13
2011
From Left Field: The Status Quo
An article by 
With the World Series just around the corner, the MLB offseason hot stove can’t some soon enough for us Mets fans.
But just like last offseason, the Mets will likely be watching as the other NL East teams improve while they sit tight.
The team is looking to shed payroll rather than add it, so we might just have to stick with what we’ve got yet again.
On paper at the beginning of 2011, the team didn’t actually look so bad. However, once the injuries set in, the Mets came back down to earth.
On the whole, Terry Collins and Mets overachieved last season based on how things could have turned out.
In 2012, the team on paper—assuming there are no major free agent signings or trades—will look weak. But we might just have to bite the bullet and hope for the best.
With Jose Reyes likely on the way out and trade talks swirling around David Wright, this team will be forced to rely on unsung heroes.
Ike Davis will be at first, Justin Turner at second, Ruben Tejada at short and Wright at third, but if he’s traded then Daniel Murphy fills in at the hot corner.
Jason Bay will be in left based on the huge contract. If he can pick up where he left off this season, then that wouldn’t be so bad.
Question marks surround Angel Pagan in center. He’s a prime non-tender candidate. Rick Ankiel could be a potential option to fill in.
As of now, it seems Lucas Duda will be the team’s everyday right fielder. We’ve seen what he can do with the bat in short spurts, but how will he handle 600-plus at-bats?
Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas will be the catching tandem, with Thole getting the bulk of the playing time.
The pitching staff is a completely different animal. Hopefully, a healthy Johan Santana can carry the starters, and the team can afford one of the many talented closers available on the market.
Let’s not get too set on this lineup, since it is still only October. Maybe the Mets will surprise us all by bringing back Reyes and maybe making a play for lefty starter C.J. Wilson. But the odds of bringing in one let alone both are extremely slim.
So Mets fans, maybe the status quo of this team can be enough to compete—likely not for a division title or a wild card but at least the .500 mark.
That may not be good enough for some fans, but the road back to relevance has to start somewhere.
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
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2012 seems more like an even bigger transistion year than 2011. I think 2013-2014 is when we will be seeing the Mets beast again and make the playoffs, but 2012 will be cool because Harvey and Wheeler will likely be up in the later part of the season, and in all honesty, I hope we trade Wright and get some good young guys for him. I love David, but I want to see a dynasty built here for us Met fans.
Please no Rick Ankiel!! Id rather watch Pridie till Nieuwenhuis is ready?? Kyle i agree with you Sadly. But i hope they hold out for the players they wont? I trust that this Management group will bring us Fans a contender! Not just a 1 year wonder a team built for sustainable contention for Titles.
I would at least consider trading Wright if Reyes isn’t signed. Red and Royals would be my main targets. They need a catcher and more pitching and those teams have what the Mets need. But I’m sure if the Mets make Wright available more teams would be interested…
If the Mets sign Reyes, than keep Wright and extend him.
Pagan (if no Reyes)and Pelfrey should be let go…or at least traded.
this article does a bad job, first of all you said this about bay: ” If he can pick up where he left off this season, then that wouldn’t be so bad.”
jason bay SUcks!!!!!!!!!
rick ankiel??? really?? is that the answer at CF?? a career 240 hitter with a good arm, why not go after endy chavez while we at it!!?
i am ALL for signing reyes, go after CJ Wilson, trade wright+prospects for a bonafide #2, go after a solid bullpen tandem, a set up guy and a closer, i mean, we have A LOT OF MONEY to spend this year after the contracts of castillo, perez and beltran are gone, plus the FOREVER MENTION $17.5 Million we saved on krod, that is more than $50 million saved.. that is how you show the fanbase we’re committed to winning.. i talk baseball, talk financial and we can have a good enough team to compete for the playoffs.. but, it remains to be seen what alderson’s plan is!
I disagree with you that they have buckets full of money to pour out on players, but I also disagree with the article in that this team is going to be the same going forward, with little to no acquisitions. I would like to see the team have the resources to Re-sign reyes, sign CJ and trade for Shields. Of the 3 though, I see only Reyes possibly being re-signed. Shields is going to command a boatload of prospects. If people think it isn’t going to take a Familia or a Harvey or Aderline or one of those up-ceiling types to get Shields, you’re not thinking correctly.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Alderson trying to make a run at Gio Gonzalez. Oakland could use a CF (pagan), Murph as a DH/Utility guy, and then sprinkle in some others. Maybe Gee & Gorski? Fmart & McHugh? Even Pelfrey as an option. My guess is that they would want cheap options, so Pelf doesn’t fit that bill. Anyway, just trying to think outside the box here. And also note that it will take stuff to get stuff.
It will all come down to Reyes as a tipping point, and unfortunately we’ll not hear anything on his front until December, would be my guess. It’s going to be a trying couple of months.
We should trade Ruben Tejada. He has the lowest offensive upside on the team and we could get a bag of baseballs and s few bats for him. lol
If the Mets trade Ruben and Jose leaves because he is a FREE agent? Then who plays Short, Turner?? Murphy?? or Valdespin??
Enjoy the humor, Steve. It was not intended to be taken literally.
Ruben is OK, but if we had a team of Ruben’s, out high side would have us battling for fourth place in the East. Our low side would have us looking at more AAAA players.
I think much of what you say is hearsay, and it’s so early, the team’s been off the field for a while now and in comes all the negative, assumption like thinking.
We don’t know what’s going to happen, but yes, we are in a transition year, but to assume nothing is going to be done isn’t correct either.
Priority should be on Reyes signing and pitching both SP and BP. Alderson already stated that he will seek a closer through Free Agency (so again, to say nothing is a presumption)
It’s VERY early, Mets fans are bored, but it’s still a LONG way off until Spring Training.
Well, I disagree with the primary post, which I find unduly pessimistic, somewhat random and bereft of any creative thought.
Pitching:
Returnees: Santana, Dickey, Pelfrey, Niese, Gee, Beato, Parnell, Acosta, Herrera,
Possible returnees: Capuano, Young, Byrdak, Batista, Bucholz
Sensible FA signees: Frank Francisco, Mark Buehrle, Kuroda, Broxton,
Pitchers in waiting: Harvey, Wheeler, Mejia, Familia, Holt, Gorski
That’s a very wide pool from which to choose. Don’t have time to analyze every pitcher, but I think that if Pelfrey closed his delivery and raised his arm level he would add some deception, velocity and downward break on his 2-seamer and his slider, which would make him very difficult to hit. He would sacrifice some control, but he’s getting hit too hard.
Why not make Pelfrey the closer??
you have to be able to get batters out
As for the everyday position players, here’s what we’ve got:
Catcher: Paulino & Thole
First Base: Davis, Murphy, Duda, Evans & Satin
Second Base: Turner, Tejada, Havens & Valdespin
Shorstop: Reyes & Tejada
Third Base: Wright, Murphy, Turner
Left Field: Bay, Duda, Evans & Harris
Centerfield: Pagan & Pridie
Rightfield: Duda, Pridie & Harris
On the Farm: Niewenhuis, F-Mart, Sean Ratliff. Matt Den Decker
————————————————————–
Reasonable minds may differ, but here’s what I’d do.
- Sign Reyes – He elevates the ballclub like none other – offensively & defensively.
- Wright at Third Base
- Tejada to Short
- Turner & Havens platoon at second base.
- Trade either Duda or Davis and Murphy & one top pitching prospect for Baltimore’s Adam Jones. Simply stated, Adam Jones is a modern version of Tommie Agee with better hitting skills.
Here’s the line-up:
ss – Reyes
2b – Turner/Havens
cf – Adam Jones
1b – Duda or Davis
3b – Wright
rf – Pagan
lf – Jason Bay/Niewenhuis
c – Thole/Paulino
Here’s some thoughts:
- I would consider trading Wright for two Colorado prospects, pitcher Drew Pomeranz and catcher Wilin Rosario. If I traded Wright, I would not trade Daniel Murphy as I believe Murphy could anchor 3rd base. The addition of Pomeranz would make one of our blue chip pitching prospects more expendable.
- Adam Jones would fit right in – He’s 26 years old and is an intimidating force in the line-up. We need his presence. I could see him developing into a Jermaine Dye-type ballplayer and eventually being moved to rightfield – he’s got a cannon for an arm.
- Sean Ratliff & Kirk Niewenhuis are coming off injuries. Ratfill is a great, great prospect.
- Jason Bay should platoon as his numbers against lefties are very, very solid.
so resign reyes but put tejada at short??? im confused then you have reyes at short in your line up but tejada nowhere to be found….typo?
Really you believe Ratliff is a great,great propect then you call him Ratfill?? Funny Funny stuff?? I do like your idea of Adam Jones but why would Baltimore get rid of him??Also like your trade of Wright to Colorado but i would also add there 3rd base prospect Nolan Arenado.
Would love to see Adam Jones coming here. Problem is that Baltimore is discussing a long term extension with him. So, I don’t see him coming over to the Mets.
As for trading Wright (i just died a little on the inside…), it probably would be the correct course of action. I would hope that those 2 prospects and possibly another could be had, depending on how hard up the Rox were for Wright. If they do trade him away, they better go hard after CJ Wilson or use one of Familia/Harvey/(or another) to go after Shields or even Gio (as I mentioned above). The SP pitching certainly needs to be addressed.
Tommy2Cat: Another reason perhaps why Jones wouldn’t work is do not forget the Orioles are currently without a GM. Is it wise for a new GM’s first move to deal away a 25 yr old CF with a high upside? Probably not.
I’d rather platoon Bay with Martinez. We have no idea when Kirk will be at full speed after his surgery.
Tommy2cat: Why would Baltimore make that deal? I mean I appreciate an idea but I’m just trying to wrap my head around it
Duda or Davis and Murphy and a pitching spec for Adam Jones. Lets just say in your scenario Wright gets dealt, which then means you don’t tell Murphy right? So now what?
But even if it was Duda/Davis+Murphy+Pitching Spec
Do you honestly believe that no team in MLB could match that?
The Orioles acquired Chris Davis in the Uehara deal and granted I think Ike is better than Davis, but Davis is 25 and realistically Davis is an upgrade but is he a vital upgrade?
If you go Duda then you have to figure out CF. You have Markakis and Reimold… so you’d have to bank if you’re Baltimore that Duda can DH and Xavier Avery can step into CF.
Then you’d need a virtual guarantee at SP to send back. The Orioles have had guys like Matusz, Britton, Arrieta, Tillman who all had a lot of hype and have yet to prove they are worth it. So they aren’t just going to grab some far-from-bigs pitching prospect. So I’m afraid it’d take a guy like Gee at minimum.
At the end of the day though, I don’t see the benefit to Baltimore in trading their 25 year old CF. He’s estimated based on arbitration to be a free agent after 2014, so its not like they are in a rush and frankly there’s no reason yet for Joes to avoid signing a long term deal with Baltimore because he hasn’t proven enough to garner much attention on an open market.
tommy cat, notice how jesseP seems to be the only one who can make STUPID IMAGINARIES trades and can stupidly PROJECT the ceilings of a player, but if someone else does it then he questions your post? why would baltimore make that deal? they’d make that deal the same way eamus was gonna be a 280 hitter with high OBP that is why baltimore would make that deal… can’t someone have an idea w/o u question the idea?? are the only here allowed to make stupid trades and porjections??? i now understand why you wrote an article about urinals…
Stop holmes. No reason to start attacking people. It’s Friday. Think happy thoughts.
Actually Alex no. People come here to DISCUSS ideas. Not to get bullied like you’re trying to do here.
I clearly and respectfully disagreed with Tommy2cat and gave my reasons why. Nowhere in my response did I name call, or attack his views. I merely disagreed.
This is how discussions in the real world happen. You should give it a try.
when you stop being an d-bag, i will.. who can discuss anything with you when anything a person says you turn into a debate, then you go and write an article about it to disprove or try to prove a baseless point.. for example, wright is UNCLUTCH, then you went on to say he’s not, 5 minutes later, a garbage as-s article was written by you… you’re nothing but a second guesser, a front runner and the most fake fan i’ve seen in a long time..
With that potetial line up for 2012, I think it is going to be a really long year and worse than last year.
The Nats are going to be much better and the Fish are going to sign a few free agents as they make a splash in their new ball park.
I don’t hold out any hope for 2012. I see us finishing dead last, attendance dropping again as we finally hit rock bottom.
The Mets have no plans on contending next year and we will have to wait at best till 2013-2014.
I would suggest Met fans get the “April Plan’ for tickets next year, as we could be out of it by May! Get a hobby or I suggest you start drinking heavily
not to be negative but that looks very realistic posibility.
That’s the price that has to be paid for always thinking only about THIS YEAR.
The price of going for it every single year and not looking at the team in 5 year increments. Never sacrificing someone off the Major League roster to get a couple of good minor leaguers. Never ordering off the type B menu and keeping your #1 or #2 pick. Never even glancing at the non tender list for a hold me over guy until the RIGHT guy comes along.
Face it this team has given away six first round picks, four 2nd round picks and three third round picks and failed to take back four #1′s handed to them on a silver platter in the last 14 years. That’s SEVENTEEN TOP SHELF PROSPECTS. The bill for this has been coming due every year but we just kept delaying it and kept trying to throw money at the roster with whichever past their prime former All Star was available.
Even when we kept the picks we chose the cheapest players instead of the best ones. Why?
It’s just an absurd manner in which to run a baseball team and reeks of desperation and immaturity or a card shuffling con game. Wet the idiots appetite in January by bringing in a big name attraction and watch the inevitable crash in July or August. usually the absolute worst teams that we have are the ones with the highest salary. Those are the teams that have lost 90 or more games the most often. Immediately after the season ends everyone is dumped and we have to start all over.
We have to get to the point where we’re just tinkering with up grading no more than five positions every year on the 40 man roster, not looking around for “who can we get for 4 spots in the pen, 2 starting pitchers, 3 guys on the bench and two position players as well as 3 arms in AAA just in case.
Some trades from the Major league roster for top shelf minor leaguers at areas of need. Letting some guys go free agent and selecting the top talent available in the draft. More work done in international free agency including going for the highest talent, not the 4th or 5th best rated catcher but the first AND second best rated ones.
Then some trades from the minors for a targeted veteran or two to pull it all together along with a free agent or salary dump ace when we have a good young team up here and another one already acquired and being developed in rookie and A ball on the way.
what is it with you and DRAFT PICKS!?!?!?
Ok Tag lets put you on the spot…
Say we do it your way with Draft picks…
When should we all come back expecting to see them win….HOW MANY YEARS from now?
metsie, he’s a loser with dreams of an all homegrown team with no free agents sign at all.. don’t waste your time.. he thinks draft picks are the answer for everything.. guess he hasn’t been paying attention to the pirates for the last 20 years!
What he does is look back on every move in Mets history and notice the draft pick that was given up for that move and if the move didn’t work out according to plan then says the move shouldn’t have been made because we lost the draft pick.
Hey who wouldn’t want an entire team of homegrowns…
Then again who wouldn’t want a job that paid your 20 Mil a day for sleeping?
I have no qualms with his desire for a homegrown team.
Just don’t want to sit around not doing something to make the MLB aquad better while we are waiting that 10-12 years he needs to home grow it!
I mean Homegrown corn is fresher tastier, sweeter and probably a damn site better for you than store bought…
But if you want to have corn for dinner in April, May and June your going to have to BUY it or wait an entire year before your crop is ready to harvest!
In the case of corn it is a matter of months!
In the case of building a team it is a matter of decades!
Because unless you pick PERFECTLY at best you get 2 players per draft and at that rate it will take you 12=13 years to find 25 players and in 12 years you will need to replace the first 6 you found by that time!
I’ve already said. 2014 will be the precurrsor much the same the way 1984 was for the ’86 Mets as long as there is at least an equal amount of talent added to what Minaya has acquired. Can’t wait that long? Then you should have been howling all along about every move being made for this year instead of moves being made all along that added to the present AND added to the future.
I know your going to disagree which is fine. No ones opinion is more relevant than anyone else’s, monkeyballers and fantasy baseball afficianados included.
Other teams get great play from guys they draft in the first, 2nd and third rounds. I list players that would have been there had we kept our picks because those guys are there for you alot longer and play a lot better than the guys you gave up the pick for. For instance back in 2002 the argument was made that David Weathers was worth giving up next years 2nd round pick and Roger Cedeno was worth giving up the 3rd round pick. 6 months later Joey Votto, Brian McCann, Jon Lester, Broxton, and Jesse Crain got selected in the 2nd round and Curtiss Granderson in the 3rd. That is not an anomoly. This same exact situation has occurred around here every year.
No guarantee we would have taken the right guy but without the pick we have zero chance of getting the right guy for later on and frequently we gave the chance up in order to get a guy that made no difference anyway. A guy who could close for us for years, play CF for 8 years, catcher for 8 years, fill a spot in the rotation for years or guys who could be packaged for a Halliday or a Lee is a hell of a lot better than another salary dump which is what Weathers and Cedeno became and they are hardly the only examples of that.
You can never be sure which prospects will make it up here and turn out great but you can never be sure which free agents are going to bust either.
Half of them do. At some point someone decides they just can’t live without the guy and the money and years get crazy. Add a bunch of these guys to a team and you take the fight right out of them. One reason the 2011 Mets had a lot of fight in them was because so many of them weren’t guaranteed anything beyond starting the next game. When you have a bunch of guys like that your team is better. When the older guys on schlorship outnumber everyone else the teams resolve goes down.
Take CJ Wilson. Upside of a solid #2 for 5 years. Going to get paid like a #1 because of supply and demand and will want an extra year or two, no trade, no arb at 36, ect ect. from us because we’re just not a real attractive team to come to right now.
None of this years free agents are really worthwhile for us with the possible exception of Mark Burhele on a 3 year deal if he’s not a type A. If he is his upside just isn’t worth what the upside of the 9th pick in the 2nd round and his downside is no better than the prospect that busts either. For all you or anyone else can know he could be Ed Whitson the 2nd.
1B, 3B and DH aren’t positions of need for us so those guys are out. Beltran didn’t even want to come here in the first place and after the way he was booed his first year and the organization went out of their way to try and embarrass him numerous times would only come here as a last resort. CC? Dream on. Darvish? Very intriguing, but very expensive and Japanese pitchers are dicey. Dominating a AAA lineup with line drive/GB type hitters is a different matter entirely as is the baseball itself. In Japan they use a smaller ball. More spin. If Darvish is a good move then Chapman (who faced many Major League hitters in the WBC, and used a regular baseball) would have been a much superior solution. 6/30 M the same year we signed Bay, which is also the same year we were counting on Maine and Perez to each fill out a spot in the rotation AND we would have kept our draft choice AND saved 36 M.
If we had at any point in the last 15 years put something aside for later as part of our year to year strategy instead of going for broke every year we wouldn’t be in the position of having to fill 13 spots on the roster every season.
I would have waited 3 years back in 2002 or 2005 to do things the right way and I’m still willing to wait rather than continuing to prove year after year that monkeyball doesn’t work. We already know that, let’s try something else for a change.
I really don’t understand how the Mets weren’t a more serious player for Chapman, after seeing what he signed for. that one hurt.
So much depends on the health of guys like Santana and Chris Young. If they’re healthy, then the rotation could look like this:
Santana
Young
Dickey
Niese
Pelfrey/Capuano/Gee
Bullpen: Acosta, Frank Francisco, Byrdak, Beato, Parnell, Herrera, (Broxton/Bucholz)
Starters: Reyes, Turner/Havens, Jones, Davis/Duda, Wright, Pagan, Bay/Niewenhuis, Ratliff, Thole/Paulino
Bench: Harris, Thole/Paulino, Turner/Havens, Tejada (Reyes’ insurance policy) & Ratliff
If healthy, this team competes for a wild card in 2012.
In 2013 – the groundswell of emerging talent will remind us all of 1984 & 1985.
LET’S GO METS!!!
chris young?!?!? sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… enough!!!!!!!
chris young won’t be back. no way he gets more than a ST invite, from anyway.
And I guess you are under the assumption the Mets can trade for Adam Jones, unless you thing Cleon still has something left in the tank!
I kind of like your pen though. and you have the concept right (that a year of actual health will lead to a team that can actually compete).
Oh, Ratliff? not a chance. And I would bet it is likelier that F Mart is splitting time in the OF than Kirk is (at least at the beginning).
At least you seem to have bought into my idea that Bay has to be in a platoon. Hit fine vs. LHP, and made Castillo look like a silver slugger vs. RHP.