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00:03how we doing everybody it's Tyler Ward aka Wardy to many of you here on YouTube and in our latest
00:08straight out flushing New York metropolitan related podcast here for the New York Post
00:12Sports YouTube channel we're going to deep dive some latest hopper and topics in Metsland far
00:17less about how the Mets have been performing but more so as to what is going to hold for them
00:20in
00:21their future talking future we're going to get into Ryan Clifford Mets top prospect and ultimately
00:26why he may find himself at the major league level now sooner rather than later we're also going to
00:31get into Murataka Murakami potentially the biggest bat available at this year's traded line the New
00:37York Mets somehow some way find themselves as a buyer where do they stand in the Murakami market
00:42and to wrap up this show we're going to talk about the Mets should they find themselves as sellers
00:46and Mark Vientos is right towards the top of the list to find himself out of flushing Queens let
00:51us know your thoughts in the comments down below regarding the following topics that we're going
00:54to have in today's discussion and make sure you subscribe here for all things not just Mets
00:58related but all things New York Post sports related here on the New York Post Sports YouTube channel
01:03especially with the Knicks having their run right now I'm recording this just ahead of game four
01:07there we'll see how the Knicks fare at MSG but enough of Knicks talk we have a lot of happening
01:10let's talk here for a moment on the New York Mets and let's begin here with reporting from our good
01:15friend on the platform here working for the New York Post on the beat there as always covering all
01:19things New York Mets and that is veteran writer and Mr. Mike Puma Puma came out with an article
01:24over the past couple days stating how as things are currently trending Ryan Clifford is the top
01:29candidate to be promoted by the New York Mets as our next position player prospect to be called up in
01:34the coming weeks now initial gut reaction this from a fan and talking head point of views I'm not
01:40surprised to hear or see this Ryan Clifford has been one of the hardest if not the hardest hitter
01:44in the Mets minor league since being acquired back at the 2023 traded line himself Drew Gilbert who
01:50now is doing these hip thrusts in the outfield for the San Francisco Giants since last year's
01:55deadline as they were part of that trade well the Astros not all that long ago for one juster
02:00Verlander fast forward three calendars a year later Ryan Clifford is still in the Mets organization
02:04Jesus Baez who was the other hardest hitter in the Mets farm this past year was traded at last
02:09year's deadline and the not so great Ryan Housley deal with the St. Louis Cardinals who the Mets are
02:14actively playing later on today at the time of us recording this and what we come to find out is
02:18that Ryan Clifford is the hardest hitter in the Mets minors for the most part he is consistently
02:22hitting bombs and right now for AAA Syracuse he has been on a tear just to break it down for
02:27each
02:27and every one of you so far this season for the 22 year old power hitting left-handed bat that
02:32we see
02:32playing first base corner outfield NDH Clifford has already on the season a total of 14 home runs in just
02:3962 games 38 RBIs that we're seeing and this is at the AAA level mind you including six stolen bags
02:47that's good for a 220 average or right around 300 on base and a 462 slug so we're looking at
02:52right
02:52around a 760 OPS which has him a little bit below league average right now actually at just 10%
02:58below
02:58league average according to Fangraph's weighted runs created plus and basically what that means is
03:02if Ryan Clifford is below league average as a minor league hitter right now ever so slightly
03:08why would you justify calling him up now that's a fair question because when asked
03:12Carlos Mendoza Mets skipper didn't speak to the media just for the past 48 hours and did state that
03:17you know he obviously has more work to do you know when the time comes when he'll be here you
03:22know
03:22he's not going to just get this ample runway of opportunity at the moment like right now he would
03:26have very little opportunity so because of that lack of opportunity because currently speaking Ryan
03:31Clifford is still swinging and missing at a rate that the Mets don't love right now he's striking out
03:36at roughly 36% in AAA to begin the season last year for context he had that down 10%
03:43throughout
03:43the entire season in minor leagues and 139 total games he had a 25 and a half K percent so
03:49that K
03:50rate likely needs to come down not only for him but also for the New York Mets to really say
03:54hey
03:54Ryan Clifford is most justified to get a call at the big league level but here's one thing that we
03:59should know by now Mets fans while there's been a lot that's won a ride this year when it comes
04:03to
04:03roster build one thing that has been reigning true has been in a lot of ways the youth movement
04:07from Carson Bench looking like one of the best young players in all major league baseball over
04:11the past month and a half to AJ Ewing high-flying dazzling every single time out there in the
04:15outfield on the base paths a guy who pretty much went from AA to the bigs because he was
04:19pardon me only in AAA for like a week or so kind of like Jonathan leading to his call up
04:24in last
04:24year's second half of the 2025 season so if you see AJ Ewing having the impact that he's having
04:31electrifying Carson Bench most certainly doing his own right if not greater and he really has
04:35been looking fantastic for about a month and a half now which is so great to see one could argue
04:40that Ryan Clifford could be this next piece of the puzzle of a young youth movement homegrown talents
04:45by the New York Mets blossoming through the farm to impact them at present day and on one hand you
04:51don't hate that idea the Mets currently speaking are eight games below 500 they might be worse they
04:56might be better by time you watch this either way they're not going to get out of being below 500
05:00by time you likely watch this so knowing that the Mets have already dug themselves in such a deep
05:05hole knowing that we're in the second week of June right now at the time I was recording this
05:09one could just fine say hey you know what regardless of what's happening this year it makes sense to
05:14give this kid a leash right now especially we find ourselves more as sellers at this year's deadline
05:18because should the Mets find themselves more as sellers it's going to further open the door for
05:22a Ryan Clifford because if you say trade a Mark Vientos a Jared Young a Brett Beatty someone of that
05:29elk you're naturally going to be opening up roster room and play for someone at the big league level
05:35so for Clifford who as we as we know can play first base fairly comfortably the corner outfield okay and
05:42then obviously getting your DH reps Clifford does have the makings of being a true power bat in this
05:48Mets line batting from the left side not named Juan Soto not named Lindor even though Lindor is a
05:53switcher we know he's predominantly going to be more on the left side than the right side
05:55like Jorge Polanco if he's ever going to be alive again for the New York Mets this year the list
05:59goes
05:59on and on from there Jared Young's looked very good with the bat as well and that's one in hand
06:04as to
06:05why the Mets don't feel a need to rush someone like Ryan Clifford but there is a world where maybe
06:09both
06:09these guys are on the same team at the same time and the Mets kind of figure out okay if
06:13we like what
06:13we're getting from Ryan an increased opportunity then maybe it's time to trade Jared Young while his
06:17value is good at this year's deadline which may very well become a reality is Jared Young the Mets see
06:22as someone has a long term free space option more than likely not as good as he's looked over the
06:26past couple months in a smaller sample size torn meniscus surgery aside so there are positives there
06:31on the Jared Young front but the whole point of this conversation is is Ryan Clifford has all the
06:36making to be that next true homegrown talent for the New York Mets that provides not just offensive
06:40ability but power ability something that they really have lacked obviously since losing Pete Alonzo and it
06:46would be great if the passing the torch even if it's kind of a year gap from Alonzo to Clifford
06:50finds itself
06:50happening in a way that Carson Bench perfectly have the torch passed from Brandon Nemo from one
06:55awesome charismatic homegrown outfielder to now another Bench is looking tremendous I love Brandon
07:01Nemo and I wish him well but I don't think Mets fans are missing Brandon Nemo on the outfield right
07:06now between what Bench and AJ and most certainly Soto are doing while a lot of things have been wrong
07:11with the Mets this year their outfield construction as of late has been far from one of them so Ryan
07:15Clifford now who can play the corner outfield for you who can play first base and who can play
07:20ADH he can find himself in this line more often than not and especially again if the Mets find
07:25themselves trading one of those players of that elk that we talked about it makes it all the more
07:29likely to find itself becoming a reality this year so it's not a matter of if the Mets are going
07:34to
07:34call up Ryan Clifford this season but when and as Mike Puma broke it down beautifully it looks like
07:39the timeline very well could be within that within the next couple weeks should either injuries and
07:43inconsistencies arise which has been commonplace for the Mets this year or obviously if it's the other
07:48route which is that the Mets do find themselves again in selling mode within the next couple weeks
07:51they have some roster room open up and they're like you know what if this is not our year we
07:56might
07:56as well give a leash to our young guns to see what they can do on an everyday basis going
08:00back to
08:00Carlos Mendoza Mets skippers comments over the past couple days why should the Mets call up a player
08:05like Clifford who has as much of a hole in his swing as is right now but also is going
08:09to get very
08:10limited playing time you want to give the kid a leash okay the Mets did not do that for Nick
08:14Morbido when they
08:14called him up because he was pretty much just the Austin Slater replacement batting against solely
08:18lefties and coming in as a late game replacement I like Morbido and I do think he'll thrive at the
08:22major league level now is just not the time for that to become a reality for Ryan Clifford I do
08:27think that reality will find itself here not exactly yet but it is going to more than likely happen I
08:32will be I will be actually surprised if Ryan Clifford has not been promoted by the New York Mets by
08:37time we get into the second week of July basically if we go a month from now Ryan Clifford has
08:42not been
08:42called up I'll be surprised but that would mean one of two things either a the Mets figured
08:47themselves out got a little healthy with Lindor and others Polanco potentially and got themselves in
08:53a bit of a flow where they don't feel the need to kind of make a not drastic but a
08:58somewhat rash call
08:59up or you have the other route which is that the New York Mets are not playing good ball but
09:05they are
09:06not comfortable bringing Ryan up and that is a reality that could happen but these talks will not be
09:11happening with our friends here at the New York Post reportedly unless this was something I was
09:15being of heavy consideration and clearly it is now to go on from talking about the Mets promoting
09:20someone let's go back into talking about the Mets trading someone because one has to go in hand
09:25likely with the other right you can't look at Ryan Clifford or look at other young players in the
09:30Mets farm right now and come to the conclusion that oh yeah we're gonna be able to call up these
09:33players and now when the roster bill is already as tight as it is because the Mets have a lot
09:38of
09:38mediocrity and they would like to change that I think starting to change that is by going down a
09:42route that they believe is best for them and a route that I believe is best for them and a
09:47route
09:47that a lot of people believe is best for them quite frankly is to go down the simple route of
09:51saying you
09:51know what let's go ahead and let's make a change let's trade one of if not multiple of a Mark
09:57Vientos
09:58a Brett Beatty a Jared Young guys that we just know are not going to have a long-term future
10:02in this
10:03organization one way or the other and Mark Vientos is a fascinating conversation every single time I
10:07have it because as is the case with many players I don't have ill will against Mark I like the
10:12swag
10:12EV vibes I love the run that the Mets had with him in 2024 it's been nothing short of a
10:16shame that
10:17they have not been able to find that consistency with him or nor himself when it comes to his play
10:21since that point especially given the further runway he's had now with Pete Alonso no longer in the
10:26fold we thought for ourselves for a second that JD Martinez being a special advisor of the organization
10:31could be exactly what Mark Vientos needs but what we have come to find out is that that is something
10:35that while we would like to see blossom to something great it has not done so to this point Mark
10:41Vientos
10:41has been as Jekyll and Hyde of a hitter as they can come and knowing that he does not bring
10:46you
10:46certainty defensively or with his base running or even now with the bat it begs the question just how
10:51much more wiggle room is there to justify Mark Vientos getting the playing time he's been getting
10:56and should Vientos's playing time lessen further likelihood that he will be dealt you could also
11:02say that if Vientos's playing time increases it could also be in direct hand to maximize his trade
11:06value because Mark as we know is age 26 season this year has just seven home runs 26 RBIs a
11:12212 average
11:13a 246 on base and a 368 slug that's good for 30 percent below league average as a hitter when
11:18mind you
11:19last season he had 17 home runs 61 RBIs a 233 average and a 413 slug good for right around
11:25league
11:25average but in 2024 that breakout year is what really was magnificent about Vientos and the crazy
11:31thing is that when you look at your difference he had 10 more play appearances in 2025 than 2024
11:37and had 10 more games but he had 27 home runs 58 runs scored 71 RBIs a 266 average of
11:45322
11:46on base and a 516 slug good for 32 percent above league average and a 3 war player in his
11:53true
11:53rookie season since then he's been a negative war player for the most part and that is unfortunate
11:58I wish Vientos was blossoming the way that he absolutely is not at the moment but he is someone
12:03who undoubtedly can still bring a level value back for the Mets even if it is not much and I
12:08think
12:09a change of scenery is just going to bode everyone well here okay this feels almost like a log jam
12:14situation
12:14to a degree that the Mets have had in the past like a JD not JD Martinez so I apologize
12:18like a JD
12:19Davis going back to when JD was really bursty on the scene with the bat in the 2019 area Todd
12:24Frazier
12:24was still getting more reps they should be getting at the hot corner then once JD was getting wiggle room
12:29he couldn't throw a ball well for his life there was just nothing connecting nothing the way that you
12:33wanted to see the way that should have been and you know JD Davis while he had power and had
12:38nice
12:39gaps capability could not find that stability in his offensive game and that's why he's no longer a steady
12:43major league player and he's bounced around since for Mark Vientos he's gonna fall in that category
12:48unless he can do something about it and the thing is I feel like Mark can and will do something
12:52about
12:53it I just think it's going to be best for him to have a change of scenery to have a
12:57different direction
12:57a different voice uh leadership down and I could see him really thriving in a smaller market like
13:03transparently I could see Mark Vientos doing really well if he goes back to Florida where he's from
13:07if he actually went on to a team like the Miami Marlins or even the Tampa Bay Rays like I
13:12could see him
13:12thriving in the climate like that where he's playing in a dome half a season even like I don't
13:17know Arizona you know I'll go down the laundry list of teams you know just where I think it makes
13:21somewhat logical sense I think he needs to be in a specific ballpark to benefit him um a hitter park
13:27especially and I think those are areas that make some logical sense for him but we'll obviously wait
13:33and see I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments down below Mets fans as to how you feel
13:36should the Mets find themselves as sellers this year what bat do you think is the most likely and
13:41intriguing for the Mets to part with that's logical that they're going to part with okay we can talk
13:46all day about maybe trying to get rid of Bo Bichette but Bo's on 42 million dollar gross of a
13:51contract
13:51with player opt-ins that maybe people don't want to opt into right now right so it's a lot of
13:55money
13:55different circumstance than Vientos who's making pennies in comparison at the moment and has limited
14:00value on the Mets at this point in time but let's go from talking about someone with limited value that
14:04you're trying to sell to someone with maximum value right now that you're trying to buy
14:08if the New York Mets somehow some way dig themselves out of the hole that they find themselves in
14:12lock in on actually being a buyer this year's traded line there's one bat that reigns supreme better
14:16than most Mets have all the assets in the world to make it happen and he would be a seamless
14:20fit for
14:21this organization as long as he does not lose the great powers that he has had at this point
14:24and that is the Japanese stud himself the samurai that they love to call him and Mr. Yes we're going
14:29with Munitaka Murakami okay Murakami as we know is currently out with a grade two calf strain if I'm not
14:34mistaken something along those lines he's out for a couple weeks but he'll be okay nothing overly to
14:38be concerned about the White Sox are at the time I was talking four games above 500 right now which
14:42is insane and Murakami is a huge factor as to why on one of the best bargaining contracts major league
14:47baseball Murakami the left-handed slugging cane from the MPB playing first base for the White Sox and
14:54doing it at a good clip mind you he's not even a massive defensive liability the way that many people
14:58including myself feared once they enter the league 240 average 20 home runs 41 RBIs and a 930
15:048 OPS okay Murakami before going out with injury still had a 900 OPS in his previous seven games
15:12like he has been steady all throughout the year and man has he been a sight to behold that power
15:17from the left side is tremendous and that power is so pronounced that as much as we like a Ryan
15:22Clifford you wouldn't even hesitate to trade a Ryan Clifford to bring a Murakami into your organization
15:27because Murakami is at the age of 26 that's the same age as Mark Vientos okay and Murakami it feels
15:32like the sky's the limit for him and his potential at the major league level with that power implementation
15:35his ability not to just pull a baseball with authority he can go gap to gap he can go opposite
15:40field he's not this massive defensive liability that we initially thought he was going to be made
15:44out to be his base running also hasn't been the worst thing imaginable either again things that there
15:50were narratives and certain viewpoints on regarding him prior to hitting the states coming from the
15:55Nippon Pro Baseball League in Japan are not reigning true a lot of those narratives are being nipped in the
16:00butt because of Murakami's great early play at the major league level now why would the White Sox trade
16:05Mutataka Murakami if they're currently four or five games above 500 well again they're still in a
16:10resell rebuild mode right now so unless Murakami is an extension and wants to stay with the White Sox
16:15which could happen and if that does happen congratulations to them and their organization
16:18it's it's good for White Sox fans to be happy about something because I understand it's it's been
16:23doom and gloom with them for a while and us Mets fans know that very well even though we spent
16:26a lot
16:26of money it hasn't led to a lot of consistent success we know that far too well as fans obviously
16:31so for Murakami if he does not say accept a extension of longer term with the White Sox there's great
16:39reality that this is a one and done year for him and for the White Sox they need to be
16:42cognizant of
16:43that because they could get a return for Murakami that could be more pronounced than any other batter
16:47available at this year's trade deadline that means the Mets would have to trade top pitching prospects
16:52and potentially one of their top if not you know multiple offensive prospects the contract that
16:57Murakami is on is so favorable and there's a great reality that the Mets acquired something like
17:02Murakami that they would be able to sweet talk him to sign a long-term deal because of the dollars
17:06that they would just be able to comfortably throw at him so it's a really interesting dynamic to see
17:11what's happening with the White Sox now their success now that we're two plus months in the season but I
17:15do believe that regardless as to where they are in the standings by the time we get closer to the
17:19deadline I'll be surprised if they do not trade Murakami unless you really have confidence that
17:24he could be there for the long haul instead of just the next two to three seasons but Mets fans
17:29I would love to know your thoughts in the comments down below regarding an internal option an external
17:33option and a parting ways option of the three players that we broke down our latest news and
17:38rumbling segment if you guys can let us know all your thoughts in the comments down below do not
17:41hesitate from doing exactly that we greatly appreciate and make sure to subscribe wherever you get your
17:46podcast for all things new york mets related on the new york post sports youtube channel for straight
17:50out flushing this is your guy tyler ward signing out I'll see you guys next time peace
17:56you
17:57you
17:57you
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