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Earlier in the off-season, at SI.com, Jon Heyman listed Omar Minaya’s top priorities as being the team’s bullpen, followed by catcher, the rotation and possibly the outfield.
Yesterday, in the New York Post, Bart Hubbuch listed catcher as a possibility as well, though it was last on the list, according to a person familiar with the team’s thinking.
However, according to WFAN’s Mike Francesa, based on an off-air conversation he had with Omar Minaya, the Mets are 100 percent satisfied with Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro.
In Francesa’s view, talk of upgrading at catcher in not true.
Speaking of catcher, according to the Easy Valley Tribune, several teams have expressed interest in D’Backs C Miguel Montero, who is not eligible for arbitration until after 2009.
Meanwhile, at ESPN.com, Buster Olney says the D’Backs could end up keeping Montero, and instead trade Chris Snyder.
Also, in a post to MLB.com, Rangers reporter T.R. Silluvan writes, ‘The Rangers have catchers to trade,’ but, for instance, in talks with the Red Sox, they will cost a pitcher like RHP Clay Buchholz.
Lastly, at MLB.com, Dodgers reporter Ken Gurnick quotes Dodgers GM Ned Colletti as saying, ‘We aren’t trading Russell Martin. I’ve never brought that up to anybody.’
Earlier in the off-season, Peter Gammons wrote on ESPN.com, “Some Dodger officials have spread the word that Martin will either be traded or moved to third base.”
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i dont see brian or castro going anywhere….
Agreed. Im sorry, but if we spend our time this offseason chasing a catcher, then it really is time for Omar to hit the road.
Yeah, I’d hate a GM who put any time into upgrading a mediocre position.
Especially when we have an obviously horrible situation out behind the right field wall…
If anybody thinks we lost because of Schneider and Castro, you’re out of your minds.
Neither one helped…Shcneider was pretty awful.. and Castro was his usual fat self
Met needs:
1) Closer
2) Rest of Bullpen
3) 1 or 2 Starters
5) 1 more bat
4) LF resolution
5) 2B resolution
Is improving catcher more pressing than any of the above?
Oops, kind of busy this morning and got my numbers messed up, but you get the idea….catcher being no higher than 7…..
No, I think you hit it right on the head Kingman. Our bat needs to come from 2B, (*cough Hudson *cough). Whole ‘nother argument though…we’ll save it for later when we discover we still have Castillo in 2009.
Please say no to Alomar2. Hudson is declining already and wants 4 years 46+ Stay away. That would be twice as bad as the Castillo contract.
Hudson is not Alomar 2. Alomar had been in the league almost twice as long as Hudson has, and I don’t see how you find Hudson to be declining. He’s been hurt, but the injuries aren’t nagging ones that hinder production.
However, if you uncited rumor that he is asking 4 years $46 mil, then YES, stay away.
For what it’s worth I actually heard more than that for his contract demands like 14 million per+. Although I do remember reading he’d take a discount to play for us so maybe the 46 million would be at a discount.
Castro and Schneider are a solid platoon…there are much much more pressing needs on this team (Bullpen, second base, left field, starting pitcher)
I agree. Enough catcher talk.
whats the prob with our catchers? Its pitching, LF and 2B that are the problems….I mean is anyone seriously more worried about Schneider than Murphy, Schneiders proven what he is….Murphy is a wild card.
I think Murphy, while still young, is somewhat proven. Granted you are right and he could stink up the joint next year, all signs point to him being a solid hitter. Remember, he posted so many at-bats that he has lost his rookie status, so his good average and clutch hits weren’t a fluke, IMO.
murphy is proven?
how? over 132 at-bats?
wow…
SOMEWHAT proven. Its not like we’ve seen him play 10-15 games…he played consistently good for 49 games, no ups or downs…just solid play throughout.
Maybe proven is a bad choice of words, but I think we’ve got a good idea of what he brings to the table.
that’s like saying jason phillips was proven because he hit .300 his rookie year.
look, i like murphy but can we wait to see how he does with a full year under his belt and see how he handles putchers adjusting to him before we proclaim him as a rock in the mets foundation? he didn’t do so hot when crunchtime came around and people started getting a handle on him.
I”m not more worried about schnieder or castro. I’m not worried about Murphy either. I want him at 2nd base, with a veteran as his backup. I know what I’m getting with Schneider, solid, not spectacular defense, and a .250 hitter with little power. Castro is a good hitting catcher with a .300 average and about 10-15 HR power, but not very good defensively.
Murphy could be end up being one of the best hitting 2nd basemen in the NL if he’s placed there, Probably the 3rd best behind Utley, and Uggla. Could be. Defense might keep him from playing there.
remember Shane Spencer and Kevin Maas? or Alex Ochoa? these guys came in and raked too for a couple months…and I didnt even get to Greg Jeffries.
Gotta treat Murphy as “we except nothing from him, and if he earns a spot, great” not “murphy is guaranteed a spot” cant dont that with guys with such little experience…I mean remember Church wasnt guaranteed a starting role before the season last year and he was much more established.
Awe, come on man! Look at the bright side! Be positive! Murphy and Pelfrey are about the only good things that came out of last season. Don’t take that away from us naiive fans!
Castro will never hit .300. But with that being said, who’s looking for that type of production from the #8 hole? And I actually disagree with you about where Murphy should play. I think we should keep him in LF and slide him to 1B in 2010. He’s a corner guy…those two positions are much easier for him than 2B.
If he is our 2B, I hope he proves me wrong ;)
He hits too lightly for 1b, and he’s not a good enough defender to make up for it. Someone else mentioned this a while ago and i agree. He’s going to be an average at best defender most likely anyway you put him. So put him at the place where he has a plus bat, which is 2nd base.
Who in our organization has a “heavier” bat than Murphy at 1B? I’m not trying to start anything here, but I just don’t get the whole “he hits too lightly for that position” kind of deal. I mean, John Olerud never hit too many HR but he had a high average and could find the gaps. Does that mean he wasn’t a good 1B? (yes, I know Olerud had a better glove than Murphy)
I think Murphy is capable of 15-20 HR, which is good enough in my book. As for defense, it is much easier to adapt to the other corner than to make a switch to a middle IF spot. If he is an average defender, why put him in the spot where we need a quick and mobile type of guy with Reyes?
That just means our organization is crappy, which is kind of is, not that Murphy should play at first base. And John Olerud was well well above average as a defender which is why he was a good first basemen, even though his bat wasn’t above average for his position. You can’t really compare the situations. Olerud was a plus plus defender with about an average to slightly above average bat at first. Murphy would be a below average defender with an around average bat.
And you don’t need quick and mobile guys if their bats are anemic because they’re going to cost you as many runs, if not more, offensively as they might save defensively. Murphy might cost runs defensively but overall his bat at 2nd base would be so above average it would outweigh it. And Murphy has played in the infield so it’s not like he’s making a complete switch. And like you said it’s easier to adapt to the outfield which is why teams usually put guys with plus bats there. Although to be honest Murphy might be a good solution at left field, he’d just be a better solution at 2nd base.
Ok, well we’ll just have to agree to disagree. Making the switch from third to second is a complete switch because it is an entirely different position (just ask anyone who’s played both).
Secondly, what’s the bar for a 1B? What’s wrong with having a 1B who hits .310-.320, 15 HR, 70-80 RBI in the #2 hole in the lineup, especially when we’ve already got 3 100 RBI guys in Wright, Beltran, and Delgado, and 2 more 70-80 RBI guys in Church and Reyes? Who says your 1B has to be your #3 or #4 hitter with a .330 avg, 35 HR, and 100 RBI?
Note that I am not saying we should settle for an Argenis Reyes type at second, as there are a couple of viable options out there that include a solid bat at 2B.
Gina has obviously never seen Murphy at 3B. If she had she wouldn’t say moving to 2B would be no problem, because he is very weak, to be charitible at 3B. He can grow into a LF guy or 1B guy but doesn’t have the mobility to even reach Dan Uggla (who stinks at defense at 2B).
And you are probably too young to have seen this either Gina but John Olerud was a very mediocre first baseman when he started at Totronto and made himself goodover time. First base you can grow into, 2B you are too critical to the D too be given the time.
Gonna be hard to get the MLB to let us have 2 1B at the same time. We may need them if it’s Delgado and Murphy.
My point, exactly Rod. You can teach somebody to scoop balls out of the dirt, but you can’t teach somebody to all of a sudden develop a quick set of hands and gain mobility. Not to mention, reading the ball off the bat up the middle is very different than the corner. I still think he should be our LF…
Just to summize I don’t necessarily think Murphy is a good long-term solution at 2nd base, just that no one who we have or who is available is a very good long-term solution either. At best we can get a stop gap and be back in this position a year or two from now. And that his bat is good enough to make him a better option than everyone else we have and that his defense, which actually wasn’t as bad as a lot of people seem to think in the minors his range wasn’t the problem at third it was his glove, wouldn’t be worse than the defense we got at 2nd last year, which was close to the worst in the majors so it wouldn’t be hard to be better.
So our best bet would be to let him play there and hope he can develop better defense, or that maybe Reese Havens can learn to play 2nd and then we can move Murphy into a corner outfield spot. The thing is first base and corner outfield spots are much easier to fill than 2nd base. Right now there are more corner outfield/ first basemen, which better bats and about the same defense as Murphy will give us, on the market than they are 2nd basemen and we have other corner outfield/1b prospects who could realistically give us the same or close to the same production at those spot that Murphy can. There is no one, on the market or in our farm system, except maybe Havens who lost basically half a year of development because of his injury and Furcal on the market, that could fill 2nd base long-term.
How long is “long term”? Regardless, I think this is a moot point anyway because Murphy will not be playing 2B for us next season. The only reason he is playing there now is because the rosters were set for the AFL before the season ended. I think our best option at 2B is to sign a guy like Hudson (only for a reasonable contract, not another 4 year deal) for maybe 2-3 years until the market produces something good or Havens works out.
For some reason, I see us starting Castillo at 2B next season…..
Next. Can’t trust Heyman.
i wish metsblog would stop using francesa as a source unless it’s for humor.
he’s not a reporter and doesn’t have real access to knowledge of the team outside of what eddie c. whispers in his ear.
Mike Francesca is the Rush Limbaugh of sports.
Believe me, I’d rather not.
I only use Francesa is a case like this, when HE is directly quoting Omar Minaya.
Otherwise, yeah, you get the picture…
A little bitter because Mike called you out on the air not too long ago? Haaa
Matt probably realizes what a completely mediocre hack and biased rumor-creating windbag Francesa is…..
Are you Matt’s mom?
Are you Francesa’s doughnut-bearing girlfriend?
Yep, you are his mommy. I understand, moms should defend their kids from other people.
Well, MrBill, I wasn’t really defending Matt, I was really just criticizing Francesa, who is a comic embara*sment to sports radio and NY in general, and I was just stating the obvious…..now I must leave this enthralling debate…..
Yeah, ok
fair enough.
Unfortunately mets fans only believe what they want to believe….
Mike Francesa- “From mets blog?” Matt who?
you can do a lot worse than Schneider and Castro…that being said, Castro has to stay healthy, which historically he has proven he can not
I don’t understand all of this “much more pressing needs” talk. Yes, bullpen, starting pitching, and a corner OF are higher priorirites, but does that mean you don’t even investigate upgrading at other spots?