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According to the New York Post, the Mets have interest in free-agent 1B-OF Craig Wilson.
Wilson has played first base and outfield through most of the last few season, though he started his career as a catcher.
In just 24 games last season with the Braves, Wilson hit .172.
In 2006, during 359 at-bats for the Yankees and Pirates, he hit .250 with 17 HR and 49 RBI while striking out 122 times.
…i followed Mets GM Omar Minaya around for a bit yesterday at the press conference for Johan Santana…i heard him speak to a few different groups of reporters, and on two different occasions he said that this is the team he will go to spring training with…
…in one case, he was essentially asked about Kyle Lohse and Livan Hernandez, and he gave the same response without actually commenting on the two specific players…
…in other words, as of today, this is the team he will go to spring training with…however, my sense is that, if a player like livan or loshe, or even a bat, can be had on a minor-league deal, the player could be invited to camp…but, it just doesn’t sound like any more guaranteed contracts will be dished out, nor should they…
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Craig Wilson would be a very good edition i think. I forgot he was available. Granted, he hit a powerful .174 last year, but he traditionally is a pretty good hitter, bats Righty, and plays RF and 1B, exactly what we need.
And i hate Boras…if we lose OP cuz of his greedy azz, i think im finally gonna kick the crap out of him
Wilson attempted to play through an injury last year, had off season surgury should be 100% by spring training… wouls be a nice minor league deal with invite to see where hes at
As much as I’m feeling good about the Johan trade, I do think there is still work to be done. RF, at least on the right side, and pitching depth are glaring weaknesses, particularly for a team with championship aspirations. I do not think it’s a nice-to-have but a must-have.
Can we just assume Church will be able to handle lefties? Is Endy better served staying on the bench as opposed to being Church’s steady platoon partner?
Can we rely on the staff as-is, with Pelfrey the sole backup to known DL destined El Duque and Martinez? That just doesn’t add up, even assuming Pelfrey is actually ready…
Get Lohse, or Livan if Lohse is asking to much. Then get a Wilson or better yet, a Mench. Somebody….
Endy bats lefty too, wouldn’t make much of a platoon with Church. Besides we need Endy to be available to fill any outfield hole at any moment like he has done the last 2 years.
I like the idea, but is Craig Wilson an upgrade over Damion Easley? I would argue Easley is probably the better bet this year.
Well, Wilson is a 1B and C too. Seeing that Schneider is not great with the bat it would be nice to have a legit 3rd catcher on the team, especially one that can spell Church and/or Delgado against tough lefties. Plus Wilson’s presence allows Castro to be used as a PH more often, depending on who has the hotter bat.
It’s all about giveing Willie as many choices as possible. Yeah, he’ll likely make the wrong ones, but still at least he’ll have one less excuse.
I’m not sure when the last time Wilson actually caught, but I think it’s been a while and maybe too long ago to be more than an emergency catcher. Not a legit 3rd C, I don’t think.
And Kandiman, I agree with you. Endy being a platoon w/ Church is not my preference, but actually an idea floated by many (I think including Mets mgt as well) because of his better than avg ability against lefties despite being lefty himself… I don’t like it, but as of today, I think that’s the arrangement if Church fails.
Wilson is good, but I think there are better options out there. I fear Wilson’s better years are behind him. (he absolutely mashed for me for a while a few years ago in my fantasy league)
Exactly Big Hang. I love Castro as a pH with power, but they hardly ever use him in those situations without an emergency catcher (Which apparently Delgado is not keen on, even though he came up as a C). Wilson would give us a RH off the bench and/or a platoon with Delgado or Church as well as an emergency C.
Mitt:
Who are the better options???
My first choice would be Mench. After that, isn’t there supposed to be an unusually high number of free agents for this late in the offseason? I don’t have a list off-hand, but isn’t Sanders and Clark available? Short term, I think they’d be good platoon/bench options. Wilson is a nice ballplayer and I don’t think there should be much of an argument over the 25th man, but I’ve followed Wilson (fanstasy baseball), and from what I’ve seen the last few years, he seems done. And being that he’s young, I’d assume he’d want a longer term commitment. I’d be thrilled though to be proved wrong…
Wilson would be a nice addition…
But is there way we can get Eric Byrnes?
I doubt it. Wasn’t his name being thrown into the MVP mix towards the end of the year?
I could live with Wilson, especially if it is a minor league deal. Considering the fragility and age in the outfield and at 1st, having extra guys to fill some spots is not a terrible idea.
he signed an extension with the dbacks last year so hes not going anywhere.
Yeah, you can’t just go out and get any player you want.
I think Craig Wilson would be fine if there isn’t a serious effort to get Mench, or if Wilson is significantly cheaper. As a GM, you have to find value, and a one year deal to Wilson with a team option and performance incentives would probably qualify as “value,” given that Wilson’s numberrs last year may have been an injury artifact.
Eric Byrnes just signed a long term deal with the D-Backs….man some of you need to not post here, please, this site has so many intelligent mets and other teams fans we dont need to have posts that mimic people who call in WFAN with absurd trade proposals…
maybe we could trade Jason Vargas for Jake Peavy, right? Is there any way? I think if we got Peavy we would be the favorites….
go play fantasy baseball.
Wilson would be a great pickup to be a good bench guy. If Church or Delgado struggle vs. lefties, Wilson can help pick up the slack.
We should sign Livan, but we should also sign Otsuka (basically hit or miss with him) and Mench or trade for Nady..
Otsuka is hurt. He will pitch, if he gets a job, but I think Matt reported earlier that three diff teams (Mets included) saw something in Otsuka’s elbow that scared the crap out of them.
LOL…can you say Ouch…
Not to jock you but I agree MOta. I hope the comment about trading for Byrnes was an attempt at trying to be funny.. Hey by the way I think we resigned Ben Johnson so we can use him in a Jake Peavy trade. Whatdyathink???
no way. we need to save ben johnson for the deadline when the cards will probably be looking to unload pujols. hed be perfect to take over for delgado starting next year.
pujols is overrated…we need a good clubhouse guy, someone like Giambi, or Albert Belle.
Wilson is a walking strikeout machine and injury risk, who hits lefties adequately if not consistently.
His chief value would reside in acting as a backup catcher so Ramon could get some PH opportunities late in the game.
Just get Sammy Sosa signed to a minor league deal
Shouldn’t be too tough…The Royals just passed on him. I would be in favor of this.
Nope — it’s the principle of the thing, like the Little Jerry Seinfeld post below. Just say Nosa.
I wouldnt mind Wilson, he would probably be more useful than Jose Valentin if he isn’t hitting lefties.
If the Mets end up with a bench of Wilson, Castro, Easley, Marlon Anderson, and Chavez its not a pretty picture defensively with Easley being the only guy who is decent at more than one position.
I think the Mets will be more active later in ST picking guys off waivers who have options. Right now they have 3 openings on the 40 man roster, and that number is likely to increase as guys like Vargas, Stokes, Register get DFA or returned or released.
So when other teams try to make room for that veteran who makes the team on a minor league deal and ST invite, Omar will have room to snap up some AAA players.
If you go with 11 pitchers, you have 6 bench slots. They are: backup C, backup middle IF, backup OF, RH PH, LH PH and a utility guy who covers whatever positions the other 5 miss.
Anderson & Easley are the same player, from the opposite side of the plate. They can’t play most positions (corner OF and 1B are about all), their best days (and knees) are ancient history, but sometimes they give you a good AB.
Nate, you left Gotay off your list — but he’s the only guy on the roster who can play SS if Reyes sits for a day. I don’t think Easley can do it; 3B is hard enough for him. And, quite frankly, I don’t like the thought of having to play Gotay for even 2 or 3 days there if Reyes gets dinged a bit.
What I’d really like to see Omar do, in mid-March when he has a better feel of who’s making the club in the ‘pen, is package some existing bench players with some of the bullpen surplus, to upgrade the bench. Gotay + Stokes, say, for an improved middle IF backup. Wise + Pagan for a solid RH OF backup who can also play 1B.
I’m in favor of Gotay, but for the sake of the Wilson arguement Gotay would be the odd man out.
I would think Easley can play SS on a fill in basis like once a month…
The Mets will have 12 pitchers, no less, no more. bank it!
why would any team trade for Stokes when they can just wait for the Mets to DFA him? I’m not against trading the bench parts, but I think they should trade down in some cases. Getting back minor league players with options, who arent prospects but can be moved up and down as reserves. To do this they would need extra bench players in camp, like Wilson and Valentin…
If we’re not gonna take a shot at Mench, then Wilson might be a decent addition. I like his pop. I just don’t know if there is room on the bench for him. I’d rather keep Valentin around.
Why would Lohse or Livian sign a minor league deal? That doesn’t make any sense.
Lohse can probably get a 3yr and Livian a 2 at least.
the mets need an OF 1b righty bat that POUNDS lefties. Think Matt Diaz.
with beltran, reyes, delgado and now church so VULNERABLE to lefties, opponents will be reaching down to A ball to throw at them from the southside.
Wilson in his good years fit that bill.
Beltran is not “vulnerable to lefties.”
reyes and beltran were both better against lefties last year
I am not trying to take a shot at any one person in particular…but we are talking about the possibility of a guy like Craig Wilson as the 25th man on a 25 man team….I can not stand people who think or suggest “why not sign a 2007 all-star” as our 25th man? Or “lets trade a guy who can’t even make our major league team for someone else’s best player”….
#1 it means you play too much fantasy baseball or you just live in fantasy land
#2 the Yankees actually tried this approach from 01-05 and how well did that work out, I mean they paid Johnny Damon over 10MM to come off the bench last year…
if anyone gets added it will be someone to a non-guaranteed deal which is how we got Marlon Anderson 3 years ago, and look how great he has been, and look how poor it was to trade for Green (even though we gave up nothing) just to have someone in RF who’s name even casual fans knew…just stop with the asinine trade proposals and stop thinking we need to add a former all-star to all 25 roster spots
for 26 years I have been able to rip on Yankee fans for this type of nonsensical behavior, please do not let them return the favor.
UGH! Kevin Mench Kevin Mench Kevin Mench Kevin Mench Kevin Mench Kevin Mench Kevin Mench…..and so on and so on…
What about Mike Sweeney? He would be a good platoon with Delgado. Can he handle right with endy as a late inning replacement? Thoughts
You know, I’ve been thinking about Sweeney too. I think he’d be a decent fit, as long as he was willing to take a reserve roll or a minor league deal. I kinda like Wilson too. He’s not as bad as last year showed, and as long as its a minor league deal, I see a decent amount of upside to the deal.
Less versitile and likely unwilling to take a minor league deal. Plus, he hasnt been able to stay healthy or hit since the steriod testing began…
Wilson has very good lifetime numbers against LH pitching
290 AVG 389 OB% 527 SLG
35 HRs in 601 AB’s
If healthy he would be a big asset to spell delgado and Church against LH pitching