So the words coming out of con man Sandy Alderson’s mouth
had better be a smokescreen because he’s already stated to the press that he is
not going after starting pitching, not planning to be aggressive in obtaining
relievers, doesn’t have any high value prospects to deal and is once again
waiting for the market to come to him.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Apparently his marching orders from the owners are to put a product on
the field and they will come...everyone talks about staying away and not fattening
the Wilpons’ wallets but they still continue to draw. When the current front office (and deposed
field manager) took over in 2011 they drew 2.379 million fans. Last year they drew 2.4 million. The more things change, the more they stay
the same.
About the only interesting nugget to come out of the Winter
Meetings press coverage was the rumor that the Mets already hurting for
starting pitching are open to trading Matt Harvey to get one. In fact, they would prefer to trade Harvey
rather than Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman.
Hmmn…on the surface that would hardly seem to make sense, but there are
probably $6 million reasons why they expressed that inclination. The younger duo makes close to major league
minimum and Harvey earned $5.125 last year and despite his horrific performance
is likely going to become the new $6 million man.
While I often (and justifiably) give both Alderson and the
WIlpons a lot of grief for making decisions more about money than about
winning, the more I thought about this one, the more I can see how it could
make sense. Hear me out.
Matt Harvey is an unrestricted free agent at the end of
2018. Given both his rocky relationship with the team and his representation by
Steve Boras, the likelihood of him returning to the Mets is minimal (even if
the Mets could/would pay for it).
Furthermore, after being burned by Neil Walker you’re not going to see
many Qualified Offers made to free agents lest they accept them and put the
team on the hook for potentially $17.6 million of salary in 2019. So if you agree he’s a goner, hanging onto
him makes little sense.
The question that arises is what’s the best case
scenario? Suppose Matt Harvey rediscovers
his mojo and pitches like it was 2012 again.
You’re still in the same boat, facing him walking away for absolutely
nothing at year end (without the draft pick compensation which only comes with
a QO that the player has turned down).
No, your play here is to trade a Cy Young type of pitcher in July to a
team that wants to win and try to restock your upper farm system with highly
rated prospects (not middling relievers as was done in the great sell-off of
2017).
The other option is to get a young, controllable reliever
right now in exchange for a guy you’re going to lose anyway. Furthermore, that hypothetical reliever (let’s
call him Alex Colome for the sake of argument) is available at significantly
less money and not set to hit free agency until 2021. Now Tampa is not likely stupid enough to do
that deal for Harvey alone (particularly coming off his past two years of
ineffectiveness) but that’s the concept in play here. Find a young bullpen arm who is healthy,
productive and inexpensive and let someone else gamble on the final half to one
year of Matt Harvey before Boras insists he test the free agency waters.
As much as I hate to give credit to Sandy Alderson for
anything, this one actually seems like a shrewd move assuming you are getting a
major league pitcher with 3.50 or less ERA who don’t walk the ballpark, not
guys with unsightly WHIPs and high ERAs (but “live arms”). Colome is a pipe dream but what about a setup
guy like Matt Bush of the Texas Rangers?
The Mets have recently turned a blind eye to people with off-the-field
issues and the 31 year old Bush is not a free agent until 2023. In his late start to his MLB career after jail
time he has delivered on his promise with a 2-year record of 10-6, 3.08 ERA,
1.175 WHIP, 9.4 Ks per 9 IP and he’s done it over a total of 115 games. If the Rangers (likely losing Yu Darvish) would bite on that deal I’d do
it in a heartbeat.
Thoughts?
13 comments:
Get whatever you can for him. Wish him luck and send him n his way.
I had a car like Harvey once.
Was a killer when it came out of the showcase... then was involved in an accident and never was the same.
a dealer offered me a great trade in at the end of year for new set of wheels. I took it right away.
Get what you can for this guy.
Now.
Yeah dump him
Zozo
I will disagree. Once the Mets gave Harvey a contract, it makes sense to see what he will look like in spring training. Right now if Harvey is not even worth a good reliever, what's the harm in waiting?
If Harvey doesn't show that he can be an effective starter, maybe he will be the reliever the Mets need. But again, once the Mets gave him a contract, that ship sailed.
Sandy (The Genius) best move is to wait and see if another team is willing to offer something of value for him. If not, his value may go up if his velocity is there and he starts throwing his slider effectively.
If they wait and he is effective, then they might get something good at the trade deadline. If they wait and he's ineffective, then it's a lose-lose situation. Putting him in the pen might help a bit for 2018 but he's a goner in 2019 anyway, so what's the point? I can see the value in waiting a bit gambling he will improve but I can also see the value in letting someone else take that risk.
Baltimore seems to be the hot rumor right now. I'd take Mychal Givens for him straight up if Baltimore was stupid enough to offer him.
Don't go by what his most recent comments are. His opinions, whether they're smokescreens or not, change more often than his underwear.
It was while he was talking about budget limits that he traded for Yo, and later for Bruce.
Last week he talked about needing someone who could play 1B because Smith was a disappointment and out of shape;a few days later he said he doesn't want to block his chance to be the full-time guy there.
Let's see what he does(n't) do, not what he says.
Nice to see you acknowledging our GM is a liar. Welcome to the good fight :)
Reese,
Then what was the point of giving him a contract in the first place? Once the leap of faith was extended, they have to wait unless a trade that makes sense materializes.
If that trade is for a marginal reliever, you might as well roll the dice and see what he has left.
In the words of Jesus, "those are your words, not mine" 😀
Why is it impossible to consider a different possibility - - - that he likes Callaway, pitches well, and signs an extension either during or after the season?
Not likely, but not impossible.
Hey...
no religion or politics on Mack's Mets
Mychal Givens or Matt Bush are not marginal relievers. They are better than Ramos and at least as good as Blevins.
...but we are closed for Hannakuh? Enjoy the holiday Mack.
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