Here’s a post from diehardmets who gives a good example of what the Mets offseason might look like using the Boston Red Sox model from last Winter.
The question is where do you want to spend. Overpaying on Shin-Soo Choo or Jacoby Ellsbury is just repeating the mistakes of the past. I would think our fans are intelligent enough to remember Jason Bay and realize that repeating that mistake for even more years and money is not something we want to do.
Conversely, the trade market does not really offer any great offensive options. Giancarlo Stanton isn’t going anywhere, nor are Carlos Gonzalez or Troy Tulowitzki. Furthermore, trading any of our young pitching is probably a foolish move; winners are built on fountains of pitching, something we finally have for the first time in recent memory. Additionally, we must remember the fickle nature of pitchers and how easily they get injured, which puts even more value on depth. Trading these players for the marginal offensive upgrades available is a bad move.
So where does that leave us? The majority of free agents and plausible trades probably don’t help. However, there are still plenty of good moves we can make.
Jose Abreu would appear to be the best solution. However, we must keep in mind what scouts say about him. That being said, for a financial commitment of five years and maybe $60 million, I would hope we roll the dice.
At shortstop, Stephen Drew or Jhonny Peralta are ideal signings, potentially bridging the gap to Wilfredo Tovar, Gavin Cecchini, or even Amed Rosario.
In the outfield, Carlos Beltran seems to be the best target and he’s willing to entertain a reunion according to Mike Puma of the New York Post who also adds that Sandy Alderson is interested as well and that Jeff Wilpon and Beltran patched things up during the All Star break. I would also re-sign soon to be free agent Marlon Byrd to a reasonable deal as well. Beltran probably gets a contract near the two-year, $26 million deal signed by Torii Hunter last offseason.
Bring back LaTroy Hawkins for $1 million or so in the bullpen, and grab a couple of inexpensive veteran starters (Dice-K, Harang, etc.) on the cheap until Montero is ready.
My Mets Off-Season Plan:
- Jose Abreu: 5 years, $60 million
- Carlos Beltran: 2 years, $26 million
- Stephen Drew: 2 years, $20 million
- Marlon Byrd: 1 year, $3 million w/option
- LaTroy Hawkins: 1 year, $1 million
This is the Boston model. Five free agents that vastly improve the team for a cost of around $40 million. Given the salary coming off the books, this seems rather reasonable.
The best team in baseball? No.
A contender? Certainly.
Reasonable financially? It would seem so.
Hopefully the Wilpons give Alderson the money he needs.
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This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader, diehardmets. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 22,000 Mets fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to [email protected]. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.
