As we approach the trade deadline it seems half the fans are in the camp advocating you sell off the prospects George Steinbrenner style in order to land whomever at the major league level is available that can help fortify the chase for the NL East pennant. Then there's the other half who realize that championship teams are usually not bought though sometimes it seems they are.
As much of a Mets fan as I am, I'd like to be in the first camp. I really would. After all, it's been since the losingest manager regime when despite Terry Collins the Mets had Yoenis Cespedes lead them into the 2015 post season. Even with the dippy skippy at the helm it was a good thing to see the Mets in October but there is just so much you can hope for success without real leadership on top.
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No, I'm not ready to bank on a go-for-it-all miracle like the one in 2015 which landed eventual Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer in Detroit alongside the much traveled Luis Cessa. Fulmer has gone on to have arm troubles and his career is trying to revive its second wind.
At age 29 he has a losing record of 31-41 with a respectable 3.85 ERA. He's reworked into a relief pitcher posting gaudy numbers in 2021 and thus far in 2022.
The now 30 year old Cessa has played parts of seven years in the majors compiling a .500 record and a 4.24 ERA. He's not awful but he's not logged a regular role until his split 2021 season when he turned in his best work, but 2022 has been nightmarish thus far.
In other words, the Mets won this deal by a wide margin (at a high salary price tag, of course).
So the question becomes whether or not there are more Donn Clendenon or Yoenis Cespedes types out there who won't cost grade A prospects. For folks who need a reminder about giving up projectable talent, look no further than the Cleveland Guardians who sport former Mets Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez hitting .287 and .308 respectively.
Some feel that the top-notch prospects are cluttering one another for playing time. I've previously mentioned the shortstop role being handled for the majority of 9 more seasons by Lindor, thus making Ronny Mauricio somewhat more expendable than he otherwise might be. How much the Mets regard the future of Eduardo Escobar leads directly into the potential success in the majors in orange and blue for folks like Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.
No, the question becomes who are the most appropriate players for the Mets to dangle in trades. A lot of that assessment depends on what level of player the Mets hope to get back. Last season they sent uber-prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong as compensation for a few months of Javier Baez and Trevor Williams. Considering they let Baez walk away, they didn't think too much of their acquisition despite his strong NY Mets performance of .299 with 9 HRs and 22 RBIs over August and September.
Pete Crow-Armstrong has only racked up 250 aggregated ABs over the course of two minor league seasons but he's hitting .332 with 9 HRs and 40 RBIs plus 16 SBs in a half season's worth of plate appearances. Yeah, that one's gonna hurt for a long time.
Consequently it would hurt a lot less for the Mets to dangle guys like Dom Smith, J.D. Davis and even free-agent-to-be Brandon Nimmo in deals if they can help land impact level players in return. Smith is like Mauricio, but his big roadblock is named Pete Alonso.
Davis hasn't found a defensive position and the oft-injured Nimmo is a quality player but not quite of the All Star level yet will likely be seeking a salary north of $20 million per season during his first foray into free agency. People may miss his smile but not his many IL stints.
Yes, the Mets need more outfield help. Yes, they need more relief pitching. Yes, they could likely use a better bench. However, they got as far as they have without some of the best starting pitching available (and likely will receive that reinforcement by August 1st). They are not desperately trying to move up but could benefit from enhancing an already formidable set of ballplayers without relying solely on Steve Cohen's checkbook to do so.
7 comments:
Jake was briefly magnificent in his rehab outing yesterday, and Max was sharp and seems good to go. The cavalry is coming.
Eric Orze was not sharp last night, failing to punch out hitters and ultimately giving up a 3 run 9th inning homer after 2 singles, and then a walk. His pitches, per that graphic in Gameday, either seemed to be just off the plate and none were swung at, or pretty much down the middle. So, I do not think he is near term help.
Otanez and de Oca are seemingly better relievers with serious cheese, but still are at least a month or two away. Szapucki has been good, but not dominant - and I think the Mets need to see dominant before recalling him.
Believe it or not, Yamamoto is back pitching in relief in AA and doing well - but can he contain MLB-caliber hitters?
May is about to begin a rehab assignment - if healthy, it would be like trading for a good quality reliever.
All in all, with Jake and Max returning but Megill likely still 6 weeks off.
Hitting? I really would not like to see Mauricio, Baty or Vientos traded unless it is for a big time player under some control. Mauricio has 53 RBIs, which is awesome. Find him a position. Baty could well be our 3B of the future in a year. Vientos could be ready right now, but is a fine first baseman (not needed) and not a great 3B. But he simply is a HR machine, and I think he could be good for one or more 40 HR seasons.
Lastly, as much as I would now like to see Smith and Davis leave, they could both pull an Escobar and suddenly get hot.
All said, it is amazing that the Mets have lost so much Jake/Max/Megill/May time and are still in first place.
But I would pick up a few pen arms without breaking the bank.
I saw Mauricio play again last night and he hit another bomb, but he also bobbled an easy double play ball. When I look at his body it screams outfielder. He's got long legs and a bubble butt, much like a track star, and he runs like a gazelle. Frankly, he would not be the Mets shortstop regardless of whether Lindor would be in New York for the next 10 years or not but his bat has a world of potential. I see him as a right or center fielder in the majors and the Mets would be wise to make that move this off season, IMO. Unless it is for a difference maker who is controllable beyond this year, Mauricio should not be traded.
Hmm , Don’t trade Mauricio seems to be a trend, good. Addition by subtraction,Smith,Davis,Shreve. Give Vientos shot at DH before you trade for Bell,Mancini,Drury,Cruz, or Aguilera.
I agree with both Holmer and Woodrow here.
I agree that Davis and Smith are expendable enough to dangle as trade bait...but they have not helped their value this year, so I don't see teams rushing to pick up that deal by offering quality starters.
Is Inciarte here to package up in a trade? I really don't see his fit and liked Jankowski much more as the extra outfielder because he added the speed element to the game. With the Mets' bats lagging a bit, we could use some more speed on the bases to squeeze out a few runs.
Baty has gotten writeup for his athleticism but not his defense. I can see Baty in LF, Mauricio at 3B and Vientos at DH. There, a spot for everyone!
I have read that the Mets want to take on money, not give up talent. I like that and hope that the team’s hastened (for whatever reason) trades are a thing of the past. Would the Rockies give up Daniel Bard and Charlie Blackmon for say Dom Smith and cash?
Baty played left field last night and caught everything he was supposed to catch. He did make a great throw to the plate which would have resulted in an out at the plate but the ball wasn't held by the catcher. Baty made an error in the Scherzer game on a routine ground ball which was the cause of Scherzer's unearned run. He looks like a 3rd baseman but he, like Mauricio, have defensive problems on the infield.
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