Buster
Olney - @Buster_ESPN-
"The Mets will be aggressive this offseason, with at least one free agent
signing and one via trade."
Story
telling time – all this attention at CF Juan
Lagares reminds
me of the time I attended the kick-off luncheon for the 2010 Savannah Sand
Gnats. This takes place on the day before their season opens and includes an
opportunity to meet the players, take photos, etc.
Well,
I got to the restaurant where the lunch was thrown and all the players came in
and sat down. I looked ahead and saw Lagares sitting there. Lagares had just
spent the last two seasons in Savannah (2007 and 2008) and I said out loud as
he caught me looking at him “what the hell are you doing back here?”
Lagares
shook his head in agreement and turned to manager Pedro Lopez and said “see? … even Mack
agrees with me…”
SABR
Defensive Index: Final 2014 rankings –
NL overall leaders
Player Team Position SDI
Jason Heyward ATL RF 26.5
Juan Lagares NYM CF 16.4
Zack Cozart CIN SS 14.1
Billy Hamilton CIN CF 13.7
Andrelton Simmons ATL SS 13.1
Baseball
is growing in Europe - http://mlbforlife.com/2014/11/06/roberto-angotti-interviews-mlb-european-academies-consultant-and-france-bench-coach-andy-berglund/
Eno-Chat –
Comment From
Mark - Cargo to the Mets ?
Eno
Sarris: I don’t see it. They’re
building a full roster the slow way and the only interesting piece I want to
let go is Niese, and you’re not getting Cargo built on Niese.
Comment From
john - Eno! The mets dodged a bullet when the rox offered cuddyer a QO…
However, now I hear they are in on Morse! At what point will you admit that sandy alderson has no clue when it comes to evaluating
major league talent properly?
Eno Sarris:
He’s rummaging around in the bargain bin. den Dekker is projected to be below
replacement, so even a one-win Morse would be a big upgrade. It’s not the worst
bat, just the worst glove and worst base running. And I love the dude.
Comment From
Jon - Your plan for the Mets makes sense to me but doesn’t seem to consider
trading pitching and/or Murphy to the Red Sox for Allan Craig. Is that because
you don’t expect him to be available? He seems like at least as good a fit as
Cuddyer would be, no? And he’s inexpensive enough not to foreclose other
opportunities to improve as well.
Eno Sarris:
Sure, I think Craig is interesting. Put him in the Aoki mix. If you can get a
1+ win guy back in trade for less money than Colon or Colon+Murphy, then it’s
great. Do the sox want Murphy and Colon? I’m not sure. So I think the most
likely thing is that they dump Colon for salary relief and not much more. And
no, I don’t think the Colon signing was dumb, it’s just that the young pitchers
have begun to accumulate and look ready. deGrom, for instance, wasn’t supposed
to be this good.
Comment From
Jake deBomb - propose a Daniel Murphy trade?
Eno Sarris:
I did. By projections, he represents a one-year, $5m surplus, below-average
solution for someone at third or second. Looking around the league, I don’t see
an obvious partner, nor does Murphy bring back much.
Comment From
Ricardo - Can Wilmer be an average SS for the Muts in ’15? Your plan looks like
it throws him out there all season and lives with it
Eno Sarris:
This was the weakest part of my plan in my opinion. I never thought Flores
could play short and am still looking at his defense all jenky-eyed. But I
don’t think they want to use the money to sign Lowrie, and throwing the farm at
Tulo is unrealistic too. LF is the biggest need, so I focused there.
Mack – Note to
readers: Eno wrote a recent feature on how to fix the Mets in 2015 using ‘spare
parts’. He’s a big fan of the Mets but a realistic one and knows that the Mets
are not going to spend much money here. There were questions the next day
during his chat from Mets fans.
His statement about
Murphy does ring true. What exactly is his market alone? At least 10 teams have
great second basemen and have no need for someone like Murphy. And then there
are the remaining 19 teams where 90% of them have young, team controlled
players that are long away from starting their arbitration years and are
already flashing his kind of stat lines (with better defense) in the high
minors.
Isn’t second base a
position that has been mostly home grown and shouldn’t the Mets rally around
their all-star until he becomes eligible for free agency? The worst case
scenario would then be a draft pick which, at the same time, handing the job
over to Dilson
Hererra. The next-to-worst
case scenario would be a mid-season trade to a pennant contender for a top blue
chip, team controlled prospect.
Seattle
has announced that they are going to shop OF Michael
Saunders at
next week’s General Manager’s meetings. There’s been a falling out between team
officials and Saunders.
According
to MLBTR:
Formerly
ranked by Baseball America as the No. 30 prospect in the game, Saunders has
batted a healthy .248/.320/.423 with 39 homers and 38 steals over those three
injury-prone seasons. Context-neutral stats such as OPS+ and wRC+ (which adjust
for his pitcher-friendly home ballpark) suggest that he’s been nine to 11
percent better than a league-average hitter in that time. His 2014, in
particular, was impressive. In 78 games, Saunders hit .273/.341/.450 — good for
a 126 wRC+ and a 128 OPS+.[i]
The
bad news here is the fact that he averaged just 166 games per season for the
last three years, but he’s only entering his second year of arbitration and
isn’t eligible for free agency until 2017.
He’ll
play 2015 as a 28-year old.
Any
interest here?
17 comments:
I don't think you can give Murphy a qualifying offer, he would be in the same boat as Michael Cuddyer, he would have to accept. At $15 mil plus I don't want to get stuck with him.
I personally have no interest in Saunders. The Mets should be looking for a solid veteran to put up solid numbers specifically for 2015. After that, id take my chances with Nimmo and Conforto panning out.
I was going to say the exact same things as the first two posters.
Put the Lagares story in the e-book.
So what do you guys do with Murphy?
Mack,
Murphy on the arb deal is fine for 2015. He should be shopped this winter, but for the sole purpose of improving the team, not purging salary. They can get some salary relief from dealing Gee, Niese, or Colon. No way Murphy gets a QO for 2016 unless he is an NL MVP candidate in 2015, which is highly unlikely. Yes, he may walk for no comp, but that's life in the bigs. Personally, I wouldn't invest long term in him, given his age, cost, and the Met prospects, but that could change based on what transpires in 2015. All in all, he has a spot on my 2015 squad unless parting with him is required to bring back a stud RF or SS.
I say keep Murphy on one year deal. Trade colon for prospect, and leave Dilson in Vegas till September.
Guys -
Yea, you're right about any chance of a QO for Murphy... I was dreaming
One trade partner that doesn't get mentioned is the LA Dodgers. They have needs in the BP, C, 3B, and SP. We have Mejia, Plawecki, Murphy, and Gee, Montero, Niese, Colon. They have an outfield surplus. So...how about we package 4 from that group for Puig? He alone makes us a playoff team. If they won't give him up... Crawford is my next choice for a lesser package. Thoughts?
JD -
I have written about the Dodgers a number of times who line up perfectly with the Mets.
I think who gets Russell Martin will determine the value of Plawecki to teams like the Bums.
Sadly, he's probably not ready yet to step up for the big lights
What to do with Murphy? I'd try to extend him for 3 years if we can do it at reasonable cost (say, $10 mil per). If we decide to trade him at any point, he'd be worth much more than as a rental.
As foe Saunders, am I the only one who noticed that he supposedly AVERAGED 166 games a year for the past 3 seasons? Better than Ripken?
When it comes to Crawford and his present health and playing ability, I much prefer Den Dekker.
Since trade speculations are to baseball what the history channel is to history, I;ll throw out:
Wright, Pawlecki & Neise/Gee for Kemp & Julio Urias
Why is there talk about a QO for Murphy, who isn't even eligible for one, since he's not a FA?
IMO he should be offered a 3-year extension if he'll agree to one at reasonable (3-year/$30 mil?)price.
If we keep him, we've got a good deal for the next 3 years without any Arbi worries. If we decide to trade him, he'll be far more valuable to the trade partner than he'd be as a rental.
As for Saunders, is it a "problem" that he "AVERAGES 166 games per year"? Hell, even Ripken didn't do that.
Bill -
I made the mistake of mentioning that the Mets could get a draft pick when Murphy is signed as a free agent... not at the end of 2015, but 2016
I think Murph may have more trade value as. 3b - I believe his defense is better there
Lew -
IMO...
Murphy's trade value is through his bat...
which will become more valuable halfway through next season to someone trying to make the playoffs...
My guess... and American League team
Hey Mack, glad you pulled some strings. Without your expert intervention, Lagares would still be in Savannah! LOL
Have a great evening, everybody.
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