9/16/10

CUTNPASTE: - Jose on Tejada, Trading Wright, Carlos Gomez, Zach Duke... and Carlos Beltran

Jose on Tejada:



link  - Still, while he likes Tejada - "He's like 14. He can play the game, though," he joked - Reyes is not ready to endorse the youngster as next year's starting second baseman. "He hasn't been here long enough where you can tell that he's ready," Reyes said. Although Tejada has struggled with the bat, he remains the leading candidate to replace Luis Castillo in 2011 - and the Mets have made clear in recent weeks that they do not consider the veteran a part of their future. When Tejada failed to produce after an August call-up, the Mets turned to Triple-A infielder Luis Hernandez, a clear sign of Castillo's status. Although the Mets have tried in the past to trade Castillo - who is owed more than $6 million next season - they seem likely this time to somehow finalize the divorce that both sides clearly want.



Trading Wright:


link  - When you have a star in Wright, who is the best player you have right now, even though his production has dipped the past couple years, it becomes very tempting trade bait, because the Mets would get a lot for him. His $29M deal over the next two seasons I don't see as much of an issue, especially if a deep-pocketed team like the Boston Red Sox wants him. Would the Mets be crazy to give Wright up? If they think they can win with their current core, yes. If not, then maybe it's not quite as crazy as it appears. Wright would love to be a Met for his career, but it doesn't look to be in the Cards. The Mets see a star in him, but that doesn't mean he's not tradable.



Carlos Gomez:


link  - Brewers manager Ken Macha rested struggling outfielder Lorenzo Cain, in favor of Carlos Gomez. According to Macha, “The question was raised when we brought Gomez back and we had [Chris] Dickerson and [Lorenzo] Cain, ‘What are you going to do with Gomez?’ Right now, Cain is struggling a bit, and so this gives Gomez a shot to see what he can do.” Frankly, this disturbs me. First off, the answer to the question “what are you going to do with Gomez?” should be easy. Either (a) release him, or (b) sit him on the bench and non-tender him at the end of the season. As for giving Gomez a shot to see what he can do, in 1383 MLB career PA, Gomez batted .242/.290/.346 in a league and park environment that batted .264/.332/.418. In 281 2010 PA, Gomez has batted .227/.283/.344 thus far. I believe it’s pretty clear what Gomez can do.



Zach Duke:


link  - Zach Duke’s past four starts have seen 20 runs over 14 2/3 innings, swelling the record to 7-14, which is tied with teammate Paul Maholm for third-most losses in Major League Baseball, and the ERA to 5.78, highest in the majors among pitchers with 140 or more innings. That has done nothing to diminish the powerful indicators that management will not tender Duke a contract through arbitration this winter, allowing him to declare free agency. Duke is making $4.3 million, and the arbitration process almost always results in raises, in part because it emphasizes innings. Duke has 141 2/3, ranking a respectable 101st.



Carlos Beltran:


link  - The contract: 2005, 7 years, $119 million - The injury: Bone spurs in right knee. What went wrong: Beltran was excellent for the majority of this deal – a three-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover and two-time Silver Slugger through 2008. But the bone spurs cut in half his 2009 season, and a January surgery meant he didn’t return to the field this year until after the All-Star break. Since then, he has never found a groove.

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