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The San Diego Tribune is reporting that Padres General Manager Jed Hoyer will soon meet with the agent for Adrian Gonzalez to discuss his “future.”
Gonzalez won his second-consecutive Gold Glove yesterday and is entering the final year of a 
four year contract, with the Padres holding a $5.5 million option for 2011.
Hoyer told the Tribune, regarding the Gold Glove, “I’m happy for Adrian… I hope this puts the focus on how terrifically well-rounded he is as a player.”
…at this point, it’s safe to compare gonzalez to Mark Teixeira both offensively and defensively, which means he will likely command similar dollars to what tex got with the Yankees, if not more… ultimately, i think that will be too much for the Padres and his value is sky high right now as opposed to trading him at the trade deadline when he is in the middle of the final year of his contract, so i would bet they attempt to trade him now…
…of course, i am sure the cost will be through the roof for gonzalez, but i do think the Mets have the pieces to make a deal… however, i don’t see a way for the Mets to be in on both gonzalez and Roy Halladay…
…but if the Mets choose to go down the free-agent route for a number two starter, i hope the Mets get in on adrian… there is no better fit at first base for them, or really any team seeking a first baseman…
Asked whether or not he would like to sign an extension with the Padres, Gonzalez told the Tribune, “I haven’t thought about that… If they want to offer an extension, I’ll see where they are.”
Nevertheless, Gonzalez said is happy with the current direction of the Padres, but still thinks there is room for improvement.
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I don’ think the Mets will get him. Unless they don’t get Holliday or BAy that is.
Uh awkward . .
Yeah Adrian there’s some room for improvement.
Adrian come and join us, the Mets, known for devastation to a Mets fan soul, while our players are still loaded with millions and women.
Please help us.
Bring back, bring back (indiana jones reference when he’s in India and the old guy is saying to bring back the stones and the children)
Calimar – Shuk tee Day !!! (thata Molerum, the enemy)
Huh?
I would think that the Mets have a plan going in to this off season, in that, they’re planning on acquiring (or attempting to) either Gonzo or Halladay.
So I have to think that they will make their FA signings based off that assumption. Sign Holliday, Marquis and Wolf. If you can do that, you don’t have to trade for Halladay and you can make a run at Gonzo.
Either way, we’d have to gut our minor league significantly. Are Met fans ready to do that?
Since Wolf is the only Type A in your plans he is costing a second round pick, which is in the top 40. Plus the top money he will demand. Pass.
If you are signing other Type As, you can rationalize that we are only giving up a 4th or so. (every time you sign a Type A you lose a draft pick, in order, but the 1st rounder is protected for the 15 worst records, so it starts at round 2)
my bad — you have holliday in there.
Still, even the 3rd rounder is annoying when equal pitchers are Type b
I’d rather trade for gonzo than halladay. then sign 2 decent pitchers like wolf, garland or marquis.of course we still need holliday.
Agreed, but I gotta believe he’ll end up in a Red Sox uniform unfortunetly.
I’d be willing to give up more of the system for A-Gon than I would Halladay. While I fully comprehend Doc’s value I’m just not sure that the Mets are going to be able to sign him to an extension, and even if they could, do we really want to give a 6 year deal to a 33 year old pitcher? Gonzalez on the other hand is under contract for two years and it would make sense to lock him up long term beyond that since he can be the glue of this infield for years to come.
The Red Sox want him so it will take a ton. Even if it were something like F-Mart, Davis, Mejia, Holt and Tejada I’d go for it, although I’d do everything in my power to not include Mejia. I want this guy on my team more than anyone else out there.
That’s just it though, unfortunately, it would probably take all those guys go get him. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be worth it but it would be a huge sacrifice.
The thought of Gonzo and Holliday in our line up is beyond my comprehension right now. My hopes aren’t even remotely up. I think we’ll end up going after Halladay, personally.
But, of course, if I had my choice, it’d be Gonzo.
I hear ya!!
could you imaging..
reyes
hudson
holliday
gonzo
wright
beltran
francouer
thole
God I hope they don’t go after Halladay, the last thing we need is to locked into a 6 or 7 year deal with a pitcher who already gonna be 33 in 2010.
If money were no object, I’d sign Holliday, Lackey and Marquis/Wolf this off season. I wouldn’t bother trading Castillo, unless the 2B replacement was cheaper. Then I’d push all my chips in and go after Gonzo, gutting the system if I had to.
Reyes
Castillo
Beltran
Gonzo
Holliday
Wright
FCore
Thole
Santana
Lackey
Wolf
Pelfrey
Perez
(none of this will ever happen of course)
I heard a couple of weeks back that they could possibly land gonzo for Pagan, F Mart, Davis, Tejada and Havens.
If there is any truth to that the Mets better pull the trigger. I like Pagan but he’s a dime a dozen OF. Tejada has no place on this team with Reyes at SS. F Mart doesn’t seem like he will live up to the Hype and Davis will never be the hitter that Gonzo is. As for Havens, I think he could be good at 2nd for the Mets but if they make a move for Hudson or Figgins, it will be years before we even get the chance to find out.
I believe they would want some pitching prospects.
I forgot to put Maine in that deal. I have no idea if there is any truth to that, its just something that was on mlbtraderumors.com about a week or two ago.
Can’t we hold on to our prospects for ONCE? Of course no one knows which players will emerge and which won’t, but the chances increase in volume, and perception rules — when Lastings Milledge was here everyone thought he was MLB-ready and we ALSO had two raw OFers behind him in FMart and Gomez. Once Millz was dealt, the raw players behind him were now the top prospects in the franchise, making the system look weaker. Let them play at the level they can learn, put up some numbers, and stop trying to fix everything in one year. Show a little patience and make some shrewd moves!
Here is what I do:
Sign Olivo (Type B), Hank Blalock or Aubrey Huff or Nady to play 1b with Murphy, trade Castillo for Bradley, sign OHudson (Type A), sign Harden (Type B)
You only lose one draft pick, and the above only costs about $15-18mil. So they have more to spend, and:
Reyes
Hudson
Wright
Beltran
Bradley
Franceour
Blalock/Murphy
Olivo
Johan
Harden
Pelf
Maine
OP
Niese
You have the extra money to make Harden into Lackey if you desire the sure thing. But the best part is your farm system is now considered one that is improving, and one that will demand a lot of interest at the trade deadline. Our core farm guys, like Mejia, Holt, Havens, all improve and maybe one or two are starters in 2011. Ike Davis plays 1B midseason of 2010 possibly, with a guy like Nady being able to play LF if Bradley is hurt. You also have FMart for LF. This is how good teams are built, from the ground up.
Oh, lastly, while keeping all your minor league talent in tact, I’d also throw my money behind Chapman (why not) and hope Harper falls to #7 and pay him too.
The Wilpons are not afraid to spend, they just spend incorrectly and look to cut corners. But they have to pay to make up for the last couple of years, and trading al their pieces for big names and signing huge FAs is cutting corners that may work short-term but will corner us long-term.
Seems like too little to land gonzo, that said I just don’t see the Mets signing Figgins for the money he wants, he doesn’t fill enough needs for that kind of money, not too mention he’s not even a true 2nd baseman. He really doesn’t make sense for the Mets at this point.
I can agree and disagree about Figgins. I don’t like him for 2nd base and would really prefer Hudson. But if the Mets make a move for Gonzo and sign Hudson I would love to get Figgins for LF. I know Holliday brings more power but I don’t think he is worth what he is asking for. On top of that I think that Figgins bat and style of play is perfect for Citi Field. If the Mets got Gozo, Hudson and Figgins I would do the lineup like this:
Figgins
Reyes
Wright
Gonzo
Beltran
Hudson
FCore
Santos/Thole
Reyes leading off and Figgins in the 2 hole works for me as well.
what is the obsession with figgins? you want him to play a power position? if you dont wanna spend money on holliday, cameron or nady would be better signings at a cheaper cost.
I would go with Nady but Cameron is in now way a better choice. He stikes out way too much, bats around .240 and in Citi Field at his age would give you 20 HR’s at best
u wont take 20 HR from cameron, but you will take 5 HR from figgins?. its not like I want cameron, but if the choice is between figgins and cameron, I’ll take cameron to play LF.
I doubt Cameron comes here and doesn’t he want to play CF and maybe he’s still upset about breaking his face
Figgins would make alitle more sense if they landed Gonzo, but honestly I think we have a better shot at signing Holiday than we do of trading for Gonzo. In order to get Gonzo we would have to offer a better package than the Redsox who are very high on Gonzo and came very close to aquireing him at the ‘09 deadline. Frankly there’s no way we can offer a better package than the Red Sox if they really want him. Put it this way the only team that could beat the Redsox in talent they can afford to trade already signed Mark Texiera!
I would love Lackey and Gonzo
I still would sign Doc over this guy, imo pitching wins, and we can’t do both, also why are the red sox in on every guy we want? hopefully that means we can get at least one of them
What is everyones obsession with mediocre pitchers who will be given too much money and years. Garland, Marquis, Wolf and Piniero are the names everyone says. Wolf and Piniero are pretty good but most likely will be way overpriced and I would not give a 3 year deal to either and have another Ollie.
They could acquire Arroyo or Harang for relatively nothing in terms of prospects if they take on their contracts and though they may be overpaid, it’s a 1 yr deal. Harangs flyball rates at citifield could equal numbers similar to his 2006-07 seasons. Arroyo is a lock for 200 innings and is a competitor. I would take either one of them On 1 yr commitment over those other guys.
As for Adrian Gonzales, if you can pull that deal it makes more sense than Halladay. A 5 year extension to a 33 year old is risky. If they were to get Gonzo, the one thing I would not do is sign Holliday, it would lock up too much money. They could get production in the OF without giving a 100 million dollars. If they don’t get Gonzo but ink Holiday, I am fine with that, but no point in overpaying if they have Gonzo.
Just my opinions.
A name I was thinking about in LF, has 30+ home run power playing full time, but not sure how it would take to get em… Josh Willingham. Thoughts?
if we got agonz to play first base .. i would be ok with putting my 12 year old niece in left field!!
Ha, agreed
Josh Willingham huh, well, if they aquired gonzo maybe, but he’s in his arbitration years and the Nationals would most likely want pitching, probably starting with Parnell and depending on what they do with BP this offseason, I dunno that we can let Parnell go given the Mets declined the option on Putz.
Also keep in mind that Willingham struck out over 100 times in ‘09. To put things in perspective F-core who everyone whined about striking out all the time only struck out 92 times! That and could he play LF in spacious Citifield? I mean Nationals park is no bandbox, but it certainly isn’t Citi Field.
You have some good points and ones that should be considered. I figure beggers can’t be chosers when it comes to the K’s. A lot of guys strike out a lot but 30+ home runs will help you live with it. As for what I think is more important, his fielding. I am honeslt not too sure of his arm which is not life or death in LF but his UZR rating is a bit subpar. He likely does not complete the best outfield defensively but could suffice and provide some pop. I was just throwing it out there.
I think Gonzalez is great, but I’d rather they keep the farm (such that it is) intact and go for Holliday knowing that Davis is a cheap 1st baseman around the corner. If F-Mart works out, he could play right field when he’s ready. That way you’d have cheap and talented at 1st and right, proven and powerful in center and left (and expensive). The Wilpons are not going to get both Gonzalez and Holliday. Holliday only costs money. Gonzalez will cost money (assuming we want him beyond his current contract — and we’d better if we empty the farm for him) and every prospect we’ve got.
It is a great debate. There are two first basemen that make me excited when considering trades. Adrien Gonzalez and the Prince Fielder. Both are literally Ryan Howard type offensive players…both are cheap and young enough to be part of the long term core of the team. Either would make me happy.
But we have to consider the state of the franchises farm system and what it would take to get these guys. Both of them would skim a minimum of 3 of our top 5 prospects plus other highly thought of prospects. Our system is not barren like it used to be. The prospects are aging now and starting to mature into near ready players. Fmart, Davis, Mejia, Holt, Tejada are all in AA or will be in AAA. Flores and Marte are likely to moved to high A ball this year. Niewenhaus and Thole are starting to get close also. And of course we have Niese who is knocking on the door and ready to contribute (healthy I’m assuming)
I think we have a good stable of prospects actually that are coming. This is where a GM earns his money. We must identify the players in the minors who we want as part of the future. Then consider trading the surplus for positions of need on the big squad.
I am not a huge fan of Holliday but know he would be a good addition. But no A Gonzales or Fielder good in terms of production. THose guys are MVP type candidates. Holliday is David Wright light.
So with that assessment in mind, I would make the trade for a top flight 1b (only Gonzo or Fielder)
I’d trade one of our two best prospects (Fmart or Ike). Then I’d trade from the ML squad either Maine or Pelfrey and either Murphy or Pagan in any deal. Lets start with that….
A Gonzalez for
Pelfrey, Murphy, Ike Davis, plus 3 guys from the likes of Dillon Gee, Eddie Kunz, Tejada and possibly Niewenhius.
That is a lot of near ready and current ML talent leaving but it does not destroy the team.
Pelfrey is a $500K pitcher this year so he is very very attractive IMO as he has twice won over 10 games now in a season and is past the Verducci effect season.
Landing Agon also frees up assets to get mutliple pitchers which we will need.
I vote for the following moves…..
1) Trade for Agon
2) Sign Wolf and Harden for Marquis (total for all 3 guaranteed would be $25M max)
3) Pick up Nady for LF
Team is
Reyes
Castillo
Wright
Gonzalez
Beltran
Nady
Francoeur
Thole/Santos
SP
Santana
Harden
Wolf
Marquis
Perez/Maine/Niese
with Maine or Niese in the pen or AAA with Figueroa as potential fill ins for injury
Long Post
You also have me batting clean-up in the minors. Future looks bright.
No way that package gets Gonzalez. First of all, they’d have zero use for Murphy since they already have Kouzmanoff and Headley, plus you’re giving them Ike. It would take “at least” another top 4 prospect. Remember that this guy is signed for two more years. The fact that this isn’t his walk year increases his already top value big time.
I agree if we get A-Gon, which I hate to even say because there is so much involved in making a trade and small market teams would be in the bidding, but if we did it would allow us to use our Free Agent money on pitching and not locking up Holliday. Id rather avoid Holliday (if we get AGon) and build what we need, a rotation.
I don’t think people realize how good A-Gon really is. The guy spends half of his year in PETCO.
Does anyone realize that he hit .306 with 28 homeruns and 15 doubles on the road last year in 80 games? That’s a 56 homerun pace … to go with a .300 average, gold glove … and did I forget to mention that he also lead the National League in walks???
Everyone is expendable in a deal for Gonzalez. Everyone. That would also includes Reyes or Wright (although we don’t need to worry about that because San Diego wont want to take on their salaries).
The value added by Gonzales blows away anything that guys like Maine or Pelfrey give you, so they become virtual throw-ins on a deal like this if San Diego wants them.
Since there is almost no chance that any of our prospects ever reach the level that A-Gon is already at, they all become expendable too. Ike, Fernando, whoever, all of them fair game.
The biggest problem I see is that we lack starting pitching prospects with any value. If we had them, I think we might have a chance here, but we don’t.
A-Gone is a great player. He’s a Mark Teixeira clone minus the switch hitting. However this Met team is not one player away from contending and they don’t have near the depth in their farm system to make one big deal and still have enough to make future moves in addition to incorporating some of their prospects onto their Major League roster.
I’d love to add A-Gone but I just don’t see it being the right move right now for the Mets.
Gonzalez is better than Teixeira. Although they both hit 40 homeruns (essentially), Gonzalez hit 28 homeruns on the road last year in 80 games while Tex hit 15 on the road. Gonz played in PETCO while Tex played in the new homer dome that is Yankee Stadium.
If you neutralize both guys, Gonz is a 40+ guy, Tex is a 30 HR guy. Had they switched home parks, Gonz would have hit somewhere between 50 and 60 homeruns, while Tex would have struggled to hit 25.
I completely disagree. If the Mets added Gonzalez they would still have the financial freedom to sign, say, Lackey and Wolf.
IMO, this team would compete for the postseason in 2010 no matter who we had in LF or at 2B. A consistent big bat in the middle of the order (not sure Holliday is that guy but Gonzalez is) and solid #2 and 3 starters combined with the return of Reyes are enough to make the team legit again.
Having A-Gon at first will also help tremendously with the wild throws from the left side of our infield.
But then what happens a year or two from now when Gonzalez is given his big extension and is no longer cheap? How do you supplement the rest of the roster?
The young cheap players you would have had were shipped in the deal to obtain him and the prospects you do have left are at least 2 years away from being Major League ready. You are once again stuck with the same top heavy roster that lacks the depth or flexibility to make other improvements to the roster.
Odds are that NONE of those young cheap players will ever approach the kind of player that Gonzalez is. This guy is a bonafide STAR. If it were a Matt Holliday type player then I would agree with you. There’s nothing wrong with being a top-heavy team when the top contracts are players who produce to the level that they are being paid. The Yankees just won a championship and I’d say that they are pretty darn top heavy. Gonzalez is a no-brainer “back up the truck” kind of trade target.
The Yankees are more than just a top heavy team. Their stars are supplemented by homegrown contributors such as Robinson Cano, Cabrera, Gardner, Joba and Hughes. In addition to having a guy like Nick Swisher who is a solid contributor.
No team can win based off of 5 or 6 top level players and a bunch of mediocre players. If you could win like that the Mets would have faired better in 2007 and 2008. And while none of the prospects in the Met system may ever become as good as A-Gone if 2 of them could become everyday players costing the Mets little in terms of payroll it will allow them down the road to go out and add top tier players while at the same time having a deep roster.
Acquiring A-Gone just gets the Mets back to where they were in 2007 and 2008 which was not good enough. And with little in the farm system left after a trade like that and A-Gone, Reyes and Wright all due for big contracts within the next 2 years the Mets would have little flexibility to improve the rest of the roster unless they significantly increased their revenue to help boost payroll.
I would typically agree with you about being top heavy and thinning the farm system, or even the loss of cheap talent down the road. But in this case Adrian Gonzalez is great right now and cheap for 2 more years. I don’t think they can think about people getting expensive years from now, who knows what the team will be like. They need to try and win now, Johan and Beltran are not getting any younger, and who knows what they will give you a few years down the road.
I think your trade proposal would need a bit more but if the mets lay it out like that and start with:
Pelfrey (cheap and could slot in to starting rotation now)
Pagan (start/contribute, they would want him over Murphy)
Ike Davis
Ruben Tejada
Eddie Kunz
another prospect (excluding Mejia/Neice/Flores/F-mart)
maybe that would come close or atleast get the ball rolling.
Let’s just say a deal bases around that package could get done. That leaves another rotation spot open because of Pelfrey. Gowrightgo suggested bringing in Marquis, Wolf and Garland I believe for 25M max. Basing this on the idea Pelfrey was traded for Gonzo, how about this idea…
Cincinatti owes Harang and Arroyo 23.5M this year and their buyouts next year (4M). They want to shed payroll, tell them you will take back both but they east maybe 6.5M (maybe more or less) this year and that’s it. They save 17M this season and 4M next. Then mets sign Harden for roughly 8M w/incentives and option.
Johan
Harden
Harang
Arroyo
Ollie
Maine to bullpen
All 3 starters for roughly 25M. I know this is coming out of thine air but it seems as if it could work logically and not be complete fantasy.
What’s do you think gowrightgo or any other readers thoughts?