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On WFAN’s mid-day show, hosts Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts suggested the Mets trade Aaron Heilman to the Yankees for 1B-OF Shelly Duncan.
This is a terrible, terrible suggestion.
Heilman has been shaky, but he can still be sent to the minors without having to clear waivers, and so trading him for a 28–
year-old loose cannon who is hitting .161 with a one home run makes very little sense to me.
If the Mets need an outfield bat with power, who can also play first base, and would not cost them a young pitcher like Heilman, they should promote Val Pascucci or Chris Aguila from Triple-A New Orleans.
The 29–year-old Pascucci is hitting .288 with 11 home runs and 25 RBI in 32 games since joining the Zephyrs, during which he has drawn 22 walks, while striking out 29 times, in 111 at bats.
The 29–year-old Aguila, who spent time with the Marlins the last few years, is hitting .293 in 54 games for New Orleans with 14 home runs and 27 RBI.
Against left-handed pitching, Aguila is batting .333, while Pascucci is batting .364.
I would much rather see the Mets demote Nick Evans, who is clearly overmatched, while promoting Pascucci or Aguila.
Neither player is on the 40–man roster - but, according to MLB.com, the Mets have two slots available to be used.
By the way, later today on MetsBlog.com, SNY’s Ted Berg will post a Q&A he recently did with Pascucci for an article he wrote for SNY.tv, which you can read by clicking here.
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No way do we want Shelly Duncan. His high-spiking at second base during spring training was outrageous, and he still believes it was a proper baseball play.
the most ridiculous part of that saga was when Hankenstein threatened the Rays’ revenue sharing, which of course he has absolutely no authority to do.
The Rays have stepped it up salary wise, and they’ve stated that they planned to increase it again next year, so they might not even get any. It’s kind of funny.
Yes, and the Rays now sit in first place with the best pitching in baseball.
Didn’t the Mets have something to do with that staff? I don’t think anyone’s brought it up lately… what’s that guy’s name?
Dan Wheeler.
RE: Beningno
Just goes to show you that any idiot with an opinion can get their own lousy radio program.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO CHECK OUT VAL PASCUCCI’S YOUTUBE CLIP FROM JAPAN… MAYBE THE BEST CHANT IN BASEBALL!
“HEY, PASCUCCI!”
PS. rumor has it that Bobby V is trying to get him back from The Mets as made evident by his comment “A certain AAA player” being the reason for his recent contact with the Mets… also maybe the reason Pascucci hasn’t been called up yet
Benningo is the MAN!
So where’s my radio program?
I used to like to listen to Joe and Evan, but lately they’ve become unlistenable. just whining and complaining with no basis in reality or fact.
I realize his stock has dropped, but if Shelly bleepin’ Duncan is the best player we could get for Heilman, then we have to just keep him and see if he can fix whatever the problem is.
I see #48’s future in Pittsburgh as part of a deal for Nady. It makes to much sense for both sides. Maybe we can get Baldelli from the Rays to be our replacement for Alou…you know a guy who only plays 80 games a year.
How does that make sense for the Pirates? They don’t really need Heilman at all.
“Ian Snell and 4 days of Hell.”
They need someone to slot in as their #2 starter. Or #3. Or #4. Or #5.
Eitehr way, Heilman’s not worse than any of their other 4 starters.
Not true. Who besides Dumatrait are you going to take out of the rotation?
Gorzelanny, won 14 games last season and is 25 years old
Maholm, 25 year old LH
Duke, 25 year old LH
Heilman is older than all of them and shows no more promise as a starter than they do.
Plus, he is cheap…as are the Pirates.
But why would they take any of their younger pitchers who are under team control for longer than Heilman out of the rotation for him? Now if you said they were going to dump Marte or Duke then by all means they might look into Heilman.
Um, maybe you forgot by Heilman is NOT a starter.
So..the guy wanting Baldelli is really smart right? Because he probably wont be able to play baseball again due to a mitochondrial deficiency that causes him to become incredibly tired and worn out after 20 minutes of physical activity. So yeah lets add him good idea
A couple of questions:
1) Why would the Pirates ever even think trading one of the most effective hitters (this year) in the NL for a struggling middle reliever?
2) What the hell has happened to Heilman anyway? It’s like he’s forgotten how to pitch.
Perihpary starts completely out of whack with career norms, including BAA, HR’s, Line Drive %, which are way above usual levels. Over the course of the season, these things tend to level out, so look for a big 2nd half from Aaron.
There is a reason why the Yankees kept Duncan in the minors for so long.
Because he stinks?
agree that evans needs to go back down. He had his cup of coffee, but the coffee’s all gone, now.
Why should Evans go down for a bum like Pascucci or Aguila right now, he’s hitting .333 against Lefties in the big leagues, not the minors!
There’s no reason we can’t continue to leave him up and give him situational duty against Lefties right now, it’s only a temporary visit anyways as he’s likely to go down to the minors when Alou is ready to come off the DL. Then he can go down and continue to learn how to hit RHP.
please, he got three hits in his first game. saying he’s hitting .333 v. lefties in the majors, though factual, is disingenuous. He’s looked otherwise helpless at the plate, and barely competent in left. He had a dose of the bigs, now he needs to be playing every day and developing.
In his 9 AB’s vs Lefties, he is 3 for 9 (Yes, 2 of the hits came in the first game), with pretty good plate disclipline (1 BB/1 K). Obviously it’s hard to draw things from a small sample size but at no point has he looked overmatched by a Left Handed Pitcher, so I don’t see why that wouldn’t continue.
Now against Righties, that’s a different story. He’s got 6 strikeouts to 0 walks there, and 1 hit in 12 at bats (And the hit was in that first game). And he has looked overmatched several times against Right Handed Pitching.
Point is there’s no point in calling up an established bum when you have a young kid with upside who is doing the same exact thing you’re looking to get…..and really, keeping him on the roster until Thursday when Alou is eligible to come back isn’t going to hurt his career, especially with 2 lefties starting the next 2 games so he should find himself out there playing.
well, all 3 did come in that game, but I can see your point (I didn’t mean he has to go down today). when Alou is hurt again, though, I think it’s better to call up the AAA guys than risk the development of younger guys with more upside by exposing them to long-term stints where they won’t be playing as much, and can suffer confidence-wrecking stretches of hitlessness. Just a philosophical dif, I guess.
*my bad, you’re right, the third hit was off arias
Evans was having a very solid campaign in AA, but he was by no means setting the league on fire. It couldn’t hurt him at all to spend more time refining his game at a lower level. Both Pascucci and Aguila should be as or more capable of providing the “production” we’ve gotten so far from Evans.
There’s no point in keeping a young kid, who’s clearly not ready, on the bench when he could be playing every day in double A. All we’re doing now is hurting his development, maybe trade value.
and matt is right about evans needing to be sent down.
a)he really can’t help us right now
b)evans needs to play every day.
pretty simple stuff.
One has to assume Evans will go down on Thursday when Alou comes back (ha, ha) right?
For a few days at least.
But then Alou will be diagnosed with malaria and be out for the year.
i heard a caller suggest that yesterday and I was yelling at the radio “WHAT??”
I don’t get it..a guy who HAS been a reliable reliever and CAN be again… for a guy who hit a few homers and is NOT even close to an every day player and never will be …ugh
Marv Levy, the old buffalo bills coach, once said about coaches and front office typest, “he who listens to the fans ends up sitting with them.” This would be an excellent example of what he was talking about.
What about the majority of Mets fans who knew that trading Kazmir for Zambrano was moronic the second it was announced?
and what about the VAST majority of fans who whined when Jae Seo was traded for Duaner Sanchez, Kris Benson was traded for John Maine and Jorge Julio, and Milledge for Church and Schneider?
touchee
sorry, but none of those deals had the franchise changing nature of the Kazmir deal. Either way, can we please forget about it? The team we have today likely does not exist unless that trade happens.
I liked the Church Schneider trader when i heard about it…then again i hated milledge so thats probably why
So you’re suggesting that this trade should be made?
I hate Shelley Duncan. He is an atrocious baseball player. He also looks like one of the things from The Hills Have Eyes.
I like you Benigno, but two words: no, thanks.
The thing about Joe and Evan is that they are constantly overrating the Yankees and Phillies because they’re afraid of looking like they’re giving the Mets preference.
You know, I never thought of that, but you’re dead right when you say that. They really do have a tendency to overrated Yankees and Phillies. If Shelley Duncan was on an AL West team they’d never suggest that trade.
*They have a tendency to overrate Yankees and Phillies.
this is what I don’t get .. they’re on the Mets radio, why can’t they have a little Mets bias? Mike and maddog have the yankee / boston homer thing covered. Boomer and Carton are genuine fans, why do Joe and Evan have to be so negative all the time?
Yankees suck. End of story. Next question? (someone had to say it)
Anyone else get a kick out of Joe Morgan getting booed last night?
it was fantastic.
I’d get a kick out of it if Joe Morgan got hit by an 18 wheeler.
While the 18-wheeler is at it, it could hit Jon Miller too.
Come to think of it, hitting Fatty Fatterson there would probably do more damage to the truck.
Wait, when did Morgan get booed?
They flashed his face on the Jumbotron in the 6th I think.
I love it! I was at Game 7 in ‘06 and prior to the game they showed Joe Buck doing the pre-game on the big screen in LF and the place started booing like mad. You’d think they just put Chipper Jones on the screen, or something.
Needless to say, this is booing I whole-heartedly support!
I like Joe B., he’s a fan on the radio. Evan’s not bad, but he can try and be a Francesa “know it all” at times.
This suggestion is just beyond stupid…..
I have no problem with a Pascucci call up, but why not try Tatis at 1B? With Church back and Alou en route, we need to play the hot hand and keep this guy in the lineup. He has played 1B before (albeit only a few times) but with the way he is diving around the OF, and given that he is a natural infielder, surely he is worth as much of a try as Easley.
Hmmm… Aguila, sounds hispanic… Pascucci, sounds Italian (caucasian)… who do you think Omar will call up?
100% completely uncalled for….you should be banned
we’ll see.
Wright, Church, Schneider, Wagner, Heilman, Anderson, Heilman, Smith, Maine, Pelfrey, and Show disagree with you.
Also Brady Clark got the call up over Tatis. We all begged for it and we all looked stupid.
Enough with the Omar bashing
I agree with you, but who’s the second Heilman?
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
seriously, there is nothing more annoying than white males who think they are oppressed(and I’m a white male)
Annoying, sad, and ignorant.
I know….i wouldnt care if the entire team was from latin america..if they win then im happy. People that are upset over there being a lot of latin players on the team are the type of people that really ruin sports
Leave now.
That’s original.
aguila could also be filipino. don yourself a favour and look him up before you end up looking like a clown.
What does Evans sound to you?
Heilman might go down tomorrow when Pedro comes off the DL. I think Evans stays until Thursday and Casanova stays until Valentin comes back..
What about Angel Pagan? Does he have any future here?
Who is Angel Pagan?
It’s amusing how with some injured guys we get updates on minutae….”El Duque has tied his shoes”….and others seem to disappear into the wilderness.
I hope Pagan gets back, but stil think he and Endy are unnecessarily duplicative and we should deal one (Endy will always have my heart).
i disagree–they are somewhat redundant, but our injury problems in the OF are unlikely to go away this season and we need all the depth we can get.
I’ve heard a lot of talk from people who’ve watched Pascucci saying he’s an absolute butcher in the outfield. That being the case… how’s Aguila’s defense? If it’s as good as below-average, sounds like he’d be preferable.
Evans riding the pine is not in anyone’s best interest.
That’s why you play him at first base!
Oh, the other thing… how can Heilman be sent down without clearing waivers? He’s out of options.
I think he has options left honestly.
How is he out of options?
Because he’s been on the 40-man roster every year since 2003.
It doesn’t matter that he was not sent down, as far as I can tell. Your first option year is the first year you’re on the 40-man. Your second option year is the second year you’re on the 40, and so on.
Heilman would’ve had 4 option years since he only had one “year” of service before 2003 (2001 didn’t count as a year by MLB’s rules, as he wasn’t active for 90 days), but the last of those years was the 2006 season.
The first hit on a Google search for ‘Heilman option-years” would seem to confirm that he is out of options.
Another Matt, If im not mistaken heilman still has options, so he can be sent down if needed.
duncan for heilman is the second worst trade proposition i have ever heard of…next to v. zambrano for s. kazmir
I don’t think I will ever get over Kazmir.
Thank God for Maine and Santana.
was anyone excited about the zambrano for kazmir trade? I was…that was until i found out that it was victor zambrano…not carlos zambrano =(
Seriously, we need to ride this wave out with Heilman. We’ve all seen him make too many hitter look silly to give up on him.
Have to disagree with you on this one… I have had enough of this rollercoaster ride over the years. I definitely don’t want Duncan but we need to move him.
Agreed, he does need to go but it can’t be for a bag of balls.
Carlos Gullien from the Tigers for Heilman and a AA player.
Raul Ibanez for hardly anything.
Adam Dunn for Heilman Carp and a AA player?
Agreed on Duncan… we may as well trade Heilman for a Kevin Maas rookie card.
Looking at a guy like Heilman I compare him a lot to Gagne recently. Guy with nasty stuff but somebody that loses way to many games for his team single handely. The difference between Gagne and Heilman is Gagne was actually dominant while if you look at Heilman stats from 2006 on he was above average but not dominant. everybody loves Heilman via 2006/2007 but if you look at his stats its nothing special. I think its time we give up on heilman and get something back while we still can. Id much rather see muniz/show/smith/feliciano handle the job at this point
Fair comparison if Gagne wasn’t juicing.
wasn’t gagne in the mitchell report? that would be another difference…
another difference is Heilman gave up the biggest hit in mets history destroying all my hopes and dreams that people seem to forget about and gagne didnt. Id give anything for heilman to get on that juice now..if i was the GM his walking papers would have been handed long ago..trading him for shelly duncan is rediculous but at this point id trade him for a happy meal
wow…calling for a guy to juice..thats where the sport is at now?
nah, just where this thread devolved to
Heilmann can go to AAA for a refresher, or get traded in a deal for a “real” player, but it would be idiotic to dump him now fro a scrub.
Or they can just keep him as the 7th man in the pen, which effectively is what he now is. As long as Willie uses him like that! And who knows, maybe an emergency spot start…
As to 1B/OFs, I have been beating that drum since before the season. Who was that one guy available I wanted (Kapler?), although I am sure he is stinking it up now!
But, if they are making a trade, it better be for soeone that can take over as a regular at one of those spots next year. That is the unique circumstance with the team, they need a fill in now, but both spots are soon to be vacant.
I would have no problem bringing up Aquilar if they can fit him on the roster, but I don’t think they can.
Assume Evans goes when Alou comes back, the bench becomes:
Tatis, Easley, Castro, Chavez, Cassanova (am I missing anyone?). If not, then Aquilara or Passuccis replaces Cassanova.
Tatis, Aquilara, Castro, Chavez and Easley at least can hit a bit!
Duncan is a scrub, but neither Pacucci nor Aguila seem to brilliant. Their numbers against lefties are solid, but considering they are in AAA, their numbers overall are far from standout.
Aguila and Pascucci have a huge advantage over Duncan: They’re ours, and he isn’t. Duncan costs players, they don’t.
Another Aaron Heilman should start post…
Another FAIL.
Please people, stop doing this to yourselves. HE IS NOT A STARTER. For the Mets anyways. There are too many posters here who are clinging onto the past. Listen I was way high on Heilman when he 1st came up. 1st rounder out of Notre Dame, excellent senior year in college. Good head on his shoulders, etc. But he wasn’t good as a starter coming up, I waited (like Pelfrey) for that 1 start that made it click. It never did. The Mets did the right thing by putting him in the ‘pen. It’s done, he is not Joba. He is a Mets RH reliever. Whether you want him with the Mets or not, stop asking for him to be a starter. If he has value to the Mets, its as a reliever, not as a starter. Please, oh please, make this the last mention of Heilman to start, be sent to the minors to start, make a spot start, or start the engine of his car. Enough is enough.
Exactly, its not like he is a prospect anymore. He’s almost 30 years old.
I have not seen Pascucci or Aguila hit so I have no clue that they can. Both are journeyman “AAAA” players.
I’m not excited by either so I will hope Delgado gets hot. If not then I would like to see what it would cost to get Jose Guillen from the Tigers.
Do you mean Jose Guillen from the Royals or Carlos Guillen from the Tigers?
My bad. Carlos.
Good thing Benigno or Evans are just radio jocks. That trade is a god awful idea.
The Mets would be best served by sending Heilman to AAA to stretch out his arm to be a starter. If he succeeds it would of course raise his trade value. If not, he just goes back to the pen. There is nothing to lose and it’s amazing how afraid some are that he might actually succeed as a starter.
He’s not doing the Mets any good in his current relief role. The Mets need to do something instead of just accepting the status quo.
IF he fails as a starter then you have a nothing with no trade value that will leave when he hits FA.
However, if you can get him going again in relief then you can still trade him as a reliever with this mystic starter potential.
Huh :?:
Right now his trade value is as a mediocre reliever. He has no current value as a starter since he has not done it in 3 years.
If they send him down to stretch out his arm to be a starter, then he can only raise his trade value as a starter. His current value as a reliever would remain the same.
So there are two possible outcomes:
1) He comes back as a reliever after having failed as a starter and his trade value is the same as before OR
2) He ends up as a decent starter adding to his current trade value as a reliever.
Heilman’s best years relieving are over. He’s regressed slightly as a reliever ever since 2005.
And in the meantime, he’s hurting the Mets more than he’s helping them. Do you want him to continue to lose games for the Mets in the hopes that he can turn it around? If the Mets miss the postseason by 2-3 games, are you going to be happy if they stuck with Heilman in the pen all year and he was bad all year losing games every week?’
Shelly Duncan doesn’t belong on a 40-man roster. He only got called up because he was in a hot streak last year and the Yankees needed a right handed bat to DH. They realize now what a waste he is of a roster spot.
“Comment by therealsince86
2008-06-02 12:14:11
Agreed, he does need to go but it can’t be for a bag of balls.
Carlos Gullien from the Tigers for Heilman and a AA player.
Raul Ibanez for hardly anything.
Adam Dunn for Heilman Carp and a AA player?”
this is the dumbest post i have ever seen.
do you even know what you are talking about?
must be a kid
Explain please? There is logic behind each of those.
Gullien has a terrible contract an no true position on the heavy hitting Tigers. They would look at that as a salary dump so Heilman who is under control and a couple of minor leaguers might be something they would consider.
Raul Ibanez is a FA at the end of the season. The M’s would consider any trade for him.
Adam Dunn is the one that is a stretch but remember that he is a pending FA. You are not going to get a lot for the guy unless he comes with a contract extension.
This is something I honestly don’t understand.
I don’t completely understand how compensation picks work But since Dunn’s a free agent in a pretty weak market and fairly young don’t you think he’ll get offered a pretty nice contract? And they’ll get draft picks back as compensation right? It seems to me for a team that’s in a semi-rebuilding mode anyway sandwich picks might be pretty valuable, if they know they’re not going to get any great prospects in a trade since he’s going to be a free agent anyway.
Wouldn’t they have to offer him arbitration? He might accept which could be a record contract.
Plus I think they would get at most 2 picks. Thus if you could give them 3 quality guys then you might get it dunn.
why? I hate when people criticize other people’s posts without giving a reason.
Its Willie’s fault. LOL
I am sure that this guy is someone I have pissed off by calling out his own crap. So to get back at me he changed his screen name and still posted random garbage.
Heilman is like Ollie. He can show flashes of brilliance… Then stink it up the next day. I really don’t like this type of player. I’d rather let him go. Maybe trade him when he goes on one of his “brilliant” streaks again.
You know why Santana is so great even though he hasn’t been lights out? Because even though he has been giving up tons of hits, he limits the damage and keeps his team in the game! He doesn’t implode like Ollie.
im the one who called up wfan (dave on the cell phone) suggesting valentino….been following his games….hed be a fun
bench player to have and root for…and like tatis he will play is heart out to stay on the team….thats what a bench needs…
also when stache is ready he should take over easleys spot….not the same since that injury last year….nice guy but gotta go
Matt- I’m suprised at you- Heilman is out of options! You can only have options in your first 3 years of service. He debuted in the summer of 2003 (just after Reyes and is the second longest tenured Met). He would 100% need to clear waivers. Matt- you should really know the rules for this.
Ya gotta think every part of the Mets is still on notice.
That being said, Omar isn’t going to make any risky or stupid moves. Its better to send Heilman down to the minors and get nothing for him than to give him away for nobody. That would be losing Heilman completely. And believe me, I doubt he is a lost cause.
I have to think he is tipping his pitches in some way and if he goes down to the minors and tears it up it would be even more evident. They don’t know the “tip” in the minors. He has big league stuff, and guys hit good pitches off of him. He needs to work on fixing this, but not for the sake of the big league team.
The other thing is his confidence is bad. He doesn’t challenge enough hitters and tries to pick the corners way too often. He can fix this in the minors.
Dare una probabilitá al bambino di Pascucci. È forte come un bue, grande come una casa e di come veloce. Quando colpisce quella palla nonostante va per le miglia.
Send Heilman to Kansas City!!!