1/27/13

'The War Room'


Some questions to ponder... 

1. What do the Mets do this year with Jenrry Mejia? Start him in Las Vegas. Relief in Queens?

2.  You've signed Shaun Marcum for $4m/$4+ more in incentives and what if he's 8-2 at the all-star break... do you re-negotiate and sign him for a couple of more years or do you deal him off to a 2013 pennant contender the way you would with Santana and Buck?

3. Or, feel free to talk about anything... I'm sitting this one out.




17 comments:

Charles said...

Hope your feeling okay Mack....

1). I put Mejia in the Vegas rotation. This guy has pitched lights out at every stop in the minors when he was starting. It was until he was put in the bullpen that he didn't have top prospect numbers. That tells me his heart isn't in it. Let him prove himself. He obviously believes he can do it.

2). Well, it all comes down to the offer, doesn't it? What if the Dodgers offer Zach Lee? Or Boston offers Bradley Jr? I'm not letting Marcum stand in the way of youth, come 2014,2015...he probably won't be needed.

Swimmer000 said...

I feel Mejoa can be an effective starter but he always encounters obstacles. He always strings together a nice stretch of starts when left alone, allow him to start in AAA and put together some success and lets see what happens. If he can learn to pitch to contact and avoid the strikeout and ease up on his effort. I always felt that having him pitch with Krod was the worst idea. He actually changed his motion and threw falling off to the left side of the mound just like krod. It worked for krod, not mejia.

The mets need to build for the future. If Shaun Marcum and/or Sanatana are pitching well, try to get some outfielders in the system or a stud 2nd baseman. Even if the player is in low A, do it anyway. Get a deal done and let the player help us for the long term.

I see people saying that Gee is an injury risk, he has mainly been a very healthy pitcher for us besides the clot and the shoulder issues a few years ago,, I am fully confident he will come back and not skip a beat.

Michi L. said...

Charles I had the same thought about Jennry. I think its a mental think that his numbers out of the pen arent that great. I don´t know but for me it looks like he badly prefers a starting role! And I think he derseves a real chance. Guess he starts in the Vegas rotation.

jonah said...

1 - Mejia in Las Vegas. And Familia too (but that was not the question, I know)

2 - Trading Marcum depends on the return. As I understand it, Sandy asked for a top prospect for Hairson last season. So I expect the same will happen when there will be talks about Marcum, Buck, Santana, Fransisco, Feliciano.
I wont resign him for a couple of more years IF Mejia, Familia and McHugh are doing very well in Las Vegas.

Michi L. said...

Wasn't Lawrie traded for Marcum?

Reese Kaplan said...

Mejia should be a starter and stay in that role to see if he either has a future in Queens or can be used to fill another hole. If he can live up to his potential then I can see he and Wheeler supplanting Gee and Marcum (though you will have to deal with the Santana role once his contract ends.)

Charles said...

Marcum has a good track record. Now, my first hope is that somehow this team plays well enough that they make it impossible for Alderson to trade them. However, that don't look like it'll happen and Sandy will have options come July.

Marcum alone won't get them a top prospect. But what happens if Buck puts up 10 homers by July and is batting ,260? Suddenly a nice little trade could happen involving the two, who together don't make all that much and the Mets could easily eat some cash to get a nice player.

I'm hoping that Reece Havens has a resurgence and starts playing the way he's capable in the Vegas air. He could very well make Murphy and his .300 avg and 40 doubles expendable as well. Imagine the prospect they get back trading Murphy and one if the starters at the deadline.

I'm sorry, but I'm looking at the 2013 season as if its just a much longer off season for Sandy to make the 2014 team that much better. If a wild card like Havens can make Murphy expendable, his trade will only help this team next season by getting it that much more cheaper. Which is a nesessary evil for this big market team that's forced to play like it resides in Kansas City.

There have been numerous players that have all the talent but tool a long time to get it all together. Nelson Cruz and Jose Bautista come to mind and both were property of the Mets at some point. Maybe Reece is another one. Maybe his body has finally matured enough that it won't break down and maybe Vegas is the perfect place for him to get his confidence back.

I also am hoping they leave Familia in the rotation in Vegas. His upside is a great asset if he can get his command better. If he also puts it together, imagine having yet another power right hander to step into the rotation in July along with Wheeler. Now Gee becomes expendable and if he's pitching the way he's capable, the Mets might not have to worry about free agents at all next off season.

The Closer said...

I'd like to see a rotation in Las Vegas of Wheeler, Mejia, Familia, McHugh & Schwinden/Owen. Let them continue to be starting pitchers until they can't. They have much more value as starting pitchers for both us and as trade bait. That's a pretty strong 5 man rotation at AAA, Not quite St. Lucie rotation, but we'll take it.

Not quite sure about Marcum. I think I'll have to see what he's like before we make any long term decisions. If he turns out to be like RA Dickey and a fan favorite, well then that will be a good thing, but if he can't handle NY, then let him lose for a couple kids.

Charles said...

Yes, that Vegas rotation isn't bad at all. I wonder if they'll put Gorski in there instead of Schwinden/Owen. I doubt it, but since they're planning on watching him in the spring, you never know. Gorski is intriguing, he might just do good enough starting in AA the first half that he ends up a possibility down the line as a legit starting option for then since he's a big lefty with a great change up. That combo had done extremely well in the bigs.

The Mets really do have a ton of good to great arms starting in their minors. Then when you look at their minor league bullpen arms, you realize just how much depth they really have.

Herb G said...

It seems we're all in agreement that young Jenrry belongs in the Vegas rotation. If he's a pleasant surprise, he could join Wheeler at Citifield in mid-summer. Familia, however, is another thing altogether. I'm thinking that, unless we acquire a couple of sound bull pen arms in the next few weeks, Jeuris is bound for the bull pen in Queens to start the season.


I like Marcum a lot. I think he had middle-of-the-rotation ability. Despite being a soft tosser, he is not that easy to hit, and his fly ball tendencies should work well at Citifield. My own inclination would be to extend him if he is sound physically. His elbow issues last year, although not serious enough for TJ surgery, are a cause for cooncern. The bottom line, though, is that the FO will ultimately decide. No one knows Marcum better than J.P. Ricciardi, who signed him out of college in 2003, and oversaw almost his entire career with the Blue Jays organization.

If the Mets are out of it in July, I see Santana as the most likely to go. Although they could deal Marcum along with Johan at the deadline, I don't think it's too likely. Also, I don't see Buck going in July, unless one of the second tier catchers (Recker, Powell, Centeno, Pena) flourishes in the first half. I regard that as highly unlikely, although Centeno could push his way into contention for the back-up backstop role.

Charles, I've been a big Reese Havens booster for a few years, but I think the bloom is off the rose. He just doesn't seem to have what it takes to stay healthy, and then last year, when he did remain reasonably healthy, he has a putrid season. At this poing, I am hoping that Flores can demonstrate that he can handle 2B at least as well as Murphy, making Murph expendable in a trade. Murphy could bring a decent return from an AL team in need af a bat.

Herb G said...

I wish we could edit our comments after we see our typos. LOL

Michi L. said...

Strangely Im relatively optimistic about Havens and I think he will bounce back!!

To me it seems that Alderson and co are very high on Murphy so anywise I doubt they ntrade him..but of course they have to net a toolsy outfielder

TP said...

Yes, Mejia to starting rotation in Veags and I am hopeful on Havenns as well.

Charles said...

If he's going to bounce back anywhere, Vegas is the place.

Herb G said...

Interesting article on Havens in today's Mets360 blog:

http://mets360.com/?p=14454&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29

I'm not giving up on Havens, but I am no longer as optimistic about him being our 2B of the future. If he has a monster first half in Vegas, he could get a call-up by the Mets. He'd probably be a defensive upgrade over Murphy.

Unknown said...

1. I keep Mejia in AAA. He needs development time since he lost some time due to Tommy John. He is still young and could use the work, even if he ends up in the pen.

2. I trade Marcum at the deadline if he has those numbers or anything close to it. He is an injury history and if the Mets have anything, its strong young pitching. I would be hesitant to give Marcum a long term deal no matter how good he looks and if he can net them another future piece, then they have to trade him.

Michael S. said...

I agree Charles....I'm looking forward to some competitive baseball that eventually falls short of he playoffs. After that I'm interested to see what players can be had for Marcum, Buck, Murphy, etc. The Mets could be well-positioned going into the offseason.