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11/22/13

NEW MET - OF - Chris Young

Jon Heyman@JonHeymanCBS 3m
Chris Young agrees to mets deal pending physical. OF has some pop, good defender

Young played in 107 games (375 plate appearances) for Oakland in 2013, batting .200 with a .280 OBP and 12 home runs. He’s a career .235 hitter with a .315 OBP over nearly 1,000 games, almost all of them in centerfield for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His best season came in 2010, where he hit .257/.341/.452 with 27 home runs, 91 RBI and 28 stolen bases. - MetsBlog

Mack - this is an absolutely horrible deal at $7.25mil. It represents 20-25% of your total spending budget.

You also do not sit your second ranked team salary on the bench... no, this is your new every day CFer with Lagares moving to LF and EJY stays in RF.

Unbelievable.

Christopher Soto 9:53AM

According to Buster Olney, Chris Young's deal is worth 1 year/$7.25M

(Ahhh crap....this is a terrible deal....FLAT OUT TERRIBLE. What is Alderson thinking?)
 

41 comments:

  1. I actually called this one on my MLBTR free agent prediction thread.

    I'll wait till contract info comes out before I make judgement

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  2. That said if this is a major league deal (which I figure it is) It does not bode well for Matt Den Dekker.

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  3. This can't be for no more than $2M a season. He just hasn't been productive.

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  4. You have to assume the base salary will be in the $2mil range and the incentives will be based on OBP, OPS, HR, Slugging

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  5. I like him as a 4th OF, or maybe vs. lefties in a platoon situation. But isn't EYjr supposed to be our 4th OF in 2014?

    Uh-oh, I a sinking feeling that he'll be our starting RF on Opening Day. That would be bad. Young was downright awful last year with the A's.

    On the other hand this could be a precursor to trading Murphy, and sliding EYjr to 2B. At least they've made a move-what the Mets do from here will go a long way to defining if it was a good or bad one.

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  6. Rotoworld is thinking he'll be our starting CF--no, Lagares has earned that job. If Young's our opening day CF this team is in serious trouble.

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  7. @D Whit

    I you are correct with your assumption about this being a pre-cursor to a Murphy move.

    Even if it isnt it still gives the team flexability in terms on roster space in the event they do or do not trade him.

    Still no doubt in my mind that Lagares is the OD CF

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  8. Soto,
    I think it may be more of a threat to Andrew Brown than Matt Den Dekker. Den Dekker with a plus glove, some pop and some speed can be a nice bench/platoon part of a 5 man OF, and can be sent down to AAA if he can't find enough ABs with the Mets.

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  9. Well, with him and Eric, it's clear that Alderson is making the team Young-er! :)

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  10. Report is $6mil with incentives... far too much IMO

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  11. Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN 18s
    Chris Young is signing for $7 million in his one-year deal with the Mets.

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  12. I'm sorry... it's $7.25mil

    (shaking head) I just fucking quit...

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  13. For shits and giggles STEAMER projections expect him to hit:

    .228/.315/.408 23 HRs, 85 RBIs, 16 SB in a full season.

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  14. That is IT!!!!

    This front office continues to say one thing and then do something completely different!

    on base percent is important??

    looking to upgrade quality of starter?

    How is spending $7 million on someone like Young a "good value" decision??

    What is the difference between wasting $7 Million on Young
    vs.
    overpaying one of the quality free agents????
    or trading for an overpriced player that produces much more??

    This is Ridiculous!!!!
    I pray that I wake up and find out this is a bad dream, brought about by the torture the Mets have inflicted on their loyal fans over the past few years.

    This may be... the last straw... that breaks the back of this fans loyalty and trust that has been abused over the past few years.

    I never imagined "giving up" on the Mets.
    But clearly the ownership and Front Office has given up on its fans.

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  15. Mack your right, i give up. If yiu want a guy who will hit 230 with some power and strikes out at a high rate theres Matt DenDeker at 500 thousand dollars.

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  16. Twitter is a buzz with the pros and cons of this move.

    Many Mets writers are defending it saying they would rather take a chance with a 30-year old than someone like Byrd at 35-36...

    Yes, the potential is that Young just simply had a bad year, and could return to his old decent numbers, but he basically never hit for average.

    He has excellent speed and will easily go 20-HR/20-SB... but, he's a .240 hitter at best.

    If you're going to pay this guy 7.25mil, you could at least give Ike another chance to line up with him, Wright, and d'Arnaud (4 potential 25 HR hitters)

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  17. This is not the end of the world. Young is only 2 years removed from consecutive 5.5 & 5.0 WAR seasons. And Young is not the last outfielder that this team adds this year. According to the MLBTradeRumors article "The Mets have prioritized adding bats early this offseason, and Young figures to be a low-cost option that will still allow them to pursue bigger fish like Nelson Cruz, Curtis Granderson and Jhonny Peralta." Sandy also has the option of getting his other corner in a trade, which I think is the most logical move.

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  18. That's a ton of the budget. It looks like Alderson is focused on speed and D which is fine by me, especially in this ballpark. But, I'm sure David Wright is on the phone right now asking who's batting cleanup. They still got some money, and I'd guess they figure on freeing some up on a trade.

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  19. Herb -

    You make a good defense for this move, but I can't help but feel that Alderson once again has lied to the fan base regarding the quality of the players they would bring into this team this year.

    Tell you what...

    I'm going to wait until after the December meetings and see what the end result is from all the signings and trades.

    I'll shelve my opinion until then.

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  20. Herb

    I have to agree with Mack.

    Alderson has given us not reason, other than his words, that this is not his idea of "spending to upgrade the OF"

    If Alderson and the Mets are not going to approach $100 Million, how does $7 Million spent here allow for the upgrades Alderson and the Wilpons admitted were needed??

    How does Granderson, Peralta, Cruz fit in???

    How can they upgrade through trade, when the players brought in through trade would need to be higher priced players that were being dumped for salary reasons? (ex- ethier, kemp, bautista)

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  21. .216 .327/.353 .680
    .230 .321/.354 .675

    Those were his away numbers back in his good ole 5+ WAR days. He was a product of Chase Field-plain and simple. So instead of trading for Justin Upton last year, or overpaying for let's say a Cruz or Granderson. Instead they overpaid for a pauper's version of Upton who's hit like last year's BJ Upton in his past two seasons.

    We just paid $7.5 million on THAT!
    Well I think we know where all this headed. This team will be so bad next season that by August, empty seats at Citi Field and public outcry will create a firestorm in the media that is going to come down very heard on the current ownership.

    Friends with the commish or not MLB doesn't want a perennial loser in what is arguably its largest market.

    This is a horrible move. It's the kind of signing the mid-00's Pirates or Royals would've made.

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  22. Mack and Bob:

    I think we definitely need to wait until the dust settles (e.g. after the winter meetings, perhaps until the end of December) to pass judgement. This is just the first step. I think we'll see Sady shed about $10 million in trades. That would mean ha could add $40 million in new signings or trades ti net to $30 million. There has been a lot of talk about the Dodgers willingness to pay significant portions of Ethier's or Kemp's salary to move them in the right deal. As of now, several teams are engaged with Sandy in trade talks. We need to stay cool and see just where he ends up.

    Would you be unhappy with an outfield of Chris Young, Lagares, and Cruz/Kemp/Ethier/Bautista, or similar?

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  23. The problem is not paying Chris Young $7.25 million. That is the going rate right now for a player of his caliber...1 WAR will cost around $7 million and even at Young's figures if he stays healthy he should be able to exceed 1 WAR with his defensive. The problem is the Mets BUDGET. Alderson will not be able to build a team better than the Marlins if he only has $18 million left to get a #4 hitter, a SS, and a legit major league starter. The Wilpons are continuing to prove that are small time losers lost in the big city.

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  24. Herb-

    yes I would be disappointed in that outfield
    Because an additional $7 million (added to Young's $7 million) could give you Lagares and
    2 of:
    Kemp/Ethier/Bautista
    or similar through trade/FA

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  25. Herb-I admire your optimism and you can dream all you want but this is it buddy. Ethier, Kemp, Bautista are pipe dreams. There's nobody on this team, aside from our stud pitching prospect, that could get deals like that done.

    Here's what it looks like-

    They knew that Granderson, Cruz, Peralta are out of their price range. So what do they do, overpay for an offensively flawed speed/power OF.

    Ask yourselves this: Who else wanted him? What bidding war would take place on a guy who couldn't hit his weight? This smacks at a move to placate the fanbase.I honestly don't think this team has money to spend.

    Everything they are saying and doing so far supports that presumption. I mean where's the money from the lucrative network TV deal going?

    No, this offseason is shaping up to be about shedding payroll to help further pay off the Wilpon debt.

    The ownership is destroying this team to save themselves. It's a sham and a farce. It's got to end.

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  26. as someone who was advocating for david murphy. i dont think this is a bad deal. its certainly not the end of the world nor is it a world beater. all free agents are expensive, which is why it's an inefficient marketplace and poor way to do business. also he's no jason bay. lets also remember 1 thing, this is a 1 year deal. So it doesnt bind their hands, doesnt stop them from making other moves, doesnt block any non existent outfield prospect and at 7 mm by the trade deadline any team could afford to pick him up should they want to overpay.

    im not sure where this hard and fast 30 million number has come from, but more then anything what this proves is there are no bargains. Also the 90mm target or whatever it is is a moving target and we have no idea how their budget is divided up. I cant 32 mm in commitments at the moment plus another 30mm of so. if you trade davis you'll pick up 4 mm, and so on etc. We seem to want a 1 mm bargain, but 5 mm is the minimum it seems for anyone who can swing a bat and run afterwards.

    no this isnt a game changer and no this isnt a steal, but it is an upgrade. a guy who you wouldnt want to be your 5th starter just got 8 mm per year. for 4 years!

    more then anything this move doesnt preclude any other move, you needed 2 outfielders regardless and its an incremental step towards being better then you were at the end of the season.

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  27. Herb -

    I'm disappointed in the deal that was done, not all the deals that were never done and we have no details on.

    The Mets do not have to participate in free agency if this is the kind of return you are going to get for your money.

    You can secure players with existing contracts through trades and raise your payroll accordingly by the percentage of the monies you have to pay. Fans are not going to blame you for monies you didn't negotiate.

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  28. The more I think about this move the more I like it. It's outfield and bench depth. Speed and D. Power. It makes EYJ a very solid
    4th outfielder or even possibly the reverse. They still need the big bat, no doubt, but this is how you build a ballclub. And, I think Alderson is trying to build a team that fits the venue.

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  29. This is a team that could steal 150 bases next year and, going by 2013, TC will be running them like crazy. Speed, speed, speed.
    Like the Cards in the 80's

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  30. Well, Sandy has now spent more than he did last year on free agents.

    I'm not liking the move. Do they platoon him in RF with Den Dekker?

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  31. This is not a bad deal....I know its crazy, but 7m for Chris Young is the market right now

    Jason Vargas just got a four year deal.....Jason Vargas!

    Chris Young has power, speed, plays good defense, and his low average is offset by the fact that he walks alot.

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  32. Erik -

    I'd like to think that the entire 2014 outfield hasn't been finalized yet.

    I did get late word that the Mets had to pull the trigger on Young (or pass on him) because "at least 2 more teams" had interest in him at this financial level.

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  33. Craig -

    If $7 mil is the market than budgeting $35-40mil is stupid

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  34. Mack--

    A 90 million budget is certainly not a good way to run a New York Baseball team.

    You should check out what fangraphs had to say about Young...They predicted this signing to be the best value of the offseason.

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  35. If they can't afford to spend now, with only Wright and Niese signed to long term deals, when will they be able to?

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  36. D Whit - You may think Ethier, Kemp & Bautista are pipe dreams. I think they are realistic possibilities. We can agree to disagree. Personally, I have no doubt that a deal built aroundMurphy and Gee, with one or two quality prospects added, could get one of those players, since both teams have similar needs.

    Bob - Am I reading you right when you say we could get 2 of Ethier/Kemp/Bautista for $14 million? If you could get the Dodgers to kick in 50% of Rthier's remaining contract, he would cost $7 mil this year. (Frankly, I'm not sure that is remotely doable, although one blog writer did suggest just that.) Nevertheless, Jose Bautista is due $14 mil this year, and since the Jays don't have much incentive to move him, I dfon't see them sending any cash along with him. Kemp is due $21 million, and if the Dodgers chipped in 1/3 he would also cost $14 million. Face it, you're not getting both Kemp and Ethier, and Kemp and Bautista would cost a very optimistic $28 million. Fuhgeddaboud two big boppers. Faced with a choice of giving up Murphy, Gee and a couple of good prospects for one of the above, or signing Cruz for 3/$39 or even 3/$42 and losing my 2nd round pick, I'm thinking I'd go for Cruz.

    Mack - I strongly believe that Sandy could field a more than respectable team with a net addition to the payroll of $35-$40 million. We've already spent a bit over $7 mil.

    Sign Cruz or Trade for Kemp/Bautista - $14 mil (Cum total - $20 million so far)

    Peralta asking 4/$56-$75 is hilarious. We should move on and trade for Aybar, Lowrie, Escobar, Cabrera, etc. Any of them would cost less than $10 million. I think I like Aybar's $8.5 million. (Cum total = $28.5 million.)

    Sign Hughes, Halliday, Kazmir, Feldman, etc. for $8 to $10 million AAV. (Cum total = $37 mil)

    Sign Dice-K for depth and maybe another bench player or two for a total of $8 - $10 million. (Cum total = $46 million)

    But I've traded Murphy, Tejada, and (hopefully) Duda, (not Ike) to reduce my payroll by $8+ million. (Cum total = $36-$38 Million.)

    I could live with that team. Not that I believe that it would actually work out that way. But I'm just sayin'.

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  37. Herb
    I agree...get kemp/bautista
    Then
    Instead of Young......take that $7 million, add $7-8 million more and you can get the ethier/peralta/granderson type player

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  38. Bob, Unfortunately, you can't undo what has already been done. Would I have preferred to get Ethier in a trade rather that Young as my regular LF/RF? Sure. Then he could get a slugger like Cruz or Granderson or Bautista for the other corner and to bat cleanup. (Actually, I emailed Akderson a week ago suggesting he sign Young for the bench. Maybe it will still work out that way.) Meanwhile, I'm waiting with bated breath to see how Alderson fills the other corner spot. We need a bigger bat than Young.

    If Peralta will accept $13 million, I think Sandy would sign him. (3/$39) But it is said he wants 4-5 years, with an AAV of $14-$15 million. I'll pass. There are some very good shortstops said to ne available in a trade, so I'll be holding my breath until we have that hole filled too.

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  39. Looks like a signing to cover a year for Puello. Or even less then a year when Puello rakes in Las Vegas.

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