Have you ever seen that show on the History Channel called "American Pickers" in which the duo of Mike & Frank travel the country going through basements, barns and storage facilities looking for hidden treasures that they can buy low and resell high at their antique stores? Well, there are still several worthy "finds" on the FA market that should appeal to the Mets' rather austere budget.
Matt Albers
His up and down career is coming off a 2017 with a
flourish. He served the Nationals
spectacularly well, going 7-2 with a 1.62 ERA, a miniscule WHIP of 0.862 and
9.3 Ks per 9 IP vs. 2.5 BBs. For that he
was paid the princely sum of just $1.15 million. Sandy Alderson chose not to add any major
league talent at the beginning of last season but the more aggressive and savvy
Mike Rizzo did and reaped the rewards for having done so. He’s obviously due a big jump in pay as he
turns 35, but still would be a bargain.
Pedro Alvarez
The power hitting third baseman has slugged over 3 home runs
twice in his career. He hit the 100 RBI
plateau once. His problem, like many
power hitters in the all-or-nothing mold is that he strikes out at a prodigious
rate and his career batting average is just .238. He’s coming off a few years of lackluster
performance as a bench player and should see a dip from his $5.75 million
contract as he enters his age 31 season.
He’s shown some time at 1B as well, but being left handed doesn’t
suggest him as a platoon partner for Dom Smith.
Norichika Aoki
While it made perfect sense for the Mets to let him walk
away given his cost, the inexplicable starting role for his duration here
demonstrated he’s a pesky little hitter who can get on base regularly. As a BENCH player he would not be a bad
addition but only if he’s paid like a bench player. He’s not great on defense, but for a team
that’s withstood Todd Hundley, Lucas Duda and others out there, he’s not THAT
bad.
Andrew Bailey
An injury recovery project, he had shoulder problems last
year but for his entire career he has a sweet 3.12 ERA with a 3:1 K:BB
ratio. He earned just $1 million last
year for the angels and might be a worthy gamble he’ll recover during his age 34
season.
Matt Beslile
Matt Belisle’s career numbers won’t overwhelm you, but in
two of the past three years he’s posted sub 2.00 ERAs. Last year he was back up to 4.01 but going
into an age 38 season he might be the kind of veteran arm to help some of the
younger relievers learn their craft. He
earned a tick over $2 million last year and should be available for that or
less.
Trevor Cahill
He’s an interesting story in that as a starter he has not
fared particularly well, but when the Cubs used him out of the bullpen in 2015
and 2016 he was sensational. Perhaps it
was his desire to prove to himself he could still be a starting pitcher, but
his 2017 split between Kansas City and San Diego only proved he belonged in the
pen. He had a two-year run as a reliever
with an ERA under 2.50. Walks have always
been an issue and were totally out of control as a starter with the Royals last
year. He earned just $1.75 million last
year and should be available for the same or less but is desirable only as a
reliever.
Allen Craig
Out of baseball with injuries the past few years, he’s still
available and a minor league deal with an invite to spring training might be a
good lightning-in-a-bottle experiment.
He’s not an accomplished fielder anywhere, but does fit the outfield/1B
mold that’s been discussed. From 2010
through 2013 he logged a little more than 2 full seasons worth of ABs during
which he produced 50 HRs, 247 RBIs and batted .306. He’s right handed and could serve as a
platoon partner. At one point he was so
highly thought of that he was given a contract that paid him $11 million. Now he could probably be had for about $1
million for his age 34 season if he makes the majors.
Peter Moylan
The injury plagued pitcher has missed huge chunks of his
career rehabbing, but last year at age 38 appeared in 79 games and finished
with a 3.49 ERA for the Royals. He’s more
of a crafty pitcher than a guy who will rack up huge strikeout totals, but the
quality and durability demonstrate he might be a worthy bargain barrel pickup
for one year. He earned $1 million for
KC last year.
Seung-hwan Oh
In 2016 the Korean import took over for the injured Trevor
Rosenthal and wound up saving 19 games with a modest 1.92 ERA. He also struck out 11.2 per 9 IP while
walking just 2 over that span. He did
not do nearly as well last year with a 4.10 ERA, 20 saves and a drop in his K
rate. The reality is probably somewhere
in between which is still pretty darned good.
He earned about $2.75 million and should probably be available for that
or less for 2018 while he pitches at age 35.
Sergio Romo
The former Giant closer has worked as a setup man for the
past several years and for his career his ERA is a sparkling 2.69. He has a 5:1 K to BB ratio and after a rough
stop in rival LA, he was shipped to the Rays and delivered a 1.47 ERA over 25
games. He earned $3 million last year
and probably is due for a bump due to his strong finish, but at age 35 for $4
million for a guy of this quality with closing experience would be money well
spent.
Trevor Rosenthal
Another injury reclamation project, Rosenthal was pretty
automatic for the Cardinals for his years as their closer including
back-to-back years of 45 and 48 saves before the injuries started to make an
impact. He appeared in 50 games for the
Cardinals last year but had taken a back seat to Oh as the closer. He’s just going to be 28 years old and with
the injury history depressing his price he’s a gamble that could turn out to be
a bargain. He earned $6.4 million in his
final contract year but should be available for less.
Carlos Torres
I’d mentioned the last time around that the former Met is on
the FA market and durability is his middle name. In his past five years he’s posted ERAs of
3.44, 3.06, 4.68, 2.73 and 4.21. His
games pitched during these years are 33, 73, 59, 72 and 67. He’s not the best of the lot but he’s quality
and durable. His last contract was for
$2.175 million and he’d likely earn around $2.5 million this time around.
Any of these players fall well within the value spectrum and should appeal to the once-dubbed Moneyball with money front office.
6 comments:
Nice list. The pickers would be proud of you.
I always liked Craig. He would fit in well on this team.
In deference to those who think I'm too negative, I thought unearthing undervalued treasures was a better metaphor than dumpster diving :)
Nice heading. You should have photoshop Fred and Sandy's head instead of Frank and Mike lol. Trevor Rosenthal looks like a nice pick but probably too much money for this small market club.
Great list - just don't let the wannabe minor league relief corp see that they could have EVEN MORE competition than they already do!
I love that show.........it is a variant of "dumpster diving"!
Your list has quite a few bullpen arms, which would be a good thing (especially from the left side). I would prefer short term deals, as we will have a huge surplus in the bullpen over the next couple of years due to the depth in the minors (even if only half of them pan out).
Dumpster Diving was made popular by Omar during his last days of his first tenure. But now that he is back, it will be revived. But he find Dicky and what was that LF that has a identical twin...
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