I realize that the trendy thing to do is write about the big Yoenis Cespedes swap the Mets made on Friday but I thought I’d reflect on the almost-Gomez trade that didn’t happen on Wednesday.
Some people are more into conspiracy theories than others. I am kind of into that stuff.
A good conspiracy theory utilizes speculation but tries to stick to the facts in order in to explain a result that is generally unclear.
Here is what I believe came down that got Mets fans excited, disappointed, dumbfounded, and disgusted just a few days ago. It also brought a young ballplayer to tears in a most public forum – still another PR disgrace for a most tone deaf franchise.
One assumes that GM Sandy Alderson speaks to owner/president Jeff Wilpon on a daily basis. And where player acquisitions are concerned the GM would need to clear a big expense with the owner.
Alderson tells Wilpon that the perfect “big bat” to obtain at this time is Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez. Gomez, a gold glove caliber centerfielder with moderate power and an ability to bat leadoff would improve the team’s offense where Juan Lagares has been a dud and defense where Lagares’ elbow issues has reduced his cannon arm to pop gun status.
Alderson tells the owner that Gomez is due about $3 million in salary for the rest of this year and $9 million for 2016. Then he would become a free agent.
Wilpon likely tells his GM that the player sounds good but that he is hesitant to take on that much payroll. To that Alderson counters that he hopes to make a deal where the team trades Zack Wheeler and Lagares to the Brewers. Lagares is due a bit a more than $20 million for the 2016 to 2018 seasons so this neutralizes the sting of taking on Gomez.
Wilpon gives Alderson the go ahead to proceed. When Alderson presents his offer to the Brewers they like the Wheeler part but decline Lagares’ inclusion. They know that the player may be shut down for a long time to address his elbow issue and do not care to be the ones paying while he sits and rehabs for a year. So Gomez for Wheeler + Lagares is a nonstarter.
The Brewers counter with the idea of slotting Wilmer Flores in for Lagares. They see him as a possible starter at third base for the next few years. Alderson is amenable to the trade talentwise but knowing that the finances have changed he goes back to Wilpon with his report.
Meanwhile one of a number of people start jumping the gun. In the Mets camp it could be John Ricco, Paul Depodesta, or J.P. Ricciardi who let it slip to Joel Sherman that a Gomez for Wheeler/Flores deal is happening. Or it could have been one of Bob Melvin’s aides. It’s not out of the question that someone in Scott Boras’ employ heard from Gomez about the deal and leaked or confirmed the details of the trade.
When Alderson reported to Wilpon the owner was still resistant to the idea of adding this much to his payroll. He instructs Alderson to go back and either get Melvin to agree to pay some part of Gomez’s contract or to get some other kind of financial concession. Alderson tries but gets a no-dice answer from the Brewers.
The story is leaking and we all know that during the game it seems like the trade is going to happen yet amazingly Wilmer Flores is still in the game at shortstop for the Mets. He hears about the trade and is overcome with emotion and starts to cry while on the field.
With the deal collapsing Alderson hits on the fact that Gomez’s last MRI showed a less than perfect hip. Add to that the fact that the player mentioned some hip issues about a month ago. This would be the pretext for pulling out of the deal.
The Brewers were justifiably upset by the way the Mets handled it. Being able to quickly turn around and trade the player to the Astros the next day is some evidence that the damaged hip was of no major importance.
The guiltiest party was the person who leaked to Sherman that the deal was done because clearly it was not.
Once again the Mets’ inability or unwillingness to expand its payroll had made it impossible to make the kind of talent improvement that most contending teams make routinely at the trade deadline.
Can we please forget about gomez. I admit im not a fan of gomez. I feel he is breaking down physically and a bit overrated. Also giving up wheeler for him would have hurt us. We did the right thing
I wonder if we’ll ever actually know what happened. And somehow, as the team appears to be turning a corner, money – and holding onto every penny so tightly Lincoln is crying – is still the big story. Can we please get owners who will treat the Mets like a New York City franchise?
Had nothing to do with money. We didnt get any money for cespedes so that theory is faulty
The big difference in the Gomez and Cespedes deal has to do with 2016, not this year. Gomez is due $9 million next year that I think Mets ownership had no interest in taking on. The Mets will pay Cespedes nothing next year as he’s a free agent and figures to sign a deal that looks like 5 years/$100 million or something on that order.
A commenter over at Mack’s Mets had the best analogy: You make a bid for a house & it’s accepted. During the pre-closing, contract period you find a number of structural defects in the house. You could:
1. Purchase as agreed to
2. Walk away without comment
3. Request repair or lower price to proceed and walk away if refused.
Alderson did #3, and it’s not a conspiracy.
This (3) would appear to be, based on the numerous and conflicting reports, the most likely scenario. Makes sense to me, at least.
I disagree that it is as simple as that. First of all, using your analogy the day after you’ve walked away from the deal another party reviews the exact same records and is perfectly fine going ahead with the deal.
What we are talking about is that according to the Mets their crack medical staff warned them of a significant risk due to a potential hip injury to Gomez. Bob Melvin swears up and down that the player has not had and doesn’t currently have a hip injury and the Astros were not perturbed enough to cancel the deal the next day.
Now I don’t know what Melvin’s honesty quotient is but I do know that the Wilpons and Alderson have lied often to the Mets fans about the ability and willingness to expand the payroll. They play fast and loose when it comes to divulging injury news and prognoses of their players.
If I have to decide as to who is being more honest here I will lean towards the side that hasn’t lied to me in the past.
>> If I have to decide as to who is being more honest here I will lean towards the side that hasn’t lied to me in the past. >>
Boras is the more reliable/unbiased source?
Then again, you’re a conspiracy buff. idk.
No, if it’s a question of who is more likely to be telling the truth: Wilpons, Alderson, or Boras that’s a Hobson’s choice. I wouldn’t trust any of them.
But when the player says “I’m healthy”, his GM says “he’s healthy and has had no hip injuries” and another front office says, “we’ll gladly take him” then I am inclined to believe them over Mets or Boras.
We’ll likely know better by the end of 2016. If Gomez hits the DL with some kind of hip injury next year then I owe the Mets’ front office and medical staff an apology. If no hip injury shows up then I think it supports the idea that the Mets have used this as a pretext to avoid Gomez’s $9 million payroll hit.
We shall see.
What if the Mets re-sign Cespedes? Or if they acquire some other player with similar salary via FA or trade? It’s entirely possible that the Mets simply didn’t want to take the risk they saw with his hip where the Astros were willing to do so.
If the Mets resign Cespedes I’ll be shocked because I think he is in line for a 5 year $100 million contract. If the Wilpons can afford that then it would be great. My guess is that you won’t see them add a $10 million player let alone a $20 million one.
The addition to payroll in 2016 is less than what is being saved if they don’t re-sign Bartolo Colon. If they Mets could pay Colon this year, they could pay Gomez next year.
That leaves the $3 million this year, but some of that is covered by not paying Mejia this year.
The payroll issue only makes sense if you don’t know anything about the payroll.
One problem with this: teams do not get access to the medical records of other team’s players unless a deal was already in place, at least verbally. Had Alderson been balking on the financial aspect (whether it was Lagares or Flores) Milwaukee would have just ended the conversation there and moved on to other suitors.
It’s very possible that once Alderson received guidance from the medical staff that Gomez’s hip may be a cause for concern, that Alderson went back and asked Milwaukee to chip in to his 2016 salary so that the Mets weren’t going to be shouldered with that risk 100%. And that’s when Milwaukee likely said no.
Gomez is quite a talent, but his numbers are also down this year, especially for someone with his speed. It’s very possible that his hip issue is contributing to that. Otherwise, why get an MRI? Healthy people don’t go in for MRIs unless there’s an issue. And (from experience) an MRI to a radiologist looks different than it does to an orthopedic physician. One may see a serious issue while the other may find it clean or inconclusive. It would probably behoove us all to find out which doctor Boras was quoting when he said it was clean.
Larry, I think you nailed it. While we can’t prove it, this is precisely how I imagine it went down. I think Melvin stormed out of the room and said, “screw this” when Sandy tried to squeeze more out of him.