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In a column for ESPN.com, Jerry Crasnick takes a look at the large number of free agents who are still looking for work in MLB, such as outfielders Barry Bonds and Shannon Stewart.
…let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that the Mets ended up trading Ryan Church in a deal for Johan Santana, as Michael Silverman alluded to in this morning’s Boston Herald, then who will play right field for the Mets…
…it better not be bonds…nor stewart, who has one of the worst arms i have ever seen, especially if he had to play from right…
The following free-agent outfielders are also available: Luis Gonzalez, Shawn Green, Kenny Lofton, Kevin Mench, Trot Nixon, Reggie Sanders, Sammy Sosa, Brad Wilkerson, Preston Wilson and Alex Escobar
…yes, thee Alex Escobar…jeez, could you imagine…anyways…
…i could be talked in to considering wilkerson, if for no other reason than he can also back-up first base…
However, in last 1200 at-bats, spanning three seasons, the 30–year-old Wilkerson is hitting just .230, while averaging at least one strike out per game.
…i put a lot of stock in to knowing how a player will handle New York City, especially with regards to this coming season for the Mets, who are going to be under a ton of 
pressure to win…that said, note the following:
In 130 games for the Mets last season, Shawn Green hit .291 with 30 doubles, 10 HR and 46 RBI, while playing 110 games in right and 17 games at first base.
In 243 at-bats hitting from the seventh– and eighth-slot in the batting order, Green hit .300 with a .367 OBP.
…i’m sure some fans will advocate making a trade, but such a move will be unlikely considering what will be needed in a deal for santana, which is why we’re having this discussion to start with…therefore, any replacement for church will need to be a free agent…and who better to replace church than green, the guy church was supposed to replace in the first place…
By the way, during a recent chat at ESPN.com, Keith Law had the following to say regarding the Church rumor…
“I wonder if Omar slapped himself in the head and said, “Why the hell didn’t I offer Church sooner?” He’s a fourth outfielder who’s spent a lot of time in the trainer’s room. You put that guy in the deal every time.”
…to church’s credit, it’s his defense that gets touted when people connected to the team speak about him…minaya seemed really excited about the idea of upgrading the team’s overall defense, but, who knows, that could also just be spin…
Please no Shawn Green…that Spezio play from 06 cost us the WS and I hold my breath every time the ball goes to right field when he is out there….
His defense cannot be discounted. I wanted to cover my eyes any time he leaned into one of his belly flops and the ball went bouncing to the wall behind him.
Plus, it took an admittedly excellent September for him to even reach those decent numbers. April – August he was a non-factor more often than not.
Green was a non factor offensively for most of the season. How many times did Keith say in the broadcast that if he just went the other way and tried to drive the pitch where it was pitched and forget being a HR threat that he would have a nice second career to look forward to. Green had 46 frickin RBI in 90% of a season from a corner OF spot. Can not have that next year no matter what. Castillo would out RBI that production
has anyone considered cory patterson? hes a free agent
green is already starting his dive for any opening day fly balls to right…
…just slammed into the ground.
eh
I dont care so much who plays RF for us. I just want the Johan deal to be done already. With all these rumors my hopes are really high but some part of me feels we are all in for a big let down. At this point Omar has really no choice but to get him considering we all have our hopes up. If the proposed deal is true then Mench is my choice for RF. Gomez staying is such a plus for us. Maybe he can be the everyday RF in the second half after a half a season in AAA?
Getting Santana will mean alot more that whoever plays RF this season. You can expect to see Endy or Angel Pagan or Calbe Stewart or Carlos Gomez or womever. WOn’t really matter much.
The rotation issues will be solved and the guys who make the team tick will be Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Wright, Delgado and Alou
I completely agree! I don’t want to even think about the future for the Mets when Beltran or Delgado retires and stops playing or even goes to another team. Because to me these six guys really do make the Mets like you said. Beltran and Alou handle the outfield very well for us so I’m not to worried about whoever plays right field. Is it just me or is anybody else going to worry about the Bullpen? I personally thought the Bullpen did not do a very good job last year and I blame most of our bad pitching from them!
Dont know what the general consensus is but I have no issues with having Green back in RF for 08. Hes a total team guy and I think would be fine with some sort of platoon with Gomez. I think having Green and Alou as corner OF mentors as he grows into the role of an everyday player for us would suit him very well….
As a random sidenote, the greatest chant I’ve heard in 20 years on going to Shea was during game 6 of the 06 NLCS when he got a big down the RF line. I was in the UD and my whole section broke out with ‘Oy Vey, Oy Vey, Oy Vey, Oy Veyyyy….Oy Vey Oy Vey….’ to the melody of the ‘Jose Jose Jose’ chant…..classic. I’ll always remember that….
Green stinks. Can not possibly consider a corner outfielder who in 90% of a full season produced 46 RBIs. Castillo will generate more RBIs next season than Green did. Pass.
Look within the system or expect to see alot of Easly out there platooning with Endy
I don’t know, I think a guy like Ruben Gotay paired with a reliever like Joe Smith might net a decent outfielder.
Nady’s return possibly?
That may get us an OF but probably not any better than a free agent we can sign with just money.
Agreed. We have so many arms in the pen who are tradeable: Wise, Smith, Feliciano… combined with Gotay, or even with A-Hearn (someone probably needs a backup SS)…
What AA team currently needs a backup SS?
haha agreed anyone we would get for smith and gotay or whoever wont be much better than kevin mench who is a free agent.
Isn’t there a chance bonds spends part of the season in prison or is his argument that “they got me to lie to the same question several times” going to hold up?
Anyhow, we wan someone who can field out there…
Lets all hope that Scum bag goes to prison and learns a good lesson! But with a ego as big as his I doubt it!
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a trade happen once (if?) the Santana deal goes down. Omar will know what prospects are left at that point. Or maybe they think Pagan can handle a full time gig?
Maybe they should go after Escobar. I honestly haven’t followed his career, so how has he actually done?
Also, for all the grief he gets as a bust, didn’t he have a major injury shortly after getting to the majors? That can happen to anyone, and who knows, he might be an all star right now if he hadn’t gotten hurt.
If the Mets wind up retaining both gomez and martinez in a deal for Santana, with the possible Church Gotay Mulvey +(+?) trade, the two youths must be allowed to develop further in the minors.
Bring in the services of the left handed “Last Expo” Wilkerson for a year, and platoon him w/ Endy.
Can we get a line out to Wilkerson as to whether he has been contacted recently by the Mets??
In regards to the proposed Santana trade, we might have to help the Twins save face if they accept those three and send them two more farm hands…
There is nooo way we keep both Gomez and F-Mart in a deal for Santana… and if Church is included it seems to indicate it will be an F-mart led pacakge
I didn’t hear anything about that rumor…We can make this deal without giving up Martinez or Gomez…WOW make the deal and sign anyone including Green!
Pagan=Johnson No?
good point, yes, Escobar i believe messed up one or 2 of his CL’s in his knee and he was never the same. I remember when Carlos Pena was supposed to be THE NEXT big star and some injuries and bad luck railroaded his career until LAST YEAR when he hit 40 HRs for the Rays and now has a nice contract to show for it. Anyone is worth a minor league invite. If the guy had THAT much talent, maybe someone should take a chance on him and hope to catch the next Carlos Pena
Hopefully, Omar hangs on to F-Mart. Let’s see what he can do in RF. He can’t be worse than some of the other options (certainly not worse than Green) and he could get valuable experience hitting 8th in a lineup that won’t really need him to be a big time producer.
That is an absolutely perfect script for the movie about how the Mets ruined Fernando Martinez.
How about a platoon of Jose Valentin and signing Kevin Mench…. I know Valentin is iffy, but if they didn’t think he could play the outfield, they wouldn’t have signed him… Plus it gives us a right-handed bat off the bench in Mench when Valentin is in… Plus the fact that Endy is still there, so if they struggle, we can use him a little bit more…
I dont think you can count on 100 games in the outfield from Valentin. Not only do we not know how close he is to 100% until he plays, he’s never been a regular outfielder in his career….quite a big wild card for us to have.
Nady would be interesting and you’d have to figure he would not cost a ton with all the outfield depth the Pirates have coming up through the ranks.
What about giving Gotay an OF glove in spring training and seeing how it goes?
What about Lofton? The guy seems to be in the playoffs every year and can be a great influence on Gomez (if he is still with us and makes it to the club at some point)
i definitely agree with the lofton idea. especially if gomez is held on to. lofton is a great clubhouse guy with a winning attitude and hes a team guy. I know hes old as dirt but the guy can still play ball.
OK listen up, I’m putting this in this thread instead of the other Church thread. The dimensions of the Twins new ballpark might be a factor in whether they would be interested in Ryan Church, because if it is a bandbox or at least smaller than Shea or RFK in Washington, he might be a HR threat. Here are the comparisons:
RFK
Left field: 335 feet
Left-Center: 385 feet
Center Field: 410 feet
Right-Center: 385 feet
Right field: 335 feet
New Twins Ballpark
Left Field: 328 feet
Left Field Power Alley: 371 feet
Center Field: 402 feet
Right Field Power Alley: 371 feet ´
Right Field: 331 feet
In other words, the Twins new ballpark, which shouldn’t be a surprise, will have the fences closer than in DC. I’m sure one of you could supply a list of all the balls that Ryan Church hit last year and where they travelled to from site and that might be useful. You know the Twins have that info at their disposal.
Good point cver!
Keith Law on Ryan Church today:
Derek NJ: Keith, Heard a rumor this morning that the Mets might include Ryan Church in a deal for Santana along with Fernando Martinez and two other prospects. What are your thoughts on that?
Keith Law: (1:26 PM ET ) I wonder if Omar slapped himself in the head and said, “Why the hell didn’t I offer Church sooner?” He’s a fourth outfielder who’s spent a lot of time in the trainer’s room. You put that guy in the deal every time.
Kinda puts Ryan Church into perspective.. can’t be too hard to replace.
This is great! As if the Santana saga isn’t annoying enough, are we really discussing the hole in RF due to trading Church along with the kids for Santana?
Speculation spawned by the hope/rumor that we are front runners for Santana and Church might/could be part of the trade.
Puke.
I wouldn’t mind Lofton…he seems to like changing teams every year as well.
I know the Yankees have money to burn, but after just reading they have offered Robinson Cano a 4 year, $30 million deal, does that make it a little more unlikely the Yankees are gonna trade for Santana where another $100-$120 million or so will be spent on Santana along with the millions they’ve spent already to keep Posada, A-Rod, & Rivera?
$7.5m to the Yankees is like a sandwich to you and me.
Very little to do with Santana. He was arbitration eligible for the next few years so the Yanks saved themselves a headache and possibly saved themselves money with this deal.
The only part of this that has me wondering is I heard the Yanks didn’t want to do a deal with Cano because of luxury tax implications. If that is true, then how can they add a $25 mil pitcher to the fold? I stay skeptical, they just signed a guy to a $300 million dollar deal, how can we take anything they say about money at face value?
My Q is who would play 2B if we trade Castillo to Min?
Wait, they just barely traded him to us. Never mind….
I say we somehow get Cameron back and put him there just so we can see his reactions everytime a ball is hit into the gap. First time, he’ll probably fall to the ground in the fetal position…
“it better not be bonds”…assuming he can play this year, why not?
ill take the same .350 at bats, 27 hrs, and 120+walks that he has averaged the past two years batting 5th behind beltran.
with bonds in LF and alou in RF…you could get gomez or chavez a whole lot of at bats since they will both need a lot of days off…
definitely not something i would dismiss so quickly.
you’re evil.
I tend to call people like this “wh0res”
ill take being an “evil” “wh0re” with bonds in my lineup over watching another season of a slow OF with no power whose hat cant stay on his head or any of the other options listed above.
I’m not a fan of Bonds, I wouldn’t like his defense, I highly doubt the Mets would get him, but it is interesting to picture him in the Mets lineup
Lineup Maybe………….. Clubhouse ohhh heck NO what a horror story that would be, and the media would be worse than a Spears girls visit to the free clinic.
Bonds is a Type A free agent. Nuff said.
Escobar is not a free agent at all.
Bonds wasn’t offered arbitration. That means there is no compensation.
I’ll take Escobar. He did well in limited duty in ‘06 and he can’t cost much.
Green is GARBAGE.
good point, yes, Escobar i believe messed up one or 2 of his CL’s in his knee and he was never the same. I remember when Carlos Pena was supposed to be THE NEXT big star and some injuries and bad luck railroaded his career until LAST YEAR when he hit 40 HRs for the Rays and now has a nice contract to show for it. Anyone is worth a minor league invite. If the guy had THAT much talent, maybe someone should take a chance on him and hope to catch the next Carlos Pena
I’d go with Lofton.
Will this guy ever get old? He hit .296 last year with a .367 OBP, 23 SB in 490 AB.
The year before he hit .301 with a .360 OBP, 32 SB in 469 AB.
The year BEFORE the year before he hit .335 with a .392, 22 SB in 369 AB.
I actually like Sammy out of that group.
I actually like the idea of bringing Lofton to the Mets. If Alou gets hurt which will happen Lofton can play some LF and if Church gets traded away Lofton and Gomez can platoon in RF. Lofton would be a good influence on Gomez.
Is Lofton a good clubhouse guy? I thought I remember hearing he has quite the ego which may help explain why he’s been on every team in MLB twice. (except for us)
I really don’t mind a platoon in RF, (assuming Delgado is some semblance of his normal self) and any combination of these names is fine with me if that means Johan every fifth day.
/threadjack: I just spent five minutes looking at D Wright’s numbers last year, and it made me feel all warm inside.
I hope we arent wasting our time discussing possible RF replacements. Santana deal not done yet and as I have posted before something is telling me we dont get Johan. I hope I am wrong but I just feel it would have happened already if it was going to. Are all of you fellow Met diehards confident we are getting Santana? I wont be happy until deal is announced. Skanks, Sox, and darkhorses coming in last minute scare me.
A Bonds/Sosa platoon :)
…and Canseco waiting in AAA
Are all of you very confident we are going to get Santana? Do you think its definite and only a matter of time? Please help me feel better because I dont feel that confident.
Where there is smoke there is usually fire….All quiet on the sox and yankees front and lots of talk from queens. Doesn’t mean that someone is sitting waiting to hear the latest mets offer before the trade and swoop in, but right now smoke signals are coming out of shea!
can’t help ya, Smitty. I’d like to, but…I’ll believe it when I see it. I don’t know that I could handle the crushing disappointment if I don’t take off my rosy specs.
There is no way anything will happen with Santana until after the Super Bowl. Do you really think the Mets, Yankees or Red Sox would actually make such a huge move while not getting any media coverage. With the newspapers and WFAN sending their entire crews out to Arizona next week the move would go totally obscure.
If you think Cheap Wilpon is spending $ 140 million without anyone noticing , your nuts. So everyone can calm down. Nothing will happen for at least 10-12 days.
Get your point but I actually think this story can bust in on the super bowl and carry itself. It will be such a huge story that the entire sports community will be talking about it regardless of the GMen in the Super Bowl. At least I think so
I humbly disagree. No better time to announce such a big trade then between now and Monday. The 2 week layoff between championship weekend and super bowl weekend allows for a lull in between. Mets could have 2 to 3 full days of coverage before next Wed. or Thu. when super bowl talk intensifies again. Sports media would like nothing more than a big trade to discuss right now to break up all the repetitve football talk. The time to make the deal is now.
To be fair, now until about Tuesday (Media Day for the SB) is usually a bit of a dead time….all the early previews are done and there’s nothing really to talk about until the players face the press on media day.
It made no sense to let Green go in the first place. I’m not sure if I’d start him or Church, though.
I like the idea of bringing in Trot Nixon as a stopgap in right field. He’s always seemed to be a consummate professional on and off the field, and could be a stabalizing influence in the clubhouse. Plus, he’s a guy who’s proven he can handle playing for a big market contender. I especially like this if you can bring in a righty to platoon when there’s an especially tough southpaw on the mound. I don’t know what kind of gig he’s looking for, but he could spell Moises Alou against some righties when he’s dealing with the nagging injuries his 41-year-old body is sure to sustain. Of course this all hinges on bringing in Santana, but I could envision many scenarios in which we’d be worse off.
Trot Nixon was a great player who’s injury has relegated him to a career backup role. It’s a sad story, and I feel for the guy, but I don’t want him on the Mets.
If they trade Church, it will basically be an open competition between Chavez, Pagan, Gomez, and a non-roster invitee. My guess is that Gomez would win the job, and then be sent down at the trade deadline once the Mets trade for a veteran like Milton Bradley.
The gambling addiction, the alcohol addiction, and now the Santana addiction.
I don’t think Escobar is available, except by trade.
He is apparantly a FA now.
I have always been of the belief that NY is a baseball town, and nothing can take precedence over a baseball story. However, this Super Bowl has become huge. Even bigger than a normal Super Bowl. The underdog Giants vs. the undefeated Patriots has just captured even the regular TV news fancies. No way, they will cover a Santana trade except to just report it. Next week will be nothing but Super Bowl in the papers and on WFAN. It would be idiotic to announce a trade of that magnitude and get not coverage out of it. It must and will wait until after the Super Bowl.
I really doubt that Omar cares enough about the PR angle to tell the twins “I know you’ve accepted our offer, and we’re thrilled. Johan Santana for Ricardo Rincon straight up we’re happy to make happen, but can you guys just wait a week until this sill football game is over until we tell our fans?”
And,…the twinkies may WANT a trade announced during Super Bowl week (maybe even during teh Super Bowl). Who cares when it is announced. It will be the same result and the Mets will reap the PR benefits long-term no matter when the trade occurs.
Dear Omar,
Get Santana and give up Church and bring back Alex “The Great” Escobar. :)
Who are you proposing to trade for him?
Yes, but I think if Wilpon is going to spend $ 140 million he wants someone to notice.
I would throw-in Ryan Church in a heartbeat as I truly don’t see him as a significant upgrade this season from Green last season. Both are average fielders and minimal power threats. Church has a slight edge in power with Green the definite edge in clutch and contact. Green has shown himself to be a team player and clubhouse asset. Pull the trigger Omar!