There was a flurry of minor moves yesterday regarding the Mets, as the free agent filing period continues to move forward.
Former Mets who have officially filed now include Brian Schneider, Carlos Delgado, Alex Cora and Ramon Martinez.
I believe that out of that group, at least one of them stands a good chance of returning next season. Delgado and Schneider will both be playing for new teams next season. Schneider has his sights set on a return to the Nationals, while Delgado is resigned to being a 1B/DH for a contending team in the American League. According to Adam Rubin, a Mets official confided in him that the Mets will be in the market for a right handed first baseman to platoon with Daniel Murphy in 2010.
I wonder if that’s really a good idea? It seems to me they are basically saying that they want a Fernando Tatis type. Didn’t we already try that and agree that it didn’t provide enough offense from the first base position where the Mets ranked last in homeruns, RBI’s, runs scored, and slugging percentage.
The Mets were very pleased with Alex Cora last season and see him as a positive influence in the clubhouse. Many have considered Cora to be a future manager, and the Mets see those same qualities in him and wouldn’t mind having him stick around as a player/coach.
I don’t have a problem if the Mets were to bring Cora back. The Mets need all the good baseball people they can get and if nothing else, Cora fits that bill. Offensively, Cora is no great shakes, but he held his own as a utility infielder and stepped up for the team when Jose Reyes went down.
Yesterday, the Mets exercised the option on starter Mike Pelfrey. The Mets picked up their $500,000 option on Big Pelf who was actually operating on the terms of the deal he signed when the Mets originally drafted him. Here are those details:
Pelfrey was signed to a 4-year deal with an option for $6.6 million dollar contract and received a $3.55 million dollar bonus. At the time, it was the second largest contract ever given to a drafted starting pitcher. It guaranteed him almost $2 million dollars a year and was one of the reasons the Mets rushed him to the majors.
The good news for the Mets is that Pelfrey will be getting a significant pay cut after earning $2.9 million dollars in 2009. Plus he remains under the Mets control for another four years. If he wants to get back to that $2 million dollar figure in 2011, he’ll have to pitch his ass off in 2010.
In 2009, Pelfrey was a big disappointment and finished the season with a 10-12 record and 5.03 ERA in 31 starts. After a season like that, there is no place to go but up in 2010. One thing that was a little concerning last season was how easily Pelfrey became rattled on the mound, especially with a runner on base. He was constantly talking to himself, pacing the mound, shaking off his catcher or poorly communicating with them, and he would completely unravel if the umpire squeezed him which they regularly did. Some of my friends thought he was showing a lot of fire (whatever that is), but I thought it was more of a lack of confidence and self control, and those are things you would expect from a rookie and not someone who is entering his fourth major league season.
A thought to ponder…
Which will happen first, the Mets 3rd World Series title or the Yankees 28th?
I am not a Daniel Murphy fan…Give me a break please!
CAPSLOCK=DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
MURPHY’S BEST POSITION ON THE METS IS “THE PINE” AS A B/U 1B OR 3B & LH PHer. IF HE;S HANDED EVEN A SEMI STARTER 1B JOB WE’RE IN VERY, VERY BIG TROUBLE WHAT’S HIS UPSIDE FOR ’10? IF U R EXTREMELY OPTIMISTIC 25HR MAX?
NO WHERE NEAR WHAT’S DESPERATLY NEEDED, A 40HR CLEANUP BOPPER & NONE AVAILABLE FOR LF! THINK THER’S A SP CAPABLE OF THAT? LMAO! CERTAINLY NO HUNDLEY,PIAZZA TYPES ANYWHEE IN MLB. SO IF NOT 1B, WHERE?
Yankee’s 28th and 29th titles will come long before we see the Mets get a 5th pennant. We’re going to see diminished production from Reyes and Beltran next season for sure, and I doubt Wright and Murphy will be much better than they were this year. Honestly, there is a ton of pressure on these guys and I just dont think they have the stones to live up to their billing. Its not even their fault. I remember Pelfrey’s break out game at Shea a couple years back, when the stadium was rocking and gave Pelf a standing O as he came out after pitching 8 brilliant innings. Wags comes out the next frame and promptly blows the game. Of course everyone on this team has mental issues when things like that happen on a constant basis. Every hitter is overthinking – if they don’t get this crucial hit, the bullpen will blow the game. Same thing for the pitchers – if they give up this hit, the punchless offense will never be able to make up a run or two.
I agree with everything you said. This is what happenes when you have a team full of talent yet not one of them is willing to carry the team on his back. The reason you need one of those guys is because that’s the guy that takes the pressure off of everybody. Until the Mets get their straw that stirs the drink, they aint going anywhere. The Phillies got three players like thjat and of course the yankees have at least that many if not more.
You said a mouthful.
Cora sucks. Get your leadership and intangibles from Johan, Beltran and the coaching staff, not from a crappy and relatively expensive player.
Pelfrey has been an unmitigated disaster if you ask me. I was a big Omar supporter until last off season when he crowned Pelfrey as the number two starter. At first I thought it was a ploy to gain some leverage in negotiations with Burnett or Lowe, but unfortunately he was dead serious which make him unfit to be a GM. As for Cora, let him go. We dont need player/coaches, we need 25 men who can contribute to wins and produce day in and day out. I would rather have a Mark DeRosa on our bench than bringing back Alex Cora. Good riddance to him and Schneider and Delgado as well.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/285588-blueprint-for-world-domination/poll_results#poll
GUYS PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS PLAN.
It is the most well-thought out plan ive ever read so far in this offseason. Although the numbers could use some work.. its the most reasonable and amazing plan.
Amazing?
John Maine proved nothing at the end of the season. A game or two is all e was good for all season. I would non-tender him in a New York minute. He is not any good when he is good. Erik Bedard is a DL head case. No decent power bat to pinch hit off the bench. El Stupido is still with the team, ready to lose games with his baserunnoing and fielding. No gripe with Barajas, alth0ough i have to wonder how O-Dog lost his job to a plug like Belliard last year.
Divine intervention that causes the Wilpons to sell the Mets before they see their next championship so my vote is the Yankees get their 28th title (and probably more) before the Mets get theirs.
my real point is that this 25 man roster being proposed probably lands us in third or fourth place. nothing to be done but wait for omar to be fired. of course the wontpons won’t have any money for the next GM.
I’m sure everybody else has seen this, but the Yankees let Chien-Ming Wang become a free agent. Of all the potential number 4 or 5 starters, this guy has an upside even at 29 (I’m 29, so maybe I’m a bit biased). I read the blog about trading Pelf in a secondary trade to Colorado for Corpas and De La Rosa and Wang is another version of Pelf.
Would it hurt? I think it’s a good idea to at least give him an invite and see how well that surgery went. Again, the guy is 29, not 40 (i.e., Ken Takahashi).
He can’t be any worse than the garbage pitchers the Mets have thrown out there this season.
I’m not one of those who simply wants to retain aging potential HOFers, but we will miss big CDog if he’s healthy. God knows he’s a better 1Bman than Murph even at 38.
Since he doesn’t just hit homeruns–he destroys the baseball–I think he’s still on track for a good 35, even at CIti. And Mets will go w/ two mediocrities at 1st…that sucks.
Carlos Delgado’s best days are behind him. I don’t care if he destroys the baseball. It counts the same as a dinker just making it over the fence. If distance past the fence means anything, let’s train some guys to reach the upper deck.
Delgado is one of poorer fielding first basemen. No thanks.
What about Josh Beckett ? His contract is up after next year and will demand an extension and a contract like C.C Sabathia ( 7 years 160 million ) but will the Red Soxs give him that extension. He’s going to be flying up to Boston with in the next week or so. I think if they don’t give him an extension then we should go after him. Your probably saying we don’t have enough to get him but I think we do because people said we couldn’t get Santana and we did. Now I know we had more prospects to trade back then but I think if we include a package of Martinez,Holt,Neise and Thole I think we could get him. I know he would cost a lot but he’s better then Halladay. Let me know what you think
I am sorry but i want no part f Delgado. First of all, the guy is a loser. Always has been. second, as much as I wanted Willie gone, Delgado laid down for Willie. The minute Willie left Delgado found his stroke. He can deny it all he wants. I do not believe in 38 home run coincidences. Aloha, CD.
do you have any proof that he is a loser? So, he’s never been on a world series winning team that makes him a loser? I guess in your eyes, Reyes is a loser too, and the only winner on this team is Francoeur.
Well, I am not going to argue with someone who calls himself MetsGOD—but yes, I do happen to think that Reyes is a losing player. it has nothing to do with World Series. I think Arod is a loser. He just won one. Losers are guys who car emore about their personal performance than winning.
I have no reason to hope that a mets player does not do well. Reyes, Beltran and Wright all have to be question marks right now.
Hey when did you become a forecaster Shamik? Yeah, Beltran and Jose are going to suck because they are on the down side of their career. Yeah it doesn’t matter that Jose is playing for a contract extension or new one does it Shamik or did you forget that little detail in your Beltran and Reyes dislike rant?
Jose is going to have a great year as is Beltran and Pelf will have to play to earn the bucs, just as it should be.
Hey Sarge, I never said I dislike Reyes or Beltran, or that they’re on the downside of their careers. Based on their injuries, I expect diminished production from them. I hope Reyes and Beltran go nuts. I want Jose to be playing out of his mind for his next contract. However, the reality is that neither have played as well as they did in 06. Moreover, they’re both coming off serious injuries that were not dealt with properly from the beginning. They’re far more likely to have average to diminished production than to all of a sudden find the fountain of youth and blow everyone away.