Roy Halladay Trade Rejected by Shortsighted Mets

According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman via Twitter, the New York Mets rejected a trade that would send Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jonathan Niese, and Ruben Tejada to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roy Halladay. If I were Mets GM Omar Minaya, I would seriously reconsider this.

If the Mets’ management had any vision, they would realize this trade would not only set them up for 2010 but would also pay dividends in 2009.

Because of an unprecedented number of injuries, the 2009 season for the Mets is all but over. It’s almost comical what has happened to the Mets this year. At this point, they have replacements for the replacements on their roster.

With the way things are going, do you think anyone is going to show up to Citi Field to watch this team play in September? Am I going to spend $40 on a ticket, $20 for parking, and $10 for a beer to watch Jeremy Reed, Alex Cora, and Angel Pagan?

Nope.

But guess what? I will spend $40 to watch Roy Halladay pitch. No matter what the Mets’ record is in September, Halladay will put people in the seats. Considering the Wilpons lost a reported $700 million in the Bernie Madoff scandal (how they claim this won’t affect the Mets is beyond me), this should be music to their ears.

There are very few pitchers in the game today who can make fans say, “I would pay to watch him pitch.” Halladay is one of them. Johan Santana (also on the Mets), Tim Lincecum, and Felix Hernandez (because of his electric stuff) would be the others.

While Halladay would pay off financially in 2009, acquiring Halladay would set the Mets up for a World Series run in 2010.

After the end of the 2009 season, the following players come off of the Mets’ payroll:

Carlos Delgado: $16 million

Billy Wagner: $10.5 million

J.J. Putz: $8.6 million club option—that won’t be picked up.

Brian Schneider: $4.9 million

Tim Redding: $2.5 million

That is $42.1 million coming off the books. Halladay is slated to make $15.75 million in 2010, so he essentially replaces Delgado on the payroll. That would leave the Mets roughly $26 million to spend on a left fielder, a catcher, some bench help, and a couple of relief pitchers.

That should be more than doable in today’s economic climate. Let’s not forget that Bobby Abreu and Orlando Hudson were signed for roughly $9 million combined this past offseason.

The Mets would have a 2010 rotation of Santana, Halladay, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and Oliver Perez. In that extreme pitcher's ballpark and moving to the NL, Halladay should have no problem winning 20 to 25 games in 2010.

Put him and Santana together in that ball park—forget about it. The Mets could win a World Series with that one-two punch and overall rotation.

Also remember, not only is Halladay a great pitcher, but he is also a great teacher. He taught A.J. Burnett how to pitch; why can’t he do the same with Pelfrey or Maine? I didn’t list Perez because I don’t think anyone can help him.

Now for those of you who don’t believe that you can trade four prospects under the age of 24 for just a year and a half of Halladay, I can see your point.

However, only Martinez ranks in the top 100 prospects in baseball, and the Mets’ farm system isn’t the greatest in the world. It’s ranked in the bottom half in baseball by most experts. If anyone wants their prospects, the Mets should be thankful.

Fernandez might be a top prospect and is still only 20 years old. But when a player doesn’t run out a ball in his very first major league game, it raises a serious red flag with me.

As for the other three, Parnell has a great arm and would probably be the closer of the future for the Blue Jays, having been a setup guy for the Mets. Tejada is not even a top 10 prospect and only hit .229 in 131 games for Advanced Single-A St. Lucie in 2008.

Niese has struggled in two stints at the major league level. In 24.2 IP in 2008 and 2009, Niese sported a 6.57 ERA.

Even if the Mets gave up all four of those prospects, they would still have SS Wilmer Flores, RHP Brad Holt, 3B Jefry Marte, and RHP Eddie Kunz in their farm system. They all rank in the top 10 in the Mets’ farm system according to BaseballAmerica.com.

Omar Minaya should get back on the phone, call back J.P. Ricciardi, and make this deal. If the Mets had any vision, this deal would have already been done.