Mack Stuff – Justin Upton, Jason Botts, Edwin Jackson, Carl Pavano

NYP - Alderson needs to try to acquire Upton. Go for another game changer. The Mets have made fascinating strides lately. They need to make another big push to reach higher ground in the NL East.

-          I have a lot of respect for Kevin Kiernan but I don’t think he thought this one out. Trading for a star like Upton takes more than absorbing his contract ($9.75 million in 2013, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 million in 2015). Frankly, the “new” Mets can afford that. They have enough left in 2013 and 2014 and beyond is wide open.

Your “future” nucleus includes David Wright, Travis d’Arnaud, Zack Wheeler, and Matt Harvey. For me, everyone else is still on the table.

A player of this caliber is going to have to produce two players as well as taking on 100% of the salary. The Mets don’t have the kind of player depth to pull this off unless Arizona needs to fill a void. So far this off-season, they hav  strengthened the team's bullpen, added an upper-tier starting pitcher, solidified the bench and, improved at shortstop. They don’t need a second or first baseman, so Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, and Ruben Tejada isn’t an option.

I don’t see how you pull this off.

I’m going to keep bringing this name up…  OF Jason Botts hit a 2-run home run for Los Mochis in the Mexican Pacific League. Botts is now up to .328… this was his 15^th home run this off-season in 204-AB… he also hit .336 last season in the Mexican League. He’s a switch hitter. He’s an ex-Met. He’s 32-years old. And, he’s without a team.

Cubs sign RHP Edwin Jackson to 4-year, $52 million deal

                                

                                He was the top pitcher still out there in the free agent market and nowhere near the level that the Mets might be looking to add an SP5. It’s simply amazing what you have to pay fifty million dollars for these days. A career 4.40 ERA, a 6.9 career K/9, and traded six times in his first nine professional years.

Ken Davidoff‏ - @KenDavidoff -  The #Mets have reached out to the reps of free agents LHP Francisco Liriano and RHP Carl Pavano

                -We talked about Liriano a few posts ago. Pavano is an alternative. He started 11 games for Minnesota last year (2-5, 6.00), throwing 63.0 innings. His best years are far behind him, including 2010 (Minny – 17-11, 3.75). Still, he’s a control pitcher that’s been around (37-yrs. old) and could hold the fort down until Zack Wheeler is ready. Just finished a 2-year, $16.5mil contract he doesn’t stand a chance of getting near. He probably would be available for around $3mil for one year.

Baseball: Edwin Jackson, Jeff Francis, Jose Valverde, Emilio Bonifacio

Edwin Jackson, SP. He reportedly has two three-year offers, and the Red Sox, who are in on many players, are there with a bid, as well. Has remarkable record of durability for a young (still only 28) pitcher, but one bad early year in Tampa skews his career stats. A clubhouse plus who always answers the bell, but hurt himself with an uneven postseason. One of three active pitchers 28 or younger with less than a 4.50 ERA, at least 199 innings and more than 140 strikeouts in each of the last three seasons. The other three are Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Felix Hernandez. http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/33714192/34639146

Jeff Francis – SP – signed with Reds - In an offseason where Jason Marquis nets a somewhat lucrative one-year deal, it’s simply stunning to me that Francis, who for all his faults was a 2.6-win pitcher last season, had to settle for a minor league deal. Sure, there’s more red flags than a Chinese embassy here, but projection-wise you have to believe Francis has matured greatly as a pitcher to be a nearly 3-win hurler despite an 84.7 mph average heater. Can you even call that a heater? Maybe it’s a warmer. Joking aside, Francis hasn’t landed in an ideal place with the Great American Ballpark (120-133 home run park factors via StatCorner), but if he gains velocity back in his ongoing rehabilitation efforts, as a lefty he could carve out a nice, long career in the back of a number of rotations. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/notable-recent-minor-league-pacts/

Jose Valverde may be affected more than the rest of the group. Converting 49 saves in as many opportunities will have Valverde’s draft value at an all-time high, with Mock Draft Central drafts currently averaging Valverde as the seventh reliever taken. If Cabrera is being drafted due to his likely third and first base eligibility, it is being assumed that he actually will appear at third base at least semi-regularly. While he only needs a bit more than a handful of games to qualify at third, Leyland’s comments give confidence in constructing drafts around the thought that Cabrera will play third base often. This means other players should be drafted under that same assumption, such as Valverde. There is at least some risk that Cabrera is the Tiger’s third baseman, which adds additional risk to Tiger pitchers. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/downgrade-valverde/

T.S. Eliot evidently was not a baseball fan, and even if he had been, he likely wouldn't have played fantasy. But if he had, and he ceased writing long enough to construct a time machine, and it worked, and he travelled to 2012, and his travel through time didn't thereby create the prototypical parallel universe which nullified the entire process, he would be just as high as me this year on Emilio Bonifacio! Yes, Eliot fans, Emilio Bonifacio is the secret to your 2012 fantasy baseball success. Or, he was. Or, he will be unless you play in leagues that include managers influenced by RotoAuthority.com, which, is, like, every league, so you're screwed. Go skittishly "like" the picture that girl you've been stalking for the past year just posted to her Wall. But, but, BUT, if, somehow, not everyone is heavily influenced by my opinion of Emilio! Bonifacio!, draft him. And draft him late! Why, you ask, insubordinately? Prepare to be bullet-pointed: http://www.rotoauthority.com/