The knee-jerk reaction

Omar Minaya and company have absorbed a lot of deserved criticism for their questionable personal decisions and signings the last couple of years, but on this one they were right to stand firm and resist giving Molina the two-to-three year contract he wanted. Unfortunately for Bengie, he suffered the fallout from two of the worst signings in recent years–the misguided four-year, $24 million deal the Mets gave  Luis Castillo in 2008 and last year’s disastrous signing of Oliver Perez for three years at $12 million per.

It’s clear (not only on this move but in the signing of Jason Bay) that Omar learned his lesson regarding overpaying and bidding against himself. He was also wise not to overreact and regard Molina as some kind of compensation for losing Carlos Beltran’s home runs and the public relations hit they took for the communication fiasco regarding Beltran’s sudden knee operation. Molina would have been a good signing for one year as a stopgap while the Mets wait for Josh Thole to be major-league ready or scour the market for a new catcher next year. But committing two years or more to a catcher who will turn 36 in mid-season would have been a major mistake.

It is common knowledge around baseball that catchers start breaking down at around 35, and those are the ones who are in shape. Molina looks like he’s ready to be a contestant in “The Biggest Loser.” Watching highlight footage of him running around the bases, his beer belly bouncing around like jello, was cringe-inducing. The Mets need athletes, not out-of-shape guys a couple of years from retirement looking for one more good payday. Molina is an injury waiting to happen and that’s the last thing the Mets would need after last season when practically half the roster was on the disabled list.

On top of that, Molina has never met a pitch he didn’t like. While his strikeout totals aren’t terrible, he hardly ever takes a walk and that would not be a good fit on a club with high strikeout guys like Bay, Jeff Francoeur and David Wright. While Molina belted 20 homers for the Giants last year, that number would likely decrease in spacious CitiField, especially if he started succumbing to the age breakdown.

Would an experienced handler of pitchers like Molina have helped the Mets staff? No doubt. The team was obviously willing to have Bengie serve as a bridge while they developed or traded for a new catcher. But giving into this guy’s demands would have just been throwing good money after bad. Give this round to Omar and regard Molina’s decision to go back to San Francisco as a lucky break.

After rejecting a $5 million dollar offer with incentives from the Mets earlier today, Bengie Molina decided to to sign a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants for a reported $4.5 million.

Jon Heyman believes the news shows just how much Molina wanted nothing to do with the Mets. Especially, when the Mets deal was also reported to include a vesting option for a second year.

So with Molina now off the table, the attention has now shifted to Yorvit Torrealba who according to Andrew Marchand of ESPN Radio, is waiting to hear from Omar to see where they stand as far as an offer goes.

Another option could be that the Mets just stand pat. However, considering the uncertainty surrounding Carlos Beltran, I am shocked that they won’t even consider Rod Barajas who has significantly more power.

Still, the chance that we might see an Omir Santos and Henry Blanco platoon behind the plate this season, remains a strong possibility. Hopefully, they don’t do something stupid and rush Josh Thole before his time.

Heard this: Bengie Molina has turned down the Mets’ most recent offer, and the Mets are beginning to focus on Joel Pineiro.

Just last week, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported that the Mets were “close” to signing Molina it was expected that something was getting done in 3-4 days. The Mets and Molina have been at odds over the length of any deal with the Mets standing firm on one year plus an option, and recently Molina softened his stance from three years guaranteed to two.

I wonder if this will finally allow the Mets to look at other catching options such as Rod Barajas who might be a better fit anyway?

* * * * * * * * * *

Buster Olney also revealed on his Insider Blog that Omar Minaya was never given a budget to work with and that everything is being done on a case by case business.

This will explain why the Mets have not been able to conduct more than one or two negotiations at the same time. It’s a terrible way to operate a big market team and only strengthens the notion that the Mets front office has become very dysfunctional.

We have already seen some of the dysfunction at work in 2010, and with a an organization that now seems rudderless and without any concrete plan in place, things can only get worse from here.

Most of this comes from the Wilpon’s decision to keep Omar Minaya as the GM even though they apparently have no confidence in his ability to lead the team.

The Mets bought on some good baseball people in the off season to help out, but with Omar still the team’s GM, you can imagine how unorganized things currently are at the top of the Mets hierarchy.

Until the team has a clear leader, how can they be led?

And what is the vision for the future, and who is communicating that vision?

The market for second baseman is very soft and in my opinion, Hudson will end up taking a one year deal just as he did last season. The Mets would still like to add the O-Dog, but probably not for more than $6 million in guaranteed money.

Meanwhile, John Morosi of Fox Sports believes that free agent catcher Bengie Molina is now willing to accept a two year deal after holding firm on three years all off season.

Free agent catcher Bengie Molina has lowered his asking price, multiple sources said Tuesday, raising the likelihood of a long-expected union with the New York Mets. Molina had been asking for a three-year contract, but one source believes he is now willing to sign for two years.

All arrows continue to point toward the Mets signing Molina. If the second year is a vesting option or a team option, it should work out okay for the Mets. I’d have a big problem with two guaranteed years.

Ed Price of AOL, posted an update on Carlos Delgado via his Twitter. He says that Delgado is not moving well while playing first base and that the Mets have already seen Delgado play twice, but will take one more look before moving on or making a decision.

Price also speculates that the Blue Jays might be the final destination for Delgado who is batting .316 in Winter Ball.

I think this latest news should close the book on Carlos Delgado who is obviously a designated hitter posing as a first baseman.

I preferred Bay as I believe he is better suited for hitting at Citi Field than Matt Holliday.  Bay is not strictly a power hitter and in Citi he can hit doubles and drive in runs as well as knock the ball out of the park.  The Mets lineup if healthy and back to 100% has now become a very formidable one.  This potential lineup is better than the 2006 team that just missed out on the World Series.

Bay’s signing is a great way to start 2010 but there is still work to be done.  The Mets need a catcher and it looks like this game of chicken between the Mets and Bengie Molina is going to continue into the new year.  I applaud the way the Mets are handling these negotiations with the veteran catcher.  Molina needs to lower his expectations as 3 years is just out of the question.  I know the Mets would like a 1 year deal with an option for a 2^nd but if you look at what other free agent catchers have gotten that is not going to be enough.  The Mets need to offer Molina a 2 year guaranteed deal, if he doesn’t want that walk away and go after another catcher.

Now that the Mets have Bay in left field the biggest concern is pitching.  This year’s free agent class is very weak for pitching.  The best pitcher on the free agent market was John Lackey and he is signed.  The best pitcher on the trading block was Halladay who we all know was traded to the Phillies.  My pick for a 2^nd tier pitcher was Jason Marquis who is now off the market so the Mets need now to be aggressive and go after the better remaining pitchers on the market.  I don’t believe the Mets will trade so looking at the free agents still available I’m thinking the Mets are going to go after Joel Pineiro.  Pineiro record last year was 15-12 with an ERA of 3.49.  He pitched 214 innings, the first time in his career he pitched over 200 innings.  I do feel that the Mets or any team that sign him is going to overpay for his services, that’s the way the market looks right now.

There are pitchers out there coming off of injuries that could be good for the Mets such as Chien-Ming Wang.  Wang as we all know pitched for the Yankees before being non-tendered last year.  Wang had won 19 games two years in a row before hurting his ankle rounding bases that ended his 2008 season.  Wang came back last season and the results weren’t pretty.  He struggled for the entire season, some thinking that the injury to his ankle forced him to change the way he pitched which resulted in him getting knocked around all last season.  Wang was sent down to Tampa to work on his mechanics and it was discovered that he had weakness in both his hips and was put on the DL.  Eventually Wang would get shoulder surgery ending both his 2009 season and his tenure with the Yankees.  Wang could be very good for the Mets but I suspect after last season the Mets are staying away from guys with injury history and won’t attempt to sign him.  I understand the thinking and if Wang does have a good season with whatever team signs him I won’t hold it against the Mets.  Wang is a big risk to a team that has really no depth in the rotation, not performing or getting injured would really hurt the Mets and they can’t afford that.

Overall Bay’s signing is a great way to start 2010 but there is still work to be done.  I believe that Bengie Molina will eventually be our starting catcher and the pitcher that the Mets do sign will not be met with 100% satisfaction whether it’s Pineiro or Sheets or Wang or whomever.

The Mets would very much like to sign Molina for a 1 year deal with a vesting option for another year, but the 35 year old Molina continues to hold out for a 3 year deal.

It seems like this Molina situation is becoming a big waste of time, especially when the Mets could be considering other options like Yorvit Torrealba who suddenly is very available due to the Colorado Rockies nearing a deal with Miguel Olivo.

I’m actually not sure if he would cost the Mets less money, but it seems like a good bet. If I were Molina I would simply take the Mets’ one year deal at this point, before the Mets actually come to their senses and switch their focus to someone like Torrealba. If the Mets were to pull back their offer to Molina, what other teams would pursue him?

ESPN Radio’s Rich Coutinho is reporting that the Mets are close to signing catcher, Bengie Molina, to a two-year deal. Financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

Last season with the San Francisco Giants, the 36 year-old Molina hit .265 with 20 home runs and 80 RBI’s.

Despite what some analysts have said I believe that this is a solid signing by Omar Minaya as it gives the Mets some much needed power behind the plate that they haven’t had since the days of Mike Piazza.

Next on the agenda for Minaya and the Mets will hopefully be a starting pitcher, but I must say that these two signings are definitely a step in the right direction.

The Mets tend to be good for at least one big signing or trade per offseason, big being a relative term (See : Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez.), and I do think we’ll be seeing at least one big move. Personally, I feel it will be Jason Bay, and I agree with that course of action (Only because Lackey and Halladay are off the market.) In any case, I figured I’d take the time to weigh on current NYM activity and put my spin on things.

Jason Bay: The Mets need Jason Bay as much as Jason Bay needs the Mets. They seem to be his only suitor right now, and frankly, I am fine with that. I want Jason Bay over Matt Holliday, because I feel he’d be better suited for Citi Field. Now don’t get me wrong here, because I’ll make this clear. The Mets need pitching more than offense, and at that, good pitching. But right now, the biggest thing that can be done to help the team is bolstering the offense. Admittedly, five years is a long contract. My offer at the moment : 4 Years at 68 MM with fifth year vesting option.

Bengie Molina: Bengie Molina is a very interesting option because he can produce offensively at the C position, but he is aging and asking for a lot of length in his contract. He is reportedly seeking a three-year deal, but he might accept a two-year deal. Right now the Mets offer is one-year with an option, and I agree with this. We don’t need Molina, but he would be nice. Be wary however, Mets fans, because Josh Thole is no Mike Piazza.

Orlando Hudson: Orlando Hudson’s name always comes up because he reportedly always wants to play for the Mets. Honestly, even Kelly Johnson might be a better option at 2B for the Mets, because I personally consider Luis Castillo a liability in the Mets offense. I think the Mets need Brandon Phillips at 2B, not Hudson. However, I would take Hudson over Castillo. The Mets should revisit Castillo-Byrnes and Byrnes would make a decent 4th OF.

Joel Pineiro: I’ll keep this one simple. No. I don’t want him, and someone else can have him. He pitched 200 Innings for the first time since what, 2003? I don’t want him. Dave Duncan can keep him. Yes, admittedly, he won’t do horrible at Citi Field, but he wants 10 MM per year, and I don’t want to be the team that gives it to him.

Aroldis Chapman/Yuniesky Maya: Again, this one seems simple enough. Yes. I want them both. Chapman alot more than Maya, but believe me, these two could go a long way for the future of the Mets, even if they end up being traded. I like what I have heard about Chapman, and his price tag is definitely more appealing to me than Pineiro’s.

Ben Sheets/Erik Bedard: Yes, I’d be the guy to give Ben Sheets 12 MM if he proved to me his arm is healthy. I’m not kidding. I’d rather give Sheets 2/20 than Joel 3/30. Call me crazy, but if Sheets is healthy, he is an ace pitcher for any team. He’s a risk, yes, but he’s a gamble I would take. If Bedard could be had for less than 4 MM, I’d take him. He used to be somewhat of an ace for Baltimore, in a hitter’s park in the AL east. That’s something to think about.

Kelvim Escobar/Ryota Igarashi/Clint Everts: I love all of these signings. They were cheap, and a couple of these guys can be effective weapons for the Mets late in games. For about a combined 3 MM, the Mets may have found effective 7th and 8th inning relievers. I’m just going off upside, don’t quote me on that. Clint Everts was a coveted arm and may actually be of some use to the Mets in 2010.

Now this is all purely opinion and speculation, but I’d like to hear what you’ve got to say in response. Later this week, I’ll try to get something up about what players I feel the Mets should be going after for cost-effective solutions.

The Mets did sign a backup catcher in Henry Blanco for a tidy sum of $750 K, and re-signed Alex Cora for more than twice that, but for a team that finished last in MLB in slugging percentage and homeruns, this will hardly make a dent… or a ding… or a smudge.

On the pitching side, the Mets imported Ryota Igarashi who they hope will fill a big role in the bullpen, but as is the case with all of these Japanese players, you don’t know what you have until the season is well underway and it’s mostly a crapshoot. Of course the Mets have yet to hit any pay dirt in this market and are still stinging from the Kaz Matsui blowup.

All told, the Mets shopping spree comes in under a thrifty $5 million dollars for 2010. Even Baltimore and Kansas City can boast that they’ve outspent the Mets for now.

The bottom line is that we still find ourselves short two starting pitchers, one starting catcher, one starting leftfielder, one lefthanded reliever, a righthanded bat off the bench who can play first bases, and if you want to get real technical, a second baseman.

That’s a pretty extensive shopping list considering the rest of the NL East teams are nearly done retooling for 2010.

Making matters worse is the fact that despite not having offers from any other teams, free agents Bengie Molina and Jason Bay both sit and wait for another team to give them a reason not to play for the Mets. Nobody will admit it, but I find it pretty embarrassing as well as indicative of how tinged the Mets have become.

Furthering the Mets futility this off season, is their reluctance to do anything unless the Bay and Molina situations sort themselves out. And even though the team needs at least three additional pitchers, nary an offer for the remaining bottom of the barrel starters that are still left in the market place.

Trading for help is practically a non-issue as the only teams finding any value or quality in Mets prospects, are the Mets themselves, and of course Mets fans who clutch these prospects to their chest in hopes of better days ahead. As for me, most prospects pan out at about a 40% success rate, and with the Mets it’s even less than half that, so move them for established talent whenever you can.

I don’t get this strategy of waiting for Molina and Bay before addressing the pitching concerns. Are we so incapable of working both sides of the fence at the same time?

Where is all this new help we hired for the front office?

Can’t they work the pitching market while Omar stays glued to the offensive side of things?

We’ve already seen John Lackey, Randy Wolf, Brad Penny and Rich Harden sign with other teams, and any of them would have been a significant upgrade over any starters not named Johan.

For a team that dished out more bases on balls than any other team in baseball sans the Nats, where is the urgency to rectify the situation?

For a team that had the worst power numbers in the game, where is the urgency to rectify that situation?

I don’t get it…

Pitchers and catchers report in one month and 22 days. Woo freaking hoo!

As Omar and Jeff make appointments to see their chiropractors to have their necks checked out, after suffering some severe whiplash last night courtesy of the Phillies and Red Sox, the hits just keep coming in for the woeful Mets.

According to a tweet from Ken Davidoff of Newsday, one of their top off season targets, and not a very good one at that, has given the Mets an ultimatum. Free agent catcher Bengie Molina has informed the Mets that he will not play for them unless they offer him a guaranteed three year deal.

Actually, for Molina, 35,  it’s a very smart move. Why not? After all if Jason Kendal and Pudge Rodriguez can land a deuce why shouldn’t he hold out for a trey?

Molina had 20 homers and hit .265 for the San Francisco Giants last season.

Of course for the Mets, it would amount to sheer lunacy and so thus, this will most likely spell the end of all the Molina to the Mets rumors which should make many of us very happy.

The question now is, where do the Mets turn to now?

It’s kind of a scary thought as the Mets are currently operating under panic mode, so hopefully Omar won’t do too much damage, although that may be asking a lot.

Based on additional reporting from Adam Rubin of the Daily News, one of those offers will most likely be to free-agent catcher Bengie Molina. Earlier reports yesterday that the Mets had already made an offer turned out to be inaccurate.

Also, there is some buzz around Twitter that the second offer could be for starting pitcher John Lackey. However, this has not been confirmed by any reliable source so please take it with a grain of salt.

The Mets did meet with the agents for John Lackey last night, so it wouldn’t be far fetched to think that an offer could be forthcoming.

Of course it’s a 2-way street as well. Making an offer is only half the battle and the easy part. It’s accepting the offer that usually proves to be more elusive.

Stay tuned for more updates on this…

Purse strings opening for Omar? Mets are talking to Lackey, Holliday and Bay with renewed hopes to sign one of big three.

I’m not buying into anything until we get something more substantial, but at least that bit of news is somewhat hopeful.

Of course the big news this morning is that the Mets have offered free agent Bengie Molina a 2-year deal worth $12 million dollars. That is according to David Lennon of Newsday who includes this quote:,

“The Mets have told other agents that Bengie Molina is clearly their first choice, and if he accepts a two-year deal, in the $12-million range, he figures to be a Met very shortly.”

This goes against earlier reports that suggested the Mets were only willing to go one year with Molina which I think was the smart move.

However there are several other teams interested in Molina and the Mets may have had to give him a two year deal just to get something done.

Still no indication if Molina is going to accept the Mets offer or maybe shop it around for something better.

From what I can tell, Mets fans are very split on Molina with strong opinions on both sides. He could become just as polarizing as Jeff Francoeur was when the Mets acquired him.

Molina will probably signal the end for Omir Santos unless the Mets decide to go with three catchers which they’ve done in the past. But somehow I get the sense that Santos has few friends among the Mets coaches and that he’ll be spending most of 2010 in Class-AAA Buffalo.

Would you be happy if Bengie Molina accepted the Mets offer?

Edwin Jackson yesterday was also rumored to be joining the Mets, but that rumor was also shot down less than 20 minutes later.  Unfortunately, we live in an age where the quest to break the news, outweighs the responsibility to accurately report the news, and it frequently leads to the kind of inaccurate reporting we saw on Day 1 of the 2009 Baseball Winter Meetings.

Regardless, those rumors did get me to think about what I would like to see happen at the winter meetings for the Mets this year. 

My wish list for the winter meetings begins with a starting catcher. I’m hoping that the Mets are done signing every backup catcher on the market, and will now focus on acquiring a starting catcher for the 2010 season.  As we all know, the team is very high on Bengie Molina and would prefer to sign him, but the problem is that Molina is said to be wanting a 3 year deal.  There’s no way that the Mets can give into him.  Omar cannot cave into any of the pressure that Molina and his agent are putting on him regardless of how much he wants him.  It’s very unlikely that any other team would give Molina a 3 year deal, and Omar cannot give in to the players demands as he did last year when he agreed to give Oliver Perez a 3 year deal.

It’s important to remember that the 2010 starting catcher would be a one year stop gap, and that Josh Thole, barring a major setback, will be the everyday catcher for the Mets in 2011.  The Mets did sign a very good defensive catcher last week in Henry Blanco, and they also have Omir Santos and Chris Coste. Rod Barajas is still available and would be a good alternative to Molina, and Dioner Navarro could possibly be non-tendered and become available as well. The bottom line is that the Mets have options and are the ones sitting in the driver’s seat, not Molina.

The second item on my wish list is to get a starting pitcher.  The Blue Jays are reportedly taking offers for their ace Roy Halladay, and besides the huge cash outlay that Halladay would require in an extension. it’s going to require a bunch of top prospects be sent to Toronto in exchange for Halladay’s arm.  The Mets farm system is not very deep at all, and trading away our best prospects will set this organization back so far it could take years to recover.

It’s imperative that the Mets focus all of their attention toward signing free agent John Lackey.  He will not cost as much per year as Halladay, and of course he won’t cost the Mets any of the prospects that Halladay will.  The  Mets need to sign Lackey and then go after a second tier pitcher like Joel Pineiro, Randy Wolf, and Staten Island’s own Jason Marquis, who wants desperately to be a Met.

Finally I want Matt Holliday.  He will cost a ton of money, but his bat and power is much needed for this team next season and beyond.  He is not exactly the best defensive player, but he is still an upgrade over what we had last season. Holliday would be a force in the lineup and provide much needed protection for David Wright.

I know my list is long and costly, but this is what I believe the Mets need to do for them to be competitive next season.

The Mets are considering a bid of about $6 million for one guaranteed year plus a second-year option for free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, whom they have made their top catching target.

Heyman added that there’s a possibility that the Mets may be willing to even go to two years for Molina even though it would block Josh Thole who they expected to take over as the starting catcher as soon as 2011.

Apparently the Mets are banking on the hope that there is a limited demand for catchers this off season.

Earlier in the day, the Mets were considering making a run at Rod Barajas who is also a free agent.

The Royals, Blue Jays, Rockies and Giants are all in the market for a catcher and at least two of those teams were rumored to be negotiating for the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit.

I don’t know about you, but at this point I just wish the Mets would solve this catching situation already.

It seems that the discourse has centered mostly around moving Castillo and getting a starting catcher. The sooner we accomplish those things on the agenda, the quicker we can move onto finding a cleanup hitter who can play either first base or left field, and finding a starter to pair with Johan Santana in the rotation.

In 2008, we suffered through another miserable bullpen, and it seemed like money would be no object to revamp it in the off season. GM Omar Minaya was under the gun to retool the bullpen and deliver a winner. This year, the details of need are different, but the gist is the same. Minaya will under even more pressure to deliver a winner after suffereing though a ridiculous number of injuries and a barren farm system.

The Winter Meetings were in Las Vegas a year ago, and we were witness to a very interesting turn of events:

Hot and Cold

The 2008 Winter meetings were home to two huge deals for the team, which would turn out to have strong and opposite results. The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez for 3 years/ $37 million; much less than the 5/$75 mil he was anticipating after setting the single-season saves record. Not bad considering that the Mets were the one team that Frankie knew had the money he wanted, and the Mets were looking for the best of the bunch.

The following day, The Mets, Mariners, and Indians swung a three way trade that had All-Star closer J.J. Putz coming to Flushing. Among the notable players the Mets dealt were Aaron Heilman, Mike Carp, and Endy Chavez to Seattle; and Joe Smith to Cleveland. In two fell swoops, it looked like Citi field would be home to the best back-end of the bullpen in the National League.

Or so we thought…

That’s What You Get For Waking Up In Vegas

The Putz deal would go on to be one of the worst trades by the organization this decade. Putz would get injured in May and miss the rest of the season with a bone spur. And ironically, Billy Wagner ends up coming back from Tommy John Surgery, and Putz would never return from his bone spur.

As for the players we gave away, Heilman was later dealt to Chicago, where he was far from inspiring. Endy Chavez suffered a terrible knee injury and missed the rest of the season, and will miss part of this season. Joe Smith only pitched 34 innings due to rotator cuff injury. Mike Carp actually had a good run after he was called up by the M’s, though he is blocked at 1B. We also got Sean Green and Jeremy Reed, but with Reed a non-tender candidate, it looks like the inconsistent reliever Green may be the only thing we have to show for this “blockbuster.”

But this year…

Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Simply put, Omar Minaya’s best deal was his own, as it forced the Wilpons to keep him rather than eat his contract. This was one year he’s like to forget.  Fans can complain in blogs, radio call-ins, or the Mets Merized Chatroom all they want, but the only way to put pressure is to stop paying for the team. The Wilpons have a new stadium that they need to fill, and people will not show up to watch a AAA team, injuries or not. The front office traveled the talk show circuit in October saying that money will be no object. Well, show us. Last year, we fixed the bullpen (or at least it looked that way), but this year we have more holes to fill.

How can they make moves for fans and quality players?

If You Want Me, You’re Gonna Have To Break The Bank

The Mets, according to random rumors, are not expected to be big players in the meetings. Other fan comments (you know, the ones that start with “If I were the GM…”) seem to choose between one big move or a few smaller ones. It may be unlikely that we see any of the second-tier starters go early, as pitchers like Marquis, Harden, etc. will wait to see what John Lackey gets.

Omar Minaya made a statement supporting the likelihood of more trades than signings. Tom Terrific pointed out in his column yesterday that money is the big factor in deals, and it’s true.  But as Joe D. will point out, value is everything, as you can’t just go pumping money into a three year deal for Oliver Perez (wait…). Most likely candidate to be signed looks like Bengie Molina, the only haggle will be how many years. How much will that leave for a #2 starter and a power hitter?

I wish a Katy Perry lyric had the answer to that.

Till Next Time

With Brian Schneider becoming a free agent next year we now need a catcher for the 2010 season.  There are 26 catchers that are facing the prospect of free agency, 7 of which have team options and/or buyouts for their contracts.  There are some good catchers that will be available next year but the Mets find themselves in a somewhat of a dilemma when it comes to acquiring a catcher this off-season, that dilemma is named Josh Thole.

Thole is 22 years old, he had his cup of coffee this year in the majors and he impressed me with his offense at the plate finishing with a .321 batting average in 53 plate appearances.  He had a bit of 1-19 slump but he still showed promise in his major league debut.  Even though he was slumping Thole didn’t look foolish at the plate like outfielder Fernando Martinez.  Thole’s defense left a bit to be desired as he allowed 3 passed balls in only 17 games.  On the plus side he did throw out 2 base runners out of 6 attempted steals on him.  He also caught two really good games at the end of the season.  Having said this Thole does not belong on the team yet.  He needs to start 2010 in AAA Buffalo and work on his defense.  He needs to also learn about the intangibles of being catcher, such as slowing down the pace of a game or going out to talk to a pitcher who is struggling.  That is not a knock on Thole; those instincts will come in time.  It’s important to remember that he was not originally a catcher; the Mets converted him to catcher in the minors.  I believe that in 2011 Thole will be on this team as our starting catcher and there lies the dilemma: signing a veteran catcher to a 1 year deal and not completely overpay for said catcher for the one year he’ll be on the team.

There is one catcher that I would want and that catcher is Bengie Molina, who I think a lot of Met fans including myself would not mind seeing behind the dish for us in 2010.  Molina in his eleven year career is a .276 hitter but more importantly he is one of the best catchers in baseball.  Some could argue that out of his family he might be the best at calling a game and working with a pitching staff.  If you take Santana out of the equation the Mets pitching staff is full of head cases with Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez.  Plus Jon Niese could be in the rotation, Niese is a young pitcher and Bengie works really well with the younger pitchers.  He knows how to slow down a game if the pitcher is moving too fast and he’s also good at defense.  He’s a gamer; he only knows one way of playing: playing hard!  If there is one drawback it’s that he’s a Type A Free Agent, meaning that the Mets would lose a top draft pick as well as a supplemental draft pick.  Ultimately if I’m the General Manager and I’m looking for an experienced catcher who plays good defense and works well with a young pitching staff, Molina is my guy.

The one catcher that I don’t even want to hear about this off season is Jason Varitek.  I have nothing against him on a personal level, he seems like a good baseball guy, a good teammate but his career is coming to an end.  His offensive numbers keep going down year by year and he is 38 years old.  I also believe that he will not come cheap.  A team will over pay him for his name and his past success with the Boston Red Sox.  I believe that it may be time for Varitek to call it a career and I hope Omar or whoever is making these decisions now a days stays far away from Varitek.

Are there any other catchers I’m overlooking readers?   Would Pudge Rodriguez who is a veteran catcher, a little older than Molina who will be a type B Free Agent be better?