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In case you missed it, on Friday, the 
Mets picked up Carlos Delgado’s 2009 option, which will reportedly pay him $12 million.
…however, as i wrote in early October, despite picking up his option, it sounds like delgado’s future with the Mets will depend on what other options exist in the market place, as he can still be traded to another team – most likely for a closer…
…of all the players the Mets could potentially acquire this off-season, Mark Teixeira is the one guy i am most interested in, assuming delgado could be moved for a closer…
However, in a recent report for SI.com, Heyman lists the O’s, Angels, Yankees, Mariners and Red Sox as teams likely to be interested in Teixeira, who Heyman believes will ultimately remain in Anaheim on an eight-year deal.
…he plays Gold Glove defense, is an unassuming guy, and he hits every day, regardless of the circumstance…
…to me, he’s exactly what the middle of this lineup needs…
…the thing is, he is represented by Scott Boras, is probably seeking a seven-year deal, like Carlos Beltran got, and the Mets would not be the only big-money team who would be interested in him…plus, the Mets have so many other problems to solve, i just can’t see them sinking that much money in to one guy, to solve one position…
According to Ken Davidoff in Newsday, the Red Sox will aggressively pursue Teixeira.
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Amen Matt.. Amen…
Tex would be the perfect fit for this team.. trade Delgado for another need.
I agree. I made a comment on a previous post, saying that Seattle has a need for a 1B and/or DH. Maybe we could package Delgado in a deal for Putz. Then we would be able to go after Teixeira.
Perhaps a Delgado/Heilman/low level prospect for Putz trade?
Personally, I don’t think a reliever with questionable injuries is worth much more.
I think Carp as the prospect.
I’d rather the Mets focus their time and money on improving the bullpen. If they can work a reasonable deal for Teixeira, great! But “reasonable” and “Bora$” are two words that never collide in the same sentence.
gold glove defense helps everyone :-)
But I understand what you’re saying…
The mets can really spend as much as they want.. if you don’t think we’re all about to get bent over with a new stadium next year… the least they can do is do everything in their power to put a good team out there.
I agree with you, Xavier…however, the fantasy/video game gm in me says that it generally doesn’t cost a lot/year to re-work a bullpen. They’ve got $26 mill to work with if they chose to maintain the 200 payroll, but I’ve heard it may increase to as much as $160 mill….If Omar was to go an bring in 2 setup guys…lets say Marte and Cruz, that would likely cost about $6 for Marte, and somewhere between $3-4 mill for Cruz, adding up to $9-10mill/year for two set-up guys.
As far as closers go, on the high end in K-Rod at $15mill….If Omar is to go for him, you are talking about adding $25mill in payroll in just the bullpen.
In this case, the increase in payroll could be used to sign Tex. If Omar was to pursue him, I don’t think moving Delgado for impact relievers would be smart, only because Boras negotiations tend to drag on for a loooong time, and I’d feel much more comfortable if the bullpen issues were addressed as soon as possible. There is no way you can move Carlos before signing Tex. Therefore, they should just attempt to move Delgado for some prospects.
The money saved from Delgado’s contract could be used toward the next starting pitcher
Personally, I feel if Omar was to pursue Tex it would take priority over everything else, and that would not be the right way to go.
If you want to add offense, you could look at a guy like Manny after filling other holes.
Spending 10 million on the combo of Marte and Cruz is foolish
I agree in part, but for the people who want a quick, systematic overhaul of the bullpen, its going to cost some money.
The Red Sox adding Tex would just be unfair.
I just like the idea of sticking it to the Braves.
Did they not already stick it too themselves enough in that trade? I don’t know what they were thinking but clearly they way way overvalued Tex’s value in the trade market.
You’re talking about the same team that signed Tom Glavine at the ripe age of 42. They know they got screwed, which was why they traded him before he hit FA.
Also this is one of the few times I think sinking a lot of money into one guy makes sense. He’s a major upgrade offensively and defensively over Delgado and will provide stability and consistency at the position. It would be one less thing to worry about next off-season.
agreed
yea i agree…but how much realistically can we expect to pay tex a year plus the other areas we need to fill.
Tex or no Tex I don’t think there’s any realistic way we can fill all our areas of need in this off-season. I don’t think the focus should be on making a world series team in one off-season, it should be improving the team by adding pieces that will allow continued success. If we add Tex then we don’t necessarily need to add a big bat to lf we can use a platoon of players we already have and/or bring in cheaper options.
Plus we’re going to eventually need to replace Delgado anyway, likely in 2010, so we’re going to have to shell out cash at some point, and looking at who’s expected to hit free agency Tex seems like far and away the best option.
Agreed 100%. I don’t see Nick Evans or Mike Carp being the answer at first base in 2010 (or even next season if Delgado gets hurt). Teixeira not only frees up Delgado for use in the market, but it also frees up guys like Evans and Carp who we can afford to lose with that position locked down for many years.
Bullpen is still top priority, but Teixeira should be our big FA signing this winter.
Couldn’t agree more, Gina. Look at Teixeira’s career numbers. The last switch hitter to start a career with numbers like that was Mickey Mantle. Even on a 7 year deal, he’ll be 36, and likely still productive. This shouldn’t even be up for discussion.
It seems that I am the only one here, but not a big fan of adding Tex. Would rather keep Delgado and work on other parts of the team
Enlighten us.
It doesn’t matter if Texeira wants a 7 or 8 year deal…if the Mets can trade Delgado they can give him that kind of deal to Tex paying him 12 or 13 millions the 1st year…the same amount that Delgado would make…and you add a Closer in the mix. He’ll earn more money later in the contract, but you wont have Wagner contract in ‘10…and you can work out the rest of the roster.
I think if the Mets can get a J.J. Putz, H. Street or other A-Closer and include Delgado in the trade, they should pursue Texeira strongly.
We need to persue Teixeira first, however, because that will give us leverage in negotiating with him.
Considering the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels, all big market teams, are expected to go after him what good is leverage?
True. Although I don’t see the Angels as being huge spenders because for some reason they never are.
Something tells me that Teixeira might want to return to the NL East, though, because he has seen the pitching before and knows the kind of damage he can do. This Spring was a fluke…trust me.
Angels are never big spenders? See Vlad and especially Garry Mathews and Tori Hunter.
I think you are overestimating the value of Carlos Delgado at the moment. Granted he is a good player, you are not going to see teams spring their closer (J.J Putz, Huston Street) for at aging lefty power hitter. Granted Delgado was a great offensive weapon for the Mets last year, hes still old. Also, signing Tex to a deal should not require and arm and a leg. The money the Mets will have to throw at him will severely limit the amount of money they can give to other positions that need to be fixed. They had a winning formula last year, if they had a bullpen they would have won. It wasn’t just the closer it was you 7th inning guy, your 8th inning guy. The bridge there just was not enough to even get it to the closer they didn’t have. Overall let Tex sign with whoever at an inflated price. Keep Delgado, use the free agent market to fill needs. Let’s be honest. What you will get for Delgado wont be worth trading him away. He might have had a good season, but his trade value is not that high
Well you also have to think about it this way. You could as sume that Delgado will be a type A or B FA. Thus, a team that trades for him will get a draft pick back in return if he only stays 1 season. You can also take on a bad contract with him to lessen the deal.
Example: Washburn and Putz for Delgado and Heilman.
I agree. Just a few months ago people here wanted to pay Delgado just to get off the team, now they want to trade him for an established closer? I’m not so sure that other teams follow the same thought process. Street/Putz could draw 2-3 solid prospects in return. I have no idea why they would want one year of a 37 year old Delgado instead. Seems like it’s just wishful thinking.
I would sign Tex
Trade Delgado in a package for a closer.
Sign Garland (cheaper and a type B)
Sign Rivera for LF
Sign some Type B bullpen guys
Trade Show, Feliciano, Heilman…..
Look at trading Niese and Fmart for a top younger pitcher. If not then look for a reliable #5 starter. Let Murphy play 2nd.
The second coming of Omar Minaya ladies and gentlemen!
too much cash and way too many years for tex
I don’t see moving Delgado to an AL team if you land Teixeria to be that big a deal.
Your also trying to get a lot in return, maybe get 2 or 3 Middle relievers.
Delgado dogged it for willie randolph. I don’t like him and haven’t since he spurned the mets to go to the Marlins.
If you can get Big Tex get him. He will help the defense, eliminate some of the “Errors” from Wright and Reyes which were typically throwing, and I’d put an 80% could have been eliminated with a gold glover at 1st.
Also Omar was quoted as saying that bullpen Pitchers are a crap shoot, you don’t know what happens. A guy can be great for half a season then stink for half. A guy can stink or 5 teams like J.C. Romero then show up on a team like the phillies and dominate.
tex would be fine. Especially if they expand the budget.
Anyway, you can’t fix every problem each off season (at least not with a perfect/great solution!) And you can only work with what is on the market.
So if you need X bad but only Y is available, go with Y if it makes you better.
Look for Fukudome to get moved to the Mets.
Hmm. Delgado, Heilman, and Carp for Putz, then we sign Tex? I like it. Then we could bat Beltran second(if Hudson doesn’t come) and have Tex bat clean up. I like the idea of Tex here.
Why does anyone else not see this? What happens if you trade Delgado, and then go after Texiera, and he just decides he wants to place elsewhere. We CANNOT
oops, pressed enter too soon, but i’ll say it again, we CANNOT, i repeat CANNOT, guarantee ouselves of signing this guy, and trading Delgado, and leaving ourselves a huge hole at first base is too much of a risk. Sorry, but Texiera is not the answer to our problems. Nice player and all, but how exactly does this guy make the bullpen better or our starting pitching deeper? Or shore up second base? Or get us a real left fielder?
in an ideal world, and if all the stars are aligned, yes, you trade delgado and others (heilman and carp, etc) to the M’s for Putz or Jays for Ryan or even A’s for Street
Then you sign Texiera and convert Murphy to LF
you’d be insane NOT to do those 2 deals everytime
Then you try to sign Lowe or Garland to fill Ollie’s spot. Also remember, Ollie is TYPE A, so the picks we lose by signing tex and other type A’s, we can get 2 back from wherever Ollie signs.
Then you have your “pick of the litter” in available type A relievers in Juan Cruz, Bob Howry, Damaso Marte, and Type B relievers in Jeremy Affeldt, Luis Ayala, Joe Beimel, Brandon Lyon, Dennys Reyes, even David Weathers…
the thing is, while baseball fans on this site live in these fantasy worlds, baseball team and GMs and players, don’t. It’s nice to say, hey, lets go out and sign this guy, but that player has to put his name on the paper himself, and some people can’t comprehend that fact. They want Omar to just “do it”. The analysis of all this Delgado/Texiera talk on this site is severely lacking in my eyes. Cerrone has been saying the same thing for months and he can’t seem to come up with anything else about it. It’s like once he gets an idea in his head, he writes it down on his blog, and then he’ll stick with that until something actually happens. No new ideas, no originality, nothing.
well in Matt’s defense, i mean, can you realistically predict where the mets are gonna go? Omar has shown a tendency to trade for young and old guys while signing old guys. He finds a few diamonds in the rough, makes a big splash etc etc…
what with how many holes this team needs to fill, and all the names available, i really have no clue what this team is gonna do. If i have to make a guess, i’ll say he’ll trade for a closer…but who will he trade? Do we even have the chips…to be honest with u, yeah, i can’t see ANY TEAM taking on delgado, much less for an attractive closer. I mean, maybe the jays will wanna salary dump Ryan and bring home Delgado…the point i was trying to make was that if there is indeed a market for Delgado AND a chance to sign tex, i think you have to do that everytime
then u can figure out how u wanna restock the bullpen while allowing a young Murphy to develop
obviously you would do that, all i’m saying is that this scenario is kind of far fetched, and Matt continually mentioning it like he is, without considering the points I’m making, kind of feeds into the fans perspective that Omar isn’t “doing enough”. It happens year after year, and still, people cannot realize that this whole free agent/trade game is not a one-sided deal, it takes 2 or 3 parties to make these things happen, with many variables. Obviously, everyone knows Texiera is “exactly what this lineup needs” or whatever Matt said, that kind of commentary is trivial to me.
yeah i hear ya man…i mean, i love to play “fantasy GM” as much as the next person, but you gotta be realisitc…i just read on mlbtraderumors that the a’s are looking for a power bat on a one year deal…maybe delgado fits that mold for them and we can somehow get Street from them..not saying street is the devastating closer we need, but he’s still young and has had success…i’d rather have Tex and Street than Delgado and maybe a couple prospects…but again, not to beat a dead horse, is there REALLY a market for delgado? He had a great 2/3 of season for us, but a horrible season and a 1/3 prior…so which delgado are you getting in 09?
i think there’s probably some sort of market out there for him, but not for the type of closer we want to get. Whatever we would get back for Delgado, probably wouldn’t be enough to justify trading him while taking the risk of not being able to replace his numbers and more with a guy like Texiera. Might seem like standing still to many out there (and I know people hate that) but sticking with Delgado for ‘09 seems like a smart move to me. If we keep Delgado, improve the pen and the starting pitching, and either/or on the LF/2B situation, we’d have a team ready to compete for it all next year in my opinion.
i dont get why him looking for a seven year contract is a bad thing, wouldnt we want this guy for the next seven years?
I love Tex and have wanted him all summer and even now want Delgado dealt…. BUT… he always has awful April/Mays. Always. It’s the kind of thing you have to look at every year’s splits to appreciate.
I’m not so sure the Mets will be patient like they have been in Texas. He had a relatively decent first couple of months in Atlanta (270 average hiding a 430 slugg) and they were slightly down on him… I can just see a terrible slump turning into boos now….