21
2012
MMO Mailbag: Johan Santana As The 2013 Mets Closer
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I received this interesting question yesterday from one of our readers, USMF.
I have an idea on what to do with Santana next year and thought it could be a good debate question for the MMO staff.
Seeing Johan’s recent struggles, I was wondering about moving Santana into the Closers Role next year similar to what the Braves did with John Smoltz.
We know the pen has tons of problems, especially in the closers position and i don’t see Sandy being able to do anything major to correct the issues.
Santana has had problems recently, and even when he was doing good, he had problems going deep into games. We know Santana has big game mentality so i think he could easily handle the pressure of closing. I also believe that pitching only one inning at a time would allow Santana to put more velocity on his FB, keep him fresh all year and not give the hitters a chance to figure him out and burn him by the 4th inning.
Of course this move is dependent on many things. We have some decent young starters coming up, but are they ready to have success at the bigs? Moving Santana from the starting rotation would mean that we’d be relying on a rotation of 1. Dickey. 2. Niese 3. Harvey 4. Gee 5. Hefner with Mejia, Wheeler and Familia in AAA waiting for their chance and possibly Young and Pelf signing minor league contracts until they show they are healthy and needed.
It also means that Santana would have to accept the move and the Mets would have to be OK with paying Santana $25 million to close. Additionally, we must hope that Santana can handle pitching the irregular schedule of a reliever.
What do you guys think?
That’s a great question and honestly, at this stage of the game and under these dire Mets circumstances, ALL options need to be considered.
If Johan Santana cannot regain the form he showed in the first half of this season, and shows up to spring training continuing to struggle as a starter, by all means lets see what he can achieve out of the bullpen.
Santana has always been a team-first player, so if he comes to grips with the realization that a move to the bullpen would be best for the team, I have no doubt that he would do it.
You mentioned Santana’s warrior mentality and you’re correct in mentioning that as a key factor in a successful transition to a closer. John Smoltz had that swagger, and so does Johan Santana. You need that to excel as a late game reliever.
All of that said, the Mets are going to try everything they can, and go through many exhaustive measures, before they even consider a switch to the bullpen.
I’ve yet to see that type of out-of-the-box thinking from this front office anyway. This isn’t the same as handing Justin Turner and Jordany Valdespin an outfielders glove and pointing them toward rightfield.
Putting Santana in the bullpen will be a last resort, and that usually means that by the time they consider a move like that next season, it might not be until late July at a time that the Mets will already be out of contention again.
David Wright referred to this front office’s impact in the last two years as a “baby step”. I’d go as far as saying they are guilty of operating at a snail’s pace and I really can’t wait to see what exactly they will have to say when 2014 finally gets here and we are no closer to being a viable contender than we were in 2010.
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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This is the worst FO the mets have ever had. At this point to expect anything from them is like go hunting for an alien to shoot it. Lower your expectations up until 2014, when nimmo and co will be ready.. Any ideas we come up with are fun etc, but reality is none of it is gonna happen.
I suggested such a thing in the offseason. Maybe not to designate him as the closer specifically but to put him in the pen where you have flexability of when and where to pitch him without worrying about destroying your pen by adhereing to the rigid schedule of a starter even on days when he may not be up to the task due to fatigue or soreness.
Truth is it would have been a better idea to do this season than next.
The risk for re-injuring the shoulder was greater this year than it should be next year.
You already took that risk and we all hope his current issues are not related to the injury and just fatigue and we got away with doing that.
The goal this year for Santana should have been to let him re-build up the strength in his arm, stay conservative with his usage and allow him a venue to get back whatever he lost due to the long hiatus the shoulder caused.
But at this point we are past that. They did what they did and it appears that the No No was the straw that broke the camels back on his return as he hasn’t been the same since.
At least we know what he CAN do post surgery now the question is how do we get him fit enough to do it longer than half a season.
So I support putting Johan in the pen for the remainder of the season where you can pick and choose his appearances and limit his inning because you already got through most of the game with his replacement and other starters to eat up the majority of Innings.
Basically we should have babied him this year not next.
Whats done is done they should approach his next year as if he is going to start and failing success at that only then do what I propose to do now.
At some point it does not pay to limit the innings and next year for all intents and purposes is his last as a Met.
While we have an option on 2014 chances are likely we will not excersize it and more than likely trade him before that option even comes into play.
So it makes a lot more sense to increase his trade value by letting him continue to start, hope you can get something good for him if he has some success and move on so we can stop hearing about all the salary locked up in a few players that is being used as an excuse to not improve the team.
it pays to let him be a starter next year and failing that THEN consider him as a closer.
Because success in either of those two roles will add value to a trade that is most likely to be made because of our FO who is not even Likely to re-sign Wright who seems to be worth that kind of money!
With that 8+ ERA, the bullpen will only mean that he gives up one run per appearance. That’s better than most of the bullpen this year.
I expect RA Dickey to get a three year 12 Mil deal at a minimum (home discount). At the end of that contract, I can see Dickey fololow the foot steps of Hoyt Wilhem and become a very good closer.
Your friends on Amazin Avenue posted this about 3 hours after you did.
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2012/8/16/3247372/johan-santana-closer
Coincidence?
No, no, no! The Mets have already done enough to kill Santana’s winning percentage, health, and morale.
very stupid idea. even the idea of a closer is a stupid idea. the best pitchers need to be on the mound for as many innings as possible.
True, the question is can Johan still be one of the “best pitchers” as a starter consistently anymore?
Well he does have a no hitter this year, so I say yes.
Consistently?
Humber has a perfect game and he still sux lol