Hey guys, Mike here.
As we all know, two weeks ago when Omar Minaya was silent at the trade deadline (even though he should have been silent at the Tony Bernazard press conference), he was essentially admitting that the season was over.
This has not been said by him, but essentially, his job from here on out is to focus on 2010; that is, as long as he does not get fired.
The Mets have approximately $40 million coming off the books after this year is over, but also have about $10 million in raises, giving them $30 million to work with.
Not so fast....
Due to attendance not being great in this flailing economy, a new, expensive ballpark, and Bernie Madoff formerly at their side, it would seem as though the Mets will have to lower payroll next year. Lets give them $20 million to work with and see how we can fix this team.
Lets look how the team will be after the first day of free agency:
1B- Daniel Murphy (sorry guys)
2B- Luis Castillo (again, sorry. 2010 already looks terrible)
SS- A hopefully healthy Jose Reyes
3B- A hopefully more powerful David Wright
RF- Jeff Francoeur
CF- A hopefully healthy Carlos Beltran
LF- Fernando Martinez?
C- Omir Santos
OK, considering Daniel Murphy is batting .252 with a .316 OB%, as much as the Mets organization likes him, he is going to need to headline the bench. Omir Santos is loved by all, but he is not a starer. Fernando Martinez may have a bright future ahead of him, but there is no way he will go into the season as the starting LF.
So basically, the Mets need a left fielder, a first baseman, a catcher, and not to mention a #2/3 starter as well as bullpen arms, all with a shopping spree of $20 million to use.
Lets take this position by position and see what we can do Mets fans. Lets start with Catcher and look at notable names who will be free agents in 2010.
Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Ramon Castro, Benjie Molina, Jose Molina & Ivan Rodriguez.
Of these choices, I would sign Rod Barajas. He is making $2.5 million this year while hitting .241 with 10 homers. Not that good, but a decent amount of power for a guy who wont make much. Lets give him another $2.5 million deal, taking our money down to $17.5 million.
Moving onto First Base, we see: Carlos Delgado, Nick Johnson, Adam LaRoche and Kevin Millar as the most notable free agents.
Nick Johnson is a player who was linked to go to the Mets at the trade deadline, but obviously, he was sent to the Florida Marlins. Although he is a great fit with the Mets, rumor has it he is seeking a 2 Year deal at $10 million per year, way too much considering the limited funds of the Mets.
This may sound crazy, but I say the Mets should sign a make-good deal with the 38 year old Delgado. After playing in only 26 games this year (while hitting .298 w/4 homers), Delgado went down and is out for probably the remainder of the year. He, like many older players, may not want to leave New York, or the game of baseball in such a manner, and may sign a cost-effective deal and make a late-career come back of sorts to prove he can still play the game. A $4 million deal could get it done considering his age and injury history, taking us down to $13.5 to still work with.
Now we come to what I consider the most intriguing option, the left fielder. Lets look at the free agents:
Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Chone Figgins, Mark DeRosa, Garrett Anderson, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui (really, hes a left fielder?), Dave Roberts, Fernando Tatis, David Dellucci
I'll say this now, do not expect the Mets to be in on the big name free agents such as Holliday or Bay, they simply cannot afford it at this time unless they unload some major salary (and in my opinion, they shouldn't be in on them even if they could afford them).
I think the two men who could really help this team would be either Chone Figgins or Mark DeRosa. Both can play every single position on the field. If Delgado needs a day off, they can play first. Wright needs a rest, put them at third. Don't even have a left fielder, put them in left. They can go anywhere and hit respectively no matter what position they are at.
Figgins is batting .300 with year with 33 SB and leading the league with 87 runs scored. Mark DeRosa on the other hand battled an injury earlier in the year lowering his average to .258, but he is a career .277 hitter and has 21 homers already this year.
These guys can hit, they can field, and they can field anywhere. Imagine Miguel Cairo, only actually knowing how to make contact. The problem with these guys is they will cost a bit. Lets say the Mets sign the better player in Figgins and pay him $10 million; unfortunately, that leaves them with only $3.5 to sign a #2/3 starter and get some bullpen help.
Luckily for me (and the Mets, as well as every team willing to give the guy a shot), Justin Duchscherer is a free agent and will come cheap because he has been injured this entire year. He has shown in the past that he can pitch well, almost to the point of being an ace, as long as he can stay healthy. Lets give him the remaining $3.5 million and let the bullpen work itself out. Hopefully Putz comes back healthy next year, K-rod is one of the best closers in the game and the Mets do have a few pieces they can throw at the wall and then see what sticks. Also, lets not forget the trade market. Relievers are readily available and many good ones come cheap. Bullpens fluctuate so much from year to year, lets see what happens.
So lets see how we did. Here is our Mets team (even though I am a Yankee fan, I just dedicated a lot of my time to the Mets. I have no clue why).
C-Rod Barajas
1B-Carlos Delgado
2B-Luis Castillo
SS-Jose Reyes
3B-David Wright
RF- Jeff Francoeur
CF-Carlos Beltran
LF-Chone Figgins
With a 1/2 punch of Johan Santana and Justin Duchscherer, all while lowering the payroll by $10 million dollars. I'd say we did pretty good.
I am sorry for Mets fans that looking forward to next year is all you can do right now, and even though we worked out a pretty good team, it may not be enough to make the playoffs, but hey, payrolls can be shed (just look at the Toronto Blue Jays), and moves can be made that nobody say coming.
So what do you guys think? Are these moves acceptable or should we start over and make a whole new plan? Should we rebuild and see what maybe Johan can get us in a trade? Should we make a big trade or hang onto what little farm system we have left. Let me know what you think!
As we all know, two weeks ago when Omar Minaya was silent at the trade deadline (even though he should have been silent at the Tony Bernazard press conference), he was essentially admitting that the season was over.
This has not been said by him, but essentially, his job from here on out is to focus on 2010; that is, as long as he does not get fired.
The Mets have approximately $40 million coming off the books after this year is over, but also have about $10 million in raises, giving them $30 million to work with.
Not so fast....
Due to attendance not being great in this flailing economy, a new, expensive ballpark, and Bernie Madoff formerly at their side, it would seem as though the Mets will have to lower payroll next year. Lets give them $20 million to work with and see how we can fix this team.
Lets look how the team will be after the first day of free agency:
1B- Daniel Murphy (sorry guys)
2B- Luis Castillo (again, sorry. 2010 already looks terrible)
SS- A hopefully healthy Jose Reyes
3B- A hopefully more powerful David Wright
RF- Jeff Francoeur
CF- A hopefully healthy Carlos Beltran
LF- Fernando Martinez?
C- Omir Santos
OK, considering Daniel Murphy is batting .252 with a .316 OB%, as much as the Mets organization likes him, he is going to need to headline the bench. Omir Santos is loved by all, but he is not a starer. Fernando Martinez may have a bright future ahead of him, but there is no way he will go into the season as the starting LF.
So basically, the Mets need a left fielder, a first baseman, a catcher, and not to mention a #2/3 starter as well as bullpen arms, all with a shopping spree of $20 million to use.
Lets take this position by position and see what we can do Mets fans. Lets start with Catcher and look at notable names who will be free agents in 2010.
Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Ramon Castro, Benjie Molina, Jose Molina & Ivan Rodriguez.
Of these choices, I would sign Rod Barajas. He is making $2.5 million this year while hitting .241 with 10 homers. Not that good, but a decent amount of power for a guy who wont make much. Lets give him another $2.5 million deal, taking our money down to $17.5 million.
Moving onto First Base, we see: Carlos Delgado, Nick Johnson, Adam LaRoche and Kevin Millar as the most notable free agents.
Nick Johnson is a player who was linked to go to the Mets at the trade deadline, but obviously, he was sent to the Florida Marlins. Although he is a great fit with the Mets, rumor has it he is seeking a 2 Year deal at $10 million per year, way too much considering the limited funds of the Mets.
This may sound crazy, but I say the Mets should sign a make-good deal with the 38 year old Delgado. After playing in only 26 games this year (while hitting .298 w/4 homers), Delgado went down and is out for probably the remainder of the year. He, like many older players, may not want to leave New York, or the game of baseball in such a manner, and may sign a cost-effective deal and make a late-career come back of sorts to prove he can still play the game. A $4 million deal could get it done considering his age and injury history, taking us down to $13.5 to still work with.
Now we come to what I consider the most intriguing option, the left fielder. Lets look at the free agents:
Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Chone Figgins, Mark DeRosa, Garrett Anderson, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui (really, hes a left fielder?), Dave Roberts, Fernando Tatis, David Dellucci
I'll say this now, do not expect the Mets to be in on the big name free agents such as Holliday or Bay, they simply cannot afford it at this time unless they unload some major salary (and in my opinion, they shouldn't be in on them even if they could afford them).
I think the two men who could really help this team would be either Chone Figgins or Mark DeRosa. Both can play every single position on the field. If Delgado needs a day off, they can play first. Wright needs a rest, put them at third. Don't even have a left fielder, put them in left. They can go anywhere and hit respectively no matter what position they are at.
Figgins is batting .300 with year with 33 SB and leading the league with 87 runs scored. Mark DeRosa on the other hand battled an injury earlier in the year lowering his average to .258, but he is a career .277 hitter and has 21 homers already this year.
These guys can hit, they can field, and they can field anywhere. Imagine Miguel Cairo, only actually knowing how to make contact. The problem with these guys is they will cost a bit. Lets say the Mets sign the better player in Figgins and pay him $10 million; unfortunately, that leaves them with only $3.5 to sign a #2/3 starter and get some bullpen help.
Luckily for me (and the Mets, as well as every team willing to give the guy a shot), Justin Duchscherer is a free agent and will come cheap because he has been injured this entire year. He has shown in the past that he can pitch well, almost to the point of being an ace, as long as he can stay healthy. Lets give him the remaining $3.5 million and let the bullpen work itself out. Hopefully Putz comes back healthy next year, K-rod is one of the best closers in the game and the Mets do have a few pieces they can throw at the wall and then see what sticks. Also, lets not forget the trade market. Relievers are readily available and many good ones come cheap. Bullpens fluctuate so much from year to year, lets see what happens.
So lets see how we did. Here is our Mets team (even though I am a Yankee fan, I just dedicated a lot of my time to the Mets. I have no clue why).
C-Rod Barajas
1B-Carlos Delgado
2B-Luis Castillo
SS-Jose Reyes
3B-David Wright
RF- Jeff Francoeur
CF-Carlos Beltran
LF-Chone Figgins
With a 1/2 punch of Johan Santana and Justin Duchscherer, all while lowering the payroll by $10 million dollars. I'd say we did pretty good.
I am sorry for Mets fans that looking forward to next year is all you can do right now, and even though we worked out a pretty good team, it may not be enough to make the playoffs, but hey, payrolls can be shed (just look at the Toronto Blue Jays), and moves can be made that nobody say coming.
So what do you guys think? Are these moves acceptable or should we start over and make a whole new plan? Should we rebuild and see what maybe Johan can get us in a trade? Should we make a big trade or hang onto what little farm system we have left. Let me know what you think!
Are Met's fans so down they have no idea what to do next year. No comments? I think they make sense. As a Yankee fan I don't want this to happen but with your budget maybe they make a run at Damon or do you think 10mil not enough?
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i def. could see them going after Damon, but if they really do only have $20 mil to work with, i do not see them putting half of that towards one player who is in his mid 30's and can only play one position, and poorly at that.
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