There seems to be this growing philosophy that if a player is the face of a franchise, he must stay with the team throughout. I will not argue this. You can look across town to see what it has done for the New York Yankees with Derek Jeter. I do believe in homegrown talent. The Yankees and the 1986 New York Mets have proven just how great it is. However, sometimes you have to part with one to get something much more needed.
I bring this up because speculation continues as to what will happen to Jose Reyes. Where will he go? Will he be traded? Will he just leave as a free agent? Can the Mets re-sign him even if they wanted to? Some seem to feel the best fit for Reyes is with the San Francisco Giants. Yet, would they really give up at least two top pitching prospects and a current player, minimum? Probably not.
Here is what I think the best situation would be: trade David Wright.
My reasoning is as follows. Unlike Reyes, it seems that Wright, out of the two players, is the most expendable one. While he has always been healthy, he is a streaky hitter. His defense leaves plenty to be desired. Ike Davis has, and can continue, to pick up the slack that will be left should Wright depart. Carlos Beltran has been successful where Wright has not been. Additionally, with his departure, you dump some more salary, which leaves money to be spent on Reyes.
Reyes is a lead-off hitter. If he gets on base, anybody who comes after him can, or rather should, easily be able to bring him home. His speed makes him valuable. The excitement he brings to the game cannot be replaced. Reyes is, without a doubt, the true catalyst on the New York Mets. He is not expendable. You can get a third baseman from anywhere. The same cannot be said about a legitimately threatening lead-off hitter.
Beltran can be expendable, if and only if, the Mets are not in contention by the trading deadline. If he continues to hit the way he has and the Mets legitimately have no shot at making it to the playoffs, he should be traded. Do not let him walk. The Mets will not re-sign him. So get something for him.
Davis is not among those who can be traded. He has proven to be extremely beneficial to this team. The power he brings surpasses that of Wright and can only get better with more experience. The mere thought of him not playing to his full potential yet is enough to wet any Mets fan’s mouth. He can very well be our new Keith Hernandez. Perhaps even better.
With all of this said, I would be disheartened should the Mets fail to keep both Reyes and Wright. I truly believe in homegrown talent. It is exciting for a fan base when they hear about what is happening to the players in the minors. They begin to dream about the possibilities when those players come to the majors. I feel this should continue and the Mets need to find a way to keep both players. However, should they have to choose one, Reyes should be that choice. He brings so much more to the table in speed, on-base percentage, batting abilities, excitement and defense. I do not doubt that Reyes can be the face of this franchise. Davis will be the second in command with his power.
AMEN to these sentiments…..Jose should stay, David should go! Keep bringing up hungry players like Priday, dump underperforming vets like Hairston, Harris, & Hu ( our killer Hs).
Any Met fan will be sorry to see Wright go as he is the face of the franchise but the team needs to make the financially correct move. Trade Wright and get something decent in return. Resigning Reyes is the best move. Turner has turned into a surprise but I don’t think he can keep up the play that he has early on but he can fill the void at third as he has been doing in Wright’s absence. Get Murphy more time at 2nd and keep Davis at first. Bay will pick his numbers up and Pagan is a machine. Beltran can be traded to a contender and then Pridie and Duda can platoon in right. Tejada should stay but the rest of the bench is just not cutting it.
The prospects of Santana returning this year do not look promising so go and pick up Kazmir as he has been released by Anaheim. Pelfrey, Niese, Dickey, Gee, and Capuano are keeping the rotation solid but if a guy goes down, they can have Kazmir fill in the rotation. Another smart choice is picking up Frankie’s option for next year. Parnell is not ready to be a big time closer yet and he probably won’t be in another year but it is a start in the right direction. Hold onto Beato and Buchholz and dump everyone else in the bullpen at the end of the season and then fill in the voids. There are some decent middle relievers in the system that will work out.