Mets Waive F-Mart and Herrera?
According to Adam Rubin, the Mets have placed Fernando Martinez and Danny Herrera on waivers, to make room for Scott Hairston and Ronny Cedeno.
If this is indeed true, can someone please explain how this makes sense for both the short-term financial health and long-term planning for the New York Mets? Because I’m completely befuddled.
Yes, F-Mart has been a grave disappointment. But he’s still only 23 years old, and he’s not owed anything above the MLB minimum. Similarly, but to a lesser extent, Herrera is 27 years old and also a minimum-salary guy. Meanwhile, both Cedeno and Hairston are over 30 and will make over a million bucks.
Take all the time and words you need to explain this logic to me, because clearly, I’m too stupid to understand. Thank you.
About the Author
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.
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Collections of crap > logic
The Met way.
The only way it makes true “sense” is if they’re right – for once, about a player’s health…..and I’d like to think they have a very good idea of how hard Martinez is willing to work to keep himself on a field at this point in time.
He’s had every opportunity, especially with our miserable excuses for “outfielders” through the years….and still hasn’t kept himself healthy enough to matter.
That’s why I don’t feel sorry for him.
That being said, our 40-Man Roster is pretty much a joke to begin with — so, it just HAS to be about what has been conveyed, vs. what has been shown to them in the time they’ve had to observe Martinez.
While FMart has had potential for years he has never produced at the major league level and is almost certain to be injured at some point each year. While Scott Hairston is a useful bench bat.
Herrera is a LOOGY who has not even been that good over his career and probably a AAAA player at best. The team needed a backup SS more than a second LOOGY.
Hairston and Cedeno will make roughly $1M more than the Major league minimum combined and on a $95M payroll that is not a financial burden.
Look, Alderson is just trying to get a little production from his 40 man roster spots. Its not like FMart or Herrera were going to be a part of the next good Mets team anyway. People need to not make such a big deal out of this.
Agreed, for the most part – and Martinez is one of those cases where some have thrown themselves lock, stock, and barrel into his reputation…..never deviating, and letting it blind how he realistically should have been earning a spot within the organization.
I wish I had Omar Minaya as my hype-machine….he does wonders for guys who have no business being Major League-players (typically specializing in the “sometime bat with no defensive position” genre).
Maybe he’ll advise someone within the Padre organization to pick him up again, and give him a shot in San Diego.
As far as we’re concerned, Mike Baxter has already had a better Met-career than Martinez; and that’s pretty damn sad…..with no one else but Martinez to blame, but himself.
I actually see it having played out as:
The organization probably had a talk with him, prior to reporting for Winter Ball – about how important it would be for him to have a nice showing, heading into 2012 and reporting for camp, etc.
He does well there, maybe it even opens some eyes….draws interest…..
What happens?
He does nothing in the little time he plays…..and gets hurt…..AGAIN.
I can’t feel sorry for the kid, and don’t necessarily blame anyone for being fed up at this point.
Whatever happens from here?
Purely up to Martinez, as it’s always been.
What gets me the most, though – is having had a month or so to decide who we wanted from the Brewers as PTBNL in the Francisco Rodriguez deal —– and choosing Herrera as one of those arms.
Letting him go already, eh?
Must’ve really wanted him badly……waste.
Its really pathetic, maybe sad, maybe worse, when you blame a kid for developing arthritis in his kknee. do you think he did it on purpose. Do you think he got arthritic knees from drugs. Tell us, and when your shoulders and legs start aching one day from the wrath of arthritis, don’t whine to anyone about it because afterall it will be your fault!!!!!
Yes, we should tar and feather him outside of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda….if not him, then a dummy with his jersey on.
TAKE NO PRISONERS!!!
Unfortunately it makes sense in Martinez case. Age 23 or not F-Mart has an arthritic knee that will not get any better (I speak from personal experience), he’s an Of-er that can no longer run well, can’t stay on the field and the other three minor leaguers on the 40 Man Roster (Lagares, Puello, Nieuwenhuis) are better then he is. There’s a reason F-Mart is no longer on ANY top prospect list.
He and Hairston are apples and oranges; old vs. young; RH vs. LH; Healthy vs. unhealthy; doesn’t get hurt vs. always gets hurt.
Now Herrera is puzzling. He was selected by MIL from CIN off the waiver wire last May. Three teams in three years, something is amiss here. It could be as simple as his stature (5’6″) not that it’s a good reason. This is doesn’t make sense. Tim Byrdak is the only LH in the pen unless Carson makes the team or another LH is signed. Manny Acosta also fills the role vs LH hitters. Although he is a RH-er his numbers vs LH-ed hitters are really good, strangely better against LH vs RH.
Remember “waivers” doesn’t mean Martinez or Herrera are cut. They are there for the taking by another team. With Omar in Oakland that would be the team to take a chance on F-Mart and try to groom him as a DH… if he can walk.
If nobody takes Martinez, that will speaks volumes as to how much his stock has fallen.
Pedro messed up (that would be me). Omar is in SD not OAK. Senior moment.
But OAK is still a logical place given Billy Beane’s tendency for low risk/high reward type guys.
Andre Dawson had arthritic knees for 10 years, and he’s in the Hall of Fame.
Pedro makes a good case about F-Mart.
As for Herrera, if he isn’t picked up on waivers the Mets can resign him to a minor league contract. Either way, Danny Herrera is not an important part of a Met future plan. He’s left-handed and low-salaried, but not much else.
Neither Herrera nor F-Mart can play middle infield.
F-Mart has been a sad story, but I can’t help but think of waking up in a year or two to see him on an NL East comptetitor raking after he visits A Rod’s German Dr. and gets his arthritis cured. I guess that’s Met fan syndrome or Joe J rubbing off.
A lot of over-reaction, there Joe, and a few things you overlook.
Salary as an issue? Really?
If FMart IS on the major league roster, he gets $425k anyway. Not much relevance between that and Hairston’s 1 million.
Hairston is a proven major-league level hitter, FMart is not.
Hairston can play CF, FMart cannot anymore.
And if another OF gets injured, FMart cannot play every day anymore due to his arthritic knee, which is not going to get any better.
As a 7-year minor-leaguer, FMart becomes a free agent the 1st time they outright him or send him down, anyway.
The bottom line is that he’s not good enough to keep on the big-league roster all season long, and they can
t warehouse him in AAA anymore, either.
The new management has been patient in taking the past year to evaluate their talent. In order for them to move this team forward, its time to move the players up who have a real chance of making a contribution to the big lague club at some point, and get rid of the ones who’ve missed their mark.
Overreacting? Seriously? F-Mart has been THE crowning jewel of the farm system since the ink dried on the contract he signed as a 17-year-old. I would argue he was still owned the most raw talent and upside of any position player in their system until the moment he was waived.
As for the financial issue, I think every last penny counts when an organization is hundreds of millions in debt and is cutting corners at every turn. I’m still stunned at the money they committed to Frankie Francisco — a deal that would have been loudly criticized if Omar Minaya were still the GM.
Its safe to say you can you add F mart to the long list of the woulda coulda shoulda Mets prospects that never was. The Majority of these guys never live up to the hype and thats just not Mets but all prospects. And it is what really frustrates about this rebuilding process. You dont know what you have for 5 to 7 years.
Thats why if you want to play with the big boys in MLB you have to buy your players at the market and not take your chances growing them at the farm. Its a new world, we pay for instant in every aspect of life why should success in baseball be any different?
Letting F-Mart go for nothing stinks of poor planning. If you value him that little, try to trade him in-season for another organization’s similar disappointment.
I doubt he’ll ever make it in MLB, but this still strikes me as a failure to make the most of our assets.
However many games he’d have cost us over Hairston in 2012 might even be worth it just on the off-chance of improvement. That’s the kind of stuff you have to try when rebuilding.
Very disappointing.
As for Herrera, I think the Mets just guessed that he’d clear waivers, and apparently they guessed right.
I have to agree with you on the trade angle — similar to when the Mets dumped Eddie Kunz for Allen Dysktra; at least they got SOMETHING in return.
I could swear it was just a few months ago that some Mets fans were thinking the Mets could trade F-Mart for legit MLB talent. How quickly the mighty can fall.
Yes !!!!
His stock fell so much the FIRST team with a chance to claim him did. Now watch him hit, DH and play great defensive RF.