Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Mets have signed free-agent 1B Mike Jacobs to a $900,000 minor-league deal, though he can earn another $1.15 million through incentives.
Heyman says, “He’s got a shot to win that job over Daniel Murphy/Fernando Tatis.”
Original Post at 1:23 pm:
Today on Baseball Digest Live, Mark Healey wondered if the Mets were signing Jacobs to be a catcher, not just a left-handed power bat for the bench or first baseman.
Jacobs played 309 games at catcher in the minor leagues with the Mets. In his final season with Double-A Binghamton, in 2005, he played 43 games at catcher and 54 games at first base.
He played only first base while with the Marlins and Royals.
… he was a sluggish catcher to begin with, now four years later i can’t think he’s better, but who knows… it’s an interesting idea, and it’s not like the Mets aren’t in need…
Jacobs, 29, hit just .226 with 18 HR; but he hit 32 HR with 92 RBI the season before that.
He is batting .234 with three HR in just 51 at bats as a pinch hitter.
He was such a bad catcher they moved him to 1B instead of having him try to replace Piazza. Now I know some of that was because of the arm surgery but still I do not see. However he could be a nice 1B pick up. Average is not great but he has some power and on a MILB deal is worth the shot.
Jacobs is no longer a catcher, plain and simple. To me, it seems like he’s a backup plan to Murphy (he’s way better than Evans as he’ll see better pitches in the Mets lineup, so even with that low BA, he can improve). He’s not a backup plan to Blanco, Santos, Thole, or any other catcher in the organization.
Actually of all the combos, maybe an Evans — who mashes lefties/Jacobs — who hits righties would be the best platoon at 1B.
Evans mashes lefties?, did I miss something, he isnt even going to be a AAA starter, he has 3 career HR’s and 16 RBI’s in over 80 games with a less than 30% on base percentage. If the Mets signed me let me get to AA, and they called me up everyone would love me even though I cant play at all, im fat but as long as I am home grown people will love me, Nick Evans, he had his shot too and did nothing, we will probably never see him again
From fangraphs:
“Nick Evans can handle lefties, as his his .914 OPS against lefties in 421 minor league at-bats can attest. “
note minor leagues, were talking about the big leagues, I could care less who does what in the minors if you cant do it in the big level you become insignificant, and thats what Evans has become, now Jacobs, Carter, Davis, and since Murphy is on the team already, are all ahead of Evans, it will take major injuries to ever see Evans again, which im sure none of us wish for
Look, I’m not saying Evans is the be all and end all, but you cannot judge his MLB totals simply because he hasn’t had enough at bats.
Jacobs is a seriously flawed hitter, and how can you tout Carter who is all minor leagues and dismiss Evans’s minor league stats in the same post? Oh I know how, it;s convenient to just spout what you believe without actually looking at any stats.
dont get me wrong im not praising the Jacobs signing nor think Carter is any good either, I was just shooting down Evans for something he probably will never be not with the Mets at least, I dont think any of them are that good lol
but, but …I thought the Mets were out of money???
where do people come up with this stuff??? Silly!!
“… it’s an interesting idea, and it’s not like the Mets aren’t in need…”
That is the quote from the person who runs this blog. The blind leading the blind. Let’s put Jose Reyes back at 2B while we’re at this… sigh…
I actually love this move. He gives the Mets another option at 1st base as well as a nice power bat off the bench. I don’t like him as a catcher but what I do like is with him the Mets should never find the need to carry a third catcher because he can play there in a pinch if needed.
i thought Tatis was our third catcher…
When was the last time Tatis played catcher and he has very little time behind the plate to begin with
I’d actually like to see what he could do behind the plate .. Have you seen our catchers lately ?
think of that, a lefty catcher with power. that’s very rare.
It is?
Lol…wow..Fail.
Lets put him at shortstop! Left hand hitting shortstops with power are rare!
yes I have and they may not be elite catchers but they look like elite catchers compared to Jacobs. He should only be put behind the plate if they have no choice because of injuries or something during a game.
i seem to remember him being a scrapper like Murphy when he first came up, having really tough, quality at-bats. he was compared to Chipper Jones in terms of swing and approach. his BA and OBP were pretty decent his first two years, then they went downhill and his K’s went up. of course, he hit more homers, too. I wonder if he can (or if the Mets can get him to) restore his old approach. he will probably lose some homers, but could be a great gap hitter. but then he’ll be just like Murphy. and i think Murphy actually plays a better 1B than Jacobs. huh.
also, why was Tatis NOT working with Keith the other day, too? i thought he was going to be playing some first…? he has played in less than 50 games as at 1B in his career. i remember him being a little awkward around the bag last year at times. curious.
Because you don’t want Keith wasting his time with a sub. He’s there to teach our starters.
he was working with Evans and Carter, too.
he was working with Evans, too.
who will be a starter in the minors
Neither will be starting in the minors, Davis will.
Haha, great name, venting station!
It wouldn’t hurt to have him work out at both positions in ST. He probably has much more upside at 1B though
Why don’t you think how far down the depth chart he would be at catcher. And then think if you want him wasting time behind the plate
The Mets should call OldBackstop…
Haha! They did … but I wasn’t interested in an incentive-laden deal. ;)
Good move. Some potential insurance at 1B in AAA just in case the Tatis/Murphy thing doesn’t work out.
why was Tatis not working with Keith, too?
well, i thought about it. maybe he will… maybe Tatis is out of the country…
Keith is really gonna have his hands full with Murphy, Carter, Evans, Tatis AND now Jacobs and probably Thole, too.
I hope that he does a great job with all of them. I’ve always liked Keith and when you listen to him during the games its obvious that he has a lot to offer and I think would be a great coach. Maybe this leads into something for him if he wants it to.
Murph, Evans and co. will improve just by being on the same diamond with Hernandez.
As far as any managing or coaching aspirations…it would require him to stay at the game later than the 7th. So I’d say he’s just fine in the booth for SNY.
Keith won’t have enough patience to tolerate a team playing bad or to stick around till the end of the game. I like what the Mets are doing and using Keith to instruct certain players.
sorry, not Thole, I meant Davis.
You have to think given how awful most catchers are with a bat in their hands, if Jacobs with his power could catch, he would have been doing so by this point in his MLB career.
bulls eye. exactamongo.
lol
that was to getalife2k9 comment about being out of the country
I always loved Jacobs!! I hope he gets a job with the big club.
I’m sorry but Mark should not be speculating like that. It makes no sense, and it’s silly to even think it. Typical pre-spring training “there isn’t anything to report on” subject.
I like this move alot. This guy has an EXPLOSIVE BAT a sweet swing and was very productive in a good line up on the Marlins and the Mets. In KC he had NO PROTECTION at all and a ton of pressure on him to hit only homeruns. On a Mets team with so many variables why not take a chance on a guy that has the ability to hit bombs? He may strikeout alot but working with Hojo should help that. Lets face it his 19 homeruns last year still would have led the Mets by 4 and because the Mets have such a history of giving up on good young players maybe this time we give him a chance to succeed and see if we can develop a new superstar.
Signing Jacobs as a catcher makes a helluva lot of sense. He played catcher in the minors. Why stop at a minor league contract? Give Jacobs 4 years and $80M. Show him that you care.
Please, what a stupid idea. Jacobs has poor plate discipline. Yes, he hits for power, but he’s a poor man’s Delgado. At this point the Mets are best served by supporting Murphy.
So Heyman’s next Tweet was this:
“1 minute murphy’s getting tips at 1B from keith hernandez. the next he learns he’ll have competition at 1B in mike jacobs”
Seriously, can this guy help himself when it comes to taking shots at the Mets? One minute the Mets have no depth and they killed for it. The next, they get killed for bringing in some depth.
I want this team to win just to shut up all these frontrunners in the media more than anything else.
yes but he is stating a FACT
Sorry unrelated but from NY Times:
February 10, 2010, 12:06 pm
Diamond Junk
Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s have finally discovered something New York baseball fans figured out last summer. The New York Mets are junk.
O.K, that is not fair. But the New York City bonds issued to build CitiField have been cut to below investment grade by the rating agencies. The agencies blame the cuts not on the Mets’ woeful performance last year but on the standing of the bond insurer Ambac, which guaranteed the bonds.
Ambac is all but broke, with ratings in the nether worlds of junk.
The part of this that is most amazing is that the bonds were sold in 2006 and 2009. That investors would regard an Ambac guarantee as worth something in 2006 is understandable. But by 2009 it was pretty clear the firm was in trouble, even if the rating agencies were slow to announce it.
The fact the Mets paid for that guarantee may also say something about the financial expertise in Queens. Of course, we already know the Wilpon family, which owns the team, invested with Bernie L. Madoff, so it is clear their financial clairvoyance may be no better than their ability to pick and sign the stars of tomorrow in the annual draft.
At least they managed to sell the stadium naming rights before that market caved, even if the buyer did need to be rescued by the government so it could keep paying the money.
I am, for all this, a Mets fan. (I identify with underdogs, which the Mets were when I moved to New York in 1978, and which they are once again.) Spring training starts in eight days, with pitchers and catchers reporting, and I am sure I will find something to be hopeful about.
SELL MORTIMER!! (uhh uh I mean Wilpon)
Very funny article
I’ll always be somewhat partial to Mike because I happened to be there in that blowout at the hands of the Nationals in 2005 when he made his debut and hit a home run.
Since I haven’t seen Jacobs catch, it’s hard for me to comment on it. I do think that sometimes scouts and evaluators get caught up in the “tools” and not enough in the numbers.
In today’s baseball market, if you can find a catcher that plays average defense at the position and can hit 20 homeruns, you have a gem on your hands. There just aren’t that many that can … and there are quite a number of catchers that can hit some and aren’t very good defensively, so there is certainly room there.
It’s the Dan Uggla theory … if you can put a 25+ homerun guy in a position that normally doesn’t hit a lick (2B, C), you can sometimes overlook subpar defense, because in the end, the 20 errors the guy makes in the field are easily made up for by the runs he creates with the bat.
If the Mets merely signed Jacobs as their AAA 1B, who they may need to call upon as a replacement option, then it’s a very good signing. He’s 28, and probably capable of hitting around .240 with 30 HR power (over 600 ABs). Not a bad option. He also really beats up on RHP.
If they signed him as someone they may want to convert to catcher, I wouldn’t shoot it down before it even gets started, simply because I haven’t seen him play the position.
He’s played for the Marlins and Royals, neither team was stocked at C and neither team even tried him there.
You would think that if he was even close to adequate he would have tried it by now to save his career.
His bat would play at C as you say, and its well below what you need out of 1B… so why hasn’t he made himself into a catching option by now? I would guess that if he could, he would have.
Olney reports (via MLBTR): Torrealba offered himself to the Mets for $1.4M. The Mets claimed they have no money to sign him.
1. Either the FO collective ego got in the way of signing Torrealba – or -
2. The Mets can’t spend anything
He is a servicable/MLB average catcher willing to accept a 1yr deal for below market rates. I’m having a hard time understanding this “non-move” vs. all of the others. This seemed an inexpensive solution to one of the teams biggest identified needs.
I’m sure there are interested stakeholders (think bond holders) that will want to understand if there is a material change in finanical outlook for the franchise.
1.4 FREAKIN MILLION!!!!! wow. thats pretty cheap. makes cora signing look all the more worse
To me, signing Jacobs does not solve the catching situation and is not directly related. Torrealba at $1.4M is an very affordable option. Given the MLB minimum, this is a small premium to pay over the cost of having Santos on the roster for the overall upgrade.
Torrealba has had an OPS+ of 87 or lower every year for the last 7 years. He’s not productive offensively, at all. He’s Mike Jacobs, without the power. Better said: He’s Omir Santos for an extra million. Why bother?
There is a reason no one has signed him yet and that he’s pitching offers to any team that will listen. The saddest part of all of this is that Omar almost gave this guy a multi-year deal. Imagine having been locked up with Castillo and Torrealba? Yikes.
So, how much do you think renovating the bullpens, lowering the center field wall, and building the Mets HOF cost?
why are we stil on torreabla?? The guy sucks. He might not even be better than the 2 catchers we have. Why dont we do a bit of research before you mouth off and complain how the mets dont spend money. Geez.
Once again people want to just give up on Omir Santos, a guy that presented some serious potential, why do the Mets always want to just give up on people? Do you know how many great former Mets prospects went on to have amazing careers? Nolan Ryan, Jeff Kent, Jason Isringhausen, JASON BAY! its like once someone on the mets shows some promise they immediately think its a fluke and he must be traded for some old washed up player. Let Santos and Blanco fight it out and let Jacobs compete as well. There is no way they are thinking of Jacobs as a catcher so everyone needs to forget that right now.
While Jacobs doesn’t solve any problems, besides depth, I have to admit that I have a soft spot for this guy, kind of like Ty Wiggnington. I remember when Jacobs came up, and had that oh-so-sweet swing. Nice and smooth. I’m sorry that he’s fallen so far that he has to take a minor league deal, but I’m not sorry that the Mets got him back. Weird. No Delgado, but we have Jacobs back.
He has a sweet golf shot. Like he’s swinging a 9 iron.
I agree with you 100% Felix, I felt the same way with Jacob’s swing. So sweet. Just gotta watch the uppercut.
i love this move! if he comes to the mets with his 2008 form on the marlins, this will be BIG!
Can’t believe this is the big news entering the o ten season.
yea sad, but at least not a “bad deal” lol
1b catcher who cares, its a low risk deal with a once proven, young player. Now this was a move that is not a bad move – but one with potential. cant po-op omar here.
Anyone who thinks Mike Jacobs is a good hitter is seriously kidding themselves. This just leads me once again to how flashy stats appeal to some people. There is a reason why florida traded him after he hit 32 hr’s, and why the royals non-tendered him, and why he is only getting a minor league contract.
he can hit 30 homeruns and it still does not make up for his horrendous OBP (Sub – .300). Now if he was able to play catcher it would be a more interesting situation, because suddenly he goes from being a horrible hitter to a slightly above average one for the catcher position. I also do not think hes a good bench bat, we have tatis already who is well above jacobs level. Ofcourse Jacobs is more suited to having those 2 or 3 big late game pinch hit homeruns which people seem to remember, but he will be a out machine in all his other important AB’s.
I think Mike Jacobs pitched in high school. You know the Mets could use another lefty in the pen.
Must be a very slow day to wonder if Jacobs can still be a catcher.
I’m a Murphy man and do not want Jacobs playing first instead of Murphy…forget catching that is not even in the equation…..
Bloggers sometime whine that the Mets need to take risks (on guys like Sheets).
If Jacobs stinks this spring … how much of the 900K will the Mets have to pay. Isn’t it something like 1/6th? I think I remember that, from when the Mets cut Duaner Sanchez.
That seems like a good risk … in case Murphy gives indications that he won’t hit or can’t play 1B.
i guess that makes some sense NOYB. But i don’t see this guy even making the team. i can’t believe at this point that there is any way they ditch Murphy at first. (Unless of course they swing a trade with San Diego) and all the talk about Jacobs catching is insane! especially after all the talk about upgrading the position. the notion that they would even consider ever putting Jacobs behind the plate is crazy talk….
So they may have wasted a guaranteed 900K on a guy who won’t have a spot on the roster? Or if he does only may until Beltran gets back? I guess they weren’t so broke. It would have been money better spent if they used it towards Kiko Calero. He’ll probably only get 1 to 1.5 million. MacDougal may be similarly priced. Wouldn’t either one make a good 8th inning set-up we don’t really have? Escobar is a long DL stint waiting to happen if he’s even effective. Igarashi is too questionable. Good luck with Parnell for 6 months. Not to mention other decent relievers like Weathers, Beimel and Mahay. It could be been used towards Barajas or Felipe Lopez too. Everyone knows the Mets got ripped off on Cora too. Even when he was signed we were all baffled as to why he got 2 million. Anderson Hernandez is healthier and is a more suitable back-up anyway. If his clubhouse leadership were so valued, they could have still had him at 1/2 the price. That 2 million + Jacobs 900K is the price of Barajas.
900k is a minor league contract and that figure counts towards the minor league payroll. These are seperate. So saying they could have saved the 900k for someone else is wrong.
Hey, i thought we ran out of money? LOL
He’ll be a lefty threat off the bench — and a somewhat professional backup at 1B — in case Murphy fizzles. Quite the golf shot. He swings a lot, and often misses.
Very often.
There is absolutely no chance he will be considered at catcher.
What I do not comprehend, however, is why are Tatis and Jacobs on the same roster?
Is Victor Diaz available?
they should definately try jacobs as catcher and 1B this ST
but why did omar call up hernandez and ask him 2 tudor murphy on his defense, then go out and get another 1B who can easily take murphy’s job???
the only logical explanation is that the mets are looking to trade murphy with someone else to get a pitcher, have jacobs as a 1 or 2 year fix at first, and have ike davis take over from there.
I say that in jest. Thought I was still in purgatory.
I like Jacobs. I think he’s a valuable addition. If he’s smart, he might want to brush up on his catching skills. He has pop but no average, not a marketable item at 1B, but as a back up catcher, he could extend his career a few years.
***Breaking News*** Mets are talking to Benito Santiago to be their starting catcher.
I googled Santiago to see how old he was. I really wasn’t sure if you could be serious
Julio Franco is going to simultaneously compete with Murphy/Jacobs for the 1st base job and Dave Jauss for the bench coach job
Alay Soler is competing for the 5th spot in the rotation.
If Figueroa were available, I’d have him compete for a spot.
Figueroa is around and he will be competing for the job.
Ed?
You telling me you don’t have faith in RA Dickey?
while I don’t think he is a real viable option at catcher, I don’t see why he can’t in spring take an inning or 2 to be the emergency guy.
its not a bad move, although he really fell last year.
He’s a streak hitter who needs to play every day. Which he did not do last year. And he was hurt, which no one has mentioned.
I’m not defending the guy. But he could play in my foursome.
Geez, Jacobs has as much of a chance at catching for the Mets as the Montreal Expos have at winning the NL East.
There is a blog post somewhere else that shows all of the players that once played for the Expos (and brought in by Minaya) that are now (or have recently) played for Los Mets. So, yes, the Expos (nee: Mets) have a shot at the NL East. After all, it is February.
I meant that there’s no shot in Jacobs playing catcher for the Mets — Just like there’s no shot that the Expos win the NL East.
just because some writer speculates that they want him to catch doesnt make it true.
this should put to rest the rumor that they are broke since his contract is close Yorvit’s. the truth is that they did want him and were not giving him amuntion to file another grievance.
It isn’t that I mind Jacobs though. I’d love to have him for 900K in most circumstances. The Wilpon’s are just getting so cheap. After all their arbitration cases, free agent signings, bonuses and buyouts they’ve had to pay, their payroll would be a little over 11 million less than what it was on the last day of the ’09 season.
They shed 43.1MM. Arbitration increases came out to 15.23MM. That decreased the payroll 27.8MM. They spent 16.7MM (Bay’s ’10 salary is 6.5MM + 1/4 of his 8.75MM bonus). They even said they had a budget of 20 million a couple months ago. They’ve spent 3.3 million less than that.
Dude the Mets money is obviously hemorrhaging away. How hard is it to understand. Economy is bad, ticket sales is bad. I’m not even sure how that bond rating with CitiField will affect them. The Madoff thing probably hurt too.. The Wilpons are probably too proud to admit it. They are still among the top spending teams though.
We were in a recession last off-season too. Getting ripped off by Madoff was fresh. Yet they slightly increased the payroll and got K-Rod. Yet now we’re supposed to be content on cutting payroll because we already suck? This is when it is hard to blame Minaya even though I despise him. Even if they don’t raise the payroll and even cut it, they don’t need to do it by the much when there are obvious needs on the roster.
They could put together a combination of Barajas (2.5MM) and Calero or MacDougal (2MM) for the price of what they offered Molina. If they had the money to offer it to him, they still have it. They’d still be 6.5MM below the payroll last season. That is enough to sign an alright available starter (ex. Washburn, Smoltz, Wang, Looper) and still be a few million below.
I dont see Barajas as a major upgrade at cather. His ba and obs are terriable. As for washburn he wants to be in the midwest and turned down 5m from the twins already. Looper’s era is almost 6 and smoltz age is against him. Wang is interesting and i would have taken a chance on him.
Looper was 14-7 on a team that only won 80 games. His ERA was 5.22. Even though he isn’t that good, he’s still made 30+ starts and 12+ wins the last three seasons. Plus, he’d thrown 194+ IP in 2 of 3 of those seasons including last season. Even if he didn’t work out as a starter, he might be valuable as a reliever similar to Smoltz. I couldn’t see him getting more than 1.25 million at this point.
Barajas would be somewhat of an improvement. Blanco would get the bulk of the starts as of right now. Yet he is a worse hitter than Schneider. Santos isn’t the worse hitter (although streaky). He doesn’t handle a pitching staff well though. Barajas is better offensively and better suited to hit 7th (if Castillo or Murphy hits 8th). Like you said though, his batting average particularly isn’t promising. Signing a catcher isn’t that necessary. But it’d be nice.
What happened to Chris Carter the guy we got in the Wagner trade with Boston? Thought he was suppose to be a 1B? Have heard zero mention of him.
I think he was at that 1B training session with Keith Hernandez the other day. But yeah, nothing is being said about him.
What happened to Nick Evans? He just turned 24 and it seems as if the Mets have already given up on him.
Last year had a great st. He waas the last man cut and went into free fall in the minors. He made to the bigs because of all the injuries but did nothing to impress.
by nothing to impress you mean that he just couldn’t get those hits while sitting on the bench ignored by his ‘manager’?
Yeah that’s ture Jerry did give him much of a chance. And I’m sure that ruined his confidence so that the few times he did get to play he didn’t impress. Look i’m no fan of Manuels and I am sure he will be worse this year and self distruct.
Im very well aware of “where he is”. My point is why are they not taking a chance with him? With him and Murphy patrolling 1B then there was no need to waste money on Tatis and Jacobs.
And if anyone would rather have Jacobs at 1B then they must be crazy/wishful thinking that he can but up good numbers.
I mean, the guy is a poor mans Dave Kingman for crying out loud!
And great point Ceetar, thanks.
Yeah, if he was going to have a chance it would have been in the second half of last season. They could have given him some of Tatis’ innings at 1B and OF. The best he’ll do is compete with Jacobs, Hernandez and others for the last spot on the bench (until Beltran returns).
He has good numbers at AAA but no major leauge experience.
I like the signing. If they ship Murphy out in a package for a pitcher I would like it better.
yeah, looks like Murphy would be expendable… i mean, if Jacobs pans out. not a bad piece to offer someone, but who would need a player like Murphy?
I’m not opposed to getting more power, but I’m confused…
– Murphy who looks to be a very good hitter, maybe not a power hitter, but as much as Keith Hernandez was, who everyone wants to erect a monument for.
– Davis who seems to have promise.
– Tatis was signed as a backup to Murphy
– Evans in the minors also has promise
– Now Jacobs????? The Marlins new something went they dealt this guy and his numbers sucked last year.
Why not get some outfield pop or another second baseman. I would have rather seen the Mets sign Dye who can play in the OF and probably play 1B as well.
Omar should have signed Miguel Olivo when he had the chance, which would have improved us defensively and offensively. He also should have gone after LaRoche for a one year deal.
Now we have too much of not much.
You make a good point Bones. i agree. i don’t see how Jacobs makes the team. but i guess the argument will be that he is there to let Murphy know that he has to work hard this spring or risk losing his job to a guy who has already proven that he is a below average major league player.
Davis isn’t ready. He is obviously the 1B of the future of this team. They are just trying to be creative to fill in until than. By the time Davis settles in (hopefully no later than some point of 2011), the team should have a good read on Murphy’s place. Unfortunately, Murphy’s not much of a fielder. He’s a mediocre 1B. He’d probably be slightly worse at 3B. We all know he can’t handle LF. I see him having a career similar to Russell Branyan.
Even Omar realizes Murphy isn’t reliable enough to take the position by himself. Tatis certainly isn’t either. Jacobs is good insurance. He has power and is arbitration eligible through next season if he does well. First base is similar to catcher right now for the Mets. A weak spot with 3 alternatives (Santos/Blanco/Coste) with a prospect in the wings (Thole). If everything goes well (although nothing seems to), Thole will be catching, Davis at 1B, F-Mart in RF, with Reyes re-signed (and healthy) Opening Day 2011.
I agree with you about Olivo. As I mentioned with LaRoche (Beltran’s ”we’re better than them” remarks), Yorvit (grievance) and Bengie (who knows?) and even Adam Rubin (Oh, that was awesome lol), Olivo was the main instigator of Reyes in the last week of ’07. Jacobs vocally expressed his pleasure in knocking out the Mets on the last year of ’08 though so maybe I’m wrong. 23 HR in 416 AB wouldn’t have been bad for 2.5MM though.
finally! thank you! someone else who thinks they should have signed Olivo! i thought i was the only one.
If Washburn expects to pitch in 2010, he won’t top that 5 million offer. He’d be lucky if he got 3 million at this point. He may very well retire though. They probably are interested in Wang. There is a lot of competition so he’ll probably get a Bedard type deal. I’d think he’d not want to move though. Abreu didn’t either (and Johan wanted him here) and it sure would have been worth giving him 1 year/5 million last February.
I thought LaRoche would have been a great signing for 6 million too. It was only 500K more than Molina and LaRoche signed before him. The problem was what everyone hasn’t been mentioning. Beltran burned the bridge last summer. Just like Torrealba’s grievance factored into it. As did Molina’s apparent disinterest in the Mets. Even Bay tried to wait until the last minute. No one wants to play here. The Mets probably made the same minor league offer to Wellemeyer that he got with the Giants.
For the record Jacobs will not be going behind the plate unless its because of injuries.
With that being said, and with this recent acquisition of Jacobs, how isn’t anyone alarmed with the progress of Murphy?
Is it not odd that days after Omar asked Keith to help out Daniel all of a sudden Tatis as a platoon doesn’t seem to adequate, or good enough?
I can’t say I don’t like the pick up because Jacobs does have the ability to put up some power numbers, but I also think this would mentally bother Daniel. Not because Murphy would feel threatened by Jacobs to win the job, because Murph has great confidence and work ethic, but more so with so much going into Murphy it would feel to me like a slap in the face.
I don’t think he’d think of it like a slap in the face. On one hand, Murphy is stronger mentally than even many veterans on the Mets. On the other hand, it may steal at bats that will take away from his growth. He knows Omar’s job is to put together a winning team though. Not specifically focus on Murphy’s progress. Murphy has done enough to earn acquiring the bulk of playing time (say 60-70% of starts) at 1B. He’ll have to earn the other 30-40% by hitting consistently. It’ll be Omir’s job to also (although he doesn’t have as much offensive competition). When Daniel’s on, he is a great 2 hitter (despite not having that much speed). He’s ideal in the bottom half with Francoeur to help offset his free swinging.
Totally respectable move, although a case of too little too late, as the damage to this team, or more directy the flaws, are almost irreparable. I like Jacobs’ upside and power, and he already is a big upgrade over Murphy. For those who say that his HRs` and RBIs do not make up for his low OBP or avg, I laugh at you small ballers. I am not saying he can do 30-100, but if he can, those power #s combined with runs make up for ALL deficiencies in on base and contact #s. The object of the game is to SCORE and PRODUCE runs for your team, not look pretty standing on first base or hitting several seeing eye singles. Normally, the #s go hand in hand, but if they do not, run production wins out any day.
all u guys need to see how good of a thing we got. mike jacobs has a booming bat, if he can beat murphy for the job i think he can be a good 2nd spot in the order or a good 8 spot.
reyes
jacobs
wright
bay
francoure
pagan/gmj
santos
castillo
pitcher
thats a pretty good lineup and when beltran comes back
reyes
jacobs
wright
bay
beltran
fracoure
santos
castillo
pitcher
re
Jacobs #2 in the order???
I’m not even going to start.
lol, in the 2 hole, lol. He dosnt get on base and hes very slow. Maybe in the #6 or 7 hole. But he wont be starting anyway.
The Mets never fail to be an attractive team on paper. When they are healthy, they are competitive. When they are completely opposite, they aren’t. The problem goes beyond health even if they were healthy though. There are too many holes. Pelfrey who is our 2 SP is a 3 or 4 SP at best. Maine is just the same when he’s not on the DL. Oliver Perez just sucks (pretty dry cut). Even if we didn’t get Lackey, we should have traded for Arroyo or even Pineiro. We couldn’t even pull off a Marquis, Garland, Davis. We didn’t get anyone. We don’t have a proven set up man. We’ve got below average production coming from C and 1B, mediocrity from 2B and RF and a CF who’s out until May. We’re in terrible shape already. You never know with the Mets because there are only three categories with us. Great, Horrible and Dramatic. Dramatic seems to roll both sides of the coin. Let’s just hope for the best this season.
What has Pineiro ever done in his career that has made you say “wow, he could be a #2″!
Marquis, Garland and Davis are all #3-#5 starters and Arroyo is ok.
So why would you want to add more #4 starters to a team that already has 4 of them?
I didn’t say Pineiro was a 2. He wouldn’t be a bad 3 though. Sometimes you take the next best thing when it isn’t available. Pineiro was close to that. Even he is questionable though. What we know is he has talent. I would have ranked Marquis similar to him because at least he has showed extreme durability. If the Mets signed 2 of Pineiro, Marquis, Garland, Davis or Washburn, they’d be looking better right now even if they’d have a couple of 4 SP to team up with Maine and Pelfrey who 4 SP type starters themselves. Perez is not a 4 SP. If it weren’t for his salary, he’d be in AAA. It beats Oliver Perez and a competition for the 5 spot.
Don’t even get into Arroyo again. They were never going to give him up for a bag of peanuts.. They would rather get rid of Harang first… and he sucks.
Harang is a 3-4 SP too. He isn’t worth 14.5MM counting his buyout. He probably isn’t even worth 1/2 of that. The only way you consider him or Meche is if Castillo is in the deal. That won’t be happening though.
Wang is really the only pitcher available who has potential to be a 2. Or perhaps better. When 100% healthy. I’m suprised they didn’t show more interest in Bedard (whom they liked prior to acquiring Santana in early-’08) if they liked Sheets.
You’re right about the damage already being done. Sometimes what you don’t do is what’ll cost you. In reality though, it would have been hard imagining more than what we got out of the ’07-08 teams to come last year or this year. The team lacks chemistry, is poorly coached and is a complete mess despite composing of a lot of talent.
After the ’08 meltdown, there was a side of me that wanted to see it all get aired out. Sort of like walking a lap after running 2 miles. I thought a terrible ’09 would start the rebuilding process of a new era. It was surely terrible. Yet not enough to the blame of Minaya and Manuel that’d boot them.
2009 was our airing out. 2010 will hopefully be our dismantlement. I’d rather have that than an 83 win type season because it’d more than convince them to fire (or not re-sign) Manuel and possibly let go Omar too.
Just look at ’02. A lot of hope and the bridge collapses. Bobby V was out. Phillips was still here after the season. So were his recent acquisitions of Alomar, Burnitz, Vaughn, Cedeno. He thought they’d have a chance at competing so he signed Glavine and Floyd just how Omar singed Bay. By the mid-’03, the Wilpon’s came to reality. It wasn’t nearly as overdue as Omar’s firing will be considering Phillips had a very successful tenure here (and more than Omar).
2010 may turn out being 2003 all over again. Out with the old. In with the new. Wright, Reyes and what should have been Kazmir. Hopefully, that’ll be Thole, Davis, F-Mart and Mejia. Omar would too stubborn to let go of his pricey possessions (Beltran, K-Rod, Castillo). He’d try to save a competitive roster because he isn’t going to be our GM going into the next generation. So I say hope for his firing as quickly (and at least controversial) as possible.
can anyone say bobby v?
They bring Bobby V back and I’ll start going to the Blue Smoke and Shake Shack every day for lunch and dinner…
YA HEAR THAT WILPONS?!
Let us not beat around the bush here. I was as anti-Willie as anyone, but now even I will take a step back on the coaching blame game. The Mets flaws, both last year and now, come down to two things- talent and depth. Last yr, nobody could have overcame their injury bug, but they might not have contended anyway. Now, even if healthy, all teams around them have surpassed them. The Mets are, even on paper, very underwhelming. They have far less high end talent than the teams around them, and their holes will not be masked as easily as other teams. Might the Phillies have pen issues? Yes, but with Doc, Happ, and Hamels, this might be a non-issue. Do the braves have an underwhelming lineup? Maybe, but with their #1-5 sps that can be hidden… The Mets are flawed on both sides, and their top end guys are no better than the top end guys of any major league team. We have discussed their flaws ad nauseum, so how about a chance for the optimists to reply: Given the state of the team, as well as other teams in the East, give me some reasons to expect the Mets, as constructed ON PAPER even, to win more than 75 games (or even 70) and finish above 3rd? And if you plan on using the “if so and so has a big year or so and so comes back nicely” logic, be prepared to comepsnate for that by assuming an equal year from a player on an opposing team. Example- If Maine comes back healthy and in 07 form…. Then we have to say that Happ progresses and is very good. None of this only rosy things happening for the Mets and other teams getting worse all around, because that is just blind faith.
The problem is last year was a lost year. You can’t see what really needs to be fixed because of all the injuries. This year’s FA class was less than overwhelming. Signing middle tier guys is not the way to go. I still see this as a spring training 2009 team (before the injuries and Bay for Delgado — There was lots of hope then with a similar team). By the end of the year we’ll have a better idea of which direction to go… just in time for next year’s infinitely better FA class.
It isn’t even that though. Even when they are competitive – like in ’08, there were big holes in the roster that simply weren’t addressed. Minaya can’t manage a roster with expectations of winning a World Series. Unless you treat him like a little spoiled kid and give him all the resources he would want. He came close in ’06 because the Wilpon’s let him do that back than. He did nothing about the disaster of the ’08 bullpen. A team that won 89 games blew 28 saves (losing over 20 of them). That was the complete opposite of the Phillies bullpen that year. Imagine if the Mets even had a mediocre bullpen? They’d at least be a Wild Card or division winner. Even when they are winning, yet under this admistration, there is just this feeling that they just don’t have it. They don’t have what it takes to push the envelope. They’re a bunch of cowards. That is why Minaya got away with saying they ”didn’t have edge” in early-May. Sadly, that was his assembled roster though.
I do expect us to win more than 70. Assuming most players are healthy. That is what we won last year. 75 seems low ball too. As long as everyone is healthy and as productive as expected (but nothing more), I’d say the team is good for 78-83 wins. It sure isn’t worth the large payroll they’re paying out. I don’t believe baseball prospectus prediction though (unless they’re factoring more bad luck with injuries). It is hard to believe any source that says the Nats will finish over .500 no matter what the statistical analysis says. Like I said though, 68-73 wins is better off. It’ll bring the flushing to this toilet. Finishing .500 would save us embarrassment. Yet drag this on. That isn’t what we need.
The Mets are just out of focus right now. They are either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid.
1) Signing Jacobs to a deal like this is not bad ($900K + incentives). He just add depth in the minors (or if Murphy struggles), for a low cost. Who knows maybe Hojo will discover something magical that will allow Jacobs to discover his patience.
2) There are rumors that they are interested in Chavez as well. Again, just another piece and adds depth (if they sign him).
But the real question is, why they are spending that money (even if we are talking about minor league deals) and yet they are entering the season with two backup catchers? Where are the priorities within the organization? A Manager that doesn’t like Omir’s catching skills, a pitching coach that has criticize Santos and some starting pitchers wanted Molina badly. Yet they are spending their time signing 1B or OFers? Going into ST the Mets still have the chance to improve certain positions:
1- Catcher
2- Lefty in the pen
I’m not listing a #2 starter, because there are non available. I’m still hoping that something major will happen during ST, because there is no way any organization can be so out of focus like the Mets are right now. Torrealba offered himself to the Mets and they didn’t want him. OK, I get the reasoning. But Barajas is still out there and could cost what Jacobs got from the Mets. Bemiel is out there and could cost less than what Jacobs is getting.
Can somebody explain the Mets objective, besides being the laughing stock of ML baseball??
No, nobody can, it is impossible.
Maybe Wilpon’s psychologist could give us the tip of the iceberg. This team just sucks. They are an embarrassment. They remind me of the Knicks – except the Mets more talented players and a much worse current coach and GM. At least the Knicks know they suck. The Mets try to pretend they’re not. We were a joke last season and probably will be for at least another 2 years. There were moves that could have made this team more respectable. It wouldn’t have gotten us past the low-80s win total in such a competitive division. The Wilpon’s probably realize why try to buy a couple extra wins if won’t change the outcome. The entire feel of this team is so disgusting. There could be a team like the Brewers or Astros who could end up with the same record as us and even the same box scores, yet they wouldn’t feel like ownership and management insults their fanbase.
And I am tired of this IF, IF, IF stuff. Every team can say if so and so progresses and if so and so has a year like they had 2 years ago and if so and so has a career year we can be good. Enough with the 24 If’s already, statistically it is not all going to happen, maybe some will, but some wont and then some things that are unexpected, like last year Wright becaoming a singles hitter, will happen that will off-set some of the other good things.
Not a bad idea. I always liked Jacobs’ talent, and if he can make something happen at the plate, I’d be glad to have him at least splitting time.
sweetest swing in baseball. welcome home Mike