The trade deadline has arrived. What that means is that it’s the time of the year when some smart moves are made by some teams along with a whole lot of bonehead moves by the rest. With the Mets losing the second game of the double header tonight, they now sit about 6 games out of the Wild Card and about 10 games out of the division. The Mets have a couple of good prospects at the lower levels, but overall, a system that is far from stacked with talent.
Translation: There is no quick fix.
The economic landscape now dictates a high priority on prospects and young players with minimal service time, to keep cost down, even for big market teams. The Mets have to hold onto as much as they can, in terms of their farm system, or we as Mets fans will be forced to repeat the same problems year after year. Prospects like Fernando Martinez, Jon Neise, Brad Holt, Jennry Mejia, Ike Davis and Wilmer Flores are very valuable to lots of teams … and those teams will try to swipe them for a player making lots of money. The Mets need to be sensible. We as fans need to stop being so impatient, stop with the instant gratification, and start looking at the big picture.
Roy Halladay would be really nice, but at what cost? When the Mets have to pay him Santana money to keep him on the team in a year, after giving up 4 quality arms for him, will it be worth it? Will he guarantee anything? Probably not. Same goes for Victor Martinez or any other high priority player that is being shopped right now. Besides, there is a guy named John Lackey out there next year, who can be signed for money only.
To add to that, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus wrote this concerning Carlos Beltran:
Carlos Beltran is coming back. That was always the plan, but how he’s going about it speaks a lot to where he might be in the future. Beltran has decided to accelerate the pace of his rehab, hoping to come back towards mid-August, matching up closely with Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Billy Wagner. That’s an infusion of talent no team will be able to match with trades, but it might also be too little, too late as the Mets continue to slip. Beltran made the informed decision based on the near certainty that he will need microfracture surgery and could miss much, if not all, of the 2010 season. He’ll do everything he can to avoid it, but that’s the worst case scenario and he’s willing to give it a go. His success will be based on pain tolerance and management, as well as Jerry Manuel’s ability to spot him in and out. It’s unlikely he can play CF, though no one has said much about where he will actually play. It’s a calculated risk that Beltran and the Mets are taking. Given the success – or lack thereof – with microfracture in MLB, it’s a big risk and perhaps Beltran’s last hurrah.
This is what makes Fernando Martinez invaluable right now. The Mets simply can not afford to trade him, since he’ll be the only major league ready outfielder who can cover center field for Beltran. If Beltran is out next year and there is no Fernando Martinez, I really don’t want to live with the likes of Angel Pagan or Jeremy Reed playing center full time. There will be no other money to pay another free agent for that position, since any trade would dictate that a player acquired, like Halladay, would be due that money. There will also be lots of other holes to fill. So that’s the dilemma. The Mets should just accept where they are in the standings and not do anything too risky.
Make a smart trade.
The Mets should look to do a trade before the deadline ends. They should try hard to move Luis Castillo. His value is as high as it can be right now, and won’t get any higher. This is a chance to move his contract and the Mets should try to do it. They can even net a mid level prospect or two for him. Yes, he’s helping the team win right now, but how long will that last? Is Luis Castillo really a difference maker? I don’t think he is. The Mets would be better off to part ways with him if they can get another team to pick up the remaining contract, and actually get something in return worth more than a bag of balls.
They have players to fill in at second base, and when Delgado returns, Daniel Murphy can slide over to second base full time. Yes, Daniel Murphy. The same Daniel Murphy that no one had any confidence in to play first base. The same Daniel Murphy who’s playing first base with the comfort of a veteran. Murph has shown enough now that he can play the infield, and he is an aggressive first baseman with good aptitude. That will translate perfectly at 2nd base, not to mention his bat, which is more of a 2nd baseman’s bat.
You can then figure out what to do at 1st base next season. The Mets can either fill it from within, sign a free agent, or move Murphy back to first when Delgado is gone, if they choose to sign Orlando Hudson at 2nd base.
The moral of the story is … be conservative, be smart.
By the way, the Mets lost that 2nd game of the double header tonight, because of this:
So for all you sunshiners who are banking on a miracle, you can blame it on Charlie Samuels for dressing our Mets in these ugly, charred looking jersey’s that look like they came out of a rhinoceros’ burning asshole. The Mets equipment manager seems to think they bring good luck and thought it was a good idea to take the white jersey’s and blue caps away from the team after they won 3 straight at home with them.
Well tonight they lost with the disgusting black. I hope he took note. Rant over.
charred looking jersey’s that look like they came out of a rhinoceros’ burning asshole.
LOL
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