GM Omar Minaya said this morning in Orlando that he now believes some top pitchers will be available via trade this winter -- such as the Twins' Johan Santana -- but what does that mean for the Mets? Things would be much easier if it was a better free-agent market because Minaya has plenty of cash at his disposal. A deep pool of talent-rich prospects? No so much.
You know the list. Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez are the best of the position players. Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey must be considered the only major-league ready talent from a pitching perspective. Got news for you, folks. Any combination of that group may not bring back as much as you might think. Package them all together and I'm not sure it even gets the Twins to stay on the phone.
So where does Minaya go from there? Aaron Heilman ... Carlos Beltran? Forget Jose Reyes. He's not going anywhere. Not sure how creative Minaya can get with a limited group of prospects to work with and that might eliminate the Mets from getting close to a Cy Young candidate. They really need Santana to reach free agency in another year.
Comments (12)
I agree. the Mets just don't have enough talent for the likes of Santana. They should look for younger studs in other's systems.
It's not as difficult as it seems. For a true ace like Peavy or Santana, package Ollie Perez or John Maine provided the ace agrees to extension. It's a win-win situation for everyone.
I agree, I would definitely consider including Maine in a deal for a true number 1.
Cash also can be helpful when making deals. Perhaps the Mets should be talking to the Giants about Zito or Texas about Padilla. Both teams may be seeking an opportunity to get away from the big contracts thay gave last year and may even be willing to eat some of the contract, especially if they are also getting some value in return. TX is a good fit because they maybe willing to discuss Saltalamacchia and may even consider Edinson Volquez in the right package. I don't think Torealba is a good option at catcher because he is a Type A free agent and the Met's would lose their first round pick if Colorado offered him arbitration. After the Alou incident last year, you would think the Mets would do a better job concealing there interest in free agents that require compensation.
I agree that a frontline starter is needed it will be very interesting to see how Omar goes about this. I just dont see Joe Blanton as that guy hes over weight very weird throwing motion and A's pitchers tend to struggle outside of Okland. I'm also not a fan of Contrars,Piddilla, or Sillva but the truth is that may be all we are able to aquire. I think its vitsl Omar some how makes a move to land Saltilamaccia a firstbase men of the future but a catcher for now. When Delgados gone hopfully we could slot him in there and the young catcher we signed 2 years ago will be ready Tony Perez son i believe? I could be wrong
I think the Twins will eventually trade Santana, but not until they know that Francisco Liriano has successfully come back from elbow surgery. I can see the Mets trading Heilman, but Milledge would be too steep a price. Why not just sign FA Carlos Silva? He'll be 29 when the season starts; he's an effective sinker baller with a live fastball and an innings eater.
Here's a novel idea, include Delgado in a trade with the Twins and pay most of his salary. Milledge, Delgado, Collazo, Heilman, and Anderson Hernandez. The Twins get their DH, 2nd baseman, a centerfielder, a starter, and a reliever. All on the cheap.
Maine and Perez can't be traded. I'd trade Jose before I'd trade 2 young pitchers. Especially when they are the fondation of the future rotation. It's easier to find a All-Star ss than to find solid #2 starting pitchers. Maine or Perez could even become aces in the near future.
And if anyone was wondering who'd play 1st base next year, A-Rod. He could last there for the next 10 years with no problems at all. His quick reflexes had be a god send at 1st. Ever since Keith left, the Mets have suffered at 1st base. Except for the few years of John Olerud.
The Mets need to go after pitching first and foremost.
EXCELLENT! Post, 'Dan the Mets Fan'!!
I wish that idiot d. lennon would open his eyes and see this!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the yanks include Hughes or Chamberlain with M. Cabrera the Mets will be dead in the water watching a 'REAL' franchise go after a top of the rotation starter!!!!!!!! This is all to appease the retarded fan base who insists on keeping J. Reyes!!!!!!! I read these idiotic posts, “don’t worry the Mets will never trade Reyes”, “we don’t have enough chips to trade for a front line starter like Santana”. Not only do they have the chips but by including Reyes with one of the young quality arms (Humber, Pelfrey, Mulvey) and Milledge would TRUMP ALL offers for Santana!!!!!!! Hughes or Chamberlain are more HIGHLY RATED than anyone in the entire Mets organization! While this gutless franchise goes after secondary pitchers like silva, blanton, hernandez!!!!! The Mets are and will always be a 2nd. rated team in NY. Regrettably, they're happy to be just that!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It looks like Omar and the Met brain trust need to read all the posts. The bottom line is that they have let go of many prospects for the need to win now in NY. May I remind everyone of the Kazmir trade. He is on his way to being a premier pitcher and could be in any league. You cannot keep trading the future for the now. No one is going to give up a front line pitcher for position players unless you have one that can help them now.
Great teams stay consistent with good farm systems and a prudent use of free agent money.
If Omar cannot do better than finding aging ballplayers from his past he needs to find some better scouts and go back to GM school.
How about this trade? Omar Minaya for Billy Beane. We can even throw in two players as a sweetener. Imagine what Billy could do with the budget he will inherit.
I apologize. Let's go Mets!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! One of my admirers decided to use my name for a post! Scary! Not sure what I'm apologizing for!!!!