Mack Stuff – Mets Budget, Travis d’Arnaud, Michael Bourn, Nolan Reimold

Best Christmas Poem - http://mets360.com/?p=13885

Howard Megdal‏ - @howardmegdal -  The #Mets $7 million budget @kendavidoff reported earlier this week to get whole OF, SP, bullpen is up to $10 million.

                I emailed both Howard and Ken and asked them how they did their math, but they never answer my email. It’s one thing having $10mil… it’s another finding someone to give it to. I’m not sure there is a decent right hand hitting outfielder still out there to consider. I would lock up either Hairston or Ross and then turn to the pen and try and find one key pitcher that could take over as the first reliever in… sort of like Pedro Feliciano used to be. Do you notice we keep talking about the same five or six names? God, it’s touch keeping up this Hot Stove season.

There is no doubt d’Arnaud was available due, in part, to his injury history. In June the 23-year-old tore his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and missed the remainder of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) season. In 2010, he registered just 292 plate appearances due to two bulging disks in his back. My father is doctor making me qualified to say these injuries are worrisome. Catching is a demanding position and if d’Arnaud were a Jay its conceivable he could DH once a week. Joe Mauer caught just over seventy games in 2012 and was the designated hitter for another seventy. Similarly, the Giants are able to spell Buster Posey‘s knees by placing him at first base. Of course, the Giants are also intent on destroying Brandon Belt. However, such creativity isn’t an option for d’Arnaud in Flushing. I’d estimate the move from the Junior Circuit costs him between ten and twenty games. If you have you own d’Arnaud or another NL catcher make sure to have a quality back up. Moreover, d’Arnaud’s playing time this season is more questionable as a Met. The noncompetitive, cash strapped Mets have absolutely no incentive to call up d’Arnaud before the super-two deadline. But, for fantasy owners sake, hopefully they will call him up earlier. One would think a big market club like the Mets could handle paying d’Arnaud an extra year of arbitration, but these are the Mets. Prior to this trade the Jays looked strong and replacing J.P. Arencibia with d’Arnaud early in the year would have been a good win now move. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the Jays would certainly call him up before the Mets would, but Toronto would have had more of an incentive to. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/what-to-make-of-travis-darnaud/

Ideally, yes, Bourn is a fit and he would give the Mets outfield some instant credibility. He does strike out a lot, but he’s become an excellent top of the order catalyst as an outstanding base stealer with triples speed. The Mets don’t have much of that, and it’s something they have desperately needed since both Jose Reyes and Angel Pagan departed after 2011. But, a) he’s left-handed and the Mets need right-handed outfielders, b) they need power in the outfield, c) he’s a Scott Boras client, and there’s no doubt he will try and get someone to overpay for Bourn, and d) he received a qualifying offer from the Braves, and so the team Bourn signs with will have to surrender their first round pick in the 2013 draft. On top of that, Bourn depends on his legs to be successful, and it remains to be seen how quickly those skills diminish in the coming seasons. http://metsblog.com/rumors/outfield/latest-on-of-market-bourn-still-available-swisher-visiting-teams/

The Baltimore Orioles outrighted outfielder Steve Pearce to Norfolk (IL).

Let’s take a peak and see if there is an excess of outfielders on this team and what they might need (I do this at this time of the year, every year):

Baltimore has eight (8) outfielders on their 40-man:

                Xavier Avery – 2012 MLB: 94-AB, .223 – bats left – minimum salary

                L.J. Hoes – 2012 MLB:  2-AB, .000 – bats right – AAA: .300 – minimum salary

                Adam Jones –  2012 MLB: 648-AB, .287 - $85.5mil through 2018

                Nick Markakis – 2012 MLB: 420-AB, .298 - $66.1mil through 2014

                Nate McLouth – 2012 MLB: 209-AB, .268 – bats left - $2mil 2013, FA in 2014

                Nolan Reimold –  2012 MLB: 67-AB, .313 – bats right – ARB-1

                Trayvon Robinson – 2012 MLB: 145-AB - .221 – switch hits - the Orioles traded Robert Andino last month to the Mariners for Robinson – minimum salary

Well, the Orioles have plenty of outfielders and yet they just traded for another one (Robinson).  I assume one of these guys will DH in 2013 and Hoes could move back to second base. Still, you can’t sit Jones or Markakis, and McLouth just re-upped for another year.

My guess is someone like Reimold could be had for some pitching… 28 years old… he was off to a hot start in 2102 (.960 OPS) but went down for neck surgery that ended his season. Regarding his rehab, Reimold was quoted to say last month: “I plan on playing left field unless somebody tells me differently.”