If you’re wondering why the Mets still haven’t acquired a bat with just nine days left until the trade deadline, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN spoke to one MLB executive who told him, They want a middle of the order OF bat who isn’t going to cost anything — in terms of dollars or players.
Marc Carig of Newsday confirmed the Mets interest in Justin Upton, but added the caveat that “it’s long shot” and that it’s unlikely they get anyone of that caliber with Conforto, Rosario, and any of their top young arms off the table.
Matt Goldman of MLB Daily Dish sums up the sentiment like this:
“Mets fans were told by upper management to wait for their star studded pitching to arrive, and then the team would take action. But here they are, with a clear need for offensive help, and the front office appears unwilling to make any moves.”
New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro, ripped into Sandy Alderson on Monday, calling the Mets lineup against the Nationals in a must-win series an embarrassment and an indictment of the general manager.
“Let’s be a little blunt: The last time the Mets played a game this meaningful after the Fourth of July was the last game ever played at Shea Stadium on Sept. 28, 2008.”
“They spoke, as they often do, of having to find a way to beat the NL East’s standard bearer. And then, when the time came to actually play the game this is what Terry Collins had to do for the night ahead: He wrote Wilmer Flores, John Mayberry and Eric Campbell into the 4-5-6 slots. That was the heart of the batting order.”
“Mayberry, Campbell and catcher Anthony Recker, hitting eighth, reported for work Monday night hitting .182, .170, and .143, respectively. It is impossible to imagine a worse batting order in what was supposed to be an important game.”
Upton, 27, has 15 home runs and 49 RBIs and while his batting line of .252/.331/.426 could use a little improvement, in the Mets lineup he’d still be a juggernaut.
The problem for the Mets is that 6-8 other teams want Upton just as much as the Mets do including the first place Pirates and Astros.
And if that MLB executive is accurately portraying the Mets strategy of trying to land something big at little to no cost in real prospects and real dollars, not just Sandy, but Fred and Jeff also have some explaining to do.
