Mets: Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Michael Fulmer, Shortstop

Mets:  Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Michael Fulmer, Shortstop

Marlins Sign Jose Reyes for 6/$106M - I know that a lot of people have reservations about Reyes’ health, and I’m on a bit of an island in loving this deal for the Marlins, but I don’t think that our ability to predict future health is anywhere near good enough to make a player of Reyes’ talents take this kind of discount. Reyes is a better player than Prince Fielder and signed for half of the total guaranteed money. Yes he’s had leg problems, but at this price, Reyes could miss a significant chunk of each season and still be worth the money. The guy is a legitimate +5 win player in the prime of his career, and he signed for just slightly more than the Carlos Lee price tag. The Marlins got a lot better this winter, and they did it primarily by bringing in one of the best shortstops in baseball at a price that makes sense for the organization. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/the-10-best-transactions-of-the-winter/

Best Pitcher: Johan Santana - It would be nice to not have to pick a guy that missed 2011 recovering from shoulder surgery, but the Mets don't have much else to work with. During his time in Minnesota, Santana was one of the best pitchers of our time and I think a lot of people tend to forget how dominating he really was. Between 2004 and 2008, he averaged: 17-8, 2.82 ERA, 0 starts missed, 229 innings, 238 Ks, 52 BBs, 1.02 WHIP and he won two Cy Young awards while finishing in the top 5 all five years. In New York he has been good, but not nearly that good, and he missed parts of 2009 and 2010 before missing all of 2011. http://www.faketeams.com/2012/2/6/2775041/fantasy-baseball-spotlight-new-york-mets

RHP Michael Fulmer - Much like I group Pill and Verrett together due to similar ceilings/stuff, I group Fulmer along with the aforementioned Mazzoni in terms of overall ability and ceiling. Fulmer was the Mets 2011 supplemental selection (44th overall) in exchange for losing Pedro Feliciano to the Yankees. Drafted out of an Oklahoma high school, it cost the Mets just short of $1M -- well over MLB slot -- to sway Fulmer's strong commitment to the Univ. of Arkansas. Like Mazzoni, Fulmer signed just in time to get a little seasoning, though he was less successful in his four appearances with the GCL Mets. However, he too features a low-to-mid 90's heater and an advanced slurve for a prep product. Though like most prep pitchers his change-up lags far behind. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/2/6/2768128/2012-amazin-avenue-mets-top-50-prospect-15-11

It would seem to be a foregone conclusion that Tejada is the 2012 shortstop, and of the future, for the Mets. We are assuming that he will look at least as good as he did last year, when he filled in ably at short when Reyes was on the DL. At the same time, he was a little erratic at short compared to how confident and natural he looked at second base; that said, do we know for sure which side of 2B Tejada belongs? Might we see him playing both positions in 2012? Further, what if Tejada looks completely overmatched at shortstop during spring training? Would the Mets start the season with Ronny Cedeno at short, and send Tejada down to AAA for more seasoning at the position? Or would they keep him up with the big club, working him in and out of the lineup until he earns a starting job? I wonder if the former makes more sense; at age 22, Tejada is still very young, and may benefit more by regular reps rather than sporadic starts. http://www.metstoday.com/7422/11-12-offseason/mets-spring-training-question-12-shortstop/