It’s easy to sit and
fantasize what the team would be like if they added people rumored to be
available like Giancarlo Stanton or Carlos Gonzalez. However, sometimes it’s the under-the-radar,
unsexy moves that can turn out to help in the long run. Let’s take a look at three
such moves the Mets could consider making to improve their team.
Norichika Aoki is not the
most glamorous name out there, but the pint-sized Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
may be just what Dave Hudgens ordered.
Last year the 31 year old played quite a bit due to injuries and the
same is happening this year due to Corey Hart being on the DL. When the Brew Crew’s outfield his healthy,
Aoki is on the depth chart behind Hart, Carlos Gomez and Ryan Braun. In 741 big league at bats after coming over
from Japan he’s hit 14 HRs, driven in 63, stolen 36 bases while hitting
.290. Most improbably he’s struck out
just 67 times while walking 61 times.
That type of patience would certainly be music to Hudgens’ ears. Right now he’s earning a paltry $1.25
million. I’d slot him into centerfield
and bat him leadoff. Unfortunately the
Brewers may be reluctant to make the move with Hart slated to be a free agent
at the end of the year.
While everyone rightfully drools
over uber-talented CarGo in left field, the Rockies have a centerfielder in the
mold of Aoki named Dexter Fowler who is a couple of years younger. He has decent power, good speed and patrols
CF competently. In a 162 game average he
would provide 10 HRs, 52 RBIs, steal 20 bases and hit .273. It’s not quite in Aoki’s league, but at just 27
and a switch hitter there is the potential for him to improve. At 6’4” and 190 there might still be some
muscle that can be added to his frame to increase his power output. Of course, leaving the friendly confines of
Coors Field has been detrimental to many hitters but Matt Holliday is proving in
St. Louis you don’t have to be a mile high to make balls disappear into thin
air. Fowler draws just as many walks as
Aoki but strikes out more often. The
other gamble on him would be his health.
He’s had a number of minor injuries that have curtailed his ability to
stay on the field for 500+ ABs per season.
He’s making $4.25 million this year and is set for $7.35 million in 2014
with 2015 his arbitration eligible year and 2016 his free agent year.
The third one who might be
plucked from relative obscurity is the Washington Nationals reserve outfielder
Tyler Moore. He’s currently on the depth
chart behind Bryce Harper, Denard Span, Jayson Werth and 1st base is
blocked by Adam LaRoche. Last year the
big right handed rookie slugger blasted 10 HRs and drove in 29 in just 156
ABs. That projects to 40/116 over the
course of a full season. Lest you think those
numbers are a mirage, in his last AA and AAA seasons he produced back to back
31 HR seasons averaging 100 RBIs. This
year he’s hitting in Ike Davis territory albeit in less than 100 ABs. It might be the time to strike a deal with
the Nationals who have no place to play him while his value is depressed.
The fun part is deciding
who you want. The much tougher part is
figuring out who you would give up to get them.
The Mets seems somewhat stacked at the starting pitching and catching
positions in the minors. You also have
the Daniel Murphy vs. Wilmer Flores decision to make.
Then there are the
underachievers on the big league roster – Ike Davis, Lucas Duda (and the rest
of the outfielders though it’s unlikely anybody wants any of them), Ruben
Tejada and a crashed-to-earth John Buck.
You have some perfect mid season pitchers to flip in trades who are on
one year deals like LaTroy Hawkins and Shaun Marcum.
My prediction is that the
team will make Bobby Parnell the centerpiece of a future blockbuster trade and
hope that the ungodly strikeout numbers posted by Jack Leathersich can somehow
translate into success in the majors.
They could do a similar move with Jon Niese but a 2014 rotation
featuring Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Rafael Montero still comes up two men
short. Although there have been some
better efforts lately by Dillon Gee and Jeremy Hefner, they are not necessarily
long term solutions.
6 comments:
No one did a better job of these kind of signings tha Baltimore has done over the past couple of seasons.
Omar Quintanilla is proving right now that you just need players that are better than the guy you used to have play that position, plus are capable of winning a game every once in awhile.
Reese,
Agree with the point, but the big problem now is that the Mets need to secure both a quality leadoff hitter and a quality cleanup hitter. Filling those two slots with above average players will make everyone else look better, and Aoki/Fowler are certainly upgrades in the leadoff spot. Fill those two holes will add more value to the complementary acquisitions, and will allow them to focus on defense at SS and CF that will benefit the pitching. And, despite all the arms in the minors, they still need to add a lot more pitching at the major league level somehow, their runs against are close to the worst in the NL, which despite the lineup woes is really the biggest problem.
Strangely, den Dekker will still line up as a possible OD lead-off hitter with Lagares his chief competition.
Cesar Puello (2 more HRs today) is on paper to slot in at RF and in the 3-4-5-6-7 mix with Davis-Duda-d-Arnaud-Davis
Mets don't have to trade for all stars at every position but they need some bats that actually scare the opposing pitchers.
It would be nice to see the Mets allow young players to develop and advance, but Collins' obsession with "veteran presence" works against them. Yes, it's possible some players might seem overmatched against the next level of competition, but how would you know unless they get the opportunity to try.
Then you have TC's "vet presence" and Sandy's high school draft picks - no middle ground
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