Trade Rumors
The Mets are finally getting the roster help they need. We all know about Michael Conforto being called up. Now, Sandy Alderdon has finally made a trade adding Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson.
For Mets fans rightfully bemoaning the loss of Justin Turner, the Mets have effectively replaced his career average of .288/.351/.422. My only qualm is this deal was probably available for a while, but they finally pulled the trigger after fans were apoplectic after the Kershaw game. I only hope this is not too little too late.
Juan Uribe is likely to become the third baseman, which he has predominantly played since 2011. He’s hitting .272/.331/.409, which may not seem like much but it’s infinitely better than what they have. He’s known as a good clubhouse guy. I also like the tidbit from Josh Lewin that he plays in the World Series every five years, which would be this year. I know things like that aren’t determinative, but it’s the kind of thing that can give a team confidence (similar to the addition of Darryl Hamilton in 1999).
Kelly Johnson is an unspectacular yet major league caliber player. He is a classic utility man, who has spent time predominantly in the OF but has also played 1B, 2B, and 3B. If he’s coming off the bench, which I assume he will, it’s a solid addition.
The three questions resulting from this trade are: 1) what is the new infield alignment; 2) who goes off the roster; and 3) what did the Mets give up?
Personally, I would put Wilmer Flores and his .249/.282/.381 (135 AB without a HR) on the bench. However, the Mets seem to be forever infatuated with him, so I don’t think that will happen. I think the only thing that is for certain is Uribe is the everyday 3B. I think the Mets may try Flores at SS, where he was terrible, with Murphy back at 2B.
The other option is to sit Murphy, which I’m not sure is prudent because even in a down year he’s better than Flores. They could muck the whole thing up and sit Duda and put Murphy at 1B. That’s the biggest mistake because you need Duda to snap out of it if you’re going anywhere.
As to the second question, the only player who’s obvious to be sent down is Danny Muno. The other choice will probably be Eric Campbell, who is the only other bench player with options. Additionally, Campbell’s job is assumed by Johnson, a more capable player. UPDATE: Mets designated John Mayberry, Jr. for assignment (in my opinion that’s the right move).
Lastly, I know nothing of these prospects, which is a good thing because it means they didn’t give up one of their better prospects. If you are interested in learning about them, here is a blurb on John Gant and another on Rob Whalen.
The Mets still need a LOOGY and a SS. However, this trade added two major leaguers to a bench all under the Mendoza line. I think Uribe is a placeholder and not a solution. This trade makes more sense if Wright is indeed coming back this year. It was a solid but not great move.
The Mets have finally put Michael Cuddyer on the DL and called-up Michael Conforto. It’s about time. Cuddyer has been injured for almost a month, and Conforto has done nothing but rake.
After last night’s debacle, the Mets front office probably felt like there was no other choice. I believe that Conforto will be the everyday star in the Mets lineup (albeit maybe not immediately) to match the five aces they will have in the rotation next year. I look forward to my son and I wearing Conforto jerseys in the next few years as the Mets make a push to win a World Series. Even with all that excitement I’m feeling right now, there is something pulling me back a bit.
I believe what is pulling me back is that this is a strong indication that the Mets can’t or won’t do anything on the trade market. In yesterday’s press conference, Sandy Alderson said the Mets have money to spend, but the media reports sing a different tune. Right now, the thing that sticks with me the most is that Sandy Alderson, the team’s GM, seemed to be against calling up Conforto. His quote at Thursday’s press conference was, “[o]ne of the considerations is that most young players who come up to the big leagues aren’t terribly successful in the short term . . . .” His words; not mine. Now, however, after almost getting no-hit and a fan mutiny seemingly coming to fruition, the Mets make a move they were reportedly against making. If the Mets didn’t want him to have the weight of being the savior, they chose an awful time to call him up. The Mets offer this move as an olive branch. However, I think this olive branch has a red herring on it.
Mets want us to run to the ballpark to see him. My Dad did that with me with Darryl Strawberry was called up. I did the same with my son when Steven Matz was called-up. However, I’m not so sure about running to the ballpark this time. The Mets have saved a lot of money this season with Wright’s unfortunate injury and Mejia’s suspension. They’re not putting that money back into this team that has a rotation that could win a World Series. How could I justify spending my money on a team that won’t spend the hard earned cash I give them?
Overall, I am ecstatic about Michael Conforto, and I cannot wait to see him put on his #30 tonight. I look forward to the first at-bat of what I hope is a long and prosperous Mets career. Welcome to the majors Michael Conforto.
Scott Kazmir is in the news again, and yet again, it makes Mets fans want to tear their hair out. First, he was inexplicably traded for Victor Zambrano. Then, we were enlightened how the Mets drafting of Kazmir symbolized yet again how bad the Mets front office was. Now, he’s the first player traded at a time when Mets fans have been begging the front office to do anything to help this offense.
It’s also notable this trade was completed by fellow 1962 expansion franchise Houston Astros. Much like the Astros, the Mets are competing ahead of schedule. Unlike the Mets, the Astros have made a move AND maybe looking to make more. Mets fans hear they won’t pick the remaining portion of Ben Zobrist’s salary. It’s disheartening. However, the good news is that apparently the market was set low with only lower-end A ball prospects being traded.
Maybe this trade will launch the Mets into action. There are already rumblings Michael Conforto will be called-up. I suspect they may start being tied to some players. Hopefully, they can pull the trigger on a deal.
Did you ever hear of the saying, the more things change the more they stay the same? The saying drives me absolutely nuts. Inherently, something that is static cannot also be idle at the same time. However, for the first time I am starting to understand this saying.
I believe this season is starting to resemble 2005. Sure there was some optimism before that season with the signings of Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez. This was also going to be the first full season David Wright and Jose Reyes were going to play together. That team also had some holes: Doug Mientkiewicz had a great glove but not the bat to play 1B, Kaz Matsui was being shifted to play 2B after he showed he couldn’t play SS the prior year, and let’s not forget the closer was Braden Looper in a largely ineffective bullpen. However, I don’t know of anyone that expected the Mets to realistically make the playoffs that year.
At that point, the Mets fans were suffering. In 2001, the Mets rallied around the city, but they fell short of making the playoffs in an otherwise disappointing season. In 2002, we watched Steve Phillips attempt to recreate the team as an offensive juggernaut with the likes of Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, and Roger Cedeno. This lead to three years of just bad baseball. Now, the Mets fans were clamoring for a move to be made. We wanted to see Piazza go out on his last year with the Mets with a winner. At the Trading Deadline, the Mets found themselves only 4 games out of the Wild Card.
However, Omar Minaya stayed the course. The Mets made no trades. He kept his bullets for the offseason. If you recall, that was a magical offseason with the additions of Paul LoDuca, Carlos Delgado, Jose Valentin, Xavier Nady, Endy Chavez, Julio Franco, Pedro Feliciano, Duaner Sanchez, John Maine, Jorge Julio (was was then traded in season for El Duque), Darren Oliver, and Billy Wagner. Omar showing restraint permitted the Mets to build that great 2006 team the fans loved.
Now, Mets fans have been suffering longer than they were in 2005, and they are begging for just one bat (which I don’t think will do the trick). While Mets fans were disappointed in 2005, I don’t remember them being a distraught as they are now. I think the difference is trust. We trusted that ownership and Omar would spend the money to get the players that were needed. In fact, they just come off of a spending spree that netted Pedro and Beltran. Now, fans don’t trust that ownership will spend the money. I believe this is the trust gap that is the biggest sense of frustration with this team.
It’s a shame too because I remember 2005 being a fun season. So far, I think 2015 has been gut-wrenching with all the tight, low-scoring games. My only hope is that if the Mets don’t make a move now, they have a plan for what can be realistically accomplished this summer. There will be LF available who can really help the team in the short term, but the market is scarce on middle infielders. My fingers are crossed. I want to be able to go to a playoff game with my father and son.
Last month, The Sporting News ranked Sandy Alderson right in the middle of all GMs in Major League Baseball (15/30). That sounds about right, although I could quibble with the order. To me, when you give Sandy a rating of 15/30, you’re really giving that rating to the entire front office, which includes Paul DePodesta, JP Riccardi, and John Ricco.
Since Sandy Alderson has been the GM for the Mets, he has really been tasked with getting rid of salaries and selling at the trade deadline. To that end, he and his front office have done an admirable job. In my opinion (and most people’s really), his three best trades were to sell and not to buy:
- RA Dickey, Josh Thole, and Mike Nickeas for Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, John Buck, and Wullmer Becerra;
- Carlos Beltran for Zack Wheeler; and
- Marlon Byrd, John Buck & cash for Dilson Herrera and Vic Black.
Looking over the rest of the trades, there really is not much to get worked up about, except the two trades Sandy Alderson made to help the team on the field (and not the team down the road):
- Angel Pagan for Andres Torres and Ramon S. Ramirez; and
- Collin McHugh for Eric Young, Jr.
There has been so much written about the first trade. Rather than regurgitate all that has been written, I’m going to make a couple of quick points. First, this was part of a quick hitting series of moves to try to rebuild the bullpen and TRY to take attention away from Jose Reyes leaving. Second, it seems like every year this team is trying to build a bullpen because the prior season’s acquisitions were terrible or everyone got hurt again. Lastly, this trade violated the old adage of “the team that gets the best player wins the trade.” We knew then Pagan was the best player in that deal.
I want to focus on the EY deal because with the Mets rotation, it has largely been ignored. In full disclosure, I didn’t see it with McHugh. I thought he was an AAAA starter or a 12th man in the pen. I didn’t see him finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting last year or having another solid year for the Astros, especially when he pitches half his games is Minute Maid Park.
Just because I didn’t see it, it doesn’t excuse the current front office for this mistake. EY was acquired because Paul DePodesta loves him. In EY’s two seasons with the Mets, he was a 0.9 WAR player, who won a stolen base crown. The Mets were under .500 and had no shot at the postseason.
In the same time, McHugh has combined for accumulated WAR of 5.2, i.e. he has been the best player in the deal. I shutter to think what the careers Cory Mazzoni or Brad Wieck will be.
Now after all of this, how can I be expected to trust Sandy’s regime to properly rate their own prospects? Sure when he has someone of value, he does a good job maximizing the return. However, when he is making a deal to improve his club, he has been shown to undervalue his assets.
This brings me to an extremely important point: Sandy effectively traded a first round pick for Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer hasn’t been himself at the plate or the field (even preinjury), which further exacerbated this “trade.” All in all, I’m not sure we can trust this front office to go out and get a player. With that said, I’m sure I’m just wasting my breath because there is no way the Mets would take on money to improve this team.
According to Marc Carig of Newsday, it seems like the Mets will not go for the available top shelf outfielders, but rather seek out Will Venable or Gerardo Parra. Similar to Carlos Gomez and Justin Upton, their contracts expire at the end of the year.
However, unlike Upton and Gomez, Venable and Parra will most likely not receive a qualifying offer. This is very important because of the prospect price. Besides being better players, Upton and Gomez have a higher price tag because if the Padres and Brewers respectively offer them a qualifying offer, then the team that signs them forfeits their first round draft pick (second round for 10 worst teams in baseball). Therefore, if you want Upton or Gomez, you need to offer first round talent for a trade to even make sense. First round talent is equivalent to Matz, Conforto, Thor, and pretty much every player you don’t want the Mets to trade.
So that leaves us to decide whether Venable or Parra is the better player. For my money, I’d rather have Parra. First and foremost, he’s got a great glove. I know the Mets need offense, but with Lagares’ problems on offense and his injury, the Mets could use Parra to play left or center. I know Venable plays center for the Padres, but that is more akin to the Mets playing Cedeno and Burnitz in center in 2003, i.e. poor roster construction rather than capability.
On top of the offense, Parra rates as a better bat. Parra has a triple slash line of .311/.345/.502 to Venable’s .258/.328/.408. I know Miller Park is a hitter’s park and Petco is a pitcher’s park, but Parra leads in OPS+ (130 to 108). For comparison, the Mets best offensive weapon this season, let alone outfielder is Granderson with .247/.344/.429 (OPS+ of 115).
So if the Mets make a move, Parra would be the prudent move. However, even if the Mets get him for a reasonable price, that still leaves holes at SS, LOOGY, and the bench. That’s why I again reiterate, there are too many moves that need to be made now. It is better to sit pat and maybe wait to see what is there in August.
Personally, I do not believe the Mets are going to move. I know I’m in the minority, but I’m starting to think that may not be a bad move. With that said, IF they were to make a move my vote would be Carlos Gomez.
My main interest in Gomez is he plays CF. We know of Cuddyer’s knee (and lack of production), but getting less play is Lagares’ offense and elbow. If Lagares goes down that means Kirk Nieuwenhuis from here on out. I know no one believes he’s going to repeat that three HR performance. Keep in mind SD came into the season with a CF problem, and Upton was never called upon to play center.
Also, Gomez makes less. This year he is earning $8 million compared to Upton’s $14.7 million. Obtaining Gomez would allow some payroll flexibility to go after another area of need like the bench or a LOOGY.
Finally, Gomez and Upton are having similar years. Upton has an OPS+ of 113 to Gomez’s 110. However, Gomez is more versatile in the lineup. He can comfortably hit leadoff or in the middle of the order. He helps the Mets in all the ways they need help.
I’m not sure why the Mets focus on Zobrist and his versatility when it’s Carlos Gomez’ versatility that they really need.
I’m sure most have heard from now that Jerry Crasnick’s “bold” prediction is the Mets will obtain Aramis Ramirez. My first question is what will the Brewers give the Mets in exchange for taking on Ramirez?
All kidding aside, this move is akin to the Ben Zobrist rumors. It’s just a name who’s aging and is not producing to his usual standards. Ramirez’s triple slash line (AVG/OBP/SLG) is .234/.279/.414 in a hitter’s park. These numbers wouldn’t have been good in Citi Field before they took down the Great Wall of Flushing. Also, he only plays 3B meaning he’s not really a good bench option.
Again, I’d rather have Daniel Murphy. Murphy is getting better and is just beginning to rake like his old self. Plus, I can trust Murphy to play in a New York pennant race.
Ben Zobrist has a well earned reputation as a versitale high OBP player. He’s a player that both statisticians and traditionalist love. If he was added to the Mets right now, he’d have the 5th highest WAR (as per Baseball Reference) on the team behind Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, Juan Lagares, and Wilmer Flores (in that order).
Zobrist’s 0.5 WAR puts him ahead of the players he could potentially replace: Daniel Murphy (0.1 WAR), Ruben Tejada (0.2 WAR), and Michael Cuddyer (0.2 WAR). In a vacuum, you could say he’s better go get him. However, I’m not interested. He’s not THAT much better than the aforementioned players, and he’ll cost something in terms of prospects.
With respect to SS, the Mets rightfully believed Zobrist wasn’t an everyday SS. Over the last five years, he’s only played the position in 99 games with none of those games coming this year. The Mets need a SS upgrade, but it’s not Zobrist.
With respect to 3B, I would rather have Murphy. I may be biased, but as the BABIP has indicated, Murphy has had some tough luck on top of injury problems that are in the rear view mirror. He’s been hitting much better of late. I also keep in mind Murphy has the ability to play in NY. Remember the unnecessary paternity leave controversy early last season? It lead to Murphy’s first All Star selection. On top of that, Murphy has shown the ability to hit in a pennant race when the Mets were collapsing yet again (2008).
As for Cuddyer, he hadn’t produced anywhere where he’s capable, and he has a balky knee. We all know it, but I highly doubt the Mets are interested in putting their prize offseason acquisition to the bench. Zobrist would be an upgrade, but that brings me to my next point:
We have to give up prospects to get him. If the Mets were the only team going after him, Zobrist may be available for a reasonable price. Right now, the Mets, Nationals, Giants, and Yankees are in on Zobrist. That means it’ll cost you, especially when the Mets are competing with the Nationals and Giants for a playoff spot. Sandy would be wise to drive up the price and move on to more affordable players having better years.