Yesterday, the Mets said Jose Reyes now has a torn right hamstring, which occurred while running the bases in New York earlier in the week, in addition to the torn tendon behind his right knee.
In a report for Newsday, David Lennon writes, “The Mets did not specify the severity, but even a partial tear can take eight to 10 weeks to heal, while a complete tear may require three to six months.”
So, let me get this straight, in addition to 
needing a left fielder, a power bat, a catcher, and a legit, number-two pitcher, plus new bench players, Omar Minaya now may need to find a starting shortstop and a leadoff hitter?
By the way, in case you forgot, David Wright hit just 10 home runs this season, Johan Santana is recovering from elbow surgery, and Francisco Rodriguez, who continues to strike out less and walk more hitters, has a 6.84 ERA in his last 28 appearances. “And we haven’t even gotten to Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo and Jeff Francoeur yet,” as Joel Sherman said in the New York Post.
What’s worse, while Jon Niese and Fernando Martinez are on the disabled list recovering from season-ending surgery, Braves RHP Tommy Hanson, Marlins OF Chris Coghlan and Phillies LHP JA Happ could wind up 1-2-3 in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, as Sherman points out.
It’s not that I am pessimistic, because baseball is a funny business, and crazy things tend to happen and work out in ways no people ever expect, it’s just, sitting here, realizing the above realities, I have zero idea how Minaya is going to fix this mess for next season, and whether he is even capable of doing so – especially if reports are true that say he will be charged with cutting payroll.
Jerry Manuel, Minaya and his staff, and ownership, will reportedly be meeting today to discuss what needs to be done for next season.
There is an opportunity here to do big things, make major changes and re-imagine and re-build the Mets in a way fans can be excited about again.
The thing is, I do not believe anyone in that room is willing to be so bold… but, at this point, can they afford not to be bold.
{ 38 comments }
at least the Jets are looking up.
Last week, I’d bet many didn’t think things could get worse, but somehow, someway, we were proved wrong again.
Outside or Johan Santana & David Wright, no one should be safe.
I’d add Beltran, but other then that I agree.
5 years, 80 million dollars, 1 playoff appearance. priceless? hardly.
The 18.5 million in salary (towards FA) and players obtained in a trade would go far in filling 3-4 holes.
Replacing Beltran might help fill a hole, but it creates another. Who’s playing CF for us? You really want to see more of Pagan as a starter? You aren’t going to get Beltran’s level of production in CF so at best you’re just switching where the hole is. Not to mention Beltran’s value is low at the moment, so what do you expect to get for him other than the salary dump?
If we’re going to make next year a rebuilding season then yes dump salary and snatch up some prospects. If we want to be competitive, then Beltran better be starting in CF.
If you’re judging players by playoff appearances, then everyone on this team is on the same playing field (although you could argue that Beltran and Santana are worth more, since they’ve been in the playoffs more than once, albeit for different teams). But it doesn’t make sense to trade away high-priced players while they’re still good simply because they’re making a lot of money.
Good luck trading Beltran and A.) getting value for him, and B.) getting him to waive his FULL NO-TRADE CLAUSE (remember that?)
Hi Matt! So glad to see you finally joined us in the land of Mets pessimism. I’ve been here since July, and it’s really not a bad place once you get used to it.
We are all in agreement that we need a power bat.
The immediate talk has been that it must go either at first base or LF.
There are problems with either option in that where ever that player goes … what do you do with FMart or DMurph.
Now for 2010 this may not be a big deal with respect to FMART because truthfully he looked over matched. And I believe at least another year down in the minors is needed so he can dominate there first. That being said, how many years does FMART need (just 1)? How many years will it take to bring in a dominant power bat in RF (at least 3 years at top dollar)? If so, wont that block FMART? Beltran has two more years on his contract. Unless Beltran shows decline, do you think they will not resign him for three more years (afterall I think the Mets are hungry for HOF players in Mets uniforms and Beltran should fit the bill). If you assume above, then the only opening is RF, where F-Core currently resides. He has been praised by many as the type of player and attitude that Mets fans love. However he has been a free swinger his entire career. Again, he is young and has power, the type of player the Mets want. Maybe this is not a question the Mets need to answer now, however if it is true that F-Core is looking for a three year contract, then perhaps it is! Of course, FMART could be platooned. And if both FMART and F-Core excel then one could be seen as a prime trading chip for other needs. However, the above was meant to highlight that FMART could be blocked.
If the power bat come in the form of a first baseman what do you do with DMurph. First, who is out there that has such a power bat AND can play a solid defense. I wont harp on the fact that Texeireira should have been acquired because he fills the perfect bill. Lets move on to who currently is available. You have Delgado who perhaps could be signed to an incentive laden contract to prove his health. Although, I think an AL team would be willing to out bid the Mets to use Delgado in a DH role (could you imagine Delgado in the Yankees?). Again, as above, the perfect fit means a long term contract. And such a contract makes DMurph a player without a position. He can not play OF and first base may be blocked. He has never played 2B, which is the one place that could be open, but I do not believe he has the range for that position. What is the market for DMurph, is his value low or about right? I dont think the Mets will get a lot for him right now because I think he presents the same problem on any team. Until he proves he can rake with the bat, he will not see time as a prime starter at first base on any team. At best, he becomes a PH. Perhaps a team with plenty of power elsewhere can play a DMurph at first base. The Mets are currently not that team.
So what I am trying to say, I agree with Agree, no one can be safe. The Mets do not have the luxury to field par players.
I am sure 2009 was far from Freddie’s mind when he opened his new ball field. The economy was bad enough, but the team performance was unexpected i am sure. Freddie must spend money to make money, meaning he must spend money to bring fans back. That means at a minimum no reduction in pay roll as has been rumored. If that does occur, I just do not see how fans will want to return. The players have to come from somewhere. Mets are not in a vulnerable position, meaning other teams will take advantage in trades. The Mets do not have chips on the farm to get it done. Mets will have to spend money to make change that is required.
And as suggested above, a lot of familiar face from this year will be gone next year. And some of those faces may include fan favorites.
Francouer isn’t a FA until 2011, so there is not rush to sign him long term and block FMart . So go ahead and sign a player to a multiyear deal in the OF.
DMurph? He isn’t good enough to alter your plans for. if you have a spot for him, fine, if not try to trade him.
I think Metsicles was citing the reports (last week?) that we may sign Fancouer to an extension. I don’t think he was proposing that we do so, since as you say he’s not a FA for a couple seasons.
“(afterall I think the Mets are hungry for HOF players in Mets uniforms and Beltran should fit the bill). ”
Wow, you think Beltran is a HOFer? I sure don’t. Granted he has several years left but right now his career totals really aren’t that impressive…. .283 batting average, 273 homers, 1035 rbi, 286 steals, 1084 runs, 1704 hits. I don’t think any of those numbers are HOF worthy.
Hopefully he has a couple more dominant years with the Mets and boosts those stats a bit.
While this injury throws everything into question, if Beltran aged gracefully, along the general statistical curve he’s been riding, he absolutely would’ve compared favorably with other HOF CFers. Heck, he compares favorably to some right now! I really, really hope that bone bruise doesn’t force him to become a part time CF/DH guy.
I think you might be getting a little bit ahead of youself.
Don’t worry about blocking a prospect that isn’t even ready. It’s not like they have the next Longoria coming off a monster AAA season, are are going to sign a stiff to play his position.
for 1 thing, F Core should not get more than his 1 year arb deal. So no problem getting rid of him.
Martinez should get at least a full AAA season in to mature, and stay healthy. If he does, and kicks butt, then they can make room for him in 2011.
Beltran should, IMO, not be extended, certainly not before his deal runs out.
So, if they can find a good LF, do it, and worry about F Mart later.
Actually, having too many good players at a position is a plus, not a minus. You can always trade the excess.
and don’t worry about Murphy. If they can upgrade there, do it, and make him a bench guy, or trade bait.
Not to start an argument, but Longoria like many top prospects never dominated AAA. but .299 with 29 HR’s in 136 games or .307 with 21 HR in 105 games.
Both are very good seasons. Neither are dominating. FMart had a very good year going before his callup and before his injury .290 with 8 HR in 43 games. if he had the same number of AB’s as Longoria he’d be at 24 HR.
Now Ryan Braun DOMINATED AAA. .342 with 10 HR in 34 games.
Also remember those guys were 22, and 23 and 1st round picks when they got there. Not just turning 20, so they had a lot more baseball under their belts.
FMart was a little over matched in the bigs. Another season in the minors is necessary. But he showed in AAA that he can play. Its a matter of his health that would be of a big concern.
Hey look, Cerrone said something realistic!
Pagan is birdbrain, plain and simple. Somebody should force him to watch the Gil Hodges stuff and ask him what Gil would do with him.
Raise your hand, anyone, if you really thought Reyes was going to avoid surgery. Anyone? No? Good. Here’s what it sounds like happened: the initial injury was diagnosed, and the thought was they might be able to treat it with rehab… I would assume the Mets preference was to avoid surgery, and it sounds like Jose wanted to avoid surgery at all possible costs, so they continued to attempt non-surgical rehab (and let’s not go crazy and suggest the FO ignored doctor’s orders to do so; of course they didn’t) and in those attempts, we now have an injury that is going to demand surgery…. which the longer the rehab took, the longer it seemed things were going to end up this way.
If it can go wrong, it will. That’s the only thing you can say here. How much bad luck can befall one organization?
You hope it was for the right reasons, i.e. that he could heal himself and return for the end of the season, and not for the wrong reason, i.e. surgery in July would signal a definite white flag for the season, which would have resulted in even a greater fall off of ticket sales for the Mets.
I disagree with the idea that they did it to sell more tickets because, well, why let Santana have season-ending surgery? Why let Delgado have the surgery? And Putz? If that was truly their motivation… everything I gleaned from Reyes’ quotes in particular was that he personally wanted to avoid going under the knife as much as he could (can’t say I blame him), and the Mets can’t force him to do it. I think as long as any doctor said there was a chance he could get back via rehab, Jose was going to pursue that option. Now, surgery seems inevitable… but I’m sure he still doesn’t want to do it.
I think it’s that simple. The guy really wanted to play… but he also really didn’t want to have surgery. I think it’s more likely the Mets have been protecting Jose (instead of saying, “the player is opting to attempt non-surgical rehab rather than the surgical option”, which would open Reyes up to massive fan/media criticism, the Mets have simply said, “we’re still exploring all of our options.”) It feels to me like the Mets are taking the hit for Reyes here a little bit… although, again, nobody WANTS surgery. And I have trouble faulting Jose for choosing to try rehab first.
That having been said…. assuming healthy stars (big assumption) here’s some thought on what the Mets should do for next year:
1.) Don’t let Omar Minaya speak in public anymore. The man can’t string two sentences together. This is not because he is Latino. There are plenty of well-spoken Latinos (see: Carlos Delgado). He just simply can not speak. It’s humiliating to listen to his press conferences. I could give a better press conference on behalf of the Mets.
2.) Make no trades that involve giving up prospects. I don’t care who the prospects are, if it’s some 30 year old single A pinch hitter, don’t trade him. The Mets system is devoid of talent. No more trading away 3 or 4 players for 1 mediocre would-be “star”. At least not this offseason.
3.) Sign a big-time left-fielder. The two names that spring to mind are Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, or if their club options are declined (big if), Carl Crawford or Jermaine Dye. My offseason plan for the Mets includes this as their one big free-agent expenditure, and since they went all of 2009 without anyone to play LF, it seems fairly obvious to me that they should go ahead and get themselves a LF. They may have to overpay a little bit to get a slugger to come play at Citi Field, but then that’s what they do. They need legit offensive production, and that’s the position they have the best opening at. Now, you may say, “wait, their best prospect is a LF, Fernando Martinez”. Well, until F-Mart (and do guys who have proven nothing really deserve the A-Rodding of their name?)… until he proves that he can stay healthy at double A, I certainly don’t trust him to be anything in the bigs.
4.) Don’t sign a free-agent first-baseman. You keep Daniel Murphy at 1B, which I know a lot of Met fans holler and scream about as he did not have a great year. Well, he started very nicely, his defense in LF was horrible, he sat for about a month, he moved to 1B, he’s been a decent defender there, and his production in August and September has been very good. Remember, this is a guy who never played in triple A ball; he jumped straight from double A to the majors. There were bound to be growing pains. Besides, he’s incredibly cost effective and will likely give you similar production to the very lackluster list of free agent 1B out there. In fact, the only FA 1B I’d even consider signing… is Carlos Delgado (in a cheap, incentive-laden deal, of course.) Also, the one bright spot in the Mets farm system seems to be heavy-hitting 1B Ike Davis. Why sign a mediocre guy for millions of dollars when the only power-hitting prospect you have plays the same position? Besides, if Murphy proves to be part of the winning formula, you trade Davis. Or if Murphy fails (again), then you promote Davis, and move Murphy into a utility role. Or you could sign Delgado to a 1-year incentive deal. But no more than that.
5.) Don’t sign John Lackey. It’s tempting, I know. But consider this: Lackey is the only FA pitcher in this 2010 class that’s anything close to a number 1/number 2 starter, unless you’re counting Rich Harden (injury risk, coming off of a bad year), or Ben Sheets (hurt more than he plays.) The Mets don’t want either of those two guys, and Lackey was hurt himself this past year, AND because he’s the only legit #1/#2 guy out there for the spending, the market will likely blow up on him. Consider, though, the list of potential SP FA for NEXT year: Josh Beckett, Jon Garland, Roy Halladay, Tim Hudson, Cliff Lee, Javier Vazquez, Brandon Webb. Odds are not all of them hit FA, but some of them do. Save your money for that group… and if the team is contending in mid-2010, then you can probably even trade for a member of that group.
6.) Sign Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and/or Joel Pineiro. Let’s not be naive: the Mets need more pitching. Odds are one of these three can be had at a reasonable market value. You don’t let them price themselves as #1/#2 pitchers, and if they do, you walk away. No point making the Oliver Perez mistake again. Getting one of these guys at market value is smart baseball. Maybe you don’t get yourself that second stud in the rotation until the 2011 season, but then maybe it’s time for the Mets to shed that “win now” mentality and start thinking long-term. (Marquis would be my choice of these three; he’s a workhorse.)
7.) Don’t sign a veteran catcher to more than a 1-year deal. Why not? Because Josh Thole will probably be ready for full-time duties by 2011. Either way, if he’s the future at the position, he needs to be on the big-league roster next year… although I suppose some would argue he’d be better off getting triple A at-bats in 2010. Look, if the Mets went into 2010 with a platoon at catcher of Thole and Omir Santos, I’d be okay with that. Not every catcher is Piazza, and if you have a catcher who calls a good game, blocks the plate, and hits around .300, you’re in good shape. Bengie Molina at 1 year? Okay. But that’s it. (Or if for some reason the Red Sox decline to bring back Victor Martinez… which they won’t.)
8.) Keep Luis Castillo. Look, the contract is still terrible, and that’s one of the reasons you keep him: nobody will take the contract. Truth is, he’s had a very solid year this year. If you trade him, you’re either eating the whole contract or you’re taking back somebody else’s terrible contract. Probably both. At this point trading him is probably more trouble than it’s worth, and besides… the dropped pop-up aside, he’s had a good year. (And Orlando Hudson, every Met fan’s favorite “second basemen we shoulda had”, has been terrible in the 2nd half to the point where he’s almost lost his job.)
9.) Sign Jeff Francouer to an extension. Why? ‘Cause if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Mets have enough to worry about without creating a problem that doesn’t exist in RF, so just offer Frenchy a contract and move on with the offseason. If he gets greedy, forget it, but be fair. Personally, I like him a lot, he’s young, got a bunch of potential, and he’s been the team’s best RBI guy since he got here.
10.) Fill bench/bullpen spots with young/inexpensive players. Why pay a veteran 1 or 2 million dollars when a young guy costs a quarter of the price for almost the same production? One of the most overrated “intangibles” in baseball is “veteran leadership”. You should pay millions of dollars because a guy has been around for a long, long, long, long time. Julio Franco’s experience and Alex Cora’s wisdom are not worth the lack of production they bring at 2 million dollars a pop.
11.) Keep Omar and Jerry. Jerry’s a lame-duck anyway. If 2010 is another dud, he’s gone no matter what. Omar? Well, I’m not going to tell the Wilpons to eat 4 million dollars they haven’t eaten started paying yet. I wouldn’t if I were them. Besides, let’s be fair: this year was a bust, and somebody else has to speak for the organization because Omar can’t give press conferences, but he has had the team competitive every year he’s been here. Nobody was complaining about the farm system when the entire roster of regulars weren’t getting hurt or when he traded for Johan Santana. He should be on notice, absolutely, but I’d give him another chance to fix this Mess.
12.) In light of recent news… get a legit back-up shortstop, and be willing to pay for it. Marco Scutaro, Felipe Lopez, and Jerry Hairston Jr. are all free agents and can play both SS and 2B.
Just some thoughts.
Race …
great post. I agree with almost everything you said.
You need your own blog!
Actually, I have one… but it’s not a Mets blog. This post appeared there first, thought.
http://ploopet.blogspot.com/
this is obviously not the forum, but i like your public school post…
though it took two hours to read, I agree with almost everything you say here. Don’t give Jeff a contract though. Year by year in arbitration is the most the Mets should do with him.
2 hours?! But I only wrote it 50 minutes ago! Do you have a time machine?! That’s AWESOME!
Eh, what can I say? I’m thorough to a fault.
I’ll admit that I’d like to wrap Frenchy up long-term, but you don’t have to… you can do arbitration year-to-year. But I really like the idea that the Francouer trade was one of the worst trades in Atlanta Brave history, and I want to see the Mets benefit from that for years to come.
And it will go down as that, one of the worst trades in Braves history. Write that down now; you heard it here first.
I thought he meant Jeff Wilpon…lol…and I liked it.
I did too, at first, but I think Jeff Wilpon will be here, arbitration eligible or not.
IF ONLY Jeff Wilpon was on a terminable contract!
well, I disagree about JF (and doubt that it’ll cause too much regret in ATL), but I appreciate your optimism.
And yes, I have a time machine. No, you can’t use it.
I agree with every single point. Sadly as easy as your post reads, the Mets will over complicate things and completely screw the pooch this offseason. Im very scared looking forward to this winter.
I know. It’s like watching a horror movie, with one hand over your face. Three words describing our upcoming off-season, Mets fans: duck-and-cover.
I agree with a lot of your points, but Murphy has been sub-par both offensively and defensively at 1B. Don’t be fooled by a few hi-lite reel plays He has trouble with the routine plays and is not good at picking out poor throws. Maybe he improves off of this year, but I am not so sure.
I would get rid of Castillo if you can. I have spent a lot of time defending him the last two years, but I am sick and tired of his piss poor defense and lack of range. They need to sign Orlando Hudson.
I’m not a Murphy lover (I was and I have the green 28 t-shirt to prove it), but I say keep him because A.) if he sucks, you have Ike Davis potentially in a year, B.) the Mets are in position to trade for A-Gone or another big-time 1B unless they can still him, and C.) the 1B FA list is terrible. Look:
First basemen
Rich Aurilia (38)
Hank Blalock (29)
Russell Branyan (34)
Miguel Cairo (36)
Frank Catalanotto (36)
Tony Clark (38)
Carlos Delgado (38)
Nomar Garciaparra (36)
Ross Gload (34) – $2.6MM club option
Eric Hinske (32)
Nick Johnson (31)
Adam LaRoche (30)
Doug Mientkiewicz (36)
Kevin Millar (38)
Chad Tracy (30) – $7MM option with a $1MM buyout
Daryle Ward (35)
Dmitri Young (36)
That should have read, “B.) The Mets AREN’T in a position to trade for A-Gone or another big-time 1B unless they can STEAL him.”
That’s what I get for typing while I eat lunch.
how can murphy be sub-par offensively?
he leads the mets in hrs!
Scary thing is he equal or exceeds DWright in many categories. Granted this is a down year for David, but still.
Please don’t get rid of Murphy. He is one of the young faces on the Mets who seems to work very hard, and has upside potential. No he has not been stelar on deffense, but remember he was a third baseman up until he hit the majors.
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