8
2011
Trading Parnell Is Reminiscent Of When Mets Traded Heath Bell
An article by 
Adam Rubin of ESPN reports that the Mets were debating the idea of trading Bobby Parnell to an unspecified team for a starting position player.
On Tuesday, the Mets drastically revamped their bullpen, adding Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez and Frank Francisco to handle the closing and setup duties. The three new additions to the pen could make Parnell, Beato and Acosta expendable.
Trading Parnell won’t net much in terms of a starting position player. Most likely you’ll get another team’s maddeningly inconsistent player in return – the hitting equivalent of Parnell.
The problem is that flame-throwing relievers who sits at 97 mph and can ramp it up to 101 mph whenever he wants are tough to come across.
Yes, Parnell hasn’t really put it all together yet and still has to hone his craft, but are the Mets bailing on him too quickly?
It reminds me of when the Mets bailed out on Heath Bell who then went on to become one of the game’s best closers soon after he was traded to the San Diego Padres.
By the way, if you hadn’t noticed by now, the Mets are now in full “blow it all up” mode and nobody is safe as they try to divest themselves of as many current pieces as they can. The front office is now using a wrecking ball approach to dismantle the team and if one more person from the front office tells me they are trying to contend next season, I think I’ll vomit.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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With the current state of the NL East: Phillies, Braves still a 90 win team, Marlins spending more $ in 3 weeks than they did on the last 14 teams (or 17, I can’t remember which one it was)
I’m not sure why anybody is mad that the Mets FO is doing their due diligence and finding out if there is a market for some of their guys? They haven’t said everybody will be traded, they are just taking offers. In a free agent market where teams are over paying on dollars/years basically because of the Marlins – a trade market is created is it not?
I’m not sure what Parnell’s market would be, I have to assume it’s minimal though
so what happened your hero cannot figure out how to improve the team and compete so he will just get rid of anything good for a used bag of balls and hope in 3 years from now the players in the minors actually turn out good. some plan, and we need 3 gms for this. all you need to do is put a for sale sign out front, smh, i guess the ivy league has fallen.
this makes no sense. They aren’t cutting guys or giving them away for nothing (well, they would do that for Bay). So far, the rumors were they were evaluatin returns to see if they could get a ton back for younger veterans, or maybe trading a middle reliever for a starting position player. What is worth more to the team, right now, parnell pitching the 6th inning, or a better CF than Torres or Catcher than Thole?
And most likely Neise doesn’t go anywhere, but if they can exploit a shortage of SP talent in the market and get 2 really good guys back, it actually can make the team better, right now, and in the future.
i guess you missed the krod trade last year
You mean the middle of the road closer who had an easily attainable option that would have paid him more than Reyes in 2012? The one with decreasing velocity and increasing WHIP that decided he’d rather go to arbitration than hit the open market?
The one who might make $12 million next year, if he’s lucky?
That guy?
Yup, the Mets basically got Ramirez, Rauch, and 2 years of Fransisco for what they would have had to pay Krod for this year. Yeah, that’s a terrible move.
yes, that guy, which after the trade caused the bullpen to collapse and the team to fall out of race. that guy
You mean when they were 11 games back in the division and 7 games back in the wild card?
Weren’t the cardinals like 10 games out???? you’re becoming the same guy you were in metsblog..
What is that? Rational? Yeah sorry it’s a habit.
I completely agree. Unless the Mets are getting a CF that is under control for many years and they believe can start right now then what is the point?
Also, while Parnell seems incompetent at times, I wonder how much of it is because he has been jerked around. The guy did not start pitching until college and then was never allowed to develop in the minors. In fact his minor league numbers were terrible yet they still rushed him. The guy throws 100 mph and in a pen where the Mets seem to covet hard throwers if he was out there on another team the Mets would be looking at him.
I also love Michael Baron’s take on Parnell. “He continues to not miss bats, yet keeps trying to blow the ball by every hitter he faces”
See this is where stats ARE useful. Parnell in-fact has more strikeouts than innings pitched. He also has a very high ground ball rate. Meaning that chances are you are getting a non productive out from Parnell. Does he have a lot of maturing to do? Yeah sure but casting him off because a few fans expect more of him? Ridiculous.
86 you said: The guy did not start pitching until college and then was never allowed to develop in the minors. In fact his minor league numbers were terrible yet they still rushed him. The guy throws 100 mph and in a pen where the Mets seem to covet hard throwers if he was out there on another team the Mets would be looking at him.
That’s the whole problem in a nutshell, and YES he was jerked around big time and thrust into roles he had no business being in. I understand the historic injuries in 2009 and that we ended up tapping 2-3 players down our positional depth chart, but Parnell was the biggest casualty of that.
Now as for your point on full blow it up mode? How many of these players have been traded yet? Why shouldn’t everyone be on the market and see what the return is? It is up to Sandy to decide if that return benefits the Mets long term. What Sandy sees with Ike and with Niese is that there is potential for someone to panic. While I love both of them, the fact that someone will lose out on CJ Wilson and someone will lose out on Pujols and Fielder maybe there is a team that is willing to vastly overpay to get production from those spots.
Are you sure just who is doing the panicking? It looks to me like it is the Genius himself.
So help me out, how is taking offers on all of your players in effort to see if you can improve your team in the long-run panicking?
I just heard Pujols to LAA to 10/250m
For all the people that said you can’t let homegrown player like Reyes walk etc. The Cardinals just lost a player that meant more to their franchise than Reyes ever will to NYM… It kinda stinks that it came down to $ yet again…I love watching LAA build a team but they bought a STL legend. Pujols to LAA changes baseball and will hurt a fan base more than Reyes to MIA ever will.
Everybody’s got a price.
My thought is STL probably showed him no love and didn’t take Albert out to dinner, that’s why he went elsewhere. Has nothing to do with money. (end sarcasm)
Should have sent chocolates…
actually stl was with him every step of the way, and offered him 200m last year, something your hero never did and actually treated him like dirt. you might think it’s funny how they treated jose but wait and see that will cost him.
will: Explain to me the difference here please?
You’re claiming the Mets made some fatal mistake for not being with Jose every step of the way… what did it do for the Cardinals exactly?
At the end of the day where did he go?
Where the money was.
if the Mets had said 90/5 then all you’d say is they didn’t offer him enough $. There will always be some excuse you come up with. He followed the $ and priced out his team, regardless of how many glasses of wine his original team bought him.
Snifffffffffffflllllle sniffffffffffllllllleeee. It’s over, he is gone. He WAS a great player for the Mets. He is NOW on the Marlins. It is time to move on. Regardless of Sandy’s thoughts or decisions the Mets COULD NOT AFFORD HIM. It sucks, I know, but at what point does the whining become pointless?
New york just lost a player for 106 million, st louis lost a player for $250 million.. BIG DIFFERENCE but you need to defend alderson at all cost so of course you needed to chime in on this. you’re the biggest hypocrate there is, from “we demand answers” to washing your face after alderson’s finish his section with you… you’re pathetic…
Pujols was worth more financially to STL and more to the fan base than Reyes ever would be to the Mets. Doesn’t matter the dollar amount, you don’t understand, I get that but quit it with the insults… you’re just proving your lack of intelligence when everytime you type you have to insult people and speak lies
i don’t insult people, i insult you by telling you the truth in your face??? you’re a hypocrite and is funny, you talking about insults yet you have been the one who’s insulting me many times, including those racial comments you made about me learning english and whatnot.. don’t try to be the victim here, trs86 is not a referee or anything.. he’s just like you but more knowledge of baseball…
Hey thanks for the compliment even if it was backhanded. As I said above I, while I am usually more optimistic than yourself, I have no problem calling out GM’s, owners or players when I see fit. However, I try not to let my emotion and bias cloud my judgement.
Of course there is a BIG difference, just like there is a BIG difference in talent and impact of the two players. Still does not change the fact the Mets just did not have the money to spend 110M on Reyes. Time to move on.
why you come and defend that ahole when he’s the one being snarky?? who is taking shot here? he’s the one defending that POS GM we have and taking shots at reyes, but hey, what can you expect from him? he’s a db.
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/12/should-mets-check-in-on-hanley.html#comments Search “and Boom Goes the Dynamite.” to find it.
That says all you need
You two stop it, why not just ignore each others post or something. I hope both of your egos are small enough to understand that most readers do not come here to read this back and forth between you two. I have been there and done that. Just move on. Keep it civil between the two of you.
this is how idiotic that comment was.. just because you’re latino doesn’t mean you cannot be a racis.t you and him are part of the worst group of guys here in this blog
LOL, I don’t defend anyone. I defend intelligent comments, when you make them I defend them. When someone else makes them I defend them. As you remember I hate sides and forcing people to take sides. It’s not about the Sandy Sunshinners or the Core. It’s about what I see and using ration to make my comments instead of emotion.
Yup, looks like a done deal. 250-260 million. Damn that’s a lot of money. Could make the market for Prince get interesting, also the Angels now have trading chips and if they trade Kendry have most likely enough money to go after another SP as well.
Full no trade clause included
Parnell was very frustrating last year. Don’t give him away, but if you are getting someone who is a current starter on another team it’s worth listening. Wide range of “starter” though.
As for Neise, I like him and he is a solid middle rotation guy, but if they can get a placeholder and a top position prospect back think you need to do it. I’m shocked that they would be able to get a multiple players back. We’ll see.
In this market why couldn’t they get multiple players for him. Think about if he was a FA what contract demands he could make? A guy like Cap got what 2/12? Aaron Harang same thing. I would expect Niese to out pitch both for league minimum and still under control for years to come.
i disagree. Parnell has great potential. And i think he’s the kind of guy that will always have great potential…into his 30s! He allows more hits than IP, walks guys alot, and has always had a high WHIP…and he’s blown > 60% of his SVOs. Not good for a key reliever. Parnell has not looked good over 3 full seasons. Enough.
Like for anybody, IF we get true value back, do it.
And for alll the hand-wrining over letting Reyes go and being $$$-strapped, i bet we hit better in ’12 than we did last year. Pitching? That’s another story.
Yeah I am not sure anyone is saying that you should hang on to him at all cost. Just saying that he has more value than most give him credit for. He is not a closer or setup man yet for sure but in a market where 7th inning guys get 4-5 million, unless the offer is substantial there is no reason to cast him off yet.
Also, you were just barely able to make that statement that he allows more hits than IP. Last year it was 60 hits in 59 innings, LOL. He does allow way too many walks though. It is worth noting however, that his SLG % against is at .339 meaning there is not a lot of solid contact against him. Out of those 60 hits only 11 of them were extra base hits 7 doubles and 4 HR.
Honestly if you take out July from last year his numbers would actually be much improved… I know you can’t do that though.
Parnell is a wrecking ball or blowing things up?
If anything, it means they are trying to compete this year.
They went out and got experienced pen guys, and paid real money for them. That there says they were trying to improve (as in win more games), plus they don’t see Parnell as useful in an important role.
so, if they can trade a guy that is now a ROOGY or mop up/middle innings guy, for a position player that would be an upgrade at a spot of need (and the rumor said a staring position guy), isn’t that also attempting to make the team better/more competitive right now?
Bell was also a more complete pitcher, and much more successful in the minors, than Parnell is/was. Not saying he can’t get over the hump and become good, just that Bell was better to start with.
The Genius stated he will not deal the top prospects out of the organization. But doesn’t Parnell actually count as a top prospect? His skills have never been fully developed and so he is really still a prospect and very high on that list of Mets prospects. Instead of dealing away this potential for some bench garbage, why not instead concentrate on hiring a better pitching coach who might actually be able to better develop his talents and those of the other prospects. Send Warthen packing and get a real pitching coach. Perhaps Parnell could then be taught the skills he needs to become a solid and consistent pitcher. The other top prospects would also benefit from this meaningful action. Trade Parnell away and some other organization’s real pitching coach will lead him to a higher level. We will then see Parnell as a top reliever in another organization within a couple years. The Genius better start looking at the total organization and identifying actions to better position the organization for success. Dealing off young players full of potential who currently earn the ML minimum is not the way to go. If Parnell was in another organization, wuoldn’t he be a candidate to be picked up by the Mets in a deal? If so, then why should we offer him to another team? The Genius is not a “genius” he is actually the Village Idiot.
“But doesn’t Parnell actually count as a top prospect?”
No.
A 27 year old reliever who has pitched 175 games in the big leagues is not a prospect. I’m not sure why people who are negative towards the Mets toss out words like “genius”, it’s almost like you’re jealous he went to Dartmouth and Harvard? Other teams have Ivy League GM’s you know?
Jon Daniels went to Cornell, do you mock his education? I doubt it… Epstein went to Yale. Dave Dombrowski went to Yale, I kind of doubt their fans mock their education right?
It doesn’t take a genius or an Ivy league degree to know that Bobby Parnell is not a top prospect, it just takes a little thinking.
I agree that Warthen coming back is a head scratcher.
and no one was dealt away for bench garbage.
and it seems that he is evaluating the entire organization and looking to maximize the assets.
My friend and fellow Mets fan, you have failed to read the article carefully.
“for some bench garbage” was your thought.
However, the article clearly states “Adam Rubin of ESPN reports that the Mets were debating the idea of trading Bobby Parnell to an unspecified team for a starting position player.”
Again, no one is saying give him away. However, if the return is great because of the demand then why not?
You may be right, trs86. It’s tough to trade a young guy with 97mph heat. But he hasn’t put it together over 3 full years. He is a puzzle. i’ll agree there. i wouldn’t trade him for nada, but IF we got true value back, then why not?
I think we are saying the same thing.
Yes. i just want value back. And it’s early and alot of us are upset about the $$$$-strapped reality that governs us currently, but i like Alderson’s approach, given our reality. He wants to “outperform the payroll”. God bless and hooray!
Alderson couldn’t wait to tear this team apart. What we are seeing now is what he’s had planned from the start. He thinks running a team i like etch a sketch where you just wipe everything away and begin a new design. This isn’t about rebuilding other wise 25 year olds like Niese and Davis wouldn’t be peddled for chump change. Trading either of them has nothing to do with 2014, this is a completely chaotic and out of control megalomaniac who wants to build from the ground up and it could be a decade before we bear any fruit. By the way, Alderson never built anything with the A’s all he did was spend money to win his titles with one of the largest payrolls in baseball. This is all new to him and he obviously is clueless as to what he’s doing.
Who has he traded? In fact most reports say that while those players are available, as they should be, the asking price is VERY high. Again, why do we criticize people on things they have not even done yet? Rumors are in fact… rumors. They are not actions or facts.
You put Parnell on the Cards, you’ll have the next Bob Gibson (well, not really, but for exaggeration’s sake, go with me). The Mets do not have the environment nor the pitching coaches for him to flourish. They should, knowing that this team won’t be though to compete in the upcoming years, but everyone wants a winner now, come hell or high water.
Could Parnell be Heath Bell? Possibly (most likely not probably). Can he be taught? Possibly. Honestly, I’d trade him away. Yes he throws hard. But he more likely turns into a Henry Owens than Heath Bell.
NJ when you say “Honestly, I’d trade him away.” it makes it sound like you want to just dump him. I know that is not the case but it seems too many are in the “I don’t like Pelfrey, Parnell and Pagan lets dump them” mode when those guys still have/had value. Pagan brought us a very good reliever and himself in return. Perhaps Parnell and Pelfrey can help us as well.
Correct in that I wouldn’t trade him for a stick of gum and a bag of balls, but I also wouldn’t be holding out for Posey or Carlos Santana or someone like that.
some of the comments are a bit much. And it is hard to take some of them seriously since they read like ultra right wing republicans talking about a liberal democrat president (or vice versa). Hatred of the GM seesm to take precedence over objectively evaluating a move (or in this case, rumor).
Exploring trade options for valuable young veterans is not “trading for garbage”. It is doing due dillegence to see if you can improve the overall talent (and win potential) of the team.
and until a deal happens, it is all speculation. And IMO more likely they get some high end talent back, since otherwise, they aren’t trading someone like Neise or Davis.
And you gotta laugh at the double standard. The whole team is crap, until a name is mentioned in a trade rumor than that guy becomes untouchable. And posters scream about Sandy “doing nothing” to improve the team or try to win, then when he does something (or a rumor surfaces that they are discussing all options) it is terrible that he is touching the team.
If you want to make the team better, you have to make moves. And if you expect a big return, you have to trade something of value.
But Sandy is not trading young, cheap, good talent like Neise or Davis for table scraps just because of some vendetta against the team. BS.
To say that the Mets are in “full blow-up” mode is a major overstatement. Other than Reyes, what other player of any significance has been moved. Beltran wasn’t coming back to the Mets anyway. No one could justify paying Frankie $17.5 M. In their current situation I think that the Mets need to explore every option to improve the team. Its difficult to be critical of any possible move until we see what the move is. Is Parnell Mariano, Niese has not been able to finish the year the last two years so let’s not make these guys out to be All Stars and that the Mets are pulling a Marlins – getting rid of all their star players in a salary dump. Unfortunately, no one wants Bay or Santana who have been getting paid almost $40 Million to contribute almost nothing last year. If they traded Ike (which I doubt they will) – they could move Duda to 1st where he wouldn’t be such a defensive liability. They would hopefully receive a top outfield prospect in return.
I think to be successful in the current environment you have to develop pitching – it costs way too much and is too big a risk – how many Met fans wanted Lackey – to buy pitching on the free agent market. Then once these pitchers become successful and reach the stage where they can become free agents trade them for young – high ceiling prospects.
just wait till the AS break,u will c a vastly diff. team on the field.full blown up mode.
Maybe, but if those guys like Ike and Niese are gone then that means the Mets obtained very high rated prospects in return. In other words someone most likely overpaid, as that would be the only reason you would trade them. In terms of Wright, I expect the Mets to approach him about an extension. If that extension is something both sides see as a good fit he will remain with the Mets long-term. If not and then when his value rebounds they will most likely look to trade him. As many on here know I am a big Wright fan but if that is the direction they choose, I understand.
Back away from the ledge. Talking to teams to see if you can improve on Parnell is exactly what it is. Just talk. Let me know when he is traded and for who and then we can see if it’s reminiscent of trading Bell.
Agree, I can’t understand how people continue to judge a GM based on rumors of moves. The same thing happen when Omar was GM. It’s NY, media is going to jump all over every rumor and make it into a big deal. To respond with panic is playing right into their hands.
The sky is falling, didn’t you know?
I even with Omar at the end, I can’t recall ever seeing this level of pure hatred for 1 guy, or massive overreaction to things that have not even happened (just rumors).
It is getting tiring trying to find intelligent BB talk here. But you do have to love all the (mis)branding of posters here by certain people. I am apparently a saberhead sandy worshiper finance geek. And I never knew.
Not to talk bad about the community but if at work I could comment on my own blog I might not be on here as much
As is it is nice to read opinions contrary to mine and even extreme. However, what I don’t care for is the need to group, insult or force sides. In reality that is what brought down the Metsblog comment section and the reason I guess that sites like this one and my own are much more popular today. So uh… yeah.
I always wanted this site to be one where all views are shared AND respected. I don’t insult people I disagree with and wish everyone would take that approach. Blogs where everyone agrees with each other or only feature one-sided views suck in my opinion. Sites like this one and Real Dirty are the future and they could be so much better without the insults and grouping like “trs86″ and “any” mentioned. Let’s just talk baseball without making everything so damned personal.
Completely agree and both of us as blog owners know the damage that can cause. While Metsblog is based purely on what can generate ad money, our sites livelihood is based on the comment section and it’s community of loyal readers. While disagreeing view points are fun, insults and personal attacks/ child like cliques are not. I just wish that some would realize the damage that it does to the blogs they love.
If only they could fix the comments engine over at Real D.. oh wait.
You know why Mets pitchers keep going elsewhere and having break out seasons and careers? COACHING! Well, in the Mets case the lack of good coaching. Sorry Dan Warthan is a terrible pitching coach. Rick Petersen was far better. Simple, so please do trade Parnell and Neise give them a chance to have long healthy successful careers! This team needs to be sold, the Wilpons are turning a N.Y.C. Franchise into a laughingstock! Biggest City, best stage, so many endorsement opportunities for players! No one wants to play for the Mets! No one has wanted to sign here in a long time! Word spread around the league amongst the players years ago. The Wilpons and this franchise is a joke! We have our own Network and we have no money? How is that even possible? The Wilpons are terrible owners, they have run this team into the ground and if Fred was not such a close friend of Buds, he would have been asked to sell the team by the league. They are so late on their $25 million dollar, that if they were an average American family late on their mortgage they would have been foreclosed on and kicked out already! Fred, take your son and your cronies, sell the team and get the hell out of baseball! For the Good of the game!
Sorry for the spelling and grammatical errors. I am just frustrated, and feel horrible for Mets fans everywhere.
[...] Trading Parnell Is Reminiscent Of When Mets Traded Heath Bell … The front office is now using a wrecking ball approach to dismantle the team and if one more person from the front office tells me they are trying to contend next season, I think I'll vomit. Related Posts with Thumbnails . [...]