4
2012
Mets Should Take Notice Of Marlins Heading Into Offseason
An article by 
Alderson’s Third Offseason: It’s Time To Put Up Or…
For those of you who think stocking up on big ticket free agents should be cognizant of what happened in Miami if they believe that is the way to go in building a team. A look at the Red Sox would do them good, too.
It’s not about spending the money, but spending it wisely. The Marlins, who went crazy with Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes, were swept this weekend by the Mets and are in last place in the NL East. This isn’t to say the Mets’ method of not spending and hoping for the best isn’t the best answer, either.
It’s about spending wisely and being aware of chemistry.
When you go nuts and start casting off pieces in July, you know you screwed up in building your team.
When you look at what did in the Mets this season, it is the same flaws they had going in, and that was the bullpen and starting pitching depth. Yes, there was that stretch they just came out of when they didn’t score any runs, but by that time their season was over.
Building a bullpen is about finding the right role pieces and being aware of chemistry. Sandy Alderson’s pen rebuilding effort was a complete bust, and also revealing is that Bobby Parnell continues to be non-descript.
Chris Young was good yesterday, but he’s not the answer as the fifth starter. And I won’t insult you by reading anything into Jason Bay’s slam. The Mets should either release him or play him in a platoon with Lucas Duda. As far as Young goes, the Mets will probably bring him back because of, 1) concerns about Johan Santana’s durability, 2) not knowing what Matt Harvey will give them over a full season, 3) not having a ready answer of who will eat Mike Pelfrey’s innings, and 4) hot having any guarantees from the minor league system.
The Mets must look at the availability of FA starters capable of eating innings, and I’ll be examining their options as the month progresses.
I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend, made better by the sweep of the Marlins.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 22 | .476 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 23 | .410 | 6.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Agreed in that you can’t fix a team through FA. You go into FA to support what you already have. Basically FA needs to be the piece that puts you over the top, not brings you to the top.
Also, as to SP they may re-sign Young but keep in mind you do have Johan, Harvey, Niese, Dickey, Gee, McHugh, Hefner, Mejia and Familia as depth and I also expect them to bring back Pelfrey on a minor league deal.
Oh and Wheeler waiting in the wings.
I actually agree with you TRS….Free agency should be used to acquire complementary pieces and your cornerstones should be the top prospects that you groom into stars or young talented players you acquire via trades.
When a player hits free agency he is either in his 30′s or damn near close to it and he has but so many years left before his skills and body start to deteriorate. Which is why the phrase “This is a win now team” is always used on those veteran teams. They have a small window of success and unfortunately those back-loaded contracts get bigger and production drops which handcuffs teams.
Yup and you have to weigh your own FA against that same measuring stick.
No you see HERE is where your wrong….
The difference is one is an Acquisition meaning whatever your going to sign is a PLUS to what you currently have!
But in the case of your own FAs there is a LOSS that will occurr if you decide not to sign him.
You can pass on some other free Agent and not reduce your team’s overall production but if you pass on one of your own chances are likely you ARE going to lose some production and UNLESS there is a similar producing player available for less it is may more important to keep the guy you have cause you KNOW how he performs in the enviornment, KNOW reasonably well what his average performance is and means to you.
SO it’s a totally different proccess and priority when dealing with your own FAs than it is when evaluating FAs that are not already yours!
You can pass on the others and lose nothing!
But you pass on your own there is a loss you need to make up for in some way or replace that means whatever you saved on him is going to be spent elsewhere anyway!
The flaw in your post is this: What players are available who are the missing pieces. Who and at what price and for how long. Chemsistry feeds on winning. You can win without chemistry e.g. Munson and Reggie and the Oakland A’s of the 70′s. The problem with build within is that prospects are unpredictable, as generation K taught us plus Lasting Milege, Heilman, Pelfrey, ad infinitum. Who do we have to trade, Harvey, Wright and Niese? Get so called superstars on long term contracts ala Bay then your lucky if you can dump them. There is no sure solution as each so called solution has its inherent risks.
But there is one thing that is mostly consistent even in the case of the Yankees, you have to build the foundation either by prospect or trade before you head into FA for the final pieces. So I think what he is saying, at this point there is no collection of FA available that could fix the current team. When guys like Harvey, Wheeler, and hopefully Davis and Duda are more ready to be counted on then you have a better idea of what you actually need in FA and you are able to dip into that pool to push you over the top.
TRS, I agree with the premise that selective FA signings can put you over the top. We are not one or two players away. Ok FA is out for 2013. Who is available for trade?. Every team during negotiations is trying to getter the better deal. Sign and try and trade Wright who will accept six years as a minimum at 120 K per year. What can we get in return?: A major league OF who probably someone like the Cards John Jay plus some prospects but above the top ten. Matt Harvey for a closer. These deals are no way to rebuild. Even a top five position player prospect for Wheeler is a tradeoff. Ok Wright for three top ten prospects does that excite you?. The problem with the Mets is that they are one step behind. Always. A gutsy deal would have been Wright for Pomerantz and Wil Rosario who had 20 hrs in AA and was directly promoted to the Rox where he hit 4 hrs in 2011. Now at 20 years old he is a rarity in stats. A catcher only 20 years os in the majors with more hrs than his age. We definately have a need for a catcher. Reyes just left and that deal was on the table during the winter meeting of 2011 even after DW’s poor year. SA was afraid to lose Reyes and Wright over the winter. With the clawback suit hanging over the Wilpons head the payroll could have been reduced further. It would have filled a need: Power catchers are much more rare than power 3B plus the main guy in the deal Pomerantz. Their is a brain lock on creativity in the FO.
As I said inmy previous post the foundation is the 40 Man not the Minors….
The Minors are merely the materials you to stockpile to use in the construction of the foundation!
And no Free Agency is not the only way to build that foundation but it can be used to plug in particular holes that Kids are illsuited or take too long to fill effectively.
Your not going to get a kid up here who can be the power RH bat in the next 3 years to do what Bay was signed to do and we desperatly need so that we are not forced to throw Duda and Davis together or rely on Wright as the only power bat we have to throw against LHPs.
So in that case FA or trade of prospects is the better answer than waiting for some kid to fill that major load bearing position in the foundation.
As for what John is suggesting (to get good SP) I don’t have any issues with that suggestion on it’s own but it is not as important as getting that PRH at this point in time.
Santana is a question mark no doubt, But then again he really only has to make it to the deadline where Wheeler will have a good amount of AAA time and if all goes well could be ready to take Johan’s rotation spot. (Not as Ace mind you but then again I don’t think Johan is our Ace anymore it’s Dickey!)
At that point Johan could be sent to the Pen if he’s not able to go long into games and we will have killed two birds with one stone. The Timing could be perfect!
The Key is to get that RH Power bat that will be the last piece to complete the heart of the order. a lineup of 3,4,5 and 6 of
Wright
Davis
RHPB
Duda
Would not only take some of the pressure off Wright but help Duda and Davis from being too coyly toyed with knowing a good RHPB was there to drive them in.
How you get that guy is the only question. I think you have a better shot at trading this year as there are not any great FA’s who fit that need out there but it sure wouldn’t hurt to mlook anyway!
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rosarwi01.shtml
I know I am redundant but it was a missed opportunity. When opportunity knock then take advantage. The Rox had a fair offer to us.
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=p_pbp&pid=501647
unless you have a huge payroll to absorb eating mistakes, yeah going big on the wrong FAs can kill a team. So, you have to be careful, but you also have to take the risk sometimes.
I think though this is why teams try to extend their own guys into FA (IE Neise) to avoid having to fight over the few good guys that do hit FA.
and Young? He is not replacing Pelfs innings. Considering he is 5 innings at best now, even if he held together for 32 starts, they would be lucky to get 160 innings out of him.
The SP depth for a change actually does look pretty good. Maybe young is back on a cheap deal as more depth, but I can’t see them guaranteeing him a rotation spot. So quite likely, a different “make good” SP is brought in to see what happens. Actually, Pelf could be that guy, considering he likely has to start int he minors to get ready anyway.
Honestly I think that is why the Mets will bring Pelfrey back. He has already had the surgery on their dime, might as well have him for depth. That would lead to having Wheeler and Pelfrey as post May depth. The bigger question is what we can expect from Gee (I am not counting Johan as I again expect nothing).
They will not offer Arb to Pelfrey and if that is the case someone else will sign him.
He’s getting a minor league deal at best from someone so might as well be the Mets.
Nice assumption but a team like Colorado might even make him thier Ace!
Only thing he is not likely to get is 5M….
But I could see a pitching starved team pay him 2-3 Mil with incentives!
Maybe not get a long term deal more like a 2 year at most…
But he’s not as bad as we seem to think of him and there are teams that would kill to have a guy who is inconsistent over the guys they have that ARE consistently BAD!