What's Cookin? - The Mets
A little hot stove baseball report before free agency kicks off.
Baseball free agency will be kicking off shortly, and there could be close to 200 free agents available. Not that this season has many great free agents, but there are some that will draw significant interest. But, I’m not here to list those players one-by-one and discuss their strengths. I am going to go team-by-team and talk about what they need, and who might fit the bill.
New York Mets – The Mets need a leftfielder, second baseman and some pitching help. Injuries to the pitching staff ruined their chances at making the World Series and they still came within an inning of winning the National League. First and foremost, the Mets need some starting pitching. Don’t expect to see Steve Trachsel back. Pedro Martinez won’t even throw off a mound until June and Orlando Hernandez and Tom Glavine are free agents. That leaves John Maine, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfry, Brian Bannister, Phillip Humber and Dave Williams as potential starters. Clearly those guys won’t be making up the rotation come April. But, expect two of that group to be in the rotation when the season starts. My hunch is John Maine and Oliver Perez will be the guys after some great postseason work. Pelfry, Bannister and Humber are all young and should start the season at Triple A. Williams could be a long man out of the pen, a piece of a trade or another Triple A guy available for injuries.
The Mets are looking at resigning Tom Glavine to a two-year deal. It makes sense. Despite being 40, he hasn’t been on the DL and pitched really well the past season and a half. Count him in for the rotation next season. That makes three. El Duque was a great clubhouse guy last season and pitched well (9-7, 4.09 ERA) after joining the Mets. He should draw a lot of interest, but I think he’ll be back with a one-year deal. That makes four.
The fifth starter will come from outside the organization. Chances are it will be a moderately- to high-priced free agent. Barry Zito is a possibility to be reunited with pitching coach Rick Peterson. Daisuke Matsuzaka is another possibility. Bids in the posting process are due to the Commissioner’s office by Wednesday afternoon. The Mets will certainly make a bid, but I’m not so sure they will top the Yankees bid. My guess is that they won’t. Another possibility as reported by the New York Post recently is Mike Mussina. Mussina is a free agent and if the Yankees don’t resign him, he could be in the Mets rotation as he is unlikely to stray far from the east coast. A move to Queens could make sense. He’ll probably cost the Mets two years at $25 million or so.
Now, what the Mets should do is make a play for Dontrelle Willis. Willis will get at least $8 million in arbitration this year and for the right price can be had. The Marlins payroll would probably jump a little too much for cheapskate owner Jeffrey Loria. A package of Aaron Heilman, Lastings Milledge and maybe one more mid-tier prospect would probably do the trick. If the Mets can pull this off, that should be option number one! The Matsuzaka situation will clear itself up just before free agency, so we’ll comeback to the number five starter question after that. We’ll cover the bullpen at a later time as well.
As for left field and second base, well they could sign Alfonso Soriano and play him at either. He is average defensively at both positions, but would provide a huge boost to an already potent lineup. Picture him batting fifth between Carlos Delgado and David Wright. That’d be pretty damn good. There are some cheaper options than Soriano (actually just about anyone in free agency would be a cheaper option). Moises Alou is another option – a one-year stop gap until Milledge is ready for full-time duty.
Julio Lugo is the name mentioned most for second base. Adam Kennedy would be a solid option as well. A career .280 hitter, he could be a solid bat in the eight hole and he plays solid defense. New York-native Rich Aurilia could be another option on a one-year deal.
The bet – Moises Alou signs a one-year deal to hold the position for Milledge, with Endy Chavez getting plenty of playing time in the outfield. And, for second base, Julio Lugo probably ends up there.
Likely 2007 Starters
C – Paul LoDuca
1B – Carlos Delgado
2B – Julio Lugo
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
LF – Moises Alou
CF – Carlos Beltran
RF – Shawn Green
SP – Tom Glavine
SP – Orlando Hernandez
SP – Barry Zito
SP – Oliver Perez
SP – John Maine
CL – Billy Wagner
Ok, this one got really long, so I am going to break these up into a few posts.
Baseball free agency will be kicking off shortly, and there could be close to 200 free agents available. Not that this season has many great free agents, but there are some that will draw significant interest. But, I’m not here to list those players one-by-one and discuss their strengths. I am going to go team-by-team and talk about what they need, and who might fit the bill.
New York Mets – The Mets need a leftfielder, second baseman and some pitching help. Injuries to the pitching staff ruined their chances at making the World Series and they still came within an inning of winning the National League. First and foremost, the Mets need some starting pitching. Don’t expect to see Steve Trachsel back. Pedro Martinez won’t even throw off a mound until June and Orlando Hernandez and Tom Glavine are free agents. That leaves John Maine, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfry, Brian Bannister, Phillip Humber and Dave Williams as potential starters. Clearly those guys won’t be making up the rotation come April. But, expect two of that group to be in the rotation when the season starts. My hunch is John Maine and Oliver Perez will be the guys after some great postseason work. Pelfry, Bannister and Humber are all young and should start the season at Triple A. Williams could be a long man out of the pen, a piece of a trade or another Triple A guy available for injuries.
The Mets are looking at resigning Tom Glavine to a two-year deal. It makes sense. Despite being 40, he hasn’t been on the DL and pitched really well the past season and a half. Count him in for the rotation next season. That makes three. El Duque was a great clubhouse guy last season and pitched well (9-7, 4.09 ERA) after joining the Mets. He should draw a lot of interest, but I think he’ll be back with a one-year deal. That makes four.
The fifth starter will come from outside the organization. Chances are it will be a moderately- to high-priced free agent. Barry Zito is a possibility to be reunited with pitching coach Rick Peterson. Daisuke Matsuzaka is another possibility. Bids in the posting process are due to the Commissioner’s office by Wednesday afternoon. The Mets will certainly make a bid, but I’m not so sure they will top the Yankees bid. My guess is that they won’t. Another possibility as reported by the New York Post recently is Mike Mussina. Mussina is a free agent and if the Yankees don’t resign him, he could be in the Mets rotation as he is unlikely to stray far from the east coast. A move to Queens could make sense. He’ll probably cost the Mets two years at $25 million or so.
Now, what the Mets should do is make a play for Dontrelle Willis. Willis will get at least $8 million in arbitration this year and for the right price can be had. The Marlins payroll would probably jump a little too much for cheapskate owner Jeffrey Loria. A package of Aaron Heilman, Lastings Milledge and maybe one more mid-tier prospect would probably do the trick. If the Mets can pull this off, that should be option number one! The Matsuzaka situation will clear itself up just before free agency, so we’ll comeback to the number five starter question after that. We’ll cover the bullpen at a later time as well.
As for left field and second base, well they could sign Alfonso Soriano and play him at either. He is average defensively at both positions, but would provide a huge boost to an already potent lineup. Picture him batting fifth between Carlos Delgado and David Wright. That’d be pretty damn good. There are some cheaper options than Soriano (actually just about anyone in free agency would be a cheaper option). Moises Alou is another option – a one-year stop gap until Milledge is ready for full-time duty.
Julio Lugo is the name mentioned most for second base. Adam Kennedy would be a solid option as well. A career .280 hitter, he could be a solid bat in the eight hole and he plays solid defense. New York-native Rich Aurilia could be another option on a one-year deal.
The bet – Moises Alou signs a one-year deal to hold the position for Milledge, with Endy Chavez getting plenty of playing time in the outfield. And, for second base, Julio Lugo probably ends up there.
Likely 2007 Starters
C – Paul LoDuca
1B – Carlos Delgado
2B – Julio Lugo
SS – Jose Reyes
3B – David Wright
LF – Moises Alou
CF – Carlos Beltran
RF – Shawn Green
SP – Tom Glavine
SP – Orlando Hernandez
SP – Barry Zito
SP – Oliver Perez
SP – John Maine
CL – Billy Wagner
Ok, this one got really long, so I am going to break these up into a few posts.
posted by Steve Bernard @ 7:05 PM
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