Mets, Even As Sellers, Not in Great Position
By Mike Silva ~ July 20th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva.
The Houston Astros were dead and buried back in 1990. During the month of August they made a trade which seemed innocuous at the time. The Boston Red Sox, in need of a right handed reliever, traded a rookie named Jeff Bagwell to Houston for Larry Andersen, Houston’s top flight right handed set up man. The Sox made the playoffs only to be swept by Oakland. Bagwell, unknown in the pre-internet dark days, went on to a Hall of Fame caliber career with the Astros.
The Mets are in a position where they will be sellers come July 31st. Can they find their version of Jeff Bagwell? At the very least I would like them to clear roster space to give a youngsters like Josh Thole, Tobi Stoner, Eddie Kunz, Adam Bostick, Fernando Martinez (when he returns), and maybe Ike Davis a chance to develop at the big league level.
Gary Sheffield – Would be a perfect addition to an American League team. After watching Detroit at Yankee Stadium this weekend don’t you think they could use Sheff at the DH spot? It appears unlikely, due to health, and desire to be traded, that Sheffield will be movable come the 31st. That is unfortunate because he is their best commodity.
Livan Hernandez – Back in 2006 the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired him and it paid off dividends a year later when they made the postseason. You can do far worse than Hernandez as a fifth starter. Give me a similar deal that Washington received (Garrett Mock and Matt Chico) in 06 and I say take him. You never know how these unexciting minor leaguer prospects turn out. In the end you can’t lose.
Brian Schneider- Howard was right on about how disappointing Schneider has been defensively. Hard to quantify the impact he has had on the staff from a game calling perspective, but considering the results it probably is negligible. Sometimes a reputation does help when making deals, so if there is a contender that needs a backstop why not try and pawn off Schneider. That would allow for Josh Thole to get some big league time the final two months.
Carlos Delgado- Hearing Brian Cashman talk about the 31st being a fictitious deadline makes you wonder if Delgado could be moved before August 31st. I am not expecting a bounty for him, but if you could get him back, have a solid two weeks, can’t hurt exploring it. Before you kill me, note that I am just throwing this out there as a possibility, and obviously, a long shot. Ironically, Ken Davidoff brought up this point as well. I find it hard to believe that Delgado will prove he is healthy in time for the Mets to garner anything of value in a trade.
Luis Castillo- Could the Mets use his resurgence as a way to pawn off the contract to a contender. The issue you run into is the next two year and 14 million. Some of the teams that might need a 2b of Castillo’s quality are the Cubs, Minnesota, and San Francisco. Obviously moving this contract doesn’t look good, but if Minaya can accomplish this, then I would consider the trading deadline a success.
Alex Cora – Has been exposed playing every day, but would be a perfect fill in for a contending team. He also has experience and leadership that will help someone in a pennant race. Considering that Reyes is nowhere close to the field you would have to make the odds of a Cora trade unlikely. Obviously, the pending acquisition of Julio Lugo may change that.
Pedro Feliciano- Would fetch you the best return at the deadline. I would think you could get a decent prospect for a premier setup lefty. As a matter of fact, due to scarcity, you might be able to do more than just a decent prospect. The reason I wouldn’t, short of being bowled over, trade Feliciano is because you will need him next season. Quality lefty specialists don’t grow on trees.
Sean Green- You heard about how many teams wanted Green when the Mets first acquired him. Let’s put that to the test. Obviously he has been spotty throughout the season, but Green isn’t a terrible situation righty for a contending team.
After you review the above, the Mets couldn’t be in a worse position. Their veterans are too expensive or not quite good enough to fetch anything of great value. The odds of obtaining a “Bagwell type”, much less anything of value for 2010, would have to be considered very slim. Also, the game has changed drastically where teams rather go with young and inexpensive pieces versus trading away the future for a two month rental. Realistically, make a couple of cheap moves to just clear roster space for younger players. I would trade Schneider to give Thole the opportunity to develop at the big league level. You could also deal Livan Hernandez and throw Tobi Stoner into the big league rotation0. I know that playing for 2010 doesn’t excite Mets fans, but that is all that matters now.
