MINAYA MAY SKIP DEALS, PROMOTE FROM MINORS TO HELP CLUB - New York Post

Per Joel Sherman:

1) The organization is cautiously optimistic Ryan Church will soon return, making a righty-hitting left fielder to replace out-for-the-season Moises Alou the main priority. Minaya has been unable to identify a player significantly better than a Fernando Tatis/Endy Chavez platoon to make it worthwhile to sacrifice prospect chips.

2) The Mets are finding the asking prices for relievers they have interest in, such as Colorado's Brian Fuentes, to be too steep.

3) To reach the level of contender, the Mets have expended a lot of prospect artillery the past three years, and Minaya recognizes he must protect the farm system and let it rebuild.

"We can't keep doing four-for-one deals," Minaya said.

over 3 years ago Eric Simon 26 comments 0 recs |

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Omar may be right here

At first glance, I don’t see anything terribly wrong with Omar’s reasoning here. If Church comes back ok , the Mets only really need at worst another third/fourth outfielder to spell Tatis or Chavez if one of them needs rest and/or collapses to a mean. While Martinez is almost certainly not ready for any significant time, I see no reason why he couldn’t be at least a serviceable bench player and fill-in. He sure looks better than Marlon Anderson right now!! Given that, why trade him or any other of our few remaining prospects for Ibanez or Nady when we don’t really need either of them and its not all that clear that they are a big enough upgrade over Tatis/Chavez to justify mortgaging the future. I don’t expect Tatis to keep up this pace but that does not mean he is going to hit .200 with no power for the rest of the year either. And Chavez will always be valuable for his glove and speed. Now of course if Church can’t come back, you have a different story. I still though would not strip my farm system bare for Ibanez or Nady. Maybe Jason Bay. Maybe. I would love to get Fuentes also but at what cost? There will be bullpen help on the market, there almost always is and I suspect that is an area where Omar might be willing and able to make a deal without giving up too much.
Another guy that intrigues me. Milton Bradley. Yes we all know his history but he doesn’t have any more baggage than Bonds and he is a much better player at this point than Bonds is. He is having a great season I don’t mind a fire guy like that and I think he would be happy to be wanted and playing for a contender. Plus I trust Manuel and the rest to keep him in line more than I trust Bonds not to cause a big distraction. I don’t know what the Rangers would want for him but I bet it’s a workable trade.

by Endys Game on Jul 15, 2008 3:33 PM EDT reply actions

Bradley vs Bonds

Another guy that intrigues me. Milton Bradley. Yes we all know his history but he doesn’t have any more baggage than Bonds and he is a much better player at this point than Bonds is.

Bradley 2008 road OPS: .283/.404/.462
Bonds 2007 road OPS: .263/.484/.532

Who’s better than whom? Bonds will cost nothing but money and very little at that. Bradley is a fine player who is taking full advantage of his home park and would cost a king’s ransom to acquire, if he were even available.

by Eric Simon on Jul 15, 2008 4:07 PM EDT reply actions

Addendum

I’m not necessarily advocating signing Bonds*, but saying that Bradley is the better player – let alone "a much better player" – is simply inaccurate, and that’s even if we were to ignore the vastly disparate respective costs of acquisition.

*Yes I am

by Eric Simon on Jul 15, 2008 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions

sigh

I probably should not have even mentioned Bonds since it draws in another argument that I am sick of and detracted from the main points of my post. But yes I think Bradley is better right now. Bonds hasn’t played all year is 43 years old, can;t run and can’t play the outfield. And he is a jerk to his team-mates. I have no idea what the costs of acquisition for Bradley would be I said as much in my post. But fine, I may have overstated it. What does it matter though? The Mets will never sign Bonds.
Since Omar clearly does not want to sign Bonds (nor does any other GM in the game) why not at least consider Bradley? Why would he cost a king’s ransom? The Rangers have plenty of offense and he is not somebody they are going to build around. I can’t see why he would cost more than Nady or Ibanez. I think he could cost less. The Rangers are known to be easy to trade with.

by Endys Game on Jul 15, 2008 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh

I mostly wanted to point out that Bradley, while a fine player, isn’t the 1.050 OPS powerhouse he’s playing to this year. Part of the problem (and you’ll see this with Matt Holliday as well) with trading for a player who spends half of his time in a great hitter’s park is that his trade value is generally commensurate with his aggregate stats, not his park-adjusted stats. I like Bradley and have advocated signing him in the past because I think baseball talent is generally more important than “baggage”, but the Mets can’t afford him and there’s no indication that the Rangers are looking to move him.

by Eric Simon on Jul 15, 2008 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Enough already

I’m getting tired of all the “Bonds is a jerk so we shouldn’t sign him” stuff. Lot’s of people are jerks but are still good at what they do. Bonds is one of those guys. Billy Wagner has a history of pissing off teammates but nobody is calling for him to be run out of baseball. Neither of the Carloses seem particularly warm and fuzzy. Jose Reyes gets criticized for being either too loose or too intense. (Oddly, both of which make him immature) But all these guys (except Delgado) are good at baseball and they are all guys that can help a team win. Bonds would be that type of acquisition.

I’m not saying the Mets should sign Bonds. I’m just saying they shouldn’t rule it out simply because he doesn’t have the personality of Max Patkin. At some point Tatis, Chavez, and Easley will return to normal and you will need some extra offense. I’d rather not give up players if there are other options

Yes I am

by Reg Dunlop on Jul 15, 2008 7:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Fernando Martinez

A guy his age needs at bats to develop and I therefore don’t think that using him as a bench player is an option.

by Shomov on Jul 15, 2008 4:10 PM EDT reply actions

the minor league season ends sooner

and therefore Martinez could have a decent role even as a September call-up. Again, I think Tatis can hold his own if he doesn’t get too much playing time and there is somebody decent (i.e. not Marlon Anderson to spell for him). But if Church is done for the year, they need another outfielder, no question.

by Endys Game on Jul 15, 2008 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions

September Call Up

I understand that the minor season ends sonner; I was under the impression that you were advocatinjg a more immediate call up.

by Shomov on Jul 15, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

I am not advocating anything

I am content right now if Omar stands pat if he feels he can only get robbed in a trade. I was just pointing out that bringing up Martinez to spell Endy or Tatis for a short while does not strike me as the worst idea in the world.

by Endys Game on Jul 15, 2008 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions

One more thing on Bradley

OK, I admit that his numbers prior to the last two years don’t really support my view and I don’t normally get into “feelings” when judging a player but I just think the guy could be a big time clutch winning player if he got on the right team. I would love to see what he could do with a contender like the Mets. He could explode but he could also really thrive. And unlike He who I will no longer Name, I think he is a decent person deep down.

by Endys Game on Jul 15, 2008 4:45 PM EDT reply actions

for using the word clutch

you receive: 3 slaps to the face.

by gogomets on Jul 15, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

How many more for "winning player"?

by Eric Simon on Jul 15, 2008 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions

well

at least I didn’t say I like his fire. or that he had grit.

by Endys Game on Jul 15, 2008 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

okay

-1 slaps for that. grit and fire, and moxie would’ve gotten you like 25 at least

by gogomets on Jul 15, 2008 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions

How many for...

...”plays the game the right way” or “scrappy”?

Me, I’d dispense with the slaps altogether and move straight to “2×4 across the face.” But that’s just me.

by madisonmetsfan on Jul 15, 2008 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions

15, because that means absolutely nothing

clutch actually has some sort of meaning, although the exact definition appears to be entirely arbitrary

by gogomets on Jul 15, 2008 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Bradley a ‘decent person’? Barely a month ago, he sprinted up 4 flights of stairs and tried to fight the Royals’ TV announcer because he didn’t like what the guy said about him. He once challenged fans to a fight after they threw a bottle at him. He once sped away from a traffic stop because he didn’t want the ticket. Milton Bradley is clinically insane. That is not something I want to be able to say about anyone on the Mets.