Buzz: Mets will Take Advantage of Non-Tenders
Mets GM Omar Minaya told the New York Post he intends to take advantage of the new crop of free agents who were non-tendered last Friday.
In a post to Mets Today, Joe Janish looks at 11 non-tendered players who should be of interest to the Mets, such as 1B Ryan Garko and outfielders Jack Cust and Jonny Gomes.
…i have to think garko will be considered as a platoon-partner for 1B Daniel Murphy, while also being able to play the outfielder once in a while… but, in the end, at that point, the Mets might as well just let murphy handle the job himself, since garko is not that much better at hitting righties, nor would he be considered a defense upgrade…
…similarly, it would seem cust and gomes will be considered, in the event the Mets are unable to sign a big hitter, like Jason Bay or Matt Holliday… frankly, i wonder if they’d be better off signing a guy like cust, to play left field, alongside Carlos Beltran and Jeff Francoeur, then adding John Lackey to the rotation…
In his three years with the A’s, Cust averaged roughly 460 at bats per season, with a .241 average, around 25 home runs, 15 or so doubles, and a .375 OBP, while batting slightly better against right-handed pitching.
Cust, who was born and raised in Flemington, NJ, is eligible for arbitration each of the next two seasons, after which he can become a free agent.
In late November, Adam Rubin of the Daily News said the Mets were among the teams interested in trading for Cust, before he was non tendered by the A’s.
Speaking of free agents…
According to Honkbalsite.com, the Mets signed two 18-year-old Dutch players, infielders Kevin Weijgertse and Bjorn Hato, to minor league contracts last weekend.
For more on Weijgertse and Hato, check out Mack’s Mets.
