Daniel Barnaby to me –
Hi
all, I thought I’d pose a question about Chris Owings. He’s a solid minor league SS that looks ready
to play at the big league level full time.
Metsblog speculated that it would take Plawecki and Montero to get a
deal done. It’s certainly a steep price
but might it be worth it? I’d try to
counter by swapping DeGrom out for Montero or perhaps 2 lesser but still solid
prospects for Plawecki. Either way, you
need to give something to get something, is Owings worth it? Also what do you
view as Owings ceiling and floor?
Cheers, Dan B
Mack – Hey Daniel, good to hear from you.
We’ve
talked about a bunch of potential shortstops for the Mets this off-season and,
in my opinion, Owings is one of the more talented that might be available.
First of
all, and most important, he’s a true shortstop and not some second baseman
trying to play the other position. He was the 41st pick overall in
the 2009 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, right out of Gilbert (SC) HS. He’s
played 460 minor league games as well as 20 in the majors, and his combined
batting average for both is exactly the same, .291. He made his way to Arizona
in 2013 after being named both MVP and Rookie of the Year for the Pacific Coast
League.
BP said
on 9-4-13:
Owings is a good bet to
stick at shortstop long term as he displays the necessary chops to make it work
on the left side. He has very good instincts and first-step quickness, allowing
him to get good jumps on balls to both sides. He charges and throws well on the
run. Owings’ hands are sound and he has the plus arm necessary to make all the
throws from shortstop. With polish at the highest level, Owings could be an
above-average defender overall.
I don’t
remember anyone ever writing something like this about Ruben Tejada.
I know we
all want to put an end to this shortstop madness, but we can’t trade off any of
the five potential starting pitchers that could make the 2015-2018 rotation one
of the tops in the league.
Rafael
Montero has to remain
untradeable… period.
Now, what
you can do is to start building a trade package around what the Diamondbacks
need… a catcher and a young pitcher.
We can
debate this all month, but no team is going to trade one of their top chips for
damaged goods. Travis d’Arnaud has to play an entire season without an injury… and hit around
20-HRs and .275+… before anyone is going to take him serious. This leaves us one
catcher to offer… Kevin Plawecki.
Moving on
to ‘young pitching’, we know that Thor and Montero are the top two prospects…
and both will not be traded. Your next pitching prospect is not Jake deGrom… it’s Steven Matz. And, if you want a
quality shorttop, you’re going to have to give more than you give right now.
Plawecki
and Matz for Owings… that gets the deal done.
17 comments:
Why would D'backs give him up? Do they value him higher than the other SS named Didi something ? You have to give I get I understand but until I see something real from Travis A I ain't dealing Plawecki. Hope Sandy is smart enough to think the same.
Mack Ade · Works at Mack's Mets
Sugar - if you don't deal a catcher to Arizona, you can stop sending scouts to track both Owings and Didi... Arizona will NOT trade you either one of them unless a catcher is part of the deal
(God, I hate this blog doesn't work right anymore...)
I would gladly hand Plawecki over for a Ownings but Matz is a bit much.
I'd be ok with Plawecki + DeGrom
I agree as well and think that is fair enough from both sides.
Since Collins obviously has no desire to insert Mejia into the mix of young pitchers, would they bite at Plawecki/Mejia? The only reason I consider him a step down from Montero is health, but I think long term he might even be better if he can stay on the field.
Chris -
I understand and I wouldn't trade Matz either, but I'm just telling you what it will take to get Owings.
Reese -
Mejia, like d'Arnaud, is considered 'damaged goods' in the trade market. He needs to pitch an entire season uninjured to get off that list
plawecki OK to trade (d'Arnaud hitting starting to make me nervous, though). Not Matz - Niese gets hurt and we have no real lefty starters. Do DeGrom and perhaps one of the HS kids from last draft who pitched in Gulf Coast League. No Montero.
Of course Mejia won't get off that list since Collins has no use for him. Another self fulfilling prophecy courtesy of your field general.
Personally I think it's a non-starter regarding Owings. I don't see Arizona trading him, Didi is probably the odd man out there. Also, I wouldn't be so quick to trade Plawecki just yet either.
Josh Drennen · Los Angeles, California
I think it's a fair trade (Drew) but I shudder to think what happens when (Drew) Travis d'Arnaud turns out to be the modern (DREw) version of Cliff "call me glass" Floyd and (DREW) Plawecki is over in the desert raking doubles and showing solid (DREW!) though not spectacular defense (DREW, DREW) and we sit lacking lefties in our sp5s. If we are going to trade, I would prefer to do so (DREW!!!!) exclusively from our deep pool of Righty starters. I just wish there was another solution out there. (Just thought I'd beat the dead horse flat with you Mack) Sign Drew already. Proven major leaguer. Expensive? Yes. Do I care? NOOOOOO. Get it done for two or three years. There isn't a better solution period.
D Whit -
past Drew, you have to trade talent for talent and you can't force a team to take what you want to offer
if you want their best SS, you better be serving up prime beef
Although they contend that there is a competition for SS over in Phoenix, I believe D Witt finally stated the obvious, that Owings, like Brad Miller from Seattle, is a non starter. Didi (it's Gregorius, Sugar) and Franklin are the trade candidates. I'm in the Franklin camp here. If Keith Law says he can handle SS, I'm willing to listen.
On the off chance that Arizona offers up Owings in order to get the catcher they want, I'd very reluctantly give up Plawecki and deGrom. Personally, I think Centeno is a very under-valued player, but he probably is no better than a competent back up C at the major league level. But wait, that is what Arizona wants, a back-up for Miggy. The only obstacle there is that they both bat lefty, and the D-Backs might want a righty hitting C to spell Montero. But if they'd take him, I'd gladly give Centeno, Fulmer and Cessa (or another lower level prospect)
Wow... Keith Law... I can sleep now.
"I'd gladly give Centeno, Fulmer and Cessa"...
Herb, I'm not trying to piss you off, but do you understand how a trade works when you are the team that NEEDS a front line player?
You have no say here, especially trying to reduce this to sending secondary ptospects for a lifetime .290 all-star MVP minor league prospect.
Look, Drew is the best out there... Owings is next. You can talk Franlin all day but he's not a shortstop.
And THEY get to pick the cherry, not you. Your cherry was already the SS.
They need a catcher and you honestly think you can build a trade around Centeno? Really?
Mack -
You don't piss me off. I am surprised that you say that because you're the team that NEEDS a "front line" player, you have no say in the matter. You always have a say in the matter, even if it to say no to what you think is an unreasonable demand. And you always have a right to make a counter offer. You seem to think that because Owings has a career milb line of .291/.320/.441/.761 he is some kind of a god, or at least so great that we have to bow down and givve the D-Backs whatever they ask for him. And I wasn't "building a package around Centeno", I was merely including him in a "first offer package".
Chris Soto suggested Plawecki and deGrom. Plawecki is not major league ready, and the D-Backs are looking for a back-up to Miggy now, or possibly only a year away. As I said, I think Centeno is under-rated and could make a decent MLB back-up. Fulmer is ranked as our #13 prospect, 6 places ahead of deGrom. IMO, Cessa is a throw in, but a legit prospect with a sub 3.00 ERA, a 1.145 WHIP and great control, in the Montero mold.
BTW, you did see that before I went to the Centeno-Fulmer-Cessa toe in the water, I did say that I would ultimately give them Plawecki (reluctantly) and deGrom, if that is what it took.
Let's move on...
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