Mack and Company - Met Trade Hell Night

Mack Ade – So, I take a nap...  and the Mets world goes to hell... Talk to me guys....

Jack Flynn: - It just doesn't make any sense. Why does a team with money issues lock up three veteran right-handed relievers, who between them will cost over $12-14 million this season? Francisco closes, one would assume, with Ramirez and Rauch in set-up roles. If Byrdak and Herrera are your lefty specialists, that leaves two spots for some combination of Parnell, Beato, Acosta (if he re-signs) and Carrasco. Since DJ is already signed, it seems like there's only one more bullpen slot available. I hope it goes to Beato, but suspect it will go to Parnell.

Charles Thompson: - They seemed to have rebuilt the bullpen within the last thirty minutes.  Francisco, Rauch, and  Ramon Ramirez.  I really like the Pagan trade.   Basically, they're getting another Pagan-like center fielder in Torres, plus Ramirez, who has great career numbers.  With Beato, Parnell, and Brydak...the bullpen will be pretty solid, I think, anyway.   Well, shouldn't blow too many leads now. Andres Torres:  he was a spark plug for the Giants the year they won it all, but like Pagan, he took a step back.  Change of scenery guy, again just like Pagan will be for Giants.  Some people like Pagan, I never have.  He was around for the collapses and more and more of those players are exiting the team (by design?).  Torres, just because I’d rather anyone other than Pagan, is fine by me in center.  Ramirez was the ticket in that deal.  Wonder how the money works out in that trade?

Erik Hudson  - I liked Pagan, got a ton of talent.  We could have used the 2010 Pagan next year.  Is Torres our CF next year, or does he compete with den Dekker and Capt Kirk in ST?  Looks like he's a better defensive CF than Pagan, but not as good offensively, and also coming off a down year.  He doesn't look like a leadoff hitter though.  Are they really going to bat Murphy leadoff? Ramirez looks pretty good for the pen. Rauch seems expensive at $3.5M.  His ERA was near 5.00 last year.  We had relievers like that already.  Maybe a return to the NL and some luck will lower the ERA to closer to 4.00. I guess Frank Francisco is the best we can do on our budget for closer. It looks like these additions total around $15M, and subtract out Pagan's $5M, so a net $10M to the payroll.  Maybe still enough left to add Jack Wilson.

Mack:    One thing I want to add here. David Rubin, my past administrator who is on a leave of absence, can attest to the vast amount of things that I know but chose not to write about. One was the fact that Angel Pagan was never going to step foot in the Flushing dugout again. He had developed a toxic relationship with most of the teammates and Terry Collins really wanted him gone. This was TC’s trade.

Stephen Guilbert : -

1.) The Mets are a better team now than they were at the start of the day.

2.) The market for relievers is saturated and yet everyone seems to getting more than they're worth. Rauch (3.5) and Frankie Frank (2/12) both definitely got overpaid but hey, our bullpen is significantly better now.

3.) Ramon Ramirez or Manny Acosta will win the closer's job by the All Star Break. Just a hunch but they are our two best relievers in book at this point.

4.) I like Andres Torres a lot. He had a down year much like Pagan in 2011 (There are quite a few similarities between the two actually) but is known as a leader, a hard-worker, and has the potential and skill for good offensive and defensive production across the board. I do not know if he will be our every day center fielder in 2012 or if Sandy is still looking around (I've been lobbying for McClouth all winter although he looks close to signing with the Pirates).

5.) Did I mention that the Mets are, without a doubt, a better team now than they were at the start of the day? Sandy is adamant that 2012 is not a throw-away season and today strengthens his commitment to putting at least a respectable team on the field.

Frank Gray - Well, I, for one, am actually looking forward to it. The bullpen is now completely revamped and stronger. Add Francisco, Rauch and Ramirez to Herrera, Parnell and Co. and you have a quality bullpen. The starting staff was strong enough to have more decisions last season than they ended up with. The bullpen (Parnell especially) blew a ton of leads and games. As a result the Mets plummeted. The problem with Pagan was two-fold. One, he was inconsistent in the field. He would miss cut off throws and throw to the wrong base, thus allowing extra runs to score, etc. Then, he was not good at leadoff and his struggles spilled out onto all the other positions in the lineup. I am not a buying the replacement outfielder, Andres Torres, as the answer in centerfield. I believe a healthy Nieuwenhuis or F-Mart breaking spring training will eventually compete for that spot. Bay may end up in center too. With the fences moved in, he should have less ground to cover. Overall, this was a great series of moves. I believe they will pan out. Sandy Alderson needed to make a response statement for losing Reyes, but he had to do it wisely. Mission accomplished!

Michael Freire:   Sandy can be sneaky...............my take on the the moves, in no particular order; I like the Rauch signing, since he didn't cost a ton and he has a decent track record.   I think the Mets view him as an eighth inning righty and a possible mentor to Parnell, since Rauch has closed before.

The Francisco signing is a bit more puzzling to me.   He is most likely the closer at this point (unless he implodes in ST).   But, they must see something they really like, to commit two years to him.   At least he can strike someone out when he has to (and throw a chair from time to time).

Getting out from under Pagan's probably arbitration salary is a win by itself.  Angel is a nice guy, but I am glad we don't have to watch him play defense for another year.  Torres is a nice defensive OF'er and he can play CF until one of the kids (Captain Kirk or maybe a Rule 5'er) gets to Queens.   The  money saved from the Pagan swap was redirected to the previous two signings.    The bullpen is looking even nicer with Rivera added to the mix.    A solid righty who can help in the sixth and seventh inning.
Overall, a nice series of moves for 2012 and it also keeps roster spots open for 2013 and beyond, when we should have the youngsters knocking on the door.