It’s a rare day when I haven’t visited MLB Trade Rumors on more than one occasion. I must be a masochist because my visits there are mostly prompted by interest in what the Mets are doing.
And you all know already what the Mets are doing on the trade front: nothing, not even intriguing talk.
It seems that other teams mention making a player or two available and like sharks smelling blood in the water the other teams are all over them with conversations and sometimes offers.
When you read the profiles of what the contenders are looking for you almost routinely see that they want to upgrade by trading for one and sometimes more than one starting pitchers.
This is supposed to be the Mets’ one and only strength yet all the profiles discuss Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake, and even Aaron Harang long before any mention (if one at all) of Jonathan Niese. And, of course, Dillon Gee, now in witness protection, is nowhere to be found for teams in the most dire of straits.
On the rare occasions when Niese gets a mention the other GM’s and their lieutenants point out that while he has been pitching effectively for a good long while now they all expect his shoulder to disintegrate any minute – and certainly within the first few moments after they trade for him. You just don’t hear the same thing about the other starters yet there is not a starting pitcher in professional ball who isn’t carrying a significant injury risk with him.
This got me to thinking that if Niese has little to no trade value then who actually does? I can give you a few and then the faucet clanks shut: Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndegaard, Stephen Matz, and Michael Conforto. I suppose Zach Wheeler can be horseshoed into the mix although not too many GM’s want to gamble on what is coming out on the other side of Tommy John surgery. This list of good stuff also coincides with the list of people that GM Sandy Alderson has put on his untouchables list.
The amazing thing is that we have pretty much exhausted the list of players with trade value on a 47-42 kind of playoff contending club.
Here’s a list of people that Alderson would have trouble giving away gratis: Eric Campbell, Ruben Tejada, Wilmer Flores, Kirk Nieuwenheis, Darrel Ceciliani, Danny Muno, Michael Cuddyer (take my contract, please), Curtis Granderson (mine too), John Mayberry Jr., Johnny Monell, Alex Torres. And while it is sacrilege to say so I dare say that David Wright currently has zero trade value himself. Captain, oh Captain.
Of course a few guys are in the nether world of trade value: Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda come to mind. Anyone who might have interest in Murphy might want him as a rental but with little intention to keep him once his yearly salary hits $10 or more million in free agency. Duda has all that power potential and power usually sells. But which Duda would the trade partner be getting, the 30 HR guy from 2014 or whatever the heck he is this season? Plus Murphy and Duda make up an important part of the feeble Mets’ offense. Trading them would likely weaken the offense and the idea is to go the other way.
So this appears to be the perfect storm that combines a paucity of trade value combining with an ultraconservative GM who only likes to make a swap when he’s moving a veteran for exciting inexpensive prospects. This leads to a situation where nothing gets done while the local and national media fume that a team that could do something in the playoffs may be left out in the cold due to a calculated unwillingness to act.
I’m thinking Sandy pulls something off. Maybe a Parra or Venable or Maybin for with FullmermYnoa,Mejia maybe being traded. It’s going to be a good summer.
I hope Larry is just a fan bitching anyone else would know trade rumors mean nothing and not a single GM is going to tell you the truth about a trade. This piece really sounds like something a few buddies having a beer might say around the bar.
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We need to 100% give up the ghost that Dillon Gee has any trade value. Maybe if we take on salary someone else grabs him to ease the burden. But that’s it. He was available to every club on the waiver wire and no one took him. All 29 of the other clubs said – eh, no thanks.
But, Niese does have trade value. But he’s clearly behind Cueto and Hamels in the pecking order. Others can try to claim he’s an injury risk but all that is is smoke to try to drive down his trade value. He’s made 30 consecutive starts now and has a 2.64 ERA in his last seven. All pitchers should be injured like that.
Larry, I think Niese has some trade value, but it’s just some. Didn’t Cueto just get hurt too? From your list of Mets’ trade value, I think Flores should have plenty and Granderson too. Granny has 2.4 WAR already this year, and is only $15MM per season and his production has been worth it. It isn’t Granny’s fault that he is in RF rather than LF, nor is it his fault he must lead off. Bet the AL teams take it.
Ironically, one of the reasons Cuddyer was so sought after was that he was a RF and hit righty. Another was he would take a two year deal and not block the prize “sure things” in AA…
I think we are splitting hairs here if I say Niese has little trade value and you say he has some. How much more is some than little?
I maintain that if Alderson were to bring up Flores’ name to other GMs their reaction would be something like: “where can I play the guy? He has no defensive skills and never walks. He can’t help unless he can hit 20 HRs and the jury is out as to whether anyone who doesn’t stride in his swing can generate 20 HR power.”
And I don’t feel that other teams would look at Granderson’s price tag at $15 or $16 million and find him worthwhile. Sure they might want him if we take some $10 million pitcher back who is underperforming but to pay Grandy what he makes for what he delivers – I just don’t see it.
Trading Granderson for what???..for Why???
In the right lineup, he’s a 756-780 OPS #2,5,6,7 Hitter. He has pop.
You’re trading away a capable player with offensive pop for……. a capable player with Offensive Pop????
Speaking of little trade value. Grandy’s only value is to the Mets as long as he continues to hit. His contract, age and declining production make him intradeable.
Niese has production value but he is making nearly $10M a year, They could get something if they ate some of the contract.
Somehow finagle Prado and Zobrist. ..sell the farm literally. .find the balls to acquire Parra. ..play him in center…Zobrist in left. ..Prado at third…Murphy can utility. ..
Sell the farm?????????????? Do you think this team has a chance at a world championship? If you are selling the farm just to try to get into the playoffs – maybe – then what do you do to try to win it all?
Two recent things I’ve read or heard germane to this topic.
1. Did anyone watch the ASG pregame on MLB television? I ask only because Heidi Watney did an on-field interview with Tulo and Nolan Arenado. The interview was absolutely striking. Tulo was full of praise for Arenado and LaMahieu and seemed to relish in the thought of being the elder statesman for the youth brigade. He also said he takes much fewer ground balls in practice relative to Arenado and LaMahieu. He was also quite tepid about recovery from the hip surgery. In my opinion he looked and acted old and reflective, and ready to pass the future on. With 100M$ remaining on his contract it didn’t look good.
2. This next stretch til the trade deadline is the most critical of the season right now. For the Mets, the baseball gods decided to frown upon given the opponents. It’s also the perfect storm with this GM who failed to be prepared for this situation despite outwardly talking about 90 wins. Here we are desperately in need of offense with no help in sight in a brief 10 day window where every minute counts, especially if losses pile up. We need offense now to help weather this stretch, which will determine what Aug and Sept. Overly cautious Alderson may end up the last guy standing at musical chairs, perhaps having lost 7 out of 10 and with no need to spend money for a sincere chase. We will hear that the market was fast and more expensive than planned, and by the time he was ready, nothing in our window was available. Net result? Stasis.
The truth hurts. We have over valued our players worth.
Would love to see them make a run at Upton or Gomez, I’m just not confident that the GM is at all that serious. Both are FAs next year, I do think the Mets love Upton and might be willing to put together a package of ML and MiLs to get it done.
We need numerous upgrades one or two guys went get it done our position players are lost and can’t find there way back
What a shame to waste our arms
I wouldn’t be looking to trade Niese now because some of the pitchers are on innings limits and Matz and Wheeler are on the DL. The Mets have plenty of starting pitching blocked in the minors so I would be looking to move these chips for 2015 rentals. I posted this thought in Rob’s article.