Top 10 Indicates Mets Should Break the Bank
By Mike Silva ~ November 10th, 2009. Filed under: Offseason Speculation.
If there is one thing I learned from BA’s Mets Top 10 prospects is that you shouldn’t expect any impact players outside of Ike Davis in 2010. Here are some numbers that Mets fans should take very seriously:
33
31
27
Those are the ages that Carlos Beltran, Johan Santana, David Wright, and Jose Reyes will be at some point next year. That doesn’t include Francisco Rodriguez who is entering his “prime” at age 28. Bottom line: The Mets stars are either aging or entering the best years of their athletic lives. No longer are Wright and Reyes young up and coming stars. They are established veterans who, quite frankly, have a ton to prove in 2010. When 20% of your roster is built to win now and your minor league system is dubious at best, then you need to use that talent to upgrade the big league roster. That is why I am proposing the Mets go “all out” for Roy Halladay.
Earlier in the season I was a proponent of cleaning out the farm system on San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez. Although I would love to have him, the more immediate need is pitching and there is no way the Mets, or most teams, could acquire both. I rather see the Mets spend some money, like a big market team should, to acquire Matt Holliday or Jason Bay on the free agent market and save the prospects to acquire one of the top five pitchers in baseball.
It was reported that former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi asked for Ruben Tejeda, Jonathan Niese, Fernando Martinez, and Bobby Parnell. It’s a deal that, if offered and rejected, I am sure the Mets would like to have back. I would see if current Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos is willing to revisit such a scenario. Deep down you have to think there is pressure to not trade Halladay to the Yankees or Red Sox. A market sans the two big fish put the Mets in a very strong position.
If the July deal doesn’t get it done I would offer to replace Niese with Mejia and Parnell with Holt. I would even be willing to replace Tejada with Thole in the deal because a singles hitting catcher with suspect defense shouldn’t prevent Minaya from acquiring the best pitcher in the American League. I would even explore if the inclusion of Mike Pelfrey could replace a prospect or two or sweeten the deal.
Reality is such that the Mets are built to win now. If you are not going to trade Beltran and Santana then you might as well go for it in a one to two year period. The future of the Mets brand might depend on it. If you don’t think you lost another generation of young fans with the Yankees title – think again. The Mets from a business standpoint can’t afford to sit back and try to win with “maybes” they need star power like the Yankees have with Teixeira, Sabathia, and A-Rod. A healthy Santana and Halladay would spell doom in any short series and would eliminate the thought of long losing streaks. An added bonus is Halladay goes deep into games leaving less up to the bullpen- always a positive in the modern game.
Let’s go one step further. Would I make Ike Davis untouchable? The answer is no. Obviously I wouldn’t just throw players in the deal to acquire Halladay, but if Toronto wants Davis perhaps you downgrade the pitchers in the deal and ask for Lyle Overbay (if he still is with Toronto at that point).
You might not like hearing this, but right now the Mets don’t have the luxury of winning now and building for the future. Incompetent management has destroyed that opportunity and only breaking this down and building it up can fix that. Unfortunately there is a team across town that makes any idea of rebuilding dangerous. A conservative plan threatens to set the franchise back a decade and reap long term harm to fan loyalty. Remember, the kids want to root for a winner, not share in the pain of their parents. The Mets need star power both on the field and in the box office. Roy Halladay meets both those needs.
