21
2012
MMO Fair or Foul: Bay For Burnett?
An article by 
Lets take a look at what Joe Janish has to say about the heavily rumored Jason Bay for A.J. Burnett swap.
Financially speaking, the deal is more or less a wash. Burnett is owed $33M through the end of 2013, while Bay is guaranteed $35M ($16M for ’12 and ’13 plus a $3M buyout for ’14). Even though the Mets don’t have much depth nor big-time prospects to step into Bay’s spot, there are still a few affordable free agent options available and the Mets could push someone like Juan Lagares or Kirk Nieuwenhuis to the bigs for the time being. Bottom line is this: finding a stopgap corner outfielder is rarely a difficult challenge — particularly in comparison to finding a starting pitcher.
But there is another factor at play here, and that is tradeability and trade value. Jason Bay will have to make a complete transformation from what he’s done over the past two years to become a tradeable asset. Bay would have to return to being the slugger he was in Boston for other teams to consider giving up prospects for him and/or assuming some or all of his contract. That’s a tall order, and though anything is possible, such a turnaround would seem to be improbable.
On the other hand, A.J. Burnett doesn’t necessarily have to return to being a lights-out 18-game winner to become a trading chip. All he has to do is continue missing bats at his usual 8-9 K/9 rate, get a little lucky, and have a few of those eye-popping outings he normally sprinkles in a typical year. When A.J. Burnett is “on”, opposing scouts drool over his potential, and teams imagine him as a legit postseason starter. If Burnett can be “on” just enough times in the first three months of the season, a few contending teams looking for arms could convince themselves he’s “figured it out” and take a chance on him at the deadline. ~ Mets Today
I think Joe’s onto something, check out his full article.
It would be a reunion of sorts for Burnett who was originally drafted by the Mets in 1995 and then shipped off three years later in the trade that landed the Mets Al Leiter.
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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I have a question…….where is this “rumored?” What in the blue hell would the Yankees do with Jason Bay?
It’s been bandied about before during the winter meetings, not sure that the two teams ever discussed parameters though.
Bandied about by whom? I’ve heard nothing about it as it relates to the mets or Yankees, just a lot of internet fodder for a slow off season.
Why would any one even consider this, as bad as Bay has been he plays hard ALL the time and with field dimensions changing why not wait and see. Burnett is selfish and moody, plus are we going to have to trade for his personal catcher also
it mostly shows hoe bad Bay has been, and how much some people want him gone.
I don’t see the point at all, frankly if this is a rumor I think its just a rumor created based on a slow offseason in the NY market.
Gardner/Granderson/Swisher. Where do you put Bay? DH? Then you are banking that ARod is an every day 3B and Jeter is an every day SS and that u have no faith in Nunez in the infield.
So they’d give up a guy who can pitch for a guy to do what?
And no I don’t want Burnett. Who takes the OF spot left by Bay? The Mets lose more in this deal than Yanks
i’m not sure if i’d be in favor of this or not. i may be drinking the Kool Aide but i expect both DW and Jason Bay to have solid rebounding years, 25 – 35 Hrs each (not between them!) and 90 – 100+ RBI’s. And i view AJ to be indescribably unpredictable, inconsistent, and he’s had 2 very bad years in a row. He’s so flaky, you’d think he was a southpaw.
But we do need starting pitching big time more than anything else, so maybe. And maybe, AJ would ‘prosper’ in the NL. Very interesting.
Bum for bum, I’d take Burnett right now. A 13-13 pitcher is more needed than the poor excuse for a hitter that Bay has become.
I thought the Mets were in a “rebuilding” phase so, why would they want to obtain a 35 year old starter?
Anyway, they are not rebuilding as they are salary dumping in order to field the least expensive team they could . None of the decisions we see on a major league level have anything to do with baseball as they are the Wilpons can try holding onto team ownership. OK, Sandy got two good relievers and give him credit for that but even being limited of just those two moves (Rauch is another Caresco IMHO) shows how the Wilpons own self-interest comes into play.
What makes you think Rauch is that bad? He’s very solid and a good addition.
You missed the point. It would be easier to trade Burnett for prospects at the trade deadline than Bay. Hence Bay for Burnett.
You’re forgetting that this would also have to make sense for the Yankees, and it most certainly does not.
Well you figure CC, Pineda, Kuroda and Hughes are locks. So Burnett battles it out with Nova who they love. Plus Bay fills the role Montero was going to get at DH plus some PT in OF.
Hughes is being dangled, not Burnett. I’ve heard several actual sources say that. Also, the Yanks are not looking to make a big splash DH-wise. I’ve heard about Damon and Matsui.
Yes I know about Hughes being dangled. The thing is that Burnett is to Yankee fans what Castillo/Ollie was to Mets fans. I dont think anything will happen, just something to debate on a slow news day.
is this all we’re about now? get some has been on the team hope he can regain some success and then trade them.
offtopic: latest rumor now have the Mets trying to sign Cody Ross.
Give Bay a shot at the new LF wall and get that monkey off his back and leave AJ in the Bronx.
Not to come off as a hater, but both teams would be served well by kicking these two to the curb. Bay shouldn’t even be allowed to approach 500 PA this season which will help his 2014 option kick in for another $17M on top of the $32M he’s already owed. Platoon him and lets get another kid up here and hope he performs as well as Duda. Lets take a look at at Lagares, den Dekker or Nieuwenhuis if he’s healed.
I do not believe this is true. If it is, my first inclination is to say no. I do not want to bring a loser into the locker room. Burnett is a bad egg. He is all about excuses and complaints and his performance is spotty. Then I got devious. Burnett might come back to the weaker hitting NL and do very well for a while. Long enough to trade him to a team that has a starter go down, and net us a prospect—essentially for Jason Clueless.
Jason Clueless? Come on now, that is a ridiculous comment. He is a bonafide Major Leaguer and a fine LF’er who is down on his hitting game. The change to the LF wall could just reinvigorate his at bats and break new life to his game. At least consider the possibility that he could make a comeback. Clueless? Nah, you’re being ridiculous. In a team full of IF’s, Bay is imply one more IF. After all, we’re dealing with:
- If Santana’s arm is restored
- If Davis’ ankle is fine,
- If Murphy’s knee is better
- If David’s back is healed
- If Torres’ has a comeback
- If Duda doesn’t fall to the sophomore jinx
- If Tejada doesn’t crumble under the weight of trying fill Jose’s shoes
- If Thole can finally field his position
- If Rauch comesback from his surgery
- If Pelfrey can grow up
- If Neise and Gee can continue to develop
Get the picture? So what’s one more IF? Just add to the list IF Bay can get the LF wall monkey off his back. So what, give him a break! Who knows, a pleasant surprise is always possible, along with all those other IF’s. It’s not like we’re headed to a championship anytime soon. So we can ride out with Bay trying to regain his batting eye, and if he does there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I could care leas about his contract; let Fred fry over that for all I care about the busted skinflint.
AJ is of zero value. two consecutive years at over 5 ERA. should not have a major league job. forget his W/L record, that means nothing.
Yeah, I’ll take a pass on this one. Both have their problems, both are expensive, neither are likely to return to better days. But at least Bay isn’t remotely a whiner and plays good defense out in LF.
Do we really want another pitcher that needs to be treated with kid gloves?s
No way do the Mets make that trade now. When the team decided to reconfigure Citi Field it was to help Wright and Bay get rid of the demons that plagued them about hitting there. Much like Shea the ball did not carry well early in the season but the new bigger dimensions were making issues for both players. If both rebound and I think they will it is not unrealistic to see Jason Bay, a pull hitter smack 30-35 homers this season. If David feels comfortable he will also hit 30 homers but more importantly start driving the ball to right center field again.
A. J. can be very tough when on his game but he has been bad the last few years. Too much of a gamble until Bay gets a new life hitting this season
NO THANK YOU. As bad as Bay has been. Why would I want another Pelfrey on this team. At least Bay hustles on the field. I still think he has a better chance of improving than both Burnett and Pelfrey. NO THANK YOU, again.