16
2011
Should The Mets Go After Pudge Rodriguez This Offseason?
An article by 
Let this be one of the first “Should The Mets Do This” articles of the soon-to-be-offseason: Should the Mets target future hall-of-fame backstop Ivan Rodriguez during this winter? I say 100% yes, they should.
The 39-year old Puerto Rican native would serve as an exceptional backup to Josh Thole. Not only providing gold-glove defense and a cannon of an arm, but also as veteran presence to the young Thole, much better of an influence than Paulino, a guy who started the season on suspension for testing positive for PEDs. Pudge could mentor Thole and give him some pointers on defense, which are much needed. The Mets are bringing in John Franco to tutor Bobby Parnell, why not have Rodriguez do the same for Thole?
Not only could Pudge be a good influence on Thole, but he is known for working extremely well with young pitchers. So with a roster filled with an overwhelming majority of young hurlers, a seasoned veteran behind the dish might not be a bad idea. Pitchers like Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Bobby Parnell, Pedro Beato and plenty of others could benefit from a backstop that can work with them, pitch-by-pitch and cruise them through the highs and lows of a ballgame.
Yes, the offense of Pudge is long-gone, but, – at least in my opinion – unless you have a budding star like a Brian McCann or Buster Posey, the catching position is basically a defensive position. The catcher is responsible for working with the pitcher, catching every pitch, and basically the leader of the field as far as defense (telling everyone how many outs there are, whether to move back or not, etc.), so I see those factors as superior to whatever offense you get out of the catcher (which more often than not, is not much anyway).
Of course there is the internal option of Mike Nickeas, but for one I would not be comfortable with him being the only decent catcher other than Thole in the system, but also you can’t beat a veteran backstop on the roster.
Pudge will probably be looking for a $2-3 million per year deal, and 1-2 years. If the Mets can pick up I-Rod on the low end of that $2-3 million figure and give him one year with an option, this would be a relatively cheap, smart veteran/mentor acquisition for the Amazin’s for the 2012 season.
About the Author: Clayton Collier
Clayton, a Long Island native and die-hard Mets fan, started writing online about three years ago. He is currently a Journalism major with a minor in Broadcasting at Seton Hall University. Although very disappointed with the current state of the team, Clayton remains hopeful that the young prospects in the farm system will bring the Mets back to a respected franchise in baseball once again. Besides writing for MMO, Clayton is also a staff member at 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall's modern active rock radio station. You can contact Clayton by following him on Twitter: @Clayton_Collier or E-mailing him at MaybeNextYearMets@yahoo.com
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
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I had been thinking the same thing this past week. It will come down to money and where Pudge wants to finish career.
I was thinking Pudge myself but his offense is really getting near the point where we’d have two automatic outs at the bottom of the order. Could the rest of the offense support that? Probably depends on Resigning Reyes and what injuries we wind up having next year but a sound defensive catcher who can hit a little is a real necessity and generally if you want one you have to develop him yourself. Washington, SD and Cinn have an abundance of young talented catchers and I would see if there was a fit with a few of our duplicate type guys and try to address this position for more than just a year at a time.
agreed that is the long term answer, but in this scenario, that guy would be replacing Thole, right?
Reds have an opening at LF and Rolen for one more year at 3B. I wonder if paying all of Bay’s 2012 and 2013 salary and shipping him and Murphy to Cinn could get us one of their two young catchers. Mesoracco or Grandell.
Bay could give the Reds something in their tiny ball park and at league minimum is probably the best option the Reds would be able to come up with for that position (and our best chance to ship him out) and Murphy would be a great fit too. We could move Duda to LF where he would be a little less exposed and have a pretty good young catching tandem in Thole and one of the young Reds catchers.
The Reds GM Walt Jocketty hates trading prospects and young players but with Rolen’s injuries and signed for just one year Murphy could be a very attractive option for them at 3B along with Juan Francisco as well as a capable back up to Votto just in case.
Mesoracco is probably the guy who they would want to keep which is fine with me. I’d prefer Grandell but he’ll need another year before he could be expected to help out up here.
I’d really hate to lose Murphy but we don’t have a real good spot for him and we have a glaring hole at catcher. Evans is probably a better back up first basemen for Ike anyway since we still don’t know about Ike vs. LHP and Evans could fill in, in the RF or LF if need be as well. LF is a far better fit for Duda than RF and I’d shift Lagares to RF in AA ASAP with a look toward him taking over there in 2013 at the same time Grandell makes it up here.
If they threw Hermedia in there who at 27 had a great year in AAA we could live him for a year in RF and see if he raises his value.
That would leave us with a potential everyday 2013 starting lineup of Grandell/Thole, Davis/Evans, Valdespin/Havens, Reyes/Tejada, Wright/Lutz (with Flores close), Duda/Evans, Pagan?/Kirk/Den Deker (with Puello possably in AAA) and Lagares/Hermedia in RF.
I think that would be a good start toward putting out a credible every day eight from both a defensive stand point (putting guys where they belong) and from a L/R situation hitting wise and shore up a glaring weakness we have no real solution for for at least a couple more years even if one of our guys in A ball makes it which is far from a certainty.
Yeah let’s move Bay and Murphy for an unproven minor league catcher, pay for Bay and talk about the 2013 lineup. Right.
And i notice that 2013 lineup t agee posts has no free agents AND has practically a home grown (or major league debuted Met) player at EVERY SINGLE position.
Yeah right. Didn’t i say t agee’s fantasy is to have a home grown player at every position? There you go folks.
Yeah right. Didn’t i say t agee’s fantasy is to have a home grown player at every position? There you go folks.”
lmao, yes you did!!!!
OH! and with t agee’s ALL home grown lineup for 2013 (except for Cincy minor leaguer that we got for moving Bay AND Murphy and paying Bay’s salary).
It not only has NO Free Agents but that means the Mets would have made NO MOVES for the starting lineup in the next 3 off seasons prior to the 2013 lineup!
No trades! No FA signings! No Moves!
Most people would realize that projection was just half of the team. The half that plays everyday. Rotation and pen weren’t even included boys.
Don’t get your knickers all in a knot cause your in such a lather to trade for the next Mo Vaughn or sign the next Scott Schowenweiss.
yeah that’s what i’m saying – let’s trade for Mo Vaughn and sign Scott Schowenheiss. Yeah that’s what I always say I want.
Nice attempt to DEFLECT for your fantasy scenario that is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Some of those guy may be traded this winter, or next winter.
Wishful thinking and unrealistic thinking. There will NOT be an ALL home grown lineup.
Alderson would get laughed at if he offered Murphy and Bay for Mesoraco or Grandal. Noone would take Bay’s contract, and it would take an insane person to trade away a stud catching prospect for Bay.
I didn’t say take his contract. I said get him for League minimum. 850 G’s for 2 years. Doesn’t work out they can dump him but the possibility of him re establishing his career at no financial cost to speak of, as well as adding a hitter at 3B in case Rolen’s out again and on into the future and could back up Votto if need be for a small market team for a catcher who spent most of last year in AA might be a worthwhile conversation.
I didn’t say it was even a credible proposal, I was just more or less wondering out loud but this is the type of moves Alderson should be thinking about.
How can we get some of the players we do have into positions their best suited for and start paring down a few of the duplicates in order to address areas where we are weak.
Thole and a retread may get us through for a year (or may not) but next year it’ll be the same thing, year after as well.
Thole Grandal, even if you had to wait a year would be a pretty good situation and it’s not completely out of the question that Bay and Murphy could start and play well for Cinn in a lot of games for just a about 1 M total in cost to them and it’s really just about until May when Bay’s extended pass comes home to roost so I don’t think he’ll be vetoing any deal anywhere but I could really see him feasting on all the LHP teams throw at Votto and Bruce.
With a young catcher already just brought up I would think they would prefer a more experienced catcher to split time with him.
Rolen has one year left on his deal but is always hurt. Francisco hasn’t shown anything except that he may need another year. Reds also have a big time need for a LFer, especially a RH hitting one. With them already being near the top of their preferred payroll it just, or some variation of it, could work. You never know. Toronto actually got something for Wells and didn’t have to pay a dime of his salary. I’m talking about paying all of Bay’s and I know they’d be interested in Murphy even as a backup safety net for 1B and 3B and LH bat off the bench.
After all it was really weakness at 3B and LF that kept them out of the race this year.
I still don’t see why the Reds would want Bay even if he makes league minimum. They have Alonso playing LF, and even though he’s a terrible OF he’s still much more productive than Bay. They could use Murphy, but the Reds would want to get a better player in order to part with a premium prospect like Mesoraco (considered the top catching prospect in baseball) or Grandal (a top 50 prospect), especially considering that Murphy is coming off a serious injury.
I forgot about about Alonso. LF can be sorted out with a platoon RH hitter so Bay wouldn’t be worth the risk to them and won’t cost a lot to resolve. Reds have a few Cuban’s on their roster don’t don’t they? Chapman, Grandal and Alonso.
There still way too LH and for the size of their park they really don’t score anywhere near the amount the runs they should. Hernandez is a FA but I doubt he’s coming here and at 35 probably had his last good year. Hannigan’s under their control for a few years so that’s probably the guy they might entertain trading in a year or two depending on how Grandal does in the AA and AAA next year.
Stubs in CF I guess is their biggest offensive weakness but we can’t help them there, at least not for a couple of years unless we dipped into some of the prospects.
Murphy and Wilmer Flores for Grandal?
Something to cover them for the next 4 years or so at 1B and 3B. Torn MCL’s not a huge deal. No surgery is even required. Flores for 3B or LF for years to come, if he makes it. That might wet their appetite.
I’m not trying to get rid of either Murphy or Flores but we have to get a Major League catcher at some point and the only way that’s going to happen is to trade for one.
I meant for Pudge to come as the secondary defensive catcher. As this point he can not start on a regular basis. I am also not sure if Thole IS the starter either.
For as old as Pudge is, he is a team player. I have always liked him. However, his offensive isn’t really good, or atleast I’ve read it isn’t up to par. I think that if the Mets could use him as a mentor for Thole. Basically, I am on the fence with him…
Thole is not an everyday player. Can IRod catch 40-50% of the games at his age? I think I’d prefer to roll with Paulino again.
Good idea, but I think Pudge is finished completely as a big leaguer. One guy who still has his faculties is Posada and he wants to play. Posada might be a better fit as a role player than Pudge. Something to think about…
Posada? A sub-par defensive catcher, that had a good bat at one time, that can no longer hit.
More of the same that has failed this team……
big yuck on Posada.
Posada has completely rejected the position of role player in his career up to and including this year. Can’t see him changing now. He hits best against RHP so he’s not even a good compliment for Thole and his defense has been poor for most of his career and it sure isn’t going to be getting better at his age. He’s had numerous run ins with pitchers through the years and and while IMO opinion the pitchers should have just shut up because of all the great work he did with the stick the fact remains that he doesn’t have much left and the things he could teach were things he didn’t do particularly well.
Pass on Posada.
Absolutely not, no way, no how.
Sorry, but this would be more of the same that has failed us for years. Bringing in a past star that is way past their prime would be a waste of a roster spot and money.
This guy has broken down, is hurt frequently now and at 39 years old – a catcher?
There is not one redeeming thing about bringing Pudge here.
Thanks for getting the ball rolling though
Are there any teams with a catching surplus or a blocked C prospect? Something maybe Pelf or Murph could fetch in a trade? I’m not familiar with the catcher landscape throughout baseball…
up above Agee mentions Wash, SD and Cinn. probably there are a few others.
THis is where I hope Sandy is active (trades, changing parts). Take some of our excess and convert it into a guy that fills an area of need. C seems to qualify!
I hope so as well. I love me some Murphy, but would subtracting him to add a better catcher be in the teams best interest? I would think so. Or even Wright or Pelfrey or Pagan or Turner or…. I think Alderson will have to consider all those and be active on the trade market, like you said, in order to make this team much better, because based on the FAs out there only, there isn’t much worth investing big with (unless you want to move Ike to RF and sign Fielder!
)
I like the concept. I think this bunch really does need a good defensive (well, game calling/managing pitching staff)catcher to keep things together. But, is pudge the answer at this point? Quite possibly not.
so, is there someone else out there besides Posada that could fill the same role, but actually be able to play?
Maybe if they replace Warthen it won’t be so crucial having a catcher to manage the pitchers!
ivan rodriguez??? really???
I’m ok with Paulino. Pudge won’t be much of an upgrade. I don’t think Thole is the answer. Catching/pitching is our biggest weakness. Perhap a mega trade for someone in their prime could help this team. How is this Kid Cam Moran? Our farm seems particularly week. I look for Sandy to pick up used catchers with minor league deals.
Maron (and Glen) were in the rookie Appalachain League this season. Our best in house prospects are Centano (selected for the AFL) who played in A- with Savannah and Cordero who played A+ with St. Lucie.
All three are are more than two years away at best.
If you’re going to call out Paulino for getting caught with PEDs and use that as a reason to not pair him with Thole, you have to at least acknowledge Pudge was named by Conseco in his first book.
I don’t see him as a solution. He’s too old and his skill set doesn’t really compliment Thole’s.
If you want to bring him as a coach or maybe sign him to a minor league deal so he can work with with Thole and maybe the young pitchers we’ve got coming up through the system, that I might get behind.
Donal I was thinking of mentioning the Conseco call-out in “Juiced” but as you know his work has not been the most reliable of sources, some things have come out to be true but alot of his work seems to have some added “poetic license” to sell more books.
So I thought a confirmed failed drug test was more damning than one former player’s accusation.
I agree with you there. Conseco apparently sold out enough real users that he was able to buy enough credibility to be taken at face value and went after some dudes he had a grudge against. Where Pudge lands is anyone’s guess for now.
I’m just saying, it bears at least mentioning. I personally think the whole steroid uproar is stupid and hypocritical.
..and if you can’t get Pudge I wouldn’t mind having Barajas around again to do everything you would have signed Pudge for including being a mentor.
Very true, Barajas was always a good influence on the team, good D and as you said a mentor.
He is always very strong in the first half, particularly against the Phillies, and an all-around solid backup catcher, not to mention pop off the bench.
And if Nickeas is making noise down in Triple-A, you can flip Barajas while he is still producing in the first half for some C, C+ or even B- prospect.
I would like this for two reasons. Thole needs a veteran to guide him and teach him the ropes. Pudge is still damn good catcher that works well with young pitchers. Lastly, Pudge is only 158 hits shy of 3000 and it would be nice to have something to root for. Give him the two years to back up up Thole and give him about 250 ABs each season and let him get his 3k here in NYC. It wil be good for the fans and the team. I wonder how many catchers have ever gotten 3k hits in a career?