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According to Jayson Stark, at ESPN.com, the Mets have 
inquired about Blue Jays RHP A.J. Burnett.
Burnett, who is certainly talented, but often injured, can opt out of his five-year, $55 million contract after the 2008 season.
In 25 starts for Toronto in 2007, he was 10-8 with a 3.75 ERA.
Burnett was originally drafted by the Mets in the eighth round of the 1995 amateur draft, before being sent to Florida in exchange for Al Leiter following the Miami’s 1997 World Series victory.
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Better than no one I guess. Seems more and more the Mets aint gettin’ one of the premier guys. Might as well be Burnett. He isnt half bad.
ehh you know he can opt out of his contract after this year.
and his agent is scott boras.
SO BASICALLY WE GIVE UP THE FARM AND GET THIS GUY.
and he opts out after this year. GREAT IDEA OMAR.
GEEZ
If he opts out we can still collect 2 picks if we offer him arb?
1) just sign silva already
2) sign andruw jones for right field
3) sign colon with incentive laden deal, or move heilman to rotation
4) trade spare parts for relief (church, el duque, gotay)
5) keep our young guys for one more year in the minors and let them build up there reps again.
rotaton:
pedro
maine
perez
silva
colon/ or even heilman
Backups:
pelfrey
humber
mulvey
If we want to upgrade the staff for ‘08, we may need to go down the riskier road of someone like Burnett.
oo yea forgot. he’s injury prone.
so if he gets injured he won’t activate his opt out clause.
and mets are stuck with him for a few years.
but if he pitches well…..mets held out for ransom from scott boras….
i can see why blue jays would want to trade this guy. =/
wyoming needs a baseball team
You need a brain.
Did you read my post? We aint gettin Santana, we aint gettin Bedard, we aint gettin Haren.
Is Burnett worse then anyone other than the 3 I mentioned? Didnt think so.
Dont be an ass.
i wasn’t really mocking or being sarcastic on your idea… i just saw your name and wanted to mess around… i didn’t even read your post… sorry
Dang. People are getting pretty tense around here, huh?
That time of the month.
I look at it this way. Even if we do nothing, we have already improved over the Marlins for next year. I say to stay the course. Won’t finish last at least.
What are they thinking with that deal? I saw Miller pitch. Looks like he can be good….but Dontrelle and Cabrera in the same deal? I think they could have gotten more fore each, unless Dontrelle’s value was THAT low.
So, at least we’re better than the fish.
KUDOS for using your brain!!!
We are already a better team than last year’s team.
Church > Green, although L-Millz is best of the bunch.
Schneider/Castro = LoDuca
Pedro >>>>> Glavine
08 Humber/Pelf/Gomez > 07 Humber/Pelf/Gomez
El Duque = El Duque (rubber arm, besides what’s the difference between a 55yo pitcher and 56yo pitcher?)
Phils made some tweaks, but we won 88 games last year, and we heavily underperformed. Let’s not go crazy and trade our prospects when they’re heavily undervalued.
you nailed it, and even put it in bold!
It’s true. Let the kids go out and play…shock the world (except for the people that post on Metsblog and Omar), then give the finger to every other GM and scout that comes knocking next year.
First off
Church=Green (he’s just younger)
Second:
Schneider & Castro will not be playing at the same time. It’s not like they’re going to merge to form Schneitro. So that means on days where Scneider starts you shouldn’t expect too much offense from the catching position. Also, while Lo Duca could be considered a #2 hitter Schneider is strictly a #8.
Third:
The Mest would be best off letting Pelfrey and Humber working their stuff out in the minors next year. Rushing our prospects is part of the reason we’re in the situation we’re in.
Haha…Schneitro. You know what he meant. Schneider’s defense is a major upgrade over what we had last year. Teams exploited LoDuca’s Piazza-esque arm and ran all over him last year. Castro still has the stick he had last year unless he catches Delgado-itis. On days where you figure to need a little offense, you can start Castro. When you face a running team, start Schneider. Still love the Schneitro comment.
I completely agree about Ryan Church being just as good as Green, but Milledge probably would have been the best option. Why not give the kid a legitimate shot? He never had the chance he deserved here.
I agree with you about Humber, but Pelfrey is definitely ready. He took major lumps last year, but sending him down to start the season would be psychologically disasterous. He definitely has the stuff, it’s just a matter of commanding his pitches.
Yeah, you’re right. I just couldn’t resist the Schneitro thing ;)
Toronto needs a short man from the pen – the Mets don’t match up there. They would also need a starter, if they send us Burnett, unless they get one of SF’s young arms for Rios in which case they need an OF, and might consider a trade built around Gomez.
If (BIG if) Omar pulls that off, then between Pedro, Burnett and Duque, we’ve got 2 pretty good starters for most of the year. Then come Perez & Maine. Then a rookie (Pelfrey, then Humber) and a retread stashed in AAA as #7.. If the older guys stay healthy, do nothing at July 31; if the older guys are hurting, and the rookies don’t step up, give Mulvey a chance.
wrong wrong wrong
better to stay pat and make a move at the trade deadline than to do something rash.
Maybe a package of pelfrey, heilman and church gets it done?
I hope less than that. The guy gets injured all the time and he can opt out after one year with the Mets.
I almost would rather go with Heilman in the rotation.
Heilman deserves a shot for crying out loud. We may have missed the boat on him being a starter now, but it’s still worth shot.
I agree. I made this argument two years ago. I don’t care what Minaya or anyone else says… you can find relief pitching anywhere. Even if Heilman isn’t an ace, if he can give us competent innings then he is more valuable in the rotation. Guys like Kyle Lohse are looking for four year deals. You mean to tell me Heilman can’t be as good as Kyle Lohse.
And worst case scenario, he bombs. At that point, he should finally accept his career path is as a reliever, and he’ll happily return to a role he has thrived in.
WHAT ABOUT SNELL?
get nady and snell for pelf, heilman and church. they want to dump nady bc of wht he will b making.
LETZZZZ GO!
any thoughts?
yeah, but Snell is still young, talented, and under control for a few years which EQUALS gonna cost more than that offer
I have been screaming for the Mets to get Snell since the summer. But from what I read yesterday on a Pirates blog (BUCCO BLOG or something like that) the new Pirates GM will listen to offers for Snell and/or Gorzellany but that – and I quote – he is “asking for the General Managers first born in return”. In other words like every other pitcher available the asking price is enormous.
I watched Burnett pitch against the red sox in toronto this september…when healthy this guy has unbelievable stuff…
if he could stay healthy, i would be ecstatic to have him as a met…if he can stay healthy.
Burnett is an enigma. He’s your typical talented arms who can’t put together a whole game consistently. He will never have more than one season of 15+ wins. Nostradamus has spoken.
Any pitcher that can throw a no hitter, yet walk 9 guys has some major flaws. I feel like with Burnett we’d be getting another Ollie.
no, he’s twice the pitcher ollie could ever hope to be.
Nady is garbage. Been there, done that. He is a .260 hitter that never gets a hit when it counts. And he is a slug in the Outfield.
Pass.
Converted from the infield. He’s ok, but we’re better off focusing our attention elsewhere.
can we just pray that pelfrey and humber step up and win 20 each
ok, i just saw it. it sounded less pathetic in my head initially
Not sure if Humber will even win 20 games in his career as a Met. Pelfrey is another story. I really think this can be a breakout year.
“Not sure if Humber will even win 20 games in his career as a Met. ”
I was with you until you said ‘a Met,’ I’m not sure he can win 20 in his career.
“Pelfrey is another story. I really think this can be a breakout year.”
What makes you think that?
He’s only 24, still has a dominating fastball with plus sink, and he has a nice fluid, repeatable motion. He was rushed to the bigs and finally has some professional experience under his belt.
Also, Bedard, Haren, and even Snell… all of these pitchers we are lusting after didn’t really emerge until 24+. Not saying it’s a sure thing, but it’s like the 3rd year receive in the NFL. You give a guy at least until age 24/25 to see if he can make it so long as he still has the stuff.
I mean, look at Maine. It took him a few years to figure it out.
Squad, couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Pelfrey and FMart are the two guys I would be upset to see go. I think because of everything you said, Pelfrey has the stuff to be a #2 or very good #3 starter in the bigs.
well in any case. i want snell!!! i hate church. prob because im jewish lol.
but snell or burnett would be fine.
i dont get the AL TEAMS! obv pic or choose either the yanks or redsox as the wilcard.
SO WHY ARNT MOST AL TEAMS SELLING??????
You mean that one little comment that all Jews are going to hell? Aww come on. I’m sure he meant it in a good way. ;-)
He apologized. That obviously means he didn’t mean it at all in the first place. What a loser. Ryan Church won’t be on the 40-man roster to start the season. Write that one down….errr, I just did.
If we can get him for reasonably cheap because he’s an injury-prone Boras client, I say go for it. He’s never been anything but great when healthy, and it’s not like any starting pitcher is a lock to stay off the DL.
Of course, if the Jays try to get a Santana/Bedard kind of package for him, flip ‘em the bird and move on.
Yikes, we’re really getting to desperation move level here,aren’t we Omar? Juuu know what I’m sayin?
Try sweetening the offer to the O’s first.
Burnett always gets those damn blisters doesn’t he. I want a healthy under 30 decent pitcher, is that too much to ask?
You have 4 that will be in your rotation, Maine, Perez, Pelfrey and Humber, sorry.
The fear I have about this offseason is not only will the Mets not be able to snag a top notch pitcher, but that they won’t acquire anyone to improve the team.
All this talk about the Mets trying to acquire a starting pitcher seems to have taken the attention away that their bullpen imploded last year and so far nothing has been done to improve it. Duaner Sanchez and Ambirioxioxioxix (whatever) Burgos are unknown factors at this point and while getting rid of Mota can only be a plus they still need more quality relief pitching. Maybe even someone who can close when Wagner needs a rest. And if they trade Heilman who has been their best reliever the past few years who can you count on?
We also have an aging 1st baseman who I’m not sure will get his ‘mojo’ back next year.
Are all those xoxoxox’s “hugs and kisses” for Burgos? :)
Great points, Gregg.
We have to just hope better health will lead to a better record. Last year we had no Pedro and our entire outfield went down.
This year you hope Schoenweiss continues late season momentum Sanchez is healthy, Smith can contribute.
I’m confused by why the Mets prospects are so lowly rated. Look at the guys the Tigers traded. A pitcher who got rocked to a 5.5 ERA and a guy who hasn’t hit at any level of play.
How is that so different from Pelfrey + Gomez?
Because the media tells us that our prospects suck so everybody buys into it. And then Minaya gives away Milledge in an absurd trade, and it cements it for a lot of people.
We don’t have a lot of depth in the system, but we have some nice high-end prospects.
Danny you absolutely NAILED it on the head. I fully blame the media – specifically the New York media for the panning of the Mets prospects and as a result the other GM’s/ESPN read up on it. It may sound like a conspiracy theory but I absolutely think you are correct.
laughable
Don’t get me wrong the media is partially to blame. They exacerbate everything. but it wasn’t the media that couldn’t get the ball out of the infield. that was Carlos Gomez.
It wasn’t the media that couldn’t find the strike zone, that was Pelf and Humber.
It wasn’t the media that told people to bend their kneez. That was L-Millz in full effect.
Whoa re you kidding? Our prospects stink. Will they improve? maybe. But they showed nothing last year. Absolutely nothing.
You do realize how young Carlos Gomez is, right? You also realize that the value of prospects is largely based on potential and projection, both of which Gomez has in spades. Pelfrey throws in the mid-90s and flashed a plus slider last year. Yeah, he sucks and should be given up on (you know, like the Orioles did with John Maine when he sucked at his first taste in the big leagues, and he had a lot more minor league innings than Pelfrey)
Do you also realize that Humber led the PCL in WHIP and was like 3rd in ERA, yet everyone acts like he sucked last year?
Do you realize that Milledge out-OPSed Delmon Young last year, but Young is a great trade partner and Milledge is just a thug with an attitude problem who was overrated? Wait, which one threw the bat at the umpire?
Perhaps your naivete is laughable.
The Mets aren’t in the running for an ace pitcher because Omar won’t trade Guerra or Fernando Martinez. So if you want to blame something, blame that.
Also contract how someone like Buster Olney views our trade chips and someone with actual knowledge like Keith Law. You will find a rather large disparity.
Bravo… couldn’t have said it better myself.
Good show, Danny.
I think some people just hate young players because it reminds them of how old and out of touch they are. So they have no problem with saying that Gomez stinks based on 325 innings of play at the major league level or that Pelfrey and Humber will never be good starters because they failed to impress in a combined 18 lifetime starts. These bitter simpletons are constantly clamoring for instant gratification with no regard for cost or consequences. I wonder if they even really enjoy watching the game of baseball.
The guy that hasn’t hit at any level of play is still an upgrade over the immortal, Alfredo Amezaga. Marlins have been looking for a CF forever. That being said, they got mugged on this deal.
Burnett would work, because even if we lose him to the opt-out clause … we would be able to get first round picks, if we offer him arbitration and decides to leave for another team. The price to trade for him is conceivably lower than other pitching options given his contract status and injury questions. Then again though, it is not like Toronto is going to just give him away either. I prefer to land Bedard, but I’d keep an eye on Burnett. Ian Snell, I see as another fall-back option. Jayson Stark wrote a report last week on ESPN.com that included how the Pirates are having an internal debate on whether to make him available. I would have to assume that if Omar came to the table with a legitimate offer, it is in the realm of possibility to acquire Snell. They would certainly mull over the idea.
Here’s another way way out of the box idea. I remember that when Delgado signed with the Marlins we were upset over the way things went only to get him for basically nothing the next year. I wonder if we could do the same for Zito. Reuniting Zito with Peterson may be enough to turn it around.
How about Gomez for Zito and 20 million over 6 years? Kinda like what the Rangers did for ARod.
That brings his contract down to 96 million over 6 years or 16 million a year. Worth the risk?
The Mets wouldn’t go above 5 years for Zito when he was a year younger. I doubt they would take on his contract right now when he is a year older and there are 6 years left.
It was not only that they would not go 7 years it was that they would not pay that much money. Plus that was before our prospects could not get even a #3 pitcher.
I think the Mets were more scared off by the years then they were by the annual value, though both were absurd.
Either way, I don’t see it as a realistic possibility. It was a new and interesting proposal though.
Umm, Zito just plain stinks. Why would you pay so much for a project?
That deal makes absolutely no sense. The whole thing with Delgado was that the Marlins knew when they signed him he’d be gone after a year. His first year was for $4 million, the next three for $16 million. They signed him to make a run for one year, and then traded him. Giants made a big splash by signing Zito (even though hes overrated), they’re not gonna trade him. Plus, im not paying a pitcher $20 million a year if his names not Santana, Peavy, Bedard, etc.
You’re paying him 16 if you look at the deal. I am not saying that I am an advocate for it, just another way to go. Plus, SF now is in a rebuilding mode and has youth in the roation. Would you rather trade Zito or Cain for an OF?
Correcto-mundo!!!
Marlins gave it a go for one year and when they lost were desperate to trade him, even intra-division.
If it is for Smith and Pelfrey, I do it since there is reward to the risk with him…..
Burnett, for a more modest package of talent, would be fin. Certainly an upgrade over Livan! The baggage (injuries, Boras and th econtract) will have to combine to suppress hi value.
The ZIto idea isn’t all that off the wall. TO bad he kinds sucks now. But, get some $$ back, and what the heck it is only money.
At this opint, I would be fine with getting Nady as a back up OF and 1B, and putting Heimlan into the rotation. The team will be basically complete, other than finding the last 3-4 arms for the pen. And that is usually something that happens in ST.
Omar can sign SIlva if he wants too, just not Livan. Wait, SIlva is mediocre too, so scratch that!
A rotation of Pedro, AJ, Maine, Perez and Duque/Heilman/Pelfrey is pretty darned good actually. Of course they have to stay healthy, but you can say that about every rotation! Burnett did start 25 games last year.
If nothing else, they wil get a lot of strikeouts.
I still think that Omar should sign Silva right now. It puts us in a better position on the trade market as we do not look as desperate and it locks down the 5 spot in the rotation with better than league average #’s. Plus I don’t see him getting more than 8/32 that’s chump change to the Mets.
Pedro, Maine, Perez, Elduque, Silva. Then if they obtain that mystical pitcher Elduque just slides to the pen.
As bad as Silva is, I do not want to go into the season with the rotation that we have. I am affraid that Omar will wait around like he did last year chasing the big fish and miss the small moves that would have got us into the playoffs.
What’s wrong with the rotation?
It’s the same as last year except everyone is one year better, and we have Pedro instead of Glavine.
Because if we had a reliable solid #5 last year we would have easily made the playoffs. Think how bad Pelfrey, Lawrence and Williams were. We got bailed out a little by a slightly below average Sosa.
Right, but Pelfrey looked much better in September, so it is reasonable to expect that the 5 hole will be greatly imporved, evenif they give it to him agian.
In hindsight, they would hae been better to be cautious last year and give him another year in AAA, but too late now!
But you forgot one thing. Silva is horrible.
Yet his numbers were clearly better than Glavine last year. The only difference is we would be asking him to be our #5 and Glavine started as our #1.
We really shouldn’t use Glavine as a measuring stick. Besides, Glavine was our #3 sometimes #4 pitcher.
Glavine was considered our #1 going into last season. By the end of the year yes he was our #3 but lets not kid ourself. We need to replace his innings and Silva can do that with better numbers. I don’t see that as being a bad thing.
It’s not like Silva will be matching up with Smoltz like Glavine had to last year. It will be all the rest of the #4’s and 5’s and I will gladly take Silva over almost any NL #5.
Is it me or is Omar beginning to look desperate? Now’s he’s inquiring about the often injured AJ Burnett? First Omar “inquired” about Santana, next Haren/Harden, then Bedard and now Burnett? I understand he’s doing is due dilligence and has to do this but it’s making the Mets seem desperate. And maybe we are but that doesn’t help the situation at all.
Knowing that we need an ace has given every GM in the game leverage on us to demand our star players for a trade. They have the ability to do that because they know that Omar is fighting for his contract life. GMs can say “Give me your best” and if Omar bites then great they get rid of a high priced ace and acquire our top prospects. If Omar doesn’t they, darn, they have to hang on to their ace until the trade deadline – when teams are even more desperate than they are now.
Omar needs to draw a line in the sand and say, “I’m only willing to trade players X, Y and Z. Take it or leave it.” And if we can’t get an ace then fine. Go out immediately and sign Silva and Colon. Is it the solution that we’re all hoping for? No, certainly not. I too want a knock down, drag out ace but sometimes it’s not the right time. A rotation of Pedro, Maine, Silva, Perez and Colon isn’t the worst in the world. Plus a full season of Pedro is more than we had last year.
I know that Omar is fighting for his job. I know that we are built to “win now” – sort of. But I also know that leveraging our future can come back to haunt us. I’d say everyone short of FMart, Reyes, Wright and Beltran are for sale but it doesn’t seem to be working as of yet…and believe me, I hope it does. But our/my fall back plan isn’t the worst thing either.
Just my $0.02
I would much rather give the ball to Pelfrey and Humber that Silva and Colon. A Livan signing I could live with, but this has gone on far too long, and has made us look like chumps.
Give the ball to the kids and make them prove everybody wrong.
Pelfrey I can agree with as the # 5 but no way can we get the innings we need with both of them in the rotation. Right now I don’t know if either could get you an ERA under 5.
One option to think of is again signing Silva but also signing Prior or Garcia.
Then start the season with Pedro, Maine, Perez, Silva, Pelfrey and if Pelfrey struggles then Garcia or Prior come in. If it is before Garcia is healthy then Elduque moves back into the rotation.
All of the time searching for that ace by trade.
If we go that route, I would want to improve the offense by getting someone like Nady to platoon with Church and Delgado. And we would have to improve the pen by netting one decent reliever.
Prior or Garcia??? Both guys are injured all the time. Please…step back off the plank, don’t sell your soul to the devil and think clearly.
Breathe…
Now…here’s what we can do because Omar has set this up perfectly….ready?
WE CAN DO NOTHING BECAUSE WE HAVE NOBODY!
So you would rather have Lima, Williams and Chan Ho Park as the back up plan?
Start the season with Pelfrey and if he falters then Garcia can step in. I don’t see an issue with these low risk signings that give us depth.
Looks like the Tigers learned from the Mets mistakes. They traded their prospects while they were still a hot commodity.
Now we can’t throw Humber or Pelfry at anyone….I say send them back to the Penn league.
I don’t want A.J Burnett…I think he’s softer than Carol Burnett.
Where to even start amongst the litany of silly posts.
I love how it’s the media’s fault that the Mets prospects are undervalued. Hahaha. Nice try, but there are things called scouts that evaluate players. A valiant attempt at denial, but seriously. The Mets prospects stink although I do like Gomez. Funny enough, many Mets fans continually rip him. I think Pelfrey stinks and will continue to stink. Humber is meh.
Lets put it this way. If the Mets were so high on some of these guys, why aren’t they going to war with them next year?
Burnett is a risky proposition because of the opt out clause and health issues. I wouldn’t want to give up a huge package for someone that will opt out and cost even more money. I do like his stuff, and when healthy, he is a dominating pitcher.
Just say no to Andruw Jones. I wouldn’t hate the idea of signing him, but not for 6 years/90 million.
Nady…hmmm. I didn’t like him when he was Met, so I really wouldn’t want to see him come back to the Mets. He is a 4th outfielder. Don’t we have enough of those?
Is just me or are the Mets claiming to once again prove theyre all talk??? Im an avid Met fan and I check into this blog atleast 5 times a day and all I see and read are the Mets “interested” in this guy ande are “inquiring” about that guy but eventually bail out. Ive been a big Omar supporter for some time and gave him the benefit of the doubt with the Milledge trade but COME ON!!! Now I hear we’re out of the running for Kurodo. But hey we are still interested in Freddy Garcia who is dur back HOPEFULLY by mid season (I hope you detect the saracsm in that)…
All of you people think that you fire this person and fire that person trade for this guy and get rid of someone else. This isn’t like a video game and you can trade for top pitchers when you have nobody in AAA. And you think Omar is doing a bad job so fire him… Who are you going to get to replace him? Same with Willy, who are you going to replace him with? i am not a big fan of his but bottom line in the 3 years he has been here, he has done a lot better than most managers that the Mets have had in the past 15 years. I honestly would rather have Bobby V back but thats my opinion. But the bottom line there isn’t anyone out there that will replace them. And for all of you that believe that Omar is completely to blame for not getting some of these guys then you are in La La Land… No owner in their right mind would give complete control over who and who not to pick up.
Also as far as adding Pelfrey as a trade and Milledge going to Washington, their value has gone way down in the pat 2 seasons. Pelfrey was what 3-7 or 3-8 last year. I mean honestly who would want that? And Milledge, i was just as excited as the next met fan when he came up but the bottom line he is a streaky hitting Punk. He would hit well for a week then swing at crap. He had a great arm but lacked control and his fielding was spotty most of the time as well. Yeah he may be a better player in the future but obviously the mets couldn’t wait to bring him up with all the injuries to their outfield.
So all of you remember your thoughts about what you are saying regarding Omar, Willy, and the “Scrubs” that they are picking up so when they start winning next year you can all think about your BS comments…
Thats the fun of being a mets fan, you hate then you love…
Hmm… I wonder what would the Jays ask for a package involving Rios and Burnett?
Gomez, Church, Estrada, Humber/Pelfrey, Heilman and cash/a minor league pitcher?
I’m just curious! I am picturing an outfield of Alou in left, Beltran in center and Rios in right. So Burnett walks after the season… that’s a 2009 Type-A draft pick. Rios you would have under control and everyone will forget about the rapper formerly known as L-Millz.
Only problem is that the Jays are shopping Rios for MLB ready SP. I don’t think they would give that chip and a SP away for prospects.