Morning.
Well, ‘we’
got ourselves an outfield! It may be flawed and our current centerfielder may
be on the DL tomorrow, but, for now, Sandy Alderson can go to the Winter Meetings with his outfield
in his pocket.
And, the
4-yrs, $60mil is in line with what’s going on in the market these days. We get
him from 33-36 years old, the last of his prime years, and it slows down any
rush needed in the system to fill the plugs
Alderson is going to have the luxury of walking into the winter meetings with no basic reason to worry about any of the free agent players still out there. We know they are overprices and unapproachable if the Mets want to stay within their budget.
No, Alderson can turn to the trading market, where he can offer one of (Duda or Davis), (Murphy or Flores), and (Gee or Niese) to a number of teams for a key established player either in the last year of their contract or already determined as someone their team wants to move via a salary dump.
And this is where your future shortstop of SP5 could come from... not some kid prospect you hope will be great some day, but someone who already has proven they are great.
All 2014 monies for the names I listed above are already in the budget figure you keep reading about, but this is where the Mets could come up with over $10mil more than we though they had left to spend and stay within their budget.
Me?
I'm putting Tejada back on short and fielding what could be the best defensive team in the National League. Now, I want that $10/mil 2014, and $15mil 2015-2020 spent on David Price. I can pull that off with Murphy, Niese, Davis, and either Noah Syndergaard or Jesus Montero.
(And please don't tell me that Syndergaard is untouchable. I'm talking David friggin Price here.
Alderson is going to have the luxury of walking into the winter meetings with no basic reason to worry about any of the free agent players still out there. We know they are overprices and unapproachable if the Mets want to stay within their budget.
No, Alderson can turn to the trading market, where he can offer one of (Duda or Davis), (Murphy or Flores), and (Gee or Niese) to a number of teams for a key established player either in the last year of their contract or already determined as someone their team wants to move via a salary dump.
And this is where your future shortstop of SP5 could come from... not some kid prospect you hope will be great some day, but someone who already has proven they are great.
All 2014 monies for the names I listed above are already in the budget figure you keep reading about, but this is where the Mets could come up with over $10mil more than we though they had left to spend and stay within their budget.
Me?
I'm putting Tejada back on short and fielding what could be the best defensive team in the National League. Now, I want that $10/mil 2014, and $15mil 2015-2020 spent on David Price. I can pull that off with Murphy, Niese, Davis, and either Noah Syndergaard or Jesus Montero.
(And please don't tell me that Syndergaard is untouchable. I'm talking David friggin Price here.
Cesar Puello will still graduate at
some point to Queens, but he automatically moves over and becomes Chris Young’s replacement in 2015.
There is no rush now to push Dustin Lawley through the system, so I see him spending 2014
in both Binghamton and Las Vegas. It’s hard to estimate at this point who slots
behind him right now in 2018, but it looks like either Jared King or Wuilmer Beccera.
The fun
part will be determining the five outfielders that will go to Flushing on
opening day. We’ll assume that Juan Lagares’ leg is okay and he is one of them. Granderson
and Young will be two more. My assumption for the 4th outfielder and
the first guy to come off the bench will be last year’s NL leader in steals, Eric Young. You’re on your own from here. My vote is for
Matt den Dekker or someone that still hasn’t been signed by the team.
I now
project a Las Vegas outfield of Puello, Lawley, Darrell Cecilliani, Kirk
Nieuwenhuis, and Andrew Brown.
Lineup
wise, for now, you have: #1 – SS Tejada, #2 – 2B Murphy, #3 – 3B Wright, #4 – RF
Granderson, #5 – LF Young, #6 – 1B Davis, #7 – C d’Arnaud, #8 – CF Lagares
Ed Ryan of Mets Fever estimates the salaries come in around $82mil right now.
Ed Ryan of Mets Fever estimates the salaries come in around $82mil right now.
Lastly,
this was a very bad day for the New York Yankees. They lost both Granderson and
Robinson Cano
and,
though they always seem to bounce back with big money signings, it still has to
be a sad day to lose two quality guys like these two.
In August 2010, Leonys Martin and his family snuck to the shores of Cuba, hopped in a car, moved to a truck, got out and trudged on foot to a 45-foot yacht, sped across perilous waters to Mexico and took a 15-minute van ride to a house where they believed freedom awaited them. Instead, according to a lawsuit filed by Martin, they were introduced to two gun-toting men named Eliezer Lazo and Joel Martinez Hernandez.
"You are worth a
lot," Lazo told Martin, according to the suit. "I am not going to let
you go."
An explosive civil lawsuit
Martin filed a year ago details that harrowing day and many more to come.
According to Martin, as they waited more than half a year for a Major League
Baseball team to lavish the 22-year-old center fielder with a big-money
contract, Lazo, Martinez Hernandez and a host of others kept him captive in
Mexico and confined his family members to a house in Florida. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/leonys-martin-lawsuit-details-allegations-of-cuban-baseball-player-smuggling-061730936.html
Mack – Read this story…
16 comments:
Good start with Grandy. Would be nice if they went out and signed Drew now. I want nothing to do with Tejada at SS next year.
A Drew signing would be tricky.
Sandy isn't going to go over his budget, so he would have to cut payroll with that kind of signing.
Budget now is at around $83mil... drop Davis (projected $3.5)and it's in the $79-80 range. t's the $5.5mil projected for Murphy that would be next.
No, shortstop, under the current budget, is going to have to come in house or via a trade.
When I think what we paid for Santana (Gomez, Humber, Mulvey, Guerra). I would really hate to give up Syndergaard, even for David Friggin Price. Of course at that time F-Mart was “less-touchable” than Gomez.
So Duda/Davis, Murph/Flores, Montero, and two of Gorski/DeGrom/Leathersich/Fulmer/Ynoa for Price AND Zobrist. [“/”= TB choice] So there.
Mac - Congrats on the Granderson signing. Great defense in Flushing for sure, and maybe some real hitting from the OF. Lotta strikeouts though!
If I'm the Mets I would give up Syndergaard and d-Arnaud and a third of Montero/Nimmo/Flores as well as their choice of 2 of the 25 man guys you listed. The Rays will want the most control.
They MIGHT go for that. I think its worth it to snag Price.
That's my neutral opinion (Giants fan) - I personally have no use for d-Arnuad, I bet he gets injured again soon and he should get shipped before his value is absolutely nothing. The Rays will slow play this but they have to give up Price. So overpaying to land him would be a good move.
To me, Price has Santana 2.0 written all over him. I wouldnt touch him usless he came cheap.
Mack - Sad to say, but there aren't any shortstops out there, other than Tulo, who have proven they are GREAT. I'd love to do a deal for Tulo, but the Rocks have filled their 1B hole, and they could use a LH hitting OF, but all we could offer on that score is Den Dekker or Nieuwenhuis . . but they would want an MLB proven player. Even if we added Niese or Gee, it wouldn't be enough. Maybe if we included Montero and Nimmo. Hmmm! Would you give up Niese, den Dekker, Montero, and Nimmo for Tulowitzki?
I'm not counting on that trade, so I'm approaching the Rays in Orlando this week and offering Duda/Davis, Flores, Tejada and deGrom for Escobar and Hellickson.
Then, and I know this is controversial, I'd send Murphy to the Bronx for Brett Gardner. We need a leadoff hitter and Gardner's .352 OBP and speed would be ideal. And with Gardner - Young - Granderson, we'd still have the best defensive outfield in baseball. Lagares would have to wait a year to take over in CF if he shows he can hit .280 or so coming off the bench this year.
Lineup: Gardner (LF) Young (2B) Wright (3B) Granderson (RF) Young (CF) Davis/Duda (1B) d'Arnaud (C) Escobar (SS)
Rotation: Niese, Wheeler, Gee, Hellickson, Mejia (with Dice-K and/or Harang in the wings, just in case)
I'd resign Turner for the Bench, Which would be Turner, Satin, Lagares, den Dekker and Recker.
I could go with an all internal bull pen, but I think Sandy will bring in one veteran reliever. Will Axford be too expensive? Maybe non-tenders Matt Daley or Joe Thatcher would do.
Jonah - that's foolish... no one comes cheap so why would David Price come that way.
I too love the potential of Noah Syndergaard, but so far, that's all there is to that.
In fact, there is nothing but potential for giving up a wonderful pitcher (Dickey) that would be a great 2014 SP5
Are you telling me you wouldn't want to have a 2015 pitching staff that started with Matt Harvey, David Price, and Zack Wheeler?
Mack,
On Price I offer Murphy, Niese, Davis, Montero, and Puello. I also ask for Hellickson.
On Granderson, I'm underwhelmed with the signing. If you'll pony up that much for him, go a few extra and get Choo instead.
Herb -
I keep changing my direction.
I now want another power starter for 2014 to backup this great defensive team.
I know the objective is to keep the kids intact and, hopefully, both Syndergaard and Montero arrive after the all star game and pitch well, but, until then, we're not even sure we have an SP4 (Mejia).
I would turn to Baltimore and offer Murphy for Kevin Gausman.
Past that, I would look to sign the best one-year free agent I could find
I am all in on Tulo, I would offer darnaud, gee, Murphy, Nimo, Tejada, and Ynoa. I think that would be a pretty good price to give up for Tulo. I would move EY jr to second and have Flores be his backup in vegas. Lineup would be
1) EY jr
2) Lagares
3) Wright
4) Tulo
5) Granderson
6) Young
7) Ike
8) Buck
Starting rotation
1) niese
2) wheeler
3) mejia
4) montero
5) Johan/ matzusaka/ bartolo until DeGrom and Synderrguard are ready
Trade Duda for best minor leaguer u can get, so trading Duda, Murphy, Gee And Tejada would save roughly $12 million. So that would help with the ectra $$$ Tulo makes. I would prefer to go after a big hitter to bat behind wright (cause I don't think Granderson is a #4 hitter) instead of going after David Price. I think we have plenty of pitching in the pipelines as well as a great ballpark for signing free agent pitching reclamation projects on the cheap.
Mack, do you realy think the Rays would take the money that comes with your deal? Murphy $5.8M, Davis $3.5 and Niese $5M. That's $14.3M. And those 3 are not realy the studs the Rays could get when trading Price.
I think you are looking at Wheeler, Davis and Montero or Syndergaard.
I've read the Rays would take slightly less in return if the trading team took on the remaining $5 million on Price's 2013 deal.
As for Hellickson, if you're going to give that up for him, you might as well go for Price.
At this point I'd offer the Rays Davis, Murphy, Flores, TDA, and Montero plus a couple of other prospects who are in AA or A ball now (pick the one(s) of your choice for Price and Zobrist. Picking up the $5 million due Price for 2013 AND having a window to sign him beyond 2015. If you don't get him beyond 2015, I would either not pay the $5 mil. or drop a player from the trade offer.
Under no circumstances do I give up Thor, he's a rare talent who will exceed Wheeler and possibly post TJS Harvey.
This from Jayson Stark:
"So there will be a long list of teams that have some level of interest -- with the Dodgers, Rangers, Mariners, Angels, Braves, Diamondbacks and Padres appearing to rank high on that list. On the other hand, the group of teams that can actually step up and make this deal, given the asking price and contract issues, might turn out to be much smaller."
This is what I've been saying all along. The actual number of teams who could realistically acquire Price isn't that big. It's a reason why the Mets are a decent trade suitor for a deal. That's also a reason why I think Friedman will have to settle for less than what he or everyone expects the Rays will end up by trading Price.
The teams to worry about are the Mariners, if they offer Walker then I'd have to call them the frontrunner, the Dodgers have the prospects and $$$, the Rangers, if they part with Profar and Perez.
The Mets have the pieces to make the deal (even without giving up Syndegaard) either in a one one one or multi-team trade.
It's a longshot for sure, but not outlandish to think that Price could head the 2014 Mets rotation. It would make really good War Room topic tomorrow-Price and the Mets. By next week at this time, one way or another, it'll be a moot point.
Herb-Even after adding Beltran I don't see the Yankees trading Gardner. He'll start in LF, with Ellsbury in CF and Beltran in RF, Soriano will DH. Ichiro will be their OF4. Gardner is also their only other CF so he'll back-up there in case Ellsbury gets hurt. He's also one of their few speed guys.
Mack - I don't know if Murphy gets you Gausman, but that's not a trade I'd do anyway. I'm changing my direction too, and I am now thinking maybe we should keep Murph and trade Eric Young. I'd like to get a bona fide leadoff hitter, and I am reconciled to the fact we ain't getting Choo. Brett Gardner is drawing a lot of interest since the Yankees signed Beltran, and Cashman is listening. Let's see if Young, Mazzoni and Tapia brings us Gardner.
Honestly, I strongly believe that Sandy is going to bring in a veteran starter to solidify this year's rotation. And I am perfectly happy starting the season with Niese, Wheeler, Gee, veteran starter, & Mejia. (or Torres) I'm happy with that because I am peeing in my pants over the thought of having a rotation of Harvey, Wheeler, Niese/Gee, Syndergaard & Montero in 2015. But to do that effectively, we need to be able to give both Thor and Montero MLB face time in 2014, and I don't want another outside power arm, who may or may not be the real thing, squeezing them out and messing up that schedule.
D Whit - Sweeny Murti, the Yankee insider, was saying last night that Gardiner could become a trade chip, and that fact was confirmed on MLBTradeRumors today.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/yankees-receiving-significant-interest-in-brett-gardner.html
If Alderson could put together an acceptable package for Gardner, we shouldgrab him.
Herb-Listening to offers sure, but they're not shopping him. I heard they are shopping Ichiro-not that he'd bring much back at this point. If they moved Gardner it would leave them awful thin with two aging corner OF and an elite, yet injury prone CF. What would surprise me is seeing them make a run at Choo, then Gardner is expendable. The Yankees need starting pitching, 2B, maybe a 3rd baseman too. Murphy would make more sense in that case. Having Gardner and Young setting the table atop the line-up would be pretty sweet. I still don't see the Yanks moving Gardner, unless they sign Choo, but anything's possible.
I agree with Herb on the rotation. If we go into this season with Wheeler/Niese/Gee/Mejia/Torres or other veteran starter (I'd like Colon if he'd sign for 1 year), and we expect Thor and possibly Montero to be ready by mid-season, I'm fine with that.
As good as Price is, I would NOT trade for him. By 2015 OD, we'll have all the guys I just listed, PLUS Harvey. If we're trading good chips, let's do it for Tulo or another top position player.
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