17
2011
MMO Mailbag: David Wright To The Rockies?
An article by 
I keep hearing about the Rockies wanting Wright. What do you think we could get for him? Is Cargo out of the question? --Gary Hanley
Well Gary, allow me to get a few things out of the way before I delve into this question. First off, we’re not completely sure that Wright is even on the trading block. Throughout the season, we had many rumors and whispers that David Wright was available and on the trading block. However, the team has stayed fairly firm on this, and Cerrone has confirmed – David Wright is not available at this time. The likelihood of the situation is that he won’t be moved until after the club is done dealing with Jose Reyes, if he is to be moved at all.
If you do a little research, you find out that there were rumors that Wright was placed on waivers earlier in the year and that the Rockies placed a claim on him. Jon Heyman has said that this is untrue, but Troy Renck, who covers the Rockies, has started the fire yet again.
Opposing executives expect the Rockies to be aggressive in their pursuit of the Mets’ David Wright. The Mets have said he’s not available, but that could change if they commit to re-sign free- agent shortstop Jose Reyes for big money. Wright, however, is not without his issues. Though just 28, he has dealt with a back injury that limited him to only 102 games last season. Wright is owed $15 million next year with a $16 million club option for 2013 that can be voided if the Mets trade him. Hitting anywhere but Citi Field would likely boost Wright’s numbers.
What I want to stress is this: There’s no guarantee the Rockies will be going after David Wright and there’s no major indication that Wright will even be traded. The last statement is correct – hitting at Coors Field would likely boost Wright’s numbers and I’m sure both teams are well aware of that fact. The Rockies are also aware of Wright’s option that will likely be voided if traded. Although, I have to admit, if Wright is going to be traded this offseason, the Rockies are probably his most likely destination.
I don’t see any steam in the “Wright to Diamondbacks” rumors brought up by Buster Olney. (I’d link you, but it’s an ESPN Insider piece.) The Diamondbacks are not looking to pick up anybody with a $15 million dollar price tag. They are already in solid shape with Ryan Roberts doing fine at 3B and the Mets would obviously ask for the moon. The Diamondbacks had a really impressive year and will probably look to keep their young player right where they are so they can sustain their success for a good few years to come. If you’re really buying in to those Wright to Arizona rumors, here are some names for you that could be thrown around from the Arizona farm system, courtesy of Kevin Bonneville: Jarrod Parker, Tyler Skaggs, Trevor Bauer, Matt Davidson or Chris Owings.
Now, back to the Rockies. Let me knock this one out of the park quickly – We’re not getting Carlos Gonzalez. Don’t even think about it. Carlos Gonzalez is under Colorado control until the end of 2017 and they’re likely not going to be looking to move him for David Wright. It would be excellent for the Mets, but it just doesn’t make sense for the Rockies. In addition, on the surface, Gonzalez may look like an excellent player, and he is above average for sure, but his home/road splits are telling. In a similar amount of plate appearances, his average and OBP on the road are 70 points less, and his slugging percentage drops .200. He also has about double the amount of HRs at home compared to away (52:25) so consider him a product of Coors Field.
If the Rockies trade for David Wright, you’ll probably see a combination of young players thrown in this deal. One of the names Mets fans will hope to hear is Drew Pomeranz – the Rockies top prospect in my opinion. He was acquired from the Indians in the Ubaldo Jimenez deal and made his debut last September to the tune of some shaky results and some flashes of greatness. He was also arrested recently for disturbing the peace. He’s got some great stuff and could be a very successful major league pitcher someday. Some other names you’ll hear tossed around:
- Wilin Rosario: Catching prospect for the Rockies that will be ready sooner than later. He made his MLB debut in September and provides offensive capability at C that the Mets are desperate for. He has an injury history, a torn acl, but has recovered fairly well and shown defensive prowess as well.
- Nolan Arenado: 3B prospect that is highly likely to be included in a David Wright deal. Great bat, capable of hitting for average and for power, but lacks a bit in terms of speed. No slouch defensively.
- Tyler Matzek: The 21-year old pitcher is probably going to ready for 2013 (sound familiar?) and has been fighting his way through A/A+ ball. He has four pitches that he can throw for strikes and is looking to bounce back from a somewhat off year.
- Kyle Parker: OF Prospect for the Rox, he’s got power and can hold his own at the plate and in the field. He probably needs to develop some more plate discipline before I consider him a serious prospect.
- Joe Gardner: Sinker baller acquired in the deal with the Indians. He has shown flashes of being a successful pitcher – not overpowering by any means but can be pretty dangerous when he’s keeping his ground ball rate high.
- Alex White: Once again, acquired in the deal with the Indians. He’s a personal favorite of mine and I think he flies under the radar – sparkling minor league track record and looks to be an excellent pitcher someday in my eyes.
Bottom line: I don’t think David Wright will be traded. If he is, and it is to the Rockies, don’t expect Carlos Gonzalez. I assume it’ll be a package that looks like White/Arenado/Matzek at best.
Send your questions to GetMetsmerized@aol.com or click image.
About the Author: Satish Ram
I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.
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Wow, you got to be kidding. 5 thumbs down on a smiley people?
SMH
I was thinking the exact same thing man.
Just goes to show that there are a group of folks who are thumbing down posters not what they say!
This is why I would love to see a post REQUIRED before you could vote!
Then we would know who voted how and why!
And things like this wouldn’t be the norm!
metsie, if you do that this site will become a war zone.. trust me, it won’t even be about baseball, just attacks and personal vendettas, guys lik joe smith, jose diaz, come to this website just to reply back negatively on post by me, bayonne, maniac, just for the hell of it
You mean to say it isn’t now? LOL
well metsie, if you know DONAL or someone else keeps thumbing you down, you will confront him about it, not you per se, but in particular it can get pretty ugly.. but yeah, now is just a conflit, if it happens, it becomes a war
Not true Aex I post on here quite often.I only comment on your crazy post because they’re without any substance.Just you drawing your own conclusions.Saying things like the GM is not here to win is a foolish comment.Btw my name is Joe Diaz not Jose.I’m American with Puerto Rican Heritage.
i am impressed with satish, i think he’s growing as a writer and i gave him the smiley face.. but…………………… what can you do..
Thanks, alex.
Alex I just gave you a thumbs up for the hell of it.
sorry joe diaz, the CORE salutes you, i can say what i say, unlike others here i don’t second guess, i do my predictions and if i am wrong i am the first one to admit it.. more often than not, since i’ve been on this site since 2008 preety much all my predictions have been spot on, ex:
perez signing was terrible and mete will regret it, Castillo should’ve never been sign, omar was getting fired, dwright is unclutch, jesseP is a do***, now, my latest one is that sandy will be here for 3 years and bounce, after creating the moneyballing mets, he’s not here imo to win but to cut payroll for the wilpons, he was basically assigned here by selig to control these idiots money mess, i am telling you, not once we have heard the word championship coming out of that man’s mouth.. plus, is obvious how in his first season he DID nothing to give a little extra hand of help to a team 6.5 games out bu july, instead gave up on the season through midway..
I don’t see the waiver question being an issue. You tend to hear every year that most players get put on them, just in case I guess, but that does not mean the team has any intention of trading them (or are trying to dump them).
And these reports all seem to be coming from other teams (in the context of something they would like). Nothing out of the Mets that I can recall indicating they are interested, and the only “official” report said he wasn’t being shopped. maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but right now, these reports seem to be no different than Met beat writers doing “what if” pieces about players that would help the Mets.
I’m sure they will listen to any offers that are made…
And if it wasn’t for Murphy I would say no way it ever happens.
There is really no way to win if you do. By the time anything he gets for Wright shows a thing Wright will have numbers that everyone will say Why did we trade him again?
Oh, I am sure they listen to all offers on every player. Doesn’t mean they want to trade a guy, but if something too good to pass up comes through, who knows?
I don’t see any situation between us and the Rockies that says too good to pass up though…
Not one Wheeler type has been mentioned!
Just curious, what exactly do you mean by Wheeler type?
Because Alex White, Drew Pomeranz are very respectable pitching prospects and closer to MLB ready. Plus, their power catching prospect and Arenado are good returns.
Respectable maybe…
Top 10 Ranked 1st rounders? Pomeranz YES! (So I spoke too soon there!)
White was 12th Overall.
Are we getting one or Both?
The question I have Satish is do we really need more Pitching prospects considering the fact we have Harvey, Familia and Wheeler already in the system?
Those two and Arenado might make for am enticing offer but I don’t see them giving up that much at all…
I could be very wrong though…
Lol I understand your concern. As I wrote in the shoutbox, my feelings on trading Wright are based mainly on the return.
It is HIGHLY unlikely we would get White and Pomeranz. The best thing we would probably get is something like White/Arenado/Matzek.
You can never have enough pitching though! If they all become good, you trade one. Lol.
And I can’t really say Sandy won’t do it for just one of those guys Satish…
I am not yet certain what direction Sandy is going…
If it’s full fledged Salary dump then I can easily see him taking just white in return just to dump Wright and find a place for Murphy.
My only issue (and it isn’t really an issue just a prediction) that if he doesn’t get BOFO return the deal will blow up in his face because Coors field is an ideal place for Wright to go even if just to finish out his current contract because he will put up big numbers, get a HUGE contract that will likely dwarf anything Reyes gets and all we will hear about in Metland is look how dumb we were to trade Wright!
Right or Wrong, Good return or not, That will be the discussion both here and in the mainstream media!
And if that happens no matter what opinion you may start out with on Alderson his days will be numbered!
Especially if that happens after passing on Reyes!
They won’t even wait for Wright to put up those numbers it will be the beginning of the end of the Alderson era in NY!
I have a slight issue with the guy who wrote the piece all this trade talk was sparked by.
His sources were basically the FOs of the Rockies competition, Not sure how they would have any insight into what the Rockies plan to do but it was the source and I guess we have to accept that. (more of a journalistic gripe than a baseball one)
Trading Wright makes sense from the GET MURPHY on the field perspective but this deal has more of a chance of blowing up in Sandy’s face than any other deal he could make.
Yes many of his current detractors have encouraged such a move but thats mostly based on David’s numbers at Citi Field.
What will those numbers look like in Coors Field? What will people say once Wright starts hitting HRs like singles in that park humidor or no humidor?
None of what he could get back in return would do enough fast enough to offset that.
Attendance would go down regardless of what happens with Reyes,
Easily add another 20 Mil to the Attendance losses.
I just don’t see many option where Sandy comes out a winner in this. It solves the Murphy situation and maybe some issues in 2 or 3 years but I believe that if he makes this trade it is going to be highly unlikely Sandy will be here to see those gains.
I’m not opposed to trading Wright but I don’t think the Rockies are the place you really want to send him without some immediate help incuded in the deal. Cause Coors field is like sending David to his HR hitting heaven. Those numbers, The drop in attendance and an already very large contigent of fans who can’t wait to see Sandy fail will grow in numbers and really put the pressure on him unless we get at least one player that can do enough to distract them from what Wright will be doing there!
If he does this deal, and lets Reyes walk, it means his mission, as determined by his bosses, is to rebuild the team with focus on a few years down the line. Not trying to build a fringe contender for 2012 (a team that would require a lot of “ifs” to break right to be in the mix for the playoffs).
And if that is what happens they will throw Sandy under the bus the second they believe he has forfilled his role as the BAD GUY M DONALD GRANT TYPE whp eviscerated the Payroll requirements so hey can go back to buying the way they did when they went and got Vince Colman, Bonilla and Eddie Murray!
You see if you believe the Owners have hired Sandy to do that then the second the flames start heating up you KNOW they will merely fire him to get out from under it!
If thats the Plan Sandy isn’t here to build he is here to tear down and to play the salary scapegoat for ownership!
Once all the good players are gone, The will cut the chord blame it all on Sandy and then start over with someone new that has the money to spend because Sandy purged it all.
It sounds better when you say he was brought in to stabalize the organization (financially and structurally) and rebuild the foundation (minors, player development, etc.). basically build an organzation capable of developing, and sustaining, a winning team.
think of it as the same thing Pat Gillick was brought in to do for the phils.
And sandy certainly knew exactly what he was brought in to do, regardless of anything said publically.
so whether they pretend to be shocked, I tell you shocked, by what he did, everyone will know that he was executing an organizational plan.
More likely IMO is that after a few years when the stabilization phase is over, Sandy would be looking to step back anyway, and that the owners would be thanking him for building a solid foundation, not blaming him for tearing down the old house.
I’m not doubting ANY of that! LOL
Just saying that if true it does tend to lend creedence to those who claim Sandy isn’t here to win. Sandy is not interested in winning, He is here as a wrecking ball and nothing else.
And despite what the owners want or think is the goal should we fans be supporting it like brainwashed little fanboys or voicing objections if Reyes is let go, Wright is traded and we are left waiting 12 years for a winner?
Is that SMART GMing?
Or have the bean counters taken over?
If what you say is true then this team is going to get worse not better!
And that plays right into the hands of those who say Sandy is going to ruin this team!
And you know what the end result will be?
Not what many here think is the smart way to go.
It will lead to a backlash that will buy EVEN MORE than when no one liked when Omar did it!
I say you can Build AND Buy at the same time!
You can’t Build alone or Buy alone!
And if we are to implement one extreme or another then I say we have just as bad a GM as we replaced if thats what anyone wrongly believes Omar did!
Cause from the looks of all the kids we have now that we like it would appear he WAS doing precisely that!
He bought a competitive team and ran with it while he rebuilt the minors!
People have this whole “This is new York” thing backwards.
You don’t have to buy another disappointing shell of their former selves every year to convince the fans your trying to win.
What you have to do in New York is actually win……..sometime.
We’ve actually been in the playoffs 3 times (and had 3 near misses) in the last 23 years. We’ve also had 12 losing seasons in the last 23 years and 5 times been slightly over .500 but not near the postseason and 6 times we’ve lost 90+ games and that’s with the largest payroll in the entire league over that period of time. Those results are entirely inadequate for NYC.
12.5% of the time we’ve made the post season. 25% of the time we’ve at least gone right up to the final day. 50% of the time we were out of it and 22% of the time we were neither in it or out of it and 25% of the time we were atrocious.
It’s like Parcells used to say. “You are what you are.” We’ve been really nothing more than mediocre. Occasionally real good but just as often real bad and most frequently inbetween the two.
One thing we have done almost every year is bring in an expensive free agent to attempt to address the talent shortage in the system but half the time those guys played worse, or couldn’t play at all due to injury. I don’t care about the cash but I do care about losing the draft choices because the ones we fork over for all this uninspired play are the ones that payoff the biggest.
The first round accounts for about 25% of the best players in baseball, about the same as international free agency. The 2nd round accounts for about 12.5% of the best players in baseball.
Giving away the chance of getting these players is exactly the reason we have to keep getting more of them to address new talent deficits in the roster and frequently the guy we gave the picks up for doesn’t make any kind of a difference anyway.
Going Big for top quality in Latin America and drafting and signing the best players in the first few rounds of the draft and going overslot to pick up a few guys in the later rounds is the only way we’ll ever be on the same talent footing as the best teams in baseball. Other teams are getting these guys, why can’t we?
yeah? Just watch!
If we lose the same number of games this year as we won last year the Anti Sandy side is going to grow!
And the more it grows the more the Media will play to it to capture that audience!
Nolan Arenado is a beast! Been saying for awhile now…I would trade Wright for Arenado straight up. Of course, obviously that is not feasible as Wright is a former all-star caliber talent…but any deal with the Rockies for Wright, in my opinion, MUST include Arenado!
According to Rockies Rookie review:
Arenado should hit for average and power, especially if he can improve his plate discipline. He’s got a strong arm at third, though his lack of speed leaves his defensive future a little bit cloudy. His bat will find a way into the lineup somewhere.
He sounds like Wright without speed (SB’s).
Arenado is 20 years old and in A+ ball batted .298/20/122 in 134 games, after being a 19 year old in A ball who batted .308/12/65 in 92 games. David Wright, for comparison as a 20 year old in A+ ball batted .270/15/75 in 133 games and as a 19 year old in A ball batted .266/11/93 in 135 games. Just for fun, Wright in 2011 had 19 errors in 101 games at 3B, and Arenado had 18 in 131 at 3B…Arenado also started 16 more double plays this season.
“He sounds like Wright without speed (SBs)”…true, he does not steal bases…however, in every other aspect of the game, at the same age as Wright was, he far exceeds anything Wright did. Arenado is a guy you build a franchise around, they tried that with Wright and failed, time for someone new.
I’d do it for Arenado and Willin Rosario.If they threw in a pitcher then that would just be icing.
Wow Satish, when I punted this question to you, I never expected to see such a well thought out and complex response. In the words of Darth Vader, “Impressive. Your training is complete.”
That’s what I thought, I thought the post was from another article. His writing sure has changed.
Thanks a lot guys. It means a lot to read something like that from two people I respect.
I still think Wright will be the opening day 3rd baseman. What happens come mid season or during the off season is anyone’s guess at this point. So much depends on his production as well as where the team is at.
I agree SRT, Wright will be dealt at the deadline if at all because they will be able to up the price to someone who needs his bat to make a run!
You maybe making two erroneous assumptions: 1. The Mets will not be in the pennant race by the trading deadline, and 2. he won’t be on a homerun tear with the change in the fences. I’m just saying.
If they are going to trade him, better he is on a homerun tear. Sell high!
Arenado and Pomeranz or GTFO.
I have also read rumours of Detroit being interested in either Reyes or trading for Wright?? So that gives Sandy 3 teams to choose from?? Detroit-Colorado-Arizona. By the way Pomeranz is Rated higher by Baseball America than Zack Wheeler
Pomeranz is major league ready and Wheeler isn’t.Colorado made a great trade getting White and Pomeranz.
A great trade is an understatement, Joe.
White and Pomeranz both have high ceilings, and if Colorado holds on to them, their rotation could be quite dangerous in about a year.