12/4/12

Q and A - Wright, Hamilton, Upton, Davis, and Myers


Michael Scannell asked:

This isn't really for the Q and A section, just a thought I was having.

A lineup of:
SS Tejada (.5)
2B Murphy (1)
3B Wright (16)
CF Hamilton (25)
RF Upton (9.75)
1B Davis (.5)
LF Myers (.5)
Ca Soto (2)
SP1 Santana (25.5)
SP2 Niese (3)
SP3 Harvey (.5)
SP4 Gee (.5)
SP5 Pelfrey (1)

...carries a payroll of $86 million.  Of course, it leaves out bench, bullpen, and deferred payments, but that seems like a decent team, built to win now and in the future.  The core of Wright, Hamilton, Upton, Davis, and Myers would be together for 3-6 years along with Harvey, Niese, and Wheeler.  Santana comes off the books next year, allowing for the reallocation of almost $26M towards raises and additional acquisitions.  As seasons come and go, I'm assuming the Wilpon financial problems would become less and less of an issue and revenues would increase as fans spend more money on a very good product.  This would allow incremental increases in payroll as the Mets become a real big market team again.

The Mets would get Myers for Dickey, Hamilton would only take up available payroll, and an Upton trade wouldn't necessarily deplete the farm.  I commented on one of your Dickey-Myers posts.  You think that Dickey is worth Myers, +.  Why not try and get Christian Colon as the other player?  Arizona is looking for a SS for Upton, flip Colon, Mejia, Duda, and Valdespin for him.  It seems like the Mets could make huge improvements for minimal cost.

What am I missing as far as the numbers?  Why then is the team not willing to be aggressive?  I know Hamilton carries some risk, but if he's only fielding offers in the 3-year range, offer 4-5....with all the young and cheap players on the team the Mets can absorb a hit like that for a few years.

Mack:

Hey, everything is for the Q and A section… J

Actually, what you left out is the money that is being paid to Jason Bay plus a sizable commitment to Ike Davis and Frank Francisco.

I too mentioned  Colon as a great second player in a deal with Kansas City. You pull this off and Daniel Murphy becomes instantly expendable.

If you have a core lineup of Wright, Hamilton, Upton, Davis, and Myers, you don’t need a farm. Open the gates for Upton and let them have 4-5 players (don’t forget all the great young starters the Mets have in the system that will not have anywhere to pitch some day).

I love your lineup. You know that old God’s ears thing…

1 comment:

Michael S. said...

Thanks Mack...when I thought about Hamilton and Upton on the same team, I looked at how it worked out and came to the same conclusion - we don't need much of a farm if we add them plus a Wil Myers. It has a mix of youth, veteran experience and talent on the way up.

Just to go one step further, in 2014, the lineup would be missing Francisco, Soto, and Santana, leaving it at $60 million. A $58 million team that features Wright, Hamilton and Upton. If the lineup goes to $110 in 2013, we can assume it might go to $115M+ in 2014. The Mets would have over $55 million (about double the payroll) to hand out raises, add a pitcher, and make whatever upgrades they need.

Unfortunately, I don't see too many standout hitters going to FA next year. I feel like the time is now.