15
2013
Mets Balked At $8 Million, Two Years For Hairston
An article by 72MetsFan
Updated on Jan. 15 by Joe D.
Some interesting tidbits from Jon Heyman tonight regarding our boy Scott Hairston…
Heyman tweeted that the Mets balked when Hairston asked them for $8 million over two years. That must have turned Sandy ten different shades of purple. It’s a significant raise for Hairston who has never made more than $2.45 million in his career, but not totally unreasonable either. Hairston was paid $1.1 million a year for the past two seasons with the Mets and has never had a multi-year deal in his career. It is believed the Mets countered with a one-year offer worth $2 million, leaving the two sides at a stalemate in negotiations.
Heyman also says that the Chicago Cubs have tossed their hat into the ring so the Mets do have some competition, but it’s been well documented that he prefers to stay in New York.
Earlier today, Jim Bowden of ESPN XM reported that Hairston is expected to make a decision this week.
If Hairston does re-sign with the Mets, their outfield which was going to be significantly upgraded, will remain virtually unchanged with utility outfielder Collin Cowgill replacing Jason Bay.
Isn’t it amazing the smallish things that make the Mets balk these days?
This is still New York right?
Updated on Jan. 11
In case you were wondering, the reason the Mets haven’t yet signed Scott Hairston is not because they don’t like him, it’s because… Wait for it… they would like to acquire a bigger name outfielder first. That’s what Jon Heyman is reporting this afternoon.
So in other words a big name outfielder is Plan A, and Hairston is Plan B.
So in other strange but true news…
Original Post Jan. 10
It appears the Yankees are backing off free-agent outfielder Scott Hairston, and the buzz from the Phillies has trickled to a halt as well.
If the the New York Mets are willing to give Hairston the two year deal he craves, he’ll most likely be in the Mets Opening Day lineup.
Hairston, 32, continues to hold out for a multi-year deal even though his agent said he was with days of reaching an accord on Monday.
The other sticking point is that Hairston wants a starting role and no team views him that way. But the Mets can be the one team that can give him the most playing time by virtue of how weak their current outfield array is – made up mostly of Quad-A players and utility types.
It’s well know that Hairston’s greatest asset is his ability to mash lefthanded pitching. His OPS is almost 100 points higher against southpaws than righties over his career. The Mets can certainly use his bat.
On Saturday, in his weekly mailbag post for Mets.com, Anthony DiComo took the following question about the Mets outfield.
What do you think about the acquisition of Collin Cowgill? No disrespect to the man, but why don’t we add someone else who actually has good career numbers in the Majors and not the Minors? Who do you think they would’ve gone after?
If you’re asking who’s the best lefty masher on the market, he’s still out there: Scott Hairston. The Mets could still acquire Hairston and fix a lot of their outfield problems. Kirk Nieuwenhuis would fall into a center-field platoon with Cowgill, while Hairston would fill in regularly at the corners for Lucas Duda and Mike Baxter. It would not be an ideal scenario, but at least it would be a workable one. And it’s one that still might happen.
The previous paragraph defines Cowgill as a player: a platoon outfielder on paper, but possibly a legitimate one. The Mets aren’t likely to give Cowgill many at-bats against right-handers, given his extreme splits over an admittedly small Major League sample. But because Cowgill can play center field, he fills a critical need for the Mets, who are wary of relying on Nieuwenhuis every day.
Two days ago I speculated that Hairston would probably agree to a deal with the Mets or some other team by Friday. But his insistence on a two year deal may keep that from happening now.
About the Author: Drew Staley
On June 1, 2012 Johan Santana officially became my favorite current Met! I'm a Queens native who grew up in the shadows of Big Shea. I was a huge Ron Darling, Dave Magadan and John Olerud fan. Honored to be a part of such a great site for Mets fans. Ya Gotta Believe!
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.0 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 6.5 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Unless the mets offer more money, i don’t see why on earth hairston would wanna play with this team when he can go to the yankees with a chance to play in the playoffs and with a chance to produce even more with a more rounded offense as well…
AB’s.
I was listening to Matt Diaz who was talking about the last time he came into FA. He ultimately signed with the dead end Pirates leaving the same or more money on the table with the Yankees but with the Yankees he was told there would not be many AB’s and in Pitt he was told he would compete to start.
This time in FA he had offers of more playing time but signed with the Yankees because he knew they would be competitive.
Why the change, he said that it was because he was in different points of his career. He thought he still had something to prove and could set up a longer deal with enough AB’s the first time. Now after struggling to stay healthy and coming to terms with who he is the AB’s aren’t as important.
Beat me to it.
The Yanks have a chance for the playoffs ??? REALLY ???
Thats pretty far fetched too
To Alex68. The Yankees paid a little over 1 million dollars to Andruw Jones in 2012. What makes you think they will pay 8 million for 2 years a player like Scott Hairston? That’s his agent trying to scare the Mets into signing his client. Yankees are not interested at the going rate and if anything would sign him for 1 year (which his agent refuses to take)
Yeah, but just like Diaz he can be exposed to what he is, nothing but a good utility player who cannot be trusted as an everday player, and this is why him asking for more than $3 million from us is just insane. if we signed this guy to be a started, we’ll get 10-20 HR but let’s not forget his 240 career BA and tons DP he hit into. sometimes you gotta know when to move on.
Alex, it doesn’t really matter what WE think. Fact is Hairston believes he is worthy of a bunch of AB’s and feels he has something to prove. I am sure even you understand that. Call it pride, call it the fact that he has most likely worked hard since he was 6 years old to get where he is and wants to give it one more go… Again, I think it’s pretty easy to understand why a guy like Hairston would choose AB’s over wins.
Yep, like the others said. The reason Hairston is still out there is because he was demanding a guaranteed job as an everyday player and no team saw him that way. Now he realizes the best he can get is a platoon or reserve role so like Drew mentioned it may come down to at-bats and not money.
Yeah, but I am not sure he realizes yet that he is just a platoon. If he signs here I think that it will be under the assumption that he is going to be a full-time player.
If he signs here, I see him as part of platoon for both LF and RF. Still not a full time player in the literal sense, but probably more at bats than just part of a platoon at one position.
Not sure ‘go with a winning’ team would be a consideration at this point. Mets certainly don’t look like a post season team and no one right now is picking the Yankees to get there either in 2013.
To my dismay SRT I think the Mets might give him a chance to be a full-time player.
Which just points back to the state of our current projected OF, or lack thereof.
Sigh…..
Well maybe there’s some light.
Against LH starters last year: .274 .301 .525 .826
Against RH starters last year .247 .296 .475 .771
I guess that’s not a completely awful split.
Not terrible, but you have to wonder if he became a full time player, how much of a gap there might be when he goes up against RHs more often.
That’s why I picked starters. Obviously he is going to struggle against ROOGYs and would most likely be PH for late in a game. However, as a starter then he is preparing for the RH and they are him.
More HRs/Abs in Yankoff Stadium–to be sure, too.
I would think he chooses the Mets so he can play more, and it might be on a one year deal which would be great, well according to reports the Yanks do not want to go multi year on Hairston so mets have a good shot to bring him back.
Cowgill or Hairston, Cowgill or Hairston. This is hard.
For those talking about cowgill, the man in 200 at bats has hit 2 HR and drove in 18 runs. has no speed, is below avg defensively and doesn’t hit nor get on base.. but hey, the more important factor is money. and he will start for the team while making the league minimun. Another win by sandy..
He’s here for one reason, the same reason that Omar brought in Chris Carter:
2011 in AAA: .354 .430 .554 .984 with 20 SB
except Cowgill in younger, and can actually play very good defense..
Our New York Mets…we have come to this. I love what Hairston did in 2012, but the fact that we NEED him just to hope for a maybe average OF, you know we’re in trouble. Goodness gracious.
I agree, we are certainly suffering for the lack of development of quality OF for sure. It’s really sad that we have to go into FA to find even one quality OF period.
On a side note, I have been really disapointed by Lagares and Puello and most likely unless they become MLB ready THIS year then their days are numbered.
lagares has a shot still and could be up this year. Not a total write off year.
Puello, now he is free falling to Bolivian.
Sorry but the .283 .334 .389 .723 in his first full season in AA as a 23 year old isn’t awe inspiring at all. Considering that’s the same place that Nick Evans hit .298 .363 .532 .895
I still miss Nick. i had high hopes for him. I think they should bring him back. I am sure he is available.
Oh I am sure he is too. I think he’s most likely at home thinking about independent league.
I’m with you. I saw Lagares that year in AA and had high hopes for him. I think it’s this year or bust for him, unless all he’s ever going to be is a 4th or 5th OFer. Puello is still so young though. It’s just that he’s been around forever, but I still think if he can stay healthy, he will develop just fine.
Side note, part of the reason I hoped we signed two starting MLB OFers this offseason was giving all these kids more development time. For example, I would’ve loved if Kirk and ‘Spin were at AAA in Vegas until mid-season.
Hank, the chances for a better high draft pick is what we’re after, have faith this upcoming year we’ll be top 5! Woooo hoooooo
I will say this, if the Mets are going to be 11th we might as well be 10th and get a protected pick. Especially if they do plan on signing an impact FA next off-season.
Have you seen next year’s free agent crop?? There’s like Cano (if he isn’t re-upped) and then the Pips. Lots of solid lineup fillers, but not much that I would call impact hitters for the lineup.
True, I guess I mean any that require compensation.
It is going to come down to the number of years. Alderson can get Hairston back if he is willing to go 2 years; something the Yankees have emphatically stated they will not do. I do not know if Alderson considers Hairston worth a two year deal and, of course, it will come down to the money offered. Obviously, Hairston and his agent think him worth more than many teams do. I tend to agree with the idea of NOT overpaying Hairston. At best, he is a 4th OF and to pay him $5M a year is absurd. He had a career year so he is negotiating from strength but the fact is that he is a sub .250 hitter, not great against righties, less than average defensively, and really a 10-12 HR/yr guy.
I like Hairston as a player but within reason. To me, I offer 2 yr/$5M-$6M.
>>”We certainly could trade prospects if we desired, if we thought that a Major League player we acquired would help us more short-term,” Alderson said. “Of course there are some prospects we wouldn’t trade. But really, the purpose of accumulating prospects is, one, to have them develop at the Major League level, but also to use them to acquire Major league talent. So it’s something we could do.”
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130107&content_id=40879742&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym
You don’t say.
Sandy will sign Hairston. Sandy chose not to cash in of his value last July at the trading deadline. Sandy wants him back. We need him to protect Davis. I don’t see Buck as an effective 5 hole hitter.
As to the delay it is just money. Sandy was put here by the commissioner. Baseball needs the Mets to be competitive. Besides how would it look to have Citi Field, with its Jackie Robinson Rotunda, as home to a team with no native born Black players? Robert Carson is not a lock to break camp with the Mets.
Come on Sandy sign Hairston.
If he has to decide between the Mets and the Yankees he is a fool if he doesn’t take the Yankees…
They at least can provide some Jewelry he can Hock once he retires and needs some cash!
Classy.
Best thing the Mets can do at this moment in time is wait for Hairston cave under his own demands like Adam LaRoche did. If he wanted to prefer coming back as a Met like he claimed to, this would not be an issue.
They can probably find around 400 PAs for him in this line up. We need RH power, especially since our next OF to come up is probably Den Dekker.
Not enough Letters in name or taller player?
ROFL….
Oh I can see this as being the reason that there are no more signings. Tell Hairston he is plan B, purposely don’t implement Plan A, Hairston signs elsewhere and the Mets just give the fan base further excuses on why they aren’t doing crap.
Not that I really need them to sign Hairston. Why spend money of a 4th outfielder when you don’t even have a adequate 1-3?
pretty much what I was thinking. If they can’t come up with a “real” player, is there going to be that much difference between Hairston and whichever of the other MiL signings RH OFs they have (Brown, Hoffman)? Maybe Scott will be marginally better, but enough to make a difference?
so from that standpoint, might as well exhaust the rest of the options.
There is one bit of difference that you may have overlooked…
We have no RH bats other than MiL contract guys to platoon with.
If you don’t get Hairston then your really leaving guys like Kirk and Valde in vs LHPs and have no option to sit them or PH for them to protect them vs lefties.
So instead of thinking about the worth of the 4th OF you might sign think about all the 4th OFs you already are playing as 1st OFs instead.
I personally don’twant Hairston back, he sure wasn’t my first option with all the better OFs that were available this year….But thats what Waiting has left us with….
Early bird catches the worm and the late bird goes hungry!
Sandy might be trying to bring back the A-Rod of the late 80′ early 90′s Jose Canseco.
No Mets fan in there right mind is buying this if Sandy if truly selling it. Other than his few minions whom believe in this mysterious plan that they arent privy to…lol…how can someone believe in a plan that they never heard…lol…silly billys
He might just be better off buying 10 Mil of Peds and use the remaining 15 Mil in his budget to bribe the testing officials!
nobody thought they were going to get D’arnaud either. I am still holding out for justin upton. He is definitely on the block and SA said he will add by trade. In Sandy I Trust !
Paul Goldschmidt and Upton for Ike for and Wheeler. Is it possible and would you do it?.
Nope, I sure wouldn’t. It would at best be a wash, at best.
NOPE, Ike is better than Upton Why would you give up Ike for a 70 RBI guy?
I wouldn’t and I tell you why….
Upton maybe young but he is no Beltran!
We traded Beltran to GET Wheeler so unless your getting Beltran PLUS a few years I don’t see how that comes out to being a plus move!
Wheeler really has to be an untouchable at this point. He is ready to be promoted, has not done anything to doubt his ability and he cost us a pretty good player.
Unless your getting ABOVE the cost to get Wheeler I don’t see how you trade him.
They want Pitching it starts with Snydergaard and Familia. I would add Flores and Duda (maybe even Murphy instead of Flores but both) , I would give them Nimmo and DenDekker if they wanted and would even entertain trading Gee in that package if they insisted on an MLB pitcher…
But to trade Wheeler (PLUS whatever else you think) to get a guy who isn’t as good as the guy we traded to get him is just dumb and makes both trades pretty bad in the end.
If thats what you wanted then trade Beltran and kids for Upton in the first place….
The Mets will end up with Upton. The package will be Meija, Familia, Flores or, Meija, Familia, and Mazzoni. Watch
Well, IMO I would do it immediately. But don’t think there is any chance the D Backs would.
your not getting upton for mid grade prospects- Include Wheeler and they will listen.
I’m sorry Ray but d’Arnaud is no where near the quality of Wheeler and he was enough to get a Cy Young Pitcher…..
All it took was some A Ball prospect added and we got plenty of them around! Not to mention quite a few AA and AAA prospects to sweeten that pot…
It only starts with Wheeler because your not willing to do the work and hard negotiations to make the deal or refuse to give up 4 or 5 kids to get the one the way other teams would.
Sorry, Metsie but there are other teams that want a young all star with a team friendly contract and there will be at least one other team that will off more than 4or 5 mediocre prospects for him.
and has Arizona gotten those offers?
Everyone thought we would get two MLB ready prospects for Dickey…Did we?
Easy to say other teams will give up more or AS MUCH but until they do it’s really not a reason to not call and try to make the best offer you can….
You see anyone else giving them as good as Wheeler then name the offer….
It doesn’t matter how much you THINK someone else CAN offer…
Only matter what they DO offer and since the GM for Arizona isn’t sure he is going to get better UNTIL that offer is made you just never know when he will say I guess this is the best out there and the most worth doing so lets do it!
The deal he had was not all that great and he agreed until Upton nixed it due to his No Trade clause….
We are not a team that is named in that clause so we still have a better shot that some other teams do.
Justin Upton in a Met uniform Please!
Image Upton,Davis,Wright & d’Anaurd 3-6 for years to come? Scary
correct me if I am wrong (i know you will) but i read that seattle offered their 2ndt, 3rd, 4th and 5th rated prospects for upton and thats from a strong system. Mets 2nd rated prospect is Darnaud and he is going nowhere. The dropoff is huge from there, Thats why I see Wheeler needing to be in the deal.
Did they arizona get them?
NOPE!
And they could offer their entire MIL system to Arizona and they STILL won’t get him!
So it really makes no diference about how much or how good they offered to get him does it?
No one has to meet that offer because Upton said I don’t care what you get I’m not going there.
So Arizona is stuck taking what they can get from someone who Upton can’t say no to or keeping him.
And if we make a better offer than what is left and they really want to get rid of him they will take the deal and move on.
If not they have Upton for another year and will have to pay him and deal with him until such time as someone makes a better offer he can’t say no to.
And who knows if he has a bad year yet they get SQUAT!
Actually it does.
You see, what Seattle did was they set the market for Upton. Arizona now knows what they could get for a player like Upton.
Basically what Seattle did was say to Texas, “if you want Upton, you’re sending Profar out of the AL West.”
I disagree Jessup. Ask The Twins how this process can go sometimes. When a player has any NTC things can get interesting.
Right but in that situation, the player was leaving the team. They do not HAVE to trade Upton. He can be on their roster until 2015 for all they care.
Johan also I believe had a full no trade right? It wasn’t just 4 teams like Upton.
For what 2 years Arizona has said they will trade him but only for the right price… and I’m sure teams sat and waited and said they won’t get what they want.
Well now Seattle showed teams like Texas that Arizona can go out and find a trading partner. Maybe they don’t trade him this year and next year he removes Boston from his no trade list, and Boston says “we saw what seattle gave you, here’s the equivalent.”
What Seattle did was start the conversation. Arizona isn’t desperate. Arizona can say to the Mets or whoever “we know we can get X, so if you cannot offer it then we don’t need to continue this talk.”
Yes they can wait till then but for each year of his control they lose so too they lose the return value on him!
He is only got the offer for him he did because of that team control….
If they wait another year the price goes down for every year they wait. To a point where they won’t get squat because he’s a rental and will be FA at the end of the year.
Arizona would appear to be taking this trade right out of the Moneyball playbook…
I got a high value player who is under control and can get so many kids for him even if only HALF are any good it’s still 2-3 players I can use later….
Add the bad attitude issues they would like to purge they really aren’t in a power position at all.
By turning down a 5 player deal for Upton today they lose a player maybe two on the deal next season….
So it’s all going to come down to how much Upton burns a hole in thier pocket, how much they are really fed up with the attitude and who is willing to give them enough kids to sell the trade to thier fanbase. And they may NEVER get enough to sell the fans….
They sure can keep him bt the longer they keep him the less they will get when they decide to not keep him anymore.
Especially if he suffers an injury that kills a season of the performance everyone is coveting right now.
Jessup,
I have to agree with Metsie on this one. Arizona lost leverage, no doubt. On the surface, it looks like they gained, but everyone in baseball knows Seattle is desperate and offered way too much. Towers gambled that Upton would agree, even though he said ahead of time he would not. The Mets are actually the runner up to Seattle from a desperation stabdpoint, but they will not pay anywhere near Seattle’s price. Why, because Upton is good but not that good. No way they will include Wheeler or D’Arnaud. Those are names you consider for Stanton, not Upton. Also, the Braves and Rangers will not pay that price either. As a Met fan, my hope is that the Rangers land him for 3 prospects, with Olt being the big piece. That can potentially make Fowler or Morse more attainable to the Mets, and either would really help the team. Adding Fowler and signing Hairston could also be a nice combo.
And who is to say Upton won’t try and refuse to go to us as well….
But I think Seattle was ALWAYS on his no trade list and we are not which kind of gives us a leg up on anyone else who appears on that no trade list….
It will happen but ONLY if Sandy is dilligent, never gives up, keeps making offers and offers that are not SOooooo insulting that the ARI GM stops taking his calls altogether…
If he draws the line and says Wheeler and d’Arnaud are untouchable but be willing to give him 5-6 players with names like Duda, Flores, Snydergaard, Familia and or Mejia that would hardly be insulting…. We have a lot of A Ball and AA guys like Nimmo, ceccinni, Fulmer, Tapia, Montero who could all be used to sweeten the pot….
And if they won’t take that chances are they won’t take anything ever offered to them….
The only ones who will offer as much are probably the remaining teams on that no trade list!
you answered your own question. Mets not on his NT list, so he has zippo say in coming here. Well, he could refuse, but he would have to forfeit his salary to do it, so I would hazard a guess that he would hop on the plane.
you also have a very high opinion on him. if you are going to unload for 1 go, you better be damned comfortable he is going to produce at whatever (near mvp) level you think his ceiling is, and not what he put up last year.
Yeah i only stated that opening line because I’m sure despite the fact he has claimed he isn’t happy there he would rather stay there than a LOT of other places….
Was a bit rhetorical….
I’m sure we might not be his first choice but he needed to think about that when he named the teams on his list and didn’t put us on it…
TJ: Let me ask you this.
Why would two GM’s who are very VERY good friends work out a deal when they KNEW Upton said he didn’t want to go to Seattle just 3 months ago?
Why would they do that?
Seattle gets to look like they tried, Arizona gets to show other teams what it will take to get a deal, Texas looks at this and sees they will need to make a legit offer and Upton looks like the bad guy here by rejecting it.
There’s no other reason for two good friends to work this deal out.
Remember this no trade list was not done when his contract was signed, Upton gets to re-do his list in the offseason. So he literally just told Arizona “don’t trade me to seattle because i wont go.”
So why would Arizona work out a deal of top specs to Seattle if they knew that?
Because they were counting on Upton being so willng to leave that he would not decline the trade!
MAYBE they even thought that the package being what it is would convince Upton he was truly wanted and would accept on that basis….
Or maybe they thought they were going to pull one over the eyes of the remaining trade partners he WILL go to….
I will say with CONVICTION….
If they wait for another package like that to be made before they trade Upton he will play the entire season in Arizona!
Sorry he Market sets itself….
Just because your willing to pay me a Million if you can’t close that deal the next guy does not have to pay me as much as you would.
If the SECOND BEST offer they get is from us then what WE offer is the market until someone else tops that offer….
No offer sets the market which would appear to be the kink in all your discussions about offers bidding and nidding against yourself….
One offer does NOT a market make and just because you have the BEST offer out there doesn’t mean that you can get the deal. As Seattle quickly found out.
What Seattle did was LOWER the market….
Now everyone knows thats enough to get him it’s easy to come under that say it’s enough and screw you if you don’t think so good luck getting your player to say yes to it!
I would include Wheeler. He has control issues and is no sure thing. Az wants a shortstop so it will probably be a 3 team deal
I think Metsie isn’t that far off. Hey, ya never know until you try!
By the time the Mets get a move on things, Hariston may no longer be available. This is the problem with this GM who waits so close to spring training to get things done. We’re a month away from spring training and still haven’t signed one major league free agent. Alderson should just sign Hairston and continue the trade talk he’s supposedly doing elsewhere. We need both not just one or the other.
The Mets get Upton for Familia , Meija and Mazzoni…or Familia , Meija & and Noah Syndergaard ..IDK Three young POWER ARMS! The D’backs are not getting better offers than that. If they are, they are getting them from teams that Upton will not play for. Also Upton & Wright are friends…I got a sneaky feeling about this. Also Alderson will not give up Wheeler, when he is this close to joining Harvey and the Mets rotation.
These are going to be the guys that get Upton Familia , Meija and Mazzoni…or Familia , Meija & Noah Syndergaard . Arizona does not have the upper hand as we get closer to spring training. Upton would love to play with Wright, and I think the kid shines in the NYC spotlight for the remainder of his contract. Then he gets the FA contract of a lifetime. Upton will be a NY Met.
If that’s all it takes to reel in Upton and at the same time, still give the Mets enough flexibility to trade for another OF in the future, then count me in.
They might not even need to trade fo one if thats all it takes…
They would still have Den Dekker (1 year away) and Nimmo (2 Years away)
And if they just took the best College OFer with the 11th pick he could breeze through the MiLs in 2-3 years as well.
I personally think with a guy like Upton it might help Both Ike and Duda at the plate and then it’s just a matter of using DenDekker and Kirk until Nimmo is ready.
Your team is pretty much done at that point. Bullpen aside.
Yes lets count on Den Dekker who is from holland and resembles a windmill one out of every 3 at bats LOL !
And Kirk isn’t just another mill in the wind farm?
a .220 hitter is a .220 hitter I don’t really care how many of those outs are Ks if in the end there are fewer outs than the guy we are likely to sign.
who cares where den dekker is from !?!?
then u guys wonder why us met fans have gotten the reputation that we have now
A week in Scott Hairston time = about 21 days.
You don’t know who Arizona is asking for, your assuming, you do not know what other teams are offering as well, your assuming, and lets say an offer is made and we have the best offer, if Arizona don’t like they don’t have to make the trade, , they can hold out for more. He is signed for three years. Sorry I’m not giving up Harvey wheeler or Drnaud right now, I’ll go ahead and assume that’s who they are asking for, and I’ll also assume he offered other players that you guys are mentioning and they said no. Lol
Also who cares when Hairston or anyone sign, if they sign in December or February they still play in April.
Jan. 15: Since the Mets are reluctant to give up Zack Wheeler, the two sides don’t see a fit for a trade (Heyman, CBS Sports).
Unless you want to part with Wheeler right now all the Upton crying sounds silly. Not to mention all the fantasy trades. If he is not traded this year, which he likely should be Mets could be in position to trade for him next year if Montero blows up doulbe A, they have a good draft and adddepth to the system, they might be able to pull a package with Flores and Montero starting off, and add Carlos Gomez in free agency, that’s a fantasy make up trade as well, point is right now there is no match so Sandy waiting it out is smart.
Can’t believe it has gotten so bad that Cogwell has to be considered in the mix as a starting outfielder.
Can’t believe it was so bad in the Oakland outfield last year that josh reddick was considered for right field.
This is sarcasm right?
It has to be…Reddick is a young 24yr old prospect who won a Gold Glove last year and hit 32HR’s in his 1st full season.
When did Scott Hairston become Lebron James of baseball…the most sought after free agent whom we patiently wait for his big decision…Wonder if he’ll have a special on ESPN or sNY with his decision……SMH
I have nothing against Hairston but I hope the Mets dont sign him….not because I dont like him but due to his age combined with the fact that he is a strict 4th OF. He is someone you sign to sure up your bench not to start.
I think with Lohse and Bourne still out there, Hairston is down the list a bit.
Bigger name?
Francouer is a bigger name than Hairston….
By one whole letter!
BREAKING!!!! FROM HEYMAN:
@JonHeymanCBS
#mets balked at scott hairston’s $8M/2-yr request. #yankees not involved. Saw hairston saturday and he seemed upbeat tho.
https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/291292661170712578
___________________________________________________________________________
Lol….this is probably why they passed not because theey are looking for a bigger name…bigger names WERE out there the Mets passed for the same reason they are passing on Hairston now…….(Million dollar man Ted Dibiase music )MONEY, MONEY, MONEY,MONEY, MONEY,MONEY-ey-ey-eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cDWPvhiPWg
BBLB,
Always did love that laugh.
Yes the Reddick comment is sarcastic.
Do we get any type of draft pick comp if Hairston signs elsewhere?
Nope
we could’ve gotten a mid-level prospect for hairston had sandy wanted to trade him…
but “changing perspectives” was more important
Hi Just,
Sandy didn’t want to trade Hairston because he was concerned about keeping the team competitive, remember (sic)? Funny how his competitive integrity didn’t come into consideration the year before when trading one’s top hitter and closer.
Why would a team with only $10M in discretionary payroll to spend want to use $4M of it on a (very good) platoon player? It’s worth balking at. Spend the money on a 5th starter, or an outfielder you can trot out there every day w/o feeling like you’re exposing his weaknesses….or solid bullpen help. Hairston should be the choice of last resort in my book.
why do we have only 10 mil in discretionary payroll when wright took a paycut and bay restructured his contract ?
Any salary deferral is apparently booked against the current year payroll. The flexibility benefit the Mets derived is limited to cash flow, which was apparently their main concern. This is per Rubin (re: their accounting methods) and the $10M is consistent w/what he’s projected and has been speculated elsewhere.
counting deferred salary against this years payroll makes no sense.
when they are paying that deferred salary next year…are they not going to count it? b/c if they do…they just counted it twice ( once imaginary and once real )
That’s correct. They wouldn’t count it. Just as any calculation you would see of this year’s payroll doesn’t have the deferrals to Bonilla and Carlos Beltran in it….and why payrolls down the road wouldn’t have Santana’s deferments in them. I’m just as glad they don’t — who wants a future payroll weighed down with salaries of guys who aren’t there any longer? Why mortgage the future to pay for the present — especially when the team isn’t likely to make a run this year?
but in actuality…they DO weigh down the payroll…
from a payroll tax purpose i can see why u would do this
even from several different angles i see why they have to do this
but in all reality, from a cash-flow standpoint ( the thing that really counts )
it is very misleading to say the payroll is 60 mil, when there is an addition 40 mil ( for example ) that they have to pay…
IMO, admitting that they have to do that makes their previous penny-pinching ways even more questionable.
not only were they getting madoff money, they were also sacrificing that days payroll for tomorrow…
Jeff Wilpon announced in January 2005 that he would have to trade Mike Cameron or Cliff Floyd in order to sign Carlos Delgado…
all the while he had deferred beltran, pedro and glavine’s contract…tying it up in Madoff accounts set to give them fat returns.
Pitching. Go with the scrappy bunch of scrubs vying for playing time. Pitching. I’m wary of F/A deals for pitchers or OF-ers, but pitching relief…the calvary…for 2013. Get it. Pitching.
And i have a question: Why is it everybody on this site KNOWS EVERYTHING? Let’s get a little humble and be civil to each other.
Ever see Ghost Busters? Maybe WE are poisoning the well with our mean-spirited vitriol and CURSING our beloved Mets.
Get Light.
Lets assume $10 million. A decent everyday outfielder (think Cody Ross) got $7 million. Mets will resign a Chris Young or the like as a 5th starter for 2-2.5 million. Bullpen help is likely tops another million or two. You can’t realistically fill all three holes with 10 million and Scott Hairston leaves you with more money to spend on the other two items.
I agree with your thinking if not the conclusion. For my money, spending the money on a full-time outfielder would have been the best investment. If not that slot, then the 5th starter. If Hairston were used primarily against lefties (as he should be) neither he nor the relievers should have the lion’s share of available money spent on them. A regular outfielder or 5th starter is a greater priority.
In other news not related to Scott Hairston. The Mets appear to be one of the teams interested in Brandon Webb.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/mlb-rumors/21558395/report-mets-phillies-nationals-marlins-eyeing-brandon-webb
ALL OF YOU ARE JUST WASTING YOUR TIME ROOTING FOR THE METS.IS NOT LIKE IT USE TO BE. THE WILPONS HAVE OVER STAYED THEIR WELCOME AND HAVE SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF THIS CLUB. THE OWNERS HAVE LOST THE LOVE AND PASSION THAT THEY ONCE HAD FOR THIS FRANCHISE.THIS REFLECTS ITSELF IN THE WAY THEIR GENERAL MANAGER DOES BUSINESS DURING THE OFF SEASON TO FORTIFY A WEAK AND BORING CLUB.HE HAS REFUSE TO SIGN A MAJOR LEAGUE FREE AGENT OR MAKE A TRADE TO FILL SOME HOLES ON THE TEAM FOR THIS YEAR. ALDERSON JUST DOES NOT NEW YOUK AND THE METS FAN BASE. HIS MAIN CONCERN IS TO ENSURE THE WILPONS AND COMPANY TURN A PROFIT IN 2013 AND BEYOND. ALDERSON REALLY DOES NOT GIVE A HOOT ABOUT THE METS PLAY ON THE FIELD. HE SIGNED WRIGHT TO APEASE THE CLINICALLY DEPRESSED MET NATION. TRADED DICKEY BECAUSE HE DID NOT WANT TO MEET DICKEYS CONTRACTUAL DEMANDS WHICH WERE REASONABLE FOR JUST WINNING THE CY YOUNG . WITH THIS BRASS TTHE METS WILL BE A NON ENTITY FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS OR SO PERHAPS EVEN LONGER. I KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT
Oh my god this dude can see the future!
You seem 100% certain that there is absolutely NO shot that Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey are everything they are supposed to be or more, and Syndergaard matures to have SP1 or SP2 stuff, and Montero matures to be a pretty dominant SP3-4 along with Niese and Gee or heck maybe even a big time free agent pitcher, forming the best rotation in the league for 5+ years.
You can’t sit there and say it isn’t going to happen just as much as the optimists can’t say that it will. So this whole they will be garbage for the next five years, “I know what I am talking about” thing is just ridiculous and it makes you sound like a fool, dude, seriously.
p.s. If someone has to say “I know what I am talking about”, they probably don’t.
Seems to me your both two sides of the same coin flip….
He says tails and you say heads…
Both of you will be wrong at some point considering all the players involved….
Hi CB,
I think what Edwin (and Edwin, correct me on this if I am wrong) is that the Mets aren’t taking any steps to improve the club and that he sees the moves for Wheeler, d’Arnard, etc. for what they are – salary dumping and just hoping something works out.
Sandy has been exhibiting all the traits of a business person. I don’t know of any other team – other than ones in which the owners want to pocket the profits for themselves instead of using them to improve the club – “rebuilding” in this type of manner, considering the talent they dumped – two 2012 all-stars, a batting title winner, a Cy Young award winner and a top closer – plus those they still did retained and doing nothing to replace them. This is not Houston.
How you still see Beltran as a salary dump is beyond me. No matter how many times evidence is shown to the contrary you still seem to wiggle it into about every post. Oh well.
HI TR,
What should one think when asked if the Mets could not get a prospect the caliber of Wheeler would they have looked for salary relief
“We strategically might have gone the other direction”.
A little overlooked statement buried in the bottom of the article and hardly touced upon in articles by others, however, it says a lot. If Beltran was only trade bait for the type of prospects Sandy hoped he would get in return, why then “strategically” pursue monetary considerations?
If Wheeler (or others) were not offered, money Sandy admits that would have been the next step – rather than keeping Carlos’s remaining $6.2 million salary on the payroll. Why even mention it otherwise?
Take that off the cuff remark in accord with all the other moves that Sandy has done to save money and yes, Beltran was gone, even if there were no prospects being offered of any real consequence.
He got Wheeler playing hardball with the Giants and San Francisco gave in but as the GM said, if that did not happen “We strategically might have gone the other direction”. No mention about the Mets then retaining Carlos because being competitive was so important – i.e., Hariston the following season. Scott only had about $370K left of his $1.1 million salary – approximately one-third as with Carlos – remaining unlike Carlos with his $6.2 million.
That means the intention was salary dumping with hopes of getting a good prospect in return, not the otherway around.
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/columns/story?id=6812720
Did they re-invest the Salary he was making at the time?
NOPE they DUMPED IT! Hence the phrase SALARY DUMP!
Ah, no. They did not dump the salary. They paid almost all of it to Beltran. So nothing saved to pocket or reinvest, though functionally they reinvested beltrans 2 months of salary into “buying” wheeler.
Oh so in 2012 they had not dumped the salary they used to spend on Beltran from the Payroll?
Who did they spend it on?
You see you seem to think that because baltran wasn’t owed that money that the MONEY was not part of a PAYROLL DUMP!
But it was DUMPED from the PAYROLL!
It was never respent on something else and CUT from the PAYROLL!
When you discuss a player whose salary is cleared from the payroll, I believe reinvesting alludes to the premise that the payroll you cleared will be reinvested on new players. Logically, if you used your definition, how can you reinvest what was already paid? You see it’s the flexibility you gain for the following year’s payroll that you reinvest. The flexibility you gained by trading that player.
Hi Joe D.,
You are absolutely right about the mindset looking toward the following year but, as we all know , that is also based on the premise that the general manager isn’t looking to just cut payroll and other non-roster expenditures.
After 2011, the Mets would then be free up huge financial obligations centered around just a few players and would give Sandy much more flexibility. Almost two months into the job – and enough time to know if he was not told the complete story of the Mets financial mess – which some here said he was unaware of the extent of the severity of the problem – Sandy said to bloggers:
“So, the problem is not that we don’t have resources, the problem is that we have limited additional resources to spend this year. So, what you see today or what you’ve seen over the last two weeks shouldn’t necessarily be representative of what you see over the next two or three years. But we do have to get through a somewhat difficult period from a standpoint of our payroll because we already have most of it committed.”
Well, after 2011 Sandy did not have to contend with paying Beltran, Reyes, KRod, Castillo and Perez – that amounted to about $60 million or so. The fact that Perez and Castillo were not on the “Met” roster does mean their combined $18 million salaries were not expenses that had to be “met” (pardon the poor pun). Releasing Cappuano, Young and Igarashi accounted for another near $4 million or so making that roughly $64 million saved on just six roster spots (an average of slightly more than $10 million per player).
How much of that coming off the books after 2011 was re-invested in 2012?
Sandy was just caught not practicing what he was preaching. He was also caught not being honest with any of us when he said “the problem is not that we don’t have resources”. Was Sandy still an innocent victim, having been placed in the position of being deceptive with the public because he had to, not knowing what he was up against when he took over as GM? Well, he also said this at that blogger conference:
“I wasn’t hired to apply a Moneyball approach to the New York Mets. I would not have accepted the position were I required to run the Mets on a shoestring budget. On the other hand, I did come in with my eyes wide open. I did recognize that there would be some payroll restrictions this year, keeping in mind that when everything’s said and done our payroll will probably be somewhere between 130 and 140 million dollars. We’ll probably be in the top four or five in all of baseball.”
Based on those principles, what stopped Sandy from resigning after quickly finding out he was hired to do the exact things he would have not have accepted to do in the first place? If he did not want to apply a money ball approach would he have not wanted verification that he was not going to run the Mets on a shoe-string budget – especially being very happy with the work he was doing, not being interested in the job and having to be urged to look into it by Selig?
So first Sandy had a vision to put the resources he had the following year to better use. His goal was not to dismantle the team as it was to improve it. Then he does completely the opposite because he was simply being duped about finances? Those who believe so should recognize that based on the above that is a very weak alibi. Sandy would not have been out of work for long if he quit after finding out he was pushed into leaving a job he loved in order to take another one he wasn’t interested in and then lied to in order to accept it.
http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/12/10/1869167/transcript-of-sandy-aldersons-conference-call-with-bloggers
Screw this ridiculous “market value” crap.”
Seeing as though I’ve worked 16 years and probably haven’t earned my first million, I’d balk at paying a scrub $8 million too.
Hi gorgeguy,
Been a while, hope you’re doing well.
I’ve worked for more than 35 years and don’t think I’ve earned my first million either so I balk at even a rookie making a half million dollars. But I wouldn’t balk at paying a scrub $8 million either for that would mean I’d be in a much better financial position to do so and obviously not a working stiff.
Them’s the breaks of not being members of that exclusive two percent.
Hey Joey ….. I tend to get on here less in the off-season. It’s not worth getting into heated discussions about Sandy’s doings. Unbelievable how rash some can be with regards to the off-season.
BTW: I guess these players are part of the 2%, but only the Wilponzis are the one-percenters?;)
None of them are worth the shine on my shoes.
Cheers and here’s to the next time we meet in “here.”
HI gorge,
Cheers and salutos (hope I spelled that right)