In case you missed it, the Mets did not sign Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas nor Adulterated League slugger Nelson Cruz.

Tomas was signed by the Diamondbacks for 6 years, $68.6M. The Mariners locked up Cruz — who was originally drafted by the Mets — for 4 years, $58M.

I combined the news of these two signings for a few reasons. First, the investment figures are strikingly similar, despite the contrast in age, experience, and reliability between the two players. Second, one would think that these would be two players that the New York Mets would be after, yet they were not.

In previous years, the Mets passed on Cuban gambles such as Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, and Jose Abreu. Hey, they weren’t the only team afraid to roll the dice, so you can’t be too hard on the Mets. Then again, the Mets weren’t rolling the dice on ANYONE from ANY country, so you have to wonder if it was more about being cautious as a policy / discipline — or was it for financial reasons?

This offseason, though, is supposed to be different from those previous. This is the winter that the Mets are “going all in,” with the goal of pushing the 2015 squad into the postseason. Granted, the offseason is far from over — the winter meetings have yet to begin — but it’s somewhat mysterious that a team in dire need of offensive production would completely pass on two big targets who wound up being fairly affordable.

I will repeat, for emphasis: affordable. Look at it this way: the Mets spent more on Curtis Granderson last winter than the cost of either Cruz or Tomas. If you didn’t like Cruz’s age, you might have liked Tomas’ upside. If you didn’t like the idea of gambling on Tomas’ uncertain adjustment to life in the USA and MLB, you could have signed Cruz.

Kudos to the Mets for jumping on Michael Cuddyer early, but Cuddyer alone will not turn the Mets into a team that wins more games than it loses. There’s already been discussion around the blogosphere that the Mets are looking for another righthanded hitter to pair with Cuddyer against LHPs — maybe someone like Jonny Gomes, Ryan Ludwick, Nate Schierholtz, or Michael Morse. One of those players could make sense, but again, is it enough to push the Mets to the next level?

Oh and by the way — why did the D’backs sign Tomas? That seems crazy to me, unless the plan is to now use Mark Trumbo as a trading chip. Hmm … could that mean there’s a Trumbo-to-Mets trade on the horizon, perhaps one that includes Didi Gregorius or Chris Owings, with one or several of Noah Syndergaard, Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee, and Bartolo Colon moving to Arizona?

What do you think? Should the Mets have been in on Yasmany Tomas or Nelson Cruz? Why or why not? And do you think they will obtain another slugger before the winter is over — or was Cuddyer their “big” offensive acquisition? Could the Tomas signing be a prelude to a Mets-Diamondbacks deal?

Post your notes in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  The arrival of the holiday season also means that right on time, the hot stove is blazing away. The Mets offseason acquisitions are once again likely to be of the smaller type, as GM Sandy Alderson and his brain trust appear fully confident that last year’s 79-win team only needs some minor tweaking to blossom into a contender.

Since it is Thanksgiving, we’ll use a restaurant analogy: unlike the Boston Red Sox, we won’t be dining at Daniel this offseason. Instead,  we’ll  get to pick from one of the many options at the Bergen Mall food court.

Recent Metsblog speculation has the Mets interested in former Cardinal closer Jason Motte. This is one of Matthew’s more intriguing rumors.  After a brilliant 2012 season, including a league-leading 42 saves, Motte missed all of 2013 following TJS. His 2014 was a lost season and observers noted that his 2014 velocity was down at least 3 MPH over 2012 (a cautionary tale for Matt Harvey). However even at partial strength, he held lefty batters to a .211 BA, even lower than his career norm. Yes, I know, small sample size.

If and it’s a big if, Motte can return to the pre-surgery form, he gives the Mets a formidable late inning arm. He also has a cool beard and has done some good charity work. Any hey, he used to be a catcher, which counts for something, at least on this blog! Alderson can probably get him for cheap. He should try.

Besides Motte, here are some other names associated with our team lately:

• Craig Breslow: On the surface, he is a better choice than Motte, as he is the epitome of the LOOGY they need. He’s a New York guy, but then so was Nelson Figueroa. He really fell off a cliff last year and will turn 35 during the season.  Just my own gut feeling, but I think Breslow is done and I would rather take a chance on Motte, who if nothing else, has a much bigger upside.
• Jonny Gomes: For openers, he is an ex-Padre and ex-Athletic, which is the type of player that Alderson likes to acquire. He was one of the heroes of Boston’s 2013 World Championship team and does bring many intangibles with his game. Caution: his 2014 performance dipped as the year wore on and he has put up a below average slash line for two consecutive years. He might be a fun guy to have around, but either Kirk Nieuwenhuis or Matt den Dekker are likely to outhit him (albeit from the other side of the plate) at this stage of his career.
• Ryan Ludwick: Another ex-Padre, he OPS’d .683 for the Reds last year. Hard to believe he is 36 already. He is at the top of this class of outfielders, which is somewhat akin to being the top of the Delta pledge class in Animal House.
• Delino DeShields Jr.: Here is an excellent article on some of the players available in this year’s Rule V draft. Before parenthood and career responsibilities occupied more real estate in my brain, I spent a lot of time delving into that draft, so I appreciate that someone has picked up the banner. Experience reminds us that for every Johan Santana  left unprotected, there’s also a Brad Emaus, a Pedro Beato, a Doug Simons or a Mike Draper out there just waiting to clog up a roster spot.
• Daniel Murphy to the Giants? I have also read and heard speculation that the San Francisco Giants’ loss of Kung Fu Panda to the Red Sox has them eyeing Murphy to play third base. In reality, I would think that Murphy is somewhat way down on the Giants list of options; plus any deal is likely predicated on the Mets first acquiring a shortstop and sliding Wilmer Flores over to second. Hard to decide which of these  scenarios is the more unlikely.

At the end of the offseason, we will probably have to be satisfied with the additions of Ludwick/Gomes/Breslow or Motte, along with Michael Cuddyer and a healthy  Harvey. Would that work for you? Or do you have a Murphy to the Giants trade proposal? How about a realistic one for a shortstop? Let’s hear it.

The Red Sox have signed Pablo Sandoval to a five-year, $100M contract.

How does this affect the Mets? And why might it be good news for the Phillies? Continue reading →