The Mets might call up top prospect Zack Wheeler this year - MLB

Well, this is a surprise.

Most have assumed that Zack Wheeler’s major league debut will wait until 2013. Odds are it still will, but Mets manager Terry Collins hasn’t ruled out the possibility that it could happen sooner.

According to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal, Collins told reporters this afternoon that Wheeler is “not out of the mix” for a promotion to the majors this year. Collins made the comments while discussing Matt Harvey as a potential replacement for Dillon Gee, who had surgery Friday to replace a portion of a damaged artery in his throwing shoulder.

Wheeler, who was acquired from the Giants last July for Carlos Beltran, is on the brink of a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo after posting a 2.62 ERA and 88/35 K/BB ratio in 92 2/3 innings over 15 starts at the Double-A level this year. Baseball America recently ranked him as the No. 10 prospect in the game on their midseason list. The 22-year-old right-hander is quickly approaching his career-high of 115 innings from last year and Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that he’s expected to be capped around 150 innings. Obviously Collins would love the help at the major league level, but Mets general manager Sandy Alderson could have a different opinion on the matter.

While it would probably take a unique set of circumstances for Wheeler to make his way to the majors this year, Harvey could be up as soon as next week. According to Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger, Mets manager Terry Collins gave the impression that Harvey’s next start with Triple-A Buffalo on Monday will essentially function as an audition to pitch one week from today against the Dodgers. No pressure, kid.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.