Back in 1962 when the Mets were born they set what was perceived to be the worst won/loss record in the history of the game. Having played just 160 games the club managed somehow to win just 40 games and lose 120 of them.
Last season the Chicago White Sox one-upped the Mets in a 162 game full season. They managed to win one more game than did the Mets, finishing with 41, but also set the new standards for losing by having dropped one more than the record setting Mets ending the year with 121 losses to the game’s historical ledger.
So if you’re the White Sox, in addition to firing your manager and possibly your general manager, what do you need to do to regroup and avoid a parallel sequel come 2025? Obviously you need to rebuild and in the worst way. Unfortunately the fastest manner of changing course when all looks bad is to peddle away what looks good in the hopes of stockpiling top notch young talents who may soon blossom on the South Side of Chicago at Guaranteed Rate Field.
In baseball’s 2024 the White Sox indeed had two top flight talents on display and rumor has it that the Mets are interested in pulling off a double barreled blockbuster of a trade. Let’s take a closer look.
If you surveyed anyone associated with the Mets and asked what is their greatest current need, the answer would unanimously come back, “Starting pitching!” It’s hard to argue with having lost Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana to free agency as well as Paul Blackburn to surgery. A starting rotation right now includes Kodai Senga, David Peterson and Tylor Megill. That’s it.
Unfortunately, as it seems to be the standard way with pitchers, he underwent Tommy John Surgery in 2022 missing that entire season and most of 2023 except for 13 relief appearances towards the end.
In 2024 the ChiSox decided to convert the 25 year old Crochet to a starting pitcher and had him assigned as their opening day arm. Crochet took took starting pitching like he did relieving, and by year’s end he made the standard 32 starts without missing time due to injury. His 6-12 record won’t set your brain on fire, but if you look a little closer you will see the big southpaw struck out over 200 in less than 150 IP, he fanned them at a rate close to 13 per 9 innings yet yielded just 2 walks over that same interval of time. His WHIP was a gorgeous 1.068.
In addition to the pitching stats, bear in mind he’s not even arbitration eligible and played for a salary of just $800K this past season. He is not eligible to become a free agent until 2027. The White Sox know that with arbitration his salary will jump significantly for 2025 and 2026. Consequently, cashing in now enables them to avoid this financial obligation and to restock their roster with fresh and talented faces.
The other big hole the Mets need to fill in 2025 is center field. Last season Harrison Bader patrolled it with his usual best-of-the-best skill, but his bat which started off a bit better than expected waned significantly over the course of the season. In a way it was like trotting out a killer shortstop knowing how much his defense is worth to the likelihood of winning games despite how little he does with the bat. He elected free agency.
When the slump got so bad that he needed to be removed from the lineup regularly, the Mets then turned to a similarly better-than-expected bat in Tyrone Taylor whose defense was good enough to man center field professionally. Unfortunately, he went into a similar offensive tailspin and now has had two surgeries already this off season from which he needs to recover fully to attain his lifelong .241 batting average.
2024 was not kind of Robert, Jr. He hit just .224 with 14 HRs and 38 RBIs in 424 ABs. For that the White Sox paid the man $12.5 million. His 2025 season is at $15 million and then there are a pair of options for 2026 and 2027 at $20 million per season. There are buyouts of $2 million per year possible each of those years. So acquiring Robert, Jr. would cost the Mets as little as $19 million for one year exercising both clauses or as much as $55 million if they kept him for the duration. For an average annual salary of $18.3 million suggests if he can approach what he did in 2023, that’s a bargain.
So what would it take to acquire both of these players from Chicago? Well, the price isn’t quite as unbearable as many would have you believe. Just as the Mets sold off future Hall of Famers for a passel of prospects in 2023, they may reverse that course for 2025. Not that it would be insignificant, but the club would likely pony up Jett Williams, Luisangel Acuna, one of Ryan Clifford or Drew Gilbert, and another position player like Brett Baty.
So think about that price for a minute. Williams is not yet ready for the majors and his primary position is blocked by Lindor. Acuna may be ready but struggled in AAA. The other outfielders are a year or two away. Baty is likely the only one who would be in the White Sox Opening Day lineup and he’s blocked by Mark Vientos.
While it’s not chicken feed to acquire these young players from the Cubs’ crosstown rivals, the price doesn’t seem outrageous.
What do you all think?
10 comments:
Crochet and Robert, especially Crochet, would be great to get. Crochet looked like Steve Carlton II to me.
Morning
I want 2 new quality starters, 2/3 proven relievers, new contracts for Manaea and Alonso, and Santander
I believe Stearns will deliver the majority of this
Happy Veterans Day.
The deal is tempting, though both Crochet and Robert are coming off down years and we have to wonder if those years are aberrations or the start of a trend.
There were comments reportedly by Crochet during the trade deadline period in which he said that if traded to a contender he would refuse to pitch in the post-season unless the team agreed to certain demands.
Does anyone here remember what his comments were, and if they were confirmed? If true, they seem pretty over-the top for someone with so little ML experience.
Hear, hear for our veterans
These two along with signing Pete or Soto, Adames or Bregman, Manaea, and Severino... Too much to ask but it sounds good deal to me... In a serious note, this deal will blow the top level of our farm system but we have more coming within the next two years (I think)
This trade would fit the Mets like a glove. I don’t know what the White Sox ask is for such but what also fits is Crochet’s wanting to sign an extension ASAP due to his poor health history.
It is this worry for the future that made him ask for an extension last year if he were to pitch into the playoffs because he has pitched so little in his career due to all his maladies. That will keep his price down but the question is, do we ignore that injury history? Remember Zack Wheeler? Always hurt, always hurt… now, he’s Superman…
The White have said that they want position players and have plenty of pitching coming up. So, Acuna, Gilbert or Clifford, Baty, Parada, Ritter, and Houck or Ramirez….
Gus, as long as he passes a physical, I would do a Crochet deal. Instantly our # 1 starter.
I initially thought adding Luis Robert Jr. would be a great idea with spotty info that he was a good power hitter and a centerfielder. When I look closer, I am a hard no on this guy. In his best year of 2023, he hit 38 home runs and 36 doubles, mostly from the #3 hole in the order. His homers and doubles yielded just 80 RBI or 42 RBI that was not himself. That is one non-homer RBI every 4 games for the guy that was 12th on the MVP ballot. And he refuses to take a walk. In that same 2023 career year, he walked just 30 times and struck out 172. No thank you.
As for Crochet, his 2024 numbers look good, but he has just 2 decent years, three years apart, and one as a reliever and one as a starter. Mark Fidrych had one really good season as well. There are a lot of pitchers that showed one and done. I wouldn't have any issue with trading for him, but three top position player prospects is too much. I have heard things like Acuna, Gilbert,and Clifford in a package. Nope, not for a starting pitcher with injury history. Yeah, he may turn out to be Wheeler, but a Fidrych seems just as likely. Think Shane Bieber. Anybody glad we didn't trade for him at his height?
Post a Comment