Updated Post 5:15 PM
As I said this morning, as more and more rival Gm’s see the kind of season that Hairston had in 2012, the longer the line of suitors will get. This just in…
Only thous after the Detroit Tigers entered the fray, the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco Giants have also asked inquired about Hairston according to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.
Yep… As I said, Hairston is as good as gone…
Even a platoon catcher or left fielder would have looked good instead of another empty spot on the 40 man roster….
We have been bleeding talent for three off-seasons now and the team is still hemorrhaging…
By the way, almost two months down and my prediction that there wouldn’t be any “wholesale changes” is looking better and better….
Only 2 1/2 more months until Mets Spring Training Camp opens. Are ya ready?
LETS GO METS!
Original Post 09:00 AM
Sandy Alderson has singled out the team’s dire outfield situation as one of the areas that will be addressed this offseason. But as free agent outfielders start to fly off the board, the Mets have yet to make a move and seem to be in “paralysis mode”.
Last week, after the Mets released Jason Bay, Alderson said it was more likely that their most productive outfielder, Scott Hairston, would be re-signed by the team for the 2013 season.
“It’s more likely Scott Hairston returns, Alderson said: “I think it helps. As I said, it gives us more flexibility and it subtracts one more candidate from our outfield. So in both ways it probably enhances Scott’s chances of coming back.”
But Alderson and his team of former GM’s, all seem to be singularly focused on one thing right now; the David Wright and R.A. Dickey extension talks. The world continues to turn, but not in Flushing.
While the Mets are held back by these time consuming extension deals, everything else is at a standstill. There has been no news on any progress regarding Hairston, and yesterday Dan Martin of the New York Post reported that the delay has opened the door for some major competition for his services including the New York Yankees. He believes that the Mets are running out of time if they are intent on keeping Hairston.
Among the reasons the Mets can’t wait forever is the need to map out a plan for the rest of the offseason. They remain interested in Scott Hairston, but will get competition for the outfielder from the Yankees.
The Yankees continue to have conversations with Hairston, who is coming off arguably his most productive offensive season when he hit 20 homers and knocked in 57 runs with an OPS of .803 in part-time duty with the Mets last season.
The Yankees have already had preliminary discussions to bring back Raul Ibanez after a solid first season with the club. And, with Nick Swisher set to leave town, Hairston would provide right-handed power in the outfield, something the Yankees currently lack.
Obviously, the more teams take a look at Hairston the more of them like what they see. As a right-handed power-hitter, Hairston provides the perfect compliment to a lefty/righty platoon, a great bat off the bench, and some veteran leadership in the clubhouse.
Last year, Hairston proved to be the most productive outfielder the Mets had in an outfield whose offense ranked last in the majors. In just 377 at-bats, Hairston had 20 home runs, 27 doubles, 57 RBI and a .504 slugging to go with an .808 OPS.
I’ve mentioned previously that this front office often shows an inability to multi-task or negotiate with players or teams simultaneously on various levels or platforms. Jon Heyman referred to that during the last Winter Meetings and said many teams would rather not talk to the Mets because everything was analyzed to death and they were incapable of making a quick decision.
Alderson himself even admitted he was in “paralysis mode” when he said he basically can’t do anything until he has some clarity on the extensions. What re-signing Hairston has to do with all of this, I couldn’t tell you.
By the way, “paralysis mode” is the term I adopted to describe this slow moving process which the front office refers to as a strategy of “waiting for the market or certain markets to develop. ”
Anyhow, with the Yankees clearly in the mix now, it certainly would seem that the Mets would shy away from any bidding war for the well liked outfielder. His offense will be difficult to replace for the Mets, a team that was already starving for power. In my opinion, Hairston is as good as gone.
