Bill Madden of the Daily News says the Mets will likely be focusing on second-tier free agents this winter.
According to Madden, the Mets were “right in the middle” of teams that made money this past season, but due to reduced revenue projections for 2010 and raises due for their returning players, they will have about $20 million to spend.
…if they have $20 million to spend it makes no sense for Omar to be speaking with the agents for John Lackey and Matt Holliday among others, which is why i believe that no matter what, the Mets recognize the need for a major improvement and will do what it takes to put a competitive team back on the field…
…keeping this in mind, one of the Mets biggest problems right now is that they have spent, but their money is in a lot of bad places at the moment…there have clearly been wiser and less costly investments in terms of dollars and years to make at certain positions over the past few years and that was evident even when these investments were made…
…it looks as though the Mets have been attempting to fix this by shopping Luis Castillo’s bad contract and replace him with a better and less costly player, such as Orlando Hudson, which is a great example of how the team is trying to improve in a more economically sound fashion…it’s easier said than done, but the team can be better performance-wise while at the same time having greater flexibility in terms of years and dollars at the position, and i dont feel there is anything wrong with that approach…
Considering this, Madden feels the Mets should be focusing on players like Randy Wolf, Mark DeRosa, Marlon Byrd, and Jason Marquis.
…the only one from that list i wouldn’t consider is Byrd, and i am not totally sold on DeRosa for that matter…i think that an objective approach to filling a roster is to basically ask ‘can this player start on any major league team’ and if the answer is yes, the player can be considered…looking at their current roster it’s hard to say that about a few of their players which is why upgrades are necessary, but i don’t feel there is any point in acquiring a player if he can’t start on any team, because that puts them right back where they started…
…there is no way to know who the Mets will sign and who they won’t sign, but what they spend should not be the focus, rather the quality of the player or players should be considered…i know that quality players usually require a team to spend, but i’d rather the Mets acquire five or six solid players with their money rather than making a big splash and sending all of their prospects away and over-spending…
For more on this, check out Madden’s report here.
{ 32 comments }
So lets say Omar has 40 mill to spend.
Holliday 17 mill or Bay 15 mill
Lackey 15 mill
Odog 5 mill
Molina 5 mill or Barajas 3 mill
Wolf 8 mill
Putz or Biemel 3 mill
Cora 1 mill
As the cheapest way for that is 50 mill. Which is also Unrealistic. Thankyou for everyone that said my old plan was unrealistic because now I understand that 58 mill is unrealistic.
I think if you trade for Halladay and sign Ankiel, Hudson, Molina or BArajas and get Wolf. That is probably more realistic too.
Let’s face it, if this is true we are second class citizens in our own town.
Don’t ya just love how all these writers come out with these numbers that teams can spend in the the offseason! The reality is that none of the writers have any clue what any given team can or will spend! I mean it’s not like the major league clubs simply ship the writters a copy of their financials! I don’t have a copy myself, but I do know that the Mets have more than 20 million coming of the books as it is so there is no way they only have 20 million to spend as this writer suggest. I could easily see the Mets spending twice that this off-season given the players available and the current needs of the team. Again I don’t know for sure myself, but atleast I don’t post dollar amounts like they are gospel like some of these writers do.
This organization finds new ways to disappoint year after year.
20 Million?
9 for a pitcher (Garland or Piniero)
2 for a catcher (Barajas)
6 for a LF (Dye)
3 for a set up man (Dotel)
2010 will suck
Since when was Madden the GM. Omar says how much money will be spent and he said that money shouldn’t be a porblem.
Perfectly written, Mike.
The truth is so hard to take sometimes.
Now we can all stop daydreaming and realize what next season will be, in reality!
Rebuilding, baby!
I don’t believe this nonsense. The Mets have more than $20MM to spend…don’t listen to this garbage. This is just another clueless writer trying to downplay the Mets’ offseason impact.
Holliday will be in a Mets uniform next season…you watch. Omar can’t afford to sign a second-tier LF bat, not after three disappointing years in a row. He’s gonna spend that money on Holliday, and then look to guys like Wolf and Marquis for pitching help.
Holliday or BAy will be both good but if we can’t get them, trade for Agon. I’ll totally want to trade for Agon and sign Lackey. Sign Molina or BArajas for catcher. Trade Castillo for a bench guy or a bullpen guy. Sign Hudson for 2nd base and get Ankiel.
Plan A:
Holliday 17 mill or BAy 15 mill
Sheets 8 mill
MArquis 5 mill
Hudson 7 mill
Molina 5 mill or BArajas 3 mill
Cora 1 mill
Putz or Biemel 2-4 mill
Plan B:
Agon 5 mill
LAckey 15 mill
Wolf 8 mill
Hudson 7 mill
Molina 5 mill or BArajas 3 mill
Ankiel 6 mill
Cora 1 mill
Putz or Biemel 2-4 mill
Which is better and more realistic
neither. Both see north of $40M. $6M for Ainkiel? $7M for Hudson? Why would you do that? How will you get AGon? $8M for Sheets – he hasn’t pitched for over a year and is coming off something like his 50th arm surgery
I know, I was rounding them. What would you do with 40 mill? Get HAlladay? Sign BAy or Holliday?
Hardin. 7.5
Beddard 7.5
Marquis 6.5
Olivo or barajas 3ish
Gonzalez 4.5
Branyon 3
Phillips 6.75
Ankeil 2
Castillo -1 (eat 5mil of his salary)
- 1 form moving murphy, reed
Leaves you about 2 if you can get Glaus for 5 get him instead of Branyon.
If you can get AGon for Davis, Holt or Mejia, Parnell, and Pelfrey or Niese do it.
exactly what I expected. But honestly we need help but I truly believe that there is enough second tier talent to help this team. Reyes, Beltran, Wright, Santana and K-Rod are All-Star caliber. Franceour is decent and so is Pelfrey. If we can replace Castillo, upgrade our catcher and find a way to take so much pressure off of Daniel Murphy then we can still succeed. We cannot let the Yankees acquiring CC and Tex make us all think that all great things come in big packages. They still had Jeter and A-Rod and we still have plenty too. Some holes to fill we’ll do. The right players need to be in place which are not necessarily the biggest names.
you know what i hear brings in extra revenue? sellout games in september. extra home games in october. championship apparel.
i swear to god, if i have to watch marlon byrd and randy wolf trot out on opening day after the season we endured this year, i’ll puke in my shake shack.
I don’t have a problem if the Mets go after the 2nd tier players like Wolf, Derosa, Byrd and Marquis. There are a lot of players like that out there that are upgradesover the Angel Pagans of the world who should be nothing more than a 4th OF for the Mets and not a starter.
I would love it if the Mets went out and spent everything and than some on big time players but they don’t need it. The last time I checked(when healthy) they already have those guys.
Pitching
Santana to lead the rotation
K-Rod to close it out
Lineup
Beltran
Wright
Reyes
What they could use is a solid LF(doesn’t have to be a superstar) that will give them at least what Frenchy brings them.
They could sign someone like Molina to be the catcher. He hit over 20 HR’s for the Giants in one of the worst hitting parks last year. He batted clean up with no protection in the lineup. Someone like Molina can give you extra pop in a position that most teams don’t get it to make up for the difference of having a 2nd tier LF instead of Holliday/Bay.
They can also move Castillo and sign Hudson for 2nd base.
And Maybe sign Delgado to a 1 year deal.
If they can make those type of moves which is nothing crazy they can have a very good team.
Santana
Wolf
Marquis
Pelfrey
Maine/Ollie
Thats a pretty solid rotation!
Reyes
Hudson
Wright
Beltran
Delgado
Derosa
Molina
Frenchy
Pitcher
A lineup like that in Citi Field in the NL will win a lot of games. They would have much better depth cause they would be able to have guys like Pagan and Murphy off the bench. I would even look to sign someone like Byrd as the 4th OF and have Pagan as the 5th OF. That would make the bench that much better.
The only other thing that I would consider doing is moving Frenchy to the 2 hole and Hudson back to the 8 spot. Hitting behind Reyes and in fron of Wright and Beltran, Frenchy would see a lot of fastballs and have a better year. Plus Hudson is a very good hitter and can be successful hitting in front of the pitcher. Molina needs to be in the 7 spot and not the 8th spot cause he doesn’t strike out a lot, has decent power but never walks.
Santana
Wolf
Marquis
Pelfrey
Maine/Ollie
Solid?? are you serious? It looks pretty shaky to me. If the mets do not get Lackey or Halladay, there is no way this team will even compete next year.
….the mets had plenty of sellout (or near sellout) games last season…its just that half the tickets werent even used…its like they are just trying to sell tickets….i hate posts like this—–
If this is true. Then we really never will have a winning team. Sadly, I will believe these types of posts until I am given reason not too (signing holliday or lackey and not stopping there).
in my opinion this team at best is a 4th place team maybe even last place.
the nationals had a better record over the last 4 months of this year.
if this team thinks it can fill in with a bunch of 2nd tier scrubs you better be prepared for another horrible season.
because omar has done such a horrible job with the minor league system we won’t get any help from there either.
i guess mets management is willing to wait another 5 to 10 years b4 getting to post season.
i heard their big ticket price discount comes to about 1 or 2 bucks per game … wow thanks fred and jeff.
you can’t judge what the Mets did the last 4 months of last year on what they need this year. Don’t forget that they had not Reyes, Wright(for a couple of weeks), not Beltran, no Delgado, no Santana, no Maine, no Ollie and a hole bunch of other guys that they used to fill those spots also went down. The Mets weren’t there the last 4 months of the season, it was just a bunch of guys wearing there jerseys.
in my opinion this team at best is a 4th place team maybe even last place.
100% agreed.
Madden is just pulling numbers out of his $%^. He should stick to what he does best — kissing Yankee $%^.
For one thing, the Mets didn’t spend 147 million this year since the Tigers paid almost every cent of Sheff’s salary. It was more like around 135 million — about the same as what the Cubs spent. Any journalist with half a brain should be able to figure this out. So either Madden is lacking in his noggin or he very well knows they didn’t spend 147 million but he likes to say it anyway so he can come back next year and say the Mets cut payroll if they don’t actually spend 147 million in 2010.
Shame on any Mets fans who buys into this premature hot stove speculation.
If the Mets have approximately $20 million to spend (let’s say $25 – $27 million) and 3 obvious needs (LF, C, and SP) then we’re definitely not getting more than 1 of the top 10 free agents.
If I had to venture a guess today I say the Mets go into the season with:
Reyes
Hudson ($5.75 x 3)
Wright
Beltran
Frenchy
Guillen
Murphy/Nady ($1.5 x 1)
Barajas ($2 x 2)/Santos
Santana
Wolf ($9.5 x 2 + option)
Pelfrey
Marquis ($8 x 2)
Perez
Maine (set-up)
K-Rod
I understand the constraints with which you are working. But, that’s depressing.
I don’t think it’s THAT depressing. The pitching staff is MUCH improved and the defense is far superior.
Call me naive but the best news I’ve heard all offseason is that Oliver Perez is attending this intense bootcamp to improve physically and mentally. Pelfrey had a down year last season, but he was also asked to shoulder way more than he was ready for and the added innings just wore him down.
If the Mets can get Wolf and Marquis they have a chance to put out one of the best pitching staffs in the NL. The line-up I suggested isn’t as scary as Philadelphia’s but it should put up enough runs to keep them in games.
Finally, there’s always the trade deadline.
im in agreement, these moves may not be “big splashes” like matt holiday would be but these are realitively inexpensive and address our needs. I love maine in the setup role, i think he would flourish there. mets should focus on speed and defense all around
Pelfrey had 200 IP in 2008 and 184 in 2009. Where are these extra innings you speak of?
I like Francouer, but not at #6
Guillion is a zoo
Hudson is not that good. The Dodgers don’t want him and replaced him with Belliwrd; who they also apparantly they don’t want either (hint????).
Castillo and Crawford are the same salary as Guillon and Hudson and much better.
Get Delgado, Branyon, Glaus (if cheap enough) and you have:
Reyes or Crawford
Crawford or Reyes
Wright
Delgado
Beltran
C
Francouer
P
Castillo
Francouer gets better pitches
Castillo’s only true advantage isn’t wasted by having the P bunt him over. Bunt Francoisr to 2nd and Castillo infield hits him to 3rd so you have third and a semi-speedy guy on first for the top of the order. With that your pitching would work. I’d prefer Beddard to Wolf as there us a lot more upside. I think you could get Marquis for $7M tops. Maine is an unknown at setup
On Pelfrey (sorry, was referring to the added innings in 2008 or the “Verducci effect”
I’m ok with Delgado if 1) he’s healthy and 2) he will except a 1 year contract. Neither of those are certains.
Also, I think Murphy plays a good 1B and can continue to develop. He’s also potential trade bait at the deadline, so hiding him behind a slightly better stop-gap 1B isn’t the best strategy IMO. I prefer investing in a righty platoon-mate like Nady which eliminates Branyan. Glaus, while righty, hits LHP worse than Murphy.
Francouer is an RBI machine, so I like him at #5 or #6 personally. He also strikes out a lot so dropping him to the bottom of the order negates some of his value and gives the opposing pitcher some relief.
Castillo and Crawford are definitely better than Guillen and Hudson, no question. But we’d also have to empty our farm system to get Crawford and while he could certainly be worth it (nay, definitely worth it) I don’t get the impression that the Mets would be willing to make that move. Not to mention the list of teams with better prospects and the desire to bring him on board is long.
I want to echo the sentiment that the Mets dont need to make a big splash. Their core has 5 All-stars(Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Santana, K-Rod), and solid complimentary players like Francoeur, Pelfrey, Castillo, etc. What they need is to add to the existing nucleus, and shore up the deficiencies, which are C, LF, and SP. If you assume they only $20-$25 to spend, you can sign Garland and Marquis for roughly $16 million, add Zaun for $2 million(unlike the other FA catchers, Zaun can actually draw a walk, and wouldn’t interfere with Thole’s progress), and Byrd for $4-6 million. That leaves some room for players like Freel, Jennings, etc to receive Minor League contracts with invites to ST.
The Mets need to come out of this offseason with some combination of the following four players – Hallady, Holliday, Lackey, Bay. Period.
If they can do something via trades that is more creative than these clearly four known available quantities so be it.
The Mets need to come out of this offseason with some combination of the following four players – Hallady, Holliday, Lackey, Bay. Period.
True. Mo Lackey and not Halladay will be a total disaster.
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