AAOP: The Mission....Get Some Grission!!!

I often joke that Omar Minaya loves to shop at flea markets and dollar stores because he apparently loves to buy useless junk.  For my plan to make the 2010 Mets contenders/relevant/finish above .500, I want to build the team primarily through free agent signings.  I want to keep the nice crop of prospects we have in AA and low A in tact for the most part and I don't want to get stuck giving $20 million a year to Roy Halladay or give up an incredible amount of prospects for A Gon.  However, though the Mets have quite a bit of money available, they are not the Yankees and cannot take on a bad contract quite as easy.    Therefore I think it will be critical for Omar to avoid the "useless junk" signings of the past.  The Tim Reddings, Livan Hernandezs, Freddy Garcias, and Alex Coras of the world must be avoided.  Here is my plan for 2010:

1.  Sign Matt Holliday.  As everyone has already said before me, he is the premier FA on the market and would fit in very nicely on this team.  I think that 5 yrs 100 mil gets the job done for Holliday to come to NY.  Now LF is taken care of for the next 5 years. 

2.  Here is my only trade in my plan.  I would talk to Kansas City about getting Gil Meche and David DeJesus for Jeff Francoeur, Bobby Parnell, and a Dillon Gee - Adam Bostick type of prospect. 

Why KC would do it:  The Gil Meche contract.  Unloading Meche's contract frees them up to improve the team a little this offseason and also DeJesus is a FA after 2010 so trading him now at peak value alleviates the risk of getting nothing back at the trade deadline or by letting him walk.  In return they a good bullpen arm they need, a young OF they have coveted in the past, and another decent prospect of their choice.  KC has a ton of talent at SP in their minor leagues, so they may want an IF or OF, but whatever it takes to complete the deal.  I think this is enough to entice them.

Why the Mets would do it:  Meche had a disastrous season last year, but suffered from a .321 BABIP.  He did have many more guys on base due to an increased BB/9, but a change of scenery could do Meche some good, as would a defensive upgrade.  Meche is a quality starter who has had success in the past and could be a nice piece for this team at 12 mil for the next 2 years.   DeJesus is a no brainer, he's a great defensive outfielder who provides a little pop and can play all 3 OF positions.  He immediately upgrades every facet of the Mets over Francoeur.

3. Sign Pudge Rodriguez to play C at 1 yr. 1 mil.  Pudge is at the end of his career and is best suited for a platoon role, whether with Santos or Thole.  Pudge can still hit a little bit, and maybe there might a little spike in production with fewer ABs than last year.   From what I've read I don't think the market is that hot for Pudge right now so I think 1 mil should be fine.

4.  Sign Carlos Delgado to play 1B at 1 yr. 1 mil.  I saw somebody before offer Delgado 4 mil, no chance he gets that from me.  I would give him 1 mil with some incentives, but no way does he get 4 mil.  I hope he gives the Mets a little hometown discount to come back for a year, but if not then Daniel Murphy/Chris Carter/ Nick Evans will play 1B.   But for now, Delgado is back at 1B.

5. Sign Erik Bedard to a 1 yr 7 mil deal. 

6. Sign Justin Duchscherer to a 1 year 5 mil deal. 

7.  Make Oliver Perez the highest paid hot dog vendor in the league.  He is of no use to this team as a pitcher, so might as well get our money's worth.  Other ideas include making him sit in a dunk tank in CF and every time a Mets pitcher walks a batter he gets dunked.  Or make him work as one of those obnoxious photographers who always walk around taking people's pictures that never end up on the website anyways.  Regardless, I don't know what to do with him so I put him in the bullpen, but I would basically give him away at this point.  

Here is my 2010 lineup and rotation, complete with salary.

C. Pudge Rodriguez, 1 mil

1B. Carlos Delgado, 1 mil

2B. Luis Castillo, 6.5 mil

SS. Jose Reyes, 9 mil

3B. David Wright, 10 mil

LF. Matt Holliday, 20 mil

CF. Carlos Beltran, 18.5 mil

RF. David DeJesus, 4.7 mil

Bench:

Omir Santos, 400K

Angel Pagan, 500K

Wilson Valdez, 500K

Daniel Murphy, 400 K

Nick Evans, 400 K

Rotation:

1. Johan Santana, 21 mil

2. Gil Meche, 12.6 mil

3. Erik Bedard, 7 mil

4. Mike Pelfrey, 500K

5. Justin Duchscherer, 5 mil

Pen:

Oliver Perez, 12 mil

John Maine, 4 mil

Fernando Nieve, 400K

Pat Misch, 400K

Sean Green, 400K

Pedro Feliciano, 1.5 mil

Francisco Rodriguez, 12 mil

Total: Roughly 149 million, similar to this year's payroll, but a much better and deeper team built around pitching and defense, with a little pop thrown in.