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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Tender Addison Reed - $5.7 million. This is going to be a year of salary inflation. One year contracts are a good thing.
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Sign Blevins – 1 year, $2 million.
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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.
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Total Salary - $116.45
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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 -
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