This is getting downright embarassing.
What I've been told today is that the Mets put Gary Sheffield on waivers, then the Florida Marlins claimed him, the Mets pulled him back, made no deal with the Marlins, then Sheffield asked for an extension, then the Mets said no, and then Sheffield took his glove and went home for the night.
No, this is not the Bad News Bears.
This in the New York Mets who have fallen into an organization that is being run... well, I'm not sure at this point if it's being run at all.
Okay, they had to activate Billy Wagner if you want someone to snatch him up on waivers, but what good is putting someone on waivers and not being able to trade for anybody.
Isn't there one player in the Florida Marlins organization that two teams could agree on for Sheffield?
Letting Livan go is a good idea, though it would have made much more sense to trade him 45 days ago when you could have got something for him.
But this whole drama mess today with Sheffield is unbelievable.
I will say that it was only a matter of time that Sheffield showed his true stripes. but I really though having him around for one more year would have taken the pressure off of the development of Fernando Martinez.
When are the Wilpons going to pull the trigger?
In the case of Sheffield, I don't really see the Mets being at fault. Appropriately, they put him on the waiver wire, to see what he might fetch. The Mets' share of his salary is so low that no team would have risked much by claiming him. At the same time, we don't know what the Marlins offered the Mets, and I don't see any reason why the Mets should give him up for nothing or for a non-prospect. The Mets do, after all, have to get through the rest of the season, and Sheffield is the best hitter left standing. This situation is all on Sheff.
ReplyDeletethe Mets and the Marlins have made many deals in the past and it is well known that Sheffield wants to end his career by playing in Florida...
ReplyDeleteThe Marlins also understand the money it would take, which would be around 2mil for the remainder of the season.
I'm one of the guys that want Sheff around next year, but if the Mets don't want to give him an extension, take what you can get at this point.
I totally agree with you Mack, and for a reasonable price I wanted Sheff back too.
ReplyDeleteThere's every reason to think the Marlins claimed Sheffield just to make sure that teams ahead of them in the postseason race wouldn't get a crack at him -- and that they had no intention of giving up anything of value for him.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the Mets would have been happy to give up Sheffield for even a low-ceiling prospect, but I doubt they were offered even that. I see no reason to trash the Mets for not simply giving him away. He's certainly not taking playing time away from anybody promising.
My bad. I left the previous message and didn't intend to leave it anonymously.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it would cost the Marlins (or anyone else) 2 million for Sheffield. I think the Tigers are on the hook for everything except $400,000, and the Mets have already paid most of that. No way the Marlins would have claimed him if he had a $2 million price tag. They might have been stuck with him and they don't have that kind of money to spend.
The Mets share of the salary is approximately $400k, as the previous poster mentioned. In relation to the Wagner posting on waivers, I think the Mets should have placed him at least a few days before he was activated. It could be very tempting for a team to claim him, and then the Mets have no real leverage unless the claiming team really wants him.
ReplyDelete