12/19/11

Q and A with Gary Seagren and… Latos, Niese, Debt, Jose, and Sandy

Gary:
Hi Mack. Thanks for your quick response to my last email. Just a few thoughts ...
·
With what the Reds gave up for Matt Latos and what some team will spend for Yu Darvish considering he has NO prior major league experience and per one of your sites posts about him being a #2 starter, what does that make Jon Niese worth?


· Also after reading recently about how deep in debt the ownership is and back in July not knowing how the CBA would affect the draft, it makes you wonder why Sandy Alderson held onto Jose Reyes knowing there was NO WAY we were going to pay him. His value couldn't have been higher than it was in July ... now I know he got hurt but really wouldn't it have been more prudent to search out trade partners then than gamble on two picks next June?

Now, don't misunderstand me… I LOVE the thought of four high picks next year and love SA's direction overall but just a thought.



Mack:

Good morning Gary.
Regarding Niese, I would be wrong if I said in the past that he was a #2 starter. I see him as a good #3 and a plus #4. He’s worth less than Latos but, in my opinion, more than most of the FA SPs still out there.
I don’t think he was ever available this Hot Stove season. The current Mets direction is to build a new team around a talented, young rotation, and Jon will definitely be part of it.
Everybody involved in baseball has too much time on their hands these days. Rumors start with bloggers, beat reporters and team personnel. I know of one in particular that loves to throw out names and see what sticks.
The Latos trade reminds me of that famous Mike Ditka draft. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Mets, who have very few trading chips right now, just wanted to see what they could get for Niese.
Regarding Reyes, I do believe this was an Alderson hiccup. What bothers me is that, if there was no offer by the Mets, than trade the dude - hurt or not hurt. Trust me, you would have gotten far more than two draft picks in a weak draft.
I never understand things like this. Is ego a factor? Wouldn’t you want a 28-year old superstar at shortstop for your rebuilding team?

It had to be about the money.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having a 28 year old superstar shortstop is nice for a good team. If payroll was still super high I think we would have kept him, but $106mm is a lot of money, for someone who might not even physically hold up by the time the team is actually good. If the price/years was low enough, I think they could have resigned him, but I don't think he wants to build around him anymore.

They should have traded him regardless of funds, and not entertain the idea of resigning him. Off like a band-aid, get some good stuff in return and have those young bucks raise the championship banner.

Well, I guess that's hindsight.

Michael Scannell said...

It was disappointing for the Mets to not make much of a push to re-sign Reyes after holding onto him this summer.

Anonymous said...

Reyes really hurt his stock when he got hurt.