Roundtable: Mets shopping on a budget

On Tuesday I turned to my friends in the Mets blogosphere and asked them the following questions:

For the sake of argument, let’s assume the Mets have $20 million to spend this offseason after they take care of their own free agent/arbitration cases. How do you allocate that money?

These people all do great work and their names are hyperlinked to their blogs so please go ahead and click on them to check out their real stuff.

Jimmy Preller – Spent the 1980s writing jokes for David Letterman

First of all, if the Mets only spend $20 million I will pour gasoline over my head and ignite myself in the parking lot at Citi Field. Either that, or I’ll write a really irritable blog entry with lots of exclamation points. One or the other! Gas is expensive, you know.

I believe the team needs an impact bat in the worst way. A star player, a guy who can bring in fans, and revenue, and help turn the tide for this team. A Tulowitzki, for example. A Carlos Gonzelez. At least, that type of “core” addition. In order to make a trade, I could envision the need to sign not one, but two free agent pitchers — and, of course, the budget would require some degree of Dumpster diving, it’s how we roll — because those additions would then allow the team to (ironically) trade pitching. I would be extremely willing to trade Niese or Gee or Montero, for example. I would look hard at Zack Wheeler, but I would try to keep Noah Syndergaard. That said: I would be willing to make a painful trade. And as much as I like Daniel Murphy — and I do — I could flip him and go with Flores at 2B if we really needed the extra $4.5 million.

I want the Mets to make a meaningful addition this offseason, a foundation piece who can stand side-by-side with David Wright. Cobbling something together with spare parts sounds so dull, so listless, so Sandy, and so short-term. The empty stadium is a real problem. I don’t want the hope for a “miracle” year; I want an actual, good team with a significant, marketable addition moving forward.

John Coppinger – Political adviser to Jon Stewart

Well first off, if they only have $20 million dollars, I’d allocate some of that on a drinking binge to numb my pain because I’m not getting anybody who’s going to improve the team that much … not with that many holes to fill. Shortstop? First base? An outfielder? A young power throwing arm in the bullpen? Can Stephen Drew, Nate McLouth, Corey Hart and maybe Joe Smith be had for that much? Probably not, which means trades should be in the works to free up more money. Because if this same cast of characters come back then I might as well take the $20 million and just throw a big party like Monty Brewster did and hope that the fictional $300 million windfall comes.

Paul Festa – Coordinating producer for Leno’s “Jaywalking” sketches

Easy, they should give it to all us long-suffering Mets fans!

A lot of people are talking about the Red Sox Strategy: Pick up mid-level guys like they did (Cody Ross, Johnny Gomes, et al). The problem is, this year, the free agent class is mostly made up of mid-level guys. That usually translates to a sellers’ market, meaning teams are going to have to overpay for who’s available.

Shin-Soo Choo is the class of the market, but he does have flaws. He struggles against left-handed pitchers and he’s 31 years-old. He would be an upgrade for the Mets, but someone out there is going to offer him too many years at way more than $100 million dollars (see: Werth, Jayson), forcing other teams to make similarly excessive offers.

That said, I’d love to see Choo play right or left field for the Mets, but I’d personally concentrate on resolving the shortstop issue. My choice would be Jhonny Peralta. He still has a few good years left, and his pricetag should be reasonable, since he has the scarlet letter of Biogenesis slapped on his chest. I’m going to go ahead and assume his solid numbers this year were not a result of his previous dabbling with – ahem – anti-aging supplements.

But really, you could get some good bang for your buck at shortstop, and there are several viable options in addition to Peralta. Virtually anyone would be an upgrade over the players who produced a team -0.1 WAR at the position this year.

Chris Walendin – Turned Stephen Colbert on to Prescott Pharmaceuticals

This was a lot harder to write about than I thought it would be. So much of what we’re talking about here is unknown and so much is interdependent. Drafts 1 and 2 of my response were absurdly specific to the point of delusion. So I’ll try to take a few steps back.

If Sandy Alderson has to play roster alchemist again this year with a measly $20M budget despite only $55M or so filling out his current full internal 25-man roster, he’s in Wilpon-induced trouble (yet again). But let’s give it a shot anyway (after all, he’s gonna have to, right?). I’d target Josh Johnson for the rotation, trying to get him in maybe the $6M neighborhood (plus incentives, obviously). You’re not going to replace Matt Harvey, and you’re definitely not going to do it on a budget. But Johnson is a guy whose history and peripherals suggest that if things break right the Mets could have a bigtime asset on the field and either a trade chip at the deadline or a QO-related pick in the offseason. Of course he could simply break and leave them holding the check. But risks will be taken this offseason (especially at $20M) and this is one of the ones I’m most comfortable with. I’d avoid Bronson Arroyo on a multi-year deal. I’d also try to bring in a second starter. It’d have to be a low cost Major League deal, or a minor league deal, which would allow Carlos Torres to remain in the bullpen and Jenrry Mejia (along with the other AAA prospects) to stay in Vegas (or at least have that option if they don’t force the issue in Spring Training). I’d re-sign LaTroy Hawkins. He shouldn’t run you more than $1M and I like what he brings to the table, even at 41 (maybe especially at 41, given all the young arms on this team).

On offense, I’d shop the PED guys (Cruz, Peralta). I don’t think there’ll be as much of a discount as some people think in terms of AAV, but I do think they’ll have to sign shorter one or two year deals. I’d look at Marlon Byrd, who strikes me as genuine in his appreciation for the Mets. And while he probably will take a step back offensively, would still likely give the offense a boost (without breaking the bank). I’d look at David Murphy, who’s coming off a major down year & could rebound (and be looking for a short deal). I’d look at Jose Molina, even though backup catcher is not really where you want to spend your limited dollars. I think his presence and defense will help d’Arnaud and the pitchers more than his invisible bat will stymie the offense. I’d AVOID the big ticket free agents. There’s no one out there I’m interesting in surrendering even a second round pick for, especially if the Hunter Pence contract is any sort of bellwether. And I’d work the phones. There are a few guys that are, for all intents and purposes, nailed down, but I’d be willing to talk about most of the roster. I wouldn’t move Noah Syndergaard (in any realistic deal), and I’d prefer not to move Rafael Montero (but I would).

There are more positions that right now we see as holes or question marks than the front office will be able to upgrade this winter. So they’re going to have to rely on at least one or two guys they (and we) would rather see replaced. Ultimately, I’m fascinated to see how the front office handles this offseason. And I’m glad I’m not the one making these decisions.

Jon Springer – Suggested to Jimmy Fallon that he do musical numbers

Hard question. I’m inclined to think much of the Mets’ work will be done via trades but if I’m giving out new contracts I’ll try to get the Cuban slugger Abreu (let’s say he costs half my budget in Year 1) leaving me 10 mills to split between starters (Phil Hughes??, Scott Feldman??) relievers (Bazooka Joe Smith?? Tim Stauffer??) and outfield depth (Byrd again or Corey Hart??). More than likely I’ll wind up spending my whole wad on the latter guys without landing Abreu. Perhaps the $ goes instead to acquired-in-trades type guys like JJ Hardy and Either (Dodgers pay the freight). Did I mention this was a hard question?

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With limited dollars, I’m going all-in on hitting and my first choice is Choo. If that fails, I look to Colorado and see if either of their big guns are indeed available and if so, I am willing to part with one big pitching prospect to get one. If a Wheeler or Montero or Syndergaard goes in that deal, then unfortunately I’m back in the SP market, with as much money left over that there is. If I end up with an outfielder, I look to Arizona for either Didi Gregorius or Chris Owings, with Flores as my bait. Plan C is to go SS and at least one, preferably two, OF in free agency.

I believe in the young starting pitching and that a Duda/Satin platoon would work just fine. If we stop pitching so many crappy lefties, the bullpen will be okay, too. Fill out the offseason with some NRIs on the pitching side of things – and this year’s Byrd, if there is such a thing – and there you go. Oh, and if there’s a challenge trade of Ike Davis for an underachieving outfielder, sign me up.

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Thanks to JP, John, Paul, Chris and Jon for participating!