The Mets need to make a few moves in order to contend for the postseason next year. These are four major moves that will aid greatly in that endeavor:
1. Trade Daniel Murphy
I know—Mets fans are all high on the kid who can hit for average and demonstrates patience at the plate. Unfortunately, there is no room for a slow-footed, subpar fielding outfielder or second-baseman in the National League.
If the Mets trade him to the American League, he could thrive as a DH, and the Mets should get something decent in return. The kid had a .313 average and an on-base percentage near .400 in his rookie season. Those are solid numbers.
A potential trade could bring in a decent draft pick (which could be then used for leverage in another trade), or a solid utility player, which, with the slow but inevitable decline of Damion Easley, is a necessary move.
2. Wave goodbye to Pedro, Castillo, El Duque, and Alou
Two of these players will be thanked as they are let go by the organization. The other two (Luis Castillo and Orlando Hernandez) will be shoved out the door. Although losing Moises Alou and Pedro Martinez will be a somber experience, neither will be sorely missed.
Pedro has been hurt or ineffective during his tenure as a Mets pitcher, and Alou's body will not allow him to be more than a role player.
The Mets will presumably have to eat Castillo's contract, unless another team is willing to depart with some cash and baseball cards to add an aging second baseman whose greatest strength, defense, is now barely evident.
3. Sign a younger, defensive-minded second baseman
If Orlando Hudson comes over to the Mets, I will be pissed off. He has nice offensive skills, but is very injury prone, which is the last thing the Mets need from an everyday second baseman.
If they can find one, the Mets should find a lighter hitting, but above average fielder who has nice range. I'll take a .260 hitter who can cover the field between an older Carlos Delgado and second base. Nick Punto, or even Jamey Carroll could be signed for cheap, and both have above average fielding percentages. There aren't any dazzling second basemen in the free agent market this year, so signing a player to a two-year contract would be ideal.
4. Bullpen (like you didn't know)
If the Mets want to go after K-Rod, fine, but I wouldn't be too sure with a guy who had seven blown saves and a WHIP of 1.29.
I understand the guy just crushed the all time saves record, but check this stat out: Of the next 16 closers ranked by the number of saves, only three had a higher WHIP than Francisco Rodriguez.
WHIP can be a nice indicator of what I like to call the "Benitez" factor, which is essentially how worried you get when watching your closer in the final inning of the game. How many men does the closer put on base before getting the final out? How often do you watch the inning between your fingers? If it's too often, than that pitcher has a high Benitez factor.
Both Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood, free agents this year, have significantly lower WHIP than K-Rod, and will cost much, much less. Even Dan Wheeler, who closed with 13 saves for the Rays and has closer stuff, had a WHIP of .99, about 30 points lower than K-Rod.
And with the extra cash not used on K-Rod, the Mets can go out and revamp their middle relief and spend money on an outfielder like Carl Crawford or Raul Ibanez, or a starting pitcher like AJ Burnett, Ryan Dempster, John Lackey, or Braden Looper...the list is lengthy.
Before you start calling for K-Rod and my head, let this information swirl around a bit...
OK, now you can call for my head.
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about 1 month ago
I love "The Benitez Factor", hilarious. I think Braden Looper is amongst the career leaders in Benitez factor.
1- Trading Murphy- Though I love Murphy's approach at the plate, and think he's a good kid (plus he drinks the same protein shake as me), I wouldn't be mad if he were traded. He likely has high value right now. But I wouldn't trade him for a draft pick or a bench player just for the sake of trading. It seemed like that was what you were suggesting, but maybe I read it wrong. If the Mets were to package murphy and another 1 or 2 prospects for an impact player (which I don't really see happening, but what do I know), then I would be fine with.
2- I completely agree.
3- In case you are unaware, Orlando Hudson won the gold glove from 05-07. I would like to bring in either Punto or Carroll as a bench guy depending on price.
4- Finally someone who sees the light about "K-Rod"
from about 1 month ago
Hey Patrick, I love your input, you know your stuff.
I agree that we could package Murphy into a bigger trade--good call.
I know Hudson is a good fielder--I didnt mention his fielding, but his proclivity for injury--nonetheless, good job pointing that out.
Im glad we agree on K-Rod! Not that I would really mind too much if we signed him
Lastly, when you finish an article and publish it, there is a bar that runs under the title and asks if you want to add a poll. It is very, very cool.
about 1 month ago
How did you put the poll in there?
about 1 month ago
Good to see that Met fans aren't nuts for K-rod... this October especially is making his flaws easier to be pointed out. When I first joined BR a lot of Mets fans said they wanted him. He's gonna come with a huge price tag... I admire the consistency, but we can get something similar for a much cheaper price. And yes Whip is a good example, and yes he did blow 7 saves as well, Anaheim had an unheard of 89 Save Opps.
from about 1 month ago
thanks for the input Ben. I wonder how the Mets front office will decide what to do. Are they smart enough to at least be wary of K-Rod's high WHIP? Will they be under too much pressure, and be forced to take K-Rod?
about 1 month ago
so you spend the entire article trying to stay away from injury prone players like orlando hudson and moises alou, but you recommend signing burnett, lackey or looper? and besides i don't think any mets fan wants to see looper again, even as a starter. i'm also curious to how you feel about re-signing ollie perez.
i agree with your assessments and especially about k-rod (wagner had almost as many 1-2-3 saves as him), but the question is do we really have a choice? the mets obviously need a closer and he is going to demand a lot of money but i would feel a lot more confident with him than watching anyone else on your list. fuentes is decent but he is not k-rod, and farnsworth is very similar to heilman that he will put in a few good outings and then blow it when you need it most.
if you look around the league, most successful teams don't spend tons of money on bullpens. they are eitherh homegrown or fill-ins that they keep for years. imagine our team if we kept heath bell and chad bradford. these aren't big names but they have been successful and they would be enormous additions. i think the middle relief could be based around players like kunz, parnell, and smith (not heilman) and they will become successful pitchers that could help us in the long run.
from about 1 month ago
Hey Rob, all good comments
I was just listing a bunch of Starting pitchers, not concentrating on their injuries. there are a lot of SP to be signed, so no worries.
I was just talking to a friend, and he and I agreed with you--most bullpens are homegrown, prospects that can turn in good performances in short outings.
I dont think the Mets really need to spend money on bullpen, besides a closer. I think Wheeler could be a very solid pitcher, although the poll doesnt seem to reflect that. If the Mets really want to spend all their offseason money on K-Rod, that's fine, but that will leave them short of the OF, SP, or 2B that they may need.
PS, I miss Bradford. How did he do this year?
about 1 month ago
PJ, do you write for the sake of writing or do you try to do some research?
"A potential trade could bring in a decent draft pick (which could be then used for leverage in another trade), or a solid utility player, which, with the slow but inevitable decline of Damion Easley, is a necessary move. "
A decent draft pick? Since when can you trade draft picks in MLB? And why would you trade a decent kid for a utility player? Is Ed Wade your hero or something?
Secondly, you pretty much talk about letting the older players go (which they should) but then you advocate trading one of the 3 decent young players you have on your roster, in Murphy? Tell me, who do you think is going to replace him?
You know, being a Phillies fan, I should keep my mouth shut. I don't want to give Minaya any ideas.
from about 1 month ago
Whoa, Joe. Whoa.
My bad about the MLB draft picks. I should have written more clearly--it would be wise for the Mets to trade Murphy for a newly picked prospect from another team who had more ability in the field, or perhaps package Murphy in a deal.
I think a top utility player would be ideal for the Mets, who have none. Murphy wouldn't bring in a starter, and the Mets lack a player who can play multiple infield positions.
I do advocate letting some older players go. However, Murphy is young. I do not write in the article that only old players should be let go. In fact, my second point is that the Mets should trade Murphy (but you already knew that). The reasons why are also written in the article. Where should he play? He doesnt field well.
And I told you who should replace him--a decent 2b, or a signed OF.
Being a Phillies fan, you should keep your mouth shut, or at least open it with a less demeaning first line.
And don't worry about Minaya. He's light years ahead of the all-time 'losingest' Phillies.
about 1 month ago
I'm not sure I completely agree with your analysis of Murphy. Being a Phils fan, I obviously don't watch as much of the Mets as you do, but some of the mistakes I saw Murphy make come with the territory of being a young player. The kid can hit, and the Phillies have shown with Burrell that it's easier to hide a mediocre fielder in left than you think. But again, you watch more games than me so I'll trust your analysis.
Just make sure that after your postseason checklist is over that we are still a better team, that's all I ask.
from about 1 month ago
Good input Miles.
I'm not 100% on Murphy, at all. He could be a legitimate player. I think he just has little place on the Mets. I guess we'll have to wait. I doubt the Mets trade him, unless they package him for a solid player.
Good luck in the NLCS! I'm rootin for LA of course, but props to the Phils for kicking Brewer butt
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