Mack’s Mets – the premier site for information on the New York Mets talent pipeline and dialogue on Mets prospects, Mets news, and Mets opinions.
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12/10/13
The LTJ Report: Why signing Bartolo Colon makes sense, an injury update on Juan Lagares, and how Curtis Granderson was key to show the Mets want to contend!
From what I've been hearing, I hear that the Mets are very much interested in the services of Free Agent Starting Pitcher Bartolo Colon of the Oakland Athletics. I've also been hearing that the Mets don't want to entertain any offers from any free agent starting pitchers who want long-term deals. They simply want at least one established veteran to add to their starting rotation in the absence of Matt Harvey for 2014. That makes a whole lot of sense because I know for a fact Harvey will indeed be back in 2015 and you better believe he will be starting and gathering a healthy collection of wins (by then the Mets should have vastly improved their run support). I really hope the Mets can nab Colon for at least 2014 but his asking price might be a bit steep. I still think though provided they don't break the bank, adding him would be extremely great even if they gotta spend a little more money. His solid pitching, experience, and mentoring for the pitchers around him is worth it. Remember, this guy last season went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA. Imagine what he could do in a Mets uniform for just one-year? I think they might have even offered him a one-year deal for an undisclosed amount of money.
Center Fielder Juan Lagares suffered a slight knee injury while playing winter ball but all is fine. He got some exams done and was given a two-week window to simply take it easy. You'd be surprised how some days off from the job fixes everything. In his case, time off on his knee will make sure he'll be fine to continue baseball activities by mid December.
As I'm sure most of you have heard by now, the Mets did indeed acquire Center Fielder Curtis Granderson for the next four-years at $60 million. I love how the majority of New York Yankees fans said that he was "sloppy seconds" and how he sucked. Weren't these the same fans who were chanting his name the past few years? Also the same fans who were praising his HR's left and right while buying his jersey? Regardless, I'm extremely happy they got him because he's going to compliment everything the Mets believe in. This signing also showed to us all that the Mets were indeed serious about 2014 being something more than just another losing season. This backed up a lot of what the Mets were saying going into the offseason. It also shows to everyone that yes, the Mets have money and they like to spend it too on top talent. Had they not made any big free agent signings, I'm pretty sure many would have once again dubbed the Mets as not wanting to contend for being cheap. After all, if you want to survive, you have to compete, right? In order to compete, at some point, you have to open your wallet and invest. Granderson is a nice upgrade for our outfield and I'm anxious to see how well he does in 2014.
Story is out today about how the team might use EYJ in LF, CY in CF, and Grandy in RF while demoting Lagares to AAA.
ReplyDeleteThats just idiotic. Not only was Lagares the 2nd best defensive CF last season (in far fewer innings) but from June thru August he was hitting .288. Thats very good for a CF!
Poor guy got BABIP to death (.222) in September which crashed his AVG in the final month of the season.
I looked at Mack's list of available pitchers yesterday and Long Island boy John Lannan is probably the new number one. His career record is far better than his 2013, he's young, lefty, local and should be relatively cheap on a one year reestablish yourself deal.
ReplyDeleteGood write up.
ReplyDeleteLannan, oh please id rather mets pitch Goorski or Mazonni instead.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if they demoted Lagares to AAA that's extremely silly to do. He had a solid year, especially in defense. Thanks for your comments everyone!
ReplyDeleteI never heard of Lannon, I'm going to look him up....
ReplyDeleteNice piece, Luis. Colon would make a lot of sense, but it seemss he wants a lot more money than Sandy is willing to spend. He did have his best year since 2002, which was the best year of his entire career. Is there a possibility that, at 41, he may regress? Yes. At the right price, fine, but if he is too expensive, move on.
ReplyDeleteWe can probably sign Santana, (Johan) Dice-K and Harang for less, in total, than Colon, or just about any of the decent starters out there. If Mejia is healthy, we're probably talking about a #5, and whichever one of them is healthy and pitches well in spring training would be fine in that slot.
I'm not as sour on taking Lagares out of the lineup as many of you guys are. I stll think he needs to prove he can hit major league pitching to the tune of .270-.280. Unforyinately, he won't be able to do that in Las Vegas. Seems to me that the FO wants EYJ in the lineup somewhere, somehow. I was hoping for Gardner, but if Murphy is still with us, he has 2B. If not, maybe Flores gets the job abd EYJ is back in LF. I woouldn't mind seeing Lagares and den Dekker on the bench. Great late inning defensive replacements (as if the Young - Young - Granderson needs any defensive upgrade) and pinch hitters. If Lagares gets off to a hot start, he could win back the job, and if it takes the full season to show he's got the right stuff, he'll get the starting CF job in 2015.
Thanks Herb, I get what you mean, you always make solid points. I guess a part of me wants to see Lagares starting since he's tremendous on defense but then again, more time focusing on his game in Vegas would help him more overall.
ReplyDeleteI think Colon would be great, provided at the right price. Sadly, I don't see Santana returning, I think he's going to return to Minnesota.
You are right though, if I had to chose between EYJ or Lagares, EYJ wins.......