Mike Carp was the only minor-leaguer added to the Mets' 40-man roster last week, which will leave the club plenty of flexibility throughout the off-season for free agents or multi-player trades. I don't think Carp has the talent to be a major league player - and neither do the Mets, apparently, who left him in Double-A Binghamton while promoting Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans from there last season. Still, he hit pretty well in the lower levels of the minors before fashioning a very good 2008 campaign at the plate for the B-Mets, so he still qualifies as a prospect.
There are now six open spots on the 40-man roster, which also leaves room for a Rule V pick next month. For most teams, this can be a under-utilized way of completing a roster. If you're not one of the huge-market teams like the Mets, it makes perfect sense to take a flyer on a seventh reliever or a defensive backup for one season to see if he can develop into a legitimate player down the road.
Too many teams - even those with no hope of winning in 2009 - still insist on giving bloated one-year deals to "proven veterans" to round out the major-league club. It's a poor use of financial resources, at the expense of taking a risk that may lead to a handsome reward. Josh Hamilton, Dan Uggla, Joakim Soria and Johan Santana are just a few of the Rule V players who have made it good in the last 10 years - why wouldn't a small-market team look at that and try to catch lightning in a bottle?
That said, this is one of the rare seasons where I think the Mets may legitimately be in a position to not even bother making a Rule V pick. After last year's bullpen woes, they cannot publicly afford to give a bullpen role to an untested minor leager unless he is absolutely dominant in Spring Training. Endy Chavez serves as the good-field, no-hit outfield backup and Argenis Reyes probably did enough last summer to have an inside track on the infield version of that role. I guess if an older live arm is sitting there when the team's selection comes around, it may be worth making a pick, but I seriously doubt he'll make the team. When was the last time the Mets featured a Rule V player on the roster for a full season anyway?
I checked with the Mets' official website and made a few other additions to the 40-man roster that I had apparently forgotten about. Since Ambiorix Burgos, Brandon Knight and Jason Vargas have actually appeared in a Mets uniform, it stands to reason that they are on the 40-man until officially released. I imagine Burgos's legal troubles could get him dumped sooner rather then later.
STARTING PITCHERS
Johan Santana*
Mike Pelfrey
John Maine (arbitration eligible)
Jon Niese (renewable)
RELIEF PITCHERS
Scott Schoeneweis
Aaron Heilman (arbitration eligible)
Pedro Feliciano (arbitration eligible)
Duaner Sanchez (arbitration eligible)
Ambiorix Burgos (arbitration eligible)
Brian Stokes (renewable)
Joe Smith (renewable)
Eddie Kunz (renewable)
Carlos Muniz (renewable)
Robert Parnell (renewable)
Brandon Knight (renewable)
Jason Vargas (renewable)
Billy Wagner (out for 2009 season)
CATCHERS
Brian Schneider
Ramon Castro
Robinson Cancel (renewable)
INFIELDERS
Carlos Delgado*
Luis Castillo
David Wright
Jose Reyes
Daniel Murphy (renewable)
Argenis Reyes (renewable)
Mike Carp (renewable)
OUTFIELDERS
Carlos Beltran
Ryan Church (arbitration eligible)
Endy Chavez
Marlon Anderson
Fernando Tatis*
Angel Pagan (renewable)
Nick Evans (renewable)
FREE AGENTS
Pedro Martinez
Moises Alou
Orlando Hernandez
Oliver Perez
Luis Ayala
Matt Wise
Tony Armas, Jr.
Damion Easley
Brady Clark
Ramon Martinez
Trot Nixon
Abraham Nunez
Ricardo Rincon
Adam Bostick (minor league free agent)
Nelson Figueroa (minor league free agent)
Gustavo Molina (minor league free agent)
* - "I'll Be the Judge" recap completed
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Blueprint
Here are my off-season plans:
- Sign one starter, and sign/trade for another to join Johan, Pelfrey amd Maine in the rotation. Bye-bye, Pedro and Ollie.
- Trevor Hoffman closes, sign a set-up man in the $3 to $5 million per year range, trade for at least one more reliever and sign a whole mess of veterans to minor-league deals to see if we can catch ligtning in a bottle. Trade Schoenweis for salary relief, give Heilman a chance to start, keep Ayala as a middle reliever and use Feliciano and Smith as specialists.
- No changes to the infield, unless the Mets can sign Mark Teixeira. Then trade Delgado ASAP.
- Sign Adam Dunn to a 5 year, $75 million to play left field. New lineup: Reyes SS, Beltran CF, Delgado/Teixeira 1B, Wright 3B, Dunn LF, Church RF, Schneider C, Castillo 2B, PITCHER Bench: Castro, Murphy, Chavez, Tatis, middle infielder.
Can it be done?
CRITICISM #1: So your going to pay Wagner who is over the hill and hurt and Hoffman who is 50? I would rather have Delgado for one year than Dunn for 5. The guy stinks in the clutch and stinks in the field. Classic "feast or famine" type player. Really bad plan. And who is he trading for??? or signing for the rotation??
Response: Wagner's contract is sunk cost, which is actually why you give a one-year deal to an old guy who can still do the job, but won't command top-dollar. Then, next year you get a guy to the be the long-term closer. Of course, the ideal way of doing things is to develop a closer from within - draft a boatload of college starters, turn one of them into a closer and get quality pitching for a fraction of the free agent cost. Dunn stinks in the field, but his numbers don't change much in the clutch. He could play one year in LF and move to first in 2010.
Who am I trading for? Don't know yet - have to talk to the other 29 GMs and find out. Who am I signing? Depends on the asking price. Can I get Derek Lowe for three years and an option, at $11 million per? Will Ben Sheets sign a deal for the same length of time at $13 million per? Can I get Brad Penny or Freddy Garcia on a one-year deal?
CRITICISM #2: The only thing I disagree with, Jack, is that you still have Castillo as part of the team. Give him and a few hot dogs to a homeless guy and call it a day.
Response: Castillo's value is so low the Mets would have to take a bath on him. It's worth giving him one more year at the bottom of the lineup, where he can walk and bunt for a base hit all he wants, before giving up entirely on him. Plus, if they don't sign Orlando Hudson, who would play there?
- Sign one starter, and sign/trade for another to join Johan, Pelfrey amd Maine in the rotation. Bye-bye, Pedro and Ollie.
- Trevor Hoffman closes, sign a set-up man in the $3 to $5 million per year range, trade for at least one more reliever and sign a whole mess of veterans to minor-league deals to see if we can catch ligtning in a bottle. Trade Schoenweis for salary relief, give Heilman a chance to start, keep Ayala as a middle reliever and use Feliciano and Smith as specialists.
- No changes to the infield, unless the Mets can sign Mark Teixeira. Then trade Delgado ASAP.
- Sign Adam Dunn to a 5 year, $75 million to play left field. New lineup: Reyes SS, Beltran CF, Delgado/Teixeira 1B, Wright 3B, Dunn LF, Church RF, Schneider C, Castillo 2B, PITCHER Bench: Castro, Murphy, Chavez, Tatis, middle infielder.
Can it be done?
CRITICISM #1: So your going to pay Wagner who is over the hill and hurt and Hoffman who is 50? I would rather have Delgado for one year than Dunn for 5. The guy stinks in the clutch and stinks in the field. Classic "feast or famine" type player. Really bad plan. And who is he trading for??? or signing for the rotation??
Response: Wagner's contract is sunk cost, which is actually why you give a one-year deal to an old guy who can still do the job, but won't command top-dollar. Then, next year you get a guy to the be the long-term closer. Of course, the ideal way of doing things is to develop a closer from within - draft a boatload of college starters, turn one of them into a closer and get quality pitching for a fraction of the free agent cost. Dunn stinks in the field, but his numbers don't change much in the clutch. He could play one year in LF and move to first in 2010.
Who am I trading for? Don't know yet - have to talk to the other 29 GMs and find out. Who am I signing? Depends on the asking price. Can I get Derek Lowe for three years and an option, at $11 million per? Will Ben Sheets sign a deal for the same length of time at $13 million per? Can I get Brad Penny or Freddy Garcia on a one-year deal?
CRITICISM #2: The only thing I disagree with, Jack, is that you still have Castillo as part of the team. Give him and a few hot dogs to a homeless guy and call it a day.
Response: Castillo's value is so low the Mets would have to take a bath on him. It's worth giving him one more year at the bottom of the lineup, where he can walk and bunt for a base hit all he wants, before giving up entirely on him. Plus, if they don't sign Orlando Hudson, who would play there?
Monday, November 10, 2008
Roster Move: Delgado's Option Picked Up
And to what do we owe this burst of creativity this morning? The boss in on the Jersey shore for a conference meeting and I am not sitting in meetings with him all day. Thank God the baseball season is played mostly in the summer, when there aren't any students here, or else this blog would truly die a slow and mostly unnoticed death.
No surprises here - I mean, why make changes to a team that's won nearly 90 games in each of the last two seasons?
STARTING PITCHERS
Johan Santana*
Mike Pelfrey
John Maine (arbitration eligible)
Jon Niese (renewable)
RELIEF PITCHERS
Scott Schoeneweis
Aaron Heilman (arbitration eligible)
Pedro Feliciano (arbitration eligible)
Duaner Sanchez (arbitration eligible)
Brian Stokes (renewable)
Joe Smith (renewable)
Eddie Kunz (renewable)
Carlos Muniz (renewable)
Robert Parnell (renewable)
CATCHERS
Brian Schneider
Ramon Castro
Robinson Cancel (renewable)
INFIELDERS
Carlos Delgado*
Luis Castillo
David Wright
Jose Reyes
Daniel Murphy (renewable)
Argenis Reyes (renewable)
OUTFIELDERS
Carlos Beltran
Ryan Church (arbitration eligible)
Endy Chavez
Marlon Anderson
Fernando Tatis*
Angel Pagan (renewable)
Nick Evans (renewable)
FREE AGENTS
Pedro Martinez
Moises Alou
Orlando Hernandez
Oliver Perez
Luis Ayala
Matt Wise
Tony Armas, Jr.
Damion Easley
Brady Clark
Ramon Martinez
Trot Nixon
Abraham Nunez
Ricardo Rincon
Ambiorix Burgos (arbitration eligible)
Jason Vargas (renewable)
Adam Bostick (minor league free agent)
Nelson Figueroa (minor league free agent)
Brandon Knight (renewable)
Gustavo Molina (minor league free agent)
Billy Wagner (out for 2009 season)
* - "I'll Be the Judge" recap completed
No surprises here - I mean, why make changes to a team that's won nearly 90 games in each of the last two seasons?
STARTING PITCHERS
Johan Santana*
Mike Pelfrey
John Maine (arbitration eligible)
Jon Niese (renewable)
RELIEF PITCHERS
Scott Schoeneweis
Aaron Heilman (arbitration eligible)
Pedro Feliciano (arbitration eligible)
Duaner Sanchez (arbitration eligible)
Brian Stokes (renewable)
Joe Smith (renewable)
Eddie Kunz (renewable)
Carlos Muniz (renewable)
Robert Parnell (renewable)
CATCHERS
Brian Schneider
Ramon Castro
Robinson Cancel (renewable)
INFIELDERS
Carlos Delgado*
Luis Castillo
David Wright
Jose Reyes
Daniel Murphy (renewable)
Argenis Reyes (renewable)
OUTFIELDERS
Carlos Beltran
Ryan Church (arbitration eligible)
Endy Chavez
Marlon Anderson
Fernando Tatis*
Angel Pagan (renewable)
Nick Evans (renewable)
FREE AGENTS
Pedro Martinez
Moises Alou
Orlando Hernandez
Oliver Perez
Luis Ayala
Matt Wise
Tony Armas, Jr.
Damion Easley
Brady Clark
Ramon Martinez
Trot Nixon
Abraham Nunez
Ricardo Rincon
Ambiorix Burgos (arbitration eligible)
Jason Vargas (renewable)
Adam Bostick (minor league free agent)
Nelson Figueroa (minor league free agent)
Brandon Knight (renewable)
Gustavo Molina (minor league free agent)
Billy Wagner (out for 2009 season)
* - "I'll Be the Judge" recap completed
I'll Be The Judge: Carlos Delgado
2008 Season: It was a tale of two seasons. At the close of business on June 30, Delgado's season line stood at .228/.307/.419 with 14 HR and 45 RBI - pathetically bad numbers for a first baseman. His season output would've been even more embarrassing if it wasn't for a career day on June 27 where Delgado hit two homers and drove in nine runs at Yankee Stadium.
Something happened on July 1, though, and Delgado suddenly began to resemble the slugger he was in the prime his career. He terrorized National League pitching from there on out and put up a .313/.396/.617 line with 24 HR in 300 at-bats the rest of the way. No one really knows why - it has been speculated that it had something to do with the firing of the former manager - but Delgado nevertheless rediscovered his stroke and put up final numbers worthy of his $16 million annual salary.
Contract Status: The Mets had a $12 million club option on Delgado that they exercised at the end of last month. As it stands now, he will be the starting first baseman in 2009.
The Verdict: Picking up Delgado's club option makes sense - keeping him does not. The final 80 games of the season were more likely that not the final death rattles of an engine that is about to blow. Delgado looked hopelessly overmatched at the plate for the first half of the season and had literally no trade value going into the All-Star Break. A season tally of 38 home runs will do wonders for your trade value, even if all signs indicate that such an impressive total will not be duplicated again.
Frankly, Delgado is emblematic of what's been wrong with the Mets over the last two years. He is another quiet clubhouse guy who cannot or will not stand up and take command of a room when this team starts to choke. He is yet another veteran getting overpaid in New York for the numbers he put up for a different ballclub. His post-July 1 production felt so much like a contract drive by a man who suddenly realized he was letting millions of dollars slip away and there's just no reason to believe that, at 37 years old, he will be able to do it again.
I like Mark Teixeira, but I am not a big advocate of committing $20 million-plus a year to him. Let's see Omar Minaya do something creative by shipping Delgado to one of the losers in the Teixeira sweepstakes for a starting pitcher or a left fielder. The free agent market for first basemen is pretty bare after Tex, but Minaya could swing another trade or take a one-year flier on the likes of Jason Giambi or even Doug Mientkiewicz. (Don't laugh about Giambi - he had a higher OPS+ than Delgado last year despite superficially inferior counting stats. That's what happens when you have 140 less at-bats.)
2009 Outlook: The Mets will keep Delgado, because Minaya does not have a creative bone in his body these days. Delgado will get off to yet another terrible start in the first half of the season before rallying somewhat in the second half. The final totals will not match up to 2008 production, but Delgado will fool enough people into believing that he can still hit that risk-averse fans will call for his return in 2010. Minaya - otherwise known as King of the Risk Averse - will concur and will probably offer Delgado a two-year, $30 million extension. I will curse a lot.
Something happened on July 1, though, and Delgado suddenly began to resemble the slugger he was in the prime his career. He terrorized National League pitching from there on out and put up a .313/.396/.617 line with 24 HR in 300 at-bats the rest of the way. No one really knows why - it has been speculated that it had something to do with the firing of the former manager - but Delgado nevertheless rediscovered his stroke and put up final numbers worthy of his $16 million annual salary.
Contract Status: The Mets had a $12 million club option on Delgado that they exercised at the end of last month. As it stands now, he will be the starting first baseman in 2009.
The Verdict: Picking up Delgado's club option makes sense - keeping him does not. The final 80 games of the season were more likely that not the final death rattles of an engine that is about to blow. Delgado looked hopelessly overmatched at the plate for the first half of the season and had literally no trade value going into the All-Star Break. A season tally of 38 home runs will do wonders for your trade value, even if all signs indicate that such an impressive total will not be duplicated again.
Frankly, Delgado is emblematic of what's been wrong with the Mets over the last two years. He is another quiet clubhouse guy who cannot or will not stand up and take command of a room when this team starts to choke. He is yet another veteran getting overpaid in New York for the numbers he put up for a different ballclub. His post-July 1 production felt so much like a contract drive by a man who suddenly realized he was letting millions of dollars slip away and there's just no reason to believe that, at 37 years old, he will be able to do it again.
I like Mark Teixeira, but I am not a big advocate of committing $20 million-plus a year to him. Let's see Omar Minaya do something creative by shipping Delgado to one of the losers in the Teixeira sweepstakes for a starting pitcher or a left fielder. The free agent market for first basemen is pretty bare after Tex, but Minaya could swing another trade or take a one-year flier on the likes of Jason Giambi or even Doug Mientkiewicz. (Don't laugh about Giambi - he had a higher OPS+ than Delgado last year despite superficially inferior counting stats. That's what happens when you have 140 less at-bats.)
2009 Outlook: The Mets will keep Delgado, because Minaya does not have a creative bone in his body these days. Delgado will get off to yet another terrible start in the first half of the season before rallying somewhat in the second half. The final totals will not match up to 2008 production, but Delgado will fool enough people into believing that he can still hit that risk-averse fans will call for his return in 2010. Minaya - otherwise known as King of the Risk Averse - will concur and will probably offer Delgado a two-year, $30 million extension. I will curse a lot.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
HahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaLOLZ!!!
"It surprised me, too," Willie Randolph said. "He had what you call a brainstorm, I guess."
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