Filling Out The Ranks From Here

25-Man Roster

Lineup: 8
1. Coco Crisp, CF (S)
2. Daniel Murphy, 2B (L)
3. David Wright, 3B (R)
4. Ike Davis, 1B (L)
5. Jason Bay, LF (R)
6. Lucas Duda, RF (L)
7. Josh Thole, C (L)
8. Ruben Tejada, SS (R)

Bench: 5
C: Mike Nickeas, C (R) [Ivan Rodriguez, C (R)]
IF: Justin Turner, 2B/SS/3B (R)
IF: Josh Satin, 2B/3B/1B (R)
OF: Andres Torres, OF (S)
OF: Fernando Martinez, LF/RF (L)

Rotation: 5
1. Johan Santana, SP (L)
2. Jon Niese, SP (L) [Javier Vazquez, SP (R)]
3. R.A. Dickey, SP (R)
4. Mike Pelfrey, SP (R)
5. Dillon Gee, SP (R) [Chris Young, SP (R)]

Bullpen: 7
CL: Frank Francisco, RP (R)
SU: John Rauch, RP (R)
SU: Ramon Ramirez, RP (R)
MR: Bobby Parnell, RP (R)
MR: Pedro Beato, RP (R) / Daniel Herrera, RP (L)
LOOGY: Tim Byrdak, RP (L)
LR: D.J. Carrasco / Manny Acosta, RP (R)

If I'm looking at this correctly... the Mets would only "NEED" a leadoff hitter who can play CF. The thing to remember is, there are differences between completing a roster and filling out the team. FRANKLY... part of filling out the team SHOULD be trimming some of the bullpen because A) We need another lefty in there and B) We need D.J. Carrasco out. It also wouldn't hurt to have a better righty option for backup catcher and perhaps a starter in the event we move Pelfrey or Niese.

Center Field:
There are actually a couple of pretty solid names in free agency to fill the Met need for an everyday CF and leadoff hitter. While if it were 100% up to me... I'd be going after 26 year old Cuban defector Yeonis Cespedes, I think there are two fairly realistic options.

Coco Crisp (32) - Coco is coming off a pair of productive years in Oakland where he's produced good speed numbers and reasonably good On-Base numbers. He made $5.75 Mil in 2011 and should be earning somewhere in that ballpark in 2012. I think the Mets could handle that, though they'd want to control his years to keep him down to 1-2 at the most.

Corey Patterson (32) - Corey will cost around $1 Mil and would probably sign a 1-year deal. I have WAY more faith in Coco Crisp being a solid everyday contributor, but if we are looking for an affordable stop-gap... he's our man. To top that off, Corey's numbers in 2010 are strikingly similar to Coco's and that could translate into Corey being a relative bargain.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis (25) - Captain Kirk is a solid option to replace Pagan as the everyday CF... for now. He's gritty, has improved steadily through the minors and has a mix of power and speed. The questions remain as to whether there is enough range to stick in CF. He makes great plays but what I have heard is that those plays are great only because he was too slow for them to be easy.

Matt Den Dekker (25) - Defense is not a problem for Den Dekker. He's probably the best defensive OF the Mets have in the farm system and I'm probably going to be one of the only people who thinks he can start the season in Flushing. His issue is that he's NOT a leadoff hitter. He'd be an asset at 6th, 7th or 8th (9th if we're being sneaky) but he's not an OBP oriented hitter.

My Plan?: I'd sign Coco Crisp as he's a good candidate to lead off in 2012. He'll cost somewhere in the realm of $5-7 Mil but I honsestly think his 2010-11 output would be well worth that figure. This semi-blocks Nieuwenhuis and Den Dekker, but I see Kirk as more of a replacement for Bay in the short-term anyway.

Catcher:
The story of Mike Nickeas is a good one. A player ready to pack it in and give up on his dream finally getting his shot and looking pretty decent. Sadly... I'm not satisfied with pretty decent when I need my catcher to hit. The loss of Reyes means the Mets cannot afford to have a purely defensive backstop... even if he's a backup.

Chris Snyder (31) - Snyder was once considered among the better catchers in the NL. He had reasonable power and a GREAT eye. He also was almost ALWAYS hurt. His OPS took a bounce back towards the positive in 2011 and he feels like a reasonably good fit for the Mets who could use him as the righty starter and defensive replacement for Thole. He might require a two-year deal... but the Mets don't have anyone in the pipeline so that wouldn't be so bad.

Dioner Navarro (28) - Remember 2008 when people thought Dioner was reaching that potential that the Yankees had drafted for in 2000? He hit .295 and was an all star. Remember how he followed that up? Since 2008 he's been nothing special. He fell from favor in Tampa Bay and failed to find himself in Los Angeles. The good news? He'd be earning a "Nothing Special" contract.

Ivan Rodriguez (40) - I've been playing fantasy baseball long enough that I remember Ivan Rodriguez being drafted #1. Rodriguez hasn't been young for 10 years but he was a pretty solid contributor as recently as 2010. PLUS he's just about the best candidate for training Josh Thole to be a star catcher that we could name. My big thing with Pudge is I just can't see him staying healthy enough to be there for 1 out of 4 starts and that is what the Mets would need.

My Plan?: I'd sign Ivan Rodriguez because in MY WORLD... I'm trading Niese for the future catcher of the franchise and want someone who can be a clubhouse leader and train Thole and the young trade target. I also think that if he'd be healthy he'd be a good fit for starting 1/3rd of the games in 2012.

Starting Pitcher:
Pelfrey WAS tendered a contract and I hope he proves all of us wrong over the 2012 season. He COULD do it... MAYBE... With Pelfrey locked down I'm switching gears to something I've talked about a few times... Trading Jon Niese.

I like Niese a lot. I really do. So before anyone gets the idea I'm Anti-Niese or that I don't WANT him on the Mets... cool your jets. I am simply WILLING to trade Niese for one of 5 specific prospect/players that I think are in the REALM of possibilities: Wilin Rosario (Col), Yasmani Grandal (Cin), Devin Mesoraco (Cin), Ryan Lavarnway (Bos) and Jesus Montero (NYY). Getting a catcher to take over

Chris Young - We already have one giant on the team (John Rauch), why not give him some company in the clouds? Young was good (until he was hurt) in 2011 and there is little reason to assume he wouldn't be just as good (and hurt) in 2012. He's a smart guy who knows how to pitch and if he could ever stay healthy (I refuse to infer that he will) he'd potentially return to being the top option he was 4-5 years ago.
Javier Vazquez - Remember that magical season in Atlanta when Javier Vazquez had the stats of a God? The Yankees do. They bought into that career year and suffered through a season of Javier looking like a batting practice machine. He then returns to the NL and... well not right back to near Cy Young but his ERA was under 4.00. He'd be attainable and might actually have the stuff to be a front-end starter.

Matt Harvey - Now people SHOULD say I'm crazy but if you are the Mets and Matt Harvey shows up this spring and blows the competition away, do you send him to the minors? HECK YES YOU DO! ARE YOU NUTZ!?! Then again... if you send him down to AA or AAA and he shines, how long can you keep him there. Harvey and Familia could easily force their own promotions by playing simply well. Fans will demand to see them. We sure don't have too much else we are crazy about seeing right now.

My Plan?: So... I'm trading Niese and signing both Vazquez and Young. Now... we've heard that the Mets would ask for a Jason Hammel type player in a deal for Niese but I think that with WHO we have in the rotation... signing Vazquez who has a better shot of being a #2 pitcher. Young replaces Gee/Schwinden... until he's hurt.

Now... Some well deserved and intended ABUSE...

So... You might have noticed that I'm signing more players than JUST Ivan Rodriguez. The fact is that I believe a NY sports team should be run like a NY Sports team and that a minimum payroll should not teeter near that poverty level of $100 Mil. The Mets should have the money to field a payroll of $120-140 Mil and if it weren't for Darth Fred, Jeff Ponz-Walker and Emperor Madoff we'd be able to do that. Heck... we can add that I'd like to sign Hong-Chih Kuo while I'm at it.

The Team I Listed Above is a Few Things:

1. Not as good as a team WITH Jose Reyes
2. Built to allow a good amount of turnover in the next 2 seasons
3. Capable of staying relevant through the middle of the season
4. Not going to happen with the current ownership regime

Can Pudge be the answer for Josh Thole?

The Mets have a young catcher in Josh Thole. He has not quite lived up to the hype yet, though. Many fans (I am not one of them) feel that he is never going to pan out. The problem is that this team has been blessed with exceptional catchers in their history.

Names like Gary Carter, Mike Piazza, Jerry Grote have all become what we think of when we imagine a Mets catcher. Beyond that holy trinity, they still have players like Todd Hundley and Paul LoDuca who did an admirable job in their respective lineups.

We are used to the position being one that provides offense. It is most likely that Thole will end up being a Paul LoDuca as opposed to a Mike Piazza, but that's not bad either. In his fist full season, Thole hit .268 last year while catching 114 games behind the plate.

He is just getting the defense down at the MLB level, especially the art of learning to catch a knuckler like R.A. Dickey. He spent last season learning to call a game and take control of a pitching staff; all the little things that never go into the box score.

With that said, he may spend some of this year doing the same thing, however, he should have some help back there. The Mets need to sign a veteran catcher to back him up and teach him how to be that complete player the franchise knows he can be.

There are several catchers still available on the market, however, one stands out as a perfect choice to accomplish this goal. His name is Ivan Rodriguez. Baseball fans know him simply as "Pudge". Rodriguez is as seasoned a veteran as they come.

He has spent 20 years in the big leagues. Most of them with a competitive Texas Rangers team that had solid pitching and a stellar offense. He may very well go into the Hall of Fame when he decides to hang up his spikes.

There were rumors last week that the Mets were interested in his services for the exact reason I explained. There are three reasons that immediately stand out as to why this would be a good move for the Mets.

First, he's an experienced catcher that knows how to take control of a pitching staff and how to call a game from behind the plate. He knows how to properly learn his own pitchers' weaknesses and strengths and those of the hitter.

This is something that he can and will teach to whoever he backs up next season. Why shouldn't that someone be Thole? Pudge can teach Thole how to improve on that .207 caught stealing percentage he posted last season.

Secondly, he can help Thole learn to be a situational hitter as well. Rather than trying to pull the ball and over-swing, Thole can become the gaps hitter everyone knows he is. Pudge is a career .296 hitter.

While he has come nowhere close to that in that past few seasons, he still knows how to work a count and get the pitch he wants. He can teach an impatient Josh Thole how to be more selective at the plate.

Finally, the tutelage of Ivan Rodriguez would be immeasurable for a young team. Everyone talks about the future of this pitching staff. With pitchers like Matt Harvey, Jesus Familia and Zack Wheeler all coming up in the next year or so, Thole needs to learn these things now. This season.

If the franchise decides they are trusting him with their most precious commodity, young pitching, they have to give him the proper support. Other wise, he will crash and burn and the young dream staff with him.

While he may never be a Mike Piazza or a Gary Carter, he can be happy just being Josh Thole. If that Josh Thole learns the nuances of the game from a great player like Ivan Rodriguez.