Disgruntled Mets Fan

Hey everybody,

It had been quiet up until a few days ago, so blame the lack of activity on that. But the Mets have finally made their splash in signing Jason Bay.

Is it the best move possible? No. Was it the worst? Also no. But the Bay move fits the Mets’ scenario and is honestly the best-fit move. It’s a good move, not a great one.

Signing Bay to a 4-year, $66 million contract with an “easy” 5th-year vesting option (making the contract worth in total 5 years, $16 million) fits a variety of issues the Mets needed to resolve, including the following:

-Adding a power bat
-Making a splash to mollify the fans
-Filling the void in left field
-Not overspending
-Giving fans a reason to come back next year

The Mets were in a tough spot this offseason with only one really good pitcher on the market and two really good bats. Holliday will prove to be out of their price range, considering that the Mets have other holes to fill, which either have been filled (Ryoto Igarashi and Kelvim Escobar to compete for the set-up role, Alex Cora, etc.) or will soon be filled (Bengie Molina at catcher). They couldn’t wait till next offseason to make a move. Thus, the Bay move brings back a player familiar with the organization who can bring a solid bat to Citi Field for the next few years.

I’m not going to go too in-depth on analysis of Bay vs. Holliday, but I’ve talked to some experts I know in talent evaluation (former Major Leaguers who are now baseball instructors at a facility in NJ) who have not been too excited about Holliday’s swing in such a big park, considering the Mets’ need for pure power. Bay, indeed, provides that.

Coupled with the signing of Molina, I think you can’t say that the Mets did a bad job this offseason, giving their spending limits, the players in the market, the economy, and pressure from the fans.

Thoughts?

A quick thought…my logic may be faulty here, but the Mets are looking for power, somewhere. What if they traded for Uggla (probably the most freely available power bat in the trade market), batted him 5th, playing second, and went for a faster, better defensive player (Pagan, etc.) in LF? I know LF can’t compensate for defense at 2B, but could it be a “compromise?”

Uggla, for his career, is just below average as a defender (he’s had 2 bad years, 2 above average years) with a -2.9 UZR in 4 seasons. He walks a lot and showed the power to hit the ball out of Citi Field this year. I think the power can compensate for the defense…

A great deal has already come to light in the week-plus since the World Series ended. The Mets are already actively involved in many Hot Stove dealings, and I’m going to give both the facts we know now and some early theories about what the Mets might do, going by position.

Catcher

The Mets have been linked to three catchers so far this offseason: Bengie Molina, Rod Barajas, and Chris Snyder. Each have various benefits: Molina has proven power and is a good defensive catcher; Barajas is excellent defensively and can hit for a bit of power; Chris Snyder is young and has some pop in his bat. Snyder would be acquired through trade, whereas the others would be free agents. Barajas is by far the cheapest option, as Molina will probably command around $8 million for one or two years and Snyder has around $12 million left. Snyder seems to make the most sense for the Mets, but the word is the D-Backs demand a major-league arm in exchange. All the Mets really have to offer through this type of trade would be Castillo, so it seems the Mets will probably end up with Molina (more likely) or Barajas.

First Base

At this point in time, the Mets seem very committed to having Daniel Murphy be their every-day first baseman for 2010. However, they are exploring options in the market as well. They have been linked, along with the Red Sox, to Adrian Gonzalez. However, he will cost a fortune, and would require gutting the farm system, since he is both so good and so cheap for the 2 years he has left under team control. The Mets have also been linked to Adam LaRoche and Carlos Beltran has lobbied management to consider taking back Carlos Delgado.

I think the most sensible move would be to re-acquire Fernando Tatis. He showed in 2008 that he could hit for an extended period of time and even had a solid second half of 2009. He could be part of a platoon with Murphy as well as play anywhere on the field if necessary.

Second Base

The Mets seem like they really want do-overs from last offseason. Thus, they are trying hard to move Luis Castillo. Today, it was posed that they could trade him to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre. However, that would require the Mets taking on a worse contract than Castillo’s. In any event, the Mets seem particularly interested in Orlando Hudson. Brandon Phillips may also be available in the trade market and is a player who I love and would love to see in a Mets uniform. The Mets also have much interest in signing Chone Figgins and playing him at second. Figgins, though, hasn’t played second in several years, and is a more proven third baseman. The Mets would do better to stay away from him and the sum of money he will command (around 5 years/$10 million per)

I get the feeling, though, that Hudson will be playing second for the Mets next year, and Castillo will be playing somewhere else. Who that is I can’t tell you, though.

Outfield

Their seems to be a split within the team on Matt Holliday. Omar Minaya is said to want him, but many in management are not sure he commands the salary that Scott Boras has suggested he does. Many think he will be overpaid due to this extremely weak free agent class. The Mets have also been linked to Carl Crawford, but for some reason I don’t see him leaving Tampa this offseason.

I think Matt Holliday will be playing left for the Mets in 2010. Their only competition seems to be the Cardinals, and the Mets will win a bidding war with them.

Starting Pitching

The word is that the Mets are very interested in Joel Piniero and want a “do-over” on Randy Wolf. Both could command $8-10 million per year for one to three years. The Mets could probably sign one of these and another cheap starter.

Or…they could trade for Roy Halladay. It’s being reported that the Mets will certainly be involved in some way; however, Jon Heyman has said that while the Mets have the talent to trade for Halladay, it would clean out their system. It would also be tough trying to extend him, as they would have around $45 million tied up in two pitchers. However, I think getting Halladay and signing him to a 4-year, $85 million extension (maybe 5/$105) is something the Mets should investigate, because having two top-five arms in baseball at the top of the rotation gives you a really strong front and basically prohibits prolonged losing streaks.

The bullpen hasn’t been discussed yet; though I don’t see J.J. Putz coming back.

It’s a little early to see any bearing on what the Mets might end up doing with pitching, though, because their are more solutions than with the position players.

I listened to as much of Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya’s press conference as I could yesterday. I read summaries of the parts I missed.

I’ve seen reactions from many people, from bloggers to people on Twitter. ALL are negative. But honestly, I’m going to ask these people: what do you want them to say that will make you happy?

Despite that I can’t fully get behind what Jeff is doing, and what Omar is doing, it seems like ANYTHING they do at this point is going to be met with full-on criticism.

Here are the main relevant points of Mike Francesa’s interview with these two:
-Wilpon feels this season was unacceptable.
-Misdiagnoses of injuries resulted from relying too much on other team’s trainers (dumb, but it happens)
-The Mets will spend money in the offseason as if it were any other year (unaffected by Madoff)
-Wilpon was most disappointed with the inability to drive in runs
-The Mets will likely make big changes to the supporting cast of the Mets, through both the free agent market (where they will be active) and potentially in trades, looking to trade members of the major-league squad or mid-level prospects.

Also, as announced on Monday, Luis Alicea (First base coach, baserunning coach) and Sandy Alomar Sr. (bench coach, infield coach) were fired, with the Mets citing their struggles on the bases and on defense as the reasons. Howard Johnson (hitting) and Dan Wharthen (pitching) will be retained, and Razor Shines will be reassigned from third base (likely to bench coach role).

So, what do you want from them? That’s my question. I feel like these guys are in a position where they can’t say anything without being blasted for it. So I ask, is a change in GM/ownership the only thing that’s going to satisfy anyone? Can you give this regime another shot?