FanPost

AAOP: "It's a little roller up the first base line . . ."

I will keep this short. Last time the Mets won a World Series, they had a guy named Mookie in center. Why mess with history? So here goes the offseason:

  1. Trade Matt Harvey and Juan Lagares for Mookie Betts and Matt Barnes.

    I know, everyone loves the 5 aces when Wheeler comes back. Guess what, you need some offense too (which has less injury risk tied to it). I tried to figure out how to get Machado, but that didn’t work. I thought about Xander for Harvey straight up, but then decided I wanted the better talent in Mookie, which is why we have to give up Lagares too. In Mookie, the Mets get a scratch centerfielder who is projected for 5 WAR with a .300/.360/.470 slash line while providing scratch defense in center. I don’t think Harvey will sign long term here. The Red Sox do this because they realize that a young ace just can’t be had that easily, they get back a useful outfielder in Lagares who can team up with Jackie Bradley to provide an overall plus in center, and they don’t regret a similar trade in their past, when they gave up a young Hanley Ramirez for Josh Beckett. Their regrets about Hanley would come ten years later. As for Barnes, if he can figure out his gopheritis, he can be a useful backend of the bullpen piece and I needed something additional considering what we were trading.

  2. Sign Bartolo Colon, 1 year $6.5 million. I love Bartolo and think he can be effective as a starter and then transition to the bullpen when we get back a healthy Wheeler.

  3. Sign Ben Zobrist, 3 years $48 million. It’s a lot of money for an older guy, but the guy can still play, as he is still versatile and his glove is an improvement over Murphy’s at second.

  4. Sign Kelly Johnson, 1 year $2.5 million. Having a good bench helps. He adds to it with a bit of defensive versatility and some nice left handed pop.

  5. Sign Joakim Soria, 3 years $21 million. I think he comes a bit cheaper than O’Day (who I guess cracks $8 million AAV) so it works.

  6. Tender Addison Reed - $5.7 million. This is going to be a year of salary inflation. One year contracts are a good thing.

  7. Sign Blevins – 1 year, $2 million.

  8. Re-Sign Tejada – re-sign 1 year $2.5 million. It feels wrong to cut him, and he provides some depth at SS if Wilmer struggles.

  9. Total Salary - $116.45

  10. My Deep Starting Lineup Of Guys Who Get On Base:


    1) Mookie Betts CF $.55 Mil

    2) Curtis Granderson RF, $16 Mil

    3) Ben Zobrist 2B, $16 million

    4) David Wright 3B, $20 Mil

    5) Lucas Duda 1B, $6.8 Mil

    6) Travis d'Arnaud C, $550K

    7) Michael Conforto LF, $550K

    8) Wilmer Flores 2b, $550K

  11. Bench:

    Kirk Niuewenheis, CF $.55 Mil

    Kevin Plawecki C, $550K

    Michael Cuddyer 1B/OF, $12.5 Mil

    Kelly Johnson Util, $2.5 Mil

    Ruben Tejada SS, $2.5 Mil

    Starting Rotation:

    1) Jacob deGrom RHP, $550K

    1) Noah Syndergaard RHP, $550K

    1) Steven Matz LHP, $550K

    4) Bartolo Colon RHP, $6.5 Mil

    5) Jon Niese LHP, $9.05 Mil

    DL - Zack Wheeler RHP, $550K

    Bullpen:

    Jeurys Familia RHP, $3.3 Mil

    Joakim Soria RHP, $7 Mil

    Jerry Blevins LHP, $2 Mil

    Addison Reed RHP, $5.7 Mil

    Hansel Robles RHP, $550K

    Matt Barnes RHP. $550K

    Erik Goeddel RHP, $550K

    Other Bullpen Candidates:

    Sean Gilmartin LHP, $550K

    Logan Verrett RHP, $550K

    Josh Edgin LHP, $600K

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