Reese Kaplan -- A Sign of Things To Come, Perhaps?

Sometimes when something happens you have a tendency to read too much into it, but I found the move by Mickey Callaway yesterday in the 9^th inning curious on a number of levels.  In a 4-1 game with Jeurys Familia warming up for his customary save situation, Callaway instead let Robert Gsellman pitch the 9^th inning after having gotten quickly out of the 8^th. 

Now the thinking behind the move was probably fairly obvious…Gsellman has had terrific reverse platoon splits, showing greater success against left handed batters than right handed ones.  With 2 of the 3 batters scheduled (including Paul Goldschmidt) you could see why it was prudent to consider keeping Gsellman in the game.  He did keep Familia warming up, so despite him having pitched in Saturday night’s game, the issue was likely not one of rest for his closer.

The other conclusion I drew is that perhaps he wanted to see how Gsellman would respond in a high leverage situation.  He’s primarily been used in multi-inning middle relief, but with the poor performance of AJ Ramos thus far, Jerry Blevins continuing his typecasting as a LOOGY, and the trust factor not yet established with Paul Sewald, it was about time to see this move take place.  I had advocated in my “Fixing the Mess” article on Saturday doing just that – moving Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman into higher leverage relief situations rather than jerking them back and forth between the pen and the rotation.

With both AJ Ramos (good riddance) and Jeurys Familia expected to test free agency next year, the Mets should be looking ahead as to who will handle closing duties.  I know, I know…when do they ever look ahead at anything (or the corollary observation, when do they ever try to use their exclusive negotiating window before allowing someone to hit the free market?)

Now I realize I’m reading far too much into a single game in which Robert Gsellman notched his first career save with a masterful 1-2-3 inning pitched.  It was just one game and fundamentally won’t change things going forward.  However, let’s indulge in a little trading deadline fantasy.

Jeurys Familia is already earning a tick under $8 million.  We saw what the Mets thought about having relievers who earn big money last year when Addison Reed was sent packing in his walk year.  AJ Ramos is getting paid $9.2 million for his 4.86 ERA before hitting free agency as well. 

Now last year’s great fire sale included a number of second tier talents – Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker, and Lucas Duda.  There was a hot hitting Jay Bruce but we saw how undervalued sluggers were in the off-season.  Then there was arguably the biggest chip of all, Addison Reed, who at the time of the trade was pitching to the tune of a 2.57 ERA, 19 Saves and WHIP of just 1.122.  To wit he brought back the biggest haul – three pitchers from Boston whose collective abilities are too soon to measure but none is exactly setting the world on fire.

Jeurys Familia, however, has had a longer track record of success as a closer and likely is in the top ten relievers in baseball.  Consequently should they choose to move him at the deadline, he should net back more than an Eric Hanhold.  Even AJ Ramos at his salary should be moveable to a club interested in having someone with some closing experience, though you might have to pay down the salary to get a taker as they did in the case of Neil Walker last year.  He’s a sunk cost.

Now the bigger question is do you trust Sandy Alderson to pull the trigger on an equitable (let alone favorable) deal?  I certainly do not.  However, shedding salaries is something that causes both he and the Wilpons to salivate like a Jack Russell Terrier on crack when you’re frying bacon. 

So if you assume you could net a top 10 prospect for Jeurys Familia at the deadline, would you do it?  I’d certainly be targeting offense over pitching and realize that in addition to the forgotten Tim Peterson in AAA you do have a batch of relievers working their way up the ladder who should help in 2019 or 2020.  I’d advocate doing so even if the club is in contention as you need to get ready for next season and beyond.  There is no guarantee Familia would be here and hanging onto him for the draft pick compensation is somewhat foolish considering Alderson’s dubious track record.  I’d rather have someone developed and higher up the food chain in AA or AAA with some track record of success rather than again taking Gavin Cecchini over Corey Seager.