New York Mets: 10 Ways They Can Return to Relevance

The New York Mets (40-39) face an interesting conundrum. As a sudden contender, they enter the month of July only five games out of the National League wild card spot. Even after finding themselves absolutely plagued by injuries to stars like David Wright, Ike Davis and Johan Santana, the new make shift Mets have put the ownership mishaps and contract woes aside and are surprising a lot of baseball fans with above average performance on the field.

Off of the field, however, very little seems to be going right for this tortured franchise and with the July 31st trading deadline now looming as a very real entity, the front office team of Sandy Alderson, J.P. Ricardi and Paul DePodesta—or "Peter Brand", as portrayed by the lovably dorky Jonah Hill in the Aaron Sorkin film adaptation of "Moneyball"—have a lot to contemplate as they try to establish the best possible moves to ensure that the New York Mets reach the big market domain that they'd sought as contenders. Hope is not lost, however. If the Mets follow these steps, they can prove themselves to be a playoff team this year and for years to come.     

10.) Get the "Old Man" Wilpon to Shut Up

Don't you hate that awkward moment when your 76-year-old owner, Fred Wilpon, accidentally takes jabs at every major player on his team in an exposé in The New Yorker by Jeffrey Toobin and then attributes his strange lack of control as total "verbal verbal diarrhea"? It's uncomfortable for everyone, but especially the likes of David Wright (who he called "a very good guy, a good player, but not a superstar").

Wilpon, the Brooklyn born majority owner of the New York Mets, was recently quoted in The New Yorker article as saying that the Mets were "bleeding cash". Already in trouble as an investor in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme in which he now owes millions of dollars to multiple parties, Wilpon was able to sell minority ownership of the franchise to president of hedge fund Greenlight Capitol David Einhorn to help pay his debts and contracts. His comments in the Toobin piece were not good news or publicity for his franchise. It's uncomfortable. It's unfair. If the Mets want to regain relevancy, it's imperative to ensure that Wilpon does not make any similar mistakes. 

9.) Test the Market for David Wright

Recent reports have described the injured David Wright as walking almost aimlessly around Citi Field before game days and making casual conversation with media regulars. While not mandatory to travel with the team or even show up for the games, Wright does it anyway. That's just the kind of guy that he is, and that's just the kind of guy that his fans have fallen in love with.

Constantly engrossed with charity work, positive press and a reputation of being an incredible clubhouse guy, now is not an easy time to be David Wright. Following criticism from his own owner in which he was called a "good guy, not a superstar", now is the time to test the market on David Wright. His contract runs until 2013 so that means that there isn't the utter urgency to get rid of him right now, but if the New York Mets hope to keep Jose Reyes, they'll need to clear a lot of contract capacity.

Wright, who expects to make $15.25 million next season, is still an attractive option for any contender. His struggles can be attributed to an incompatibility with his ballpark, Citi Field, or his recent injury. He shows promise and some, such as Bill Madden at the Daily News, feel that much like the Padres did with Adrian Goznalez, the New York Mets owe it to David Wright to trade him to make sure he's in a better position even if he would never ask for it. The Mets shouldn't rush Wright out, but their ears should remain open for the right option. If this team just doesn't work for Wright, it's an awful turn of events but maybe it's what has to happen.

8.) Trade Beltran While He's Still Hot

What is a player like Carlos Beltran worth at this point in his career? He's certainly worth more than Manny Ramirez was last season, and there's still enough gas in his tank that it wouldn't kill the Mets to give him a series of one-year incentive based contracts. If you've watched the New York Mets this season, you would have noticed that Carlos Beltran has helped the New York Mets this season; he has put up All-Star caliber numbers and has been a pivotal part of whatever success the organization has had. It's no secret, however, that athletes have this odd tendency to outrageously over perform in their contract year.

Carlos Beltran, whose contract is ending, is supposed to make $20 million this season. His play is nothing short of admirable and praise worthy, and his talent—even at the ripe age of 34—would help most teams. If you think that his agent Scott Boras doesn't realize how well Beltran is currently performing and won't try to capitalize on his new found value, you're sourly mistaken. Word is that the Mets will not be shopping Beltran until David Wright comes off of the DL (All-Star break in July) and will not be trading him if the Mets are still in contention. His contract makes him a tough item to ship, so don't look for him to be worth much more than one prospect. But so long as we don't insist on trading him to Nolan Ryan, we should be on our merry way with $20 million scrapped from the books this season.   

7) Trade Francisco Rodriguez to the Yankees. Be Sure to Warn His Father-in-Law.

Even if he looks relatively decent this season (20 saves), let's take a moment and remember when Francisco Rodriguez missed the remainder of the 2010 season because he required surgery for a torn ligament in his thumb after being arrested for assaulting his father-in-law in the Mets clubhouse after a 6-2 loss to the Rockies in August?

Why wasn't that a bigger deal? God was very much pissing on every Mets fan, K-Rod was legally not allowed to see his girlfriend, he was suspended for a whopping two games, he was back in court a month later with the request of a $7,500 bail because this was not the first time he had beaten this poor old man and he was harassing his girlfriend via text message, and now that he's back and performing for the New York Mets again, we owe the dude $17.5 million. Well, I've got an idea. Who can afford to swallow $17.5 million easier than the Steinbrenner kids in the Bronx?

Let's allow our first Subway trade in some years. The Yankees absolutely need a set-up man for Mariano Rivera with Rafael Soriano injured and Joba Chamberlain out for the season, and K-Rod recently came out and said that he would accept being a set-up man for a contender. A contender like the Yankees, K-Rod? I can dig it. That's $17.5 million off of our payroll, a bad clubhouse guy off of the team, and our bullpen wouldn't even be dented. Jason Isringhausen would be more than capable to assume closer duties in K-Rod's absence, and we could even allow prospects Bobby Parnell or Pedro Beato to get some work in for the future of the franchise. That's how K-Rod got his start for the Angels. Bam. Perfect fit. Next question, please, before anyone notices that we don't have to deal with K-Rod anymore.

6.) Let Jason Bay Do His Thing

Now is sort of an awful time to be slugger Jason Bay. Despite the fact that he's making $18.2 million, he's not exactly the most beloved pickup the baseball world has ever seen. Now known as the guy who's flopped and continued one of the longest "slumps" in modern baseball history, it might be time to worry if he's ever coming back. For the Mets front office, they are in a position to the exact opposite.

With such a lucrative salary, he is virtually untradeable so it's essentially time to go all in on this guy. Some guys slump and never get their stuff back. Some guys can come back. Jason Bay made two straight All-Star teams in 2005 and 2006 only to hit a lousy .247 for the Pirates in 2007. He eventually came back from that. As the Canadian-born Jason Bay has learned, Citi Field is no place for a slugger.

That being said, David Wright went from hitting 33 home runs at Shea Stadium to 10 home runs his first year at Citi Field—only to hit 29 the year after that. Jason Bay saw his 2009 home run total of 36 drop to seem like what is now recent history, but when he was hitting those bombs he certainly displayed demonstrative talent. I've watched him in his rhythm and I've read his lengthy interviews. He's shaken up. Maybe it's just because I have to, but I think that the best bet for Jason Bay is to let him do his thing and help him find his way back onto that path for his success because otherwise we're chomping down on $18.2 million. The news is not all bleak: Including a grand slam last night, Bay has proven to be more consistent in the past month and is looking at what could be considered a bit of a hot streak.

5.) Be Patient with Ike Davis

Let me repeat: Be. Patient. With. Ike. Davis. This guy is one of the most valuable and ready prospects that I've ever seen come in through this organization. He shows more heart and dedication on that field than anyone you'll get the pleasure to watch, and his logic-defying defensive skills compliment his natural swing to make him an excellent fit to man the first base position over the coming years for the New York Mets.

A fan favorite, Davis was performing at Rookie of the Year level last season and All-Star caliber this season before the inevitable Mets curse struck him down on a collision with David Wright. Mets fans can remember rushing back a hot Ryan Church after a concussion and learning that all they had done was helped to ensure that his career was essentially over. The Mets can't afford to do that with Davis.

Last week, a test had shown that there was severe cartilage damage in Davis's ankle and if it does not improve in the next three weeks, he could require season ending surgery. So be it. Let's ride out Murphy while Davis recovers. He can man the fort this season if needed. I'm not letting us accidentally break what could be the first base man for the New York Mets for the foreseeable future because they were impatient.

4.) Make Sure That Tejada, Murphy and Turner Know Their Roles

This one can be a little bit tricky because each has been such a valuable asset to the New York Mets this season, but one thing that the management needs to ensure is that Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner understand what they mean to this franchise.

I think that each of them serves a valuable position for this team and allow the New York Mets to be a more athletic, young and flexible team. While Alderson should expect the phone to ring for each of these names, I think that the chump change that he'd be getting wouldn't be worth any green lights. These are his guys, and he should stick with them. That being said, of course, it might be hard to tell any of these guys that they are not everyday starters. But they're not. If and when Davis and/or Wright come back, one or more of these players will have to return to the bench.

Turner was recently named NL Rookie of the Month, Tejada offers young and exciting flash on the field, and Murphy has been an everyday consistent player but their upside is limited. Where do we put Murphy when he comes back? There's no legitimate answer to that question. Meanwhile, we have to hope that they don't try to get much more money for a different club, but if they do, they're replaceable assets. 

3.) Let Young Arms Like Gee, Niese, Parnell and Mejia Fully Develop Their Games

The New York Mets have had a long and troubled history with overpaying older arms (Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana), never seeing a prospect pan out (John Maine) or trading away a young arm before his peak (Heath Bell). Just like that, however, the New York Mets happen to be loaded with young pitching talent in arms like the rookie Dillon Gee (8-1 with a 3.32 ERA) or Jonathan Niese (who leads the New York Mets with 79 K's). Gee is a smart and consistent arm who is built for the future, and Niese shows flash and promise in the rotation. With Pelfrey as an already proven young arm who knows how to look great, the rotation isn't exactly in poor shape.

Unfortunately, our top pitching prospect Mejia has already gone through Tommy John surgery and his future is uncertain. But Paul DePodesta is known around the league for getting top-value out of "unearthed, good and undervalued pitchers". Enter: Chris Capuano and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. It was fantastically exciting once Omar Minaya signed big names like Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez, but with minds like DePodesta at the helm I think we're in store for better days in terms of valuing pitching talents. That being said...

2.) Expect Literally Nothing from Johan Santana; It'll Help Ease the Pain

I don't even remember what Johan Santana looks like it's been so damn long. I want to hope that he comes back in top form. I want to hope that he can be a savior for this team. But he's not. We can root for the guy, and by God you know I will be, but we can't sell our ship for him. What was originally expected to be an All-Star break return, it has already been delayed until August at the earliest.

Would anyone be surprised if we never even see Johan Santana again? Has anyone ever come back from this surgery? Let's take a moment to remember Kerry Wood. If we collectively expect nothing from him, it might help ease his transition by offering him literally no pressure. It's not that I think he's going to come back as a nothing, but if we expect nothing from him it'll make it all the more impressive if he looks decent. (It's funny that I'm talking about a guy that makes over $20 million a year.) 

Don't worry about his $22.5 million contact because it'll just make you sick. In fact, forget I even told you that he's making $22.5 million this year. Or that we'll owe him $25 million in 2013. If we can trade Santana for a hot dog, I'd do it. Unfortunately, I don't think we're getting a hot dog for that salary. A more productive use of your time as a Mets fan hoping for pitching help would be to set your mind (with patience) on the likes of top prospect Jennry Mejia, Bobby Parnell, Matt Harvey or Brad Holt. If we don't see any of them in the rotation this season, they're still going to offer more to this organization down the road than Santana ever did.  

1.) Save the Day, Sign Jose Reyes

I recently read an interesting angle and analysis of any potential Jose Reyes signing. In this article, the writer said that an MLB executive’s musing on Reyes indicated that, with steroids virtually out of the picture, Reyes immediately becomes one of the most attractive players that the game will ever see.

He’s not going to get “slower” in the next couple of years; at age 28, that’s actually the exact peak age that baseball-prospectus has determined an offensive player reaches his best success. I remember going down to Dodgers Stadium with my dad in 2003 to see the exciting young Dominican ballplayer and being wowed.

As he’s grown into one of the most exciting players in the game, he’s also won the hearts of many Mets fans. Now in the middle of what looks to be his best season yet—as he posts MVP numbers and leads the league in hits, singles and triples. For a while, it looked like the best decision for the struggling Mets team would be to shop Jose Reyes for top value. Now, it doesn’t look like that. If you’re Sandy Alderson and you sign Jose Reyes today, you’re a hero. Reyes has said that he won’t talk numbers during the season (which makes trading him incredibly difficult and the best suitor, the San Francisco Giants, have announced that they can’t afford him), but the word is that the front office is going to try again in July.

Reyes is nothing short of a superstar, and he helps the New York Mets in more ways than they can imagine. He is a once-in-a-generation talent, and it seems clear that Reyes will be going to the “top bidder” for what is expected to be “Carl Crawford dollars”. For the Mets, it might be tough economically but they can still be that top bidder once cap space is shed. With a $143 million  payroll—which sits in the top five in the MLB—they’ll have the money once they clear the salaries of Beltran, Rodriguez, Wright or Santana. With the way that Crawford is performing and the fact that Pujols will also be a free agent, it's possible that Reyes doesn't get the kind of money that he's looking for once he tests the market.

Meanwhile, we can all watch as Reyes continues to tear up the league and drive the New York Mets to become a playoff contender. Under Reyes, a consistent infield and an exciting pitching staff, the New York Mets can be a relevant powerhouse, unharmed by finances and poor mistakes by Minaya, that competes for a title in the National League.