Christopher asked:
With the release of Jason Bay and the non-tender of Andres Torres.....the Mets OF is in quite a flux.
Assuming Kirk Nieuwenhuis comes back to the majors for 2013 and
Lucas Duda remaining in the OF, we'll need 1
more starter.
That being said.....Do
you think Matt den Dekker could be a viable
option to start 2013 in CF? The kid is a great defensive CF which the Mets
haven’t had in a while and looks like he can hold his own with the bat albeit
with a high K rate.
If he could put up a
.250, 12-15 HR, 15-20 SB right now I will be happy to name him my CF.....any
thoughts?
Mack:
I happen to like den
Dekker, but, according to the experts, he’s got a way to go before he’s
offensively ready for CitiField. No one questions his defensive skills and most
within the system consider him the best defensive outfielder in the organization,
but he needs to learn how to hit superior pitching which he finds difficult doing
each level be ascents.
The 2013 outfield looks
like a mess, but the last thing I would do is rush den Dekker. Leave him in Las
Vegas for the season and let him work on his strikeout rate.
I also wish the Mets
would leave Nieuwenhuis in Vegas for the season. Remember, he was demoted last
year before he went down with an injury and he has been rushed far too early.
Put him in left field next to den Dekker and let the two of them feast on the
Vegas air.
I think the Bay deal is
not completed. Monies will be diverted to allow them to sign someone decent and
my guess right now is that it will be Melky Cabrera in
the $5-7mil range for 2013. Mike Baxter, Lucas Duda,
and Jordany Valdespin will join him and one more
‘new guy’ as yet undetermined.
The problem with this
approach is the team will still not have a long term ‘star’ outfielder, but
maybe that person can arrive via a trade for the now available RA Dickey.
And unless or until they trade Dickey, that outfielder won't be coming until 2014 when they finally have that payroll flexibility they've been waiting for.
ReplyDeleteThat said, unless Dickey's price comes down to 2 yrs and 20 million, I believe he's getting traded and I think the outfield and catching positions will be better for it.
I want to see if the Yanks would give up Gary Sanchez and Dante Bichette jr for Dickey plus a sweetener...maybe Lara or McHugh.