Jayson Stark of ESPN.com speculates that the Mets must be among six teams who have expressed interest in free-agent 1B Nick Johnson.
…yes, johnson is a fantastic defensive first baseman and he’s one of the most patient, professional hitters i’ve ever seen… the problem is, i rarely ever see him… he’s been on the DL five times since 2005… and it’s a shame… because, he’s like John Olerud: The Next Generation… plus, he usually hits left-handed pitching very well… but, i have to think he’ll first look for a starting job, before signing on to platoon for the Mets… and, for the Mets, i’d be reluctant to give him the starting job, considering how injury-prone he is…
Speaking of first base, Tim Brown of Yahoo! made a simple post to Twitter that read, “The Mets have called on Russell Branyan.”
In other Hot Stove news…
In a post to his blog for 1050 ESPN Radio, Andrew Marchand says he talked to an MLB executive who feels free-agent RHP John Lackey will be lucky to get a five-year, $85 million deal, similar to what A.J. Burnett signed last winter.
According to Marchand, “Lackey could end up in a New York-New York bidding war between the Yankees and Mets.”
Lastly, the Marlins aren’t likely to trade 1B Jorge Cantu, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, who believes they have talked to teams about 2B Dan Uggla.
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glad to see somebody still believes the mets are interested in lackey
and also, i like jayson stark just thinks of six teams who might need a first baseman and are like oh the mets need one so they must have expressed interest?
nick johnson is very injury prone, idk if he’s a good fit
Nick Johnson is going to get a mulit-year deal from someone and the Mets have enough talent at the position already with Murphy and the eventual rise of Ike Davis that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to sign him.
That said, I would love to see Nick Johnson in a Mets uniform. Talk about a consistent hitter, who moves runners over and can play his position like a pro. He won’t knock the cover off the ball and hit 30+ HR every year, but he’ll see a lot of pitches, work the count and do what it takes to win games.
Its so funny that 30 hrs are seen as a lot these days. As a teen, I would see a guy who hit 30 bombs and think that it was alright but nothing to get too worked up about. Now I would kill for a guy who could hit 30 bombs.
yeah; it’s funny that when I was a teen the league leader could have hit 30 something.
Of course I’m old :)
Yeah, when I was a teen guys would lead the league in HRs with 35 or so.
When I am was a teen players hit 47 homeruns in 2009. (I’m a teen)
It’s great that the love of a team can bridge generations
Bill Melton. 33 HRs. Chicago White Sox 3B. I think it was 1971 or 1972. Eddie Brinkman was the starting SS for the Senators or Tigers. He hit something like .178 that year.
Chuck and Ed Brinkman. The worst hitting brothers in the history of the game?
A Mets-Yankees bidding war over Lackey? Gee I wonder who wins that one?
Well, I would rather the Mets loose that bidding war. If the Mets have a limited budget, I would rather they spend it on Holliday. If they are going to go all baller on us, and pop champaign, then Holliday and Lackey would be cool, but not bloody likely.
I don’t think that Johnson really is the answer. Omar said he wants to stay away from injury porne. Yes, you have to take risks but those are only on players like, Sheets or Harden or Bedard. I prefer the Mets go out and trade for Agon and sign LAckey or sign 2 of Sheets or Harden or Bedard. In the long run, I think that is better than getting Holliday or Bay and getting other pitchers because they will cost less.
Injury prone* whoops!
Matt – If you consult the fielding stat gurus they’ll tell you just how far he has fallen the last few years. He has good hands still but is turning into a donut rolling around at 1b.
Very true- plus he is injury prone and has no pop for a 1Bman…
Forget Nick Johnsons stints on the DL. If you want a platoon at 1b. Nick Johnson fits the bill. I do see it possable to sign him for 1 year or possably 2 years. I also don’t see Ike Davis 100% at 1B. Ike could also make the big league as a RFer. I also like the idea of trading chips for A Gonzo. If the Mets are certain 1B will platoon. Halliday is what we need, not Lackey. Matt Holliday does not need to play in citi field. For Hollidays price tag… Certainly will not benefit Holliday or the Mets playing in citi field. Jason Bay will fit the Mets better.
Does Halliday = Matt + Doc?
No no no. Don’t do this. Save the money.
Daniel Murphy is fine at 1B. Just go get Holliday to supplemant the lineup. Murphy will improve and he’s still so young and cheap. Plus if he has a full productive year it’ll be an incredible commodity if Ike Davis excels next year.
What pitcger will u get if you get either Holliday or Bay?
*pitcher
Piniero is a poor mans Lackey. Might be an option on a Wolf deal. If not, then Escobar and/or Sheets.
I’d look at Penny too.
Quite frankly, with Holliday we aren’t getting a number 2, but if we get some upside 1 year deals that could lead to type A status then I’m all for it. I’ll go to war with Santana, Pelfrey, Maine, Piniero, Perez if I’ve got Holliday in the lineup.
I’m sure people will disagree because they want a star at every position but I’ll hold out for next years pitchers and next years budget.
I’m not a big fan of Lackey but Pinaro??? Please justify, quantitatively, your logic because just about the entire St Louis area really doesn’t care if he comes back.
And Murphy is terrible – plain and simple.
Are you kidding me??
This is the easiest question I’ve had all day.
Pineiro is an excellent pitcher. The guy is a workhorse who pitches with incredible effectiveness and efficiency. He has great off speed stuff and uncanny control of it.
We are talking about a guy with 200+ innings, 2 CG shutouts, and only 27 walks last year. And its not like this guy is all projection and no production, he had a 3.5 ERA last season.
Like I said, he’s a poor mans Lackey. Just look at these two guys and tell me it’s not true. He’ll give you a chance to win every time out.
He hasent had double digit wins since 2003, but has had double digit losses 3 times since 2003. And it’s not like it’s for no reason: ERAs of 4.37, 5.62, 6.36, 4.33, and 5.15. This does not concern you?
BTW Escobar blew out his shoulder and required surgery in March, 2008. He came back 6/9/09 pitched one game, promptly blew it out again, and was placed on the DL from 6/16/09 through the end of the season. Why is he an option? Sheets is a risk, but has rehabbed for a year now.
You can take a chance on Sheets or Harden, and even go with Smoltz has an upside setup man. This would be the ideal off-season for the Mets in the eyes of most fans I’d think.
Would you rather have Lackey and mediocre LF or Holliday and a mediocre SP?
The mediocre LF is much easier to hide in the line-up and could actually be an improvement over what the Mets had last year. A mediocre SP would just add to the long list of mediocre SPs we already ran out last year.
I think we go hard after Lackey, give F-Mart a chance to win the LF spot in Spring Training (backed up by Pagan and Reed) and bring in a veteran backstop, platoon 1B, and bench support.
If F-Mart isn’t working out, we find something more serviceable at the trade deadline (Guillen?).
It depends. I’ll have LAckey or 2 of Sheets or Harden or Bedar and a guy like Ankiel in LF but we have to trade for Agon. If we get Holliday or BAy, We could sign 1 of Sheets or Harden or Bedard and sign either Wolf or Marquis.
You contradict yourself. How can you say Murphy “will improve”, then in the very next sentence say “if he has a full productive year”.
BTW, why do you think Murphy has this gilded futere and Davis is questionable?
Wow Nick Johnson and Russell Branyon….. Really?
This might be a long and grueling off season and if those 2 are part of the 2010 team, a long and grueling 2010 season.
I think that we need to fill the LF hole and that is what should be on Omar’s mind at the moment, looking at the team I see a big hole behind Johan and a big hole out at LF. Those are the positions he should fill, I know Holliday/Bay won’t be signing for a while but I don’t want to be reading about Nick Johnson to fill 1B right now,I want the holes filled. The only 1B i want to hear about is adrian.
Jorge Cantu? I don’t know, he’s just one of those guys that seems to hate us so much that I can’t see him in a Mets uniform, or maybe I just don’t want to. He’s also been a member of our All Ugly team the last few years, too. Stay in Florida.
I like Russel Branyan alot, just not for the Mets. He is a first baseman, and a lefty. not what we need. If he could play left, great, but he can’t so…
NO OMAR NO!
I don’t understand why the Yankees would sign Lackey, besides the fact that they have money… I mean they would basically have 3 Aces on the staff… pointless…
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