10 Players the Mets Won’t Get
The trading deadline is nearing quickly, and though there’s plenty of hot air circulating, very little action is being made. The only significant deal thus far sent Jason Kendall to the Cubs — a nice deal, but only barely newsworthy to folks outside of Chicago. Yet, the rumors keep swirling, with over a dozen big names being bandied about on an hourly basis.
Here are ten players mentioned in rumors, who will NOT be traded to the Mets.
1. Roy Oswalt
It’s funny … everyone OUTSIDE of Houston thinks Oswalt is on the block, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Drayton McLane locked up Oswalt at a bargain price for the long term for a good reason: he’s the type of pitcher you can build a franchise around. He’s not going now, not next year, and likely not anytime thereafter.
2. Chad Cordero
Yes, Omar Minaya drafted him, and put him in the heat of a pennant race not long after. And yes, Minaya would love to have him now. However, Minaya is not paying the price the Nationals are asking — two top pitching prospects and one top position player (i.e. Humber + Pelfrey + Milledge).
3. Brad Lidge
It would be nice to see Lidge setting up Wagner again — just like old times. However, Astros owner Drayton McLane has already said Lidge isn’t going anywhere. Translation: Lidge is available, but for an exorbitant price. More realistic: the return of Dan Wheeler.
4. Dontrelle Willis
You can’t call it a time of trade rumors until there’s talk of D-Train going to the Mets. It ain’t happenin’. The Marlins still regard Willis highly, but his recent performance does not match his perceived value. In addition, there are whispers that his unorthodox delivery is finally catching up to him, and tearing up his arm. The Mets won’t gamble on him.
5. Ken Griffey Jr. (or Adam Dunn)
GM Wayne Krivsky is on the hot seat for two reasons: the Reds stink this year, and the awful lopsided deal that sent Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to the Nationals looks worse every day. Krivsky has his entire roster for sale, but can’t afford to get fleeced again. If he trades a starting player — particularly a star such as Griffey — he has to get significant value in return. The Mets are not willing to pay the price necessary to pry away Griffey, nor Adam Dunn for that matter. Even if they were, it wouldn’t make sense — the Mets are already lefty-heavy in their lineup, and are in the market for a righthanded hitter. And if they had the choice, they’d take Griffey over Dunn. The image of Dunn in left and Shawn Green in right is too difficult to stomach.
6. Eric Gagne
Like the aforementioned Krivsky, Rangers GM Jon Daniels has some ‘splainin’ to do — specifically in regard to the trade that sent away Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young in return for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. That said, Daniels will be looking to be on the correct side of a lopsided deal — that means a severe overpayment for Eric Gagne. The Mets aren’t willing to trade top prospects for a guy whose arm may fall off before September.
7. Sammy Sosa
Sosa will likely come cheaper than Gagne, but still won’t be worth any player in the Mets organization with a heartbeat. Remember, the guy would have to play the outfield in the NL. While the Mets could use some punch from the right side, they don’t need a guy who’d likely get a punch from Paul LoDuca in the dugout before his first at-bat.
8. Octavio Dotel
Oh, it would be nice to see Dotel back in the uniform in which he began his career. However, he’s pitching lights out lately, and a bidding war has begun. The winner of this auction will overpay — something Omar Minaya is too smart to do.
9. Mike Piazza
There really isn’t any evidence of a rumor here, but nostalgic Mets fans would like to believe there is. If Piazza is dealt, it will be to an American League team, to continue being a DH. When Omar showed Piazza the door two years ago, he locked it behind him. Sorry guys.
10. Jermaine Dye
The Mets need a righthanded bat right now, and Dye is available, so it would appear to be a no-brainer. Except, Omar Minaya is confident that Moises Alou will return (even if we’re not), so he’s not making a deal for a three-month rental with a bad quad who will likely platoon with Shawn Green. Maybe — just maybe — if the White Sox were willing to trade Dye for Willie Collazo and a bag of balls, the Mets might listen. But the Mets aren’t the only team looking for an impact bat, so my guess is ChiSox GM Ken Williams will hold out for the best offer (most likely coming from Anaheim).
11. (Spinal Tap Bonus) Joe Blanton
The Mets could use this workhorse, but the original winter bargain price of Milledge, Pelfrey/Humber, and Heilman has gone up with the heat of the pennant race. No thank you, Mr. Beane.
News: Martinez was supposed to shut down his rehab program, starting on July 3, for a week to 10 days, a mental-health respite coinciding with baseball’s All-Star break. But he is still on a hiatus, leading to questions about when and if he’ll ever be ready to rejoin the Mets following last October’s rotator cuff surgery, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.
Spin: “It’s his body. He’s going to give us feedback when he’s ready,” Mets GM Omar Minaya said Thursday, while assuring that Martinez would return this season. “You’ve got to remember the next phase of this, once the clock starts you have 30 days (to complete his minor-league rehab starts).” Pedro has been throwing lightly during his sabbatical and will throw a simulated game where he arrives in Port St. Lucie, though no one knows exactly when that will be. The plan is still for Martinez to return in August, but as we approach the latter part of July, unless he starts his rehab shortly, even that time frame may be optimistic.
I preface my remarks with Fantasy baseball (sports) is a big side of the business. fans, journalists and GMs spend alot of time dreaming up stuff. sometimes it comes true. The adam dunn drama at MLB rumors is a good case in point.
One thing IS certain, Omar is not letting too many people what post its he has sent to other GMs.
To i-dude (I hate isuzu’s chroically, I had 2). If Oswalt is so untouchable than how come a trade almost goes down last yr when Houston is contending and Oswalt WAS the league’s best pitcher. But for a certain car accident that outcome might have been different.
Based on the last 2 days against opponents we might see in Oct (with glavine and Maine pitching) Omar might be keeping his starting options open. Besides it is inherent in his job description to look at ways to make the team better and stay one step ahead of the opposition.
2. With Glavine’s history and Maine’s great season, it’s completely unfair to base their postseason status on one start over the past week. Plus, if those two aren’t used as starting pitchers in the playoffs, they become useless. I don’t see either becoming effective bullpen guys. Additionally, if you really want to base their futures on one start, look at Oswalt’s last start against the Cubs: 5.1 IP, 9 runs. Yikes.
As a regular blogger, you kno I like jimmy have ‘entertained’ the notion that Omar will look for pitching. He addressed hitting by adding Alou. (yes there’s a health issue, but I contend there is a conservation element in his rehab timetable).
I care little for Oswalt except that he COULD be that difference maker. CWS won soundly with ‘discards’ Garcisa who Sea did not want , Contreras, El duque, and Vazquez.
On Maine: I am a Maine fan. I was one that thought he’d crack the rotation out of Spring Tng last yr.
On Glavine: Now I am going to see tomatoes in my eye on this one. I give to you that He is a this point a lefty Steve Trachsel. He has history but not velocity to go with it. He has wit, guile again wothless without control. Control which some times he has some times he does not. he might win 13-14 games again. But his ERA will be at 4.50. Then ala Traxx last yr you must carefully consider HOW you use him in the playoffs……If we get there.
Pedro: I have doubts as to whether he comes back this year, and if he does should he.
I don’t believe Oswalt was that close to coming to the Mets last year, and doubt the taxi accident would have stopped any possibility of obtaining one of the top pitchers in the NL. Are we really to believe that Xavier Nady was a key cog in the deal, or that we wouldn’t have traded LMillz because he was counted on to take Nady’s spot?
Oswalt was available for about ten minutes last Juley because he was getting close to the end of his contract — once he signed, that was it.
Glavine scares me early in games (until he’s established whether it’s a good game or bad game), and now that Trax (shudder, sweat, shake) has been mentioned as a comparison, you know … it’s too close not to consider it. The main difference is that Trax threw two great games a year, while at least 50% of Tommy’s games are gems.
Perhaps the biggest concern with Glavine is this: will scouts for other teams look at the Dodgers’ approach, and relay that to their teams, and will their teams use the information? If so, he’s in deep doo-doo — it appears that the trick to beating Tommy is to take, take, take, and take some more. Take on 2-0, take on 2-1, keep taking until he lays a meatball over the plate. If opponents are disciplined enough to make that adjustment, and Tommy doesn’t readjust, it could be a tough time for him down the stretch.