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In a recent post to his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes that the Mets, Yankees, Rays and A’s continue to keep in 
contact with the Pirates regarding OF Jason Bay and Xavier Nady.
According to Olney, citing one rival executive, the Pirates asking price has been slightly downgraded from ‘absurd to crazy.’
In his latest Rumblings & Grumblings column for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark writes that you can get Bay in exchange for ‘two sure-thing prospects, one good prospect and a fourth prospect with upside.’
According to Stark, Nady will cost you ‘one sure thing, one good prospect and a third, more iffy, prospect.’
…from what i can gather, the Rays seem to be making the most aggressive push for bay…the D’Backs and A’s have been pretty interested as well, while the Mets have totally backed off…
…as for nady, again the Rays are most aggressive, followed by the the Yankees…the thing is, nady – or bay, for that matter – like stark suggests, will likely cost at least Rays LHP Jake McGee or RHP Wade Davis, or Yankees LHP Ian Kennedy, and it does not sound like either team is at that point yet…for instance, the Rays are probably thinking more along the lines of a RHP Jeff Neimann, though that is just a guess…
…in other words, to get nady, the Mets will have to part with most all of their best pitching prospects…again…
These demands are making even Beane look somewhat reasonable.
This narrative sounds a lot like what we were hearing over the winter during the Santana saga. I have a feeling the Mets might be the last ones standing for Nady come the trade deadline.
The difference is that Santana is a hall of fame pitcher in his prime. Nady isn’t even close to being worth what the Pirates are asking for.
Exactly – so the Mets can wait it out and offer less than what the Pirates are currently demanding.
No, the difference is Nady is not making it known that he is demanding a mammoth extension in order to waive a no-trade clause.
The Mets, Yanks, and Sox were always the only feasible places for Santana – completely not the case with Nady.
I meant in the sense that the trading team is starting off making ridiculous demands, then gradually coming back down to reality.
As for Santana, I recall the Angels and Dodgers both being credible suitors for him – in terms of both trading chips and money – until Santana let it be known that he preferred the East Coast.
Wow — posters named “Xavier22″ and “X-Nady” are bullish on getting Nady — imagine that! :)
Why are the As even in the running for Bay or Nady? I thought they were sellers.
The Rays probably have the most to offer since practically their whole team are rookies. I hope they get them and knock off the Sox and Yanks! :)
I’m guessing Omar is not going to go for Nady during a career year while his asking price is off the charts. Instead, he’ll look to a Blake or Ibanez.
not worth it…..Nady is good but not that good..hopefully the price will drop closer to the deadline
Doesn’t matter – it’s like the Mets have a $100 bill and a bunch of $10s….and the teams they are talking to can’t give them change.
In other words, we can only meet a high price with F-Mart – we have nothing to satissfy the next tier without making another 3 for 1.
i like the analogy dave. Spot on
Maybe we can go out and get a 5+ ERA pitcher that can’t find the strike zone.
Blanton was picked up already.
Gotta take what guys like Olney and Stark say with a grain of salt. However, let’s say these rumors are true:
FOR BAY: two sure-thing prospects, one good prospect and a fourth prospect with upside…
FOR NADY: one sure thing, one good prospect and a third, more iffy prospect…
I say let the Rays (or anyone else that wants these guy that badly) have em. Besides, what the heck does any of that mumbo-jumbo mean anyhow? Two sure things? So that’s the two best prospects in any teams farm system? PLUS two more on top of that for Bay?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
Oh wait, then there’s Nady who the Mets essentially took off the Padres hands. Stark says they want three prospects, with one just being… “iffy”. Iffy? Why bother! Iffy?!? Just give them a bag of dirt instead. Probably be more valuable than an “iff” prospect.
So silly. If either of those two bozos (Olney and Stark) ever managed to bring anything to the table, I might just pee my pants from pure shock.
It doesn’t matter how the Mets got Nady, it matter what he is doing now. Plus they traded a damn good player in Cameron for him.
I don’t even know what “‘two sure-thing prospects, one good prospect and a fourth prospect with upside.’ means.
If a prospect is a ’sure thing’, why isn’t he already playing in the major leagues? Isn’t ‘propect’ and ’sure thing’ contradictory terms? Is FMart a ’sure thing’, or was he downgraded to ‘good’ because he just got hurt?
This criteria is so incredibly meaningless, it’s laughable.
Exactly, Dan.
Not. Worth. It.
I mean, I appreciate that they’re trying to cash in on his (probable) peak year, but come on.
Off topic but look at the Post today…
That brought up Jimmy Rollins, pinch-hitting as the tying run. Were you a little more excited, Billy?
“Not really,” he said. “I mean, it’s Jimmy Rollins. Not Barry Bonds.”
Rollins grounded Wagner’s first pitch to third. Game over.
Hahaha. It made me laugh.
The more Billy talks the more I like his style.
lol phillies
It was better during the postgame…They actually aired the interview, and the reporter asks about Rollins, Wagner goes “Not Really”, and the reporter goes “NICE”, and they all started to laugh.
I almost changed my screen name this morning to “it’s jimmy rollins, not barry bonds”, because I enjoyed that quote so much. Love it.
even MORE off topic, but does anyone else think it’s weird that rollins made it sound like he’s the only one who drives himself to games? if everyone else is taking the same bus to the ballpark…i know it’s a little thing but after a full year of hearing “ROLLINS IS A TEAM LEADER!!!” it’s not what i would have expected.
I loved X-Man when he was here, but he is in no way worth top prospects. He’s basically been a 4th OF his entire career and has finally flourished in that hotbed city of baseball, Pittsburgh.
I dunno, I think he started to flourish with the Mets (as they played him everyday) and it continued with the Pirates.
I agree the Pirates are asking way too much for him, but if Omar can work his magic, Nady would look great in the 6 spot behind Delgado.
At this rate, he would be batting 6th behind Beltran the way Gado is going. Plus if Churchie ever comes back, he can slot back into the two hole.
Reyes
Church
Wright
Gado
Betran
Nady
…I’m starting to salivate.
Nady is only 29 and has at least 4-5 years of prime production left. And with F-mart hurt yet again with a leg injury, does anyone else have serious doubts about his durability?
Love Nady. Asking price is way too high right now. But if Omar can make it happen, MAKE IT HAPPEN!
4-5 years of prime production at 29? How old was Delgado last year? And Nady doesn’t have nearly as much power as Carlos. I’d say he has 2-3 years of prime production and another 2-3 years of mediocrity/below avg. production. He’ll want at least a 4 year deal after next year, so good luck with all that…
He’s a good hitter, started to flourish with an every day job in NY (kinda like Ryan Church), but let’s not kid ourselves, Nady is no superstar and this year’s production is probably his peak. So whoever gets him will be paying top price – talent wise. And if he has another good year, someone will be paying top price – dollar wise. it’s a tough business, seldom a win-win situation…
To me Nady is a RH Church. 20-25 HR 30-40 2B and .285. I’ll gladly take it but not for prime prospects
As I’ve said before, I’m totally nostalgic for Nady…but really, who isn’t? The guy is nowhere near worth what they are asking. Blake is probably much more affordable.
I really hope we get an answer on Church soon…because then I wouldn’t mind Ibanez as much. But if we get Church back AND Ibanez…our lineup will be even more lefty-heavy.
I’ve given up on these two players. The Mets are obviously not in desperation mode and the asking price is just too much. Even if Pittsburgh lowers their demands, the Yanks and Rays will probably still offer better packages than the Mets.
IMO, Marlon Anderson needs to be kept out of LF so a trade is necessary as Church is a question mark. Either accept Nick Evans or make a trade for Blake or Ibanez or Dunn. I really think those 4 names are the options.
Right now, I think the Mets may just stand pat. I thik they will make a push for Garcia when he is available.
I think they will stay with their bullpen. If Fuentes can be had, get him but I think that asking price is too hgih too given the lack of depth in the farm system.
Right now, the name that intrigues me the most is Blake and that is not really much to get excited over.
I would prefer a righty bat..and I like Nady but Raul Ibanez seems like the type of guy who would give you some good at bats down the stretch…I know he is lefty, but who knows if Church is coming back…Blake is not bad but Ibanez is a pro, who plays in a worse hitters ballpark than Shea…at least at Shea he can crank a few off the bottom of the scoreboard
I prefer a right bat too, but you guys keep selling me on Ibanez. You are all responsible if we get him and he flops!
none of these guys excite me including bay but we need someone who can handle the bat and feign the ability to play defense in left field. that being the case, i’m intrigued by nelson cruz of the rangers and wouldn’t mind blake. if church comes back, then it takes the pressure off the new acqusition to come out swinging like gangbusters.
truth be told, if there’s anyone i’d trade for, it’s adam dunn. unfortunately he’s got his own flaws.
I don’t think we need either of these players. at first I wanted Nady back but now the asking price is just crazy. maybe it will turn out like the santana deal but I still believe santana wanted to be here rather than across town so I don’t believe we were just the last ones standing. Omar worked his magic. does Castillo have any value to package into a trade. he’s major league ready once healthy.
anyway, what I do know is we have to beat the Red Birds tonight or at least 2 out of 3. they just got beat up the past 3 so we need to keep them down even if they are due for a win.
LETS GO
teams I enjoy beating most:
braves
phillies
cards/yanks (tied)
it would be really nice to kick them while they’re down. Repeatedly, with steel-toed boots.
I think Nady prefers the Mets as well – he certainly seemed to enjoy his time here and got along with everybody. Unfortunately, he’s not in the same position as Santana in terms of directing where he wants to end up.
I think at this point in his career Nady would want to play in the most hitter friendly ballpark so he can compile big numbers and get a nice payout in 2010. That’s his chance to get a big deal – probably his only chance. But like you said, he has 0 control as to where he ends up….
I wouldn’t mind having the X-man back but not at that price. No thanks.
I hate to bring this up but in 2006 the Cards won the world series with a combo outfield of Edmonds, So Taguchi, Preston Wilson, Scott Spezio and Chris Duncan. None of these guys had great years and they werent all stars.
I do agree the mets need some outfield help but not if it means betting the farm. We don’t need another Scott Kazmir move now. The mets can win with what they have right now. If Church can play the need for an immediate solution should cool down.
I agree. Church is a big if though. A cheap veteran OF would be nice.
I agree.. With Church back next year hopefully at 100% we just need a veteran stop gap for FM. If we can get someone like Holliday then FM and can be in the deal.
Nothing can compare to the Kazmir trade. Even if FM was traded for Nady… At least Nady is a solid player. Not saying I would do it.. The Kazmir deal was trading your top prospect for a 5th starter wth little potential.. That was the killer. Now a Kazmir level deal is trading FM for someone like Joe McEwing!
If you think that the Mets offense, as it’s structured now, is bringing you a world championship, you’re out of your mind. Sure, they can win the division – but go ahead and try to get past the Brewers and Cubs and whoever else comes out of the AL without a good offense….
zero9, i couldnt agree more. Endy/Tatis just doesnt inspire confidence playing everyday.
Quote of the day:
In fact, a nice little rivalry has been developing during the last few seasons, even if Mets closer (and former Phillie) Billy Wagner says it’s an on-field, not off-field, rivalry.
“It’s not a personal ‘I hate you,’ ” Wagner said. “It’s a professional ‘I hate you.’ “
-From Newsday
Good for Billy. This ain’t wraslin!
BIlly is the man.
Off topic: How about when Delgado threw the bat back to Moyer.
Great stuff.
pirates organization on a whole is a bunch of idiots. They are trying to make up for all the deals Littlefield got raped on.
Jason Bay is no star, hes a good OF bat.
Nady as well.
Bay has done nothing but be a consistent producer since the moment he came up. I would put him on the same level as DWright. It sux for him that he plays for a crappy team that can’t field a good lineup around him. You plug Bay into the NY lineup and his production will go up even more. Don’t kid yourself, the guy is a star.
Olney also said that the Mets and Padres are discussing a deal for Brian Giles. Even though he old and expensive (Earns 11M in 09′), he is still a very pesky hitter and would probably come cheap.
Very cheap. That ‘09 contract is ugly though. Its Shawn Green all over. Tempting though.
Would actually be a pretty darn good #2 hitter.
I know he is not .315 25 HRS 80 RBI guy anymore but he would help Reyes in so many ways if he was the #2 hitter.
He might even regain that power stroke seeing more fastballs, maybe go 15 homers in 09 for us in LF as a stopgap for Fmart.
Brian Giles is horrible. I think he would have a spot in this lineup as a 2-hitter, but he is a far cry from a difference maker or his 2001-self.
I know he plays in Death Valley, but still a serious decline in numbers. Still draws walks and gets on base, but in my book the Padres would have to eat some serious salary to take that player on.
I don’t know what you think, but I remember Shawn Green helping us win the division and get to the NLCS. Not saying he’s the best, but he did alright here…
To me Nady is not a dfference maker so you don’t sell the farm for him. You could get just as much producion over 50 games from a Randy Winn or Blake or some of the less publicized names on teams not looking for a king’s ransom.
The nice thing about Nady is that he solves the need to add a LF next season. If the Mets go out and sign a top FA OF, they’re going to have to give up a 1st rounder (assuming Nady qualifies)
So really trading for Nady (provided the price comes down) makes this team better for at least a year and half and saves us a 1st rounder in the process.
The thing is the Mets won’t sign a top FA OF because they have FM waiting. If you sign one, that means FM is a bust and you should get rid of him now.
The price won’t go down. There are teams with better offers.
Neise, Carp, and Some Guy in Single A. for Nady
Do you do it?
No
Why not? That seems like a fair trade to me…
No. Niese is starting to look like the real deal. Kunz, Carp and single A guy yes, but i dont think the pirates do.
What’s making Niese look like a real deal? He’s no where near ready and it’s not like he’s posting Liriano numbers in the minors. He’s a prospect who hasn’t played a day in the majors and you would refuse to trade him for a guy who’s the missing link in your lineup? A guy who’s gonna fill your outfield spot next year while waiting for FMart? That’s a good deal if Omar can pull it off…
no way
Yes. But only because I don’t believe Carp will ever be anything other than a mediocre DH.
I hate to lose the pitcher, but you’re talking about a year and a half (at least) of a great outfield both offensively and defensively with Church/Beltran/Nady I would trade a relative unknown in Niese to make that happen.
I’d say X is adequate at best. but otherwise, decent argument.
*defensively, that is. and now that I think about it, offensively, too. It looks like he’s having his peak year, so I think giving all those pieces is too much. But maybe not, maybe they’ll never turn out, who knows…good thing I’m not the gm.
That’s the point – they’re unknowns. We KNOW Nady can hit. We KNOW he can hit in NY. We KNOW what his impact was to this team’s batting order. He’s a great hitter (at least this year and probably next). Yes, he’s average in the OF, but this is LF we’re talking about. Remember – we had Alou there (for like what, 5 games?) and were ready to play him there the whole year. Now I KNOW Nady is better in LF than Alou…
Is he a proven all around superstar? Ofcourse not. But is he better than Ibanez or Blake or Dunn? Absolutely. To me, that’s worth a prospect pitcher who may or may not turn into a (AT MOST) #3 starter in the bigs.
Consider also the cost of quality starting pitching. If Niese is looking like a pretty good prospect to be a middle of the rotation hurler, don’t trade him for an outfielder who is peaking, as Jamie points out. Getting Nady now is buying high.
You guys are dellusional.. Try FM, Carp and Niese.
Then, really no thanks!
How much does it suck that we gave up Nady for Roberto Hernandez. The same Roberto Hernandez we didnt resign that year. Looking back, keeping Nady would have changed so many things. never would have needed alou and his inconsistency. We probably win the division last year. Its easy to make a case that that was minayas worst trade.
Got Ollie in that deal too.
Which is genius, genius, ARRRRRGH!!! genius ARRRRGH, and back to genius. . . .
I just got that, and it’s really funny…nicely
…except that he also got us perez.
We got Ollie too. We don’t come close to the division last year without him.
This is what kind of pisses me off about baseball now. That players who do not deserve to be Type A free agents are. So then the team that wants to trade them at the deadline HAS to demand for two top prospects when these guys aren’t even worth that because they would be getting two first rounders for them. Do you honestly think that Glavine was a Type A free agent last year? No way. I mean I’ll take them for my team but baseball needs to establish a better rule for what is a Type A free agent and what isn’t.
How else would you do it? The rule seems fair. Type A = top 20% of players at your position the last 2 years.. Just because Glavine had a couple of bad starts at the end of the year doesn’t negate the fact that he was pretty good.
Yeah pretty good but 2 draft picks now a days is equal to two top prospects which Glavine is not worth. I mean now with the MLB draft becoming bigger teams will shy away from signing players Glavine because he is a Type A free agent just because they will surrend two draft picks.
They only lose one draft pick.
Yeah but you gain the teams first round pick plus you get a pick in between the first and second rounds.
The team signing the player doesn’t lose that pick, they just lose their first rounder.
I know but the team that loses the player gets the team’s first round pick and a compensation pick in between the first and second rounds. I know the team signing the player only gives up one pick but the team that loses the player gains two picks.
And they also only lose it if they’re picking 16-32. The rule is fair. If you’re not signing a guy like Nady or Glavine because you’re afraid of losing your #23 pick, you got some serious issues to address…
Then what did you mean by they will surrender two draft picks?
I don’t see how you can say they don’t deserve to be type a free agents. It’s not like MLB just pulls names out of a hat they ahve a formula, it’s probably not perfect but still.
i wouldn’t trade anything significant from the minors. the system has taken enough of a hit. as long a church is eventually returning i prefer to have role players in left field. it was partly there fire and heart that got this team going. that and a little pitching.
I agree — we need to take our lumps after we thinned our system for Santana, and make sure we have something of a pipeline to prevent future holes, especially in the pitching staff. If we have a guy like Niese who looks like he could legitimately start in the Majors in a couple years, we should not deal him.
The problem here, bub, is that you have no idea what the hell Church is doing. That’s the key for Omar…
Anyone really questioning whether F-Mart is a sure thing? So far he looks like a sure-thing – if that thing is Alex Escobar.
“Sure thing” is just a stupid way of saying “top tier prospect.” There are no “sure things.”
Agreed, but surely you see my point, yes?
I see your point, but I don’t think we can necessarily label him as “injury prone” yet. Trust the scouts, here. He is still a top prospect. A hamstring cramp doesn’t move him into “sell high” territory. It’s important to be realistic about all of these guys, but equally important to maintain a pipeline of homegrown talent, if only because it’s drastically less expensive, and gives you room to decorate the lineup with veteran parts. That mitigates the risk.
I’d love to get Casey Blake, but trading prospects hurts. Think we can win with what we’ve got now?
We can certainly get into the postseason with what we have. Once there, I don’t think it’s as much of a crapshoot as the ‘06 Cards would have us believe, but let’s just say Casey Blake isn’t going to make the difference.
Carp, Scott Moviel and filler for Casey Blake.
Done.
Man, that might be too much. I like Moviel, been hearing some good things about him. They can have Carp and whomever the filler turns out to be. I think the Indians are just trying to unload Blake, could be wrong.
Yeah, Moviel may be the big part of that deal. I don’t know his value. I’ve also heard we might increase our chances of getting Blake if we take another contract, like Paul Byrd. He makes me want to regurgitate, but another veteran arm might not be so bad, right?
I have a strong susoicion that Heilman is going to be involved in any trade the Mets eventually end up making.
suspicion*
The Indians aren’t trying to unload him, according to mlbtraderumors they’re open to trading him but if they don’t they plan on resigning him to play 3rd next year.
Gotcha, god bless MLB trade rumors, i mean, those guys at trade rumors are ok but dont compare to Metsblog! ;)
I’d rather move Kunz or another pitcher than Moviel. He’s to young and not well enough known right now, it would be akin to selling low.
Interesting point about Heilman. I’ve also thought some teams really like him, and others are kinda lukewarm. The Rockies are A’s seem to be 2 teams we’ve heard in the mix (or asked for him in the past). I am not sure about him, since he is proven (and has historically been a far better second half pitcher), but why not sell high? If we did Heilman for Blake, straight up, would that work? Would that be weakening the bullpen?
I dont know about unloading Heiman so quick. I think he is the next Isringhausen, good quality closer. His K rate is way up, and that tough stretch aside, he has been pretty good. I have confidence again when he comes in.
Wigginton would do well in LF for us
Why is it that the Diamondbacks can get a solid reliever in Jon Rauch for a utility player with no bat, but whenever the Mets inquire about someone, teams ask for the moon?
Oh, and if a package featuring that piece of crap bust Ian Kennedy somehow lands the Yankees the X-Man, I am going to put my foot through a door. Ian Kennedy should have negative trade value right now. He’d have to move up 3 notches to say that he’s sucked in the big leagues.
Also Matt – Kennedy is a righty.
because josh byrnes is a great up and coming gm. bonfacio is not that bad, he’s got speed and the natiionals need a second baseman.
Bonifacio is nothing special. He’s got speed but there are questions about his bat, I don’t think he’s a legitimate every day player. To get a solid reliever like Rauch is a nice move for ARI, but it just annoys me when teams ask for the moon from the Mets when inquiring about trading for someone.
He’s not worth a closer under control below market value though, not even close to being worth it.
Because the Nationals gm isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I agree Bowden is a complete moron and probably one of the five worst GMs in baseball, but it still pisses me off that, even though this specific example I’m about to give is pure speculation on my part – if Omar inquired about Rauch, Bowden would tell Omar we’ll start with F-Mart + ???.
Meanwhile Byrnes gets off easy by giving up Bonifacio.
Look, we all know how this goes. Teams make deals, major or minor, and then Jayson Stark and his ilk post “winners” and “losers” at the deadline. Any team that stands pat will have “lost” because they didn’t “address” certain needs. It’s all very, very stupid. We shouldn’t get caught up in making deals for the sake of making deals. There’s always the waiver wire for fat contracts. At this point, our farm system looks very thin — hard to squeeze anything more out of it without essentially obliterating it. If we can get someone for one or more of the three Binghamton DHs, fine, but otherwise, this market just doesn’t look good for the Mets.
I agree with this comment.
we need to keep the decent prospects that we have…
i agree with this comment too