Reese Kaplan asks -
If you had to fortify
EITHER the pen or the rotation which gets priority?
Mack says –
Good question.
We need both, but my first choice would be a quality SP3
starter to go along side of Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. If I can find the right guy here, I
only need two more starters between Steven Matz, Zack
Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, and Rafael Montero.
I would also get at least six quality innings here per appearance, rather than the one most relievers offer you.
I would also get at least six quality innings here per appearance, rather than the one most relievers offer you.
I would send Montero to be the SP1 in Las Vegas for the next
100 years (yes, let him stay there when we move to Syracuse) and let the other
five guys duke it out in Spring Training for the open three slots.
Frankly, the losers here could become an integral part of the
2018 pen.
Tom Brennan says –
I
would fortify the pen - I think, perhaps naively, that the starting pitching
will be healthier this year. A few
quality seasoned pen arms would keep the soothing pick Pepto Bismol in the
medicine cabinet where it belongs.
Reese Kaplan says –
Over
the past seven years we've become accustomed to the approach of the 5-6 inning
start, after which a bevy of bullpen arms would traipse in from the bullpen,
often for just a single batter. Not
having seen how Mickey Callaway will choose to
run his staff and bullpen, it's a bit hard to project, but I assume if a
starting pitcher is getting it done, he won't be a slave to pitch count. Furthermore, if a reliever is effective
against the first batter he won't automatically get yanked if the subsequent
batter happens to stand in the opposite side of the box from his pitching arm.
Assuming it's a clean slate, I think that the conventional
wisdom of a shutdown bullpen has evolved due to the dearth of quality starting
pitchers. Rather than addressing the
rotation mediocrity, many clubs are content to take the 5-6 inning approach and
then provide a number of effective short-term solutions for an inning or two
thereafter. The economic impetus for
that is obvious. Even the most highly
paid relievers like Aroldis Chapman only get
paid about half of what premier starters do.
Role pitchers can be had for $6 million or less. Many clubs (not in Queens) employ hitters on
their bench in backup roles in that price range.
Personally, I think the money needs to be put into the
rotation. If you can ensure on a regular
basis that the starting pitchers are sacrificing 4 runs or less then you have
the opportunity to win nearly every game.
If the starting rotation has ERAs north of 6.00 then it doesn't matter
how good your pen is. The three headed
monster of Jeurys Familia, A.J. Ramos and Jerry Blevins should
be sufficient for 7/8/9 with some supplemental arms to support them such as the
rumored infatuation with Bryan Shaw (though Joe Smith would be far less costly). Even without, you have Paul Sewald who pitched mostly well, the enigmatic Hansel Robles and the strikeout king, Josh Smoker. Yes,
another quality arm would help, but some of the excess starters could wind up
in the pen.
If I have just $30 million or so to spend, I am putting at
least 2/3 into the rotation which today sports deGrom, Syndergaard (injury
recovery), Harvey (multiple injury recovery), Matz (injury recovery), Wheeler
(injury recovery), Lugo (injury recovery), Gsellman (injury
recovery/ineffectiveness), and Montero (inconsistency). THAT'S where you need help.
Gary McDonald says –
The way the game is trending , I would say the pen needs to
be fortified. Starters are fading away
as a dominant force in this cycle.
Eddie Corona says –
The
question when FORTIFYING any position for the NY Mets on limited payrolls is
all about quality.
I would rather spend 20 Million dollars on a top talent than
spend 10 million on 2 Mediocre talent. Therefore, I would not look at the
situation as one or the other... Several years ago, the Yankees could not sign
or acquire a top starter so they turned to building a top Bullpen... they did
not sign a average No.3 starter but rather signed Andrew
Miller...
Therefore, If I could sign a Yu
Darvish I would since he covers 200 innings... However if not then Sign
a top closer to push Ramos, Familia and Blevins down....
But to say sign a Lynn or Bryan Shaw and
think they accomplished the task? I wouldn't think so... Neither would put this
team over the top...
In a vacuum I still believe the few minor league talent we
have left are Pitchers so I would bring in a Starter knowing I could convert
one of my Pitchers into the Pen....
Michael
Friere says –
If you look at the team's performance over the last three
years (2015, 2016 and 2017), the biggest difference between the success during
the first two years and the lack of success the third year was the performance
of the pitching staff. While the bullpen struggled, you can see that a bulk of
that was due to the high work load a certain former manager who won't be named exposed
them to. If you look deeper, the work
load was in large part due to the poor performance from the starting rotation.
I think the strength of this team is the starting rotation,
when they are healthy and performing as expected. With fingers firmly crossed, I think 2018
will feature a much more competitive rotation, due to the presence of a new
manager, better strength/conditioning awareness and better luck. If that is the case, then Sandy should
allocate a portion of his available funds to strengthen the bullpen, especially
from the left hand side. However, if
the rotation does not bounce back, then it probably does not matter how strong
the bullpen is.
David Rubin says –
I have to think that, with 8 starters with MLB experience and
a wave of top quality arms within a year or two of making it to the big
leagues, the bullpen has to be the team's priority. However, if we are going to
finally sign a reliever to a multi-year deal, we should start with a reliever
by the name of WADE DAVIS!!
Familia is a free
agent at the end of the coming season, and everyone else in the bullpen set up
better in earlier innings. The talent Sandy acquired in this July-August FA
fire sale didn't bring a future closer to the team, or at least none that we
know of yet, and there's no way Sandy is going to pay market value for Familia.
I know it's a pipe-dream to think he'd give the money to Davis, but after
losing out on lefty Mike Minor you would think
that getting decent bullpen arms versus getting a great bullpen arm, for an
extra year and about $20 million over the life of a 3 or 4 year contract,
shouldn't be a stumbling block for a big market team. Oh, wait- there I go
again, forgetting that New York, or at least the portion that rests in the
borough of Queens, isn't a big market- just ask the WIlponzi's or former
Commissioner Selig!!!!!
Eddie Corona says –
The
question when FORTIFYING any position for the NY Mets on limited payrolls is
all about quality.
I would rather spend 20 Million dollars on a top talent than
spend 10 million on 2 Mediocre talent. Therefore I would not look at the
situation as one or the other... Several years ago the Yankees could not sign
or acquire a top starter so they turned to building a top Bullpen... they did
not sign a average No.3 starter but rather signed Andrew
Miller...
Therefore, If I could sign a Yu
Darvish I would since he covers 200 innings... However if not then Sign
a top closer to push Ramos, Familia and Blevins down....
But to say sign a Lynn or Bryan Shaw and
think they accomplished the task? I wouldn't think so... Neither would put this
team over the top...
In a vacuum I still believe the few minor league talent we
have left are Pitchers so I would bring in a Starter knowing I could convert
one of my Pitchers into the Pen....
Michael Maar says –
I think pitching-wise, the priority should be on bringing in
a top (#2 or #3) veteran starter with a track record of durability. Obviously, the rash of injuries to the
starting rotation last year was a top factor in the Mets' demise. So I'd look to bring in a veteran to provide
more depth, but also to help the dynamic in 2 other ways. Firstly, a respected veteran SP could help
mentor the younger starters on the Mets, offering wisdom on how to pace and
make it through the long season.
Secondly, it would ratchet up the competition for the remaining rotation
spots - survival of the fittest. Thor
and deGrom have hammerlocks on rotation spots barring injury at this
point. Add another veteran lock to that,
and Spring Training would be an all-out competition for the remaining 2 slots
to start the season.
4 comments:
The bullpen question marks are about quality. Those of the rotation are about health. If all our SPs are healthy, we have the staff that was expected to be a lock for the post-season last year, with a surplus.
Spending equal $$$ for a top RP vs a mediocre SP looks like a no-brainer to me, especially with the new "twice through the order" approach.
there are a couple of FA arms, that have not been linked to the Mets!
But I wish they would be picked up to help solidify the pen?
Drew Smyly and hector Rondon.
Smyly had some decent turns as a starter and could be a great arm for an inning or two
Rondon used to be the closer of the Cubs before they traded for Chapman two years ago
I think Rondon could be a better alternative than Robles.
O just go after Longoria and Colome
Yu Darvish SP1-c
Jay Bruce 1B
Wheeler BP (the power arm that's needed)
Matz, Harvey, Lugo, Montero battle for the last 2 rotation spots. Losers to the BP or minors.
Smith = trade bait
Great points, gentlemen. Now the Mets will likely do very little, as Reese strongly hints today,
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