An MMO Fan Shot by Matt Stephens
It has become evident at this early stage in the off-season that the Mets will not be major players in the free agent market. For the first year in many, that choice isn’t simply because of funds, but simply out of who is available, or better yet who is not available. I agree with the assessment that Michael Cuddyer is not worth our draft pick. Hanley is not much of a shortstop anymore, and all the top players available are starting pitchers, just what we don’t need.
With the possible exception of Yasmani Tomas, the Mets cannot and should not look for answers in the free agent pool. There is no need to pay Asdrubal Cabrera or Stephen Drew a ton of money to provide production close to what Wilmer Flores will give us over a full season for minimum wage. We can all agree that Michael Morse and Alex Rios are not the bats that fit into the middle of our lineup. Rios’ power seems to have dried up, and Morse is a poor defender and struggles to stay on the field. As much as I like Tomas, we can’t go all waste our limited money on a player that hasn’t touched a major league field yet. There are proven commodities all over the place, on the trade market.
Sandy Alderson’s experience in trades as Mets GM has been limited. His trades have been from the standpoint of a struggling team selling off top pieces and building for the future. He knew he was getting top prospects in return, but the question was just which prospect. Admittedly he has proven to be very savvy in these negotiations. I recall conversations where the Giants claimed that Zack Wheeler was absolutely untouchable. We were preparing to settle for Gary Brown, who has played in just seven major league games. Syndergaard was a throw-in piece in the deal for R.A. Dickey. We were really excited about Travis d’Arnaud, but Sandy got us Syndergaard as well. A steal for sure, especially after proposals regarding Mike Olt were considered. However, when dealing with a situation from the opposite perspective, he has not had any experience, at least as Mets general manager. Now is the off-season where that should change.
Alderson’s notable deal for a big name player came when Sandy ran the Oakland Athletics. He flipped three prospects who never reached the majors in exchange for Dennis Eckersley. Eck changed the role of the closer forever and won a Cy Young award as an Athletic. Alderson’s re-acquisition of Rickey Henderson in 1989 also came at a low cost, as he gave up on players who would not become anything special. It has been a long time since Alderson traded for the big name, the star, the player that changed the team. But after years of rebuilding and reconstruction, the Mets have reached a time where it is time for them to make a trade. Otherwise, they are giving up on all the progress they have made and just hoping for the best. I wouldn’t be shocked, but they can’t do it. Of course the question is, what do the Mets have, and what can they get back?
It is no secret that the Mets have a glut of Major League quality pitchers. Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Bartolo Colon, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Noah Syndergaard, and Rafael Montero could all be found in MLB rotations come next spring. I have understood the over-protection of our pitchers in the past, but now with 8 ready starters, the time has come to let some of the horses free. I’d venture to say that the only “untouchables”, (I hate that word but…) are deGrom and Harvey. Those two have years of team control left and have proven that they are top quality MLB pitchers. Sure I like Zack Wheeler, but he was very streaky in 2014, and if teams are going to ask for him, I’d be willing to give him up, just as I would Gee, Colon, Niese, Syndergaard, or Montero. The Mets don’t need all those pitchers, we also have our catcher in d’Arnaud and can trade Plawecki. Daniel Murphy is likely to walk after the season and we’d be foolish not to trade him now. What they need is a hitter, an impact hitter.
There are bats all around the majors that could help right now. I could offer up phantom proposals regarding Yoenis Cespedes, Carlos Gonzalez, Justin Upton, Jose Bautista, Alex Gordon, hell, I could tell you how the Mets could land Giancarlo Stanton, but that isn’t my job. You can play with what-ifs all you want, but it means absolutely nothing until something happens. The responsibility falls on our lovely owners and old Sandy Alderson. I am absolutely positive that there are packages that can be put together that will bring that missing impact hitter to New York, and help us reach the playoffs, and maybe even win a title. At some point dream scenarios and possibilities have to end, and reality and risk-taking has to begin. I simply don’t want management to wimp out when they have a real chance to change the fate of our franchise.
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This Fan Shot was contributed by Matt Stephens. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 30,000 Met fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to [email protected]. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.
