With a very important offseason coming up for the New York Mets, I feel the need to weigh in on some of the rumors and free agents. I will also decide whether, as a Met fan, I want that player next year:
K-Rod: Let’s see. You’re coming off a year in which your bullpen was amongst the worst in the league, and basically destroyed your season. Your closer is out for 2009. You seemingly have enough money to do anything you want. The closer who just set the single-season saves record is available, and the Angels don’t seem too excited to keep him. He would play in New York. Doesn’t it seem a bit too obvious? Maybe a little too obvious to work.
Final Decision: No.
Mark Teixeira: Big Tex is going to make one team very happy for the next six or so years. He will be 29 fo the majority of next season, and he still probably hasn’t seen his best season. A switch-hitting middle-of-the-lineup hitter, as well as a Gold Glover at 1B? Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, not so fast. The Mets have Carlos Delgado at first, and it will only cost them a net of $8 million to bring him back for next year. Plus, New York has a ton of other holes to fill, and investing $150-200 million on Tex right now just doesn’t make any sense. He will end up in New York, but with the Yankees.
Final Decision: No.
C.C. Sabathia: The more I think about this Free Agent class, the more worried I get. There are some good players out there, but most of them just don’t make sense for the Mets. Sabathia is another. We saw what he can do in the second half of this season (specifically down the stretch) with the Brewers. Well, we also saw what he could do when he won the Cy Young in 2007. He is a proven work horse. A knock on him is his playoff performances his last two years, which have been awful. From a Mets point of view, though, you’re not thinking playoff performances. September is the new October in Flushing. He will run upwards of $180 million, meaning the Mets will have well over $300 million invested in their top two starters (both lefty). I hate the idea of having two lefties at the top of a rotation. If they sign Sabathia, it means they will likely not sign another starter, meaning Jon Niese could be the 5th starter. So, that would basically be three lefties in a row in the rotation, when it goes Niese – Santana – Sabathia. . Jerry Manuel shifted his rotation around this year so that Oliver Perez and Johan Santana would not pitch back-to-back, because he felt it gives the other team an advantage to see two straight lefties. Imagine three straight? Omar: Save the money, continue to develop Maine, Pelfrey and Niese, and get a cheaper, right-handed solution.
Final Decision: No.
Derek Lowe: Well, hello, cheaper, right-handed solution. Derek Lowe is a must-get for the New York Mets. He is a sinkerball pitcher, and aside from pitching every fifth day, can really aid fellow sinkerballer Mike Pelfrey. Lowe will be relatively cheap (considering he won’t fetch much more than Oliver Perez, somehow), and has definitely pitched his share of big games. You can pretty much count on 200 IP, anywhere from 12-16 wins, and an ERA in the 3.30 – 3.70 range.
Final Decision: Yes.
Manny Ramirez: Could you imagine a Mets lineup that started Reyes, Beltran, Wright, Manny, Delgado? You can switch the 3-4-5 however you like, but you get the point. Beltran looked very comfortable in the two-hole in the last two games of this season. But could you imagine paying a 36-year-old Manny for six seasons? His act will wear thin over that time. Two or three-year deal? Absolutely. Iconic money? No sir.
Final Decision: No.
Orlando Hudson: This is an interesting proposition. Supposedly, the Mets will not sign Orlando Hudson if they can’t trade Luis Castillo. And the only way to trade Castillo would be to take on another bad contract (i.e. Jose Guillen. Um, if the Royals would do Guillen for Castillo, why haven’t the Mets made that move already?? Guillen would fill the need of right-handed power bat and corner outfielder.) I, personally, am not huge on the O-Dog. He hits around .290, but it is an empty .290. He is one of the best in the league defensively, but I would rather sacrifice some defense for an offensive threat. That is where Brian Roberts comes in. Roberts is one of the most underrated second-basemen in the league. He steals bases and hits for a quality slugging percentage, all while playing an admirable second-base. The Orioles continue to make him seem available while the two sides can’t agree on a long-term deal. Only problem: I love Beltran in the two-hole in the order, and that is where Roberts would be best-suited. It is still a problem you work around.
Final Decision: No to the Dog. Yes to B-Rob.
Those are the biggest name free agents likely to be considered by the Mets. Brian Fuentes will also be linked to the Mets, and I think they should go ahead and get him. Have him close, have him pitch the eighth-inning, whatever. Just get him.
Oliver Perez must go. I love Ollie, as most Mets fans do. But in game 162, after he got pulled, he was visibly upset with Manuel’s decision. Instead of pouting like he may have done in the past, he got it together, and sat by the dugout rail the whole game, the team’s number one cheerleader. That shows me that he has matured since becoming a Met, something that is very good to see. However, it also shows me that his inconsistency on the mound isn’t linked to his immaturity, like everyone though. It is just who he is, and who he will always be. Truth is, when you are that big and lanky, with that crazy of a wind-up, it is just too difficult to perfectly duplicate your throwing motion every time.
The Mets should do everything in their power to acquire Jake Peavy, even if it means guaranteeing his $22 million club option for 2013. To have a player who has a 2013 option, means you have a player under contract until 2013!!! GET HIM.
Anything else? Let me know.
