Michael Scannell - Quick Hits

- Kudos to Mack for running his recurring John Buck posts, analyzing what teams would have a use for him and what the Mets could be asking for in return.  It's good to take stock of teams that the Mets could find common ground for a deal.  I agree with the idea of trading Buck and not holding onto him.  He has been valuable to the 2013 Mets, but they are not going anywhere.  The organization should treat him as 'found money' or 'lightning in a bottle' as they did with RA Dickey and sell high on him.  Where I differ from Mack is that I would not necessarily target an OF in a trade for Buck, I would target the best possible prospect(s) that the Mets could get in return.  As much as the team needs an new OF, I think the best strategy is to increase the supply of prospects in order to meet the trade demands for another team at some point.  Trading for an OF for the sake of acquiring an OF might not be the best strategy.

- So, Zack Wheeler has strung together two very good starts after making his mechanical 'adjustment'.  We'll see where he goes from here, but the last two games have brought a bit of relief to those worried about him.  If he keeps this up, he'll be in NYC in June.  It'll be exciting to see the team with a chance to win 3 of 5 games every time out.

- After Justin Upton's torrid start to the season, many are questioning whether or not the Mets should have dealt Wheeler for him.  No matter what happens, I think Alderson made the right call.  The Braves  payed a price lower than Wheeler, why should the sticker be lower for one team and more for the Mets?  Wheeler is someone you hold onto and see how he develops, taking on that risk.  I'll never fault Alderson for not making that deal.  I assume he tried to be creative and make a comparable offer to what Arizona got from Atlanta and that would be the most reasonable path to take.  I'm glad Sandy didn't allow the Mets to bid against themselves.

- More talk last week about the Mets 'monitoring' the Stanton and CarGo situations in Miami and Colorado respectively.  Also, reports have the Mets feeling that CarGo is the more realistic option because as of right now, the Mets have talent that interests Colorado but not so much interests Miami.  This leads me to believe that the price for Carlos does not have to include Wheeler or d'Arnaud as that is what it would take for Miami to consider moving Giancarlo to NY.  Given that, I wonder what talent it is that interests the Rockies.  If have to wonder if one of the players is Ike Davis or Lucas Duda as the Rockies currently do not have a 1B to replace Todd Helton.  If the Rockies feel the Mets can match up with them on a trade, I hope Alderson shifts the conversation to Tulowitzki. Last winter, for the first time we heard trade rumors around Tulowitzki.  First, the Cardinals showed interest in trading for him - (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/26/cardinals-took-the-rockies-temperature-about-trading-troy-tulowitzki/) - and I doubt that an organization run as well as St. Louis would even ask if there was no chance of a deal.  Secondly, Tulowitzki himself said he felt as though he'd likely be dealt.  I have little interest in Gonzalez given his hone/road splits, however if the Rockies like some of the Mets' players and they're willing to move Tulo and his contract, I hope the Mets make the attempt to acquire him.

- It's great to see Jeurys Familia's transition to the majors and his settling into a bullpen role as the 8th inning guy.  If Edgin can come back (I believe he can), that's 3 arms that can provide the foundation for the lockdown bullpen that the Mets sorely need.  Add in one other arm from the system (my money is on Mazzoni at this point) and the BP is set.  The last 2 spots will likely be filled with free agent relievers on a year-to-year basis.

- Getting back to Mack's posts about trading Buck, I noticed he included an evaluation of the Phillies.  Chooch is back now and I don't know that they'll need a catcher.  But, if they do, here's hoping that they turn things around and Amaro gets desperate to extend the window of the Halladay/Lee/Utley/Howard group, making a knee-jerk trade to go for it all in 2013.  I'd love to see the Mets squeeze Jesse Biddle out of them.  That would complete the Next Mets rotation and provide even more flexibility in trades.  With Harvey/Biddle/Wheeler/Niese/Syndergaard in the rotation and Parnell/Familia/Edgin/Mazzoni in the bullpen, every single other arm in the Mets' system would become trade bait and open a lot of doors for them to acquire the OF'ers they so desperately need.

- I'm beginning to wonder more and more what Lucas Duda's trade value would be if he stays consistent for the rest of the season.  If the team didn't have so many holes, I would never trade Duda, I'd move Ike and put Duda at 1B.  Alas, the Mets need a number of position players and Duda might just become one of their most valuable trade chips.  I'd have to think that a number of teams would be happy to have a 27-28 year-old LH slugger with 35 HR power and a .400+ OBP.  The Mets might be able to command two valuable young players for him if he keeps this up.