We Met fans are starting to get a little antsy. Since Conor Gillaspie deposited a Jeurys Familia slider into the right field bullpen at Citi Field, it has been a winter of relative inactivity – Yoenis Cespedes notwithstanding. It’s nearly Christmas and the Mets still have a tangled outfield and a bullpen that could stand improving. So one can see why a relatively benign, speculative Daily News article would stir long thoughts in a fan’s mind. The article posits a possible deal for the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen. Of course – this being New York and all – a lot of fans are thinking the All-Star centerfielder and former MVP McCutchen can be had for a song. And not even one in the top 40. They would be mistaken.
Just last night, a friend proposed the following: Jay Bruce and Robert Gsellman for McCutchen. If that’s what gets it done, the Pirates’ general manager should be ridden out of Pittsburgh on a rail. Yes, the Mets have a decent amount of starting pitching depth and yes, they really do want to move Bruce, but why should the Pirates do the Mets a favor? After all, the Bucs still have egg on their face for letting the Mets have Neil Walker last winter — for basically nothing, as it turned out. It’s going to take a lot more than spare parts to pry McCutchen out of Steel Town, maybe too much. McCutchen is off a down year, one in which he battled persistent leg problems. The trick is determining if this was a one-off anomaly, or the signal of his decline phase. To your intrepid columnist, it should be the Pirates’ job to find that out, not the Mets’.
That leaves the Mets still needing a centerfielder, though. Perhaps a better place to look would west, to the mountains. If the Colorado Rockies – who always need pitching and love how power plays in their 81 thin-air home games – would be willing to part with Charlie Blackmon, the Mets should jump on the opportunity. He’s quick, has a potent bat – he put up a .933 OPS in 2016 – and is a fine fielder. Of course, his offensive stats will take a hit in changing fields from Coors to Citi, but even a 150 point drop in OPS would still pay the Mets’ dividends: Blackmon in center would be of far greater value than Bruce in right, of course. The feeling here is that the Rockies wouldn’t be quite as demanding as the Pirates would and that the Mets would be better off going in that direction. Then the Mets can move Lucas Duda for a c-grade bullpen arm, hand Michael Conforto a first baseman’s mitt and leave Curtis Granderson in right. There you go: all’s right with the world. Of course, it’s all dreaming and spit-balling until something actually, y’know, happens. If nothing else, GM Sandy Alderson has shown he can be patient.
We fans will have to be, as well.
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Duda in Coors will mean 40 Hrs for that team. Not bad idea to trade him and a pitcher (I prefer to trade them Lugo), maybe even add in Plawecki or another minor leaguer, especially if Rockies are looking at Trumbo for lots of $$$.
They could get Duda for a lot less,resign him if he has a great year. Desmond would go to CF for the Rockies, they keep Cargo in RF and the Mets get Blackmon. Still, Mets have to get rid of Bruce, and then play Conforto at 1B, platooning with both / either Flores and or Wright.
I would like to see Wright at 1B more and Reyes at 3B so he can lead off. An OF of Cespedes, Blackmon, Grandy is a winning trio, with Nimmo and Lagares in backup / defensive roles. For the BP, Mets should just find a way to resign Blevins and Salas,with Greg Holland is a possibility, but not for boatloads of $, after all he is returning from injury….Mets have enough of those coming back.
Let’s go Santa Sandy !
I hardly think the Rockies would be willing to trade for duda, since he is returning from back surgery. I wouldn’t want to have Conforto go into 2017 trying to prove 2016 was an aberation and trying to learn a new positon that he has never played. The same can be said for Wright. If healthy, he would be better served at his natural position while trying to regain his stroke.
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The Mets have played and won with a defensively inept Cespedes in CF and wisely have abandoned that plan. A platoon of Granderson/ Lagares, although not ideal, is a better defensive alignment than 2016. Granderson would potentially start 125 games but Lagares could be finishing up many of them. Lagares is an elite defensive player that is an average offensive hitter against LHP. The Met problem is that they have too many left handed hitting right fielders. The Mets can only play one at a time. This is so reminiscent of the Duda/Davis debate of years ago. Trade Bruce , free up the roster and financial space, and go out and solidify the bullpen.
It seems like the Mets have wasted energy and resources on Bruce, but we have to let the process play out.
When Sandy picked up the option, he had three choices: 1) Let Bruce walk away for nothing, keep the $13 million; 2) Retain Bruce temporarily and trade him for a return that’s better than nothing; or 3) Keep Bruce.
My belief is that Sandy’s evaluation of the market was that he could flip Bruce and get some value in return — a reliever, hopefully — and that’s what he’s attempting to do. Part of that strategy is waiting out the market. Trumbo, in particular. And some old-fashioned negotiating. He’s holding out for a better offer he hopes will come.
It could be that Sandy misread Bruce’s value. It could be that for Sandy to get a significant arm in return, he’ll need to add a sweetener to the deal — a low prospect or, say, $3 million dollars. I think he should do that if it will bring back a player who can help the Mets win in 2017.
The measure of this strategy will be entirely based on what he gets back for Bruce. We will see.
To me, option #3 would be unsatisfactory.
Do not mortgage the future for a spent superstar…trading Duda is also questionable , whereby when and big if, he is injury free, he is capable, in spurts historically, to win games with his bat… then shuffle off to hibernate for a month or three…I still loyally believe if Lagares can develop some hitting consistency, also a big if, then he could be a tremendous asset ; with his legs especially . I for one have not given up my enthusiasm for the still youthful gold glover. Bruce is overated and career wise is pretty average even considering the HRs and RBIs. I’ve scanned the stats and it’s irrefutable, Bruce should be traded, not for the proverbial bag of amphetamines, but something breathing and athletic, this said in spite of every other GMs knowledge of how desperately we want him to vanish. Bruce is a sunk cost, granted, but please don’t retain this stringy armed deer in the head lights GABP, Votto pumped- up anomaly. Blackmon would be a welcome addition to our green grass. What about Van slyke or Pedersen ? Even Cargo at the definitely not cut-out bin cost. And…Resign Salas and Blevins before that train pulls out too!
If the Mets could swing a deal without giving up Conforto, Matz or Rosario, I’d be onboard. Check my post tomorrow for another possibility.
A contending team like the Mets should not be experimenting with putting an OF (Conforto) at 1B. And they won’t. They may test him there in Spring Training, but no way will they commit to having him there the whole season.