Dec
12
2011

Blue Jays Like Niese, Could Be Great Trade Partner

An article by Ben Yoel

Last week during the baseball’s Winter Meeting’s news surfaced that the Mets were guaging interest in Jon Niese. At a time when players like Gio Gonzalez are being heavily sought after in a weak LHP market, Niese could prove valuable.

One of the teams believed to be interested is the Toronto Blue Jays. And why wouldn’t they be? They’ve got ton’s of competition in a strong AL East. A LHP like Niese to fit behind Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow could be just what the doctor ordered in Toronto.

Who could be coming back to the Mets in trade?

One name that may be tossed around is J.P. Arencibia. He hit .219/23/78/.282(OBP) line in 2011. Strikes out a ton (133 times in 443 AB’s in 11′). But his power cannot be ignored and he seems to be able to handle himself behind the plate. Could be a solid piece for a young rebuilding Mets team.

Why would the Blue Jays trade Arencibia? Because one of there top prospects is a guy named Travis d’Arnaud. He had a .311/21/78/.371 line at AA (New Hampshire) in 2011. He is also 22 years old and was recently added to the Blue Jays 40-Man roster.

The Mets could insist on getting d’Arnaud back in trade of course. Sandy Alderson proved he is about QUALITY and not QUANTITY with the Carlos Beltran trade. I’d bet every dollar in my bank account that Alex Anthopoulos would kindly say “No” though. Arencibia remains a more likely target.

This situation would push Josh Thole into more of a back-up role clearly. This could be good for the young backstop as he has shown he is more of a platoon catcher at best anyways.

Other possibilities the Mets MAY target in a trade with Toronto are – (Adeiny Hechavarria, Anthony Gose, and Jake Marisnick.)

About the Author: Benjamin Yoel

Graduate of St. John's University. Majored in Sports Management. Torn on where career will take me next. Considering Baseball Operations, Scouting, and Journalism. Writer for Metsmerized Online & StLucieToFlushing.com. Devout #Mets fan.

13 Comments + Add Comment

steve December 12, 2011 at 9:03 am

Why not ask for carlos perez or aj jimenez?? Or the mets could add parnell and ask for D’Arnauld? Either way toronto has good catching propects.
Metfan Lou December 12, 2011 at 9:19 am

I said it before and I will keep saying it. Scot Kazmir all over again?
- Donal December 12, 2011 at 9:50 am
  
  They were both young Mets pitchers. The comparison ends right there so far.
- jessep December 12, 2011 at 12:32 pm
  
  Metfan Lou: Kazmir was what? 20 years old when he was traded? I like Niese but he’s 25 and not Scott Kazmir.
  
  BTW The Mets were right about Kazmir’s arm they just didn’t get the right package for him. Trading Kazmir wasn’t the wrong move, the wrong move was what they got
  - trs86 December 12, 2011 at 12:40 pm
    
    How would that move have been regarded if Zambrano had stayed healthy? The guy was a beast in inter-league play and was only 28 at the time.
    - jessep December 12, 2011 at 12:41 pm
      
      Eh regardless it was not a big haul for a so called top prospect. I’ve always thought that more people around the league had similar views of Kazmir’s arm and that is why they couldn’t get much for him.
      - trs86 December 12, 2011 at 12:47 pm
        
        I am not so sure, Zambrano finished with a 10-2 record in Interleague play with a 2.72 ERA. I think the Mets saw a lot of promise in him at the time.
Alan December 12, 2011 at 10:10 am

Whether this is a good assessment or not of a possible trade remains to be seen….but it would be nice if the author could spell correctly……His version of “their” spelled there shouldn’t be used to designate personal property.

Dumb…. dumber…..dumbest!
- Ben Yoel December 12, 2011 at 12:26 pm
  
  It’s called a typo genius..if that’s all you took from this article your a moron
  - Ben Yoel December 12, 2011 at 12:27 pm
    
    wait let me fix that – you’re*…don’t want the typo police getting mad…
Metsie December 12, 2011 at 10:15 am

the questions about Santana aside…
Niese is our second best pitcher after Dickey.
DO we really think trading away our BEST players is the way we are going to fix this team?
Tommy2cat December 12, 2011 at 11:05 am

I like the idea of pairing Jake Marisnick with Nimmo. In the best of all worlds, we should pull a trade for Marisnick & SF’s prospect Gary Brown, whose name was tossed around during the Beltran/Wheeler trade. An outfield of Nimmo, Brown & Marisnick would be stellar…potentially.

I really like Jonathan Niese, but we have such a shortage of top-drawer outfield talent. I suppose it’s easier to replace Niese than to stock our system with blue-chip outfield prospects… I mean guys that can play stellar defense, hit for average & power and run the bases.

Dear Santa – I mean Sandy… I want Marisnick, Brown & Colorado’s Wilin Rosario.

Thanks! Two-Cat
Sach December 12, 2011 at 5:12 pm

I think the Jays are going to pass on Niese. Acc. to Susan Slusser, the Jays are focused on trading for Gio. Besides, Sandy would want back solid catching prospect Travis D’Arnaud in any package for Niese from the Jays and I don’t think that’s palpable for them.

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