Mack’s Morning Report – 1-5 – Ike Davis, Stephen Drew, Zack Wheeler, Big Bats

 

John Delcos –

The most Davis would cost the Mets this year would be roughly $4 million. That’s not a lot by today’s standards, but if the Mets kept him for another season and Davis doesn’t produce, one can only envision how the year unfolds. If Davis falters and his strikeouts spike and average plummets, calls to cut him or send him to the minors will serve as a life-sucking distraction. If you’re trying to change a team’s culture and rebuild, and if a goal is to see what Lucas Duda can provide, hoping for Davis to catch lightning is a strategy not worth pursuing. The Mets severed ties with Oliver Perez and Jason Bay. In both cases they got rid of high-priced, low-performance players. This time there’s not a lot of money at stake, but a considerable amount of disappointment. Perhaps the best option in the interest of making the next step is simply to release Davis and not worry about what he might do elsewhere. It’s clear he’s not doing anything in New York. http://www.newyorkmetsreport.com/2014/01/03/just-cutting-ike-davis-might-be-mets-best-option/

Mack – As all of you know, I am an Ike Davis fan, and I’d like to see him get one more chance through the all-star break, but, if you’re going to cut him before the season starts, have a better plan for this $4mil before you do it. I don’t want to see it back in the cookie jar. Just add it to the Drew deal and get that done for two years, start Dom Smith in Savannah, Jayce Boyd in Binghamton, and Wilmer Flores in Las Vegas, and rotate Duda-Satin-a touch of Murphy for 2014. I can live with a chopped liver firs base if my middle infield is secure.

 

Tim Dierkes –

One rival GM thinks the Mets are feigning disinterest in Drew, according to Gammons, as he would be an upgrade on Tejada.  Drew makes a ton of sense for the Mets, who would only have to surrender the #82 draft pick.  The Mets are by far the best match for Drew… tt seems the Mets and Boras will continue to play chicken regarding Drew, but GM Sandy Alderson does have the upper hand in that no other suitor is emerging.  It seems to be the right time for a Mystery Team to step in.  One Hail Mary option for Boras could be to market Drew as a potential second or third baseman in 2014, for teams with entrenched shortstops.  Once again, Boras is tasked with pulling a rabbit out of his hat on a free agent client.  http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/01/the-teams-that-could-use-stephen-drew-the-most.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Mack – It does seem that others think we haven’t run out of different ways to spin a Drew-Boras-Sandy scenario. Frankly, a two year deal with a team third year option is worth a lot more to me than the 82^nd pick in the draft. With Drew, I know what I have.

How have the #82 drafts turned out since 2000:

            2000 – CWS IF Mike Morse – 1,858-AB, .281

            2001 – Mtl P Mike Hinckley – 28-G, 1.87

            2002 – Clev P Jason Cooper – no MLB

            2003 – CWS OF Clint King – no MLB

            2004 – Pitt 3B Eddie Prasch – no MLB

            2005 – KC P Chris Nicoll – no MLB

            2006 – Det CF Brennan Boesch – 1,413-AB, .260

            2007 – StL P Jess Todd – 28-IP, 7.62

            2008 – S.F. OF Roger Kieschnick – 84-AB, .202

            2009 – Sea 2B Kyle Seager – 1,391-AB, .260

            2010 – NYY SS Angelo Gumbs – 2013: .214 in A+ ball

                        Your call…

 

Chase Hughes –

Zack Wheeler, SP, 23 years old - New York Mets - 2013 stats: 7-5, 3.42 ERA, 17 GS, 100 IP, 38 ER, 84 SO, 1.360 WHIP - 2013 honors: N/A - The Mets finally got a look at Wheeler nearly two years after trading Carlos Beltran to the Giants for his services. The early returns were very good as Wheeler held a 3.42 ERA through 100 innings and struck out 84 batters. The former 6th overall pick will now have to step up to help carry the Mets' rotation in 2014 because of Matt Harvey's injury. Is he enough to make the Mets competitive again? Probably not, but the right-hander sure looks like a keeper for New York. http://www.csnwashington.com/baseball-washington-nationals/talk/10-best-players-under-25-nl-east

Mack – Actually, with the addition of Bartolo Colon, Wheeler doesn’t have to step up. He needs to mature and give the Mets quality innings while Colon and Dillon Gee eats them up. Gosh, I forgot he’s only 23-years old.

 

Jeffrey Bellone -

It is a topic of conversation in every MLB city during the offseason. Fans in Los Angeles and Kansas City alike plead to their general managers to add just one more bat to their lineup. In some cases, like the Mets, to add several more bats. The point is that fans always want more offense. Whether coming from a standpoint of strength, like the Red Sox or Cardinals, or from less powerful offenses, like Seattle or Houston, nothing makes an offseason more satisfying than the addition of a big bat...  how many big bats does a team need? It’s not an exact science, but it's very rare for a successful team to reach the World Series without three or more hitters having very good seasons -- 2005 was the only season in the past decade that the World Series had two teams without at least three hitters having OPS seasons 25% above the league average. Baseball fans may be unreasonable in their expectations to acquire big bats, but they may be on to something, too.  http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2014/1/3/5268366/how-many-big-bats-does-it-take-to-win-sabermetrics-ops-roster-construction

            Mack – Well, let’s see… David Wright… Curtis Granderson…  hmm