Andy Martino –
“Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Wilmer Flores and Josh Satin are a flawed group, but there are enough of them to push the Mets into using their resources for other positions.” - http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/baseballinsider/2013/10/why-ny-mets-dont-expect-to-pursue-robinson-cano-jose-abreu-and-why-thats-w-0
Mack – This was the last line of Martino’s ‘Insider’ report on Wednesday evening. I’m not the biggest fan of Martino, but I agree with him here, other than the fact that I would take a legitimate run at Mike Napoli in the $13mil, 3/yr. range. If he can get more, fine, let him seek employment elsewhere. I still would like to find a way of getting Flores at least 300 at-bats in a platoon with either Duda or Davis. Frankly, you have to let the other two seek a future with a different club. You can’t carry four first basemen.
A couple of things that could develop here:
First of all, a couple of them did play other positions but the majority of their games were on first base and their combined 2013 stats were 28 home runs and 96 runs batted in.
There could be some off-season interest in Flores, even though he under-impressed when he was promoted to Flushing. Insiders liked the way he had the knack of driving in runs even though he wasn’t producing the overall stat line they had hoped for. Then, he came up lame and basically the season was over for him.
The other scenario is what if Duda or Davis start the season off hot? Do you shit can the platoon?
All of this will make lot more sense once Napoli signs somewhere. It definitely will if that somewhere is… here.
More Martino -
Ten years, $305 million (Cano)? When Alderson heard about his request from the Yankees, he must have said "no thanks" in considerably less time than it takes Cano to jog to first base. We're talking about a GM who wrestled with the decision to give face of the franchise David Wright an eight-year deal. People who know Alderson well say that was a tough commitment for him to make, even to a player he likes. So don't expect him to play that game with some other franchise's guy, sources say.
Mack – Let’s understand something. Sandy Alderson hates long term deals. The Wright deal came down from the Wilpons and wasn’t his idea. He signed off on it because his bosses wanted it done.
There is no way anyone is going to get a 5-year deal out of this guy… if… he really is in change, and right now, I believe he is. The front office believes that, with an assit by Omar Minaya, they have solved the long term pitching situation with this team. They will slot in selective free agents if and when players like Matt Harvey go under the knife.
They also believe that their pitching almost got them to the playoff, even with the rag-tag group they put on the field. Yes, they need to replace the loss of Marlon Byrd, but I’m sure you will see at least three new every day field players to join Wright and Travis d’Arnaud.
But, forget your five year contracts. They aren’t happening.
Colorado –
Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort said that he will not consider trading either SS Troy Tulowizki or OF Carlos Gonzalez.
Mack – In fact, he said he plans on spending more money for another big bat. I’m sort of happy about this. I never expected the Mets to be able to make a deal for either of these guys and, if you have to have them on a National League team, it might as well be a bad one.
The bad news is we probably just lost about 25% of the comments that will be listed on my site, but it seems like our best bet right now would be either Carlos Beltran or Marlon Byrd, or both.
David Price –
David Price told reporters Wednesday night that he expects to be traded by the Rays this offseason.
Mack – I know we discussed Price before, but let me remind you just how bad things are financially in Tampa Bay. This team has less attendance than Miami. Do you know how hard that is to do? The city of Tampa Bay simply doesn’t support this team and the owners can not afford to stock their 40-man with anybody but pre-arbitration eligible prospects. The team that secures Price through a trade will be the team that offers the most talented young and cheap players, not established starts. Tampa Bay also has a shit load of players hitting free agency including three other pitchers. Look, make the phone call. Offer Rafael Montero, Jeremy Hefner, Wilmer Flores, and Jordany Valdespin. What do you have to lose? They may not hang up and just say, no, take out Valdespin and “add in Juan Lagares and you got a deal”.
Johan Santana -
Everybody knows that Johan Santana missed the entire 2013 MLB season due to surgery on his throwing elbow, the second time he’s had that procedure done on the same arm. All signs are pointing to the New York Mets buying out the rest of his contract, which would be a $5.5 million buyout. Even after the buyout, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said he would “possibly” look to sign the two-time Cy Young Award winner on the cheap. http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2013/10/10/even-if-johan-santana-comes-back-to-the-new-york-mets-how-effective-is-he-going-to-be/?0sMtcepG3ZdaRRyW.99
Mack – First of all, define cheap. Would Santana give the Mets a home team discount and sign for $5mil more than the buyout, $10mil for one season? And exactly what would be Santana’s incentive to sign for only one season?
This is a first class gentleman who fully understands that the Mets paid him $25,000,000 to basically eat at Duffy’s last season, but he’s always been a ‘business only’ kind of guy a la Carlos Beltran.
I will tell you this… if his arm isn’t heals, Alderson will know about it. That’s not Santana’s act. He’ll be up front about his health.
If I could only crystal ball this and know that the Mets could get two quality years from this guy, just imagine the 2015 rotation.
AFL –
The Mets had big hopes that OF Cory Vaughn could draw a line in the sand and begin to stat out in the Arizona Fall League. So far, he is 0-9 in the first two games, has one error, two strikeouts, and was benched for game three. 3B Aderlin Rodriquez has also started off hitless, going 0-7 through Thursday. Only Cam Maron has produced a hit, going 1-3 in Thursday’s loss.RP Cody Satterwhite earned the save in game one after a scoreless ninth inning. (Satterwhite was signed by the Mets after being released by the Detroit Tigers. He has suffered multiple years of shoulder problems and has, at time, watched his velocity go from the mid-90s to low-80s. He signed on with Indy Sioux City Explorers where he pitched in 19-games, 2-1, 0.65-ERA, 27.2-IP, 31-K, 7-BB. His overall minor league affiliated ball stat line is: 4-yrs, 6-8, 3.44, 1.55, 102-IP, 109-K, 66-BB. This looks like a quality sign and watch for the 26-yr. old to move on to Binghamton next season.)He pitched another scoreless inning on Thursday. In addition, fellow reliever, Chason Bradford has pitched 0.1 inning of scoreless ball.
21 comments:
You need to look at the market when it comes to Santana.....what would the market give to a aging pitcher coming off of back to back missed seasons due to capsule surgery.
The answer is a minor league deal at best which is all the Mets should offer him.
I personally am in the camp to go after Roy Halladay.
My off-season free agent targets are:
Roy Halladay on a 1 yr deal
Grady Sizemore on a minor league deal
Corey Hart on a 2 yr deal
Jonny Peralta on a 2 yr deal
John Buck on a 1 yr deal
Cory Hart is going back to Milwaukee. He already said he'll come at a discount since they payed him this whole season.
If this is our big offseason towards contention plan, we'll be lucky to finish .500 this year.
Even though Corey Hart has expressed interest in returning to Milwaukee at a discounted rate the Brewers have yet to even talk to him about an extension.
There is currently a divide in the organization on whether to blow the whole thing up and re-build or to re-tool around Braun, or possibly even trade him.
Make it a blockbuster... Niese, Ike, Flores, Centeno, deGrom, and a Lara for Price and Zobrist. They will have to get rid of Zobrist soon any, Niese steps right into the rotation, and Davis is exactly the kind of guy the Rays love.
I agree...
Those players have a chance of making the team worse!
Most are coming off injury. Why not actually try for somebody who we know should produce. You can't say that about Hart, Sizemore, or Halladay.
I would actually like Halladay or Santana, but the Mets must rework their roster to the point where we can all look at it and know that it is much improved.
They will never get attendance up with another shitty off season and that ultimately is their goal.
How would those players make the team worse?
Sizemore is a complete dumpster pile pick up. He would carry literally 0 risk and a massive amount of upside if he can show during ST that he's healthy. If he IS truly healthy he instantly provides more value than Eric Young or Lucas Duda in the OF. If he's not then all we lose is about $120,000.
Halladay will probably be available for around $4-$5MM for 1 season which is perfectly fine for me knowing that we have a bevy of SP's that will be ready and raring to go in AAA. Due to his injury risk I would also go after someone like Arroyo as a proven #5.
Hart was a consistent 25+HR, .270 AVG player before he got hurt this ST. He would be a massive upgrade over anything Davis/Duda provided this season.
Peralta hit .303 with 11 HR's this season post steriods. That's 100 points and 10HRs higher than Tejada provided this season.
As for Buck, I only want him as a back-up because him and d'Arnaud seemed to work EXTREMELY well together during ST. Anything to help our young guys is a plus.
the Brewers are a real mess right now and they need to make major changes... which may include changing the face (Braun) of the team
I think we would be fine with Peralta or Buck. Cory Hart missed the whole season with knee surgery on both knees, so no thanks. Milwaukee would be stupid not to bring him back, especially at a discount. If they want to blow things up, then trade him after resigning him. Blowing things up would probably just mean trading Braun & Gallardo since there is no reason to move Segura or Gomez.
Also, there is no way of knowing why Halladay would sign for. Guarantee he gets more than $4M on a one year deal. You also have no idea what you will get out of him and since Wheeler, Niese, Gee & Mejia all had injury concerns this year, I think the smartest move is signing a guy who has a track record of 30 starts & 200 innings like Jimenez or Arroyo. Jimenez is young, Arroyo is old. I'd much rather sign Jimenez and know that I'm getting consistency from my #4 starter.
I think an offseason of Byrd, Buck, Peralta & Jimenez would be the bare minimum this team should do. If they can trade for a bat using the surplus of in house 1B or 2B candidates along with Montero, then we're starting to get on the right track
While there is no reason to sign anyone to a Cano-type long term deal, this is not the offseason to bottom feed, as was done the previous three winters. They need to land at least three legit players - a SS, a power bat, and a starter. Fill those with players that can be counted on, and one or two that will excite the fan base, and then they can bargain shop to build some depth.
All I want for Christmas is corner outfielders
Mack. Could you tell us stories of your days as a hippie in the 60's?
Ha ha...
I never was a hippie.
I was what I used to call myself a "weekend warrior hippie".
I went to work 5 days a week with a suit and tie on as a junior exec for Shell Oil... then, on Friday, I would change to street clothes, and head down to the Village to hang out.
Some weekends we would drive up to the town of Woodstock and hang out at Haines Falls.
There was a great used clothes store on 8th street that you could spend $10 in and come out looking like Mick Jagger or Ziggy Stardust, depending upon your choice.
Sunday night was into the shower, shave Monday morning, and back to working for the man...
Oh yeah... met my wife at the Newport Folk Festival in 1970.
I really don't see Price coming to the Mets for Montero, Flores, Valdespin and Hefner (who just had Tommy John). That would be a steal and obviously teams would offer more.
I would propose a serious deal understanding the type of talent we would be acquiring I wouldnt offend anyone with a nonsensical offer.
I would send Niese (I think he should be moved with that rotator cuff) Montero, Flores and Nimmo to the Rays along with cash considerations. I would even be inclined to add Ynoa or Fulmer if need be. He is that kind of talent. We can sign him to an extensin now and save some money. Price, Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard and Gee...... Oh man. 2015 would be very interesting.
I think you need to check accuracy on velocity of some of your players. I have been in attendance to many of these st lucie mets games and Satterwhite has been pitching in the low to mid 90s all year as opposed to mid to high 90s before injury. He's got opportunity.
Kate:
See... that's what we need... someone at Lucy who can tell us what the real deal is.
Any desire to write for the Mack's Mets Report?
The secret to any Price trade is whether he wants to pitch here and if Alderson would go for a contract through 2018-2019.
If not, no group of players would get this done.
I think Price would play here. Besides the New York City factor, Price seems to be a big fan of Harvey. I'm sure the implications of the two of them fronting a rotation aren't lost on him.
I keep thinking about matt kemp. if his contract is insured and you could get the dodgers to pick up 1/3 plus the insurance options. he could be a great lf option. if he's healthy. at 13 million a year for 5/6 years. you might not have to give up much. basically you're going to give up something that could be used by the dodgers to trade for Price.
I believe Kemp had shoulder surgery yesterday
Halladay at 5 mill is too expensive and his arm is gone at this point, so that'll make the team worse.
Sizemore hasn't been healthy in years and players rarely come back after that line and are consistent again or even anywhere near they used to be, so what's the point?
Hart has been hurt and despite that will get paid big bucks, so why take the chance?
Here's an idea? Enough of the dumpster diving! How about this team go after somebody like Elsbury? Or Cano? Or any legit baseball player that isn't coming off injury and we all wouldn't have to worry about them being healthy!
Way too fans are letting the Mets get away with this small market mentality where they can't spend any money and need to find players that have a negative stigma attached in order to spend less and pray they out perform their minuscule contract.
This is total bullshit! The mets actually have a good starting rotation and some intriguing young arms coming up both in the rotation and in the bullpen. Now is not the time to nickel and dime this roster with the hopes of hitting big on some cheap investments. They need to take advantage of the extremely low cost of their young pitching staff as a whole and buy any and all bats available to supplement their currently atrocious offense.
Abreu is the first step. Beltran and Bryd is the second. Then possibly Peralta. Then find a couple decent arms to act as placeholders until Montero and Thor are ready.
yes he did. Clearly youd review the medical. but if it passed. This would be a very clear case of buying a depreciated asset for pennies on the dollar in order for them to write down the cost of that asset and get it off their books even if they have to pay for a large portion of it off book and then taking the upside risk. im sure you could structure a payment based on injury factors after the 1/3 so you could get down to a minimal risk
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