Hitman asks:
With this hoopla going on right now with David Wright and the contract negotiations (Wright being dissatisfied by the contract offer in length & value), and Giancarlo Stanton being very outspoken against Miami, wouldn’t it be smart to package Wright along with Johan Santana (eat about 60% of his contract), Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia, and Rafael Montero in order to land Giancarlo? Strike while the iron is hot, so to speak? Murph can briefly play 3rd until Flores is ready (or go get themselves another short term 3rd baseman like Polanco for one year), followed up by trading for Asdrubal Cabrera from Cleveland, either sliding Tejada to 2nd base or putting Cabrera at 2nd base.
XtreemIcon replies:
Hitman, I’ll give you my short answer, then my long answer. My short answer is that it would be very smart to do this. I’d drive each and every one of them to the airport myself. And carry their luggage. The long answer is that it’s so smart for the Mets that I don’t see the Marlins accepting this deal. The Marlins just dumped about every player on their team making any kind of money, and Wright’s about to get paid. In addition, 40% of Santana’s contract is still around $10 million for 2013 (and the same for 2014 if they exercise the option, though with the Marlins, that doesn’t seem likely).
I can definitely see the Fish unloading Stanton and retooling, and I’m sure they’d have no problem trading him within the division, but that would likely up the cost. Wheeler, Familia and Montero are a good start, but instead of Wright and Santana, it would have to be more minor leaguers making zilch.
The question now is what else the Marlins would want from the Mets. Their mlb.com Prospect Watch lists two of their top three prospects as outfielders with a 2013 ETA (Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick) and their eighth-best prospect, Marcell Ozuna, is an outfielder with a 2014 ETA. That puts Juan Pierre’s one-year deal in perspective. Therefore, they’d likely not be interested in Matt Den Dekker. Adeiny Hechavarria, acquired from the Blue Jays, will go into Spring Training with the job to lose at shortstop, and with Zack Cox and Matt Dominguez both with 2013 ETAs, they’re set at third base, likely making Wilmer Flores redundant (and Wright, too, for that matter). They also have a second baseman and a first baseman with a 2014 ETA in their top-20. They don’t seem to be in a dire need to add position players close to the bigs. If you were the Marlins, would you trade Stanton for Wheeler, Familia, Montero and some kids only in A-Ball?
A more likely scenario, from the Marlins standpoint, is Wheeler, Familia, Montero, Tapia and Puello for Stanton, a lower-level pitcher and, say, their second base prospect Noah Perio. Here’s Perio’s scouting report from the Prospect Watch:
“A football standout in high school, Perio acquitted himself well in his first full season in 2011. The 2009 draftee showed a good bat from the left side of the plate at Greensboro that season, but his numbers tapered considerably in 2012 at Jupiter. A good athlete, he’s an above-average runner and has spent a good amount of time in the leadoff spot. To stay atop the lineup, he’ll need to improve his plate discipline, but he makes good, consistent contact. He’s still learning how to play second but should be fine there long term and even has the arm to help out at short if needed.”
That doesn’t seem like it’s worth it now from the Mets standpoint. You’re right to assume the Mets would have to overpay for Stanton, Hitman, but the package you suggested wouldn’t appeal to the Marlins based on financials and positional need.
