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11/15/12

Q and A - Questions From Abroad


Jan Groot emiled me:


Hi Mack,

First of all, great that you are back. I hadn't visited your site for a few months so I was surprised. I read that your health is getting better. Good for you.

Now what do you make of the Wright/Dickey trade/extention talk/rumours? First of all let me tell you I live in Europe and I am not an American. So I dont have the emotional connection you might have. In 2003 I went to New York and went to Shea 2 times. After that I followed the Mets online.

At this point, you probably have more 'emotional attachment' than me ::).  The Dickey situation should heat up once the Cy Young announcement comes out. It's hard for me to believe that someone with 20 of the team's 77 wins doesn't win this award. He has tremendous trade value, especially to teams like the Dodgers and Red Sox that want to win it all next year. My guess is he will be involved in some kind of sing-and-trade deal for young outfielders.

Wright is a different story. He's the last 'face' on this team and there is an emotional attachment that would really set off the fans even more than they are set off now. Reports this morning are that offers are going back and forth between his agent and the Mets. 

The businessman in me says trade him for a catcher and two other young, prospects, but the old fan in me would be thrilled if he sticks around. 

My opinion is that the Mets are not going anywhere with Wright and Dickey. No money to spend on free agents (and free agents are not the way to go I think) so how can the team get any better? You can trade your prospects but I hope that isnt the way Sandy will get the team better. To me Wright and Dickey are the ones you should trade. I have been thinking about this for a while and I want to know how you think about these following trades. I know you need 2 teams to get a trade done. I also dont know what the value for the players is so I assume the players in return are way to much. Just cut it off what you think is fair.

Dickey to Texas for Mike Olt (blocked by Beltre),  Leonys Martin, Jorge Alfaro, Leury Garcia (blocked by Andrus, Profar). I know this is way to much but perhaps you have an idea what is fair. Getting Olt means you can trade Wright. Martin can play the outfield. Alfaro is a nice catching prospect. And Garcia is a nice 2B prospect.

When Dickey is to Texas and Olt can be the future 3B you can trade Wright to Arizona. They want an upgrade on 3B. So how about Wright and $$ for Parra, Skaggs, Bauer? Arizona has a pretty good 3B prospect so have him in the minors for a year would be good for him. And the money you send to Arizona kind of gets you Bauer. I read that Arizona isnt happy with Bauer. So I think that Wright will get Parra and Skaggs and the money will get Bauer. This trade will get the Mets another outfielder and 2 starters. 1 to replace Dickey and perhaps 1 to replace Niese?

Perhaps Toronto isnt done shopping and Niese could get us Arencibia, Sean Nolin, Noah Syndergaard, A.J. Jiminez.

What do you think about these trades?

Your trades are viable, but it's impossible to speculate player to player. Plus, everybody is out of the loop when it comes to things like this. Look at the Marlins mega-deal last night. No one saw this coming.

The Mets are pitcher rich with a decent infield. There are plenty of secondary prospect starters (Gorski, Mejia, Familia, Verrett, Pill) in the organization that can build a successful pen. They lack outfielders, a full time catcher, and power.

Trading both Wright and Dickey gets you everything you need for the next five years at a team payroll below $75mil.


What happens to Mejia, Familia and McHugh?

Mejia is fully healed and is projected to go into the 2013 pen; however, he is being stretched out in winter ball and has been starting. The 2013 Mets rotation is set (Santana, Dickey, Niese, Harvey, Gee), but Mejia could be the next one in if Dickey was traded.

And then again, he also could be part of a future trade.

Familia simply has not developed into a major league pitcher. He has the 'stuff' and the 'velo', but he can't seem to find the barn. His BB/IP is off the charts. My guess is he will return to AAA to keep trying to learn how to hit the corners.

McHugh is a perfect example of someone who's future is probably in the Mets pen, possibly as early as opening day.

And Valdespin?

Valdespin is the 5th outfielder on the Mets and also will serve as the first utility 2B and SS off the bench. That's about it though. His trade value is basically zero because of the way he approaches the game. He's as close as someone can be to being un-coachable. Lots of talent here but a real head case.

Do you think Tim Byrdak will still be around?

No, I think we've seen the last of 'timmie'...  did a good job.

Who is Craig Hansen?

Hanson was a big-time prospect out of St. John's University in Queens that has had a number of pitching injuries. He's supposedly 100% now and, if the talent is still there, could be a pleasant surprise. I expect him in Las Vegas in 2013.

Don't you need any back up SS/2B?

Valdespin will be the backup 2B and SS. Justin Turner backs up at 1B and 3B.

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