Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Mets might give a second look to free-agent RHP John Lackey, “after getting sticker shock on middle-rung starters.”
Heyman thinks the team might be better of just spending for an ace.
…well, i mean, if Randy Wolf is going to get a three-year deal, similar to what Jason Marquis is looking to sign, and Joel Pineiro is seeking a four-year contract, at that point, a five– or six-year deal for lackey begins to make more sense… but, that doesn’t make it smart…
Updated at 8:25 pm:
David Lennon of Newsday believes the Mets are finally starting to talk dollars and years with free-agent starting pitchers, and so, “We could see some movement here soon.”
To follow Lennon on Twitter, go here; to read his blog for Newsday, where he provides quotes from Jerry Manuel’s Q&A with reporters at the Winter Meetings today, go here.
To read more from Manuel, read Anthony DiComo’s report for MLB.com.
Original Post at 6:14 pm:
GM Omar Minaya told reporters today that the Mets are still in the market for all free-agent pitchers, including LHP Randy Wolf, despite what has been reported connecting Wolf to the Brewers.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets are mulling over free-agent starting pitchers John Lackey, Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis, Jon Garland and Doug Davis.
… i am not sure why people are so convinced the Mets will not spend money this off season… how do they know that… personally, i’m waiting to see how this plays out… sure, i’m skeptical… but, from what i can tell, Omar Minaya was never given a limit to what he can spend… i mean, it’s not like Matt Holliday or lackey, etc., all signed super-cheap deals, all while the Mets were busy signing back-up catchers… nobody has signed yet… so, let their actions speak for themselves… i’ll judge in March… in the meantime, i’m hoping they do what’s ‘smart,’ not what’s most exciting… if that means holliday, do it… if not, don’t…
By the way, the Cardinals are telling teams they will not wait much longer for free-agent OF Matt Holliday to make a decision, according to Jayson Stark from ESPN.com.
Matt,
I agree with you, let’s not get crazy and evaluate what’s happening in Indianapolis this way. Let’s wait until everything plays out and go from there. It doesn’t matter what Minaya does, everybody will be all over him:
1) If the Tigers trade Edwin Jackson and Granderson and the Mets are not involved, there will be criticizing. Why he didn’t offer the same package, he was cheap
2) If he goes out and spend $200 million on Holliday, people will say he over paid and gave up a draft pick
3) If he signs Holliday to below market value, media will say that it was because teams like the Yankees or Boston backed out (translation, he was lucky!)
4) If he does trade the best prospects for Halladay, he ruined the farm system
5) If he doesn’t trade the best prospects for Halladay, they have no plan don’t want to win
That’s part of the process.
Best post all day.
As I’ve said all along the Wilpons know their fan base is demoralized and unwilling–especially in this economy–to shell out big bucks for games next season. The guy who I’ve relied on for years for access to great season tickets has called it quits after having his seats for over 25 years. I’m sure he’s not alone. The Wilpons know they have a valuable franchise and a good investment only if they do something this off season to bring us all back into the fold, especially since their two biggest rivals, the Yanks and the Phils have won it all the last two years while the Mets have collapsed the last three. I expect them to spend money; they’d be plain dumb not to.
The Mets need to win. Regardless of the money they do or don’t spend, they need to make the right decisions and win. If the Mets are winning…then the park will be full.
come on omar get me a pitcher
If we don’t get Holliday or Bay which is unlikely, we HAVE to get Lackey. We can trade for Phillips and Arroyo OR Agon and get Molina. We can get Ankiel or stick with Pagan.
What would you send to the Reds in exchange fir the services of Mssrs. Arroyo and Phillips?
So lets say, we get Holliday or Bay for LF.
Plan A:
1) Bay for 15 mill or Holliday for 17 mill
2) Sheets, Harden or Bedard for 8mill
3) Wolf, Marquis or Pineiro for 8 mill
4) Molina for 6 mill
5) Hudson for 5 mill
6) Biemel for 2 mill
7) Plus the Cora, Blanco and Coste signings for 4 mill
Total: 42 mill at the lowest and 44 mill at the highest.
Omar never said anything about a bugdet and he said we have a lot of money to spend. That should be about 40 mill IMO. Plan A could work out and should work out.
BTW, I subtracted Castillo’s 6 mill. That might help you out if you are checking this.
How did you arrive at $40M??
For the budget you mean. If so, I didn’t really “arrive” at it. That’s my guess since Omar said there is no limit for him although that doesn’t mean he’ll spend like the Yankees. Some people think it will decrease meaning the salary but I think it will be 40 mill. If it is like 5 mill more than 40 mill, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Only problem is that if you trade Castillo you probably have to take a bad contract back.
I wonder how high the asking price the second-tier pitcher besides what we know about Wolf
If we get Lackey, does this mean no Holliday b/c
1) We need Holliday more
2) I doubt we can do both
So it’s basically like this.
Lackey and Ankiel for LF
OR
Holliday and Sheets or some other starter like Harden or Bedard as your #2. I vote for #2.
Well the curious thing is that Matt mentioned that they had spoken to agents about back loaded contracts which implies that they’ve atleast hypothectically considered doing both. That doesn’t mean they will or they should do backloaded contracts (I would assume Holiday would be the one they back loaded due to his age), but as I posted before if ever their was a time to sign type A’s this is it due to our protected 1st rounder. This would also save the farm which is also a goal of the organization.
Why not just sign both Holliday and Lackey for $16 million each for 5-years each.
C’mon, either way will have a top payroll- wats another $10 mil when your team will win.
they would both have to be back loaded to be able to afford it
I don’t see them backloading both, if they do it at all they’ll backload one and open the check book for another. Backloading both doesn’t make long term sense.
If Piniero thinks he can get 4 years, I’d rather give Lackey 6.
Ditto, there’s no telling what will happen to Pineiro once seperated from Dave Duncan.
Sign lackey +17-18 mill
Trade Maine type package for Phillips/Harang b/c reds want to unload their salaries + 14.9 mill including Maine’s 2.6 million subtracted
Dump Castillo (possibly in the reds package)… — 6 million
Sign Barajas..+ 2.5 – 3 mill
The mets already unloaded 30 million on the season..so including the coste/blanco we’re looking at about + 3 mill or so w/ left field open and the bullpen left to figure out..and there’s guys we can get to fill that role..rivera..nady…i think people are overlooking our offense somewhat due to last season..reyes wright beltran are still at the top there..add phillips and maybe another solid bat and well have a very strong lineup
forgot to mention that our pitching is a bigger question mark than our offense..u have no idea what you’re going to get out of maine/perez and we’re still a starter short..should make sure we lock down the rotation, especially in citi field..not to mention signing someone like holliday to a long term deal sort of conflicts with our plans for fernando martinez..so if we get a rivera type guy in left it will give us a good bat with solid defense in left which is what we need..and we wouldn’t have to spend much and we’d still keep our farm system in tact..which is a main goal for the oranization..gotta be smart here..we’d be very competitive I believe..if not a force..
Santana, lackey, harang, pelfrey, perez, Neise (if need be)
Reyes, Murphy, Beltran, Wright, Phillips, Rivera/Nady/?? Franceour, Barajas..
Order is up for question..but sounds like a pretty beast team to me..ike davis in 2011..Thole perhaps? thoughts anyone?
As much as I think that Lackey is a good pitcher, he won’t come to the Mets. I think our biggest need id Holliday and we’ll likely get him but we also need 2 other pitchers. For our #2 starter, we can get 1 of Sheets, Harden or Bedard. For our #3 we can get 1 of Wolf, Pineiro or Marquis. Plus the upgrades of Hudson and Molina and Biemel and the already signings, we’ll be very hard to beat. And if you lose out on Holliday(which I don’t think will happen) go for Lackey and then trade for Phillips or Arroyo. And what does back-loading mean.
is bedard healthy? I dont see rumors about him, he is an ace when healthy. I prefer him over piniero and harden.
Lackey is either worth the six years to the Met, or he isn’t. If some other team makes a mistake by inking mediocre talent to a long-term deal, it doesn’t mean the Mets should panic. Just the opposite. They should stick with whatever years and dollars they’ve determined Lackey is worth to them. If that means they don’t sign a top-flight pitcher, so be it.
I still have doubts that the market will go that high for Lackey — or as high as it has been reported recently for Holiday.
Three guaranteed years for Wolf is nuts, but maybe that’s what he is worth to the Brewers. By the way, I don’t believe the Wolf deal is official yet, so let’s wait for those details.
I wasn’t that interested in Lackey at the start of the off-season. I have concerns about his health long-term. But hell, if Wolf is gonna be nearly $10 million a year for 3 years, might as well grab Lackey.