. And that was the most surprising player to me on the Mets that wasn't traded at the trade deadline, even if the team wasn't going to get back a huge haul of prospects. And I didn't think they were. I definitely expected Robert to have been gone. I just didn't really foresee the use in having him down the stretch during a time in which I believe the Mets should be analyzing what they have in their young players. But now they might have an easier avenue to doing so if a team picks him up. This is what Anthony Decomo said yesterday on the matter. Source, the Mets have placed Luis Robert Jr. on waivers, making him the latest expensive veteran to hit the wire. Multiple other veterans, such as TJ Friedel and Eugenio Suarez, both of the Reds, were also placed on waivers this week. But frankly, I think that Robert is probably a more appealing option and more likely to get picked up than either of those guys because Robert's been really fun to watch recently and has been playing very good ball. Now, in terms of how this works out with the logistics and the finances, this is also what Anthony Decomo said in his article breaking this down on MajorLeagueBaseball.com. He goes on to say, quote, Luis Robert's two homer game. This is a long quote here, guys. It's a potential cash-saving move for the Mets, who are unlikely to pick up the guaranteed $20 million. And this is really where the logistics come in. There are no guarantees a team will claim Luis Robert, who has a little more than $5 million guaranteed on his contract, but essentially they have 48 hours to do so. And during these 48 hours, which have already started yesterday, so really at this point, more like 36, Luis Robert can be penciled into the Mets lineup. We saw him take at-bats last night. And if he is not claimed, then he will stay on the Mets. If he is claimed, he will go to that team and that team will owe him the roughly $5 million remaining on his contract. Now, I think what's really jarring about this, again, Luis Robert, no team wanted to bite at the deadline, but he has really turned his season around in terms of what he's done while he's on the field, because he missed a lot of time this season, as he's missed in several recent seasons. This is a guy who has struggled to stay healthy, but when he's been on the field this year, this is what he's done. Luis Robert has now put up .9B war, again, not incredibly impressive, but only 189 at-bats, 10 home runs, .228 batting average, and he's .716 OPS, which puts him right at league average in terms of offensive output. But what he's done recently has been above average, which has gotten him to that point. This is his baseball savant. Again, those shaded out metrics for the batting credentials, that's because he's missed a good amount of time, so he's not qualified. But the one noteworthy thing about his offensive game this year that's really taken a step forward versus recent years is his ability to draw walks. One of the knocks on him, besides the fact that he had struggled to stay healthy, and that's obviously presented itself again this year, was that this is a guy who wasn't a very disciplined hitter. He didn't have a high OBP. Interestingly enough, this year, when he's been on the field, both in the earlier part of the season and now in the later stretch, he's been able to draw walks at a well above average rate, so good for him. The fielding, I think, has been a little bit underwhelming. I think because Robert came into this season with the reputation of being a gold-glove caliber center fielder, there was the expectation that he would continue to provide that when he was available. And I don't think he's been bad defensively, but I don't think he's necessarily hit that kind of level that we were expecting to see, which is part of the reason why, when he came back, many were pushing for him to move to the corner outfield so that we could continue to see AJ Ewing out in center, who, by the way, made a fantastic catch last night. I know he's been struggling offensively, but it's still been, overall, fairly impressive this season in his rookie year. Now, Luis Robert, as I mentioned, has been better recently. Last seven games, he has an OPS over 1,000. Last 15 games, same thing. And it's really included an uptick in power. And you wonder, this is a guy that missed so much time. He's in a new market. Maybe he's just getting acclimated. Maybe this is the first time during the regular season since those very early games where he's actually feeling 100%. Now, does that mean that this is just who he's be moving forward and next year? No, because obviously he has to prove he can stay healthy and be available. And that's not something that he's given any evidence that we can feel confident in him doing so. But he has been good. He has been good recently. And his numbers are far better now than they were at the trade deadline, meaning it's more likely for him to be picked up. Now, the question is, where could he go? I think for a lot of teams, $5 million for one month of baseball, that's a lot to take on, especially for a guy with the question marks of Robert, despite him playing better recently. But two teams come to mind. One, the Philadelphia Phillies. They're willing to spend a lot. And they have two sort of fringe backup players in the outfield right now in Derrick Hill and Brian De La Cruz. But I don't really think either of those guys is much worse than Robert Jr. And I don't necessarily expect the Phillies to pick up Luis Robert, but I do think they are among the more likely. I actually think the Toronto Blue Jays are the most likely team to pick up Luis Robert Jr. The Blue Jays have had a vastly disappointing season, but in a mediocre American League, they still have a shot at the third wild card. And they've without Addison Barger and Anthony Santander basically the entire season. So they're really in need of a right hander in that outfield and Luis Robert Jr. can provide that. And the Blue Jays, again, are another one of those teams that has more financial flexibility than most others. Now, ultimately, do I expect Luis Robert to be claimed? I would say 70-30 no. I wouldn't be surprised, but I'm not expecting it to happen more likely than not. And if it did happen, I wouldn't be upset about it. Not that I dislike Luis Robert. I am surprised about his uptick in production recently. But I would be happy about the opportunity that that would provide for one Nick Morabito. Nick Morabito has kind of become a forgotten guy, but he had 10 at-bats with the Mets earlier this season. He's one of their better outfield prospects in a Mets farm system that's gotten significantly deeper in the past month since the trade deadline. And I don't know, and I don't necessarily expect Nick Morabito to be a blossoming everyday player as soon as next year. But I do think he deserves more of a look at the Major League level. And with the Mets in position that they are in, in the standings, and Morabito providing a respectable return in AAA this year, I think he is worthy of a September call-up, which he probably is going to get even if Robert is here. But if Robert is claimed by another team, Morabito is going to get a lot more at-bats as another right-handed outfielder. And he is bringing decent defense to the table. He's bringing electric speed, doesn't have much power, but he's also able to draw a good amount of walks, putting up a 743 OPS at AAA this season. So, I mean, this is something that frankly, I probably should have expected in terms of the logistics and pragmatic approach of waiver claims at this juncture of the season. But frankly, I was surprised when Luis Robert was placed on waivers yesterday, just because we've been seeing so much good out of him. But for that same reason, it also makes sense why David Stearns did this. Again, do I expect him to be picked up? More than likely not, but I do think there is a chance by one of these teams in contention for a playoff spot who are more comfortable spending the $5 million to take on to their salary at the end of the year. And if he is, we may see more from a guy like Nick Morabito moving forward. But let me know what you guys think Luis Robert placed on waivers. I didn't see it coming. I don't think a lot of people did, but we're going to find out what his fate is in the next 24 to 36 hours. Comment below. Let me know what you guys think. And as always, guys, let's go Nets.