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June 30, 2007 News Notes Rumors Joe Janish

Backup Catching Option

Royals first baseman and captain Mike Sweeney battingWith Paul LoDuca to be serving a two-game suspension sometime soon, and the Mets in need of a solid righthanded bat with Moises Alou still missing, I have the ideal guy:

Mike Sweeney.

Go ahead, call me crazy. But the Royals may be shopping Sweeney, and he has said he’s willing to go back behind the dish. For the uninitiated, Mike Sweeney began his pro baseball career as a catcher — but hit so well it was silly to keep him back there.

Sweeney was quoted as saying,

“I’ve been talking to my agent,” Sweeney said, “and I’m thinking about becoming a catcher again.”

“It’s always been my passion. I still fool around and catch in the bullpen. I’m not a Gold Glover, but I think I know what I’m doing.”

Hmm … a very potent righty bat, a guy who can play first base and catch, and with his injury issues will come fairly cheap … I’m liking it …

The only glitch in the plan is that Sweeney was recently placed on the disabled list, and won’t be back until mid-July.

Still, he’d be a nice righty bat coming off the bench come September.

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. fafhrd316 June 30, 2007 at 1:06 pm
    I agree about Sweeny. He’s one of the potential bench players I’ve been hoping that the Mets would consider down the line. Julio Franco isn’t the answer anymore; Easley has too many defensive problems (Gotay should be the 2B backup); and unless the Mets get Alou healthy or trade for an outfielder, they’re stuck with a Gomez/Chavez platoon in the OF. Thus, for the OF I’d go after Jeff Conine, who is also available.

    Getting Mike Sweeney and Jeff Conine would make the Mets bench alot better, give them power options at multiple positions in the field.

    Now, about getting a starting first baseman or outfielder….that’s a different story.

  2. Micalpalyn June 30, 2007 at 2:37 pm
    If you really want to light a spark:

    Paulie is a Fa after the season. Unlike with Moises and Green (and Glavine ) there is NO depth in the minors.

    given Paulie’s recent meltdowns his harrasment by media will he be back? Castro wants to catch fulltime but I doubt he is the best option, while Victor martinez is a Fa and Ramon hernandez should be free also.

  3. joe June 30, 2007 at 6:02 pm
    Sweeney would be a nice option at first while Delgado re-learns his swing.

    I very much like the idea of Conine coming our way. We’ll see.

    I think part of the reason the Mets refused to give Paulie an extension was because of the possible availability of Victor Martinez and Ramon Hernandez.

  4. fafhrd316 June 30, 2007 at 6:30 pm
    Ramon Hernandez isn’t hitting well at all this year; He’s got a .232 BA with 3 HR and 29 RBI. I’d avoid him at all costs.

    Victor Martinez, on the other hand, is hitting .318 with 14 HR and 63 RBI. He’d be a great addition to the Mets as a power bat (however, it’d be yet another latino player on the Mets), but I’d want to see how he is with handling pitchers and the plate. Plus, it’d depend on how much he’d cost. And the Mets seriously have to consider handling First Base and the Outfield in the offseason. It might be cheaper to re-sign Lo Duca and just fix the other areas.

  5. Micalpalyn July 1, 2007 at 12:31 pm
    Ronnie Paulino is the latest name.

    Paulie might br there but consider he makes $6M. The OF is taken care of if Milledge/Gomez handle the corners. First base?
    Delgado is making $15M. If you plug anyone else in its a cost saver.

  6. joe July 1, 2007 at 5:08 pm
    How about Mark Teixeira at 1B?

    we can dream, can’t we?

  7. Mets Today » Blog Archive » DON'T Get Used to Yorvit November 17, 2007 at 6:51 pm
    […] So perhaps the Ramon Hernandez rumors will be heating up again. Or maybe Mike Sweeney was serious about putting the gear back on. […]