Comments on: Read: Reasonably Priced Talent is Available

By: gmoney45

gmoney45 — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:56:48 +0000

Whatever the case, I do hope that we figure this situation out soon because only having Castro going into the season scares me. One tipped over twinkie truck on the L.I.E. and Castro will be putting on another twenty pounds and that arthritis will flare up again. Its a shame too because we have all seen that Castro can actually pull his weight in the lineup when he is healthy, and thats no small feat. Find a defensive catcher who can really call a game though and we should be ok,because dont forget that two pitchers we are counting on next year dont exactly have the most solid mental skills and need the guidance(Maine, Perez). If he hits .225 fine because if he does his job with the staff and our former great hitting first baseman returns to form, we got plenty of bats one through six.

By: 4JoeOrsulak

4JoeOrsulak — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:55:26 +0000

Jaome Burke and Rob Johnson of the Mariners are some good options I would say. Johnson has upside and is young, and Burke, though 36, has hit well in limited at bats for his career. The Mariners have both Clement and Johjima to deal with, so they would love to get something of medium value for those guys.

By: 4JoeOrsulak

4JoeOrsulak — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:50:29 +0000

But Montero batted better against lefties anyway, and most pitchers are right handed, so Castro would have to get a lot of time against righties regardless.

By: 4JoeOrsulak

4JoeOrsulak — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:43:46 +0000

Good defensive specialist/backup nos.

By: stickguy

stickguy — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:44:37 +0000

lots of options, and hopefully Omar is exploring all of them (fitting with my hope he goes back to being the “creative genius” that got him his own T Shirt slogan!)

Laird, Olivio, etc. are all viable options. And shouldn’t cost prospects of any particular note.

Signing Castro was actually a good move. It at least gives them a base to work with, so they have the flexibility to get a true starter, or a platoon guy. Basically, what they can find out in the market.

Assuming he doesn’t break down entirely, I could see Castro catching anywhere from 40 – 100 games next year (most likely not more than 80). Just can’t see him going into FT (120+ for a catcher) terrritory, so the other guy better be decent.

Laird could actually blossom in the right situation, he does seem to have offenzive potential. Might even be like Castro in that way.

Just get someone that can play the position and has some potential to not be an offensive black hole, and can reasonably be expected to stay healthy and get it done and move on.

By: stickguy

stickguy — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:35:36 +0000

trading players is like looking at used cars.

You can ask $10,000 for you 2001 Cavalier, but no one is going to give it to you.

So, you can either take the $4,000 it is worth, or keep it and make a lawn ornament out of it.

Same with a guy like Laird. They can want, say, Gomez and Pelfrey, but that ain’t happening.

SO, if the Market (the rest of the teams) values him as worth the equivalent of say Carp, and offer accordingly, then the Rangers have to decide if they would rather have the player offered, or just keep someone they don’t seem to need.

That’s also why you hear names like Peavy and Bedard mentioned as being “available”. They are the equivelant of the 10K Cavalier. If some team wants to come along and pay the asking price, they just might do it, but if sanity prevails and no team will, then they keep him (which is what they really intend to do anyway).

By: CleonJones

CleonJones — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:25:26 +0000

If I am remembering correctly, Barajas was released by the Phils, so he would only cost money to obtain. He definitely wouldn’t qualify as a Type A free agent. And picking up Miguel Olivo for only money is also an option worth exploring if Mets brass was not interested in Barajas. There should be no reason we part with anything higher than a mid-level prospect for the likes of a Laird or Hernandez at this point. The prospects should be saved to trade for pitching. At least Minaya is savvy enough to realize that.

By: x-nady

x-nady — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:52:32 +0000

Why would the Phillies want to trade anyone to fill a need for their new arch nemesis?

By: BiggieSmalls

BiggieSmalls — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:36:07 +0000

what about Miguel Olivo?

Even though he got in a fight with Reyes — they both admitted they’re good old friends.

He’s an above average defensive catcher and if HOJO can beat it into his head to be more selective he’s got a decent swing..

FOr one year at a low price may be a decent cheap backup to RC until the O’s lighten up on Ramon’s price.

By: cver

cver — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:13:04 +0000

What kind of skeletons could there possibly be in Paulie’s closet that could lead any clowns in the Mets organization to advocate getting any of these scrubs let alone trading even a minor player for them over Paul Lo Duca at this point. This is the most botched operation I’ve seen in a long time. Not on the level of a Kazmir situation obviously, but lets just see if they’ll eat some crap and get Paulie or make things worse. As a true Met fan (unlike Omar), I will not abide by him (not that I have any choice really) trading away prospects for a mediocre Hernandez or worse when we need pitching or signing/trading for a .220 defensive “specialist”. As I’ve written, there are only two ways to go here. One is to sign Paul Lo Duca and the other is to trade for a guy like Hernandez where you are getting Bedard with him, which would cost basically our whole boat of prospects – man overboard.