The Future Of: Step Two - The Off Season

Okay…

We cleared $44,450,000 in salaries on day one, but we’re not done here. There’s plenty of other areas to work on, but I first want to get rid of anyone on the payroll who isn’t going to contribute positively for this team, beginning with the 2010 season.

Let’s go deeper on the team and see who else is currently under a one year deal and doesn’t make the minimum around here anymore:

Fernando Tatis – $1,700,000 – 2008’s find turned out to be 2009’s anchor and Tatis offers us a player that can play all of the outfield and infield positions. It would impossible to pull off a 3-year plan without a couple of guys like this that don’t cost the team much, and never embarrass themselves. We’re going to deal with a number of positions in the off-season, but for 2010, we’ll use Tatis as a platooned first baseman, with Daniel Murphy. In addition, we’ll have Nick Evans on the team, as both a utility outfielder, as well as the 3rd option at 1B.

Alex Cora - $2,000,000 – Cora was a welcomed addition in 2009 and well worth the two mil… I have bigger plans for him and will readdress this tomorrow, but for now, he’s on the 2010 team.

Livan Hernandez - $2,000,000 – Hats off to Livan, but players like him have no place in my three-year plan to make this team a winner. I have no intention of keeping aging stars of the past, in Queens, as well as not having AAAA players waste my operation budget in Buffalo. Everybody (including me) keeps telling me how deep we are with lower level prospects. Fine, we’ll move everyone up a peg and sign players to fill in at the rookie level, rather than pay two to three times more for a 35+ year old to take up space at the AAA level. If that means someone has a bad season because they played a level they weren’t ready for, fine again, play them there again the following year until they get it done. Anyway, there’s no room for players like Hernandez who only offer the team a band aid. I’d rater pitch a kid and bleed a little for a year.

Daniel Murphy – $401,000 – as mentioned above, Murphy will platoon with Tatis and Evans at first. Anyone of them are welcome to go to hell with themselves and win the job full time.

Eddie Kunz - $400,000 – Kunz was moved too fast in 2008, but his slowdown in 2009 took him out of the closer role and turned him more into a long man. I like them young, so he gets a second shot in my pen

Nick Evans - $403,999 – Evans may have stumbled at AAA, but that was a slump, not a loss of talent. In my system in 2010, he’s the perfect utility player. He’s young, so probably won’t wind up on the IR, he plays first, all the outfield positions, and he was drafted as a third baseman. I’m not looking for Evans to be a star, but this is the kind of player I want on my team.

Lance Broadway - $402,500 – I’m going to keep Broadway and make him the SP2 in Buffalo in 2010, behind Nelson Figueroa. Both will be my emergency starters, unless I pick someone up during the season.

Fernando Martinez - $400,000 – F-Mart will be my every day left fielder until Carlos Beltran leaves, and then he’ll be my every day center fielder. Period.

Jon Niese - $400,000 – Niese gets the SP5 slot in my 2010 rotation, regardless of his bad start in Buffalo in 2010. Potentially, he’s even with Brad Holt as the pitcher with the most talent in the minors, and he’s ready.

Bobby Parnell - $400,000 – don’t need to say much here. A better 8th inning guy than Putz and a hell of a lot cheaper.

John Switzer - $400,000 - Switzer is our kind of AAA player; he’s got experience but he’s younger than 50 years old. He’ll start the season in the buffalo pen.

Omir Santos - $400.000 – Santos won the back-up catcher job in 2009 and I see no reason to change that.

Carlos Muniz - $402,000 - Same as Switzer, Muniz may never get back to Queens, but he’s the kind of “veteran” I want up at Buffalo in case of emergencies.

Jeremy Reed - $925,000 – did nothing wrong, but our definition of utility players will be players that can man multiple positions during the year. Guys like Evans, Murphy, and Tatis fill the bill much more, and we’ll need this money elsewhere. Sorry Jeremy.

Ramon Martinez - $750,000 – absolutely no reason to reassign Ramon, or keep him in the organization at Buffalo.

Cory Sullivan - $600,000 – Did a nice job in Buffalo, but not nice enough to spend the same amount in 2010 for a minor leaguer.

Angel Pagan - $575,000 – Pagan would have made a great utility outfielder, but he simply spends too much time on the IR. He’s been a Met two times, and, in my book, that’s one too many.

Ken Takahashi - $1,500,000 – I wouldn’t keep a 40-year old in the majors; why would I keep one in the minors?

Sean Green - $ 471,000 – This looks like a great pickup, but he really didn’t make a difference in Queens. We’ll save this money.

Fernando Nieve - $414,000 – one of the best signings in 2009. There’s a good chance that players like Nieve and Lance Broadway may never make a major league roation again, but they are young enough to still rebound from a mediocre career and return to the stud they were when they were drafted. I’ll keep Nieve around in 2010, pitching an entire year at AAA.

Brian Stokes - $409,500 – another great addition at a limited price. We’ll keep him in the pen in 2010.

Robinson Cancel - $408,000 – This falls into two categories. One, we don’t want to spend money on players over the age of offering our team an extended future, and two, we don’t want players like this taking up slots in the minors that can be filled with kids that need to play every day in order to mature and determine if they are major-bound. Cancel doesn’t make the cut.

Brandon Knight - $ 404,000 – Knight was a nice AAAA pitcher in 2009, but we’re eliminating that type of player from the majority of the AAA team. We’ll keep a few every day guys that play multiple positions, in case of in-season injuries, and Nelson Figueroa will be out emergency sixth starter while holding down the SP1 spot for the Herd (if Figgy will have us), but the rest of the rotation slots in Buffalo will open up the year with names like Dillon Gee, Tobi Stoner, Lance Broadway, and Brad Holt.

Connor Robertson - $402,000 – I liked the way Omar signed a bunch of relief guys before the beginning of spring training and let them fight it out for a couple of open slots in Queens. What I didn’t like was him filling the AAA and AA rosters full of the same guys who didn’t pitch well enough to win the job they were originally signed for. I’ll probably sign some new ones this year also, but if they don’t pitch well enough in camp to make my team, I’ll cut them immediately and give the job to someone already in my organization. Robertson doesn’t make the cut.

Pat Misch - $401,250 – Another of Omar’s late signings, we’ll save the money here.

Wilson Valdez - $381,000 – Same as Misch.

So, by the end of day two, I saved the team $8,218,000 more in salary, and the total savings now comes to $52,668.00.
In addition, my 25-man stands at 17.

Tomorrow… the pen, more minor league savings, utility players, John Maine, everyone named Castillo, and Ollie.