FanPost

AAOP: No Votto?

Presents

Writer's Note: The plan should be to put the best team on the roster, while not killing the minor leagues. Since that didn't happen last year, the *new* goal is to correct what needs correcting, while still remaining competitive. SP depth, a fixed BP, provide some stability to the roster, and find actual minor league depth, all the while sticking to salary cap. The below should provide the same punchers chance they would have had going with the 2019-2020 all in window, while not actually limiting the team to said window. And sadly, no Votto's were legally allowed to be a part of this plan. We (IPA and IPA's legal team, AKA LegalZoom) finally read all the "correspondence" we received from Joey's legal team, and I must say, if Joey knew what they said in those, he'd be appalled. He is a gift. And we just need to appreciate him.

Editor's Note: There was no editor. Also, Yes, Cespedes was included in this plan.

Reader's Note: Get on with this already.

good and bad

There are some good, bad, and ugly parts to the current Mets roster.

The Good: the promise of a bright future. Alonso, McNeil, Rosario, Nimmo, Conforto, deGrom, Syndergaard, Lugo, Davis, Smith all form to make an enviable core. We're plugging in these guys to the roster.

The Ugly: one ugly trade and some ugly production. (umm, what happened to the bad? Patients, err, Patience.) The resources that were spent to have some albatross contracts and positions that are clogged up. Cano, Cespedes, Lowrie, Ramos, Familia and Diaz. Based on arbs and contracts, that's 88.92 million folks. 88.92... Uff da. These guys, unless dumped for pennies on the dimes on the dollars, they are a part of the 2020 team. There is a hope that there is redemption for some, with Familia and Diaz rebounding, as BP arms can do (Go Go Gadget 2019 playoff baseballs, and not 2019 regular season baseballs), and maybe there is something left in the tank with the others.

The Bad: starting pitcher depth, a wonky bullpain, nothing much for on the cusp prospects, and a payroll limitation. Joy.

With the season ending, we see the departures of Lagares (option not optioned), Frazier, Wheeler, Avilan, Panik (dumped). We also see the arb and contract increases kicking in for a bunch of the team.

Here we go:

wheels

RHP Zack Wheeler - 5 years, 90 million (11/15/18/22/24). First order of business is to plug a hole in the rotation with the guy that was creating the hole.

grandal

C Yasmani Grandal - 4 years, 64 million (16/16/16/16). Need to get better production from the catcher position, and might as well get the best one out there.

hi

RHP Collin McHugh, - 2 years, 13 million (6/7). His 2019 stats weren't as great as his 2017-2018 stats, but he's a decent arm, can pitch in the rotation in a pinch, and should be somewhat easier on the wallet than Will Smith or others.

tony lettuce

LHP Tony Cingrani - 1 year, 3 mil. Adds a lefty to the BP, some SP experience.

C Austin Romine - 2 years, 6 mil (2/4). I refuse to have Nido on the roster. Just can't do it. Plus Austin can play 1B in a pinch, not that we'll ever need him to do that because Alonso will be breaking Ripken's record at some point in his mid-40s...

LHP Alex Wood - minor league deal, 4 million if he makes the majors, with an opt out in May. Injuries killed his season last year. Looking at building SP depth, and if it's needed (and he's healthy) a 4 million dollar hit would be worth it.

OF Caesar Puello - Minor league deal. Why not...

OK, looks at the moves, looks at the salary... Umm, IPA, it's a tiny bit high. I'm high? What? OK, this is a problem... And I still have an open spot in the BP. Here we go, again.

ramos

Trade C Wilson Ramos, OF Desmond Lindsay and 6 million dollars to the Texas Rangers for SP Ricky Vanesco.

This is all about saving some money, but it does bring back an upside arm in Ricky Vanesco. He's ways away, and has a lot of work to do, but seems to have higher upside. And Lindsay is included in this deal because I'm tired of hearing about him.

Noah

Trade SP Noah Syndergaard to the San Diego Padres for RHP Dinelson Lamet, CF Franchy Cordero, RHP Luis Patino and LHP Adrian Morejon.

You are a jerk, IPA. Yes, I know. San Diego is looking to make a splash, especially with the comments of SD ownership this offseason. They have a lot of talent on the roster and in the minors, and can afford to go out and get their "Ace." Plus, they have a bunch of roster crunching to do with the 40 man. Lamet, other than sounding like a French New York baseball player, backfills for Syndergaard. Yes, it's a downgrade. I know it's a downgrade, but stick with me for a bit. Cordero (when healthy) has major upside, can play CF, and fulfills the requirement of having a last name that ends in O. Patino and Morejon add some major firepower to upper minors. I'm actually slotting Morejon in the BP, but he certainly could make the rotation at some point. Depth, baby!

conforto

In a three team trade, the Dodgers acquire SS Francisco Lindor from the Indians. Hello Cleveland! gets SS Cory Seager and OF Michael Conforto. The Mets get OF George Valera from the Indians and RHP Josiah Gray and RHP Mitchell White from the Dodgers.

You are a Super Jerk, IPA. Yes, I know that as well. The Dodgers get an upgrade at SS (and can handle the high salary of Lindor). Cleveland gets a competitent and less expensive SS and well as upgrading their OF, all for the same cost as Lindor. And the Mets get a significant upgrade to the upper minors. Gray and Valera are a year or two from hitting the bigs, but I'm OK with that. White can make the rotation with a strong Spring, start in the BP, or wait in the wings at AAA. This move was financially driven, and I'm a jerk, but rebooting the minors was one of the goals, and Cespedes will be back...

cespedes

A special Cespedes note: I do NOT think he plays another game. He is penciled in on this roster because you have to. That said, Cespedes is like finding a Unicorn riding a moped on a frozen lake. Or like finding $20 in a pair of old jeans. So, even if he never plays again, I'm still making the above trades, as there is depth for the corner OF spot. Really, it would just be pushing Davis to full time starter, and calling up a AAA type to take the last spot on the bench.

ALL THE LOVE

love

To make up for all the above hate, I'm looking to spice it up and lock in the young talent to some extensions.

Brandon Nimmo - 4 years, 32 mil, 15 mil option/1 mil buy out. (3/6/10/13/15*).

Jeff McNeil - 4 years, 20 mil, 2 options (both with 1 mil buyouts) (1/3/6/10/13*/13*).

Pete Alonso - 7 years, 85 mil (1/2/5/14/19/22/22). This one I sort of modeled off of Yelich/Acuna/Albies mishmash. Anyway, make him a Met for a long time.

So, based on the above jibberish and rantings of a lunatic, and filling out the rest of the roster, the 2020 Mets looks like this:

aaop

The above exercise is not about going all in for 2020. The above team should have a punchers chance for making the playoffs, next year. That would be nice. The main goal was assemble something competitive while building a sustainable pipeline. The team will be in a good spot to backfill Stroman the following year (be it internally) or target someone like Betts next year.

One last item that I want to highlight. The SP options after the starting 5 now look like this: Wood, Morejon, Patino, White, Cingrani, McHugh, Szap, Peterson, Gray, Kilome, Oswalt, Flexin. Or did you guys enjoy Font and Lockett?

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