|
From what I can gather, the Mets are likely to make a trade 
for a relief pitcher, who has experience as a closer, before they move to sign either Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood.
This would be smart, if for no other reason then it puts additional pressure on the current group of free agent closers.
If I had to make an educated guess, I would bet on a deal built around a current pitcher, such as Aaron Heilman, in exchange for pitcher like Rockies RHP Huston Street, who the Mets have reportedly expressed interest in.
This morning on WFAN, SI.com’s Jon Heyman predicted the Mets will sign at least two or three free agent pitchers this off-season, including a closer, a set-up man and a starting pitcher.
Frankly, if the Mets end up acquiring, say, Street, signing a closer like Rodriguez, as well as signing another set-up man, like Juan Cruz or Joe Beimel, it will be fair to call that an upgrade in the bullpen, to say the least.
 |
 |
 |
RSS 2.0 Both comments and pings are currently closed.
That’s what I’m talking about!
K-Rod
Huston Street
Juan Cruz
Chad Cordero
Let’s do it.
Sign me up!!!
This would be awesome. If they don’t make another move it would be a successful off-season.
I like that, I think if you do that though and you are trading to get street we might need to keep Schowenweis to have 2 lefties, or do you go after Ohman and make it a free agent frenzy?
K-Rod
Street
Cruz
Cordero
Feliciano
Schowenweis/Ohman
Parnell/Sanchez/Kunz
Now that would be one heck of a bullpen, 3 guys who have been closers and one who could be for sure in Cruz.
I want feliciano schowenweis completly gone. I don’t care if the bullpen is 100% right handed pitchers. If they can get out both righties and lefties i don’t care what arm they throw from.
Feliciano can’t sniff getting out an entire inning. Neither can schowenweis.
Jeebus, we could turn it over to the pen in the 6th inning every night!!!!
Feliciano’s worth having just to make Ryan Howard look silly in 6 or 7 key spots a year.
Feliciano can still be dominant against lefties, I think if his role is limited in a bullpen that good then he will thrive, Howard and Utley are both good examples
Schowenweis I cant stand either but after trading Heilman and signing 2 free agent relievers, I think the Mets will need another lefty, if they can get one, great, if not then im not 100% oppposed to seeing what he can do in a limited role also
Feliciano had one bad year against righties and you want to get rid of him? Give the guy a break he’s been good against RHB and LHP his entire career. He definitely should be a part of next year’s pen.
yeah — guns blazing on a bullpen upgrade… going all in … long live the reign of Omar
I like it.
However, I posted nearly the same exact pen on here a couple of weeks ago and got hit with comments like:
‘Be realistic, Omar isn’t gonna sign KRod AND trade for Street’
And
‘This isn’t Fantasy Baseball’
What a difference a couple of weeks make!!
well…you still might be right though…lol.
I’m hoping!!
Even before these last 2 seasons, I’ve been a BIG proponent of a strong Pen. I may have even gone a bit overboard with my 2 or 3 closers in the same pen ideas.
But I strongly believe that as the game changes, where starters now only go 5 or 6 innings, the strategy needs to also change. And that means investing alot of money in closers and set-up men.
i agree with your new post…but those above quotes could prove true…thats what I meant. Thats the pes-simism in me.
but…i agree with you on what we should do.
I think the Street dynamic changes alot now that hes with Colorado, Billy Beane likely would have asked for a king’s ransom thinking hed be the mets closer. Its more realistic now that he is simply a setup man and the rockies are likely to move him
This isn’t fantasy baseball… true.
However, the team knows that if they didn’t blow 31 saves last year, if they only blew, say 29, they’d have been in the playoffs.
They also saw what happens when you lose your dominant closer, and have to play musical relievers.
I think Omar is trying to learn from his mistakes.
Everyone says we need to get rid of some players, well Heilman to me is a MUST GO! He whined in 2006 because he wasn’t a starter, gave up the HR to Yadier Molina in Game 7, and was awful this year. He’s got good stuff, but he doesn’t have the mental fortitude to be a set up guy or closer.
A Heilman/Evans package for Street would be ideal, then sign KRod, and I’d love to see them take a flier on Cordero instead of going after Cruz.
1) Sign KRod (4 years/60M)
2) Sign Chad Cordero (2 years/6M)
3) Trade Heilman/Evans for Street
Bullpen is revamped.
Am I the only one wondering if the Mets, instead of going 4 years/52M on Ollie, would rather go 2 years/28M on Ben Sheets. (His contract would be insured, and the MRI revealed no structural damage…. I know he’s a risk, but so is a 4 year deal for a marginal pitcher, (Perez) or a 36 year old pitcher. (Lowe)
Think of that staff
Santana
Sheets
Maine
Pelf
Niese (Learn from last year, patience with the kid on the big stage, see Big Pelf)
KRod
Street
5 of:
Parnell, Sanchez, Muniz, Kunz, Show, Feliciano, Stokes
id take sheets for 2 years and 14-15 mil a pop. don’t know if he would.
but if so…we would still need a few more low-cost starters for depth…We’d have to someone ready for a Sheets injury and/or Niese proving unready.
i also wouldnt mind signing another decent starter and to have niese ready in AAA in case of injury.
If we sign Sheets we should also sign someone like Garland or Wolf to be the 5th starter (unless the rumored trade for Vasquez appears) so Niese and Vargas are our insurance.
And have we all forgotten about Joe Smith- he was are only decent pen pitcher last year…
You have a good idea there on Ben Sheets (in theory), the problem is some lame-a$$ team out there is gonna shell out 4-5 years GUARANTEED to this guy (like Texas, Houston, etc), at BIG money.
Funny how people forget about our best relief pitcher, Joe “Bulldog” Smith.
good point Case, thats my bad
I completely forgot about smith, we dont need Juan Cruz or Chad Cordero, Id rather take a shot on Cordero because he will be much cheaper and we dont NEED him if we have the rest of those arms:
K-Rod
Street
Cordero
Smith
Feliciano
Schowenweis/Any left handed pitcher who can get lefties out
Parnell/Sanchez/Kunz competition
I too forgot about Smith, and I really like him a lot. Hell, I said that we should sign Cordero, and forgot to add him to the mix as well.
I’ve read on rotoworld.com that some sense that Sheets may be willing to take a one year deal, and come back out next year.
Someone said something about Texas giving big money, and they are probably spot on.
It’s just funny how all we read about is Lowe (36), Burnett (5 years?), and Ollie (Jeckyl and Hyde)… but no one has mentioned Sheets. When he’s healthy, he’s lights out.
Sheets on a one-year deal?
Where do I sign?!
casestreet – we don’t need power arms in the pen because we have smith and possibly cordero???
that’s crazy talk. omar said he wants flame throwers, Cruz is your man
Yeah, now all we gotta do is actually get them on the team! If we could pull those 3 moves off, our pen would be dramatically better. I’d love to add O-Dog as well as a corner outfield bat as well. We can get by with Scneider and Castro behind the dish.
I’m definitely on board for that. Then if Omar can somehow turn Castillo + prospect into Vazquez, and then sign a mid-level starter like Wolf, we’d be ready to go.
Say NO to Wolf
::gets on knees to pray::
does anyone know the mailing address for the mets human resources division and who their human resources director is? thanks
Any chance that Wood ever starts again? If there is, and he only needs 1 more healthy year, i”d prefer:
Wood
Street
Cruz
Cordero
Fill it up with potential closers as an insurance policy
Any thoughts of Billy coming back after injury?
Please do not pinch me…this sounds all too good!
Matt, where does this come from? a hunch? talks with team execs? other reporters? please explain.
Likely from a person familiar to the team’s thinking where quite every other rumor comes from.
“from a person familiar to the team’s thinking”
How many times have we seen that on this site??
Though, to Matt’s credit, his ‘person’ really substantiates this site…
I can’t remember what it’s like being comfortable watching the manager hand the ball to a reliever.
lol, me too!!!
the only time was when we played SF and the Giants handed the ball to Benitez for the save…I knew THEN we would win the game. lol.
Um, this is getting a little silly, don’t ya think? One thread says we’re signing KRod. Next thread says, no, we’re signing Fuentes. Next thread says, no, we’re trading for Jenks. Next thread say, no, we are signing KRod. Next thread says, no, we’re trading for Huston Street.
I don’t think anybody really knows what’s going on. Could there be a system to this madness?
welcome to the Hot Stove.
Just because we’re trading for Street doesn’t mean we’re not signing K-Rod.
Yeah, you’re right. But the messages we’ve been getting over the last week or so are pretty confusing.
They sure are. I’ve heard so many different stories you’d think I was a publisher. Only one story gets published, though. ; )
i think if we do sign street then were not getting Krod on a 4 year deal, then well get fuentes or wood (id prefer wood becasue well have street if he goes down) and with all of these other additions do we really need Krod that bad?
YES. If 29 blown saves doesn’t attest to that fact, then NOTHING will…
I’ve been rough on Street in the past, but him as a setup man in the NL would look so good…
Rodriguez, Street, Cruz or Beimel, and Lowe would be the perfect recipe for erasing the failures of past two seasons. Upgrade at LF too and you are talking business.
and if possible 2B and C
If the Mets acquire Street and sign K-Rod and Cruz, I would be shocked. My gut feeling is that K-Rod will come to the Mets.
What would the Rockies want for Street? Would Heilman start for them? Maybe Evans? What would they realistically want for this guy?
I’d give them Heilman and Evans in a heartbeat.
As a Heilman supporter, I must agree with you.
Heilman and Evans for Street would be a steal. Street is by no means lockdown, but he has been a successful MLB pitcher and while I like Evans, I don’t know how much more than a bench player he can be.
Agreed.
We agree? hoooray!!!
Evans will in all likelihood become a .293 27 hr 93 rbi slugger in the thin air of Denver..
I should clarify…
Trade him! :)
They’d want Heilman only to use him as a starter…IOW, they want a SP, my guess, and they’ll prolly want a bat.
Heilman and Evans sounds good…i dont know if that would do it or not though.
knicksblog represent!
cordero,street,k-rod and cruz makes a happy FBS
what up, knicksblog!
Haha…..
Yeah I guess it turns out that I am a Mets fan and a Knicks fan.
I take it that you two read theKnicksblog.com.
Thank you for your readership. Do you like the site?
Go Knicks!
how many type a free agents are we allowed to sign?
84
I believe its 2…But I’m not sure if thats a net 2 or a gross 2….If its a net 2, then signing 1 type a free agent would be nullified by us losing Ollie.
According to MLBtraderumors this year its 5-6.
It depends on the number of total free agents there are. Since this is an odd year and there’s 100+ free agents we’ll, at a minimum, be able to sign 3, some people have estimated up to 6.
I think it’s 2 if we sign Perez, 3 if we don’t. I could be wrong, though.
heilman straight up for street since they are both free agents in after 2010. heilman can be a starter for the rookies and street will help us a lot.
that already would have been done if it was possible.
i dont think the rockies are that dumb.
If they are going to trade for a closer, it better be Putz. Jenks and Street are just not worth it.
if you read the entry:
“Frankly, if the Mets end up acquiring, say, Street, signing a closer like Rodriguez, as well as signing another set-up man, like Juan Cruz or Joe Beimel, it will be fair to call that an upgrade in the bullpen, to say the least.”
You would realize that Street would be the SU man for K-Rod.
I think he does…thats why he said “as well as signing another set-up man”
Street still isn’t worth it.
well hopefully if its a guy like street…its in addition to signing a closer.
if we get street..i still want krod.
pitching pitching pitching.
Also, if Chad Cordero signs elsewhere and actually comes back and pitches well, I will be furious. He is the perfect type of guy for this team to gamble on. Give him a deal and if he doesn’t pan out, then cut him loose. All it would cost is money.
Agreed.
Two things scare me about this:
1. The team will say, “Here’s the new closer” and not get an established closer.
2. Trading for one of these guys might prevent the team from trading to upgrade at pitcher, left field, 2B or C.
Relief pitchers are such a crap shoot, I’d rather spend the minimum on these guys signing guys like Stokes who are AAAA pitchers and can get both sides of the plate out.
I hear you, but you have to say that it hasn’t worked for the Mets so far.
Matt,
Can you provide any evidence for your statement:
“From what I can gather, the Mets are likely to make a trade for a relief pitcher, who has experience as a closer”
Like, did you read this somewhere or is it just your own hunch?
Otherwise this is heading into Mike Francesca wild speculation territory.
well, i remember reading “from what i can gather” quite often last year about santana. we know how that came about. matt’s “from what i can gathers” are about as good as adam schein’s “nuggets”.
Sorry TA’09, this isn’t good enough for me, nor should it be for anyone.
Anyone can just go on a blog and say “from what I can gather, the Mets are going to do…” without providing any evidence, proof, etc.
I mean, maybe Matt has some front office mole feeding him this info, but there’s been a lot of “from what I can gather” this offseason with little proof.
Additionally, the Johan Santana “from what I can gather’s” last offseason were aided by the fact that pretty much every writer/insider in baseball was reporting up to the minute info on the trade.
It’s not as if Matt was the one to break the story or something. This Huston Street stuff is just out of thin air. It’s totally different.
If you had a great source that gave you information that you found to be true 95% of the time, but they asked you to keep them anonymous…would you do so?
I would have to. Matt isn’t supposed to be your typical journalist here. He is a blogger that feeds us good information that generates a lot of chatter and keeps us interested. He isn’t a Mets beat reporter and isn’t an MLB Insider. He reports news and maybe he does have a source.
All I’m saying is, that it’s against “journalism” to report something without any evidence – even if he says “according to my source” (like Heyman, Rosenthal etc. do all the time) I’m OK with it.
The way it’s presented, it’s just wild speculation.
I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say here – that Matt has a source? How is this “good” information or any information at all?
Is this realistic though? I would love to see us trade for Street (while giving up Heilman) AND signing Krod…
but, are the mets willing to do this? or are they gonna stop once they get street? I’m just pes simistic I guess, when it comes to Omar…I don’t trust him. I fear, like with the Johan trade, that he makes a splash and uses it to cover up other holes while saying…”krod cost too much money, i feel confident in streets ability to bounce back as a closer” and while that could be true, I feel more confidant in actually being successful with a closer as your set-up man AND another closer getting saves.
IOW, this sounds too good to be true.
I know what you mean but I do think K-Rod will be a Met no matter what. That was the big thing last year. Closer hurt and no one can fill in for him. You need that. A strong 8th inning guy who could fill in for your closer and do a solid job if he goes down and Omar knows that. He learned it the hard way last year and I don’t think the Mets will repeat that same mistake.
Having a guy like Street as your setup man is a great idea and a great trade if made. If you then have K-Rod and he misses some time you can go to Street who can fill in and do a solid job.
I love it to that the talk is that the Mets are targeting relievers who strike people out.
Let the Yanks go out and over spend on AJ and Lowe. I rather have K-Rod and street on the Mets next year then AJ and Lowe.
That would be sweet having Street set up K-Rod … go Omar … go from the worst bullpen in baseball history to one of the best bullpens in baseball at least on paper to start the season lol
Additionally, how many pitchers are available that have experience as a closer? Huston Street? David Weathers? I can’t name any others.
Seriously? You can’t name any others?
Everyday Eddie, baby.
if we get street and krod, we cant sign cruz, we need a lefty aka joe beimel. I dont trust feliciano and scho anymore. well, if we get both cruz and beimel I wouldnt complain.
in all fairness, Scho was death against lefties.
Beimel and K-Rod would be the way to go as far as FA relievers.
Why do so many people like Beimel??
Okay, let’s back up am second and be realistic. There are things called EGOS involved here, folks. If we sign a closer AND trade for Street (doubtful, I think), there is no way we’d be getting Beimel or Cruz as well. There’s an outside shot at Cordero because he’s a question a mark, but the egos that come into play here are not negligible. If Street is setting up for K-Rod or Fuentes, neither Beimel nor Cruz are coming in here to provide middle relief, which, in the mind of the relief pitcher, is a step down in terms of highlighted positions.
Let’s also remember that they want to give Kunz and Parnell chances to make the team out of Spring Training.
while that may be true…ultimately I think players will respond to the millions of dollars we invest, first, and then ego second.
now…would we be willing to give cruz enough millions to pitch out of middle relief…maybe not…I’m just saying extra millions with one team compared to less millions but greater role on another team, I think the player chooses $$ before pride.
$ is pride…nobody has ever heard of a reliever taking less money to be a set up man somewhere else
In omar we trust. Does Omar kno how to work moves Trade and sign or what hes by far smarter then cashmen. What a way to help the bullpen and have K-rod drop his price at the same time.
ideally…yes. hopefully…yes. realistically…we’ll see.
in Omar we trust????? Maybe you trust a failure who has only established himself as the first GM to have two chokes in a row and still be given an extension but outside the owner speak for yourself. You are the last one’s to trust this failed regime.
Oh yes, totally turning the Mets around before the misfortune totally does not go on his record. I sense some selctive memory.
Not selective, he’s probably just a bandwagon fan that joined in 2006.
So you’re all OK with giving up either FM or Neise or both and possibly even Parnell in a deal for Street right? That’s what it’s probably going to cost us. I still thinking it’s highly unrealistic. More like baseless talk from Matt.
The Mets could get Street with out giving up F-Mart or Neise come on he was a decent closer but not a top of the line closer.
what? FM,Niese and parnell for street? who do you think street is? he is a good reliever, not an eltie reliever.
I would trade anyone besides Neise or FM or Murp ( and Wilmer, but thats as sumed) Anyone in our AA and AAA besides the above are expendable. Parnell and Kunz may be good…mayeb great…or maybe horrible…you trade these kind of prospects for a proven, trying to rebound, closer? yes. very realistic.
F-Mart or Niese or both??? Seriously dude, come on.
Come on, not even I think Street will cost that much. Heilman and quantity will most likely work.
People forget that the Rockies love Heilman. If I am not mistaken the Rockies went to the Mets before last season and were talking about Fuentes for Heilman straight up but the Mets said no.
If the Mets send Heilman and maybe a decent prospect or two for Street I would be all over that if I was the Mets.
If I am not mistaken the Rockies went to the Mets before last season and were talking about Fuentes for Heilman straight up but the Mets said no.
Kind of a lot has happened since then.
Actually the Mets proposed Heilman for Fuentes straight up and the Rockies said no and wanted Show and some cash thrown in. The Mets said no.
Number one, Make it so. Engage all engines.
Ludicrous speed!!!! GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Streets does not cost us giving up f-mart, everbody know that and rockies do to
Omar will not trade his legacy as Mets GM for Huston Street.
i like that…”his legacy”
very true…signed him his first off-season, thanks pedro.
i believe in Fmart…but I believe in Wilmer Flores even more now.
What’s the deal with Wilmer Flores? Where does he play, etc? Anywhere I can get good info on the kid?
just google Wilmer Flores…there are a few good articles about him written back in July. He’s very young, and is only now playing in single-A brooklyn…but his potential upside sounds very intriguing.
word on the street is he will be our #1 prospect when the new BA rankings are released.
I actually just did Google him and found some really good stuff. Trade FMart and move Wilmer Valdarama to Left!!!
Why would any team give the Mets any reliever of value for Heilman? I don’t care if other teams still think Heilman can start; nobody is going to be desperate to trade for a guy who looked as toasty as he did last year. It makes no sense.
The trade market is a seller’s market and has been for some time. If the Mets want somebody like Jenks or Street, they’re going to have to pay dearly.
Because before this year, Aaron was one of the PREMIER setup men in the NL. He’s only 28 years of age and also throws 96 mph.
Because before this year
And there’s the rub.
I said this 2 weeks ago and someone told me “why dont we just get Rivera and Papelbon too while we’re at it”
This makes complete sense – making a weakness into an undeniable strength. I have felt all along that we are going to trade for one of Street, Putz, or Jenks and use them as a setup man, while signing Krod to be closer and Chad Cordero as a 7th inning guy
I misunderstood the post at first. When I saw the picture of Street and the words ‘closer’ and ‘trade’, I got scared. All is good now. I wouldn’t mind getting K-Rod, Street, and Beimel/Cruz.
It’s a buyers market for closers this year, which is great for the Mets. The only team that can actually afford KROD is the Mets and they are not giving hin 15M per year for 5 years. I really see the Mets getting 2 solid relievers this year via trades/FA signing. KRod will be one of them and hopefully Streets is the other.
You guys do know that this is based on nothing really.. If you reread the post, it’s Matt’s “educated guess” that a trade relolving around Heilman for Street would be possible.. and that “frankly a pen of Street, Hudson, and Cruz/ Bemeil would be great”.. Well DUHHHH!!!
Whether this is possible is an entirely different story. Guess it must be a really slow day.
“From what I can gather, the Mets are likely to make a trade for a relief pitcher, who has experience as a closer, before they move to sign either Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes or Kerry Wood.”
doesnt sound like an opinion to me…sounds like he gathered info based on this and this is what he got
phuk the phills
sorry, i just wanted to say that…it has a calming effect.
Feels really good to say that. I guess Karma has finally gotten back at Philly sports by sentencing them to a lifetime of misery in the NFL and a tie in Cincy. Haha. I’m a Giants fan and was pulling so hard for a tie so all those Philly people would end up basically wasting their Sunday. :-)
I’m a jerk.
how did you like donovan’s explanation that he didn’t know the overtime rules? com’n wtf, you’re a 10 year veteran and you didn’t know there were ties…bs.
it felt really good to be in attendance in foxboro thursday night…obv im a jets fan and we almost blew it…but we didnt and it was awesome being part of their misery.
Oh yea…I never hated the Pats until I was at that Super Bowl last year wearing my Giants jersey. These Pats fans were walking around like that game was their victory parade. So arrogant. I can’t stand that. You don’t play for the team….you shouldn’t be arrogant. The players who won 17 in a row…different story. They needed to lose that game.
Tough one vs. the Titans this week. Good luck.
As far as Donovan, I’m a huge Cuse fan. I know their football program pretty much doesn’t exist anymore, but he was around for their last hoorah. He was the best player I ever watched come through that school (other than Marvin Harrison…but McNabb was better than him in college) and I’m sure he does know better. He has to. That team is a joke right now.
‘CUUUUUUUUUSE!!! I’m from Syracuse. I find the SU fans in the city hilarious.
“…it will be fair to call that an upgrade in the bullpen, to say the least.”
Actually, I’ll call that a fail. As in, epic fail.
The Mets keep trotting out the same solution, i.e., throwing a ton of money around, only to result in abject failure the past three seasons.
Omar Failyaya can get back to me once someone who he has drafted is capable of consistently getting outs when they count out of the bullpen.
As in… never.
So I guess it doesn’t count when you draft someone that gets outs consistently in the rotation, like Pelfrey?
Chad Cordero was a pretty good closer pre-injury.
joe smith?
Joe Smith is weird. I hope this is the season where he puts it together from start to finish. The past two seasons I have gotten so excited about this guy in the first half of the season. Then he starts getting pounded and wears down from over use. I hope he has built up enough arm strength this year where he can put together a full season.
I think he finished off last year pretty well…
Joe Smith?
trade hielman and evans and a lower level prospect for street
sign krod, and beimel
sign lowe and garland
krod
street
beimel L
smith R
schoenweis (Left only) L
parnell R
stokes/ sanchez/feliciano/etc/
johan
pelf
lowe
garland
maine
best pitching in nl right there..we would have a shut down pen in the 7th 8th and 9th with smith/biemel for the 7th, street for 8th and krod for the 9th
except the rotation would look more like:
santana
pelf
lowe
maine
plan a
plan b
plan c
plan d
plan e
plan f
plan g
plan h
garland
plan j
plan k
i would happily have garland as a plan i
Its getting to a point where this is getting ridiculous. Every few days its the same post with the words changed around a little. One day its this guy and One day its that guy. One day its trade one day its FA.
Would they do something already!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Omar, I know you dont get paid by the hour so make your moves already!!!!!!
It is November 18th, not March. There has not been 1 big free agent that has signed yet and they just started negotiating a few days ago.
Our GM has a plan and is not going to overpay because some fans want him to act quickly
We’ll have a closer, we’ll have a good setup man, and we’ll most likely end up trading for a good SP who no one would even think of right now. Its not worth getting worked up about because he knows how bad the pen was and will absolutely improve it
wouldn’t garland be plan g? just saying.
LOlz basicly
i think this may just be to get krod to accept a 4 yr deal…bc id rather have juan cruz as a back up to close than street…i think they should go and sign cruz to a 3 yr 15 mil deal and use that as a backup and leverage when trying to sign k-rod to a cheaper deal
True- I completely believe Cruz could be signed as a closer.
sorry but Juan Cruz and a 3 year deal for 15 million has disaster written all over it.
Relievers are hit or miss and Cruz has not been great for long enough to warrant that much money or years.
If the Mets want to sign a setup-man the mets should look at Dennys Reyes. Only a type B and has better numbers than Cruz in the AL.
You talk about Cruz not being good for long enough, but you want Dennys Reyes?
Pedro will be given the 5th starter position over Garland, Vasquez, Wolf or someone like that.
Personally i would love for the Mets to bring in Lowe and Penny but that might be pushing it so i would rather take a chance on Pedro and if he can’t do it then Niese or someone will be waiting for the call in AAA.
I like what I am reading.
I do think K-Rod will be a Met.
And I think Omar is blowing up the pen and will reconstruct it. He has ties with Cordero so that will get done. The wildcards are the trades– would Colorado take a Heilman and change for Street? I don’t think they will give him away cheap. We could also look for other guys who have had off years (like one of the Indians’ relief guys– Betancourt?). Also, Joe Smith is a specialist, and because he was one of the few successful guys down the stretch he was used for longer spots.
I see the bullpen as:
K-Rod
(trade for setup man)/could also be Stokes or Sanchez?
Cordero
Smith
Parnell
Feliciano
Sanchez/Stokes
We’ll see…
Starting rotation:
Johan Santana
Mike Pelfrey
Derek Lowe
John Maine
John Neise
Relief Corps:
K-Rod
Huston Street
Joe Beimel
Joe Smith
Pedro Feliciano
Duaner Sanchez
Luis Ayala
Oh and By the way Omar, SIGN MANNY RAMIREZ!!!!
that would be a tremendous pitching staff (tops in the MLB thats for sure although i dont know how realistic it is
I also dont see Niese making the team unless he has a completely dominant spring. I expect Pedro to be given a chance at redemption with Niese and co. waiting in AAA.
Also Lowe would be the #2 over Pelfrey and if the Mets want to spend the money on Manny too fine by me as long as it doesnt affect what they spend on pitching and considering how much he’ll cost i dont see it happening.
Id rather take a chance on Cordero and let
Parnell/Sanchez/Kunz/Stokes compete for the last spot instead of signing Ayala. If Cordero doesnt work out, having 2 of those 4 guys isnt terrible at all for the front end of the bullpen
But I do like getting Beimel over Cruz and saying goodbye to Schowenweis for sure
I also think depending on the price that Pedro should be considered for the 5th starters role if you are just going to hand someone the job, but the price has to be very low with incentives, either way you cant just hand the 5th spot to Niese, at the very least I expect a competition from Niese/Parnell/Vargas
will claudio vargas be ready by then?
what about jason vargas? i know he hasn’t exactly stood out in the past but he’s dominating fall ball and if he can stay healthy i think it’s reasonable to think he could compete for the #5 spot
Manny Come home……You belong in new york…….Citi field will be more of a hitters park then shea come home……lol.
yesterday my biggest offseason wish after a bullpen became Carlos Lee, lets go for him, forget Manny
is he worth Niese, F-Mart and change???
he’ll cost the same as Manny
which is why we should sign manny if it’s between the two. however, carlos lee is a beast.
just look at all of the different opinions we all have on this board. i really don’t envy omar right now. well, maybe his paycheck.
all i know is K-Rod is a must sign and Lowe should be had as long as the contract isnt ridiculous and Castillo is a must get rid off.
As long as those 3 are done, and our top prospects are still on the team, i consider the offseason a huge success
i agree 100%
i’m just afraid were gonna get closed out in the starter market like we did in the reliever market last year cuz ias much as i love pedro hes not the answer and as much as i want oliver back i fell its highly unlikely
all i want is dramatic, and i mean dramatic change in the bullpen. i like:
K-Rod
Street
Cruz
Cordero
Parnell
Kunz
Smith
Now, tell me you’re not comfortable handing the ball to the pen in the 6th inning in a 7-7 game on the road in Philly.
if the game is 7-7 in philly we’re in trouble regardless of who is pitching, b/c when that lineup is hot, they are dangerous
very true but if we aquire a reliever that has balls and can intimidate the opposition (see wood,kerry – rod,k) then i’d feel alot more comfortable
of course and K-Rod is a dominant closer but lets no get crazy, Juan Cruz is not Joba Chamberlain.
Cruz as a type A no thanks, there are better guys available
agreed oleo
Speaking of Joba Chamberlain, i have heard many times this fall that Brad Holt is that type of player. He will likely be a semptember callup with a 97MPH heater, a wicked curve and razorblade sliders.
we can only hope metsrule – it would also be a plus if he can withstand a deluge of winnged insects and did’t drink and drive lol
haha
who is a better reliever on the market than Cruz??? I am not including FA closers either. No one
dennys reyes and joe beimel to start
what are you smoking??? look at this year and their career numbers plus Cruz brings the heat compared to the other two. Beimel is no better than Scho and Dennis Reyes is mediocre. Who is a type A and who is not ?? thats right
You’re wasting your team wrightstuff, for some reason a lot of people are in love with Beimel and D. Reyes. don’t ask me why.
Cruz could easily be a team like Texas, Detroit, or Cleveland’s closer next season. Reyes? LOL.
btw what ever happened to the confidence raring are we that pessamistic tha matt took it down?
I think it depressed the crap out of everyone.
lol i guess u r right i’m thinkin about getting a pepsi patrol cannon and launching myself into the side of shea
I agree. I can do without Cruz. Every year there is a new pitcher like him that has a breakout year.
Street on the other hand is a guy that I want.
Really? Compare Street and Cruz’s numbers the past 2 years. Street, I would not mind because he would not cost picks and is cheaper but Cruz is a beast.
I like Street and I’m completly sold on K-Rod, but even without Krod…Fuentes and Street at the end of the game lefty righty both medicore closer, fantastic set-up guy type thing. But never the less, I’d take Krod over both of them.
i don’t think would wanna set up i think u have to either groom kunz for that job or u go after a bemial or cordero
well if you have the trio of cordero street and krod, plus joe smith parnell and kunz, and a duaner sanchez at the top of his game, there is no reason to say that the mets offseason was unsuccesful, of course noting that the mets must get a solid starter
Beimel in, Schoeneweis out
Street in, Heilman and Sanchez out
sign Wood or Fuentez to close
keep Smith, Stokes, and Feliciano.
Feliciano had a bad year, but he has a track record of dominance against lefties. In a properly functioning pen Feliciano and Smith make a great tandem, imo.
7th spot for a long man, maybe Jason Vargas.
i want Cruz way before Street, i dont have any faith in Street at all. Beane wouldnt have given him up for 1 year of Holliday if he was so good. Sign Juan Cruz and get K-Rod and maybe another lesser reliever and get 2 starters or at least one top starter. Anything less and this will be a third straight year of disappointment for the Mets.
i am hearing that it is really just a matter of time now for krod…hes gunna be a met! i hear that he really wants to come to the mets…he will fit in perfectly in NY…the phillies will hate him after every save he gets cuz of his celebrations..its great!!!!!
are you omar’s sister?
who is telling you such sensitive info with millions of $$$ involved? are you hoping or is there a source?
1. Sign Francisco Rodriguez to a 4 year contract worth $52 million at most, or sign Brian Fuentes to a 3 year contract worth $39 million at most
2. Sign Juan Rivera to 2 year contract
3. Sign Derek Lowe to 4 year contract worth $48 million at most or sign Randy Johnson to 1 year contract
4. Trade away Eddie Kunz, Aaron Heilman, Nick Evans and a low-level prospect like Michael Antonini or Michael Olmsted for Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson
5. Trade away Brant Rustich, Nick Carr and the one of Michael Olmsted or Michael Antonini for Nate Robertson
6. Give Luis Castillo to the Pirates and see what you get!
Explanations:
1. K-rod’s price will end up exponentially lower than he asked. The Angels and Tigers are out of the bidding war, so the team with the most coin for him is the Mets. As for Fuentes, it’s pretty much the same deal. Fuentes will get more money than he deserves because he’s a Type B, but I doubt he’ll get a 4 year deal.
2. Rivera has power from the right hand side and typically hits righties and lefties equally. Should be a good starter and it should be easy to transition F-mart with Rivera in left.
3. In a market like this, Lowe is worth the 4 year contract he’s asking for, but if the Yankees open up their wallets the Mets should close theirs and get Johnson, who isn’t a bad 1-year investment. If he fails, we bring up Niese and possibly move Johnson to the bullpen.
4. It never hurts to have more starting pitching, and both sides are dealing from strengths: the Mets have a bunch of young righty relievers, and the Rays have a huge surplus of starting pitching with no closer.
5. It may be overspending but Robertson may help in the bullpen or rotation, and the Tigers need some young bullpen arms.
6. The Pirates would be glad to have an actual 2B.
i agree with everything except for juan rivera, and i think they should go after ibanez for 2 years. you provided a solid rotatino, but no suggestoins on how to fix the bullpen besides the closer spot.
I basically want a pitching staff with rotation of Santana, Pelfrey, Maine, Lowe and Niese OR one with Santana, Pelfrey, Sonnanstine/Jackson and Johnson
and a bullpen with:
Rodriguez/Fuentes
Parnell
Sanchez
Smith
Feliciano
Robertson
Jackson/Stokes
either scenario includes a trade with the Rays
1. The deal you proposed for Francisco Rodriguez is something he’ll likely get. They’ll work there way up eventually. He knows there aren’t many other teams out there. You may see a team option with some sort of buyout in there though. I don’t think Fuentes is worth that total. K-Rod at one more year for the same salary is unlikely being that he had more than double the amount of saves of him last season.
2. We don’t need Juan Rivera. He gets hurt too much. That’s the exact thing we need to stay away from. Where would Daniel Murphy play? If Rivera’s the LF, they wouldn’t trade Delgado because they’d need his offensive production. If it were Raul Ibanez in LF though, than there may be a spot for Murphy at 1B. The Mets are clogged with too many potential LF’s who can provide mediocrity.
3. Derek Lowe makes all the sense in the world. There’s lots of teams out there. I just don’t think the Mets are his number one option. The Red Sox probably are. If the Mets want him, it’ll cost more than that. That’s why he’s unlikely to end up a Met. The Mets will get a Type A back for Perez if he doesn’t re-sign. That’ll match what ever the Mets lose by signing K-Rod or Fuentes. The Mets should hold this into consideration and look to trade for Javier Vazquez. Getting the White Sox to take Castillo probably won’t happen. Instead, a swap with Schoenweis is more likely. It’ll give them an okay reliever and make it only seem like there’s 19 or 20 million for the next 2 years on Vazquez which is worth it.
4. I don’t think the Rays would go for that trade. They may ask for Martinez, Murphy or Church as they’ve lost Baldelli. That probably wouldn’t be enough to get Sonnastine. They may be able to get Jackson if Parnell were in the trade though.
5. Why would we want Nate Robertson at that salary with his ERA?
6. Luis Castillo isn’t going to the Pirates unless the Mets pay like 90% of his salary. Freddie Sanchez will keep playing 2B there anyway.
On Rivera: He’ll give us 300+ ABs of really good pop. Tatis and Chavez can get some time in the outfield as well.
Murphy would play 2B, and if Rivera gets injured, Castillo will fill in a little at second while Murphy goes to left
On Lowe: We’re probably not getting him, so we’ll just sign Johnson. No biggie
On Rays trade: They trade one of their million starters (arguably one of their worst) and they get two high potential relievers and a solid OF. They have no closer, you know
No one’s going to take Castillo. What was I thinking.
If the mets deal anyone decent for Street idk if i can watch this team anymore….hes one of hte most overrated closers in baseball
if he comes here, he wont be the closer, he would be a very good set up man.
who do you think is decent? I mean, i can almost guarantee F-Mart and Niese wont be included. I say let Rockies choose from players like:
Heilman
Parnell
Kunz
Evans
Carp
If you wouldn’t give the Rockies three of those your clueless, Street is still young (25) and has proven more at the Major league level then Parnell and Kunz and proven at the minor league level. I say..
Give Heilman
Parnell or Kunz ( preferably Kunz)
and Evans
Parnell is worth keeping, considering his trade value can’t be much
agreed…Parnell is someone we need to keep for our pen. he throws 97 and has looked very impressive..anyone else can be traded
This would be the smart route to go. Trading for a legit closer like Jenks, Valverde or Soria just isn’t going to happen. Street isn’t a guy you’d like to concretely call your closer. However, he’d make a pretty damn good set up pitcher. Parnell has some trade value, but it can be more in the future. He probably has slightly higher value than Kunz because he’s a starting pitcher who has the ability to come out of the bullpen too. One of those pitcher’s plus Aaron Heilman should get the deal done. The Mets need to learn from their mistakes. Trading away potential set up men can be equally as costly as starting pitchers. A couple of names include Heath Bell & Matt Lindstrom. Two guy’s who may be closers next season. So in a way I’m more interested in holding onto Kunz. They’ll sign a SP or two and have Niese in the wings so it’s not like there’s room in the rotation for Parnell.
Regardless of whether it be Kunz or Parnell in a trade or not, both of these pitchers aren’t likely to spend too much time on a big league roster next season. Niese can’t be in this trade. And Heilman should be. They shouldn’t at least. Kunz especially. Something worth considering is that Street will kind of be an expensive set-up man (he’s in arbitration the next 2 seasons). He’s young though. There are also talks that the Cardinals are looking for left-handed relieving. They may want Feliciano in a trade who’s had better seasons in the past. Maybe they can try to pull out some mid level guys and use them elsewhere.
Stokes or Parnell – Long Man
*Feliciano
*Heilman
*Schoenweis
*Sanchez
Smith – Middle Reliever
One of Beimel/D.Reyes/Ohman/Rhodes
Street – Set up
K-Rod – Closer
Signing K-Rod or another closer has to get done. Trading for Street would be good. Stokes or Parnell can cover the long man role. Smith should be back too. It’s the other 4 relievers for 3 roles that gotta go. I understand not all of them will. Maybe 2 are back? I’ll settle for Feliciano and Sanchez. Than you sign another reliever. I think all of this can get done if Omar doesn’t get lazy.
Heilman would probably be the one to go to Colorado out of that bunch. It seems that Colorado would make him a starter. (Hey Aaron, be careful for what you ask for. Soon you may be a starting pitcher …. but pitching in Coor’s Field!!!) But unless Sanchez makes a miraculous comeback, he looks shot to me. And who amongst us trust Schoenewies and Feliciano?
I wouldn’t mind Heilman being the one who goes out there. He was the one who performed the worst of the three and the Mets are unwilling to utilize him as a starter even while they’re in need of a 5 SP and they could save money. I can understand though. I don’t really trust him anymore. Colorado wouldn’t want to pay Schoenweis’ salary and wouldn’t have much value for a barely mediocre middle reliever in Feliciano. Heilman’s ERA would be high in Coors, but lots of pitchers are. If he’s given the chance, he’ll do better than here. I can see him turning into an alright SP for like 2 or 3 years and pitching his way out of the big leagues.
Don’t expect Sanchez to make a miraculous comeback. A reasonable expectation would be to see him as a slightly above average right-handed middle reliever. He’s a free agent at the end of next season so his value isn’t all that high. So he’s more worth holding onto than Heilman. Mets fans tend to remember the good more than Duaner anyway. Mets fans will never forgive Heilman for the Yadier Molina home run no matter how hard they try.
all i have to say is we should trade heilman and evans as a package for someone decent in the bullpen, as i dont think either of them can contribute weel at a major league level
I don’t think Heilman can contribute for the Mets no longer either. He’s too mentally shot here. He’d probably have more value and production as a starter. On the same end though the wonder of his starting pitching potential is what makes him a trade commodity. If he were given the chance and performed miserably as a Met, he’d have no value at all. As for Evans, I don’t see him ever being more than a platoon player here with Murphy and F-Mart in the wings. Plus a probable free agent acqusition at 2B or LF.
Man lets make changes the smart way not the yankee way. 80 mil for burnett wow…..does carl pavano ring bells
yes it does lol I hope they do it and he blows it his arm… Serves the Yankees right. When you spend recklessly you get stuck into believing Jason Giambi’s mustache is good luck
hey hopefully this can be another jamie wright or nrit burns lol
*brit burns see 87 yankees
Talk, talk, talk…I want to see some action….
politics aside: olbermann made mike francesa one of the worst persons in the world a couple of weeks ago. just came across it:
youtube.com/watch?v=yNZrbg0f7_8
yeah i love olberman – kinda reminds me of edward r murrow – yeah i know he’s arrogant and biased but hey so is limbaugh and hannity plus he admits when he’s wrong
btw I HATE THE HOTSTOVE SEASON !!!