Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors looks at 14 left fielders who could be traded this off season, from Rays OF Carl Crawford and Astros OF Carlos Lee to O’s OF Luke Scott and Rockies OF Matt Murton.
Lee, who will earn $57 million during the next three seasons, has hit at least .300 with at least 26 home runs and 102 RBI in each of his last three seasons with the Astros.
…but, he’s slowing down, it seems… he’s a tree stump in left field, and his power seems to be in decline… he has DH written all over him, and the Mets need to value at least some defense in left field…
…i still think the Mets will first make a push for Matt Holliday… but, given the market, it would not shock me to see them change course, sign a starting pitcher and, instead, trade for a left fielder… at which point, the above list becomes a lot more important…
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It’s all coming together . . .
Matt, Carlos Lee is 55.5 mil over the next three seasons, not five.
Calros Lee should play first. He’s fat and slow. I would take him at 1B. Then sign Holliday. Lets say Holliday would get the 18.5 per Lee gets, we would add 37 mil and consider the power dept done. Now too pitching . . . .
Anyway
I’m dying for the Mets to make a move, get this disaster of a WS over and lets get going.
Carl Crawford is really only the reasonable name on that list, and even that is a second choice because we need the power…
If the Mets trade for Crawford for LF then they’ll need to add a power bat either at 1B or in RF. Otherwise you still have one of the worst offensive teams in the game.
Crawford’s option might not be picked up by the Rays who look to shed his remaining. That’s probably why reports say the Mets are monitoring to see if he becomes a free agent. Even if he doesn’t… Johnny Damon could be a nice pick up for the Mets for lf and an insurance policy for cf if Beltran’s knees have another stint on the DL.
Crawford is a great player but he is a terrible fit. #1 we would have to trade for him thus diminishing our shallow farm system. Then as a result we’d need power from 1st base which would require yet another trade to basically wipe out whats left of our farm. Sign Holliday, Sign Lackey, Sign Harden/Wolf/Marquis. SAVE THE PROSPECTS.
either we take a hit now, or we take a hit later. we’re losing organizational depth no matter how we play this offseason.
not true…Ideally, we sign Holliday and Lackey. Two of our biggest needs solved through only money.
Not realistically, you’re probably right.
now**
are we not going to have to give up picks if we make both of those signings? that’s going to hurt organizational depth in the future. and may set us up for the same type of problems a few years down the road.
yeah, but I wont lose any sleep if we lose a 2nd round pick and then 3rd round pick if its for Lackey and Holliday
(Our 1rst rounder is protected)
Crawford is not great. He’s good. Maybe very good, but with a mediocre OBA, he’s not great.
Trading for Crawford makes perfect sense. It takes care of our gap in LF with a young productive OF. I would make a strong push to add Adrian Gonzalez if the Mets acquired Crawford, to balance out the lack of power. Yes, the two moves could demolish our farm system… but we are a wealthy team and are close enough now to go for it. We can quickly fix our farm system by drafting like the Red Sox do and paying overslot for our prospects. The Sox generally get about 3-4 players a draft with 1st round talent because of their willingness to pay up… it’s time we did this too.
while I agree we should seriously pursue Adrian…one years draft class doesn’t replace the most likely high level minor league talent traded away. There’s a few years gap there.
I say this because, this past season our team suffered BIG time with a depleted upper-level farm system. We had no talent to fill in during injuries. Fmart had a great chance, ditto Niese, but they got hurt, cant fault them there. but the fact we had to trade for Wilson Valdez to be our starting SS shows how bad our high-level teams were last season.
Our farm system will be better next year, unless we trade the farm for Adrain and Crawford. What worries me there is what hurt us this season…no immediate depth.
The way the Red Sox restocked their farm system was by letting Type A FA’s walk (Pedro, Damon, Lowe & Orlando Cabrera).
The Mets need to get better all-around talent, and avoid the mistake of getting (or rejecting) certain guys based on 1 component of their game.
Getting a all or nothing “power” guy that can’t play the field would be very short sighted.
Frankly, the biggest source of increased “power” (shich should really say HRs, since that’s what everyone seems to be talking about, with 2B/3B not counting as “power”) is the current team.
DW almost has to hit more dingers next year. Beltran, if helathy all year, will hit more than his replacements did. Reyes, same thing. Murphy (if stil lthe 1B) will likely hit a few more as he develops.
If they replace shneider with someone like Molina or Barajas that could be good for 10-15, that is another increase.
Heck, a full year of Frenchy, and close to normal production by beltran and DW, that alone will at least put the Mets mid-pack, up there with teams like the Dodgers.
new LF (guy or platoon) that can combine for 25ish will likely push the Mets into the top 3rd at least of the league.
Adam Dunn is an all or nothing type of guy who is awful in the field. He is the type of player you need to avoid. However that still doesn’t mean the Mets should avoid all power hitters. As long as the guy isn’t a liability in the field I don’t think that player not being a gold glove type of player should have the Mets avoiding power hitters.
i once said the same arguments again Adam Dunn. then i saw him hit a home run over the CitiField bridge in center. when you’re as power hungry as the Mets, Adam Dunn is just the kind of player you need.
But it comes with a price that hurts the team defense. I could understand the argument if Dunn was an average defensive player. But he might be the worst everyday defensive player in the National League. If the Mets were in the AL with the DH I would agree with you.
everyone said Raul Ibanez would kill the phillies this year. his offense more than made up for any defensive shortcomings. that’s the price you have to pay to win. we’ll lose a lot of time if we’re looking for guys who have plus all around games.
Ibanez is a gold glover compared to Dunn. The Mets were one of the worst defensive teams in baseball in 2009. Adding another butcher is the last thing this team needs.
And again I am not even looking for a guy with plus all around game. Even a guy with average defensive game would do. But arguably the worst defensive player in the NL is not something I would look to add to this team.
If we look at the NL East …Atl, Phl, Fla and eventually Wash will have good/solid 3 deep starters. We already know this and must react .
Omar has FMart, Murphy, Ike Davis and the 1B we got for Wagner. Davis and FMart play OF…Davis, Murphy and the Bosox play 1B. He has Pagan in the mix as well and likely decent non-tender OF’s to look at.
IMO Beltan,Wright, Frenchy, Murphy, will hit enough HR’s and doubles to prosper at Citi if the starters are good/solid. If I’m Omar and my job is on the line, I’m spending on pitching.
I will overpay for Lackey, overpay for Harden and figure one of Ollie/ Nieve can cover when Harden hits the DL.. Johan, Lackey, Harden, Pelf and Neise/Maine are in the rotation. The Mets have gap power and speed which makes sense at City with good pitching. I’m not blocking FMart, Ike, etc by going after pitching and I’m saving the farm for future considerations.
We still should have Holliday or Bay our main top men to get then Lackey and Harden then a catcher then a 2nd basemen in that order.
Personally I think a smart team allows the market to shape their direction to some degree.
We know that we have major needs at LF, SP and 1B.
I don’t view this as a strong class for starting pitchers. So why would I overpay for Lackey? Instead I would reserve those funds for 2011 (the end of next season) when Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett and Roy Holloday are free agents.
Instead I would focus on the OF this season as Matt Holliday and Jason Bay are both head-and-shoulders better than the options for 2011.
Realistically the Mets are only getting one top guy, if that many…so you may as well pick wisely.
As for 1B, well its not good news as both offseasons look bad for that position. The Mets might really want to consider Carlos Delgado for 1 year, though I wouldn’t count on it.
Agreed..in some situations the market should dictate the move….however Omar can’t wait for better starters next year. He will be fired if they don’t make the playoff’s next year.
The Mets insist that with Citi’s size, they should be a speed, doubles, defense oriented team….. then let their park dictate their market.. Lackey is a solid 2, Harden a 1 when healthy, and Pelf a solid 3. Most agree pitching wins in the end… If I’m Omar I’m not trusting Ollie, Maine, etc again to save my job.
I could go with Lackey and Harden next year and Holliday or BAy in LF
ENOUGH!!! If I hear one more thing about speed and defense being what we should look for, I might jump off the Whitestone Bridge. I mean seriously, did any of you visit Cit Field enough this year?? The road team had zero trouble cranking HRs. It is not that much of an obstacle as a park! It is just the Mets. Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay, Adam Dunn, Raul Ibanez, Johnny Damon, Brad Hawpe, etc are just some LFers who don’t field well, yet win and help their teams bigtime. The majority of playoff teams this year were built around high K pitchers and the thunderous bats, NOT smallball and defense and SBs, Get over it, this style of game is a myth and is only embraced by weak hitters like Keith Hernandez.
I know. It’s not like Delgado is coming back and that would be a different story. I like him but he is too old. I prefer BAy or Holliday rather than Crawford.
You missed the point…the smartest move for Omar is to invest in good pitching and keep his speed/gap hitters like Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Pagan, Murphy, Frenchy, etc
and have the prospects to move next July, if necessary.
The smartest move is for Omar to hit the reset button and rebuild. Since that cannot happen, then getting as many power hitters and flamethrowing front end starters as possible would be nice. Keeping Pagan and Murphy on the ML roster, and possibly as starters, and going for “gap power” is a recipe for losing… And what pitching, other than an overrated Lackey (I want him but we need more), do you mean?? Chapman would have been great. Wolf or Garland or Marquis… not so much.
Harden, Sheets and Bedard?
If you are being sincere in this post, I am fully on board, as long as they get 2 of those guys, not just 1. With the injury risk (and high reward) these guys pose, I am of the mind that 2 of them=1 excellent, full year spot in the rotation. I especially am still intrigued by Bedard. If they can throw out a starting 5 of Johan-Lackey-Bedard-Harden- Pelfrey, with Perez and Niese waiting in the wings (and they will be needed), I would be excited (and that is saying a lot given my cuirent cynicism). I would go to war with this, would not want the fear of spending over budget to hold it up, and then would even be content to only add one big bat and hope for Ike Davis.
Well hopefull David Wright will be back to normal hitting 30 hr 400obp and a 300avg. But I doubt it
I agree that we gotta hope Beltran and Wright hit HRs this year but the thing with the year dictating the market or whatever, you can’t depend on next year or anything like that. I know a lot of people look too the yankees and CC but it was very touch and go there, the yankees had to up CC’s offer a lot and Cashman had to fly to California to see CC. Things happen beyond control. The best thing the Mets can do is make the team as good as they possibly can fro 2010, I think you have to sign Lackey. You have to sign Holliday, when was the last time the mets had a legit LFer? That should be a big priority this off-season along with starting pitching.
I don’t know. We have to sign LAckey and Holliday or BAy. (I’m favoring Holliday). Then, Bedard or Sheets and HArden. Then we get BArajas for 2 years. Then spend a mill on Cora
The biggest reason the Yanks are going to win this thing is pitching. They finally have the staff to carry them through when even their offense slumps.
Pitching, pitching, pitching. Go get it Omar.
Partially disagree. The Yankees lead the Series because of pitching, but they never would have reached the dance without the power supply. Same for the Phillies. Home runs carry teams far. The Twins snuck their way in, and the Angels are the one real exception. Dodgers, Phils, Red Sox, Cardinals, and even the Rockies (Hawpe, Tulo, Helton) all can mash.
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