Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon were signed. Trade talks developed about Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy. All signs pointed to a willingness to “compete” in 2014. Now, with the Winter Meetings over and the march toward Spring Training continuing, it seems that figuring out the shortstop situation is next on the list.
It seems that, for Sandy Alderson to sign Stephen Drew, he will need to achieve salary cap relief. The Mets are right around their cap for next season, which is around $87 million. A trade that moves either Ike Davis or Daniel Murphy can free up $3-$4 million which can make a big difference. Plus, it seems that Alderson is willing to part with another draft pick in order to sign Drew.
But, is that the way they should go? Seattle is shopping Nick Franklin and Dustin Ackley. Arizona has Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings. And Milwaukee has Jean Segura. Segura seems like a long shot, but the other four names are legitimate possibilities.
These teams want starting pitching (or in Milwaukee’s place Ike Davis) which the Mets have a surplus of. It seems that either route (trade or signing Drew) is a two-step process that can take some time.
The first step is trading Ike Davis, for both salary cap relief and a pitching prospect. It’s been reported that the Mets asked the Brewers for Tyler Thornburg and they asked the Pirates for Nick Kingham. This move is to add pitching depth and give the Mets more pitching pieces to throw in front of these teams in order to pry away a shortstop.
That’s step two, either take the pitching prospect and go trade for Owings or Franklin or take the salary cap space and sign Stephen Drew.
But, that is a huge risk. They have to hope that these teams that have shortstops want the pitching the Mets are offering. Adding more pitching is never a bad thing, but the Mets really want to upgrade the shortstop position.
With every passing day, it seems more and more likely that Ike Davis will be traded and Ruben Tejada will be the Opening Day shortstop. How much better does that make the 2014 Mets? It doesn’t seem like much. But it’s Sandy Alderson. The Colon signing came out of nowhere. It wouldn’t be a surprise for him to have more tricks up his sleeves.
Come February, don’t expect Ike Davis to be with the team. Who’s there in his place? Now that is a question I don’t have the answer to.
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What are your thoughts on the offseason? Head over to the Mets 360 Forum to let your voice be heard!
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The Mets do indeed appear near the top of their budget with little money to sign Drew. At this point in time, it appears Sandy chose two years of Colon at 10M annually over Drew at 3 or 4 years at 12M annually. I don’t think that is the route I would have taken. Drew, at age 31, has a career OPS that is 122 above Tejada and Drew hits for some power. Power is something the Mets offense is lacking. If the Mets start Tejada, they will have to sign a backup middle infielder at some cost. Signing Drew delegates Tejada to the backup role. The Mets are at least three years away from an above average SS in their minor league system if one even exists. Colon is 40 years old and is a high risk, based on different articles I read, of landing on the DL at some point in 2014. The Mets had a serviceable 5th starter in Torres, and a minor league system with three prospects expected to debut sometime in 2014 (Syndergaard, Montero and deGrom) and Mejia. There is always the possibility of signing a Dice K, Harang like starter also. The Mets had pitching options, they don’t have shortstop options.
Colon takes all the pressure off Neise, Wheeler and Gee and just imagine what Sandy can get for him at the deadline if he is 11-5 with a 3.31 ERA.
I think the plan is to trade for a young SS.
Sandy has to deal Ike for a pitching prospect and then turn that prospect into Franklin or Gregorious. Bring Johan and Jason Knapp in to compete for the 5th spot. I would definitely give Flores a shot to win 1B this spring. He has more upside than Duda or Satin.
It’s difficult to trade Ike when not even the Mets know what he will do this coming season. Your guess is as good as mine. So then why would Milwaukee want to inherit that question mark? Are the Mets interested in Drew? Not at this juncture. Boston offered Drew 2 years and he’s holding out for 3. It’s time to turn the page on Drew. Maybe Ike opens the season here and can find his swing again. If that happens then you can play GM and decide if he’s trade bait at the trading deadline or a core player.
I think Alderson has to hold out for a good deal or hold him because Ike could really get it together and put up a solid year. If he dumps him, then we end up with nothing. If we get a good return, then ok lets do it. If we get a dismal return, then don’t make the deal and go into Spring Training with two firstbasemen. Let Ike and Duda duke it out. Wait for other teams to incur injuries. But wait, this was about shortstops, right? One will become available if we decide to go that route.