Mack Ade – Morning Report – 10-15-13 – Mets Pen, Kemp and Braun, Tim Hudson, TopProspectAlert, St. Louis

 

Winter ball updates...  OF Cory Vaughn (1-4, .118) and 3B Aderlin Rodriquez (0-3, .000) continue to struggle. Cory Satterwhite (0.00) and Jeurys Familia (0.00) both threw scoreless innings... Xorge Carillo went 1-2 (.357)

 

John Delcos has a different spin on the 2014 Mets bullpen –

                Rice and Hawkins were two feel-good stories. After spending 14 years in the minor leagues, Rice finally got his chance to play in the major leagues and appeared in 73 games. Meanwhile, the 40-year-old Hawkins still touched the radar gun at 95 mph., and when Parnell was injured, he took over the closer role and saved 13 games with a 2.93 ERA. Germen emerged as a power arm and Torres was valuable as a combination long-man, spot-starter and situational reliever. Torres’ versatility is something the Mets’ bullpen hadn’t had since Darren Oliver in 2006. http://www.newyorkmetsreport.com/2013/10/13/rebuilding-mets-bullpen-not-monster-task-as-it-has-been/

                Mack – Okay, let’s assume Parnell is ready… in Delcos’ pen, five slots are filled already. I would think Vic Black gets the 6^th, but then what?

 

Michael Scannell  -

Since it looks like Kemp and Braun may both be available and at discount prices (second-tier prospects and their current teams picking up some salary) why not be bold and go after both?  Sure it's risky, but if the Mets can insure both contracts, the payoff could be huge.  I've seen the suggestion that the Dodgers pick up 1/3 of Kemp's salary and I would try and negotiate with the Brewers to get Braun's average salary down to no more than $13-14M per year btw 2016-2021 (kick in of $22-28M total).  Sure, there are concerns but the Mets will have to take risks with imperfect players if they hope to improve the offense.

Mack – Well, there has to be some assumptions here about the health of Kemp. I’m sure he will be fine and ready for opening day, but

                Current projected Mets 2014 salaries -  $38mil range

                Kemp at 67% -                   $ 14.2375mil

                Braun in 2014 -                  $ 11mil (there is no incentive for Braun to renegotiate his deal that current kicks in to $20mil per year for the 2016 season and lasts through 2020.

                Stop  here - $ 63+mil

                You still have plenty of money to go find yourself a shortstop, a viable option at first, or another starter.

                These two are solid all-stars that would change the Mets lineup for years. I’m sure we’d have to throw in our share of players, but even if you stopped here:

                Young RF, Murphy 2B, Wright 3B, Braun LF, Kemp CF, Davis 1B, d’Arnaud C, Tejada SS

                Wheeler, Niese, Gee, Mejia, Torrez…  Montero and Syndergaard (June)…

                Yeah, I like it. 

 

David O'Brien‏@ajcbraves   - Braves Wren indicated interest in re-signing Tim Hudson –

                Mack – Interesting. The Braves have a ton of young pitchers in their current rotation and, on the surface, one would think that his days were over in Atlanta (they also have a couple of more prospects that can’t find a spot on this team). However… every team knows the return of a veteran SP1 to help lead their young starters. Resigning Hudson takes one of the premium FAas off the market and leaves the list thinner for the Mets.

 

TopProspectAlert.com’s top Mets prospects –

1. 1.       Noah Syndergaard RHP…  2. Dominic Smith 1B…  3. Travis d’Arnaud C…  4. Rafael Montero RHP…  5. Brandon Nimmo OF…  6. Wilmer Flores 2B…  7. Kevin Plawecki C…  8. Amed Rosario SS…  9. Dilson Herrera 2B…  10. Gavin Cecchini SS…  11. Gabriel Ynoa RHP…  12. Steven Matz LHP…  13. Jacob DeGrom RHP…  14. Cesar Puello OF…  15. Jake Leathersich LHP…  16. Luis Mateo RHP…  17. Chris Flexen RHP…  18. Michael Fulmer RHP…  19. Domingo Tapia RHP…  20. John Gant RHP  http://topprospectalert.com/2013/10/14/2014-mlb-organizational-top-20-prospect-rankings/

 

Current Winter ball players –

                Pitchers - Octavio Acosta, Algodoneros de Guasave, Mexico

Chasen Bradford, Scottsdale Scorpions, Arizona

Marco Camarena, Tomateros de Culiacan, Mexico

Miller Diaz, Leones del Caracas, Venezuela

Jeurys Familia, Scottsdale Scorpions, Arizona

Justin Hampson, Tigres de Aragua, Venezuela

Luis Rengel, Cardenales de Lara, Venezuela

Hansel Robles, Scottsdale Scorpions, Arizona

Cody Satterwhite, Scottsdale Scorpions, Arizona

Position players - Xorge Carrillo, Aguilas de Mexicali, Mexico

Juan Carlos Gamboa, Caneros de los Mochis, Mexico

Albert Cordero, Leones del Caracas, Venezuela

Cam Maron, Scottsdale Scorpions, Arizona

Aderlin Rodriguez, Scottsdale Scorpions, Arizona

Wilfredo Tovar, Navegantes de Magallanes, Venezuela

Cory Vaughn, Scottsdale Scorpions, Arizona - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/78867/current-mets-winter-ball-participants

 

Howard Megdal -

And if you're wondering how the Cardinals got enough hitting to go along with that pitching: Carlos Beltran, the hero of Game 1, signed via free agency. So did Matt Holliday. They developed Yadier Molina, but then they kept him with a massive long-term deal. Even their pitching isn't purely made up of young, low-cost talent. They traded for Wainwright as a minor leaguer, then signed him long-term.

The Cardinals have a lot more young pitching than the Mets do. They've also spent a lot more money than the Mets have. And even if the Mets manage to bridge that enormous talent and budget gap, they'll still run up against the Cardinals, right in their own league, not going anywhere. http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2013/10/8534629/alderson-can-dream-cardinals-are-another-league

                Mack – Howard did a good job in this story pointing out just how far away the Mets are from the level that teams like St. Louis play at. And they will continue to stay that way trying to operate with a mid-market budget for a large-market team.

The Wilpons seem to have forgotten that you have to spend money to make money and there is no way in hell that a baseball team in the largest media market in the world shouldn’t be spending at least $125mil on their team. Additionally, no city has more immigrants from baseball crazy countries, yet the Mets seem to go out of their way not to bid on players from most of these countries. Does it take rocket science to figure out how many dollars would be spent by Cuban, Japanese, and Korean-Americans rooting for their home-boys at CitiField?  Doesn't one Mike Piazza sold out night show you fans will come out for the right product?

We’ve spend countless hours here on The Mack’s Mets Report trying to predict how the Mets will spend around $80mil next season. It simply isn’t the way to approach this game from a city this large. It just isn’t.