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12/7/16

Mack Ade – Wade Davis



Good afternoon.

The Kansas City Royals have traded 31-year old closer/reliever Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs for third year outfielder Jorge Soler.

Let me ask you a question (s)…

            -isn’t the Mets looking for a back-end reliever to help them get off to the right start while Jeurys Familia does his community service thing? Yes, due to a forearm strain, his fastball speed dropped last year from 95.7-mph to 94.9-mph, but the Cubs said they did a very thorough check on Davis’ medical records and believe a $10mil investment for one year is worth, well, the investment.

            -doesn’t a one year contract fit into the template that Sandy Alderson uses for relief pitchers for this team?

            -and lastly, couldn’t you insert the name of Michael Conforto where Soler’s name is and have a similar kind of sophomore jinxed outfielder? Soler debuted in 2014 with an impressive 89-AB, .292-BA, but seems to have leveled off since (2015: 366-AB, .262-AB… 2016: 227-AB, .238). Couldn’t one make a case that Conforto (2015: 174-AB, .270… 2016: 304-AB, .220) would also tickle the Royal’s fancy.

Look, I can’t speak for the Royal’s front office, but both these guys are young and Conforto comes even cheaper that Soler. Wouldn’t you think that the Mets could have, at least, make a run for something like this trade thought?

Would you for one year of Davis?


The Cubs had a zillion prospect outfielders and could afford to deal off Soler. Could the Mets do the same with Conforto, who really, right now, is the only outfielder in the system that seems like he belongs here. 

10 comments:

  1. I like the idea of adding Wade Davis to the bullpen, but I don't like trading Conforto for him. If Sandy could have used other chips in that deal, then go for it (say Brandon Nimmo and another mid-level piece).

    I still view Conforto as a piece of the puzzle......if I had my way, he is our future right fielder, but that's a different story.

    Shedding a young, talented and cost-controlled asset (Conforto) for one year of bullpen help seems counterproductive. Nimmo's future is less certain then Conforto's, IMO.

    Mike

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  2. Mike -

    I agree, but this is your basic problem when a team only has a few top prospects. No one wants your secondary talent when there are other teams that can offer more.

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  3. I would have done that trade, Mack

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  4. Tom -

    If you were who or are you talking about my Conforto scenario?

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  5. Welcome to the dark side, Mack, where we complain about Sandy Alderson's passivity while those around him actively seek to improve their teams.

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  6. And the spin I predicted has begun. Today's NY Post:

    "The Mets signed Cespedes to a four-year contract worth $110 million to solidify the middle of the lineup. Last month Neil Walker accepted a one-year qualifying offer worth $17.2 million. But the Mets are yet to add a major league player who wasn’t part of the 2016 roster.

    Alderson was asked if such a strategy indicates he believed the team the Mets put on the field last year was good enough to win the World Series.

    “I think the team last year was pretty good,” Alderson said. “If we get the pitching back we lost over the course of the season we should be very competitive. That’s not to say we’re not looking to improve. Obviously there were some flaws, we didn’t score that many runs, we didn’t hit with men in scoring position, those kind of things. Some of that may be random.

    “We’re not trying to duplicate [last year], we’re trying to improve it, but I do think a lot of the improvement is going to come internally from growth from some players and the return from injury of some others.”

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