|
|
|
In an article for MLB.com, Marty Noble writes, “The Mets have 
a greater interest in the higher-profile relievers if only because they are free agents, and that trading for a closer or reliever would leave with team with another hole to fill,” according to a person familiar with the team’s thinking.
Noble lists Brian Fuentes at the top of the team’s wishlist, followed by Francisco Rodriguez and then Kerry Wood, ‘who is a distant third in the group.’
If the Mets are unable to sign a closer, they would turn to the trade market and pursue Rockies RHP Huston Street.
However, yesterday, in a report for SI.com, Jon Heyman wrote, “The Mets are trying to swing a deal for White Sox RHP Bobby Jenks before doling out free-agent riches.”
…i don’t see any way K-Rod will sign for less than a four-year deal…fuentes will likely want to sign after rodriguez, but not if prices are falling, which could put the Mets in a nice position…from a market stand point, i can see a scenario in which rodriguez has to take a four-year, $50 million deal, maybe less, instead of the five-year, $75 million contract that has been rumored about…the thing is, if rodriguez’s price drops that much, what can the Mets get fuentes to sign for, especially if it looks like they may turn to the trade market instead…
…added to by Regis Courtemanche…
…the team has enough money to pickup the free agents they need this winter without literally trading away the farm…
…the bullpen continues to be the priority for omar and co. so i’m interested to see how it all pans out, but i hope they’re smart and do not overpay for rodriguez who would be my top choice only at the right price…
Loading ... |
 |
 |
RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.
It makes sense to tackle the back of the pen first then move down the line. I’m ok with either Krod or Fuentes but do not want to see Wood in any capacity here.
what about as a set up man?
If Wood is going to leave Chi-town, I doubt it would be as a set-up guy
Right price??? I would like you to explain the right price. Do you think the Mets will lower prices in the new rip-off Field if they get a bargain? The price doesn’t matter unless you are Minaya and you are told to sstop here. The price has no impact on you as a blogger or a fan. The Wilpons will take you for all they can every time you show your wallet and credit card in the park. regardless of payroll.
This is silly…right price? Do you think money just comes from thin air?…even though the numbers are in the millions there still is a budget…if you spend more on a closer, it has to come from somewhere…that might mean a lesser bat in left field, second base and less money spent on the draft or scouting or professional development…this guy is the prototypical idiot fan who just says spend another 10 million, “I’m not paying”.
heck with it. If that is the guy they want, just overpay and be done with it. It’s only money (and not mine!) Since Wagner comes off the books in 2010, it is really only a 1 year hit when they overlap.
If the 2009 budget is an issue, backload the deal soemwhat.
Add Cruz too, and fill in the rest with mix/match (stokes, parnell, Smith, sanchez, a couple of B/C FAs, a dark horse out of the minors like that guy lighting up the AFL, etc.)
trade heilmann to fill another hole, and dump Schoe and Fleicianno (at least on, both if possible). Pen will be done and stronger.
Say Heilmann goes for Dye. Leave Murphy at 2B (please?). Unload Castillo. Other than trying to find a catcher upgrade and 1/2 SPs, team is done.
K Rod could be the first domino. Get that done at a reasonable price but quickly, and the rest will happen bang-bang.
Oh, try for Vazquez + dye to take salary off the white sox head, and of course try to move Castillo back. those 2 would fill big holes, and be ver s/t stop gaps until younger guys are ready.
Johan, Maine, Pelf and Vazquez is a strong front 4. #5 can be something cheap (Neise, reclamation project, etc.)
you can’t trade only Heilman and expect to get Jermaine Dye. The mets have to give up Heilman and probably Evans and someone else with value
if you want vasquez too then the Mets probably have to add Niese or Parnell.
it’s a starting point. And you never know what the other team needs/wants, and you have to take into account there is a huge unbalance in salary (the Sox get a major relief there).
For any AL team, I would be looking to add Carp into the mix, since he may end up at DH and could be intriquing to a team like that.
Omar needs to use the checkbook wisely this year, and taking back bigger money contracts to save our prospects is a big part of that.
Hey, I still say do Andru for Castillo, but there is probably a reason I am not a GM!
Why wouldn’t you trade Heilman and Evans for Dye? Evans at best will be a DH in his career. Do him a favor and get him in the AL while improving our team at the same time.
I’m not in love with any of the other closers other than K-Rod. If we are worried about K-Rod’s stuff deminishing, it’s the NL and by the time K-Rod nears his 30’s, he’ll still be getting outs. The Mets want a closer, go for the better one instead of settling for less.
Agreed. Like Santana, Frankie will find the NL to be a perfect landing spot for his slightly diminishing fastball…
KRod is a bidding war. He’s not going to come down to a reasonable price. If he does, more teams become involved. If we want him, we will have to outspend the others
who are the others that will pay him? W/o the angels trying to keep him, I don’t see a team looking to spend over 50 mil on a closer?
We also thought the Giants wouldn’t give Zito a 7 year deal and they did. Indians, Tigers, O’s could all be in on K-Rod. You just never know.
jenkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkks
I’m intrigued, though I’m not sure at what price. They’re also trying to work a deal for Dye and /or Vasquez. I’m not big on Vasquez, so I would propose a deal for Jenks & Dye, who would slot in well in the 6/7 hole.
Fernando Martinez, Mike Carp & Jonathan Neise, plus parts. Neise has had limited success at the major league level, Martinez may be the next Alex Escobar, or Alex Rios – too early to tell, and Carp always had DH written all over him.
Meh…no on Fernando. Its not that I am against moving him, but more that you can get much better players than Jenks/Dye in a package built around F-Mart
Jenks has proven to be a more than solid closer. He won a World Series too. I think he deserves serious consideration if that is truly on the table.
Nice poll.
Puts perspective into what kind of closer Fuentes really is, namely, a talented, aging enigma (dominating some years, demoted to minors other years, old nonetheless)…
I agree with the current poll…
1. K-Rod
2. Jenks (consistent since becoming closer)
3. Fuentes
4. Wood (another good year and he moves AHEAD of Fuentes)
5. Street (lost even more velocity than K-Rod)
I think we tend to get to cute with this whole thing. We start listening to all of the factors that the teams are giving out to drop K-Rod’s price a bit and start over analyzing. K-Rod is the best option out there. The Mets are the perfect fit. We concern ourselves too much with the salary aspect when in the end the Mets will either be paying 11-14 million a year for a closer. And before I hear all the things bad about K-Rod, let us look at performance. With a mile or two per hour off his fastball did he still have a great season? That is some decline. I like Fuentes but that guy lost his closing job on a team that went to the World Series. K-Rod never has. My gut tells me this is all window dressing and K Rod will be on the Mets in December.
why would you give up your prospects for a decent closer when one of the top closers in baseball is a FA and wants to be a Met.
because we want to make it look like we will trade so that FA we want is left in a spot to settle for a more reasonable contract with us…hopefully.
that was a reply of the guy who wants Jenks not you
Money aside…I’d take K-rod over Fuentes. I’d take K-rod over Jenks too. While Krod and Jenks both have a ring (which is a big factor to me) Jenks relies too much on velocity and changing off of his fastball. Krod used to do that but has more pitches he can throw for strikes than Jenks. Krod is becoming a better “pitcher” while Jenks could suffer in the coming years (ala Benitez) if he doesn’t make changes if needed (all speculation btw).
That said…Krod over Fuentes straight up….7 years younger, more playoff experience, wants to pitch in the big spot, and will be easily marketable to a big-city franchise.
With money involved…5 years 75mil just isn’t going to happen anymore. We now have the pleasure of bargaining our way down to a more reasonable 4 years 56 mil deal with an option for a 5th year and other incentives. Fuentes price may drop…but who cares? Unless he really is the guy we want, then why settle?
4 years – 56 mil
i’d take that in a second but most Met fans have no patience to wait it out
i hope they would have found that patience waiting out on the santana deal….
Omar, Fred, Jeff…… If we can get Jenks for Heilman and one prospect other than Martinez leaving us enough cash to get Manny Lowe and Hudson……. Go get em!!!!
FMart may be the next Alex Ochoa. Trade while his value is still high. Wilmer Flores is the real deal.
wilmer is a beast, but as i said before, F-MART will be the future of all new york.. guys, let’s be patient.. most of you wanna win now, i wanna build a team with consistency for years to come.. relax.. remember 2001!?? we got a bunch of old veterans and depleted our farm system, the next 4 years where were we???? anybody remembers?? relax…..
FMart’s value can net the Mets better players than Dye/Jenks. If the right player comes along, then you do it.
My concern with patience is that while we wait on a closer, we do little else to address our other concerns. What did we do last year besides get Santana?
true. But since the pen is the #1 issue, and that is what they are waiting out, not as big of a worry!
i expect omar will still manage to swing other deals.
If the closer plan is one of the FAs, or move onto some creative internal solution (like the parnell Idea I floated here), waiting out K Rod really doesn’t impact anything else they need to be doing.
Should know more on Friday when the bids start flowing.
It would be lovely though if Omar could nail it down quick to take the rpessure off.
well there wasn’t much to do, we had 5 starters, our bullpen was not a concern going in and we got ourselves a Catcher and a RF
we slotted in Alou to play over 90 games with no competent backup. Umm…we kept the same ineffective bullpen from 2007…Umm…we expected the players and manager at fault to “turn the page” for 2008. Umm…we got a fancy new toy (Johan) to act as a band-aid for our gaping wounds so perception wise we improved the team, but in reality we only addressed one spot.
In regards to waiting…the closer is usually the first to sign before the lower level middle relievers start to sign. There is plenty of time to address that…lets just hope we dont say the bullpen will be fine with just a new closer b/c he is a big name with a big contract.
The pen was not ‘inept’ in 2007…it was well above league average, with an ERA of 4 (8th in NL…Phill was 12th, btw). In fact it was a great pen all year until August/September, as they were extremely overworked. The thinking was that a horse liek Santana would reduce the load on the pen, keeping them fresh for a full season. However, we know how much a pen can fluctuate in performance (Philly shaved well over a run to end the season as #1 pen in the NL), and thats what happened. Plus, the injury b ug to Heilman and Wagner screwed the team in ‘08
Just please, no Street.
If they are reduced to that, just save the farm and groom someone internal (or grab a set up guy from another team in an under the radar deal) and make him the closer.
Parnell might have just a good year if you give him the job. Who knows? But every year a bunch of closers come out of nowhere to have big saves years. Including Jenks a few years back.
Find the big arm + big sac and turn him loose.
No Street.
Isn’t that why we drafted Kunz number one? To become our future closer. If Omar still believes he can be, dont be suprised if he gets Fuentes to hold the fort for a couple of years till they think Kunz is ready.
Trade for Huston Street!!!!!
But, make him the set-up man.
Then give me either K-Rod or Fuentes (in that order) as our closer.
In today’s game where starters only go 5/6 innings, teams need to put more focus, and spend more money on the 7/8/9 innings. Those set-up men and closers have become just as important to a team as starters have.
I may not last long as a GM in baseball, but I’d take 2 top closers for $10M each, over signing a $20M starter any day.
Get over the thought of making a fantasy roster! No closer will want to be on your team to be a setup man. It’s just not realistic.
When a player is under control, they really don’t have a say in what their role is.
Just like Soriano in his move to the OF. He wasn’t happy, but he really didn’t have a choice.
Or Heilman and his desire to be a starter.
Street can decide to go to a team that needs a closer when he’s eligible for free agency.
Besides, many people are saying that Corpas will be the Rockies closer anyway. With Street being the set-up man.
So, what’s the difference??
sign K-Rod – A
sign Lowe – A
sign D. Reyes – B
trade Heilman, Evans and Kunz (or another decent pitching prospect) for Dye
get rid of: Perez – A, Castillo and Schoeneweis
acquire 1-2 arms for the bullpen (not big names)
acquire a 5th starter (or give Pedro a shot with plan B ready)
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Delgado
Dye
Church
Murphy
Schneider/Fatso
Fatso
Daryle Ward, Eckstein, Counsell (veteran pinch hitter and leader)
Easley
Tatis
Chavez
I know everyone wants Murphy to bat second and so do I but he needs to prove last year wasn’t a fluke b/c in all honesty this time last year noone knew who Danny Murphy was. bat him 7th, and if he is still hitting like last year, by all means drop him down in the order.
Santana
Pelfrey
Lowe
Maine
Pedro/Marquis/FA/Trade/Vargas/Niese/Parnell
Figueroa/Parnell/Stokes
Stokes/Sanchez/Muniz
Feliciano/Eyre
Smith
someone Omar picks up cheap/Sanchez
D. Reyes
K-Rod
bobby jenks is our guy we can save alot of money trading for him hes a legit closer hes like a young jj putz and he actually looks like he wants to win this guy had only 4 blown saves all season only gave up 3 home runs all season lefties are only hitting .219 against him which is good for guys against like utly or howard or victirino and righties are only hitting .241 and when hes away from home guys were only hitting .202 against him and this guy is only 27 and was only getting paid half a million bucks in 08 so 09 wont be to much of a raise and mayb the mets can sign him 2 an extention if they trade for him without wasting 11-15 million on a guy like rodriguez which dont get me wrong is a leg it closer at 26 yrs old hes def. a winner but he gets to caught up in the moment i can see it now him getting all worked up against a guy like howard and howard taking that changeup deep to right field and i dont want that on this team jenks looks like a smart pitcher which is what attracts me and if we save money we can get in the races for 1 of the legit starting pitchers out there but after we get a closer the setup man is our next task
bobby jenks is our guy we can save alot of money trading for him hes a legit closer hes like a young jj putz and he actually looks like he wants to win this guy had only 4 blown saves all season only gave up 3 home runs all season lefties are only hitting .219 against him which is good for guys against like utly or howard or victirino and righties are only hitting .241 and when hes away from home guys were only hitting .202 against him and this guy is only 27 and was only getting paid half a million bucks in 08 so 09 wont be to much of a raise and mayb the mets can sign him 2 an extention if they trade for him without wasting 11-15 million on a guy like rodriguez which dont get me wrong is a leg it closer at 26 yrs old hes def. a winner but he gets to caught up in the moment i can see it now him getting all worked up against a guy like howard and howard taking that changeup deep to right field and i dont want that on this team jenks looks like a smart pitcher which is what attracts me and if we save money we can get in the races for 1 of the legit starting pitchers out there but after we get a closer the setup man is our next task
K-rod
4 years
10/12/14/16
52mil
Gives the Mets around $20-25 mil to work with for other free agency signings.
4 years 60 millions… done!!!! i think he’ll sign for 62.2..
sign Lowe, D.Reyes and fill a few more holes while dumping Castillo and Schoeneweis and there is ur 25 mil
Are you sure you want to back load it when all the stars on the Mets get pay raises in the future? I would be more willing to front load it so if disaster happens and he has to be traded he is more marketable.
Of course that is what I would have done with Castillo last year as well but…..
Think about it this way. Signing him with my suggestion ends up with the Mets paying $20 mil for a closer this year (include the injured Wagner), then 12, 14, and 16. So, it’s actually frontloaded. ;)
Matt, why does it seem that you are so pro Fuentes and anti-Krod?
If Krod’s price drops to that and then Fuentes price drops to 9 million a season it’s still only a 3 million dollar a year difference for a closer who at the end of his contract would still be much younger than Fuentes is today.
This is silly. I am feeling good about this today. I am willing to bet anyone on here that Krod will be a Met.
TR – I’m with you all the way.
i think k-rod is there last resort
i heard peter gammons say couple weeks ago that he talked to pitching coach that told him when a guy is losing velocity on his fastball there changeup speed tends to go up which is what is being seen by rodriguez and hes to risky to give a long contract im sorry this guy is good but in by the 3rd year i can see the league being all over this guy
just like with Fuentes now…
That may be…but I’d rather have Krod when he’s 29 than Fuentes when hes 36.
Fuentes will be Billy Wagner all over again. K-Rod is young and better. This is a no brainer.
This will be unpopular – but why not sign Trevor Hoffman for a year, and sign Chad Cordero and Juan Cruz as set-up guys. Whoever is more effective graduates to the closer role when Hoffman is done. Money saved versus signing KRod or Fuentes could be used to pursue better quality starting pitching than would otherwise have been pursued…
I think K-rod will sign for 4yrs/48mill and Fuentes will sign for 3/27 million. Seriously, what other team besides the Mets has the cash to shell out 10 million + to a closer.The Mets are essentially the only big market team in need of a closer. Sign Cruz and either Fuentes or Rodriguez.. See if the white sox take castillo and evans in exchange for 2 bad contracts, Vasquez and Swisher.
Closer- $12 million
Cruz-$4 million
Vazquez- $11.5 million
Swisher- $7 million
Castillo- minus $ 6million
Total: +30 million. Same payroll as last yr.
i say you trade for eks and dye in the same package and then go get fuentes and use them both as the closer. and forget bout k rod hes going o get hurt with the motion he has
i mean jenks
It’s amazing how few people realize that F-Rod isn’t really that good. His tRA was around 3.7 and he would constantly allow baserummers. If his hits were scattered in a way that was unlucky rather than lucky, he would have blown 14 saves and had an ERA of 4.6.