Buzz: The Mets have Options
According to Ken Davidoff, in a report for Newsday, “If you’re a free agent and you haven’t heard from the Mets, you might want to make sure your cell-phone service hasn’t been canceled.”
Davidoff quotes a team official as saying, “We’re keeping all of our avenues open,” as they wait to let the market come to them.
…earlier in the week, here, i wrote:
“It’s early in the off season, the Mets have some money to spend, there are a lot of options and different ways to go, with more free agents likely to hit the market in four weeks, and so there is no point in rushing to make a move for the sake of making a move… In short, I believe the Mets are simply keeping their options open, which is exactly what they should be doing.”
…i also get the sense the Mets have more money to spend than is being portrayed in the media, especially by those writing for the Daily News… this is not to say the Mets intend to spend every available dime, i.e., go on same silly, Yankee-like spending spree just for the sake of spending, but i do think they are more capable than some reporters are being led to believe…
…the Mets have options, and it sounds to me like they have an idea of what they’d like the team to look like on Opening Day, but there are a variety of ways to get there, not just one, which is what i think davidoff is suggesting… i think this may be because there are a lot of comparable players available, but i also think it might be part of a larger negotiating strategy…
…lastly, i believe Omar Minaya has been charged with changing the look and feel of the team, because the Mets know it is unrealistic to expect fans to fork over good money to support the exact-same team that failed them three years in a row… this does not mean a total overhaul… not at all… but, where there is an opprtunity to move on, or simply make a laterral move for the sake of changing faces, i would not be surprised to see them switch it up… and i hope this happens…
For more on the team’s off-season strategy, and specific players they might pursue, check out Davidoff’s report, here.
