Since the season started and we got socked with all these injuries, I really haven’t sounded the alarm as far as trades go. I don’t really subscribe to the notion of trading prospects for rental players.
The only player I had any interest in acquiring, and one that I devoted an entire blog to, has been Alex Rios. I like Rios because he is young, talented, filled a big need for us, and most importantly, he was under contract for another five seasons.
I just took a good look at some of the players rumored to be available on sites like ESPN and MLBTR, and I gotta tell ya, I’m now willing add Mark Teahen’s name right along side that of Alex Rios as far as guys I’d like to see the Mets go after.
Teahen is a former first round pick of the Oakland A’s and was traded to the Royals as part of that blockbuster 3-team trade that sent Carlos Beltran to the Houston Astros.
Last month, Peter Gammons wrote that the Mets were one of several teams that were interested in Royals infielder Mark Teahen.
The 27–year-old Teahen is hitting .299 with a .355 OBP, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 42 R, and 20 doubles in 88 games for the Royals. He is not your prototypical power hitter, but can spray the ball to all fields, has a good line drive swing that may work well in Citi Field, will hit plenty of doubles, and probably hit 15-20 homers a season.
Defensively, he has played mostly third base, but has also filled in at first, second and right field. His versatility would be perfect for the Mets right now. He has made seven errors all season,
Teahen is eligible for arbitration for the next two seasons, after which he can become a free agent. Already earning in excess of $3 million dollars, most don’t believe the Royals will keep him around and pay him the $4 – $5 million plus he is expected to get next season in arbitration.
The Royals have been rumored to be shopping Teahen since last off season, and he is not expected to command the type of prospects you would have to give up for Matt Holliday.
Obviously, Teahen wouldn’t be a cure-all for the Mets. Nobody out there is. Teahen can give the Mets a young, solid everyday player, who can play a number of positions, and give the Mets some more offense.
Teahen is the type of player that the Mets need to target going forward. The problem with the Mets is that they either have all star caliber players or below average players. That’s not how you build a team. Omar has a bad habit of targeting the biggest star he could get each off season to fill whatever hole he needs to fill at the time.
He ignores solid players like Randy Wolf, Orlando Hudson, Bobby Abreu and a host of others because they don’t have that star appeal.
I was encouraged by Omar’s trade for Jeff Francoeur who seems to be the only Met driving in runs since his acquisition. It reminded me of the Xavier Nady trade which I also liked a lot. Mark Teahen is another one of those young players who can grow with a team and get better with age.
For now though, Teahen would give the Mets some instant needed relief at a reasonable price, and he would be under the Mets control for 2 1/2 more seasons.
