1/12/12

Mets: Matt den Dekker, Fernando Martinez, Dave Winfield, Tim Teufel





1-11-12 -  metsmerizedonline  42.  Matt den Dekker (CF) Den Dekker is an intriguing prospect. He is a very solid defender who could probably play CF in the big leagues right now. He has above average speed, is a hard-nosed player with a good solid throwing arm, but needs to work on his routes to the ball to avoid having to make last second adjustments. But the questions regarding den Dekker arise from his age, he’s already 24 years-old, and has only played a half-season above single A. Last year, he was having a good year at St. Lucie, hitting .296 in 267 AB’s, when he was promoted at mid-season to AA Bingo. Binghamton was a different story for den Dekker, he struggled to consistently put the bat on the ball, and managed to hit only.235 in 272 AA AB’s. The reason for the drop-off was a fifty percent increase in strikeouts. Den Dekker has a long swing before the bat reaches the hitting zone, which leaves him unable to catch up to pitches up and in. He did show an increase in HR’s when he got to AA, hitting 6 at St. Lucie, and adding 11 more after his promotion, but his SLG% went down from .494 to .426. His drop-off in contact didn’t hurt his HR output, but he hit significantly less 2B’s and 3B’s. So the question is will it be a positive profile for den Dekker? A speedy, versatile outfielder, who is a left-handed hitter with occasional HR power. Or the negative one, an older player who did well against lower competition, but once he reached AA opposing pitchers began exploiting a mechanical flaw in his swing which hurt his ability to consistently make contact? This season will answer that question.

I just find this whole little episode stunning. Giving up Fernando Martinez for nothing just seems odd. Surely Martinez was worth something, like a live arm or two, on the trade market. Moreover, there is still slack on the Mets 40-man roster. This feels a little bit like the Omar Minaya days when the Mets often seemed out of line with the way teams valued assets (hello, 4 years and $25 million for Luis Castillo).  The Astros, and as the rumor goes, at least five teams were interested in Martinez, and the Mets got nothing. Who was the top prospect like Martinez where a team just gave up at this point when the player still had an option remaining? I’m drawing a blank.  Anyone?  http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/the-official-end-of-the-fernando-martinez-era/

Dave Winfield got his first taste of the New York Mets over lunch. For the Mets front office team of Nelson Doubleday and Frank Cashen this was all new and, in hindsight, the 1980 Major League Baseball Reentry Draft, marked the organizations first major foray into free agency. For Winfield the visit to the Big Apple was business as usual. The pleasantries didn’t last very long, maybe not even past the appetizer, before Winfield and his agent cut to the chase. Winfield challenged the Mets to bear fruit: show me you’re serious about building a winning team he told Cashen. It was the same speech he gave Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner days earlier. http://blog.johnstrubel.com/2012/01/04/winfield-and-the-mets/#more-1597

photo by Mack Ade
“I think we are in great position to rebound from last year. I think with the acquisitions we made in the offseason with the bullpen getting fortified and getting guys like (utility player Daniel) Murphy and (first baseman Ike) Davis back healthy, the fence (at Citi Field) is being moved in, so I think there is going to be a lot of positive activity throughout spring training.”  http://www.metsblog.com/2012/01/12/teufel-we-are-great-position-to-rebound-from-last-year/

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