Well, the Winter Meetings: 2017 Edition are winding down. I trust a few people had some fun in the sun of Orlando and I am supremely confident that more than a few mojitos were guzzled by the grizzled. All that’s left is the Rule 5 draft, wherein a couple of teams will try to strike gold, panning for overlooked minor league talent. For Mets fans – who need a second baseman, in case you haven’t heard – the Rule 5 draft will forever conjure up images of the immortal Brad Emaus, the plucky infielder whom the Mets took at the 2010 Meetings. He earned the Opening Day starting nod the following April, stuck around for 37 at-bats and hit a robust .162.
Anyway, the Mets will come away from the meetings having bolstered their bullpen a bit, at the very least. The signing of reliever Anthony Swarzak has been their only move of the gathering so far, and at first flush, it looks like a solid deal. Swarzak provided some quality innings last year, split between the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers, and one of the Mets’ top priorities going in was to shore up the ‘pen. The problem is, there is much left to do and we fans cannot be sure if the team has the wherewithal to do it. They need the aforementioned second baseman, a “real” third baseman – converted veteran shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is number one on the depth chart at this writing – another outfielder and, possibly, a starting pitcher. For right now, let’s concentrate on the vacancies in the infield. There’s been some brave talk about the Mets being “in” on a potential Manny Machado deal with the Baltimore Orioles, but they have neither the talent to offer, nor – apparently – the cash to lock up the All-Star infielder long-term. Machado is a pipe dream at best. As for whom they’ve been linked to for second base, the names are less than thrilling: Josh Harrison, Jason Kipnis, Cesar Hernandez or a reunion with Neil Walker. No. Their best bet might be free agent from right across town.
Todd Frazier is a quality hitter with power, coming off a down year in terms of batting average. He was a huge cog for a young Yankee team that came within a whisper of reaching the World Series last year. He is a third baseman by trade — Cabrera could shift to the less physically demanding second base for now – and he can play first as well, thus easing some of the pressure on young Dominic Smith at that position. Besides which, he’s a local from New Jersey, and has the reputation of being a clubhouse leader. Now let’s see, where have we heard this before? A free agent from the Yankees, who is a professional hitter and a good guy to have from a leadership standpoint? Sounds an awful lot like Curtis Granderson to me. If the Mets can sign Frazier to a reasonable deal, he would seem perfect to fill that leadership void left when David Wright got broken beyond repair and Granderson was traded. We know Frazier can hit at Citi Field; he did a pretty good job tattooing the Mets when he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
The Meetings may be over, but there’s a lot of winter left. Here’s hoping the Mets can make the most of it.
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I agree that Frazier is probably the best answer for 3B at this point. (Need/Glove/Power/Leadership)… My problem is what the hell do we do with the glut of 2nd basemen? I have a hard time sorting out between Cabs/Flores/TJ, & the ‘possible potential’ of Gavin C. My favorite is Flores, but wish the glove work was a bit better. I would look to trade Cabs if Frazier is signed & go with one of the younger guys.Bring back Bruce & maybe Dickey?
Ah yes, Brad Emaus. I believe that was Sandy’s first Mets transaction. I think Frazier makes sense for another reason. Given that a) Cabrera is in the last year of his contract, b) Wright is not likely to contribute much if at all going forward and c) Flores is viewed as a utility guy, shouldn’t we get one long-term solution between second and third rather than just a bunch of stop gaps? Familia and Harvey are both FAs after this season (also Blevins and Ramos) so we’ll need to focus on pitching this time next year.
Ideally, the Mets find two long term solutions – one for the infield and one for the outfield like Frazier and Cain or Kipnis/Hernandez and Bruce. Plugging third with a short-term stop gap means either the FO is still hopeful for a Wright comeback or wishful they’ll have a shot at Machado or Donaldson next year. Either scenario is about as likely as my wife getting me a Maserati for Christmas.
240…320…780… sigh… Patchwork…. hopefully short term…sort of an Azdrubal Clone.
Yuck. Please no.
Frazier and Bruce would be good,very,very,very good. I’d take my chances with them added to the team.
Frazier would be ok, but he should be a fill in piece, not one to be a prime contributor. Great clubhouse guy, but so was Grandy. Low BA and he will be 32 before spring training. IF he could be gotten at a very good price, it would be a decent deal, but there are other teams that will probably outbid the Mets.
So, we continue to watch other teams make moves. Piscotty to A’s. Yes, Piscotty is 26. That is the kind of risk the Mets should take.
Piscotty was sent to the Bay Area as a favor. He wants to be near his mother, who has ALS.
Frazier had had a down two years in terms of batting average