The Toronto Blue Jays signed Dioner Navarro to a two-year, $8M contract, and soon after, non-tendered J.P. Arencibia. How might these moves affect the Mets?
13-14 Offseason
Nationals Nail Fister, A’s Snatch Johnson
The headline says it all …
There was a flurry of activity at the non-tender deadline, and we’ll attempt to go through as much as possible as it relates to the New York Mets.
Mets Non-tender Turner, Hefner
In addition to non-tendering Jordany Valdespin, Omar Quintanilla, and Scott Atchison, the Mets also chose to not tender contracts to Justin Turner and Jeremy Hefner, making them free agents.
They did choose to keep Daniel Murphy, Dillon Gee, Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell, Eric Young, Jr., Ruben Tejada, and Lucas Duda, and thereby have 35 players on their 40-man roster.
Why would the Mets cut loose Hefner and Turner?
Quintanilla, Atchison, Valdespin Non-tendered
With the non-tender deadline midnight tonight, the Mets have informed Omar Quintanilla, Scott Atchison, and Jordany Valdespin that they will not be tendered contracts for 2014, making them free agents.
The Mets still have to decide whether to tender offers to Daniel Murphy, Dillon Gee, Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell, Eric Young, Jr., Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, and Justin Turner.
As it stands now, the Mets have 37 players on their 40-man roster.
According to MLBTradeRumors, the remaining non-tender candidates are projected to earn the following through the arbitration process:
Three Shortstops the Mets Can Acquire and Afford Now
Shortstops are at a premium right now. It seems that every MLB team has at least one shortstop who exhibits one above-average MLB tool — except the Mets. But don’t trust me, look around at MLB rosters and see for yourself. No, not every club has a Troy Tulowitzki or Jose Reyes, but nearly every club has a shortstop who is either a very strong defender (i.e., Brandon Crawford, Zack Cozart) or contributes offensively (i.e. Ian Desmond, J.J. Hardy). Additionally, there is a slew of young two-way shortstops who are starting to make their mark (i.e., Andrelton Simmons, Jean Segura, Starlin Castro).
And then there is the Mets, who have neither an exceptional fielding shortstop anywhere in their organization, nor do they have a shortstop with a plus offensive skill. No, the Mets have Omar Quintanilla and Ruben Tejada.
What makes matters worse is they don’t have much to offer in trade for what a decent MLB shortstop costs. Oh sure, they COULD trade someone like Noah Syndergaard and/or Jonathon Niese, but can they afford to?
I found three potential MLB shortstops who can probably be had for what the Mets can afford to trade. Note the second half of that sentence. So nope, not one of them is Jed Lowrie. We keep hearing buzz in the blogosphere about Lowrie (as well as Asdrubal Cabrera, among others), but I really don’t believe the A’s are going to give away Lowrie for whatever garbage Mets fans think Billy Beane will take. These are more realistic targets, and none without a flaw.
Mets Starting Pitcher Targets
One month later, Paul’s commendable list of starting pitching free-agent targets for the Mets is more or less irrelevant. That’s no fault of Paul, but rather the limited budget of the Mets combined with the very quickly developing free-agent market.
So who’s left for the Mets to target?
Nolasco, Other Pitchers Off the Table
With Matt Harvey out for the year, Jeremy Hefner (remember him?) also out until at least August / September, and the chronically injured Jenrry Mejia hardly a lock to hold down a rotation spot, the Mets would seem to be in the market for a few pitchers — starting pitchers in particular. Picking up a reliever or two is also in the cards, considering that Bobby Parnell may not be ready come Opening Day, and the bullpen in general is less than impressive. Already, though, several arms have been signed by other clubs. Let’s look at who’s off the table, including the most recent righthander plucked from the free agent market.
Turn Back the Clock: Turkey Transactions
Two years ago, Dan Capwell authored a piece on Thanksgiving week transactions in Mets history. A fun re-read.