Neither Joe a Met, Is Adrian Worth The Farm?

The New York Mets bullpen has had a few holes that need to be filled. Media stories have suggested that one of those holes would be eventually filled by free agent, Joe Beilmel. According to reports, Beimel's agent is no longer in discussions with the Mets due to "mixed signals". That sounds exactly like the Mets.

They had a need, an interested player, only a little more room to go to get the deal done, and they stop talking. Another year of Sean Green, possibly. The lack of aggressiveness, I have touched on before, has cost this team another important piece to the puzzle of solving the NL East.

The biggest news of the day, comes in Minnesota. In the past few weeks, news has centered around All-star, and franchise player Joe Mauer. His contract negotiations had slowed up. This left many to believe the desperate Twins would shop him around for fear that they couldn't afford to resign him.

Many in the New York Mets fan base, were calling for the team to try to jump on the opportunity to trade for him. Even if this meant that the farm system would be depleted. The Mets may have been listening to that fan base, but if they did, however, no reports have confirmed any talks between the teams. The opinion still held fast that Mauer was too expensive for a smaller market team to pay out so much money to.

News today has moved very quickly to change that opinion. The Minnesota Twins and Joe Mauer have agreed to a massive 8 year $184M deal today to keep him in the land of lakes until close to retirement. He is from the area, so he most likely wanted to get the deal done, but usually local boy does good and gives the home team a discount. Not here anyway.

He is worth the deal, in baseball talent terms. No catcher is as good of a hitter as he is. He plays in a dome where there is no wind to aid a carrying ball. He plays in a very loud atmosphere and still has to call the game well. He plays in front of very passionate fans. He has a high bar set for him because he is a local boy.

I say congratulations to him and Minnesota for having the marbles to pay out like that. On the other hand, it brings up a very interesting question to me. If the Mets had indeed become interested in the Mauer sweepstakes, would Josh Thole and/or Ike Davis have been involved? It wouldn't surprise me if they were.

If that is the case. If the Mets brass were at least thinking of a trade scenario to offer the Twins, then how safe is the Mets farm system? That brings me to another, similar story. The San Diego Padres have a big fish for sale. His name is Adrain Gonzalez. Just last month the Mets were calling up the Padres to touch base with them about him.

Now, add a few more suitors to the MLB dating game. Boston, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and the Mets have all been rumored at some point this preseason as interested in Adrian Gonzalez. Despite these daily rumor distractions, he's taking it all with an even stride, but how long can that last? Will the Mets trade their farm system to get him? Could they afford to?

I've read some interesting fan points of the possibility of Daniel Murphy perhaps being trade bait. This is a factor, but an even more enticing piece for a team like San Diego, would be Ike Davis and a few others. The power display Davis has put on this spring, could cause him to be in demand if the team were to consider any moves.

I'm sure, beyond a doubt that Jennry Mejia is untouchable. I would hope so, or Omar and his 'baseball people' should be fired for any trades he is in. It would be like the Kazmir backlash all over again. Could the team mortgage their future for a player in their present? Sure they can.

They do it all of the time. This current administration may not have the history of it, but they hear the ever more loudly growing growning of their fan base. They have to. If they don't hear and react to it, they are ignorant to those who pay their salaries. This growning from an impatient fan base will cause them to sell the farm sometime this midseason, or at the very least, try to.

Other teams have other players who are major league ready and coming from equally desperate teams. This is the first step of trade talks. Network to your peers and see who wants to take the bait you have dangled. Usually it's the Mets jumping first and lately, not jumping the highest. Perhaps that could be a good thing for them though. It will at least cause a seemingly desperate team to not act so desperately.