Fantasy GM: What Would I Do if I Were Running the New York Mets?

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I’m going to take a slight detour this morning from the traditional fantasy baseball article to put myself in my own little fantasy world.  What if I were the Mets General Manager?  How would I improve a team that was extremely disappointing (there’s an understatement) in 2010?  Let’s take a look:

It’s easy to sit and write an article saying that the Mets should sign Jason Bay, trade for Adrian Gonzalez and Roy Halladay, and who knows what else.  To examine the Mets' offseason like they are working without the constrictions of a budget would be a mistake.  They aren’t the Yankees.

Given the number of holes they have, the Mets are going to need to be smart in order to not only fill them all, but to do so in a manner that improves the ball club.  I tried to keep my budget in the $35-40 million range, which is what I’ve seen reported that the Mets will have, but did come off slightly above that. 

With ownership saying that Omar Minaya will have whatever funds necessary to get the job done, then I can certainly see the slight increase being acceptable.

With that said, let’s take a look at what I would do if I were in the driver’s seat:

1. Trade Luis Castillo to the Tigers for Nate Robertson

Honestly, you can fill in the blank for who the Mets take back for Castillo, but the most important thing is that he is no longer on the roster.  With two years and $12 million left on his contract, you have to think that someone would be willing to swallow that contract to rid themselves of an equally bad contract.

Why the Tigers?  First of all, their incumbent second baseman, Placido Polanco, is a free agent and chances are the Tigers aren’t going to bring him back due to the presence of prospect Scott Sizemore.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, Sizemore was injured in the AFL and while they are saying he should be ready for Spring Training, you never really know.  An insurance policy is certainly needed.

That is something Castillo could provide, while also helping the Tigers alleviate some of their own budget-crunch.  At $10 million in 2010, this swap actually opens up $4 million for the Tigers to work with this season, something they desperately need to help plug some of their other holes.

Granted, Robertson will be an extremely overpaid long reliever/spot starter for the Mets, but it’s the price that needs to be paid in order to fully realize my offseason plans.

2. Sign Chone Figgins via free agency

There are a few options available, so this is the order that I would target them:

1. Chone Figgins
2. Mark DeRosa
3. Orlando Hudson

I’m going to focus on Figgins, because I think he is the perfect type of player to build a lineup with in CitiField.  Could you imagine having Reyes/Figgins hitting one-two at the top of the lineup?  The Mets would be one of the biggest pains to play against with that combo, reminiscent of the Marlins Juan Pierre/Castillo combination.

I also think that rumors of Figgins looking for a five-year, $50 million contract are probably slightly overblown.  He’ll be 32-years old by Opening Day, and I don’t see most teams looking to be paying a 36-year old $10 million, especially when a lot of his value comes from his legs.

I do not have a problem giving him slightly more money a year, however, in order to get him to accept a three or four-year deal, as well as to play 2B.  It’ll likely cost between $8-10 million to get him signed, so I hope the Mets go the extra mile (and use the Francisco Rodriguez connection) to get him signed.

As much as I want to dream about the Reyes/Figgins pairing, what if Reyes’s leg injury prohibits him from being the player that he once was?  What if he can’t be that dynamic force at the top of the lineup?  With Figgins, you have the replacement in house already.  People say that you can’t replace what Reyes does, but with Figgins you come reasonably close.

3. Trade a low-level prospect for Kelly Shoppach

I don’t want any of the garbage that is flooding the free-agent market.  The only player who is mildly interesting is Bengie Molina, but the chances of him signing a one-year deal are minimal and at 35-years old (he turns 36 in July) I don’t want to be giving him any significant type of contract.

Shoppach, meanwhile, is a non-tender candidate whom the Indians want to dump.  They are one of the few teams with excessive catching depth and at $2 million, they are looking to allocate that money elsewhere.

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