Well, the
Mets and the Cubs have completed their four game schedule and both teams can
move on to their next objective; however, not everyone is going to look to
perform their duties while facing a different team.
Scouts from
both teams will continue to follow each other… the Mets scouts will go to
Chicago to scout out the series against San Francisco while the Cubs scouts
will have to travel out to Oakland for the next Mets series.
Every Met
beat reporter out there is running out of material so it’s easy to write about
the two teams that match up the best for a future trade. The Mets have an
excess of young starters while the Cubs have too many middle infielders.
So, why
can’t anything get done here?
Well, Joel
Sherman offered up some insight from one of the baseball executives out there:
An NL
executive described the Mets this way: “They don’t make a lot of trades and
that is because they really don’t like to give up what they perceive as their
big talent, unless they can convince you to give them $2 for their 35 cents.”
So lies the
two-fold problem.
1. Baseball executives from other clubs like to
make fun of Sandy Alderson and the Mets
2. Other General Managers no longer like
negotiating with him for anything
A trade in
which the Mets obtain an infielder from the Cubs for a starting pitcher from
the Mets is not supposed to be a ‘who won and who lost’ situation. The Cubs
know they aren’t going to get Matt Harvey here
and the Mets can forget about Javier Baez.
All you have
to do is decide which of the Cubbies you want to go after… Starlin Castro, Arismendy
Alcantara, or Addison Russell. It seemed
to me that the Cubs did everything they could to showcase Alcantara these past
four days, including featuring him as a
.210 leadoff man.
The 24-yr.
old Castro (yes, he’s only 24) is once again hitting above .280, something he
now has done in four of the five season he has started for the Cubs. He does
leave a lot on the field when it comes to defense, which is probably the last
thing I would hope the Mets would target on (another sub-par defensive
shortstop).
This leaves
you Russell, who hit 17 home runs in A+ ball last season, but fell to only one
homer for Oakland before being traded to Chicago. He since has added eight more
at the AA level (in 143-AB). His ETA to the major league level would not be
until 2016. Not exactly what the Mets had in mind here.
So that’s
about it.
A guy with a
lot of letters in his name that isn’t lighting up the world, the testy, sub-par
defensive guy with a lengthy contract or the Wilmer
Flores clone who is a year away.
And what
Mets pitchers line up with each of these guys?
You know
Chicago would demand either Syndergaard or Wheeler for Castro.
Is giving up
deGrom worth the risk of Russell?
And is
either Montero, Niese, or Gee, the right more for the now being converted to
the outfield Alcantara?
See… it’s
not easy being Sandy, is it?
Me? I pass
and move on to Arizona…
Current
standings for 2015 Draft pick through Tuesday’s early games –
1. Texas
.384
2. Colorado .392
3. Houston
.421
4. Twins
.444
5. Philly .437
5. Philly .437
6. Cubs
.435
7. Arizona
.421
8. Boston
.448
9. Mets
.465
10 CWS .468
10 CWS .468
Fangraphs
like to rank players by position. This is a sort of mid-season update, by tiers
(one being outstanding):
Tier 3
Ike
Davis
Joey Votto
(if healthy)?
Brandon Moss
Mike Napoli
Lucas
Duda
Davis hasn’t
been very good over the past year, slashing .209/.313/.430. I wanted to drop
him further, but that felt like an overreaction considering the 2012-2013. He’s
probably never going to be as good as he was last year again, but it feels like
he should at least be a little better than this.
I might be a
little high on Duda, but oh well. His average leaves a little to be desired,
but his power’s made up the difference thus far. And he’s seemingly on an
upward trend, which is nice. Considering his platoon issues, slotting him into
the tier below isn’t indefensible. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/2014-first-base-tier-rankings-august/
Mack
–Are you telling me the author couldn’t take the time to position Davis on the
bottom of this ranking? The ‘keep the Dude, sell the Davis’ move has turned out
to be an outstanding move even if both Zack
Thornton and
Blake Taylor don’t pan out. Duda has settled
into the starting first baseman for the Mets and will remain there until
possibly being tested by Dom Smith in 2017 earliest. He’s on his way to 30 home
runs this season with a .350+ OBP and a .830+ OPS.
And
one more thing… he’s become a pretty decent defensive first baseman.
No
I’m very happy with this decision and I have to give Sandy Alderson all the credit on this one
Travis d'Arnaud has a .726 OPS in August on a .190 BABIP ..
Mike Vorkunov of The Star Ledger featured an article on the six Mets minor leaguers he wants called up in September. In no particular order, they are Matt Reynolds (holy shit… I never heard of him, Thomas!), Noah Syndergaard, Allan Dykstra, Anthony Serratelli, Kevin Plawecki, and, for some reason, a return of Bobby Abreu.
I’ve
love to see Reynolds, but I wouldn’t want it to take away from the time Wilmer
Flores is currently getting on short.
I’m
just downright scared to death of pitching Syndergaard anywhere close to his
pitch limit. He is the one true trade chip for a legitimate bat we have
currently in the system.
And
promoting Plawecki (or Juan
Centeno) would be a great
idea designed to give Travis
d’Arnaud some
off time for the remainder of the season. Plawecki’s bout with vertigo did two
things… it killed his AAA stat line and slowed down his trade chip status. Any
positive exposure at the end of the season would be a good thing.
Donation
Drive (drive end 8-30) –
Received so far – $250.00
Goal - $1,400.00 - $1,150.00 to go
Paypal
account: macksmets@gmail.com
God Bless
you for your consideration.
23 comments:
Yep, Mack, Reynolds had another ho-hum 3 hit night. The BABIP aficionados must be scratching their heads.
My suggestion is get serious about the race...for a high draft choice. Wright should sit a lot to get ready for 2015 once the AAA playoffs are over, and Reynolds is called up. If David somehow needs surgery, do it early. If not, just rest the beat up caboose for a little longer to be fresher for 2015.
To keep Wilmer's bat in the line up, put Flores at 3rd (we'll have seen him enough at SS by then to evaluate just how mediocre he really is there - or better than mediocre) and see what Reynolds can do. MAYBE he is the 2015 starting SS. He is making a strong case for himself by NEVER COOLING OFF.
Matt's been on 197 times in 114 games this year, and hit .355 in Bingo, and .341 so far in Vegas in an equal # of games. And Matt's had just 6 errors in 54 Vegas games, which is not bad. MAYBE.
Yeah - good plan...
I'm a little late to the game on how I felft about the Cubs infielders, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents today
In 11 starts since becoming a full-time player. Flores is hitting .231/.268/.256. 8 of 9 hits are singles, 1 2B. 4 K, 2 BB 41 PA.
MEH
I am all for seeing Reynolds face ML pitching, but it does not make sense from an organizational perspective because they need all of the 40 man roster slots to protect from the Rule 5 Draft. Normally teams don't get great poaching from this draft, but the Mets have an unusual amount of arms that could be picked and stashed in the Pen. here is a list of those eligible for the draft and the Mets currently have one slot available after CY DFA
Thor
Mazzoni
Verrett
Herrara
Muno
Leathersich
Bradford
Gorski
Church
Thorton
Lara
Rivera
Lawley
Gnoa
Pill
Peavey
Mateo
tapia
this is not the full list and certainly a number of them can be left unprotected, but there are several arms that a lower end team may pluck and stash in the Pen. Thor and Herrara are guaranteed protections, so the Mets will already have to get rid of one player to accommodate those two, but they will probably need a total of 4-5 spots after that, so they cannot afford to add Reynolds (who is not eligible until next year) at the risk of losing a pitcher for a 30 day look see on Reynolds. I am all for seeing if he is the short term answer at SS, but if you add him for Sept and then take him off, they could lose him altogether. I cannot see the Mets risk losing some of the pitching that they are counting on for surplus inventory just so they can look at Reynolds for Sept, at the expense of ABs for Flores. everyone has been clamoring to give Flores an extended look, so who would get the ABs in Sept if Reynolds was brought up?
Mack, the a mets are actually slotted in at the #11 pick since the Astros have locked up the #2 selection as a result of not signing Brady Aiken. The concern is also if we tied with Chicago, they had the worse record last year, so they would get the tie breaker pick, which could come into play. I know its bad to root against your own team, but I'd like them to lose just enough games to have a protected top #11 pick, just in case we can stretch the payroll for a qualified offer player. At least it takes that excuse away from ownership/Sandy.
Closer -
Yeah, I thought I just would list the ones on the bottom of the tank
how about a 15 game losing streak to solidify the pick and then finish strong for good feeling? It should be interesting to see if the QO process changes a little bit this year as a result of Drew and Morales ending up on ice for a couple of months and Cruz only getting a one year deal. I think teams were handing out those QO like candy last year with the expectation that everyone would test the FA market, but second tier players may be more inclined to take them this year and teams may be a bit more stingy handing them out for fear they may be accepted. Players like Hardy and Lowrie would have been guaranteed to get them last year, but maybe not this year. What other FA might the Mets target that are certain to get QOs?
Morning Gentlemen..
Anon: I think Akeel Morris needs to be protected as well..That would be an interesting guy for some team to stash away..
Theres another team out there with a middle infield excess that might be looking for a young pitcher..
The Texas Rangers have
Elvis Andrus
Roughned Odor
Luis Sardinas
Jurickson Profar
Andrus is young and team controlled through his prime. Consisent .280 hitter and steals 45-50 bases a year. True shortstop unlike any of the Chicago bunch...the problem is he makes 14 million next year and I just don't see the Mets paying him.
Odor is a 2b, so not a fit for the Mets, but is signifigant because he blocks the Rangers other SS from shifting over.
Profar is a former #1 prospect who has been hurt. Would cost Syndergaard +
Sardinas is a glove first SS, who should hit enough to be a stating MLB SS.
Personally I would offer Syndergaard and a lower level prospect for Profar in the offseason and put this SS issue to bed.
Or if the Mets finally decide to open up the wallet...Andrus could probably be had for Gee and a prospect...
The mets should have NO problem clearing 40 man roster space. They are NOT a good team this year. Plenty can go..........teagarden, dice k, satin, andrew brown, and even old Buddy and Evelend and their great years don't have a future. And, depending on off-season trades, gotta make decisions on tejada, Tovar, Centeno. ......and mets need to figure out what to do with choosing kirk or den dekker, and cesar damn puello still not hitting.
you are correct on Morris, good call. I like the Profar pursuit as well, even over Castro. The Rangers finances are even more dire than the Mets and boy do they have some dog contracts, so Andrus might cost substantially less, but I still don't see him as a target for the cash he is owed
Top 11 picks are protected next year and I still believe the Mets would fall in for the 10th pick if season ended today.
@Annon-- You beat me to the punch about burning a 40-man slot on Reynolds this fall. If he continues to rake in ST, it's a whole different story.
The existing vacancy will go to Thor IMO. The rest of the call ups will probably be from the exiting 40-man: Centeno, Brown, Rice, Dice-K, maybe even Matz(?). And there's (the less likely) Puello and the all-but-forgotten Wilfredo Tovar (.301/.379 with an 8.9% K-rate in AA)
If we were to DFA someone to make room should/would you give D.Herrera a pre-mature look/see? Leather will probably be protected come November and probably Ynoa too.
@Anon
Just out of curiosity..What don't you like about Andrus?
He's only 24...and 14 million a year will look like spare change 3 years from now...
Personally I like him alot better than Castro and his 95 errors over the last 4 1/2 years...
Since Tulo got hurt I am all for Andrus . He would cost money, but if they got Gee in that trade that would deduct about $5 mil off our payroll, so he would only cost $9 mil more. He offers speed and great defense. Also I don't recall him to be very injury prone?
Totally agree, we are going to have to protect so many young guys this winter. Hopefully we trade some before losing them for nothing.
Is there a set amount of guys you can lose in this situation. I believe the most is 2?
It is not so much that I don't like him, but it is more of a cost benefit and what his salary might take away from other acquisitions. He is a much better fielder than Tejada and steals more bases, but he is really about a .280 hitter with an OPS in the mid .600s, so offensively he would not likely boost the teams need. I like him better than Castro, but you may be able to get similar production from Reynolds, minus the SB and downgrade on the glove. I would prefer a more affordable option so that resources can be spent on upgrading the OF offense. I would prefer Profar if the Mets could pry him away, but it would cost more in talent. I like Andrus, but his contract would detract from other acquisitions, like Justin Upton next year. The Mets need more pop or at least run producing talent and Andrus doesn't fit that profile. I would prefer an upgrade at SS, but not at that cost. Sandy probably has one big contract left in the bank and I would prefer not to spend it on SS
Anon
Fair enough..
Everything you say is true, 14 million is alot to commit to with this budget..
But if the budget stays at 85 million then we shouldn't plan on watching signifigant games in Septemeber anytime soon..
I don't know how the Wilpons did it..but theyve conditioned us all to expect a Kansas City payroll...
All that aside, if the Rangers are willing to talk Profar..then i'd offer Syndergaard and Plawecki
Anon
One other thing about Andrus and his lack of pop..
Why do we need a power bat??
The problem with this offense is that its built on:
1. draw a walk
2. wait for someone to hit a home run
But Citifield isn't built for that...
We should be building our offense to our advantage..which means athletic gap to gap hitters who can steal bases, and create runs the old fashioned way...
Andrus would fit perfectly in a lineup like that....
We also have a manager stached away in Las Vegas who understands that type of offense like few others...
Get the Backman dreams out of your head. He's not a corporate "yes man" like TC is.
If you have arguably $20 million to spend (assuming they trade off Bartolo Colon and Daniel Murphy) then more than half of it has to be allocated to a major run producer since the two currently usurping more than 1/3 of the payroll are underperforming the big guy at 1st base.
Craig
as good as Backman may be. Those same traits that made him a gritty ballplayer and those that have helped him succeed as a manager, would not be a good mix managing the Mets with Alderson still the General manager.
Can you imagine (in cartoon style) steam pouring out Backman's ears and top of his head flying up into the air as Alderson gives him his orders of who to play when? And then have to answer to the media why he made those questionable decisions (even though Backman may not have agreed with them)?
Can you imagine Backman repeatedly slamming his head into the wall when a C.Young fills a roster space and takes opportunities away from other young potential contributors?
How long would Backman have avoided a stroke if he had to manage having the Ike/Duda situation or six outfielders situation tying up the roster?
Backman may be wonderful and could even be everything the Mets players need. ..
But he would not be able to handle it with Alderson controlling things the way he has.
Bob/Reese
You guys are right...Backman will never manage the Mets...
If and when Terry Collins gets fired, his replacement will probably be Bob Geren...who, if possible is just as bad as TC..
Craig,
I agree with all of you about Backman's chances to manage here, but I'm not positive Geren is necessarily the next choice for manager. I think Teufel has a decent chance at the job, even if he's not a shoo-in. He has the advantage of having worked with a lot of the younger players in the minors and having earned their respect, and he understands the 85 Cards type of offense, having platooned with Wally for a lot of years. I think of him as a middle ground between Backman and Geren.
Why would anyone want to pay Andrus that much money to produce as little as he does.
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