“We all want to win as many games as possible, but my job is to match the short term with the long term,” he said. “We felt this was in our best interest.”
That’s what Mets general manager Sandy Alderson had to say to reporters before tonight’s game, in response to trading catcher John Buck and outfielder Marlon Byrd.
Sandy added that second base prospect Dilson Herrera as well as a player still to be named later, was better than any offer he received before the July 31st trade deadline.
Regarding Herrera, Alderson described him as a solid defender with some power and some speed. He will report immediately to Single-A Savannah.
Terry Collins also spoke to reporters and when asked about the added pressure he now has to perform with the loss of two significant bats, the Mets manager replied: “This is not about me, this will never be about me. This is only about our team.”
Matt den Dekker will now get an opportunity to show what he can do playing mostly right field and some center field. To replace Matt Harvey, the Mets recalled lefthanded reliever Robert Carson which will enable Carlos Torres to slot into the rotation. Anthony Recker will replace Buck as the backup to Travis d’Arnaud.
I thought this was a solid trade. Buck was already rendered useless, and only yesterday I wrote that we need to slide Byrd into a reserve role and see what we have in den Dekker.
We didn’t get an outfielder or a shortstop that we needed, but we got perhaps a chip we can trade in the offseason to fill a need.
