|
|
|
In today’s Boston Herald, citing baseball insiders in touch with both the Mets and Twins, Michael 
Silverman writes…
“The Mets, and not the Red Sox or Yankees, remain the front-runner as the team most likely to succeed in pulling off a trade for Minnesota ace Johan Santana.”
According to Silverman, “There are indications that Fernando Martinez would be in the deal, along with major league outfielder Ryan Church and at least two other prospects.”
…well, church is major-league ready, which, if you’ve been following this, is exactly what the Twins have been waiting for…
In 144 games for the Nationals last season, the left-handed hitting Church, 29, hit .272 with 15 HR and 70 RBI through 47 at-bats.
Church will be eligible for arbitration following next season, and able to be a free agent after 2010.
…if you recall, i mentioned church back in December, but assumed he would not be enough…of course, that was back during the Winter Meetings, when there was still plenty of time left on Minnesota’s clock…today, with a bit more pressure to make a move, combining church to martinez and two pitching prospects could be the Twins best play, in my opinion…
…at the time of church being acquired for Lastings Milledge, myself and others wondered if it was a way to get a more valuable outfielder to trade, since milledge’s stock had dropped…
…that said, if this is accurate, and church is to go, who exactly will play right field every day for the Mets…i mean, since he will not be included in the deal, is Carlos Gomez really ready to handle the load…i’m not so sure that he is…
…for what it’s worth, this is why i prefer to not dissect every single move made by Omar Minaya as it happens…instead, i prefer to wait, see how things play out, and evaluate the off-season as a whole…i look at the regular season in the same way…
…at any rate, jeez, just when i though the Hot Stove was running out of gas, suddenly i’m knee deep in wondering about potential right-field acquisitions…
 |
 |
 |
RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.
If this has any kind of credibility to it the question to ask would be; is the potential upgrade that Santana bring to the rotation more valuable than the potential downgrade that Gomez over Church would be in the OF (assuming that Gomez is given the job).
My answer, and I assume most others, would be Yes. Should Omar obtain Santana while keeping one of the OF prospects, it would be a solid victory for Minaya.
Ummm, I can’t even believe you would ask that question. I would swap Church with Gomez in order to get Santana 100 times out of 100. There is no argument you can make against it. That is assuming Gomez would be the starting right fielder. If so, he could break out. If not, Omar could do something else to find a right fielder. It’s a no brainer.
Oh believe me, I agree with you 100%. I was just throwing that out there in case anyone had any trepidation on the issue for some reason.
This Santana Fiasco is like binge drinking getting tremendously worse.
That’d be great. But they aren’t going to rely on Gomez. They had no choice but to rush him last year with all the injuries.
It’ll open a roster spot for a free agent.
Would we be interested in outfielder with 30 2Bs, 10 HRs, 11 SBs, .291 Avg? I hear Shawn Green is available.
Would any be disappointed to have Shawn Green again?
Not only would I love that deal, I’d like the opportunity for Omar to bring in his boy Brad Wilkerson. Gomez and Wilkerson could platoon RF, and Wilkerson is actually a good first basemen, and could spell Delgado instead of Anderson or Easly.
Wilkerson has some good power. His hitting for avg is not great but he can play all 3 OF positions and some IF (1st and 3rd). I would agree that it would be a good move but aren’t the both RH hitters? I would have to check that.
looks like Wilkerson is gonna sign with the Red Sox today
Absolutely, Wilkerson is a perfect fit if the Mets keep Gomez, although a straight up platoon might not afford Gomez enough playing time to develop properly — I’d look out for the Mets to either deal Gomez or sign a guy like Mench to hit against lefties while letting Gomez hit righties.
As for this deal, this is absolutely tremendous — if the Mets can keep either Pelfrey or Guerra and unload F-Mart, Church, Pelf/Guerra, and Mulvey, I’d sign up for it immediately — figure the Twins get major league ready guys in Church and Pelfrey, and can develop F-Mart and Mulvey — I think that’s a better deal than Philip Hughes and Melky Cabrera or Jon Lester and Coco Crisp (plus Lowrie and Masterson), but maybe that’s my Mets bias talking.
Add in guys like Joe Smith and a lower prospect like Niese to make it an easier sell for the Twins (”it was a 6 for 1 deal, just like Haren, and we don’t have to pay the contract!”)
Why would you want to let Smith go? With Church & Pelf there’s two major league ready guys right there, two more should suffice. Don’t compare this deal to Haren, there was no one in that deal like C or P.
dont trade fmart - plain and simple
Holy Cr@P! Church had 15 HR in just “47 At-Bats” last year?!!?!? Why would we deal this guy?
Well, I’m not one to jump on typos….but I would say the 70RBIs in the 47 ABs would be even more amazing.
Touche! 70 RBIs, 47 At-Bats. This guy is a stud!
Seriously. Do you know what his Strat-O-Matic card must look like for the 2007 season?
HOMERUN
HOMERUN
strikeout
DOUBLE
SINGLE
HOMERUN
HOMERUN
DOUBLE
HOMERUN
u going to strat “WORLD HQ” in Glen Head opening day??? im going…it’s amazing to see the people that turn out there lol
I should go! I used to play, it’s great. And Keith Hernandez always makes references to it during their broadcasts.
This typo was copied from a post that was made right after the Milledge trade. Guess it never got fixed…
Like the ‘name’. Steal Home Jose…that’s great.
Kevin Mench still isn’t on a team!
That is so true, he would be the move right after the trade and all Mets fans would be happy, until the season starts of course.
Well there is some flexibility. Some would say don’t sign a FA and let Easley/Gomez man RF. I would sign Kevin Mench.
Though if Gomez is ready (big if), maybe you sign a lefty like Green, Gonzo, Wilkerson or Nixon to platoon.
Other free agent OF:
Shawn Green
Kevin Mench
Trot Nixon
Reggie Sanders
Luis Gonzalez
Shannon Stewart
Brad Wilkerson
Barry Bonds
I may be wrong, but I believe they can’t re-sign Green until May 1 since they didn’t offer him arbitration…
I think that May 1st rule got canned.
I’d rather have Luis Gonzalez anyway…
But I would think a RH bat makes the most sense to platoon with Endy and break up the lefties at the bottom of the lineup.
There would be worse situations than an Endy/Gomez platoon. Of course with Alou gets hurt and both are playing everyday it would be a big problem…
Luis Gonzalez the roider?
no, that Luis Gonzalez has been gone for 5 years.
I’m talking about the part time, Shawn Green like Luis that played for the Dodgers last year…
Ba-rry! Ba-rry! Ba-rry!
You would have to wonder.. what kind of pop that would add to this lineup. Is all his baggage that comes along with him worth it… I would say no… but it’s still an interesting question
Can we please refrain from such vulgar profanity?!?
adding Barry to this lineup would be like wrapping a stick of dynamite in C4.
sammy sammy
From that bunch I wouldn’t mind Stewart. He can field well and gets on base at a reasonable clip. Wilkerson had an .859 OPS against lefties last season, so he might be a good option while giving Endy some starts.
oh wilks is a lefty? Good I would go for him i think…
Bonds…hah!
I’ve always been a Shannon Stewart fan…and I have no beef with bringing Green back. Guy gives you a professional AB every time.
Nixon is done. Mench is intriguing.
Yep, nothing wrong with Green. When I think about last season, I seem to remember him being a horror show on all fronts, but turns out he hit .291! Really streaky though I guess . . .
so you guys think we should go from church to temple?
He wasn’t nearly as terrible as everyone thinks (aside from butchering RF defense), and towards the end of teh season, he was getting some clutch hits…I remember someone even posted how strange it was to be relieved that Green was up in a clutch AB.
The rumors now seem to suggest that the offer would be FIVE players: Church, FMart, Pelfrey, Guerra and Mulvey.
That’s too high a price, in my view. If you’re giving up two “ready” players (Church and Pelf), then two good prospects should be adequate.
Plus, I’m still not convinced that the bidders are actually improving their offers at this point. So why bid against ourselves?
I am pretty sure that it would not include Pelfrey. I haven’t seen his name in any of the deals mentioned in the past few weeks.
There is new news today, rumors have his name as being “possibly” included in a deal. I think Omar has been sitting back, and may be poised now to make “his move”.
Great point - either Guerra or Mulvey should come out of that package if the Mets are willing to give up Church, FMart and Pelfry - especially if the Mets are bidding against themselves at this point.
I wouldn’t do that deal. At minimum, you have to take Pelfrey out of it.
Cannot give up more than one of our top pitching prospects or more than one of our top position prospects. If Fmart is in, Gomez is out. If Pelfrey is in, Humber and Guerra are out. It has to be that way otherwise we are giving too much.
I agree
How does Pelfrey get involved? I havent seen him included in any of the recent rumors. I’d actually rather keep Guerra than Pelfrey, though I would expect to be in the minority there. Though I would guess the Twins would prefer Guerra, which is why Pelfrey hasnt been included.
If Pelfrey is involved I would think that Church, Pelfrey, and FM should be plenty. Add in Humber or Mulvey and its a real slam dunk. Its big league ready prospects, though the ceiling isnt very high compared to where they are right now, FM excluded.
Pelfrey wouldnt have room in the rotation with Santana here, Humber or Mulvey would be adequate fill ins, and Guerra would still be in the organization. On the other hand, trading both Church and FM leaves a void in RF on both the short term and long term… Keeping Gomez and Guerra would be a win, imo.
Interesting twist on thier interests
I know it changes daily, but wasn’t the buzz that Minny preferred Gomez, since he was a CF’er?
Gomez is a moron, so I would prefer he was traded.
lol a moron??? what does that have to do with his trade value lmao…i LOVE the humor on this blog…touche
I know I will be ridiculed for saying this but why not sign Sammy Sosa to a 1 year incentive laden contract. I know he is old but he still hit 21 homeruns and will probably be better than Mench or Wilkerson.
Even if the Mets do trade Church, they always have Pagan to start in RF and have Gomez play in AAA. Now that I think about it that Pagan trade seems like a blessing in disguise.
Sosa also got to hide in the DH spot for a decent number of his ABs. He’d be a huge donwgrade from GREEN in the field.
I don’t think I want to deal with Sammy’s baggage. Not worth it. I’d rather have Mench or Wilk.
I would like to sign Sosa, Gonzalez, and Bonds and work with MLB to stagger their 50-game suspensions so we are covered all season!
willie would have a hard time communicating with Sosa, cause Sammy can’t speak English!!
Neither does Bonds.
I dont mind looking into to sosa as a platoon guy - Omar loves him - discovered him - he’s “toned down” in the clubhouse - and when not starting would at a serious power threat off the bench - Endy or Gomez could replace him late in games for defense.
I like the move - not much out there as far as OF’s go if Church is moved - BUT i wouldnt think twice about moving church for the best pitcher in baseball -
Well, I think our previous offer: Guerra, Mulvey, Gomez, and Humber was not as appealing as Hughes or Lester and prospects. But everything that was written states we were the leader, so who knows what to think anymore?!
I would still rather send Gomez instead of martinez. In either case, it does leave a hole in RF that neither one is really ready to fill.
Now, what would the rest of the deal be? If they still lose Guerra and Martinez and Mulvey, + Church, that is a lot to give up.
But, when it is July and Gomez is hitting .195 with a slugging % on .240, all of the “Santana at all costs, to hell with the rest of the team” better not be getting on Omar’s case!
Where is Wilkerson anyway, and what would he cost to get? But, if Gomez comes up, and you add another OF to cover for him, you still have the numbers problem on the bench.
Unless he platoons with Endy or Anderson? Ugh.
If this does happen, it seems like Omar will have to pick up a regular OF someplace. Handing the job to Gomez is a pretty big risk.
That, and with Castillo and Schneider in the lineup, that is 3 of 8 guys with no power. And with Castillo, they can’t take advantage of Gomez’s speed at the top of the order.
Maybe there are dominos to fall?
yeah, 3 of 8 with no power (although gomez may one day get some power)
but we do have beltran, wright, delgado and alou to supply the power, so it is a nice balance (with jose landing somewhere in the middle)