Dec
4
2012
4
2012
Mets May Have Dollars For Ryan Ludwick, Rockies Shopping Dexter Fowler
An article by 
Here are some of the latest Mets and MLB updates from late last night…
- Joel Sherman tweets that the Mets might budget some of their extra dollars to fill their “severe” hole in the outfield, and he also states the the Mets have interest in Ryan Ludwick. Ludwick turned 34 in July and is coming off a strong season for the Reds, where he batted .275 with 26 HRs and 80 RBI over just 422 ABs. For those of you wondering, 16 of those HRs came at Great American Ballpark while 10 came on the road – and he actually had a better average on the road (.282 vs .268.) Cincinnati has an offer out to Ludwick, while rumors have also linked him to Seattle and Atlanta.
- On the topic of outfielders, the Rockies are shopping Dexter Fowler, but he is NOT coming cheap at all. The Braves and Phillies have inquired, according to David O’Brien and Comcast.
- The Mets are well aware of their issues at catcher, but there are a few names you can cross off the list, according to Adam Rubin. Apparently, the Mets are unlikely to resign Shoppach, or go after Jesus Flores, Rod Barajas, and Henry Blanco. It is more likely the Mets will look to find a right-handed hitting catching to platoon with Thole, leaving Miguel Olivo, Matt Treanor, and Chris Snyder as main options.
- Also coming from the Rubin blog, David Wright is expected to appear at the Winter Meetings on Wednesday with Jeff Wilpon for the formal announcement of his extension. Wright took his physical on Monday, and the results are expected to be known today.
- The Tigers supposedly had an offer out to Scott Hairston earlier today, but the idea was shot down. Although the Yankees, Tigers, Giants, Cardinals, and Indians have shown interest in Hairston, he has not ruled out coming back to the Mets.
- Asdrubal Cabrera has a partial no-trade clause that allows him to block trades to certain teams – one of them being the Mets, tweets Jon Morosi.
- The Marlins are actively shopping Yunel Escobar and Ricky Nolasco wants out of town, as well.
- Also, Jason Bay is pulling in actual interest, tweets Red Sox writer Rob Bradford. In addition to that, if you all remember the prospect I was all excited over from overseas, Shohei Otani – he has yet to decide on whether he will head to the US, but the Dodgers seem to be the frontrunners.
And finally…
R.A. Dickey updates:
- ESPN NY reports that the Mets had discussions with about eight teams on Monday about RA Dickey. From my understanding, they were of varying intensity and the general opinion around the meetings is that the Mets have a really high asking price for RA Dickey. This will come into play sooner rather than later. Once Zack Greinke is off the market, perhaps to the Dodgers, Dickey’s value goes up.
- The Royals do not want to trade top hitting prospect Wil Myers for Dickey, according to Heyman. However, he points out, the Blue Jays have OF Anthony Gose and C J.P. Arencibia, while the Rangers probably have the strongest farm system of the teams involved.
- The Dodgers have reportedly looked into Dickey as a back-up plan, as well. I have heard that the D-backs have inquired about Dickey, but found the asking price to be too high. The Rockies also inquired, but were hesitant to show real interest due to the effects of a knuckleball pitcher pitching at Coors Field.
- According to Andy Martino of the Daily News, talks with Arizona did not get far, because the Mets asking price is said to be very high.
- At different points during the day, Jim Duquette tweeted that the Royals and the Blue Jays showed interest in trading for Dickey. MLBlogs have noted that the Rangers have interest in trading as well.
- Supposedly, Jon Niese is coming off as equally or more attractive to most of these teams, and the Mets have had talks about trading him. The final tally on the Dickey interest so far, however, is: Boston/Arizona/LA Dodgers/Rockies/Royals/Blue Jays/Rangers. Do not expect to hear too much more on the fronts of the D-Backs or the Rockies, while you can only expect the Dodgers to really jump in if they miss out on Greinke.
- Today, Jon Heyman adds that the Orioles and Nationals are two teams that are interested in Dickey, and the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff adds the Rangers, “and the Brewers think highly of him, as well.”
About the Author: Satish Ram
I am a Senior Writer and Editor here at MetsMerized - where I specialize in Minor League coverage. I have been on the staff since 2007 and I am currently in my third semester of college in New York City. You can find me at www.facebook.com/SatishRam or @SilverHeatMMO. Feel free to message me - I love talking about the Mets or baseball overall with anybody.
28 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
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TRADE NIESE
No. Keep Niese.
Why give up a 26-year-old LHSP who finished in the top 30 in Baseball in almost every pitching category in 2012 and is signed to a friendly longterm deal ? Especially when the organization is very deep in promising RHP prospects but doesn´t really have a single LHP prospect with the upside of Niese – with all due respect to brittle Steve Matz.
Sure, if someone overwhelms you, you trade Niese. But the same is true for Zach Wheeler or Matt Harvey. Those are three young arms you want to build around longterm.
As for RA Dickey, if the market comes to the Mets and they can find at least one if not two impact longterm pieces, sure, trading a 38-year-old SP coming off a career year, one year away from free agency and about to become quite expensive, it´s worth considering.
However, trading Niese can only be justified with an overwhelming offer too good to refuse.
For Dickey, you want a strong offer or you keep (and extend) him.
how humiliating that a player from the Cleveland Indians has a no-trade to the Mets. No to Ludwick. NO 34 year olds please. When you are a championship team on the brink looking to fill roster spots you sign guys with some tread on them. The mets are not that.
Read the whole article- Cabrera seems to not want to go anywhere he might be under pressure…
His list includes the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Nationals, Giants and Mets.
Nice posat / thanks much. Dickey gats traded. i feel it. And the return back will surprise us to the upside i think. His value will definitely rise once Greinke is signed somewhere. Actually i hope the Dodgers miss–it’ll be nice seeing KC / TX /LA / Boston all vying fopr our guy.
Or Niese will go & get a bigger package back.
i am as loathe to trade a 26 yr. old Lefty still peaking as anybody but IF we get back 2 – 3 guys with major upside for the longer term, just must consider that.
i doubt KC trades Perez in any package unless anotheer team joins in a 3-way, like Boston. But who knows?
Ryan Ludwick will be 35 next July. Youth movement? A player to build around with?
He had his third best season in 2012 in his ten year career. Hit .237 and 251 the previous two seasons. Hit a total of 30 home runs in 2010 and 2011 as well.
II hope the rumors are just that – and way over-exagerrated. If the Mets were at this point serious contenders, then takng a chance with Ludwick would seem feasible. But that is not the case.
And if the Mets are really serious with Ryan, it shows how little serious they are about rebuilding around youth. For this we sent Angel and Beltran to the Giants? For this we even decided to let Hairston go? Let the kids play if at all serious about that “vision” we’ve all been hearing about.
Again, hope this is just an over-exaggerated rumor and not reflective of the road the front office is taking for 2013.
No thanks on Ludwig, he is another Jay Bay waiting to happen. I would prefer Hairston back as part of a platoon and acquiring a RH catcher with some pop to balance the lineup. Put the money into a CF/leadoff hitter or closer like Chris Perez to push FF to the 8th.
Nothing wrong with giving someone like Ludwick a 2-year, 10 million $ deal.
Certainly a lot easier to survive if it turns sour than giving Jason Bay 4 years, 66 million $ or Shane Victorino 3-years, 30 million $.
If the Mets can pull a Dickey to Texas trade, I say go for it. They are stocked with major league ready guys youth like Profar and Olt. *Fingers crossed.* LOL. Olt is a 3B that is projected to be a corner outfielder with serious pop.
Apparently Tampa Bay may be dangling 3 of its SPs: Shields, Hellickson, and even Price. That’d gum up the works in the RA (or Niese) ‘sweepstakes’.
Damn.
TX & Boston seem most in need of SP among teams allegedly interested in RA, and KC seeks an ace.
Here’s hoping TB doesn’t trade Price to KC.
I have no aversion to Ludwick. Like most signings though it would have to be for the right dollar amount. I’m almost willing to bet that Scott H would have a better season in total than Ludiwck could provide but signing him wouldn’t bother me.
I agree. As long as its only 2 years!!! This team needs a vet. outfielder with some pop if they have dreams of being in the playoff hunt this year. Im still waiting for some changes to happen in that bullpen.
Hi Mets Faithful,
Well, as we now know with that second wild card slot, even a mediocre team has a shot at post season and the world series – so with that in mind, all Sandy needs is to reverse his trend the past two years and make the right moves that can get us back to the point of mediocrity.
LOL, Joey yo hit the nail on the head, or at least close enough to count. Oh and faithful I agree no more than two years. This team, with a few lucky moves, could be in the playoffs this year. Now it may be one and gone but hey that’s meaningful games in September.
Hey Joe D,
I did have my eyes on that 2nd playoff spot last year before the team fell apart. I feel if they keep Dickey, improve the bullpen, get a lil protection for Wright………maybe they sneak in. Hey mediocrity is better than terrible!
Hi Joey,
You stole my line.
Ludwick is a big mistake I agree. I ‘ll take Hairston.
But to go with the kids would be fine only if we did not extend Wright.
That is what rebuilding is.
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: Dan Haren in agreement with #Nationals, one year, $13M. Pending physical.
– Teams just spending crazy money so far…
UGHHHHH freaking Nationals. They are really trying to do a number on the division.
And he also got a 3.5 buyout from the Angels this year. The guy had a crappy year with a bad back and he banked. Why shouldn’t the Mets ask for the Moon on Dickey when this kind of money is being thrown around.
Good point Salty, If Harne got 13 and Pagan was worth 10 than Dickey must be worth a good deal.
Agreed.
My hunch would be 35-40 mil over 3 years to extend RA. And I really hope they can pry Myers or D’Arnaud + Gose….
The NATS just got Haren… Meanwhile the mets are doing this:
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/59215/source-mets-target-clevelands-pestano
To be honest, I´d rather have Pestano than Haren with all his health issues at this point.
Especially considering the Mets´ current needs. Obviously, it depends on what CLE wants in return.
If it´s a package of a couple of non-top 10 prospects or a major leaguer like Valdespin, Duda, etc to go with one of the plethora of very promising pitching prospects from the “2nd tier group” (i.e. DeGrom, Pill, Verrett, Mazzoni, Gorski, McHugh, Robles, etc.) then Pestano could be a very interesting target.
He would be a solid pen addition, why shouldn’t they be doing this?
Matt Treanor and chris snyder? They are worse hitters than Thole! Maybe a lil more pop but not much. Why not just keep shoppach then. Why bother runnign a baseball team, sell the freaking team wilpons! Id rather see Shoppach or even Henry Blaco than those two guys!
Hi Hotstreak,
Do hate to steal your line but since I have an idea of what you would have said, how about we share it instead? I’ve edited it down some but still, consider this
FROM HOTSTREAK AND JOEY D:
“Ryan Ludwick will be 35 next July. Youth movement? A player to build around with?
“If the Mets were at this point serious contenders, then takng a chance with Ludwick would seem feasible. But that is not the case.
“And if the Mets are really serious with Ryan, it shows how little serious they are about rebuilding around youth. For this we sent Angel and Beltran to the Giants? For this we even decided to let Hairston go? Let the kids play if at all serious about that “vision” we’ve all been hearing about.”
LOL
Hi Joey,
Mediocrity could get you a 2nd w/c. But remember Mae West line.
“When i am good, i am good. when i am bad, i am better.”
It helped Nats, Rays and if we were bad enough we would have a guy like Wil Meyers drafted.
Its like it was when we drafted Strawberry.
Just the other day Loria said Stanton was a pro and he will play in Miami as it makes no difference if you dont win a championship: That nobody expects the Marlins to win in 2013
anyway.
Either you sign FA and lose draft picks or you are so bad you get good draft picks.
Keep ‘em both! Pitching is way too fickle and valuable to trade away for “prospects”. I’m glad that the Mets asking price for both of these guys is through the roof! Unless you get a Mike Trout caliber player in return for Dickey or Niese, the Mets would be better off keeping both of these guys.