Evaluating The Trade | Chris Soto- After getting a ton of flack about not making any moves during the Mets horrendous offensive stretch, Sandy Alderson proofed, once again, that patience wins out at the end of the day. The Mets traded RHP Robert Whalen and RHP Jon Gant to the Atlanta Braves for UT Kelly Johnson, 3B Juan Uribe, and $500k of salary coverage. From the prospects standpoint, neither Whalen, nor Gant, had a future with the Mets with the way the team is currently constructed. No SP spots are going to open up on this team until at least after the 2018 season. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how either of them can fit into the Braves future rotation plans. In exchange for them, the Mets pick up a strong bat off the bench in Johnson who has the ability to play multiple positions. Basically they acquired Ben Zobrist without the Ben Zobrist price tag. They also picked up a starting caliber 3B in Juan Uribe. Folks, this is the same Juan Uribe who at age 35 hit .311 AVG with a .777 OPS last season for the LA Dodgers. He may not bring much in terms of power, but the old guy can still hit. This is another solid SOLID trade for the Alderson regime and from the sounds of it....they aren't done yet.
Ernie Palladino | CBS New York- Terry Collins was never a buffoon of a manager. He just lacked options. Sandy Alderson gave him some with the trade for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson.
Now, for really the first time this year, the front office can get a clear picture of whether Collins is the guy to lead the Mets beyond 2015. That’s a future issue, of course. The immediate business involves staying on the NL East-leading Nationals’ tail, a position that seems nothing short of miraculous considering the horrendous way the Mets started the second half of the schedule. Regardless of their offensive explosion Saturday and an extra-innings win Sunday, it remains quite amazing that they have hung off Washington’s shoulder during a 4-6 stagger out of the All-Star break.
(Chris Soto: Well, I wouldn't say he's a buffoon....but TC is still not that great of a manager. Irregardless though, the Mets struggles over the past month certainly weren't his fault. Palladino is right, he had nothing to work with. While Uribe and Johnson certainly aren't guys who can push this team into a playoff race, it's a step in the right direction and it's a step that is already paying dividends.)
Bob Klapisch | Newsday- Clearly, the Mets are in a run-scoring crisis. It’s a certainty Michael Cuddyer will be placed on the disabled list as early as today. Michael Conforto, the franchise’s best hitting prospect, will be summoned from Class AA. It’s the logical move and it’ll placate the ticket buyers who are teetering toward open rebellion. But the timing of Conforto’s promotion speaks to upper management’s clumsiness and lack of vision. Conforto is being sent to war against Kershaw? Against Greinke? In his major league debut? Collins can’t possibly sacrifice a rookie like that. No kid, regardless of his genetic blessings, is ready for such a buzz saw. The smarter move would’ve been to put Cuddyer on the DL on Monday and let Conforto debut against the Nationals’ Joe Ross, himself a rookie, and Jordan
(Chris Soto: Wow...I did not think about this at all. When you look at the timing of Conforto's currently unreported promotion, this is a suicide job by them. Sandy Alderson is quickly losing the support of the "sensible" fan base due to his lack of inactivity amidst
the team's overall poor play. With such a dominate pitching staff, there is clearly a window of opportunity for the Mets to break through and become successful. Even a league average offense, could result in almost 7 additional wins than what the Mets have gotten so far this season.)
Kevin Alonzo | Bleacher Report- Far too often this season, dazzling performances from New York Mets starting pitchers have gone to waste due to the team's incompetence with a bat in their hands. Aware of the team's deficiencies offensively, general manager Sandy Alderson has initiated his attempt to overhaul the lineup. On Friday, he called up 2014 first-round pick Michael Conforto from Double-A. Later that day, Alderson acquired Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson from the Atlanta Braves for two lower-level minor league pitchers, John Gant and Rob Whalen. This is a low-cost move that immediately makes the Mets better. Nobody is suggesting these three players alone will carry New York's offense—the Mets scored just three runs again on Sunday—but there's no doubt the team is improved from last Thursday.
(Chris Soto: Exactly...don't look at these moves as the one that will get the Mets to the playoffs ....cause that's just not the case. This trade was foundation supporter, something that Alderson can build on but still improve the team incrementally by upgrading the Bench. This kind of move bumps the offense from 29th overall to maybe 24th overall, now Alderson needs to find the piece that pushes it up to 15th or better within the next 5 days.)
Joe D. | Metsmerized Online- Beat reporter Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, continues to hear that the Mets continue to look at Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce and that they are scouting him heavily. Having already shipped off Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals, the Reds have made it known that they are looking to unload their big salaried players as they look to save as much money as they can. In addition to Jay Bruce, the Mets have been linked to Troy Tulowitzki, Yoenis Cespedes, Gerardo Parra, Ben Zobrist, Tyler Clippard, and Justin Upton.
(Chris Soto: Now that Johnson and Uribe have been acquired, you can probably cross Zobrist and Parra off the list. The club is probably now interested in acquiring "the big one," someone who can seriously improve the team's offense to the point where once Wright and d'Arnaud come back...it suddenly becomes a much more feared group. Reports indicated that Justin Upton talks were quite heavy over the weekend but the two teams couldn't agree on a deal, I would think that the clubs will revisit soon. In addition it was reported that the Mets have been seeking out Tulowitzki, but the Rockies don't seem too inclined to move him. Again we may see the two clubs revisit this during the week.)
