Do The Mets Really Have The Pieces To Get A Bat?
There was plenty to be discouraged about on Thursday–Michael Cuddyer‘s on-going delay to the DL, The Fraud’s Worst Press Conference Ever, an historically bad batting order and of course Clayton Kershaw’s 9-inning suffocation of the Mets on the field. With all of this going on, it is pretty easy to overlook probably the worst news of the day, which was buried in yesterday’s Daily News:
The (Mets and A’s) have exchanged names on (Ben) Zobrist, but haven’t been able to agree. With Alderson totally unwilling to move any of his young pitching stars, and Oakland so far uninterested in the likes of Brandon Nimmo, Gavin Cecchini and Michael Fulmer, this deal is going nowhere, for now. In fact, the Mets aren’t particularly close to any deal.
Uh-oh.
One of the harsh facts in this statement is that two of those names are The Fraud’s recent top draft picks. If this is indicative of the type of talent he has been bringing in, then we are probably looking at some dark days ahead. The Fraud shouldn’t and most likely won’t trade any of his young arms or Michael Conforto for a two-month rental. But it sounds like at least one opposing GM isn’t impressed by this “second wave” of Mets prospects. If that’s an industry-wide opinion, then we’re looking at one of two options: trade a young arm or continue down the path with these “one f—- seventy” batting averages.
The third option would be to sign a free agent like Yoenis Cespedes in the offseason, but who am I trying to kid?
With the Mets down 1-0 in the 7th with runners on 1st and 2nd, Mayberry waving at a breaking ball for a strikeout was the 90% more likely outcome. And so it happened…
Management talks about every game mattering, but their slow response over the infield defense and Cuddyer has cost at least a couple of games.
On the positive side, Colon was great to watch last night. The matador is back.
Cecchini appears to be a competent shortstop, which pretty much automatically makes him a viable backup for the Mets, but his ceiling isn’t very high, which is why I always thought he made a lousy #1 pick.
Nimmo at least had upside, but was also one of the biggest unknowns out there, never having played competitive high school ball, so it was an even lower-percentage play than most draft picks. I was happy to have him, but he seemed like a reach in the 1st round.
Since getting drafted, neither guy has vastly surprised, for good or bad. We didn’t strike out, but we didn’t strike gold either. I’m sure plenty of teams out there would be happy to acquire Nimmo or Cecchini as insurance and cheap filler in exchange for a major league rental who they don’t need. They’ll shop around for higher-upside guys first, of course, but if those aren’t offered, I’m sure the best of the Mets will suffice.
Not that I’m thrilled about that equation… depends on who’s out there, I guess.
I don’t really know anything about Fulmer. Young hard thrower with an injury history. Scouting report mentions a good slider and poor control.
Niese and Wheeler for Puig.
– Dodgers get a hot starter for 2015.
– Dodgers get a guy with grade A stuff for the future.
– Mets get a chance to turn around a slumping & troubled position player with among the best tools in the sport.
I’ve always liked Johnson’s hitting and his OPS is right away among the best on the team. I have not seen Uribe play in years and don’t expect either one to turn into a superstar, but prefer to see both of them getting at bats to Mayberry and Campbell.
All in all, I am on board with the Conforto promotion and these acquisitions. At least Terry Collins has some more MLB-caliber players to field. And, Johnson provides some coverage for Conforto struggling as well.
I am tired of watching the Mets play shorthanded. You need 25 major league quality ballplayers to win. Simple as that. Sure teams score shorthanded goals all the time, but they score a hell of a lot more at full strength. Watching the Mets the last few years it always seems we are 1 or 2 guys short on the bench, mainly because they carry such poor performers on their bench to save money. For a silly comparison, look at 1986’s bench players – Wally or Teufeul, HoJo, Mookie or Dykstra, Kevin Mitchell, Danny Heep, Mazzilli.
Johnson is a mediocre defender who doesn’t do anything stupid and occasionally will surprise you with a great play. Probably about par for the course, there.
Uribe, on the other hand, is one of the most underrated defenders in baseball because his body looks unathletic. In reality, his quickness, agility, arm and judgment are all top notch, and his range is better than you’d think. He’d certainly be a better shortstop than Flores, maybe better than Tejada. He’s easily the best defensive 3B on the team, and probably the best 2B as well. (That is, unless he’s declined in the last year or two. I haven’t seen him play a ton lately.)
With the Mets making a bunch of “win now” moves, I wonder if they’ll sit Flores, who’s performing terribly at the moment, in favor of more proven options. Clearly the Mets’ best Saturday lineup has no place for Wilmer in it. On the other hand, Flores has a higher offensive ceiling than the alternatives, so I could see sticking with him as long as there’s any reason to believe his last 100 ABs have been a mere slump.