Comments on: Option(s) on Carlos Delgado

By: isuzudude

isuzudude — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:55:32 +0000

This is coming from Ken Rosenthal’s column on foxsports.com, so take it for whatever it’s worth:
“The Yankees shouldn’t be confident of landing right-hander Derek Lowe. Lowe, like any dutiful free agent, will entertain bids from both New York teams, but teammates say he has little interest in playing for the Mets or Yankees. Some rival clubs believe that Lowe wants to stay on the west coast.”
Lowe would be an ideal addition to the rotation (durable, innings eater, successful, a part of many winning teams, etc), but Omar will likely have to look elsewhere. On a sidenote, it appears the Padres are putting Jake Peavy on the trade block (again). I wonder what it would take to pry him away from San Diego…

By: joe

joe — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:55:37 +0000

Good points Schmidt. Though I like Branch Rickey’s old credo — it’s better to trade a guy one year too early than one year too late.

Realistically, the Mets aren’t sending Delgado anywhere. It’ll be much easier to bring him back and not have to worry about first base next year. Omar has a hard enough time trying to “find a match”; he doesn’t need any extra trades to make.

By: Schmidtxc

Schmidtxc — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:42:40 +0000

I don’t think it’s time to ship delgado out quite yet. Picking up his option to trade him will probably be seen negatively by potential free agents. At this point, carlos would probably be able to get a multi-year deal somewhere, I’m sure players would rather be released than signed and traded against their wishes. In a place like florida where you aren’t recruiting free agents, this wouldn’t be a factor, but the mets are always going to have money to spend on free agency. I think you do need to take this into account, espescially if you’re looking to sign guys this offseason. He had a strong season this year, and should still get the team a few draft choices when he leaves at the end of next season, so I don’t see the down side of keeping him around. That also lets you keep evans and carp working in the minors (their defense could definately use it). If at mid-season we are struggling, trade carlos then…I’m sure there will be someone who needs a 1st baseman/dh. Even if he is struggling, his 2nd half bounceback after the willie firing should convince someone that a change of scenery will get him back on track. If we’re going to have aging vets on the roster, I’d rather have them on 1 year deals than bloated multi year ones…for once one of these looks like a great deal for the mets.

By: Timo

Timo — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:24:21 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with you Joey. I think we should sell high with CD. Our youngsters impressed me. We could definitely get some value back.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:28:38 +0000

The Mets didn’t want to trade away Evans, Carp, Murphy, etc. for Manny Ramirez or Jason Bay. If those three are that good, why not give them a crack at 1B in 2009?

Murphy will be 24 years old, Evans and Carp 23 — one of them has to be at least close to being MLB ready, and most people think Murphy is already there. I don’t think it’s necessary (nor possible) to get a younger version of Delgado if you fortify the club with a solid starter or solid reliever — I’m talking a Huston Street kind of guy (I know the A’s won’t make the deal, it’s an example). The reason the Mets need Delgado is because they needed to score more runs to make up for their lack of pitching quality.

By: isuzudude

isuzudude — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:12:26 +0000

Certainly, the Mets should be considering the possibility of dealing Delgado if they re-sign him. Even for as strong as he finished 2008, it’s very hard to imagine Delgado repeating, or even coming close, to his awesome stats of 2008. However, that’s not to stop some other team desperate for offense in thinking Delgado can keep it up.

I refuse to buy into the mentality that the Mets need to rebuild. With Pedro and Ollie likely signing elsewhere this offseason, there are draft picks the Mets can recoup for when they sign a SP and RP off the free agent heap this winter. I also believe Johan, Pelf, Maine, and Niese have us set up pretty well for the longterm as far as the rotation is concerned, and Wright, Reyes, Beltran, FMart, Church, and Murphy provide the core on offense. I just don’t see the necessity in planning solely for the longterm when we already have ample young talent signed longterm. And that’s not counting the dozen or so prospects who figure to be a few years away but still major players in the Mets future (think Kunz, Parnell, Flores, Holt, Pena, Havens, Rustisch, Owen, Dillon, Antonini, et al).

To get back on topic and tie up the loose strings, I would encourage the Mets only to sign-and-trade Delgado if A) they believe they have a better option at 1B, and B) it helps them in both the short and longterm. For example, I would not trade Delgado for crapshoot prospects (those that are “can’t miss”) if it leaves the team vulnerable at 1B in 2009. And to me, vulnerable is an Evans/Carp platoon, or signing someone like Kevin Millar to be a stopgap. But I would have no problem trading Delgado for a younger version of himself who has yet to prove himself on the big stage. What’s for sure is that the Mets have a lot of options, but you are correct Joe: it all starts with Delgado.