To trade or not to trade, that is the question:
Whether ‘tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Offers and Counters of cantankerous Agents,
Or to trade Arms to build and Outfield with power,
And by trading save cash: to trade to spend
No more; and by spending, to say we can
Afford stars, and their eight figure salaries
That Agents expect? ‘Tis a Conundrum
Difficult to weigh out. To trade, to spend,
To spend, perchance to win; Aye there’s the rub,
For if we spend or trade, what wins may come?
You have heard that Sandy Alderson has $35 million to spend on the salaries for the 2014 Mets. With the need to replace Matt Harvey, Rebuild an anemic offensive outfield, scrounge up a shortstop that can hit and maybe even get someone who can consistently offer production at first base. Should the Mets look to achieve their ends through free agency they would be looking to split their $35 million six or seven ways, averaging around $5 million per contract.
You have also heard that Alderson is looking to trade. The Mets having prospects like Noah Syndergaard, Wilmer Flores, Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom and MLB talents like Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy and Bobby Parnell could allow them to make a deal for less expensive players. Yet, you have to see that some of those trade targets have hefty price tags of their own. (Carlos Gonzalez is due $10.5 million in 2014, Jose Reyes is due $16 million.)
Where is the middle ground?
So… What Say You?
Trade, Spend or Something Else?
Spend a little for the pitching (bringing back Dice-K/Harang on incentive-laden deal or deals), trade for the other stuff.
So… $3 Million-ish for those guys and trade who for what?
Nice job on Willie Shakes, btw…
Why thank thee
Well it’s just not going to happen. One name FA will be obtained to take the heat off. “Hey I signed ———-!”. And then Sandy is off to greener pastures.
Alas poor Sandy, I knew him well.
Thanks Horatio
I would say the fan’s need to get their facts straight. The offense is not in dire straits. The offense was top 7 for most of this past season, and top 5 for periods of time. If we get rid of Ike and add 1 bat, I can’t see how we won’t top 2013’s offensive production even with little change.
The offense by the end of the season racked up the following NL stats
BA = .237, rank 14/15
K = 1384, rank 1/15 (tie with Atl)
OBP = .306, rank 12/15
OPS+ = 91, rank 12/15
SLG = .366, rank 14/15
Tot Bases = 2035, rank 14/15
HR = 130, rank 12/15
LOB = 1137, rank 5/15
BB = 512, rank 4/15 –> the best offensive stat we posted
By virtually every season long metric, I think the Mets had a depressing offensive season.
Thanks Chris
A lot of those stats include September, when most teams play kids who wouldn’t get playing time if the games counted and so the aren’t reliable at all and should be thrown out.
Now, if you take out the September stats, the ranks won’t go up too much, but I see you ignored the most important stat of all, Runs scored. While a useless stat for any individual player, I think that team runs scored does have some value and is how I judge offenses. The Metsies were in the top half of runs scored throughout most of the year (save September).
I don’t understand the logic there, Name. They were top half of runs scored most of the year, yet finished 14 games under .500 and 16 games back of a WC spot. That would seem to indicate that runs scored is NOT the best stat to base the state of the offense on and ALL of the other poor offensive statistics are better indicators of how the team actually performed.
I’m trading Montero, Flores, Lagares & Familia to Colorado for Gonzalez. He is the perfect complement hitting behind Wright. Cano & Granderson are the only Lefty power bats available and I don’t think Grandersons 40 HR power will translate to Citi but he’s still a 25 HR guy.
Trade Murphy for the best available young OF prospect. I’m thinking Joc Pederson from LA. Would love to sign Beltran too but I doubt it, so bring Byrd back as long as it’s reasonable (under 5M). An OF of Pederson, Gonzalez, Byrd, den Dekker, Young, hopefully Puello. Young would be my starting 2B.
Sign Peralta & Jubaldo Jimenez. You are bringing on $40M in salary but shedding Murphy and either Ike or Duda.
The math works and you have :
Young
Pederson
Wright
Gonzalez
Byrd
Ike/Duda
Peralta
D’Arnaud
Rotation of Wheeler, Niese, Gee, Jimenez & Mejia. While only spending $40M. Maybe they decide to upgrade over Young, Byrd or Pederson at the deadline and move Gee if Syndergaard is ready.
This team isn’t very far off but the big move is getting that cleanup hitter. Somebody young and in his prime to hit behind Wright. His name is Carlos Gonzalez and we have the ammunition to get him.
Montero, Flores, Murphy, Ike, Duda, Lagares, den Dekker, Puello, Familia should all be available at the right price.
This teams success will be the arms of Harvey, Wheeler & Synderaard. Find another AllStar bat to pair with Wright and fill in the rest with role players.
If I’m Colorado I would laugh at Sandy if he offered me that package. There is no way that they would accept anything less than a blue-chip prospect like Syndergaard or Wheeler as the headline for a deal, because some team will give up their top prospect for Gonzalez.
Act IV, Scene 1 from MacMets
A dark Cave. In the middle, a Caldron boiling. Thunder.
Enter the three , Alderson, DePodesta and Ricciardi
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Scale of Choo dragon; tooth of Beltran;
Witches’ mummy; Byrd and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea Stanton
Root of Ellsbury digg’d i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming JV1;
Gall of Cruz, and slips of Drew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse;
Nose of Tulo, and Gonzalez lips;
Finger of birth-strangled Ethier
Ditch-deliver’d by a Dodger,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s Peralta,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
I don’t care how they get better, trade or free agency, whatever they can conjure up!
Nice!
You deal from strength. So why trade pitchers when almost every Met pitcher has gone down with injuries? Sign one impact free agent outfielder. The Mets need to continue improving their offense. CarGo in left via a trade(Murphy,Davis or Duda and a minor league player. Then sign Ellsbury to lead off and play center field. Platoon right field and first base. Take the best seven relievers regardless of which side they throw from. You cannot replace Harvey. So all starters move up one spot. Sign a low risk starter like Dice-k as your 4th starter and let the kids fight it out for the remaining spot. If the Mets are serious about not giving up on 2014 then they MUST do something to put fans back in the seats and make the Mets believe they have a home field advantage.
Once Byrd was traded the Mets did not have a consistent bat after Wright to drive in runs. It’s a work in progress and an inconsistent offense. With so many “patient” hitters the team suffers from their inability to deliver clutch hits. Other than Wright is there a player on the starting line -up opposing pitchers fear?
Let me present what I am peddling: Murphy, Gee, Davis, and Tapia for Ryan Braun. Opinions?
Oh God no. Ryan Braun can take the longest walk off the shortest pier after his actions in the steroid scandal. Not only does it make me question his actual ability, but this team needs stable, respectable pieces to grow around.
Will never happen TexasGus. I think you’re over paying for a player that gas been on P.E.D.’s for a very long time. Let’s wait and see one year to determine how much of an effect the lack of using affects his total production.
The Mets should sign one impact bat Outfielder. Keep their pitching. Trade their excess infield and 4th-type outfield assets if the opportunity arises.
Trade for Bautista. Sign a SS (or trade for Lowrie or Cabrera) and platoon OF. Resign Harang, Dice K and Hawkins. Trade Davis or Duda. If you have to trade Puello in the Bautista deal, then acquire another OF, Beltran (FA), Reddick (as part of Lowrie trade).
Scott, after giving away the farm – literally – if the Blue Jays GM dismantles gives up on winning at all costs after one year, he will be fired and never get another job. He has to stick it out and hope all the pieces come together next year.