Here was the closing question and answer from Sandy Alderson’s recent interview on WFAN with Mike Francesa. The transcript comes courtesy of Chris Strohmaier of Amazin’ Avenue:
MF: In closing, what would you say to a Met fan about the next couple of weeks, and what his expectation should be as he sits and waits everyday for news?
SA: Well I would say this: we’re working on it every day. The fact that something doesn’t happen immediately doesn’t mean we’re not working at it and preparing for the eventuality that moves will be made. It’s not like we’re testing the market to see if we want to do something. No, we want to do something but we have to go about it in a way that makes sense, so that the mix of players we bring back, at least in our judgement (sic), gives us the best chance to succeed. We’ll get there.
Alderson had received criticisms such as “playing at looking busy” here and at other sites, a meme that should die out now that Curtis Granderson is in the fold. The interesting thing to see will be if Alderson still has one big move up his sleeve this offseason or if this is the team, along with some sub $1 million lottery tickets, that will go to Spring Training.
If a big acquisition is still on the table, the most-likely area would be either shortstop or starting pitching. Anthony DiComo of Mets.com thinks the Mets are going to keep Ruben Tejada, as he claimed that upgrading shortstop “is more of a luxury than a need.” Meanwhile, he also writes: “Expect the Mets to look hard at older free agents such as Bronson Arroyo and Bartolo Colon, who should come cheaper given their age.”
For both the short and the long term, my opinion is that upgrading SS is a much, much bigger concern. There are serious questions about Tejada, Wilfredo Tovar has been called “Tejada Lite” and Gavin Cecchini is still trying to get out of a short-season league.
Meanwhile, the Mets have five pitchers, counting Jenrry Mejia and Carlos Torres, ready for Opening Day who all experienced success in the majors in 2013. Their top prospects are starting pitchers and we expect to see top prospects Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard in the majors this summer. The team also has older minor league pitchers like Jacob deGrom ready to step in if the need arises before the top guys are deemed ready.
You hear that Torres is “too valuable” in the bullpen to be used in the rotation and that’s, um, insane. Unless your rotation is stacked, the bullpen should be reserved for guys incapable of pitching in the majors as starters. Torres made nine starts last year and had six Quality Starts. He struggled in two starts against the Nationals but in his other seven games as a SP, he allowed 13 ER in 42.2 IP, for a 2.74 ERA. That just doesn’t seem like a guy incapable of pitching in the majors as a starter.
In an ideal world, Torres is in the bullpen. That ideal world will occur when the rotation is filled with some combination of Gee, Harvey, Mejia, Montero, Niese, Syndergaard and Wheeler. Until that point, Torres is perfectly capable of being a fine back-of-the-rotation pitcher. There’s no reason for the club to spend money on a temporary fix for the rotation when help is needed at shortstop.
We have gone over the list of shortstop candidates before and the names are familiar to you already. With the Mets sacrificing a draft pick when they signed Granderson, there’s no way they will sacrifice a second pick by signing Stephen Drew. So, let’s hope the Winter Meetings bring a trade for a shortstop upgrade. Earlier this offseason, Alderson addressed the outfield. Now it’s time for a new shortstop.
It will be great news if we hear that Alderson is meeting with his counterparts in Arizona, Cleveland, Colorado, Oakland and Pittsburgh – all teams that have desirable shortstops that may be available in a trade. Additionally, let’s hope that any meetings with Gregg Clifton and Terry Bross are of the courtesy type – like they had with Jay Z – rather than significant negotiation type, like they had with Matt Brown.
There are two offensive holes still in the offense, SS and CF.
SS is the preferred route and the most difficult.The SS has to be above average offensivey and at least average defensively or they might as well stay with Tejada and hope for a bounceback to his just below average OPS. The situation is further complicated by the financial restraints.
The outfield is an easier and less expensive fix. Just move CY to center and get a slightly above average OF to play a corner. I find this alternative less appealing because of what Lagares brings to the table defensively.
As far as pitching, dumpster dive with a Harang, Dice-K like pitcher.
For once, I find myself able to agree with the basic premise of this article and with your post. I wouldn’t be unhappy to start the season with Niese, Wheeler, Gee, Mejia and Torres, but I think Sandy will push to add one veteran starter.
Regarding SS, add Tampa bay to the list of GMs to meet with, since Yunel Escobar would be a fine fit. Now to your thought about CF.
Immerdiately after the Yankees signed Beltran, I suggested we go after Brett Gardner. A package of Eric Young and a good prospect or two could do it. I would be ecstatic with a lineup next year of:
Gardner (LF) Murphy (2B) Wright (3B) Granderson (RF) Young (CF) Davis/Duda (1B) d’Arnaud (C) Escobar (SS)
I can’t see the Yankees trading Gardner to the Mets since they rarely trade together. That would give us two out three of their starting outfielders from the start of last season. Who knows the Yankees might be interested in Murphy to play second?
I think the Yanks would definitely be interested in Murphy to play 2B. Murph and Gardner are relatively equal players, Murphy the better bat and more pop, Gardner the better glove and speed, higher OBP. Murph could hit 20 HRs with that short RF porch in Yankee Stadium. The big question is would the Mets want to give up Murphy for just Gardner. IDK.
I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world if Tejada is back. Many players go through the dreaded “sophomore” slump. Obviously, I would be onboard with an upgrade as well. I think Sandy will swing something next week without giving up Murphy or Montero..hopefully.
PS I remember seeing Terry Bross play center for St.John’s when I was a kid. He could play! He also had Mark Jackson feeding him the ball.
I’m all for giving Torres a shot after his performance last year, but I’m starting to sour on him after looking at his secondary stats. His FIP suggests a massive regression (4.30FIP vs 3.44 ERA), and his BABIP was 30 points below his career average (.266 vs .297). Not sure it would be wise for us count on this guy. Mejia also has never made more than 5 MLB starts in a season. And the Mets have had at least 1 injury in ST to a SP for how many years now? Does anyone think we can really compete with deGrom in the rotation to start the season? My guess if he did he’d turn out more like Brandon Maurer than Jose Fernandez.
Also, I know Sandy has said he won’t give up more than 1 draft pick, but does any Met fan really care about a 3rd round pick given Sandy’s lackluster drafting strategy and the fact that a 3rd round pick has something like a 25% of just making the majors and 5% of being a useful regular.
I agree. I like Torres in the bullpen because of the lack of experience. I don’t know who else we’d put in the eight inning but him, as of today’s roster. Vic Black? Familia?
I think they’ll bring a fifth starter type guy like Metsense said, but hopefully not Dice-K. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Capuano back either.
I also think you should look at xFIP, which not only normalizes BABIP but also HR/FB rate. Last year, Torres had a 16.3 HR/FB rate, which I would wager will go down significantly in 2014 if he pitches at least as much as he did this past season. Torres’ xFIP in 2013 was 3.50
Another problem with dumpster diving for starting pitching is that too often you get a guy who can barely go six innings. That puts a lot of strain on your bullpen. That was the problem with both Capuano and Chris Young.
I do think that Name has a very good point about injuries to pitchers. You do need insurance, especially with the seeming fragility of Mejia and the past record of Niese and even Gee. There are some who look at Wheeler and believe that his mechanics could lead to arm problems. As the old saying goes: You never have enough pitching.
Montero and Syndegaard are “Ready Or Not!!!” Other than making the Vegas affiliate happy, there’s not much gain to pitching them in Vegas. Preserving “Super 2” is also very speculative…I can pay a sore armed old guy 8-10 million and “Hope” he’s getting me 150-200 miserable or better innings….all so that I can avoid an early arb year?….. wow—-even the Math doesn’t really figure out so neatly!
I believe the answer is the first/best/surest good reason for a SS, 1b or Pitcher….and I’m rooting that they extend themselves with a SS.
What exactly is bad about a 3-4 year deal with S Drew?…. he’s a nice player—wysiwyg— I don’t get the “allergy”
I don’t know if it’s fair to call Tovar, Tejada Light”. He had a better year defensively, right? Offensively, he wasn’t terrible.
Another point, if you can sign a FA shortstop and sacrifice a third round pick this year, isn’t that better than potentially signing a shortstop and sacrificing a first round pick next year?
Never looked at it that way before. Very good point.
It’s not just a 3rd round pick — it’s the $14 million-plus that Drew would cost and the third-round pick. They have already added $22 million in salaries this offseason. Do you think they’re going to $36 million or more? My guess is no.
Full contract details aren’t out yet, but I would wager the 1st year money is going to be significantly less than the AAV. 9-16-17-18 adds up to 60 mil. Or maybe 12-15-16-17. If Drew’s contract falls to around ~10 (which I think is a real possibility) or they are able to unload Ike and not take on money in return, it’s possible they could squeeze him in.
Turns out Sandy is different from every other GM and likes the hump structure (he did it with Wright too). It’s reportedly 13-16-16-15, which means they’ve add 20.25 million for next year.
I’m not sure how much payroll they’re adding….. the team $ figure I’m using is $87 million and there are lots of ways to get there. Also, I’m unsure of whether they’re including carried buyouts in that Figure….as usual, it’s a bit confusing. They do have an ability to offload some dollars as well, via an Ike Dump.
Brian, Im in complete agreement. The things Ive heard Mets fans say on MLB radio in post Grandy simply amaze me, and make me wonder about what the hell is going on with people.
Without doubt, I believe that that SS is the next critical issue to manage.
If I hear another Murph for Gardner trade Im gonna scream. The OF is done. Pitching can me managed cheaply with ’14 more or less a done deal.
I also think weve so far made a mistake not trying to sign a vet catcher. DarNo needs help.
I don’t see why people are ready to move Lagares to a bench role when all he did was put up Gold Glove defense last year. His bat may come around to MLB average. Does anyone think Tejada deserves one more chance? He’s only 23.