Digging in the scrap heap hoping to find diamonds in the
rough has been the Mets modus operandi almost as long as I can remember. Sometimes it works – John Valentin, Julio
Franco, Fernando Tatis – but more often it results in the Aaron Altherr, Brooks
Pounders and Adrian Gonzalez types.
On Monday night Major League Baseball enforced its deadline
for teams to decide for whom they planned to tender contracts. The Mets chose to retain everyone arbitration
eligible and now use the time between now and February to negotiate or go to
the arbiter to decide how much each player in question should be paid.
Many teams cut loose some fairly prominent names, some of
whom could be of interest to the dumpster divers in Queens.
Kevin Gausman – The longtime starter has shown occasional
flashes of competency but is sub-Vargas for his career. I’m not interested.
Josh Phegley – One name I missed in my catcher search was
the cannon-armed Phegley who has been the backup in Oakland for the past 7
years. Last season he hit 12 HRs and 62 RBIs
in 362 ABs. He would be worth kicking
the tires to see if he could back up Ramos.
He last earned a hair over $1 million.
Kevin Pillar – As I’d already recommended, a guy who plays
plus defense in centerfield with 21 HRs and 82 RBIs and bats from the right
side is most definitely worth a look.
Addison Russell – After a 40-game domestic violence
suspension, Russell lost his job to less expensive alternatives. The Cubbies said as much in their press
announcement. He is an above average fielder
and in 2016 hit 21 HRs with 95 RBIs. He’s
never approached those numbers again.
Considering the log jam the Mets have with infielders, there’s nothing
to see here.
Domingo Santana – The big right-handed slugger was cut loose
by Seattle after hitting 75 HRs in parts of three seasons. His defense is awful, so unless the Mets plan
to include J.D. Davis in a trade, I don’t see that there’s any room at the inn.
Travis Shaw – Maybe he caught Kevin Maas disease. The lefty slugger had put together back-to-back
30 HR seasons playing 3B for the Brewers before last year’s embarrassing
performance that saw him demoted more than once. In 230 ABs he hit .157/7/16. I don’t see a role for him here.
Steven Souza, Jr. – He’s two seasons removed from a 30 HR
campaign for the Rays but didn’t do much in a part-time role for the
Diamondbacks, then missed all of last year due to knee surgery. Speed is not part of his game, so that doesn’t
worry me, but a righty slugging right fielder who grades out as an average
fielder doesn’t seem like a good fit though also would be worth a minor-league
invitation.
Blake Treinen – It’s somewhat understandable that the Oakland franchise wasn’t prepared to see Treinen earn about $8 million in arbitration after the horrendous season he had in 2019. However, the year before his ERA was an unbelievable 0.78 for the entire season and 2.13 the year before that after coming over as a mid-season acquisition. His go-to pitch is a devastating sinker which could be a nice weapon to have on a club with some gopher-ball prone relievers. He did have some back issues last year which could be partially why he fell apart, but could also depress his prices as a free agent.
Taijuan Walker – The former Brave and Diamondback has missed
most of 2019 and 2018 due to injury.
Before that he was viewed as a credible pitcher. At age 27 I’d see if he would bite on a minor
league invitation.
The Phillies parted ways with regular infielders Cesar
Hernandez (mostly over concerns of cost) and Maikel Franco (over
performance). I don’t see either one as
a fit here for the Mets.
Anyone interest you?
Remember, the Mets are not going after the Anthony Rendon or Gerrit Cole types.
5 comments:
Good shopping list - Phegley I am not familiar with, but sounds like a bona fide # 2. Pillar seems worthwhile, too.
Of course, the two wild cards are Lowrie and Cespedes, both of whom BVW has to know more about in terms of future prognosis than we do. That will be a big driver to any decision making.
I still chose Pillar first.
I would be all for for Pillar, Treinen and Phegley. I would also kick the tires on Alex Wood, Michael Wacha, Brett Gardner and Tijuan Walker.
I would go all in on Madison’s bUmgardner, Delin Betances, Joe Smith and DIDI Gregorius.
Nothing wrong with looking in the dumpster once in a while, right?
You mentioned Shaw and he is intriguing to me.....perhaps a minor league deal with an invite to ST? Especially if BVW is serious about dealing away Lowrie (combo move with prospect) or even Davis (hope not) in the pursuit of other needs. If one or both of them depart, a veteran like Shaw could be valuable.
I also like Treinen and Pillar for obvious reasons.
I would also bring in Pillar, Treinen and Phegley. Pillar fixes the CF issue, Treinen potentially adds another dominant arm to the BP and Phegley would be a better backup for Ramos.
That frees up Familia, Nido for trade as they would have been replaced. Not an easy task, but maybe the Mets can attach them like leeches while sacrificing a Smith type player.
I would make a trade like this because of the 40 man roster needing space for the above players.
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