People always lament the trading away of Tom Seaver or Nolan Ryan. To me, trading Duffy Dyer for Gene Clines ranks right up there, too. It’s tough when one of your favorite players gets dealt away. Recently that disappointment hit home for me again, as the Mets dealt Matt den Dekker for something slightly more useful in 2015 than an 8-track player.
You can scoff and say that my exuberance for den Dekker was way out of proportion to either his ability or role on the 2015 team. And you might be 100% correct. Be that as it may, my hope is that you’ll see the cruel fate of one of my guys being traded for – of all things – a LOOGY and throw a few crumbs of sympathy my way.
Maybe you think Michael Cuddyer, Curtis Granderson and Juan Lagares will all stay healthy in 2015. Or maybe you think that Kirk Nieuwenhuis is just as good defensively as den Dekker and that his BABIP and ISO from 2014 is repeatable. Maybe you think that John Mayberry Jr. is a reasonable outfield replacement. Perhaps even you think that Brandon Nimmo will force his way into the picture this season. If so, those are all defensible reasons to send den Dekker packing.
But for the second coming of Scott Rice? What on earth did I do to the gods to offend them so much that they thought this was a reasonable punishment? UNC commits academic fraud for decades and gets a free pass. Banks crash our economy and their CEOs get record compensation. Shoot, there’s even a woman out there who wants to marry Charles Manson.
Meanwhile, I’m just a blogger who wanted to see a guy with a .392 OBP get a shot and for that I have to watch Terry Collins manage a bullpen with three lefties? Maybe you’d like to kick my dog, too?
A lot of people are happy that Sandy Alderson made a move to address the major league roster and I get the excitement over the focus being on the current season. But if this is indicative of the types of moves Alderson makes when he focuses on the present – please, please, please go back to focusing on the future. Dillon Gee starting, Blevins relieving and den Dekker exiled doesn’t scream out good things to me.
Without any proof, management tells us how important lefty relievers are to a team’s success. That one ranks right up there with, “We’ve always been at war with Eastasia.” Don’t believe what the Ministry of Truth here tells you.
Right now there’s nothing left to do except take the high road and wish good luck to den Dekker. With the current injuries to Denard Span and Jayson Werth, he should get a shot sooner rather than later with the Nationals.
It’s harder to take the high road when thinking about the Mets’ side of the transaction. That is unless you’re the type who’s excited about matchup masturbation and three or more relievers to finish an inning. If you like relievers who are ineffective against the majority of the league, you’ll love Blevins.
At least Blevins was good a few years ago when he played for the A’s. Hey, imagine that, the Mets picking up someone with ties to the A’s or Blue Jays – Whoda thunk it? Just make sure to pay no attention to last season in Washington or the fact that he’s owed $2.4 million this year. Just be happy that our long national nightmare of not having a lefty reliever over 30 on the roster is over.
World Series, here we come!
I still think it’s a grossly misaccurate representation to call Blevins the second coming of Scott Rice. Rice was a 10 year minor league veteran who the Mets gave a chance in 2013 and mostly used as a LOOGY. Blevins has a solid history behind him, with the A’s : 267 IP, 3.30 ERA with an average of almost 1 inning per game pitched and frequent games with 1+ Innings pitched.
If you take the rose colored glasses off when evaluating den Dekker, you get a guy who is going to be 27! and still no major league success. I’d call him a second coming of Mike Baxter, who no one was really that disappointed when we let go (for nothing)
Was it a great deal? Not really. But the effects are going to minimal either way, it’s a middle reliever for a 5/6th OFer.
“… as the Mets dealt Matt den Dekker for something slightly more useful in 2015 than an 8-track player”
I really hope this is an April Fools Day post, and this ranks as a potential for and AFD comment of the year.
At 27, there was really no place for him to go with this team. He was the touted golden child coming up through the organization, a true defensive gem who could be something else if he put it all together in CF (while Lagares was virtually ignored), and then unfortunately he got injured at just the wrong time.
Plus he was a Gator in college. Had to throw that one in there. Hahahaha!
I don’t think anyone will remember him by August, imo.
Hey I gotta say that I liked this deal. They have some balance in their bullpen now. They can keep or return Gilmartin if they want. They have an extra guy to start the season now that Black will miss the first week or so. They don’t have to rush him back and if he’s more hurt than they let on, then again, they have added some depth.
Stop beating around the bush, Brian. Tell us how you really feel…
Well Brian, at least Alderson kicked you while you were down and seems to have worked out another deal that must be turning you green by investing in Lagares at the same time he relegated denDekker …. Hey at least he didn’t wait for you to get up before knocking you back down!
Brian, my imaginary friend … I feel for you. You are dePressed, deJected,and think the trade dePlorable. There is no denYing you deSpised it and denOunced it. Please just don’t do anything desPerate over the trade of denDecker. The next time I see you I will buy you a beer to drown your deSpair.
Brutal.
Everyone can have their fun now. But when a starting OF goes down and Kirk has turned back into a pumpkin and Mayberry proves incapable of playing every day – you know what’s coming from me.
Collin Cowgill?
Ouch!
Despite only 293 PA last year, Cowgill put up a 2.0 fWAR. Among those with fewer than 350 PA, that was the 7th-best total in the majors last year.
Brian, I’m the only one that shares your pain. But, I wrote my take on this in yesterday’s post regarding the acquisition of Torres, and how I felt this was a political play within the organization. It feels even worse knowing that someone that knows hitting like Keith Hernandez does, gave MDD his seal of approval as the youngster he liked the most last year.
I wish MDD well, but I would have preferred they kept him and signed Scott Downs or the lefty from the Marlins, who were both released yesterday.
Gus it was the kiss of death for MDD. Seems anyone who meets Keith approval is shipped out ASAP. But why do you feel it was a political move?
This is the second half of my comment from yesterday’s article regarding the Mazzoni for Torres trade, where I respond to a comment from Joe Gomes. It speaks for itself.
‘Fred Wilpon has reappeared and made already two appearances with the on-field performers of the team; that is the manager and the players. It seems that the front office would like to get rid of Collins, as written in the new biography about Alderson and Alderson is almost in agreement. If Alderson doesn’t get Collins all the pieces he has publicly called for, it may be difficult for Alderson to convince Fred Wilpon to not pick up the option or maybe even fire him. Understand, although Alderson “hired” Collins, it was at the strong recommendation of Fred Wilpon. What would you do if your boss, who just hired you, told you that he has a preference for a manager? Further, remember at the All-Star game in 2013 when Fred Wilpon was asked if he planned on firing Collins and his response was that he’s done a great job considering what he had to work with? That is an indictment on Alderson. Therefore, I believe Alderson may need to convince Fred Wilpon that Collins has all the pieces to win, by getting him whatever he wants. And so if the team fails, it’s on Collins, not Alderson. For this reason, den Dekker had to be traded or Washington doesn’t make the trade.’
Brian sarcasm?! at the end of your post? Finally the Mets have pushed you over the edge! For awhile I thought the baseball gods were not being good to the Met fan base. I now realize it’s the Met organization and their decision making that will cause this team to implode again this year. Who’s running the asylum? Alderson or Collins? The team has no money this off season to make the necessary upgrade at SS and yet can now afford 2.4 million for a LOOGY? No wait! how many LOOGY(S)? And of course they want to win now which is why Montero goes to the pen. What does he have to do to get another shot as a SP? Again who is running this asylum? I sure get the impression TC is having way too much input in these decisions. Brian I have said in the past. This ownership will never win a World Series. I don’t even think the baseball gods will let them get into the post season! It’s so hard to be a Met fan. Love the team. Hate everyone associated with the front office. MDD got the best Christmas gift a player could ask for. Play for a contender and a winning organization. I hope he hits the winning home run off one of the LOOGY.
Where was Alderson when Fred made his appearance? Speaks volumes if he was nowhere insight.
Wish they would have traded Kirk instead.
I’m with you. Kirk and MdD are basically the same player, but MdD still has options left. I would have held onto that “flexibility.” (Oh, that word!)
I don’t believe they are similar outside of being lefty hitting outfielders.
I think MDD is a true CF while Kirk is a guy who can play there in a pinch. Somehow, Kirk has developed a reputation as a fine defensive outfielder, which doesn’t pass the eye test for me. He dives and that’s always good for your reputation, I guess. His sample size is very small but okay in CF. But when he played there the most (2012) he had a (-1) DRS in 372.1 innings. MDD had a +4 DRS in 136.2 innings in CF last year. If those numbers held up over a full season it would be in the neighborhood of a 4-win edge for MDD.
Also, Kirk hasn’t shown any ability to reel in his K% with a lifetime 30.6 rate in the majors. After his recall last year, MDD K% was almost half that.
Despite a 39-point edge in BABIP last year, Nieuwenhuis had just a .001 edge in OBP.
Kirk probably has more power but MDD had 7 of his 11 hits this Spring go for extra-bases.
I thought it was a good trade. I’m not even sure that Matt den Dekker is significantly better than Cecilliani down on the bench in AAA.
We can debate whether a team needs a LOOGY or not, but this organization clearly believes it did.
I thought the pen was thin and lacking in veteran experience.
This year we’ve seen the Mets lose Verrett and Puelo. It’s time to manage the pipeline, make tough decisions. Better to get something of value in a trade than to simply watch a guy walk away in another year. We can’t keep everybody. It’s a painful process, but absolutely necessary.
That said: I prefer MdD to Kirkkkkk.
Absolutely agree that they need to manage the pipeline and I think it’s something that should be held against Alderson with how he’s done so far in this regard.