No Met fan liked what they heard from Sandy Alderson regarding Tejada. It’s an effort to get him to go that extra mile? Does he not want to be a pro athlete? It’s disgusting to me that someone who has a clear chance to be an everyday major leaguer wouldn’t do everything they could to solidify their hold on the job.
There is still a 50 percent chance that Tejada returns as the Met’s starting shortstop in 2014. The Mets have no viable internal options and the free agent market is weak, so what better options are there? Chris Schubert made a suggestion in his article that the Mets make a bid for a young and established player. I simply want to put all the options on the table:
Internal Options:
Ruben Tejada – Tejada is only 23 years old and has four years of MLB experience. His best season was 2012 where he hit .284/.360/.335 for the Mets. Fact is that in 338 games in the majors he’s only managed 63 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 13 stolen bases. That .280 average is great supposing he plays great defense and is a positive clubhouse presence. We know that isn’t the case. Tejada should be a backup player, it’s as simple as that.
Wilfredo Tovar – It’s hard to believe that Tovar is only a year younger than Tejada. Tovar has always struck me as somewhat of a clone of Tejada anyway. He does have a few things in his favor though. While Tejada wins the race for better average, Tovar has a better eye and more speed. Niether is much of a power threat but I’ve heard that Tovar’s glove is a PLUS tool. If I had to guess, and the Mets don’t get an external player, the Mets will have Tovar as their starter by the All Star break.
Matt Reynolds – Reynolds was drafted as a third baseman but has played primarily at short for the Mets. He had a strong debut in 2012 where he managed a .702 OPS in Savannah, but 2013 saw regression in Port St. Lucie. He’ll be 23 in 2014 and playing in AA but I can’t see him being much of a star.
Gavin Cecchini – People ask me why I’m so down on this former first round pick for the Mets. He hit .273 in Brooklyn! That .273 looks less impressive with the rest of his line though. (.273/.319/.314, 14 BBs, 30 Ks, 2 SB and 0 HR) Break out the champagne, right? He’s got a good defensive approach and could stick at the position but I fail to see the hitting tools to get me excited.
Amed Rosario – At 17 Rosario is the best shortstop in the Met system… Hitting a grand .241/.279/.358 in the rookie APPY isn’t terrible and he’ll get his shot to make an impression in Brooklyn next season. At 17 he’s young for his league AND… looking at five years of minor league growth before you can pencil him into any major league role.
Free Agent Options:
Johnny Peralta – I cannot say there is no talent in the free agent pool while Peralta’s name is out there. YES, Peralta is a talented hitter. YES, he’s also serving his Biogenesis suspension. He’s still the best offensive option that the Mets could simply go out and sign. I’d also bet that he won’t be restricted with the Tigers having a solid in-house solution in Jose Iglesias. He won’t be cheap though. How much money do you want to commit to a PED user who plays questionable defense?
Rafael Furcal – Say what you will, there are worse options than having the Mets bring in Furcal at 36 on a 1-year deal. He was an All Star in 2012 and after sitting out all of 2013 his price tag should be reasonable. It’s an option.
Stephen Drew – Drew has had a productive year for Boston. .250/.336/.444 with 12 HRs and 56 RBIs is solid. The red flag is that his health is a MAJOR question mark since 2011 and he was downright bad in 2012. Not sure what he’d cost but he’s an upgrade to Tejada and gives us a lefty bat.
Trade Targets:
Chris Owings – Brian Joura and I love to bring up Owings. He’s had a breakout season in AAA and managed a strong .330/.359/.482 line. People will say that he’s a flash in the pan and hasn’t shown this history but that isn’t QUITE true. In 2009 he managed a .750 OPS in the rookie leagues, In 2010 his OPS was .770 in the full season A leagues, in 2011 he only managed a .662 in advanced A but he corrected that with a .905 OPS in 59 games of 2012. Profiling as a 15/15 hitter in the big leagues, Owings is currently up with the Diamondbacks. The question is, would they trade him?
Didi Gregorius – The reason they WOULD trade him is that Gregorious too had a tremendous debut for the Diamondbacks. At 23 and hitting lefty, Gregorius is a very good young shortstop. The issue here is that he’s got less power and hasn’t shown consistent speed. The Diamondbacks aren’t likely to know if they would prefer to trade Owings or Gregorius right now. The Mets can inquire about one or the other but I’d bet that for 2014 the Diamondbacks want to hold onto both.
Jose Reyes – Could the Mets work out their magic with the Blue Jays one more time to figure out a deal for Reyes that would work for everyone? Reyes is owed $82 Mil over the next 4 seasons and that kind of money is far too much for the Mets or anybody else to consider. Add, if you will, the perception that he’s made of glass and Met fans seem to shun the idea of reuniting with their prodigal son. I’m of the mind that he’s a player I still REALLY like and that if the Mets could get away with paying only $41 Mil of the contract remaining, that they’d be getting a player that they should really want. If the Blue Jays are covering that much of the contract the Mets will need to up their end of the deal in terms of prospects. I’m not sure the Mets can do that with the injury to Matt Harvey.
Elvis Andrus – Another shortstop with talent and a contract that is too big, the Mets can likely only enter into the discussion with the Rangers if the Mets are willing to pay the full value of that remaining deal. Who would the Mets give up? I would bet that the Rangers would like Jacob deGrom but I can’t imagine what to add from there. It seems to me that the weight of the contract plus the prospects we’d need to part with will prove too much for the Mets to stomach.
Dee Gordon – If the Mets get Gordon, he’s not the center of the deal. Gordon at 26 is no longer a prospect for the Dodgers. He could be a fine reclamation project for the Mets, though. I still like the scenario of the Mets trading Wilmer Flores or Daniel Murphy to the Dodgers for Joc Pederson. At this point I’d simply ask for Gordon to be included in the deal.
So…
Which option excites you most?
Which option do you think most likely?
Who would you trade?
Who would you sign?
Personally, I think all of the external options sound like upgrades.
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Tejada is only 23. To conclude that he is just a back up shortstop is remarkable. Yes he has played poorly. Bat Tejada 8th and leave him alone. All he needs to do is bat.280 and play solid defense. It’s your interpretation of what you want out of the position that you create a false conclusion. Andrus will never happen in your or my lifetime. Thank God! You’re willing to bet on a 120 million dollar unmovable contract? And you want to give up a player? SA did not give Reyes that contract so now he’s changed his mind and will take a player of less caliber than Reyes for more money? Hmm? Peralta has been on PED’S how long? His entire career? Or just knowing he was in his walk year he wanted to spruce up his numbers? So his numbers and play come back down to earth until he’s ready for a new contract. What are Stephen Drew’s numbers away from Fenway? Keep Tejada and clean house of all the malcontents.
Hey man,
Your tone leaves something to be desired but I will bite.
If a player, at best, hits .280 without power or speed he is a #8 hitter at best and would need to survive on his defensive merits. I’m more inclined to having Lagares in the 8 hole for that.
Just a thought. If the team is so down on Tejada why didn’t they try to make a deal with the Tigers? Would of been the perfect opportunity to move him.
Because he’s the only internal solution.
It all comes down to how much money the Mets actually have to spend this offseason.
I’d love to see Reyes come back but I’d say that has very little chance of happening. I’d like to get Gregorius or Owings and while that’s doubtful, I’d say one of those guys is much more likely than Reyes.
The easiest solution might be a Quintanilla/Tejada platoon. It would give the Mets an actual backup shortstop and prevent TC from running either one into the ground. Plus, both of those guys can play 2B, too. Tejada has a lifetime .739 OPS versus LHP while in the past two seasons, Quintanilla has a .675 OPS against RHP. The average NL shortstop has a .682 OPS this year so the Mets can get league average production for around $1 million which seems like a good deal to me.
So it seems that Tejada doesn’t have the greatest attitude, and we’re willing to put up with him if need be.
If that’s the case, i’d like to consider another troubled SS, Yunel Escobar. He has $5 million dollar team options on the next 2 years. He’s around an average hitter, but plays good defense.
I’d see if we can swap Tejada plus 1/2 of our low minors pitchers? for Escobar.
Escobar wasn’t on my list because I’d bet Tampa keeps him with Lee having been hurt trough most of the year.
What’s your take on Tim Beckham and how the Rays plan to use him? Is he worth a shot with the Mets?
Beckham isn’t shining so brightly as a prospect. I’ve thought about him before though.
But if Escobar is a problem why trade for him when you have a cheaper version of him
Escobar is a better player on the field and at the plate than Tejada. I said he’s a problem because he has issues in the head like Tejada.
I’m a fan of Gordon. I think he has upside and is lost with the Dodgers due to Hamlet. Also, packaging Murphy to them for Gordon and one of there plethora of OF is a great deal.
What about Danny Espinosa? He was a SS in the minors and converted to 2B for Desmond. Switch hitter with power and speed (could be a 20/20 guy at SS). Nats are trying to deal him with Rendon at 2B. He’s been bad this year but he’s been hurt and he’d cost nothing in a deal.
*smacks forehead*
I had Espinosa on my list while I was planning the article and must have left him off. Biggest issue is working out a trade with Nationals. Could be talking about an Edgin for Espinosa swap and neither team being willing to have guessed wrong.
Great and realistic summary David.
Peralta could probably be had for 3 years and 21M whereas Drew made 9.5M last year and Furcal 7M. Peralta is a viable free agent solution, Drew and Furcal are not.
The Owings or Digregorious trade I like the best but is Flores and a “secondary” pitcher like Gorski or deGrom enough? Even if they sweetened that pot some more it would work because a good young inexpensive shortstop is hard to get.
Tejada is lazy but he is better than Quintanilla. In Tejada the most you could expect is an average SS, and that is only if he works on it. This seems the most likely to happen but to me the least desirable.
Peralta is going to be eligible for the playoffs and yet the Tigers made a move for a shortstop not only for this year but for next year as well. Makes you wonder why the Tigers were not going to pursue Peralta even though he was solid contributor. I don’t see SA shelling out 21 million on a shortstop.
I think i read somewhere that they already said that they were not going to welcome Peralta back for the playoffs. They’re done with him.
Pretty shrewd move by the Tiger GM then.
I’ll tone it down for you Dave. But you’re slotting players into positions to conform to you’re ideas. The Mets won a World Series with Rafael Santana at short stop. What did he hit? 220? With 12 extra base hits in over 400 at-bats. Pretty anemic based on your beliefs? I know they didn’t need his offense. Why slot Legares in the 8 hole just to wait for him to acclimate himself to major leagues? He’ll be just as productive in the 7 hole.
Dave,
I would be fine with an edgin espinosa swap. Mets could bring back feliciano or byrdak with rice as a second lefty along with having leathersich and gorski on the farm as lefties.
I heard about Martino’s report about signing a SS, but I don’t see the benefit of it. All those guys are 30 plus in age. I’d rather bring in an espinosa or Dee Gordon and let them fight it out with tejada in ST.
Of course the better option would be either of the Texas or Arizona SS but I don’t think any of them get dealt (unless it’s in a massive deal to the Marlins for Stanton, but that a whole different post).
Gordan and Espinosa are not the answer. But if you can get Espinosa for nothing it might be worth a shot.
Someone like Rutledge has much more up-side than those two. I just don’t know if the Rockies would deal him.
Both Owings or Digregorious have the up-side that would also help.
Gordon is not the answer, but he could be the smaller part of a deal for say… Joc Pederson. He’s a good guy for the Mets to ask for if they deal with L.A. (who will likely be in the mix should we decide to trade Flores or Murphy)
Espinosa is another matter. He’s shown MLB success and just had an AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL year. Believe me, he was on my fantasy team. ANYWAY, I’d sign up for a swap of Edgin for Espinosa too, but I can’t see the Mets and Nats matching on a deal right now.
While discussing trading for Joc Pederson, let’s not forget that the Dodgers also have Scott Van Slyke. Much lower upside, but the guy has proven he can hit lefties at the Major League level while playing solid OF and 1B. He’d also be cheap and offer us a legitimate power threat off the bench.
If they go free agent, I hope it’s Peralta. He’s the best bat, not great range, but fields the balls he can get to. I know he’s got the ped thing, but I don’t trust furcal or drew to stay healthy.