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According to Mark Hale in the New York Post, the Mets have interest in free-agent C Jorge Posada.
…as they should…i mean, he’s the best catcher on the open market…the problem, however, is that he is rumored to be seeking at least a three-year, $40 million deal, which a) is a lot for a 36–year-old catcher, and which b) is a contract the Yankees have already reportedly offered to him…
In 144 games this past season for the Yankees, Posada hit a career-high .338 with 20 HR, 90 RBI and a .426 OBP.
Posada has played in at least 137 games during each of the last eight seasons.
…i have looked at posada’s stat line a lot so far this off-season, and what keeps sticking out to me is not that he hit a career-high .338 this last season, it’s that he couldn’t crack .277 during each of the previous three years…not that these are shabby numbers, especially for a catcher, it’s just that i worry about him taking a sharp nose-dive, be it physically or statistically, which is realistic given his age and the historical decline of catchers…i guess i am just tired of the Mets signing free agents who are on the back-side of their career…
Meanwhile, during his weekly appearance on SNY’s Daily News Live, FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal told the show’s host that Paul Lo Duca is as good as gone from the Mets.
However, Hale quotes Lo Duca’s agent as saying…
“Omar reached out for us and let us know that the Mets were interested in bringing Paul back. And we’ve had some preliminary discussions, but nothing in substance.”
According to Rosenthal, the Mets will likely look in to free-agent C Yorvit Torrealba, among others.
In yesterday’s Denver Post, Troy E. Renck noted that the Mets and Marlins have interest in the 29–year-old Torrealba, who hit .256 during the World Series for the Rockies.
In 113 games for the Rockies this past season, Torrealba hit .255 with eight home runs and 47 RBI, while striking out 73 times in 396 at-bats.
…as i have said before, though, i still think the Mets will first look in to acquiring a catcher via trade, all while stalling on lo duca and monitoring the availability and interest level of torrealba, as well as posada, who i have no doubt will eventually re-sign with his Yankees, while using the Mets as leverage to get the best deal…
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If a guy can squat for 140 games at 36, he’s a medical marvel. 3/40 is a lot to give. He might be worth it
No way Posada comes to the mets. He is a yankee and he wants to finish his career with the yankees. Besides, he will only use the mets to sweeten his offer from the yankees. No way you give a 36 year old catcher a 3 year $40 mil contract….Sign Lo Duca at less dollars and less years and go after pitching and A Rod……
posada is consistent tho. since 2000 when he was 28, posada has played no less than 137 games and never had an OPS+ lower than 109, and mostly it was much higher 125 and up.
he’s also coming off a career year, so im guessing he will get his 4 years easily, but there is simply no precedent for catchers preforming that long, and i’d be extremely cautious with even a 2 year deal for someone that old. so i say let the steinbrothers over pay and look for cheaper options.
castro plus a couple of older scrubs. i think its time we give him a serious shot, and C is thin this year all around the league, so it’ll be tough to really get burned. unless he get injured, so buy insurance.
Posada, Arod,Santana ,lets signem all ,we got the bucks……………………Let’s open that wallet Freddie boy.
posada works. no paulie….no yorvit. castro as backup.
I see 120 games as catcher–20 at first as a righthanded replacement– and DH duties in his future. Next year more time at first, if his offense holds up. Delgado will be gone.
We do not need a strong hitting catcher. It would not hurt but it is not necessary. THe team is set up with its core hitters being very productive from more than a few spots:
Reyes (amongst the best leadoff men in the game)
Wright (MVP level prototypical #3 hitter)
Beltran (Really shined as #4 cleanup last year)
As to the others:
Alou (When healthy is probably the best hitter on the team)
Delgado (primed for rebound year in this his walk year)
Milledge (has shown he can hit .275 minimum with 90 rbi and 22 hr pace in the past plus he will steal 10 -15 bags and will score 80-90 runs) Plus he is likely to improve with more playing time.
Castillo when healthy is .300 hitter with a .350 OBP at the 2 spot which is exactly what we need IMO.
Catcher should be an afterthought for offense. I would venture to say we could do just fine with a guy who hits .250 with a .315 OBP and is strong defensively.
Plus if for some reason you swap Delgado with Arods production….Posada is entirely unneccesary.
My thoughts…resign LoDuca and bring up one of our veteran catchers or bring back Castro
I agree with all of your points. I have no confidence however that Delgado will rebound. His slump lasted the entire year last year and he looked pathetic at times…If he does rebound this year then he is a big dog since it is his walk year….IMO he was the biggest culprit with the team’s lackadaisical attitude….definitely not a leader…..Very disappointing for a power hitting veteran…
I think Delgado can rebound. And I don’t think you should attack his character… because all of the accounts I’ve read about him show him to be a class act. I think his quote was filled with honesty and reflected the clubhouse attitude… from Willie down. I think his poor performance last year had more to do with coming off wrist surgery and age… he started off hitting poorly and couldn’t shake it… I think he’ll hit better than last year but closer to 2006 where he was good but not amazing.
Sure willie on down were responsible for last year’s poor attitude….Delgado needs to hustle more on the bases…There were many times where he was caught jogging on the bases and not hustling. Gary Cohen pointed this out on several occasions. I also heard that Delgado is a class act, good guy. I think he says the right things most times but his actions at least give off a different perception. There were also reports last year that Delgado refused to talk to the media many times which reflects a lack of leadership. Maybe his injury did have an impact on his hitting slumps but there is no question he had a bad year and I don’t know if we can count on him….
And based on his age, it’s hard to make a case for a rebound because he could very easily be declining. I obviously hope he rebounds, but I get the sense that 2007 was the start of an ugly end to his career.
I’d disagree about Delgado’s slump lasting all year. He hit .273 /.354 /.495 in May, .323/.414/.525 in July, and .321/.383/.566 in limited ABs in September. The worst part was that he sustained injuries that almost always happened when he was hottest. For example, he was out for two weeks in September after hitting in 10 of 11 straight games, with 4 HR and 5 multi-hit games over that stretch. On coming back to the lineup, he always seemed a little off, a little slow. But this generally worked itself out (but over too long a period of time). What’s crucial for Delgado is remaining healthy for the entire season so he won’t have to work through those extra-cold spots (including those bad swings) that seem to happen when he comes off an injury. If he can stay healthy, I definitely see him bouncing back.
From watching him the past 2 years, the trend is there. In 2006, he went through some long awful slumps, but still finished with decent numbers for him (minus the BA). In 2007, the slumps were longer and the numbers were worse. In 2008, he can either rebound or continue along the same path and regress more. Based on his age and how he looked at the plate this past season, it’s hard to imagine him rebounding. If he does, I doubt it’d be by very much.
Fair enough, Mister Koo. It’s interesting, though, that this all comes in the context of a discussion on Jorge Posada, who’s a year older than Delgado and who hit 68 points above his career average prior to 2007 (it was .270 going into the season). He came off three relatively mediocre seasons and turned it on. And I think it’s hard (if not impossible) to say that Posada is a better hitter overall (career-wise) than Delgado. Not that that means Delgado is “due,” but Posada’s case certainly complicates the inevitable regression model you’re suggesting.
Yes, that’s a good point. However, something to think about is that Delgado is a power hitter and relies on pure power to drive the ball. Posada has power, but is not a bona-fide power hitter. He takes walks, has good at bats and shortens up his swing according to the situation. Delgado doesn’t do that. He swings at everything and gets himself out by helping out the pitcher by swinging at pitches in the dirt or way up high and inside. You can clearly see that he is looking more and more lost at the plate, almost like his eyesight is getting worse. He refuses to adjust, and prefers to try to drive the ball 600 feet with every swing. A player like that is the one who suffers the most with age because he’s still trying to rely on pure strengh and talent to succeed. Pedro realized he couldn’t do that anymore and adjusted. Delgado needs to do the same, but at his age and comments last year (”I’m not that kind of player”) just leads me to believe that his glory days are over.
I’ll jump back in on this. Delgado is likely to improve his year over last for a few reasons….
1) He is working out like crazy right now to be ready for his walk contract year
2) He is in his walk contract year
3) His last year was interrupted by nagging injury all year. Rib Cage, Wrist, Hip at the end. It was always something and it was not easy to play through. (I realize you can insert an argument here that he is simply getting older and this happens to older players). I can agree but I can retort by saying he is more likely not to repeat the injury bug as he is working out like crazy now and not sitting at home like he was last offseason watching his pregnant wife and loafing.
4) Delgado is a proud intelligent guy. He understands the mechanics of his swing extremely well. Last year, he could not stay healthy and remain in a groove. THis year he will
Most of my comments are subjective, except the working out like crazy comment which was either on Mets site or was on SNY site a few weeks back
I think gowrightgo makes an excellent point here. I’d add to that by saying that Delgado has historically had far better at-bats than he did most of last season. Over his career, he’s taken walks at about same rate that Posada has. I can’t speak to Posada’s at-bats, since I rarely watch the Yankees. But Delgado’s refusal to adjust stems from, I think, pushing too hard to get out of slumps. I mean, if you’re struggling, do you really want to try a totally different approach at the plate than the one that’s been routinely successful for over a decade? Or, do you try to hone in on what’s made you successful and try to repeat that?
I guess next season will tell, but I’d much rather see Delgado re-emerge as a solid middle-of-the-order threat than give up on him so quickly.
OK, fair point. If Delgado can even revert back to his 2006 form (38 home runs and in general good health), then the offense will roll again and be referred to as that “american league lineup”. The only thing is that it’s a risk. If by mid May he’s hitting .200 with 3 home runs, then it might be time for Omar to look for a new first baseman at the trading deadline.
His defense is shoddy. He has trouble getting along with certain pitchers (Mussina, Johnson, Cone). He’ll be a huge age risk. He’ll be overpaid. No thanks.
Not crazy about Lo Duca but I’d rather bring him back for 1-2 years than give Posada 3.
i do NOT want to see the Mets get Posada……he is coming off of a career year in a contract year at age 36. He hit 50 points higher than ANY other year in his career. There is no way he duplicates those numbers.
Granted, he will still probably put up decent #s for another 1-2 years, but expect don’t expect him to hit .better than 280 with 20 HR. Not bad, but not $10M worth.
Yeah, seems like Robbie Alomar, part Deux to me.
perfectly said. No way we want Posada to regress after he stopped taking the HGH in this his walk year. Not for me. Pass
I said before and I will say it again. The Mets stated that they are going to try and put a deal together for the Pirates Ronnie Paulino, whom I think would be a nice acquistion. Someone a few weeks ago thought the Mets should try for a Ronnie Paulino/Ian Snell package which I personally would think could be a great move. Young, cheap players who have had – albeit – a little major league success. I would have no problem offering Pittsburgh a package of Humber/Gomez/ and say Ruben Gotay for those two. Of course with new management in Pittsburgh who knows what they are going to do. Paulino and Snell might not even be available – as they were rumored to be.
Too much in your offer for a lousy catcher and a pitcher with promise but not yet done a thing.
I do that deal for Jason Bay and Ian Snell though
What success has paulino had?
I’ve long wondered if Posada was partially responsible for the poor Yankee pitching in recent years. How many good pitchers have we seen go to the Yanks and melt. Remember Randy Johnson basically refused to pitch to Posada.
He doesn’t throw well and blocks home plate like a matador. I would steer clear of him.
If we can add Arod we can afford to carry a catcher like Paulino from the Pirates.