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November 14, 2009 09-10 Offseason Joe Janish

One More Time for Edgardo Alfonzo?

fonzie-bp

Edgardo Alfonzo is eager to return to MLB, and wants to end his career as a New York Met, according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.

Fonzie hasn’t played in MLB since 2006, spending 2007-2008 in Indy ball and last season in Japan — leading the Yomiuri Giants to the championship while playing 1B, 2B, 3B and DH. He’s now in Venezuela prepared to play winter ball, hoping for one last shot — preferably with the Mets.

“My dream is to retire with the Mets colors,” Alfonzo said. “That’s my dream. That’s what I’m praying for, maybe it will happen, maybe not, but dreams sometimes come true, you know.”

“I have a lot of hope for my future, I want to show people I can play in winter ball,” Alfonzo said. “I love the Mets and I love the Mets fans. I would like that dream to come true.”

Fonzie just joined the Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan League — the same league Josh Thole is currently ripping up. He’ll have to find time in an infield that includes Pablo Sandoval and Elvis Andrus. The team also includes several former Mets and current Mets prospect Phillips Orta.

Yes, the Mets are looking to get younger and more athletic. But if he continues to play well and proves to be healthy, I’d love to see them give Fonzie one more shot. What do they have to lose by offering him a ST invite?

Look at it this way: Omar Minaya has spoken to Scott Boras about re-signing Alex Cora — presumably to another $2M deal. Would you rather see Cora get a guaranteed MLB contract or give Alfonzo a non-guaranteed, incentive-laden, minor league contract and a chance to be the infield utilityman?

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. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Paul November 14, 2009 at 3:15 pm
    The Mets owe Edgardo Alfonzo a spring training invite if he wants one. I don’t know if he can still play at the major league level, but it doesn’t hurt anything to take a look.
  2. sincekindergarten November 14, 2009 at 4:46 pm
    Not to mention, if he was indeed a fan favorite, the number of fans that would come to the games just to see Fonzie might be worth giving him that invite.
  3. astromets November 14, 2009 at 5:56 pm
    well Cora can actually play SS…
    that being said, I want Fonzie somehow in that dugout. Fonzie for manager!! 😛 hehe j/k
  4. joejanish November 14, 2009 at 6:57 pm
    astromets – true enough on Cora at SS. However, if Jose Reyes is healthy (yeah, a big “if”), he’s not coming off the field, ever. And if he does get injured again, the Mets will have AHern and probably Wilson Valdez waiting in AAA — both of whom offer comparable skills to Cora.

    In this day and age of the short bench, I think an NL team HAS TO get offense from their backup guys. Maybe Fonzie can provide that. Cora, we know, cannot.

  5. Kyle November 14, 2009 at 7:30 pm
    Cora anyday of the week. He’s a competitor and still a very good utility man. Fonzie is super highrisk, and only worth a spring training invite.

    Maybe he turns into the next 2006 Jose Valentine. Probably not but we owe him an invite.

  6. joejanish November 14, 2009 at 7:33 pm
    What is the risk with Fonzie? He’ll get at best a minor league deal with incentives.

    The risk is in giving Cora another guaranteed $2M deal, thus locking up a spot on the 25-man roster. The Mets need to learn how to keep the 25-man more flexibile when it comes to bench players. They still haven’t learned from the Julio Franco fiasco.

  7. Kyle November 14, 2009 at 8:02 pm
    Cora is a guarantee bench spot. Even if he doesn’t hit, he plays very good infield defense at 2nd and SS. He’s also a great competitor
  8. Mike November 15, 2009 at 12:09 pm
    Fonzie was one of my favorite Mets and when he left to the Giants I was heart broken. I was a young teenager when the Mets finally got good in my lifetime (98-2000) and so I am very attached to Piazza, Alfonzo, Olerude, Ventura, Valentine, Ordonez. I would give any of them a chance on my team, at least for a ST invite, what is there to loose?