Let's face it since they let Jose Reyes walk following the 2011 season the Mets SS situation has deteriorated badly. The man entrusted to succeed Jose looks like a washout. This offseason they've been linked to Stephen Drew, Jhony Peralta, and just about any SS standing on two legs. Despite this dire situation the Mets should tread very carefully with the likes of Didi Gregorious and Nick Franklin.
Let's look at Franklin first. They don’t need Nick Franklin. They already have Wilmer
Flores. If the Mets go with a defensively-challenged, potentially strong bat option at SS, I’d rather
they keep their prospects and give Flores a shot. Franklin, is a 2B trying to
wear a shortstop disguise. He lacks the range and arm to be an everyday major
league SS. Wilmer lacks range too but has a stronger arm than Franklin.
Defensively, even with his mental lapses, there’s no comparison between Tejada
and Franklin.
In Arizona, Didi Gregorious and Chris Owings are battling it
out for SS supremacy. Owings is the better hitter while Gregorious is superior
with his glove. In the early going it appears that Owings has leg up on his
competition, leaving Didi as the odd-man out for the D’backs. According the
Daily News’ John Harper Arizona GM Kevin
Towers wants both Plawecki and Montero in a trade for either.
Didi Gregorious for Kevin Plawecki and Rafael Montero? No
thanks. Plawecki could either a)net you a lot more in the offseason with a
strong 2014 or b)if d’Araund flops or suffers an injury-plagued year he leapfrogs
Travis, becoming your future behind the plate. As for trading Montero? It would
be counter-intuitive to what the Mets want to build around-a strong and deep
rotation. No matter how dominant your rotation can look at on paper you can
never have enough pitching. Don’t believe me. Ask the Braves-Medlen is headed for
his 2nd TJS, Beachy has bicep tendonitis, while Minor’s experiencing shoulder
discomfort-so much for having one baseball’s top rotations. Signing Ervin
Santana will help, but at the expense of their first pick in the draft. With so
much riding on the future of the Mets starting rotation and the likelihood of
pitching injuries under no circumstances should the Mets trade Montero. I certainly wouldn’t do it for Didi and not Owings
either, though of the two, I view him, by far, as the stronger player.
The Mets can’t panic and only marginally fix one hole while
potentially creating two more holes down the road.
I say that if Ruben doesn’t turn it around down in Florida
then you go with Flores as your starting SS with Q as his late inning
replacement. Let Tejada try to find himself in Vegas. I’d also try to keep
working something out with Drew. But IMHO the Mets should not mortgage pieces of the future on Didi
Gregorious or Nick Franklin.
What do you think? Would you trade for either of these
players? Would you trade Montero and Plawecki for Gregorious? Do you think Franklin is a better SS option than Flores?
5 comments:
I'd only give up significant prospects for Owings. Franklin is very iffy to stick at SS and we can't afford to have a SS that's below average, D up the middle is very important to a club that's number 1 strength is pitching. Gregorious's bat does not inspire me. He looks like an all D player for the most part.
For me it's either Owings or sign Drew. I would consider trading for Franklin if that only impact player is DeGrom and lesser prospects because if he doesn't hack it at short it would give us the option of playing him at second and trading Murph if it made sense (though I am a big Murphy fan) just trying to think outside the box.
Well written article. Mack wrote about this earlier and it seems to always come back to signing Drew. Hopefully this hasn't developed into some kind of peeing contest between Sandy and Boras. I don't get why you would sign him to just 1 year unless the Mets are going to make the qualifying offer and be prepared if Drew signs it. Offer a 2 year deal with a vesting 3rd and be done with it. Spring training might be overrated but players need some time to get up to speed. There is now less than 3 weeks to opening day. Sandy needs to get the deal done.
I agree with you, Danny B
Owings is my number one choice, too. Frankly you have to give to get. I counted 8-9 starting pitchers for 2014. I think you can afford to trade one in a deal for a long term solution at SS. The question might be which one. If it was Montero for Owings straight up I'd do the deal in a heartbeat. If it was Owings for Plawecki I'd also do the deal. If it was Montero plus Centeno, I'd strongly consider it. I would not do Plawecki and Montero, however.
Franklin is better at short than you give him credit for--certainly better than Wilmer, according to all reports. Wilmer is, essentially, a DH. How many DH/SS have you seen? Better to put Wilmer on first. Franklin is competent at short, just as Murphy is competent at second. The question is are you happy with two middle infielders who are just competent? The second question is what'll it cost you? Everybody wants Montero right now, but that's just an opening bid--a stance, a bluff. Nobody thinks the Mets would actually trade him. So you look at what they need. Arizona needs a catcher. Seattle needs a center fielder. So its Lagares for Franklin or Plawecki (or d'Arnaud) for Didi or Owings--a lesser pitcher tossed into each deal (not Montero or even DeGrom; maybe Fulmer or Lara). Do either of those grab you? Drew? He's old and he's never been much more than mediocre. The rest of the league laughs at the Mets fans for even talking about him. I don't want Drew; that's money into a black hole--zero return on the dollar. Or how bout going with Tejada to start the season? We're not winning anything this year anyway. Wait out the market. Maybe you can get a real shortstop mid-season for a basement price. If not, there are some real good shortstops on the free agent market this coming year. If you could only have one, who would you rather have? Drew in 2014 and 2015 or JJ Hardy for 2015-19? I know a lot of people think the Mets are too cheap to spend what's needed, but I honestly didn't see much this off-season that was worth spending for. JJ Hardy would be worth spending for and my guess is that the Mets would. I'm willing to live with Tejada for 2014 if necessary. Or, and I know it was said in jest, go north with Luis Guillorme at short. His glove's ready.
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