After a huge and unexpected trade and a thick cloud of speculation, there’s no telling what new GM Brodie Van Wagenen will do next. Names we never could have imagined are being floated in trade rumors. Many Mets fans would say that Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo and Amed Rosario should be tabbed as building blocks that are off the table. However, what do those five all have in common? None have been extended on a long-term contract. Same goes for Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz, and others. Shouldn’t identifying building blocks and locking them up be part of BVW’s off-season game plan?
Building blocks are important, but the game has changed drastically. Putting a playoff team together usually has a short window. It is a chess game. Each player is a chess piece. Some are pawns, some are rooks and bishops and one is the queen. The extra added dimension is that every one of them has an expiration date with expiring contracts.
deGrom is the queen and he should be the only off the table player. Everyone else should be fair game. I am not saying, go out and trade any if these other players for the sake of a trade. The question becomes, what is their expiration date and what is the window that we are shooting for in trying to win.
Like chess, building the team has to be played by thinking several moves ahead. What moves do I make and which do I sacrifice as pieces to better my position.
If Syndergaard and Wheeler are rooks, maybe I sacrifice Wheeler first because he expires first.
All of the other teams on the division are making big moves and adding pieces. We have to react to that.
So, as always, Mike and his gut say the following. deGrom and Syndergaard are off limits. Nimmo and Conforto are close to off limits, but the deal has to really bring back significant value. Rosario, is a maybe, because it may take some real time for him to develop, going beyond the current window. Wheeler, could go now, but only if the next moves are played out and we have plan B to replace him. Corbin and Eovaldi are off the board. After Happ goes off the board and the Yankees don’t get him, Wheelers value increases.
Yes, the hot stove is awesome.
Its easy to be charmed by the Hollywood presence of BVW and his can-do anything approach, but there was a very interesting article by Eno Harris today in The Athletic (behind a paywall, but dirt cheap, and some of the best writing out there anywhere).
https://theathletic.com/681387/2018/12/07/sarris-the-next-moneyball-is-already-happening-all-around-us-in-the-wild-west-of-player-development/
Here is an excerpt of something I found intriguing:
“Multiple sources tell me that the Astros have spent more money on the hardware hooked up in Minute Maid Park than other teams spend on their entire player development department in a year….the Astros have enough high-speed, high-definition cameras capturing video of each of those movements for biomechanics analysis to make most player development directors blush.”
They tabulate analysts per team where the Mets finish dead last in the NL with 3. This tells us the story of what Alderson was doing. The Dodgers lead the NL with 20. It is nice to see BVW raiding quality FO types from the Red Sox, but clearly this team needs a ton of player development investment. In my opinion, this type of investment is absolutely necessary to optimize every aspect of player performance. The Mets suck at this given the amount of injuries.
I know BVW is aiming for ’19 to win, and fingers crossed, but I hope he can at least bring the team into the 21st Century.