In his Hot Stove preview for MLB.com, Marty Noble lists free-agent outfielders Mike Cameron and Matt Holliday; catchers Bengie Molina and Rod Barajas; pitchers John Lackey, Jason Marquis and Randy Wolf; second baseman Orlando Hudson; and first baseman Troy Glaus; as players the Mets will show interest in this off season, ‘according to people within the organization who are familiar with the club’s thinking.’
Noble believes the team’s priority is to acquire a power hitter, a No. 2 starting pitcher, a veteran catcher and, ‘as always,’ a set-up man.
In the event the Mets are unable to sign one or two top free agents, according to Noble, the team has discussed the following:
Sign Cameron to a one-year deal to play left field, where he can hit for power and improve the team’s outfield defense.
Trade Luis Castillo and sign Orlando Hudson.
Sign Glaus to split time with Daniel Murphy at first base.
Sign Wolf, then trade someone else from the rotation, not Johan Santana, to get a No. 2 starting pitcher.
…i want holliday… and i think a six-year deal is justifiable…
…however, if holliday signs elsewhere, and assuming Jason Bay returns to the Red Sox, i can live with cameron… as we know from having watched him, it’s about putting the ball in play for mike… if he puts the ball in play, he drives the ball… the thing is, he strikes out and swings and misses a lot, though he is walking more… he, Carlos Beltran and Jeff Francoeur would make for an effective outfield defense, but the lineup feels weak with him in there…
…the 33–year-old glaus is interesting… he missed nearly all of last season, suffering a setback or two in his recovery from shoulder surgery… so, i can’t see him getting a big-time guaranteed deal… if glaus can play 150 games, he will hit 35 home runs, and is probably a $10 million per season players… the thing is, can he play 150 games… can he even play in 100 games… in addition to the shoulder, there are concerns about a foot injury that has kept him out of play over the last two seasons as well… and so, i can see him as a platoon partner for Daniel Murphy, getting him lots of rest… however, though he hit them well earlier in his career, he has struggled the last few seasons against left-handed pitching, against whom he would probably play most… and, typically, he is more patient and less powerful against them as well…
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If Mike Cameron is the crown jewel of this offseason I am done.
Well the Mets can’t control a free agents desires, and so if they offer him a kings ransom and he goes somewhere else, then how can you blame the Mets for this.
That said, in the Cameron scenario it is being suggested that he would not be the crown jewel of the offseason. Instead the Mets would trade for a big time pitcher. Someone capable of being a #2 to Johan Santana.
I still wonder who that person would be.
But the problem we had last year with our lineup is we didn’t score enough runs (obviously). Adding in Cameron doesn’t solve the problem one bit, and it’s the easiest spot to upgrade big time right now. Say Cameron is brought, in…how else is the offense going to be improved and where? Having Cameron as a backup plan will end as a failure.
1 and a half years of seeing Cameron every day was more then enough.
Glaus, at $10M/year, does NOT profile as a platoon 1b. I don’t remember if he was a good 3b in the past, but he doens’t appear to be “fleet of foot” or very agile, so I can’t imagine he’d be a solid defensive 1b. Sure he could hit the ball out of Citifield, but given the health risks and the terrible defense he is NOT worth $10M/year.
I don’t think Mike Cameron, who profiles as a #6 or #7 hitter at this point in his career, is the answer to our offensive problems.
Actually Glaus would equal a platoon, because there is literally no way imaginable that he makes it through a full season healthy.
If you Sign Wolf the only Possible guy in the rotation you can trade for a #2 starter would be Pelfrey.
How would this make the team any better. Cameron is on a normal team the #6 or 7th hitter. He’s no better then Franceour. We will have 2 guys who can K 170+ times in a year.
No thanks on Cameron. I can see the yanks going after him finally.
If you are Omar and you know that this is a make or break year for you do you really count on Mike Cameron to increase offense. Now, there are far worse players, but Cameron is a guy who should join a team that has a ton of offense and can fit in as a nice addition- not as the answer to a team that needs to make a major move. Personally, I would sit on the Nationals doorstep and see if they could pry Dunn away for cheap. a trade and sign type of move. That’s the only answer other than Holliday which I would be shocked if he signed with the Mets.
Why is Troy Glaus being called a first baseman? He´s played only 38 innings there out of over 11,500 lifetime ML innings. 6 games, but only 4 starts over a 12 year career.
marty’s as clueless as the rest of us
6 years for Holliday? Risky. He’ll be 30 years old next year. Unfortunately it will take at least 6 years to sign up. That plus plenty of $millions.
If you can’t get Holliday, Cameron’s a nice backup.
Molina and Hudson are just incredibly dumb ideas, meaning they’ll probably happen.
I’m finding it troublesome that no one mentions the Beltran/Cameron face-to-face collision that occurred in 2005. I doubt Beltran wants to play next to Cameron again and I doubt Cameron would truly be happy playing Left field. He also strikes out a ton and, IMO, can’t hit enough homers to make up for all those Ks.
I agree. I remember his first time with the Mets. He had power, but he also whiffed too many times for my liking.
Rally killer.
I like Holliday but if we can’t get him there needs to be serious looks at Bay, he has more power and will probably be cheaper
That being said, there are pluses and minuses to every player out there, the best all around player is Holliday so we have to make a run at him.
What about Ankiel?
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