11/4/12

'The War Room' -



-We all know the Mets are heavy in talented young pitcher from Binghamton to Brooklyn. Some of these guys have to be moved to go get a centerfielder to hold the fort down until Brandon Nimmo works his way through the system (ETA: 2015).

We also know the bean counters have the Mets in check with a ceiling of $100mil worth of salaries in 2013.

Lastly, there could be $50mil (Santana, Bay, Francisco) coming off the books in 2014.

Question:  What’s exactly wrong with a 3-yr back-loaded offer to a decent centerfield specialist… let’s say 2013: $5mil, 2014: $8mil, 2015: $12mil… and who out there could foot the bill either through FA or a trade?

(miss ya David...)

18 comments:

Craig said...

Morning Mack,

Unfortunately, it sounds unlikely the Mets will spend 5 mil on any one player this offseason. I would love to see them go after Peter Bourjos. Hes young, affordable, and IMO better than his .220 avg from last year.

Mack Ade said...

Hey Craig...

I still think that Jon Niese is the best rade candidate. He's under a cheap contract, a lefty, and a proven entity.

I would target Ryan Doumit or Travis D'Arnaud. Both those teams simply have too many catchers + Doumit is a switch hitter and plays the outfield.

They are stretching out Jenrry Mejia again in the DWL so he might be involved in some deal also.

I also found it interesting that Andres Torres is still around.

I guess, for now, the starting 2013 outfield is Bay,, Torres, and Duda, with Nieuwenhuis, Baxter, and Valdespin fighting it out in the spring for two slots.

Charles said...

If the choice is to sit through another wasted yr or trade Niese, I'd sit through another yr.

I could never break up the one strength this team has. To me, Dickey is the far better option to trade. I could see the Yanks jumping in for him since they have question marks in the rotation and a payroll cut in the works. I would target Gary Sanchez and Dante Bichette jr.

Mack Ade said...

Charles:

Dickey does have the best chance of breaking down during the season and, yes, he's the perfect choice for the Yankees.

There's going to be a trade soon.

I just feel it.

Swimmer000 said...

I would trade Niese to The Red Sox for Jackie Bradley and Blake Swihart... That would kill to birds with one stone. Bradley will be ready in another year or so. He already has a major league Glove. You could also trade him to the rockies for one of their outfielders. Either Kyle Parker or Tim Wheeler.

I'd also

Craig said...

Jon Niese is a quality young left handed starter, whom the mets control for years to come at an affordable price. These are the types of players the Mets should be seeking out, not trading away.

Mack Ade said...

Swimmer and Craig:

You have to trade "good" players in order to get "good players.

The Mets are shit loaded with SP prospects. And, they can live without one of their current ones while Michael Fulmer, Rafael Montero, and, possibly, Darin Gorski sharpen their skills for a 2014 opening day rotation slot.

A trade for JBJ (who the Mets should have drafted) and Swihart (ditto)could possible solve two positions for 6-8 years.

I would definitely do that deal.

Charles said...

I'd keep Niese no matter what and trade Dickey. He's a twenty game winner who has gotten better the past three seasons. Only 5 mill next season and still has great value for a team who may want to extend him beyond 2013. For Dickey, the Mets should be able to secure at least a Wheeler type top prospect at catcher or in the outfield.

To me, it's a no brainer. Niese is the only viable left handed starter in the entire Mets system other than the unproven Gorski and he's at least a legit number three starter.

The Angels are another team in need of a starter and if things fall apart with Grienki they may look towards cheaper options. They are said to be going strong for Zack but maybe Dickey for a hundred million less plus a top prospect would be more appealing.

Who knows? Sandy has already stated twice already that the Mets have trade chips in their young low A pitching. Having specifically singled out the Cyclone's rotation as good young arms he might dangle. I just don't know who would be moving major league talent or at least close to ML talent for arms so far off.

The wild card in all this is David. If he doesn't sign then the Mets will completely redo the lineup by trading both Dickey and Wright. I don't think they'll sign RA unless they sign David first. Why would you? You might as well trade them both and get as much young and cheap talent as possible to fill the team, then when 2014 comes around, you have 70 million to spend to fill holes with great talent through free agency.

Mack Ade said...

Charles, you have to remember something about trading.

The other team has to want the player.

No one will ever see Dickey pitch better than he did in 2012 and he would cost, salary wise, a lot more to a team than Niese.

I understand you wanting to trade Dickey over Niese, but, it might take a younger, cheaper pitcher to get yourself a real cather and outfielder

Craig said...

I think Dickey has at least as much trade value as Niese, likely more.

John said...

I see Dickey as a fit in Baltimore, though they don't have many intriguing prospects besides the ones who are untouchable. Maybe you could work out a 3-way deal where they send JJ Hardy to Arizona and we can get back AJ Pollock and their young catcher Michael Perez.

Mack Ade said...

okay, guys... but here's the deal...

this is Hot Stove and Toronto just called... they are willing to trade C Travis D'Arnaud for Jon Niese.

D'Arnaud is coming off a tear of the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee, but he's easily the top catching prospect in baseball.

He's 23-years old, hit .333 last year in AAA and has a lifetime .286 BA (6-years).

Do you do the deal?

Anonymous said...

NO DEAL

Sign Jeremy Jeffress!

Charles said...

Nope...not for Niese. Dickey yes, not for Niese. They'd have to sweeten the package for a young arm like Niese.

Remember what the padres got for Latos??? Grandal AND Yonser Alonso plus two other good players. Teams try to develop arms like Niese and fail 95% of the time. Dickey is 38 and perfect for a win now team. Niese has staying power.

Craig said...

Lets not forget that D'Arnaud hit330 in Las Vegas--Notorious for making average hitters look like stars. You'll see next year, we'll all be drooling over Den Dekkers #'s.

Charles said...

A lot of people always say that sometimes you have to trade some talent to get talent. A good trade is one that helps both teams.

That's true. I'm just not willing to trade the players that already should be part of the young core. Davis, Niese, Harvey, Wheeler, and Tejada.

Back in 2006, David Wright and Reyes would've fit that discription. I'm not sure they do anymore. I'm so torn about the Wright situation. Is he at this point in his career worth over 100 million? Normally I'd say no. But, since there's so much money being freed up after 2013, I think it really shouldn't matter one way or the other. As long as Wright's new contract doesn't isn't more than a 6 yr extension.

By the time the contract is over, players like Nimmo and hopefully Aderline Rodriguez will be the offensive stars. David would be that Jeter like captain. Possibly even Wilmer Flores. Realistically, there just isn't much hope for 2013 because of the payroll constraints.

Now, that is the Wilpons fault.

Mack Ade said...

Okay, that closes 'The War Room' today. We left without a new catcher or outfelder but we did learn how valuable a commodity like Jon Niese is to most of the people in the room (everyone but me... ).

thanks for your participation today...

Swimmer000 said...

I love Niese and I know he is our only Lefty. I think he is great, but I also think he will be getting better. That trade I proposed earlier w. the red sox and maybe a bullpen arm or so.... You have to do for either Niese or Dickey.

But like Mack said, you have to trade good players to get good players, if you see a chance to upgrade the roster, you have to get it down. Its about mixing and matching, who fits where and who fits on our team.

We dont have any lefties in our system, Gorski will be a bum, I think he'll be a bullpen arm, so mabe DIckey is the way to go.