From the Horse’s Mouth
Some of you may think I’m a horse’s arse for the cockamamie ideas I occasionally throw out there … well, all I can say is, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth … or something …
Speaking of horses, check out my answers to a quick Q & A session with Cory Humes at Seamless Baseball — a great new fantasy baseball site, btw — where I blab about Endy Chavez, a possible trade for an outfielder, and why the Mets will never sign Barry Bonds.
Feel free to comment there or here.
About the Author
A Mets fan since birth, Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Oh, and he's often a bit cranky.
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Attaboy, Joseph.
And just for the record…..in the event anyone thought Jeff Conine might actually be enticed to come out of “retirement” for the Metsies — it ain’t happenin’……in fact, it couldn’t early on.
I’d read on Rotoworld not too long ago:
Free agent Jeff Conine suffered a broken collarbone and broken ribs last month while training for October’s Ironman World Triathlon.
Conine didn’t offically retire after last season, but he is done. Now he probably wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season even if he wanted to try a comeback.
Source: Miami Herald
…………….So even if you would’ve wanted to see him — I think he might be hurtin’ a bit.
‘nutz, your timing is impeccable … there’s a Conine post scheduled to publish in a few minutes … and thanks!
You’ll never steal second with your foot on first, Janish….it’s all about the jump.
(Kidding — I’ll be on the lookout for Conine The Barbarian’s story.)
Interesting that Cory brings up trading for a LF stopgap. Seems like everyone in the baseball community and their uncle knows the Mets are in the market – which isn’t necessarily the best position to be in.
So, as an updated list, who are the top candidates for the Mets to trade for before spring training ends (if they choose not to go with Pagan/Clark/Chavez)? Here’s my top-5:
1. Jason Botts – what makes him so attractive isn’t necessarily his ability to switch-hit or play 1B as well as corner OF, but that he may be able to be obtained for virtually nothing, considering he’s out of options and likely not to make the Rangers team out of ST. Perhaps before he hits the waiver wire the Mets can offer Texas a bag of balls, or a lower-level prospect, and get exactly what they’re looking for in a temporary fill-in at LF. Not to mention, if he performs well, we’re potentially looking at a cheap replacement, locked up through 2012, for Delgado at 1B when he leaves as a free agent following this season.
2. Juan Rivera – he’s owed a little over $2M this season, and will be a free agent after ’08, so no longterm obligation here. He’s never picked up a 1B’s mitt, but is a solid OF who has a career .293 AVG vs. LHP. Could play fulltime in Alou’s absense, as he also handles RHP well (.290 lifetime), and could get big playing time considering Beltran’s fragility and Church’s potential inability to hit LHP. May even wind up getting more ABs than Alou in the longrun. The Angels OF, with the addition of Tori Hunter and emergence of Reggie Willits, is way overcrowded, and could use some pitching depth. Rivera for Jorge Sosa sounds about right to me.
3. Jay Payton – let’s continue the trend of bringing back our homegrown prospects (Joselo Diaz, Nelson Figueroa, Angel Pagan). His defense is better than Rivera’s, but his pricetag ($5M) is not. If nothing else, that should at least encourage the re-building Orioles to relinquish Payton cheaply, perhaps for a mediocre AA or AAA prospect (Adam Bostick, Mike Carp, etc).
4. Marcus Thames – if rumors of the Tigers demanding Aaron Heilman in return are true, than Omar needs to look elsewhere. But if the asking price becomes more realistic (Jorge Sosa), than Thames becomes a top target. Big power bat, great vs. LHP, plays corner OF and 1B, and has his contract expire after the season. If a temporary stopgap is all we’re looking for, Thames is the answer.
5. Mark DeRosa – yes, a name we haven’t heard much in the rumor mill, but if the Cubs acquire Brian Roberts, DeRosa becomes quite expendable. On the plus side: he plays EVERYWHERE, hits LHP well, and has plenty of starting experience. On the downside: he’s quite pricey (owed $10.25M thru 2009), and would probably require another player of the major league starter-caliber to land. We’ll have to see how the whole Roberts trade situation goes to see how desperate the Cubs get to trade DeRosa.
Also thought about:
Randy Winn – Giants
Jason Repko – Dodgers
Matt Murton – Cubs
Xavier Nady – Pirates
Sammy Sosa
good list and good notes, ‘dude.
ID, considering the dearth of 1Bs in the system, I’m not terribly sure that I’d want to let Mike Carp go for Payton. Bostick might be doable.
Another name perhaps worth mentioning is Reed Johnson. The Blue Jays, like the Angels, have an overcrowded OF, and are now in search of bullpen help, as reliever Casey Janssen has gone down this spring with a torn labrum. The Jays are also dealing with BJ Ryan on the comeback trail from TJ surgery. Johnson’s signed thru 2009, and wouldn’t only give the Mets a good injury replacement/platoon partner for Alou and Church this year, but might keep LF warm until F-Mart is ready to take over the position in 2010. He also has a career average over .300 vs. LHP. If the Jays are willing to settle for Sosa, Schoeneweis, or one of our upstart ST invites, we could have ourselves a deal.
I saw MetsBlog link to the rumors on Reed Johnson … I don’t know … isn’t he just a slightly younger version of Brady Clark (except he strikes out more often)?
I don’t view Johnson as an upgrade over Angel Pagan and/or Clark.
Alright. I’m done with stirring the Baldelli pot. But the point I was working on remains the same. In fact in some ways I think the I-dude is on the some point.
Even with moises out….(a reality which surpasses 2008 and extends into the former eras of burnitz and Cliff….who were out more than in)…Ther mets situation is not dire. Right now we have Pagan, Church, Endy, Clark and F-mart to play RF-LF with Easley and Marlon as possibles. Id go into the season with that.
BUT the fact is no one is really pencilled in to RF or LF beyond this yr. F-mart is knocking but realistically we dont want to rush him. As such a young outfielder would be nice as a 4th OFer option who could grow into a a regular. I dont see Reed Johnson as that and I hardly think Lofton, or Sanders make sense. Botts and Thames might.