In a post to Mets Today, Joe Janish looks in to Angel Pagan, and aims to answer, “Flashy leadoff man or flash in the pan?”
In mid-October, on WFAN, Jerry Manuel described Pagan as a ‘good complimentary player,’ who can be a starting player, only if the team acquires a big-time hitter at another position.
In a poll to MetsBlog in October, 54 percent of more than 5,000 people agreed with Manuel, saying Pagan can start everyday, so long as the team acquires another big-time bat for the lineup.
He will be eligible for salary arbitration each of the next three seasons, after which he can become a free agent.
He was drafted by the Mets in 1999.
…to me, he’s a fourth outfielder, who, on the Mets, could get close to 400 at bats, starting in roughly 60 games or so and coming off the bench mid-game… there are flashes of Carlos Beltran, and i think, ‘Wow, this guy should play everyday,’ but then he gets hurt, or makes a mistake on the bases, or gets in to one of those swing-and-miss funks, and i realize he should play from the bench… and, i just think, at 28 years old, that’s who he is at this point in his career…
Pagan hit .303 in 152 at bats last season when leading off the inning, while batting .321 with runners in scoring position.
Yesterday, Adam Rubin of the Daily News said the Royals are impressed with Pagan, and would be willing to send money and OF Jose Guillen to the Mets in an effort to acquire him.
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i guess we are a low budget team when the royals are going to send us money…oy vey….like i said in a previous comment…the only guillen we should go near is ozzie…
NO Jose Guillen. I will gladly donate some cash to NOT sign Jose Guillen…especially if it costs us a player like Pagan. I would rather run Pagan out there everyday then see Guillen there for even one day! Again, I say NO to Guillen!
why are we even considering jose guillen? his best days aare behind him, he’s aging quick, he’s proven to be a nuisance in the clubhouse, and frankly although im not in love with angal pagan…id rather have him and his speed/defense then jose guillen any day
maybe we can trade pagan to the royals and get meche back??
Well you know, you don’t lose for as long as the Royals have without making some bad decisions….Omar should try for a Pagan-Grienke deal, hahaha….if only
Angel Pagan is an incredible asset for us to have. And I dont mean as trade bait, I mean as an on-field asset.
No, I definitely do not think he should be starting everyday, but he should be our 4th outfielder without a doubt.
He should be our defensive replacement, our speed on the bases, our occassional lead off man, our guy who can play CF or the corners whenever we need him to, and a guy who will produce each time he’s there by getting on base and threatening the opposition with manufactured runs.
I am an Angel Pagan fan. And at his cost, he needs to be held onto dearly. This team cannot afford to have 4th outfielders making several million, thats not how you assemble a winning product.
umm Angel Pagan is better than Guillen. That trade idea is beyond dumb…
Clearly that is the Royals leaking it to the press. I love it when its so obvious.
The Royals really want to get rid of that guy.
If Angel played a full season he’d probably give you something like 160 hits, 10 HRs, 10 3B, 30 2B to go along with about a .280 average, maybe 20-25 stolen bases (if they let him run) and very good defense.
I dont think hes a .300 hitter, but I also dont think his average with runners in scoring position is an aberation either. I can see him batting near .300 with men on. He has shown a compact a quick swing in those situations which bodes well for bringing guys in.
Also, I wont predict his RBI totals because that depends on where he is in the lineup. He could be a good leadoff guy, but thats not happening unless Jose is not in the picture, so suddenly hes a bottom of the order player and he likely wont get too many RBI opportunities down there. Also, I could see the Mets sticking him in the #2, but I like the idea of giving the #2 to someone who handles fastballs very well.
That Royals trade is BS, just them trying to pull one over on the Mets.
I did not like Jerry for saying that at the end of the season because it really diminishes his perceived value; I mean if his own manager says that he is not a starter than why shouldn’t other teams believe that too.
I think you ar elooking at it the wrong way – the skillset that Pagan provides isn’t quite th skillset the Mets need right now, especially since he plays a position where you traditionally find power, which the Mets need.
If the Mets didn’t have Reyes, then Pagan would be a starter, IMO…..Heck they could even move Reyes down in the order, and lead off with Pagan, b/c Jose does have some pop, and is a good RBI guy when he has the opportunity.
If he wasn’t so injury-prone I think he would be a very solid major league starter. He’d have to brush up some parts of his game, of course.
Unless the there is a deal in place that greatly benefits the Mets, Angel Pagan should be a NY Met in 2010. In fact, if Franceuor reverts back into his crappy form, Pagan should most definitely then become the starting right fielder.
When I heard of this trade…I just hoped
it was wrong….the Mets need pagan…if anyone goes down in the outfield, Angel
can step in right away…and you know Beltran
will eventually spend time on DL.
….whats with the beltran bashing…the guy plays hurt and he plays well…whats in the water down there in tx….
Reality can be a stiff drink. I love the guy,
and he plays hard…but if just look at the
past few years…he will need time off in
‘10…but that’s OK, because Pagan did a
great job filling in for Beltran.
we agree on angel…some fans saw him make a couple of baserunning mistakes and want him gone…this past year was one big mistake for the team and and pagan was a bright spot…his defense is superb…and he gets hits in the clutch…
I thought he for the most part he played CF
as good or better than Beltran. As a lead off
hitter, he did pretty well. I agree, he was a
bright spot in an otherwise dark season.
His baserunning blunders are the things
he needs to work on for increased playing
time. Jerry was right..he makes a great
complimentary player.
Pagan is a decent 4th outfielder…but he can’t carry Beltran’s cleats.
lol. These comments are ridiculous aren’t they?
Beltran was hurt in 09 and now he’s injury prone? Beltran is the best all around CF in baseball and the best player on the Mets team. He’s a class act and a hard worker, contrary to the popular belief of the uneducated Mets fan (as education pertains to the Mets and Beltran, of course).
I like Angel, I’d like to keep him
Pagan certainly has some value, on this team or in a trade. I really like Pagan off the bench, as he adds plenty of speed and defense. This is why I would also look to move him in a deal. He could potential play CF and start on some other clubs. The Royals were mentioned, but I do not see a match on players the Mets would want back (maybe Meche? stinks watching Bannister pitch for them because he is serviceable at the back end of the rotation, but that ship has sailed). Anyway…
Two teams trades make sense to would be the Padres (Gonzalez) and the Reds (Phillips/Harang). The padres are in the market for a CF and on that team, Pagan would be a solid offensive everyday guy. The Reds have an overpaid Willy Tavares, but Pagan is arguably better and much cheaper. If the Mets worked out a deal for Harang/Phillips, they could take back Tavares and his 4M for 2010 while sending Pagan. It might help keep the costs of prospects down just a bit.
Obviously Pagan will not the be focul point of a deal for these players, but he could be a throw in that brings the price down.
Pagan is a CF … which is not a power position …
he would fit in well on a lot of clubs — problem is that there is not a high demand for CFs this year.
we are likely better served keeping him here, unless he can bring back something worthwhile in a trade.
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