With the news coming out over the weekend that the Detroit Tigers do not intend on bringing back slugger, Aubrey Huff, next season; the Mets now have another potential candidate to play first base next season.
The soon-to-be 33 year-old first base seems like a perfect fit to bridge the gap between the incumbent, Daniel Murphy, and youngster, Ike Davis.
Last season, Huff was rumored to be linked to the Mets a number of times, however once the team fell out of contention he was shipped to Detroit.
Upon joining the Tigers mid-season, Huff’s numbers took a nose dive. In 106 at-bats, Huff hit only two home runs and compiled a .186 batting average. By the season’s end, Huff’s final line consisted of a .241 average, 15 home runs and 85 RBI’s.
The most significant drop in production came by way of batting average, which was nearly 40 points down from his career number (.282).
As a matter of fact, the last time Huff hit in the .240′s was back in 2001 during his second season in the big leagues with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Still though, it is hard to ignore the fact that Huff has hit over 30 home runs and driven in more than 100 RBI’s on numerous occasions.
Most recently was back in 2008, when he clubbed 32 homers and drove in 108 runs.
If the Mets were to add another slugger into the lineup, along with Huff, they would have quite an imposing lineup.
A lineup card consisting of (Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Wright, (Holliday/Bay/etc.), Huff, Francoeur, Santos, Pitcher) looks very appealing and would certainly help improve the team’s chances of competing with the likes of the Phillies next season.
Despite the fact that Huff is not a golden glove first basemen, he is rather defensively sound at the position and would almost certainly be an upgrade over Murphy.
One concern I do have about Huff is the fact that he has had a couple of questionable moments off the field, to say the least, which weren’t publicized much due to the fact that he was playing for a small market team, the Orioles.
Unfortunately, in the City That Never Sleeps, these types of things wouldn’t be given a free pass by the media.
I will not go into great detail about what these things were because they are not appropriate for this site, but if you run a Google search of “Aubrey Huff Deadspin” you’ll see what I’m referring to.
In the end though, I believe the key to whether or not to pursue Huff is money. The fact that the slugger is coming off of a down year can work in the Mets favor because he will probably be in a line for a smaller salary then what he is currently being paid.
However, the recent lack of production also raises concerns over whether or not Huff can turn things around next year.
If Huff could be had for a one year deal worth four million dollars or so, then the Mets should at least consider taking a closer look at him.
While he is certainly not the long term fixture for the position, my guess is he could provide a good amount of pop in the Mets lineup, which is something the team was lacking greatly in 2009.
If we want to start looking like the ROrioles of a few years ago, then we should get Huff. And Cameron. And why not bring in that big doofus Vlad Guerrero. They will probably not perform any worse than our present offensive stars do in big spots. But we will still have a terrible starting rotation. We need two very good and one good starter, at least. Right now we have Johan coming off an injury, three basket cases and a has-been. There are no guarantees attached to Ike Davis. And when he does get here he will take a few years to get established, even if he is good. Good pitcheres, on the other hand, can make you appreciably better a lot quicker. First the pitchers, then the rest.
Pitching, pitching, pitching.
Pops
He had a huge problem hitting left handed pitching. If they and a right handed first basemen too I think it would work.
I agree with you. I like Huff as the lefthanded side of a first base platoon.
Huff wasn’t any good vs RHP either: .245/.318/.398 .. yuck.
No way on Huff. He was terrible this year, worse than Murphy believe it or not.
[...] a post to Mets Merized Online, Phil Hoops asks, “Does Aubrey Huff Make Sense For The [...]
I’d take Huff for the right money 6 mil or less.
Danny Murphy had a better year than huff last year, and is a decade younger. This is a remarkably stupid idea.
can adam laroche be a possible 1st baseman for the mets this year? he is a good hitter if surrounded by other good hitters like how he hit with the braves down the stretch. also he will be kind of cheap so the mets can sign another big bat like matt holliday or jason bay
I like him as well. The only potential issue with him is that he and Carlos Beltran had a little war of words early last season.
The two are said to be over it, but you certainly don’t want tension in the locker room.
with his problems off the field, I dont know if it is worth the risk bringing in this guy…if he was a 40 hr gold glove 1B i would take the chance in a heartbeat, but the mets have other options that could work out better in my opinion
Mark DeRosa platooned with daniel murphy i think is one….even de rosa platooned with Delgado and have that be the gap between now and Ike Davis is a possibility.
I think the Mets should concentrate on making their pitching staff elite and bring in a reliable LF with some pop..if they can do that then they have a chance to compete next season