Bobby Valentine and Jeff Francoeur: Solutions and Problems

With Bobby Valentine talking to ESPN, it suggests that the Mets aren’t talking to him. Which could mean the Mets are planning on repeating the Manuel mistake in 2010. Which would be a shame, because replacing Manuel would be the easiest and cheapest problem to fix on the Mets.

Couple this with rumors that the Mets are talking about signing Jeff Francoeur to a three-year contract, and it becomes obvious that the Mets just don’t get it.

Francoeur, while not the problem, is not the solution either. He’s not a very good player, despite his small sample size with the Mets this year. While I’d rather the Mets look at signing another pitcher, a left fielder, and two catchers and keep Francoeur in RF for the time being, they can do that without committing to him beyond next year. Even worse is what this represents.

If Francoeur is a given in right, and obviously we’ve got Beltran in center, what’s going on in left field? Either the Mets have no faith in Fernando Martinez playing for them any time soon, or they have no serious plans to go after a power hitting acquisition to play there—unless we’re talking a one-year deal, which would be harder to pull off.

While I don’t think straight-out bombers are what the Mets need, if Manuel is staying, it’s more important because it fits his style better. The Mets do need to add another bat. The free agent options are better for an outfielder than a first baseman, and Murphy plus an outfielder is a better team than trading for a 1B and whatever leftover piece you’d have for left.

The Mets are more than capable of competing in 2010, but they do have a lot of work to do in the offseason as well. So far the rumors I’ve heard regarding what they plan are not reassuring.