photo taken from disgruntledmetsfan.com
The New York Mets are already off to a bad start for the 2010 season as pitchers and catchers haven’t even met up for spring training. Carlos Beltran had surgery on his right knee against the team wishes. Scott Boras, Beltran’s agent said “The surgery was necessary”. Beltran will now be out for the first 3-4 months of the season putting more pressure on Omar Minaya to sign a top-tier free agent pitcher such as Ben Sheets. Let’s see how it goes.
photo taken from atomicsportsmedia.com
So the New York Mets really haven’t made any big splashes this offseason like they said they would. The Mets, looking to rebound from their 92 loss, are telling every Mets fan out there to remain patient. So far they have made contract offers to Jason Bay, Bengie Molina, Kelvim Escobar and it looks like they’re not going to be able to find a trade out there for Luis Castillo. So what should they do now? As Jeff Franceour stated yesterday on SNY’s Daily News Live, “Instead of signing one player for $180 million, spread it around and sign 3 or 4 quality players because we’re not one player away, we’re a few players away”.
They should be looking to sign Jason Bay, Jason Marquis, Ben Sheets, Mark DeRosa and another southpaw reliever to go alongside Pedro Feliciano. I’ll also add Bengie Molina to the mix since the Mets are intent on obtaining him and this is also assuming that Carlos Delgado will be resigned. They would probably be able to obtain all the players I just listed for the same price or cheaper then they would have if they choose to go after Matt Holliday. We have to realize that when healthy, this team could be dangerous contenders. They can’t play another year where their sparkplug shortstop, gold glove centerfielder, power hitting first baseman and two out of five starters are always on the DL. However, now that Roy Halladay is on the Phillies, it’s really putting pressure on Omar Minaya to make a move. As Omar put it, we have no choice but to “Be patient”.
photo taken from mlblogs.com
As the Winter Meetings have concluded in Indianapolis, the New York Mets have made their offers. They offered left fielder Jason Bay a four year $65 million offer and a two year offer for catcher Bengie Molina. The Mets feel Jason Bay is a pull hitter suited for the Citifield deep left field dimensions and a cheaper alternative to Matt Holliday. He’s still favored to return to the Boston Red Sox, but at least the Mets made him an offer and didn’t just sit back doing nothing at these winter meetings. Bengie Molina is supposedly good with a pitching staff and an upgrade behind the plate from 2009. Bengie Molina will be the third cathcer the Mets have signed during these meetings (Chris Coste, Henry Blanco). Lets just see if Omar Minaya is willing to dish out the money to sign some of the big names in the market such as left fielder Matt Holliday or ace pitcher John Lackey.
photo taken from wordpress.com
As the winter meetings progress in Indianapolis, the price among free agent pitchers seems to be increasing. You would think that the price demands would decrease due to the economy, but it is quite the opposite. Brad Penny, who was released by the Boston Red Sox last year received a one year $7.5 million contract from the St. Louis Cardinals. Randy Wolf was offered a three year $30 million contract by the Milwaukee Brewers.
With rising demands one would think the market for a top tier pitcher such as John Lackey would have to be comparable to the AJ Burnett contract (5 year $82.5 million) in order to obtain his services. John Lackey is the only pitcher on the free agent market where the New York Mets seem willing to go past three years. In an ideal world the Mets will make a quick impact in signing John Lackey to appease the fans, but Omar Minaya will remain patient and not just make a deal for the sake of making one.
photo taken from babble.com
The Detroit Tigers are among the teams pursuing Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre during the winter meetings according to foxsports.com. The Dodgers want a reliable pitcher in exchange for Juan Pierre. Will they be able to get this?
With $18.5 million left on his guarantee, a swap of similar contracts would be ideal. But it’s doubtful that Los Angeles would view any of Detroit’s expensive, oft-injured starters — Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis — as an attractive option. So, in order for the Tigers and Dodgers to strike a deal, a third team would probably need to be involved. (OMAR MINAYA WAKE UP!!!)
Detroit would love to trade switch hitter Carlos Guillen for a pitcher, then ship the pitcher to the Dodgers for Pierre. This would be a perfect situation for the New York Mets to get involved in. The Dodgers have showed interest in Luis Castillo and the Mets have been searching viable options for the hole at 1st base.
Ideal trade:
Mets receive: Carlos Guillen, 2 prospects
Tigers Receive: Juan Pierre, Tim Redding, prospect
Dodgers Receive: Luis Castillo,Nate Robertson/Dontrelle Willis, prospect
One can only hope the Mets can find a way to acquire 2B Orlando Hudson and get rid of Luis Castillo.
photo taken from cw11.com
According to Metsblog.com, the New York Mets are looking to trade Luis Castillo. This could possibly be the most important move this offseason Omar Minaya could make. Trading Castillo would enable the Mets to sign Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson. A few teams have contacted Omar Minaya regarding Luis Castillo including the Dodgers and Cubs. If Omar has an offer for Luis Castillo, he should take it. Orlando Hudson WANTS to be a Met.
After trading Luis Castillo, the Mets are looking for power from First Base or Left Field. When talking about First Base, the Mets most viable options are either to resign Carlos Delgado for a 1 year deal or continue to allow Daniel Murphy to play at first until Ike Davis is promoted to the Majors. In Left Field, like many other teams the Mets are looking to sign Matt Holliday. Matt Holliday would be a great fit in Flushing, it just all comes down to the dollar figures. With the additions of Matt Holliday, Orlando Hudson, and a solid pitcher that could throw 200+ innings (Cough Cough John Lackey), this would definetly make the Mets the favorite to win the National League.
I just got one message for Omar: “DONT SIGN BENGIE MOLINA!!!” Omar apparently has a man crush on Molina and he would be a terrible fit in a Mets uniform, not to mention he probably wouldn’t even fit into the largest Met uniform. He’s slow, he’s fat, he’s 36 years old and he’s a free swinger. We already have one of those in Jeff Franceour but at least he’s young and has plays hard at all times. Molina is a terrible option Omar. Don’t do it Omar!!!
