13 faces you may have forgotten
2014 Topps Series 2 launches today with cards featuring many of your favorite Mets, from David Wright to, um, Vic Black? Gonzalez Germen gets to celebrate doubly today; not only is this his first day back after being activated from the DL, but it is also the day his first Rookie Card is officially released. That is in stark contrast to last year’s Series 2 rookie Collin McHugh, who was beginning life in Colorado on the day he first graced a Rookie Card solo. As for the rest of last year’s crop of Mets in Series 2, their fates varied but most found themselves somewhere other than with the Mets within the year. At the time, I predicted that the team set image would be part of a “Where are they now?” article. One year later, I have made it a reality.
Jenrry Mejia
We begin with the lone success story of the bunch. After being one of the team’s top pitching prospects before the lame duck Minaya-Manuel regime ruined him in 2010, Jenrry Mejia earned a spot in the injury-depleted Mets starting rotation in 2013 worse for wear but good where it counts, on the mound. For five starts at least. His season ended early because of surgery to remove bone spurs, but at least it was clear where he belonged. If healthy, Mejia would be a lock for the rotation in 2014.
Well, not so fast. Despite a lack of health problems, Mejia was still in competition with Daisuke Matsuzaka for the fifth starter spot in spring training. Reports had Matsuzaka as the favorite, but Mejia prevailed and did as well as you could expect with the team he had behind him. After getting roughed up in a couple of starts though, he was sent to the bullpen (alongside Matsuzaka) to become the team’s new closer while Rafael Montero took his place in the rotation (eventually being replaced by Matsuzaka). Despite a stated preference for starting, Mejia has taken well to the new role.
Mike Baxter
The poster child for the Mets’ poor outfield depth, Mike Baxter found himself starting some significant games in 2012 and making an impact, sometimes literally. When Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in Mets history, it was Baxter who suffered serious injury crashing into the outfield wall to make a spectacular catch. In a somewhat less painful appearance, Baxter caught the final out of the final home game that season to secure R.A. Dickey’s 20th and final win before Dickey went on to win the NL Cy Young Award. Still, despite the heroics, it was hard to see Baxter as a starting outfielder on a major league club, though the Mets continued to use him frequently in that role in 2013.
With changes coming to the Mets’ outfield following the 2013 season, the team put Baxter through waivers and the Dodgers, a team with more starting outfielders than it knew what to do with, put in a claim. Baxter would travel with the club to Australia for the 2014 Opening Series, appearing as a pinch hitter in game 1 and a starter in game 2. After two more pinch hitting appearances stateside, Baxter, 0-7 with a walk on the season, was sent to the minors, where he remains to this day.
Justin Turner
Fun-loving flame-haired pieman Justin Turner may not have been a star player, but he did a good job in the utility infielder role with the Mets, playing all four infield positions somewhat competently with an acceptable level of offense. Turner may not have been the solution to the Mets’ woes in 2013, but he sure wasn’t the cause either. He was due for arbitration after his best season to date and was expected to make around $1 million, a relative bargain for what he offered.
So of course the penny-pinching Mets non-tendered him in a move that shocked even those who weren’t very fond of Tuner and his antics. OK, maybe the move was just to make room for better players. After all, you don’t get better by trotting out the same players year after year. And then Omar Quintanilla started the season as the backup middle infielder. Quintanilla was soon demoted (and accepted a minor league assignment over free agency) while the Dodgers scooped up Turner and sent him to Australia with Baxter. Turner has gone on to have his best season yet with the Dodgers.
David Wright
Let’s face it, David Wright is on a long-term contract with a full no-trade clause. He’s not going anywhere unless he completely loses faith in the Mets organization. Which, as of 11 June 2014, has not happened. Yet.
John Buck
A salary ballast throw-in from the R.A. Dickey trade, John Buck was only expected to fill in at catcher until Travis d’Arnaud was ready for the majors. Buck’s hot start to 2013 and an injury to d’Arnaud kept him around until August, when paternity leave gave the Mets the perfect opportunity to call up d’Arnaud and shift Buck into a backup role. Later that month, Buck would be packaged with Marlon Byrd and sent to the Pirates for Vic Black and Dilson Herrera.
After going to the postseason with Pittsburgh, Buck signed with the Mariners as a free agent and hasn’t done anything much worth noting. Meanwhile, d’Arnaud hasn’t done much himself, earning a demotion to AAA after an extended period of poor performance. With Taylor Teagarden as the only alternative, the Mets’ catching situation looks rather shaky. The problem seems to be a lack of veteran presence, one of the few things Buck could offer. The Mets weren’t interested in bringing him back though, so here we are.
Jordany Valdespin
There are few clearer bad omens in baseball than getting drilled in the cojones while not wearing appropriate protection. That’s exactly how Jordany Valdespin started off 2013 and it didn’t get much better from there. Valdespin always seemed to be caught up in one controversy or another, which can often be overlooked if you have enough talent. He did not. After reportedly swearing at his manager after being informed that he was being sent down to AAA and then being named in the Biogenesis scandal, it came as no surprise when his non-tender was announced.
Also no surprise was the announcement that he was signing with the Marlins. After all, he has already shown that he owns their hat… Valdespin has yet to appear in the majors in 2014 but did manage to get in the news when a visa issue had him reporting late to spring training. Same old JV1…
Johan Santana
Oh how the mighty have fallen. It was a shock when the Mets landed Santana, one of the best pitchers in baseball at the time. Injuries cost him a lot of playing time, including all of 2011, but he came back strong in 2012 to deliver the Mets’ first no-hitter. And then injuries knocked him out for the rest of the season. He started 2013 ready to get back on the mound, but a second shoulder injury cost him all of 2013 and potentially ended his career. Not one to give up easily, Santana vowed to return in 2014 after a second shoulder surgery.
Needless to say, the Mets did not bring back Santana in 2014. Instead, he signed a minor league deal with the Orioles and made it as far as the major league DL before an injury ended his season before it began. Is this the end for Johan Santana? I’m sure he wants to keep pitching, but at some point you have to give in to the unending string of major injuries.
Ruben Tejada
Raise your hand if you had Ruben Tejada as the Mets’ 2014 starting shortstop a year ago. Yeah, didn’t think so. And yet, there he is, splitting time with Wilmer Flores. It’s looking like Justin Turner might have been a better option…
Collin McHugh
For Collin McHugh, his birthday in 2013 was certainly a mixed bag. On the one hand, this card, his first solo Rookie Card, was released. On the other, he started the first day of his professional career as a member of an organization other than the Mets. DFA’d earlier to make room for Carlos Torres, McHugh had just been traded the night before to the Rockies for Eric Young Jr. McHugh would struggle in Colorado while Young gave the Mets some speed on the basepaths as he went on to lead the league in stolen bases.
McHugh’s travels weren’t over with that though. The Astros claimed him in the offseason, sending him to his third club in less than a year. He recounted his experiences in his blog, which is well worth the read. It’s not hard to pull for a guy in McHugh’s situation and McHugh gave Houston fans something to root for when he made his debut for the team in fine form, earning his first major league win. McHugh has been a solid part of an Astros club on the rise after going nowhere with the Mets and the Rockies.
Matt Harvey
If you really need me to tell you where Matt Harvey is, you must not get out much. One place he isn’t (and almost certainly won’t be in 2014) is pitching for the Mets. After a UCL tear and a “will-he-or-won’t-he” surgery speculation circus, Harvey went under the knife and gave a figurative middle finger to his situation. Actually, that was a literal middle finger. Every step of his recovery, from disagreements with the club to supermodel breakups to hockey games and beards has been painstakingly covered by the media. It beats covering the Mets, I guess.
R.A. Dickey
Already with a card in 2013 Topps Series 1, Dickey was back in a Mets uniform for Series 2 to celebrate being the first knuckleballer to with the Cy Young award. He was not back in a Mets uniform on the field though, having been dealt to Toronto in the offseason for a bunch of prospects and John Buck. And he did not repeat his Cy Young season in Toronto, instead getting off to a shaky start and never fully recovering. Still, he is R.A. Dickey and he’ll be missed.
Bonus
As if the base set didn’t have enough future former (or already former) Mets, the base autograph set in 2013 Topps Series 2 gave us two more. Bonus WATNs!
Collin Cowgill
Acquired for minor leaguer Jefry Marte before the 2013 season, Collin Cowgill looked like a good low-cost high-upside option for the outfield in 2013. Emphasis on “low-cost.” After impressing in spring training, Cowgill was named the everyday center fielder and made his presence known with an Opening Day grand slam, the first Met to do so on his debut (Taylor Teagarden repeated that feat just yesterday). That one swing would account for half of his home runs and RBI as a Met.
The day before this card, his first as a Met, was released, Cowgill was DFA’d by the Mets. A week later, he was traded to the Angels for minor leaguer Kyle Johnson. Johnson is currently having a decent season in AA while Cowgill, not content to see Teagarden hog the press by duplicating his one accomplishment as a Met, hit his first walkoff home run last night. Like the other Collin traded by the Mets a year ago, Cowgill is off to a strong start in 2014 after failing to impress his previous two teams.
Shaun Marcum
Our final entry is a bit of an odd case. Shaun Marcum missed the start of the season due to injury but still managed to secure a card in 2013 Bowman, his first as a Met (and without being photoshopped, unlike Buck and Cowgill above). Marcum did not have a base card in 2013 Topps Series 2 though and would have to wait until Topps Update for his first Topps base card as a Met (something Cowgill would never get). Marcum does have this autograph card in Series 2, though it was inserted as a redemption card.
On the field, things were about the same for Shaun Marcum. He missed the start of the 2013 season but made his Mets debut at the end of April. Marcum did not impress in his early outings and gave up multiple runs in every appearance until an 8 inning relief spot in extra innings in Miami. That ended in a Marlins walkoff… His only other appearance with fewer than two runs allowed was on June 26, when he pitched 8 shutout innings to earn his first and only Mets win. Less than a month later, he was released by the Mets following season-ending shoulder surgery. He signed with the Indians in the offseason but suffered a setback in his rehab in May that has him shut down with no clear timetable for return.
And there you have it. Of the 13 Mets in 2013 Topps Series 2, three have appeared with the team in 2014 and one more is on the DL. Of the others, some have been successful elsewhere, while some are still struggling. Some are missed, some were never appreciated until they were gone, and some (well, one at least) are thankfully someone else’s problem. Hopefully this year’s batch will turn out better.
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