It's Time To Sell Pt. 2
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
67 comments
Catch up here: It's Time To Sell Part 1 OK, good? Then let's get right to the listing.
Contract Status: Owned $18M over the next 3 years. But you already knew that.
Free Agent Compensation: Believe it or not, he's almost a B.
Value: If Castillo had a bounce back season, the pennant was ours, right? Anyway, Luis has made a nice recovery after his overblown, but trade value crippling 2008. His legs look better, his BABIP is higher, and his range has improved from abysmal to average. While he can't beat out balls like in the glory days, Castillo has managed to remain pretty productive by basically becoming a parody of himself, refusing to swing at anything. .388 OBP is useful.
Why He's Ranked Here: Despite his value according to WAR probably exceeding $6M this year, Castillo's contract length will probably preserve the perception of him as a sunk cost. The Mets would be wise to trade Castillo to anyone who would take on part of the contract, while he's still getting away with not swinging at anything. Eating all the money and seeking prospects or swapping bad contracts are also possibilities, as long as the bad contract is more Milton Bradley than Jose Guillen.
Verdict: Sell. Unload.
Contract Status: 400K, not year arbitration eligible, under team control for the next six years.
Free Agent Compensation: N/A
Value: With a 3.71 FIP and a 4.13 tRA, Parnell's value has been anything between a tenth or a third of a win, which makes him a good value, but an unspectacular reliever. He's a power arm making league minimum, and seemingly every trade rumor comes down to some team asking for him.
Why He's Ranked Here: I asked if the Mets should trade Bobby back when I thought his value was peaking, and his ERA has become significantly less pretty since then. I just don't see anything special about Parnell, he doesn't get groundballs or swinging strikes and doesn't have particularly good control. He throws hard, but he's more predictable than Pelfrey with the fastball. There's some power-reliever potential there, but I'd seriously consider that rumored Halladay offer if I was the Mets.
Verdict: Hold, unless someone in need of bullpen helps offers a legitimate starting or position player prospect in return. Youth saves him.
8. Francisco Rodriguez
Contract Status: Owed $37M over the next three years with a $17.5M option for a fourth year, that will mostly likely vest. Limited no-trade clause allows him to block trades to ten clubs of his choice.
Free Agent Compensation: Type A
Value: With another sterling ERA and a boatload of saves, many still view Francisco Rodriguez as one of the premier relievers in the league. Of all the players so far, he's the one most likely to fetch a legitimate package of prospects.
Why He's Ranked Here: While the ERA looks good, the perihpherals continue to decline for Frankie. After his strikeout rate dropped from 12 to 10 K/9 last year, it's down all the way to 9 this year. His walk rate has increased similarly. His. 236 BABIP is not sustainable, and his ERA is likely to move closer to his 3.56 FIP as the season moves along. As hard as it is to accept for some, he's just a 1 WAR player right now, worth ~$5M not $12.5M and certainly not $17.5M.
Verdict: Sell. He may never look this good again, and the market is full of buyers. It's better to cut bait now than to accept the Titanic of vesting options later. I doubt this one gets explored by the team, and that's a shame.
Contract Status: Owed $3.375M this year, arbitration eligible.
Free Agent Compensation: Type B
Value: He's fixed! Chance of scenery worked!
Why He's Ranked Here: Now flip him to the Royals.
Verdict: Well they didn't ask me the first time.
10. Carlos Beltran
Contract Status: Signed through '11, owed $18.5M each season. Full no-trade clause.
Free Agent Compensation: A...plus
Value: There aren't any other consistently 6+ WAR centerfielders in baseball.
Why He's Ranked Here: Don't shoot! I don't want to trade 'tron either, but with the recurring knee injuries I wanted to throw it out there for discussion. If you're into the trading the core idea, Beltran would seem like the first to go, considering the potential for long-term diminished range and his fantastic, yet comparatively large, contract.
Verdict: I want to see Beltran get a ring with the Mets. Just thought I'd say it.
Finally, please remember the purpose of this list: to identify the players the Mets would most benefit from trading, considering their contracts and future worth to the team. I'm not sure what each player would fetch on this market, and criticisms that run along the lines of "you wouldn't get a ___ prospect for ___" are relevant but can border on inane, especially when the critic doesn't really have any unique knowledge of the situation. Besides, saying a given player could help another team is within my realm of judgment, but obviously does not make that team automatically interested. So take this list for what it's worth, especially these five, who are very unlikely to get traded.
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I think the Mets would be wise t try and unload some of those big contracts.
Castillo, despite having a good year may be able to net a decent prospect, and if whoever takes the whole contract, he should definitely be gone. Even though I like Frankie, his name and ERA might get us a real good prospect if we eat some of the contract and trade him to a contender in dire need of a closer. Desmond Jennings anyone? (I know it ain’t happening)
"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."
by Evan_S on Jul 22, 2009 6:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I know it's a touchy subject
But I echo what Sam was saying on Beltran. We don’t know how is knees are going to hold up, and we could get a hefty package for him in the off-season. This team needs to have some sort of direction. Yes, they are built to win now, but would the difference between Beltran ‘10-’11 and FMart ‘10-’11 be so great as to turn down a sizeable off-season package? Keep in mind we don’t know how Beltran will come back from the injury, and knee injuries are especially problematic for outfielders.
by Pat Andriola on Jul 22, 2009 9:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree, plus he has been here 5 years and we didn't win with him.
Plus…..he owes us for looking at that curveball in ’06.
If we can unload even part of the contract and get top tier prospects for Carlos, I would do the trade.
FC
by fxcarden on Jul 22, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I thought we should have traded him before the season started.
I like Beltran but he’s on the wrong side of 30 and he’s always had knee problems. Now his trade value isn’t nearly as high as it was to start the season.
by andy.ss80 on Jul 22, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wow, that makes no sense.
I hope the first two sentences are in jest.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on Jul 22, 2009 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't agree with trading K-rod
Mainly because we got K-Rod on a affordable 3 yr deal. If we trade him, to replace him would cost more than what we gave K-Rod in the first place. The mets will look to contend next season, we’re not talking about a 3yr rebuilding project and closers are not easily replaced.
K-Rod is young and fits in with the core, plus he has a fire that the team can feed off of and he is a leader. There is no reason to trade this player.
by Major on Jul 22, 2009 9:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Again
who will be our closer next year.Frankie is the 2nd best closer in baseball and the best in the N.L It makes no sense to trade him.And are people really thinking about bringing a 38 year old Billy Wagner back or J.J putz to be the closer
by Jadden Hopkins on Jul 22, 2009 9:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think the idea
is to rely on crafty trades and signings to fill our bullpen with capable, non-marquis talent.
Oliver Perez for closer?
by TheBigStapler on Jul 22, 2009 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I call Socks! to be our closer, while Wagner the setup man
by Michkin on Jul 22, 2009 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Followed by a cage match to the death where Socks debilitates Wags with a shoe shine rag and a paperclip.
He’s also the MacGuyver of relievers, in case you didn’t know.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
by AnthonyR on Jul 22, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm going to go ahead and say Francisco isn't a top 10 reliever in baseball.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
In what world is K-Rod not a top 10 reliever?
by Major on Jul 22, 2009 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Per FanGaphs
Rodriguez is around 53rd among ML relievers in WAR at 2.4 this year.
by Eric Simon on Jul 22, 2009 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Curious
Why are the two WARs that we listed different? I got 0.5 from Fangraphs.
by TheBigStapler on Jul 22, 2009 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just figured it out
$2.4 is his value based on his 0.5 WAR. Still 53rd, regardless!
by TheBigStapler on Jul 22, 2009 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ha ha
2.4 WAR for half a season would actually be ridiculous for a reliever. Has a reliever ever had a 5+ WAR season?
I think this discussion shows how overpaid closers are in general, at least in terms of win value.
by TheBigStapler on Jul 22, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Of course
if you look at WPA or WPA/LI, he’s much higher in the rankings. None of these metrics are perfect but clearly his true talent level is higher than that of the 53rd best reliever in baseball. I agree, however, that he’s assuredly overpaid and the Mets would be smart to move him for value.
by Zwill on Jul 22, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This world.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
War stats don't mean shit to me dude. K-Rod is a very good closer
with a workable contract. Trading him is stupid.
by Major on Jul 22, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sadly your book is not a good basis for evaluating baseball players?
I mean seriously, he’s always been way overrated by the saves. What about JP Howell or Papelbon? Fuentes? Soriano? Andrew Bailey?
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Mike Wuertz?
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on Jul 22, 2009 10:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nathan, Soria
even troncoso, although i don’t trust the k/bb.
Hell, i’d take matt Thornton.
Still, relievers are mercurial. Fuentes has been better than KRod last 2 years, but K-Rod has been pretty consistently at least pretty good until now.
Soriano, injury risk. bailey? Well, he has some minor injury issue now, but he was a mediocre minor league starter last year. i like him. Look at aardsma.
Howell first was good last year. Love that guy. Especially as he gets it done in the mid 80s mph.
I’d call K-Rod tyop 10 for consistency, but these things change fast, and not thus far this year.
by wobatus on Jul 22, 2009 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This definitely isn't his best season
12th ERA (1.81)
17th K (45)
7th SV (23)
53rd FIP (3.58)
35th K/9 (9.07)
53rd WAR (0.5)
by TheBigStapler on Jul 22, 2009 10:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
WAR by other seasons
2004: 4.0 (1st)
2005: 1.8 (14th)
2006: 2.5 (6th)
2007: 2.2 (10th)
2008: 1.8 (13th)
2009: n/a (53rd)
by TheBigStapler on Jul 22, 2009 11:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hmm
where did other folks rank year after year? Very few guys are top 15 consistently. Rivera. Soria recently. papelbon is good. Howell has been good 2 years running. Broxton. Nathan. But Dave Aardsma, for example, always sucked before this year. Lidge was good, then sucky, then good, now godawful again.
KRod has been so so this year but fairly consistent career wise. Maybe fading.
by wobatus on Jul 22, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Trading K-Rod
This is all conjecture on my part, but I think it’s probably really difficult, in general, to trade players for significant value if you just signed them. I can see a sort of vindictive logic coming into play from opposing teams—“We could have had him for nothing in the offseason. Why give you an arm and a leg now?”
With that in mind, I think that K-Rod, at his current contract (a very good deal), is probably a better value for the Mets than a trade. If, however, they could bring back a strong package of prospects, I see no compelling reason to keep him. The K-rate trend is alarming:
2004: 13.2 K/9
2005: 12.2 K/9
2006: 12.1 K/9
2007: 12.0 K/9
2008: 10.1 K/9
2009: 9.1 K/9
by sjohnson125 on Jul 22, 2009 12:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I don't trust WAR for relievers, or ERA or even FIP
Too much variation in little sample size, I think the fact that Frankie has been a solid reliever with little to no bad streaks for 5 years speaks more than his WAR for this year.
The K rate its worrisome though, and I do agree that relievers in general are overrated and are dime a dozen, if some team offers a good package for a closer take it.
by Clemenx00 on Jul 22, 2009 12:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
+1
at least for the first part. IMO we’ve gotten a little WAR-crazy here and applying that mindset to relievers, i think, is counterintuitive. also, are we all forgetting how hard its been in the last 5+ years to procure a top level back of our bullpen? i agree k-rod isn’t the best but hes sure as hell better than what we’re used to, is more than capable of closing games at the highest level and to imply otherwise is probably an overanalysis of the numbers.
and trading K-rod is the prototypical, talk radio, fantasy baseball, completely unrealistic type trade that you’ll only ever see on the internet because there are SO many more factors than just WAR at play here. first of all say goodbye to ever signing another significant FA because they’ll all worry about being traded in 3 months. and you can’t build an entire organization on “crafty trades”. it demoralizes the team/fanbase and most of all think of all the t-shirts that have already been printed, what a waste!
by robcast23 on Jul 22, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
WAR is useful relievers because it makes you realize how invaluable they are
in comparison to position players in starters. It’s not the end-all-be-all of their value but it makes a compelling case for why they can be traded. Also, the thing Clemenx00 said about variation in sample size is exactly why relievers are easier to find than you think.
also, are we all forgetting how hard its been in the last 5+ years to procure a top level back of our bullpen? i agree k-rod isn’t the best but hes sure as hell better than what we’re used to
again, we assume a competent front office. kudos to you for living in the real world.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Heath Bell
Heath bell heath bell.
Oh, and SD also has decent fillers in Mike Adams, Luke Gregerson and Mujica.
Still, K-Rod was 1.8 war or better last 5 years previous. Not too shabby. Better than Luis Ayala.
by wobatus on Jul 22, 2009 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
is it unvaluable
and not invaluable? Keys are next to each other so you may have hit the wrong one. Now I’m being pedantic.
Invaluable means value can’t be calculated. Priceless. Antonym is worthless, which you aren’t saying, but not worth as much as some think.
by wobatus on Jul 22, 2009 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What about Pelfrey?
Is anyone convinced that he has the makeup to be a top of the rotation starter for years to come? He has good value to a team looking for pitching and could probably fetch a bigger haul than most of the players listed.
I know that I’m speaking to the dreaded, unquantifiable “intangables” section of a player, but the things that I’ve seen over the past few years give me pause in thinking he is going to realize his full potential.
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
by AnthonyR on Jul 22, 2009 12:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Blame that on Warthen and Manuel
Pelf has the stuff to saw off bats. A lot of his struggles I think are due to confidence and the fact that Warthen and Manuel have no idea how to groom a young pitcher.
Pelf was set for a break out year this year. He pitched well last season in a lot of pressure cooker games.
by Chickendirt on Jul 22, 2009 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
was it derek carty
who wanted to deal pelfrey for the mighty joe koshansky?
either way, i don’t deal pelfrey because 1: his value is IMO lower than it belongs right now based on the poor results of ‘09 and 2: if you’re going to trade young, low cost pitching with high upside then what exactly are we trying to bring back? EVERYONE needs young pitching, including us. and don’t say a good young pitcher who is more of a sure thing because thats jair jurrjens or matt cain and they’re not available.
by robcast23 on Jul 22, 2009 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think he wanted to trade Pelfrey for a good 1B. He just proposed Koshansky, who is mighty, in the abstract.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Beltran
Don’t want him traded either. I think he has three more years here and that should be a wake up call the Mets to start grooming his replacement in their system.
Why might get lucky with Murphy being able to play 1st in the place of Delgado from here on out. Consider that a bullet dodged next season.
by Chickendirt on Jul 22, 2009 1:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Murphy's bat
will never be quite good enough for the first base position, and this team will probably be power starved again next year. But he could make sense as a secondbasemen. He’s got a good enough glove to play there, and his range can’t be much worse than Castillo’s. Did everyone see the little dribbler by Dunn that somehow eluded Luis last night? It was unbelievable.
I don’t think anyone will take on Castillo for 2 years, but maybe if we agreed to pay half the salary we could unload him. But a Castillo/Murphy 2b platoon could possibly work for a year.
For Beltran, they should listen to offers, but they’d have to get a legit CF right now, plus a couple prospects, since FMart is not ready this year or next year from the looks of it. How about to Tampa for Crawford and Zobrist, or maybe AZ for Upton? Or to Cleveland for V. Martinez or Sizemore? I don’t know, getting equal value for Beltran will be extremely difficult.
by David G on Jul 22, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'd rather have Tejada in the offseason
and move him to second base.
Place Murphy at first. I was hoping for Nik Johnson but he is too injury prone.
I don’t think this team is gonna get a lot of guys who can hit for power in the offseason. The Mets are gonna have to be a team that sprays hits to all feilds.
That’s how I see it.
by Chickendirt on Jul 22, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If they do trade Frankie
what about Maine as closer? I know it’s been discussed before, but I think it’s becoming more and more obvious that he’s never gonna be a guy who can go deep into games and be a dominant starter. Still, he has good stuff and could possibly ratchet up his fastball to make guys miss more often if he were only in the ’pen for an inning instead of trying to go 6 or 7.
by cjmulrain on Jul 22, 2009 1:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think Maine may be finished
He was a fourth starter at best. Don’t think he has the velocity needed to close games.
by Chickendirt on Jul 22, 2009 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
when you come out the pen your velocity goes up
Maine throwing 92 becomes 94
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It may be his calling...
It’s really a bummer. He’s too good a pitcher to continue to have this fate. Maybe a reduced workload will keep him healthy and let him find his niche.
Even Kerry Wood has been healthy for a while now…
Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but Jerry abuses the privilege.
by AnthonyR on Jul 22, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
...What is WAR?
I’ll be completely honest here, I have no idea what WAR means. And for the record, I’d like to keep Beltran and K-Rod.
by Jsz on Jul 22, 2009 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Wins Above Replacement
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on Jul 22, 2009 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Some things I like about WAR
1. It’s a cumulative stat not an average and so is related to playing time (unlike AVG or ERA)
2. It counts defense
3. It is position neutral so you can quantitatively compare pitchers and position players
by TheBigStapler on Jul 22, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
read these
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/6/12/906943/war-lords-of-the-diamond-position
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/6/20/919602/war-lords-of-the-diamond-pitchers
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The only part I don't like about WAR
What if a guy has 5 or 6 walk off hits over the course of a season, or what if a guy gets 4 or 5 game-tying hits in the 9th inning and you go on to win those games? You could argue that guy helped you win 4 or 5 games right there that a replacement would not have. It’s a stat that seems to be an estimate, based on an estimate, based on tons of factors you cannot take into account, because so much is based on the avg. replacement level guy. The truth is you will never know what the replacement guy would have done in those exact instances. Does that make sense?
by David G on Jul 22, 2009 4:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
then you might like WPA better
As a retrospective record of what a player actually did to help the team win, WPA rules — it captures every fluke hit that wins a game, every high-leverage out recorded by a reliever with runners on base. But, exactly because of this, it’s kind of terrible as a predictor of future performance — while WAR is great for that.
by anonymous on Jul 22, 2009 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That makes sense
but then again, if a replacement player were in that guy’s place, those scenarios may never have come to be. If Albert Pujols was the Mets’ 1B instead of Daniel Murphy, perhaps Omir Santos would not have come to the plate with the club down a run against Jonathan Papelbon and thus his walkoff HR would never have been possible. Every action in a baseball game is predicated on all the previous actions so it’s not really possible to account for everything. WAR does a good job with the data currently available.
by Zwill on Jul 22, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Red Sox get Adam Laroche
for a package i would consider worse than, say, Tejada and Eric Niesen.
I know laroche isn’t great, but he is a 1-2 war player for a season, usually is good in the second half (I know, that is likely flukey, but with him it happens so often-except this year), and he mean more WAM (Wins Above Murphy) than WAR. A pricey back up for Bosox. Plus his contract is up after this year.
Oh well, i canw wait for Delgado I suppose.
by wobatus on Jul 22, 2009 5:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Thanks I believe I understand WAR (somewhat)
But why is K-Rod on the list not Putz and Wagner? I realize he is declining somewhat, but money is a non-issue. The Mets front office knew how much they were going to pay him so why should we worry about the money factor? They overpaid, but its New York we overpay a lot. And he’s better than the last 2 years. Lets give the guy who had 62 saves (I know- a flawed stat) in a season some time.
by Jsz on Jul 22, 2009 6:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Because these are players we would trade mid-season
and I assumed Putz and Wagner will probably still both be hurt after the deadline. Your position is tenable, if K-Rod returns to his past levels of performance his contract is doable.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on Jul 22, 2009 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Putz and Wagner are excellent candidates for an August trade
should they come back healthy and effective.
by Zwill on Jul 22, 2009 11:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I disagree on trading Beltran
And would advocate considering Reyes instead. I’m sure the Mets could get a nice haul for Beltran, but their particular options would be limited by a number of factors. First of all, his contract, which is incredibly complicated with lots of small perks and incentives, not to mention $37 mil over the next two years with $11 mil deferred with interest. Second, his full NTC. This combination of factors means there are only a select few teams who even could be potential suitors, and that’s assuming Beltran is willing to accept a trade at all. That means not only less market competition, but it also means fewer total choices and lower odds that the Mets can find the particular package that best meets their needs.
Reyes, on the other hand, is also only under team control for two more years. His cost over that time is about $20 mil, and that’s assuming his club option gets picked up. He will be probably be incredibly expensive to retain after that time at best. Moving him might not free up quite as many funds, but there are much fewer market restrictions. Assuming Reyes comes back healthy and has at least a productive month or two, the Mets could probably build themselves a package of prospects from just about any organization, including near MLB ready ones, and also free up enough money and lengthen out the farm enough to then flip some prospects for a high powered acquisition. Ideally, they could then pay less in talent and more in dollars to get a “superstar” (or maybe even slightly less) back by acquiring one who is closer to free agency and/or more expensive and who will require a market rate extension (Joe Mauer, Roy Halladay, Lance Berkman, Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Victor Martinez, maybe even Albert Pujols), meanwhile retaining enough high level prospects to fill out the other positions without having to worry about much more than defense at SS if necessary.
"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet
What a fool I was to defy him"
-HST
by Mark Himmelstein on Jul 22, 2009 6:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I would sacrifice my unborn children Old Testament style
for Albert Pujols, but that ain’t happening.
by cjmulrain on Jul 23, 2009 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would just prefer to not trade either.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on Jul 23, 2009 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Trade Castillo for Mike Fotenot.
Trade Schneider, Sheffield now for anything of future use… maybe some of the players I’m about to mention.
Then in the off season I’m proposing:
Fire Manuel and Omar and make a play for Manny Acta and JP Riccardi(JP has made mistakes at Toronto but only as much as Theo Epstein has in Boston except Toronto don’t have the budget to cover him)they would form the basis of the new Mets who value players by statistics not gangsterism and gut feelings.
Offer arb to Wagner(He won’t want to be the set up guy), let Delgado go.
Sign Garret Atkins(I think hes a FA) on a low contract 4/25 ish play him at first.
Cleveland want Parnell right? Then get Shoppach for him, buying low and selling high even add in a few minor propsects if needed.
Tejada for Alex Rios, Rios would be a Toronto salary dump and they want a SS prospect.
Trade Murphy, Evans and a few other pieces not named Fmart or Holt and try to get Edwin Encarnacion from the Reds to play LF also if they want to chuck in Bronson Arroyo fine as long as it doesn’t cost a lot.
Sign Rich Harden/Ben Sheets(2 years $15 mil?) to a bargain contract providing they are healthy.
Put Maine in the Bullpen and bring up Niese to start in the 5 slot.
Line up:
SS: Reyes
RF: Rios
3B: Wright
CF: Beltran
1B: Atkins
LF: Encarnacion
C: Shoppach
2B: Fotenot
(A bit righty heavy but whatever)
Rotation:
Johan
Harden/Sheets
Arroyo/Pelfrey
Perez
Niese
If Arroyo can be had for little in a EE trade then that frees up Niese to either work in the pen or be traded for position prospects to refill the farm.
Surely that team would be a lock to win the NL East and probably for less salary than this season.
Probably won’t happen(But I think its a cost effective low risk high reward plan) but surely its favourable to the inevitable keeping of the GM/Manager disaster and then signing Matt Holliday for mega bucks thus keeping the same top heavy team as always.
I’ve got a feeling they’ll resign Delgado too, which is not good he’s a DH now…I actually hope he goes back to a heros welcome in Toronto.
by Ohpityme on Jul 25, 2009 6:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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