Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported this weekend that one of the worst kept secrets in the game is just how badly Troy Tulowitzki wants out of Colorado, and how he might get what he wishes for.
An MMO Fan Shot by Steve Surdez
The Winter Meetings have been a major disappointment thus far. Scott Rice? Really? This is New York, right? One of the biggest markets in the world?
The Cincinnati Reds have a payroll hovering around $120 million. Cincinnati! It seems we Mets fans are stuck in an unending nightmare. We are so close, but the faster we try to run, the slower we move, and we just can’t grasp that brass ring.
We Mets fans have been waiting…and waiting…and waiting. And it’s time to move, to take a risk and to trade for Troy Tulowitzki. This is our time to be bold and to retake New York from the Yankees and give the loyal Mets fan-base a fighting chance and a real reason to believe that 2015 will be the year our beloved Mets return to the playoffs.
Yes, yes, I know all of the risks, and I’m sure all Mets fans have run them through their minds a million times so far this winter—injury history, the rarefied air of Colorado, no way to judge how he has recovered from his most recent hip surgery, that Yankees-Jeter thing. But picture this lineup:
- Juan Lagares
- Daniel Murphy
- Troy Tulowitzki
- Lucas Duda
- David Wright
- Curtis Granderson
- Michael Cuddyer
- Kevin Plawecki
You keep Flores and bring him in to spell Wright, Tulo and Murphy and to be a big right-handed bat off the bench. If you really believe, as Sandy Alderson does, that Flores can be good, keep him as a super-utility player—this scenario will give him 350 to 400 at bats, minimum.
That lineup is the real deal and far superior to any of the the lineups that the Giants or Royals ran out there every day. How’d that turn out for them? I’d venture to say the Mets bullpen and pitching is right there with those two teams. A reasonably productive Tulo undeniably puts the Mets on every baseball pundit’s World Series contender list.
Now, what do you give up in talent and treasure? Let’s say the Rockies take back $14 million, so the Wilpons are on the hook for a cool and even $100 million over six years, or an AAV of $16 million or so a year, which, given today’s market is not that insane for a player of Tulo’s talent, even with the concerns about injuries and durability. We are paying Granderson $15 million a year to hit .220 and barely crack the 20 home run plateau. And, guess what, he’s three years older than Tulo.
A trade might have the Mets giving up Travis d’Arnaud, Rafael Montero, Jon Niese and Jacob deGrom. Since the Rockies are not paying a significant portion of his salary moving forward, they don’t get to choose between Harvey, Wheeler and deGrom, but they do get an every day catcher, a young top of the rotation righthander and a a solid lefty starter, plus a nice but not great future bullpen arm or back of the rotation starter.
Tulo immediately adds the potent bat this team is lacking and behind the plate we gain better defense in Plawecki and more consistent contact and plate discipline.
That leaves us with a rotation of Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard, Gee and Colon with Matz waiting in the wings as your lefty rotation piece. What you’re really banking on here is that Thor is every bit as good as he’s been advertised and that hard-throwing righty can step in and hit the ground running like Harvey and deGrom before him. After all, scouts swear Syndergaard has the most lethal arsenal of the three.
And what if Tulo tanks? Then he tanks. For goodness sake we are a team that owns its own cable network in the largest sports market in the world, and whose ownership is on the verge of building and completing an $8 billion dollar cash-dynamo in Willets Point.
And what if he is terrific and does what he’s been doing his entire career, delivering a .295, 30 HR, and 100 RBI seasons at shortstop with excellent defense? You just can’t find that anymore. A string of 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 WAR seasons? Are you kidding me? Sign me up.
And what if he’s mediocre? A..275-18-80 season far exceeds anything else out there, including Flores, all free agent options and trade possibilities, including Starlin Castro.
And what if he never plays more than 50 games a year and is done in two? Well, we pick ourselves back up, hope that Cecchini or Rosario is a stud, and move forward. Just like we always do as Mets fans.
Wilpons: Take on the money.
Alderson: Give up some of that hard to let-go-of talent.
Number-Crunchers: Go with your gut, not your algorithms. We will not win a World Series playing it safe or by data analysis alone.
I hate to see deGrom go as much as anyone, but is it any guarantee that he won’t regress and become less spectacular and more like the 3 or 4 starter his ceiling was projected to be? There are no guarantees in baseball.
There just simply has got to be a way Alderson and his number-crunchers can make this happen after doing their due diligence and ensuring that Tulo is healthy. Alderson needs to make the argument to the Wilpons that if Tulo works out, the rewards of increased attendance, merchandise sales and overall revenue will be huge.
The Wilpons, of all people, should understand this is a good risk with tremendous upside across the board for the Mets brand. No risk, no reward, as they say.
I am becoming more and more convinced that acquiring Tulo could have the same impact as when the Mets added Gary Carter and Mike Piazza.
Forget the calculated risk. This team’s brass over-think everything too damn much. Go with a gut feel. Roll the dice. Trade for Tulo. And help my two young boys stop wondering why their dad always roots for a hopeless and hapless team.
Give them a real chance to enjoy what the 86’ Mets gave me—an undying loyalty for a team that breaks my heart every year. Quell this growing distaste for an ownership and front office that seems to forget that even the most loyal Mets fans—like me—have a breaking point.
Put Tulo under my kids’ tree. Make this the best Christmas ever.
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This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader Steve Surdez. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 25,000 Met fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to [email protected]. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.
