Friday, October 23, 2009

Alternate Holliday Options

If the Mets decide not to sign Holliday, what should they do?
  • Alfonso Soriano may be on the chopping block and although his contract is quite large, the Mets may not have to give up much if they are willing to pay for most of the contract. Outside of this past year, he has been very productive and has actually been a good LF.
  • Bringing Mike Cameron back would be nice if it's for a low price. He's a solid hitter who can hit 15-20 HRs, get on base at a decent clip, and run the bases well. This is all not to mention he is still a good outfielder despite his age. The only problem with getting Cameron would be the need to upgrade another position significantly offensively.
  • A Prince Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez trade would be fantastic although it would wipe out the Mets farm system. Fielder has immense power and has improved on defense so he is nearly exactly average at 1B. Gonzalez is a slightly worse hitter and slightly better fielder. I would prefer Fielder over Gonzalez. The only people I'd be hesitant to give up in a trade for either would be Mejia, Flores and F-Mart. Would a Davis, Holt, Niese, Parnell deal get the job done? Possibly. We'd probably have to give up F-Mart and our farm system would be depleted.
  • A Fielder trade and Mike Cameron signing would be very nice and we'd have enough available money to sign Lackey. Would he be worth it? He is an good pitcher and has done well in big games but he does come with a bit of an injury history and at 30 years old would he be worth more than a 4 year deal?

Monday, October 19, 2009

I've Been Thinking...

I've been thinking about the last post about my offseason moves and I've changed my mind on several things. Here is my updated offseason semi-realistic wish list along with contractual agreements for the year.
Right now the Mets roster looks like this:

C - Omir Santos - $400K
C - Josh Thole - $400K
1B - Daniel Murphy - $401K
2B - Luis Castillo - $6MM
SS - Jose Reyes - $9MM
3B - David Wright - $10MM
IF - Anderson Hernandez - $400K
LF - Angel Pagan - $575K+
CF - Carlos Beltran - $18.5MM
RF - Jeff Francoeur - $3.375MM+
OF - Cory Sullivan - $600K+
OF - Jeremy Reed - $925K+
1B/LF - Nick Evans - $403K or OF - Fernando Martinez - $400K

SP - Johan Santana - $21MM
SP - John Maine - $2.6MM+
SP - Mike Pelfrey - $1.3125MM
SP - Oliver Perez - $12MM
SP - Jon Niese - $400K

Other candidates: Fernando Nieve - $414K, Tim Redding - $2.25MM+

RP - Francisco Rodriguez - $11.5MM
RP - Pedro Feliciano - $1.6125MM+
RP - Sean Green - $471K+
RP - Pat Misch - $402K
RP - Bobby Parnell - $400K
RP - Brian Stokes - $410K
RP - Carlos Muniz - $402K

Other commitments: J.J. Putz - $1MM buyout

If they keep their payroll about the same as this year (approx. $140 mil.) they should have about $25-$30 million to spend. That also doesn't include the fact that the Wilpons said that $ wouldn't be an issue but who knows with them.

Here is what I would do:

  • Keep Castillo, Reyes, Wright, and Beltran at their positions.
  • Don't pick up Putz's option but resign him to a deal that could be worth up to about $8 million with incentives.
  • Keep F-Mart, Niese, Holt, Mejia, and Flores.
  • Trade some mid-level prospects for either Ricky Nolasco or Aaron Harang, both coming off of poor, unlucky, and injury riddled years. Both are good pitchers who could benefit from a change of scenery, particularly Harang who would benefit from the Mets' strong outfield defense and large dimensions.
  • Trade some minor leaguers for Chris Ianetta if he's available. If not sign Gregg Zaun to a one year deal with Santos as the backup. Also try to bring Brian Schnider back on a minor league deal.
  • Sign Mark Prior, Chad Cordero, and Jorge Julio to minor league contracts.
  • Sign (preferrably) Erik Bedard, Ben Sheets, or Rich Harden to a one year incentive based deal.
  • Put Parnell back in the bullpen.
  • Keep Nieve and Figueroa in the minors as back up SPs.
  • Send Reed an Sullivan to minors or non tender them.
  • Use Carter, Evans, Valdez (who I would resign), and Pagan as the back ups.
  • Sign Holliday to a 4 or 5 year deal at around $20 million/year and I'd be willing to go as high as 6 years at $115 mil.
  • If there's enough money sign Delgado to a one year incentive based deal while turning Murphy into a super-sub. If there's not enough $ then...
  • Keep Murphy at first. He was the second best defensive 1b in the NL this year according to UZR. He is developing as a hitter and had a solid second half. I'm not saying he'll end up like him BUT Tino Martinez's rookie season and Murphy's are nearly identical.
  • Possibly bring Hank Blalock to platoon with Murphy. He has legitimate power and is a solid 1b (even if it is a small sample size) coming off of a unlucky season.