FanPost

AAOP: Late but Great

Here's the dealio.... I wasn't planning on doing an AAOP this year. I just didn't really feel like it, I didn't feel inspired. I don't know. So the deadline came and went and I didn't post one. Then a few hours after the 5:00 deadline I had this stroke of genius and I came up with the best idea for an AAOP, so I figured why not post it? Sure, it's late, but I figured I could still share it. I don't expect to win. Rules are rules and fair is fair, so I'm not asking for any special treatment, but I wanted to share it for fun anyway (although I won the 2013 AAOP contest despite being under 18 years old so I guess rules can be bent from time to time hahaha).

The plan is to make the 2015 Mets the most fun to watch as possible while still being a competitive team. If the Mets have great chemistry and they are fun to watch then maybe we can catch some of that Baseball Fever that the Royals have right now. Even if we don't win the World Series, this time I assemble will definitely be a hell of a lot of fun to watch, and let's be honest, that's the point.

Arbitration Guys

The reasoning here is very simple. The 5 guys that I tendered contracts to are important members of our team and they are worth the money. The guys that I non-tendered are not going to have a spot on the team so I decided to save money by letting them go.

Here comes the good stuff....

Trade Noah Syndergaard, Daniel Murphy, Gavin Cecchini and Gabriel Ynoa to the Blue Jays for Jose Reyes and R.A. Dickey

First thing's first, if we are going to build a New York Mets team that is fun to watch, it has to include Jose Reyes and R.A. Dickey. Even if we don't win the World Series, we are going to have fun in 2015 with these guys around. And if we do win the World Series, we are going to do it with our favorite players.

After the Blue Jays traded R.A. Dickey to the Mets a few years ago for Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud, Dickey has not lived up to his Cy Young capable reputation, while Syndergaard and d'Arnaud have both blossomed. You can bet that the Blue Jays would like a mulligan on this one. Well, we are going to give it to them, kind of.

Finishing at just 83-79, the Blue Jays were very disappointing this year, ending the season in third place in a very competitive American League East division. The Jays will need to make a big move in order to push their organization to the top of what is generally the most competitive division in baseball. Looking at their roster, their biggest asset is their talented young pitching depth, which includes Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Drew Hutchinson, and Daniel Norris. Adding Syndergaard would be a great way to solidify their rotation as one of the best in baseball for the next few years.

On top of that, the Blue Jays are also getting back Daniel Murphy who would be a great fit at second base for them and a huge upgrade over Ryan Goins. Yeah, it kind of sucks to lose Murphy, but I'm willing to move him to get Reyes and Dickey back. We can roll with Wilmer Flores and/or Dilson Herrera at second base.

The Mets not only get back two fan favorites in Dickey and Reyes, but also two solid baseball players. Dickey, despite hitting a bit of a decline since leaving New York, has still be a good pitcher, posting fWARs above 2 each of the last five seasons. I have always had a hunch that the reason he has not performed as well since being traded to the Blue Jays has been because his knuckleball may not flutter as well inside the Rogers Dome. After looking at home/away splits, I think I am right. In 2014, Dickey pitched 108 innings at home and 107.2 innings away. At home, he allowed 17 home runs. He only allowed 9 away. In 2013, he allowed 23 home runs at home versus 12 away. I think a move back to New York where he can play outside all the time would be beneficial for Dickey.

In addition, Jose Reyes fits the Mets need at shortstop perfectly. He is still putting up solid numbers and every Mets fan would love to watch him again.

Trade Jon Niese, Rafael Montero, Amed Rosario, and Dominic Smith to the Red Sox for Yoenis Cespedes

Cespedes brings an element to the Mets lineup that could definitely be improved upon: power. He constantly hits 20+ home runs and slugs at least .450. He is one of the few guys with enough raw power to consistently hit home runs out of Citi Field. He is an entertaining personality and I would love to watch him play in New York everyday.

We just saw Cespedes get traded for Jon Lester last season, but now the Red Sox have a surplus of outfielders with Rusney Castillo, Shane Victorino, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Allen Craig, so Cespedes has been linked to trade rumors. Obviously, Niese is not as good a pitcher as Lester, but with the Red Sox being in somewhat of a rebuilding stage, this is a good return for them. Montero is another good pitcher who could help out the Red Sox in 2015. Also, with the future of first base in Boston up in arms, Dominic Smith provides the Red Sox with a nice prospect who could potentially be a good fit down the line. I threw in Rosario to further sweeten the pot so nobody says this isn't enough.

Trade Bartolo Colon and Kevin Plawecki to the Dodgers for Carl Crawford and $30 million

Everyone knows the Dodgers have a surplus of outfielders: Joc Pederson, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Yasiel Puig, and Scott van Slyke. They can more than afford to move Crawford. Although they have a strong pitching staff consisting of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Dodgers could benefit from having another solid pitcher to shore up the back end of the rotation. Colon would fill that need. Crawford is due $62 million over the next three years, so I am asking the Dodgers to pay for half of it. They will be free of Colon's contract after this season, so they are still saving $20 million or so. In addition, they get one of the best catching prospects in the game in Plawecki, who really fills a need for the Dodgers who don't have a clear future at the position.

I have always had a man crush on Carl Crawford and I have been dreaming that the Mets would get him for years. He is signed through 2017, but given that the Dodgers will be on the hook for half of his salary this is a palatable deal for the Mets. He may not be the player he used to be but he is still an offensive table setter and his speed would look amazing at the top of the lineup paired with Jose Reyes.

(Note: for AAOP salary constriction purposes, we can allocate the $30 million as $10 million per year over the three years, which would make Crawford's 2015 salary $10.5 million.)

Trade Cesar Puello to the Rays for Grayson Garvin

Puello does not seem to have a spot with the Mets, and given that he is out of options, the Mets would either have to put him on the 25 man roster or let him go to waivers. Rather than lose him for nothing, I figured the Rays would be a team that might take a flyer on him. Seeing as they are a small market team without a lot of money, they are just the shrewd type of organization that might look to develop something out of a guy like Puello. Garvin is a pitcher who never really had a lot of upside, but was always somewhat of a safe bet to be a back end of the rotation type of guy. His minor league career hasn't gone as well as the Rays had hoped, so that is no longer a safe bet, but he still has some hopes of being a decent starter or perhaps pitching out of the bullpen. Not a major trade, but I just figured Puello was a waste and we might as well try to get something in return for him.

Trade Curtis Granderson to the Rangers for Luke Jackson

Granderson is not needed on the Mets roster now that we have Cespedes and Crawford, so let's go ahead and shed his salary. The Rangers would be a great fit for Granderson. They have a notorious hitter's ballpark so Granderson's power would play well there. With Alex Rios as a free agent, the Rangers could replace him with Granderson, who could combine with Leonys Martin and Shin-Soo Choo to form a very good outfield.

Luke Jackson is one of the Rangers better prospects. He has always been a strikeout machine in the minor leagues, consistently putting up K/9 rates over 9. His BB/9 rate has improved each season, showing improving command. He is a prospect on the rise, and after getting promoted to AAA in 2014, he is on the cusp of cracking a big league roster hopefully at some point in mid-to-late 2015. He is a very nice addition to help add some pitching depth into our system after dealing away Niese, Colon, Montero, and Syndergaard.

Free Agent Signings

None needed

Starting Lineup

1. Jose Reyes, SS (17)

2. Carl Crawford, LF (10.5)

3. David Wright, 3B (20)

4. Lucas Duda, 1B (4.3)

5. Yoenis Cespedes, RF (10.5)

6. Juan Lagaras, CF (.5)

7. Travis d'Arnaud, C (.5)

8. Dilson Herrera, 2B (.5)

9. Pitcher

Starting Rotation

1. Matt Harvey (.5)

2. Jacob deGrom (.5)

3. Zack Wheeler (.5)

4. R.A. Dickey (12)

5. Dillon Gee (5.1)

Bullpen

1. Jenrry Mejia (3.1)

2. Jeurys Familia (.5)

3. Bobby Parnell (3.7)

4. Vic Black (.5)

5. Josh Edgin (.5)

6. Carlos Torres (.5)

7. Scott Rice (.5)

Bench

C Anthony Recker (.5)

IF Eric Campbell (.5)

IF Wilmer Flores (.5)

OF Mat den Dekker (.5)

OF Andrew Brown (.5)

Total Opening Day Payroll: $94.2 million

Our farm system is still in decent shape. We still have Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and Steven Matz. That's a pretty good top 3. Luke Jackson is a nice prospect that we get back. We've still got Matt Reynolds, Dilson Herrera, and Wilmer Flores. Sure, we traded away a lot of our top prospects, but our farm system is by no means depleted.

Our team still has the electric pitching rotation with our Big 3 of Harvey, Wheeler, and deGrom at the top. We've added back the Sun God in Dickey who will return to Cy Young form now that he is out of the shackles of an indoor stadium, and his knuckleball is once again free to flutter. We've got Dillon Gee, one of the best number 5 starting pitchers in the game. We've maintained our dominant bullpen. We've got the most exciting outfield in baseball with Crawford, Lagares, and Cespedes. We've got one of baseball's best young catchers behind the plate in d'Arnaud. We've got an exciting competition at second base between two talented youngsters in Herrera and Flores. We've got the powerful Duda at first. And best of all, we've got Reyes and Wright manning the left side of the infield together at long last.

This team has everything. Power. Speed. On base skills. Dominant starting pitching. An electric bullpen.

And most of all, it's got the entertainment factor. It's got the players we love, the players we want to watch, the players who will create Baseball Fever in Flushing. Mets fans will fall in love once again watching Reyes and Wright play together again, watching Dickey win 20 games again, watching our Big 3 of young pitching aces mature before our eyes, watching Lagares play the best defensive center field in the world, watching Cespedes and Duda hit bombs, watching Crawford and Reyes set the table at the top of the lineup, watching d'Arnaud call 5 no-hitters, watching Mejia and Familia and Parnell and Black shut the door at the end of games. 2015 is going to be the year New York Mets fans will experience that magical season that we have been missing since 2006.

Make it happen, Sandy.

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