FanPost

My Offseason Plan

The Mets first priority this off season should be deciding what to do with David Wright and R.A Dickey now that both of their options have been picked up. After that they're gonna have to make some moves to strengthen the bullpen and add some speed and power to the outfield.The Mets also need to add a better Catcher.

Re-signings and Extensions:

1. Sign 3B David Wright to a 7 year, $130 Million Deal. He's the face of the franchise and deserves a big contract. Hopefully he will remain a Met for life.

2. Re-sign OF Scott Hairston to a 1 year, $ 3 Mil Deal. Hit a career high 20 HR's this year with the mets. Hit's leftys for power better than most players in the NL. Great Platoon Player/ 4th Outfielder.

3.Let SS Ronny Cedono walk. He was good this year for the mets, but with guys like Jordanny Valdespin, Josh Satin, and Zach Lutz who could serve as backup infielders, we don't need to spend $2 mil on Cedeno

4. Let RP Jon Rauch walk. He was far too inconsistent last year for the mets to count on.

5. Re-sign RP Ramon Ramirez to a 1 year, $1 Mil deal. He was terrible this year but he has a history as a great set-up man and he will be looking to redeem himself.

6. Re-sign C Kelly Shopacch to a 1 year $1.5 mil deal. Will serve as a good backup to Josh Thole.

7. Let Tim Brydak walk. It's a bad idea to have a bullpen without at least two lefties but its also a bad idea to carry more than 12 pitchers on an MLB roster.

8. Let Chris Young walk. We don't need him for the rotation, we have plenty of young arms for a long man, and he doesn't make a good Middle relief option.

9.Re-sign Mike Pelfrey to a 1 year $1 Mil deal with incentives. He can battle in spring training for the 5th spot in thee rotation.

Trades:

1. Trade R.A Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays for prospect C Travis D'Arnaud and MLB OF Colby Rasmus.This fills two big needs of the Mets. Travis D'Arnaud is a top prospect and he will be Major League Ready during the 2013 season. Colby Rasmus is an outfield with a lot of potential, though a bad work ethic and problems with managers have hurt his development. He has both power and speed, and there is a good chance he will hit 20 Hr's and steal 20 bags next year. This will also fill a great need for the Jays, and the addition on an ace like Dickey with allow them to contend for a 2nd wild card spot.

2.Trade OF Lucas Duda to the Cleveland Indians for RP Joe Smith and RHP prospect Danny Salazar. The Indians need a DH after declining Travis Hafners option and Duda is a minus 15 defender and his defense negates his offensive value. Joe Smith is a former Met with a career 3.11 ERA. He has been very consistent throughout his career and he has never had a higher ERA than 3.83 in a season. Danny Salazar is a 22 year old right hander who has the floor of a late inning reliever and the ceiling of a No.3 starter. According to MLB.com he is the 20th ranked prospect in the Indians system. The mets have plenty of Depth at Starting Pitcher, but it's still a position that you can't have too much depth at.

Free Agency:

1. Sign CF B.J Upton to a 4 year contract with a base salary at $8 Mil per year. Offer a $5 Mil incentive for each time he hits 20 HRs and Swipes 20 bags. include a $10 Mil club option for a 5th year. This makes sense because the Mets need power and speed in their lineup and they also need good defense, and though Upton posted a UZR of -2.8 in 2012, in 4 of his 6 full seasons in the MLB he was a plus defender, including a 7.8 UZR in 2008.

2. Sign RP Joel Peralta to a 2 year, $8 Mil deal. It might be a bit of an overpay but the mets need bullpen help, and he has been one of the most consisten relievers in baseball over the past 3 years.

3. Sign RP Joey Devine to a 1 year, $1 Mil contract. He has had a hard time staying healthy during his career, but when he's healthy, he's a good reliever. In 2008, the only time he pitched more than 40 innings, he had one of the best seasons by a reliever in MLB history, pitching 45.2 innings, with a 0.59 ERA and a 1.8 WAR. He didn't pitch in 2012.

2013 Lineup.

These trades and signings will give the mets a new look in 2013, but still a year away from contending.

Lineup-

1. SS Ruben Tejada

2. CF BJ Upton

3. 3B David Wright

4. 1B Ike Davis

5. RF Colby Rasmus

6.2B Daniel Murphy

7.LF Kirk Nuewenhuis vs. RHP, LF Scott Hairsron vs. LHP

8.C Josh Thole

9. Pitcher

Bench:

OF Mike Baxter

C Kelly Shoppach

OF Scott Hairston

IF/OF Jordanny Valdespin

Starting Rotation:

1. Jon Niese

2.Matt Harvey

3.Johan Santana

4. Dillon Gee

5. Mike Pelfrey.

Bullpen:

LRP Jermey Hefner

MRP Joe Smith

MRP Joey Devine

MRP Josh Edgin

MRP Frank Fransisco

SU Ramon Ramirez

SU Bobby Parnell

CP Joel Peralta

The trades for Rasmus and Upton will provide Wright with some lineup protection so he can get back to hitting .300 with 30 HRs and 100 RBIs. These acquisitions will proably put the mets on a slightly higher payroll than expected but Sandy will get away with it for filling holes at Catcher and Outfield. The pitching won't be as good in 2013 without likely Cy Young Winner Dickey but the Mets have plenty of depth at Starting Pitcher with guys such as Jenry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Colin McHugh, Jeremy Hefner ( who had surprisingly good peripherals in 2012), Mike Pelfrey, and Danny Salazar( acquired for Lucas Duda). All of those guys could fight for a rotation spot in Spring Training as Jon Niese, Matt Harvey, Johan Santana, and Dillon Gee have already locked down spots.Zack Wheeler most likely won't start the year in the rotation but will likely come up around the same time as Harvey did last year. He will start the year down in AAA along with fellow top prospect Travis D'Arnaud.Josh Thole will begin the year as the starting catcher, but lose it mid-season to Travis D'Arnaud. Ike Davis will obviously start at 1st base, and hopefully he will not get into a big slump like last year. Daniel Murphy will start at 2nd, hopefully he will continue to improve his defense and take another step forward offensively after taking a bis step forward in 2012. Ruben Tejada will start at SS, and with the absence of a true leadoff hitter he will bat leadoff. Hopefully he can be a plus 5 defender and maintain a .360 OBP. David Wright will start at 3rd, and hopefully continue putting up a WAR higher than 7. The Outfield will be Rasmus in right, Upton in center, and a platoon in left with Nuewenhuis against righties and Hairston against the lefties. Baxter will serve as the fourth outfielder, Shoppach will back up Thole until D'Arnaud arrives, then a decision will have to be made regarding the catching situation.Valdespin will serve as a backup infielder and a power bat off the bench. Ultimatley, this team should win around 82 game and miss the playoffs, but the moves made in this offseason plan should set the Mets up to be contenders for a long time.

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