Curtis Granderson is not typically the type of offensive player I prefer. Yes, he has tremendous power, but he strikes out a ton, has a good, but not great OBP, and is average defensively. The Yankees traded for a player in 2010 that many thought would make them forget Bernie Williams. Unfortunately, outside of two outstanding regular seasons (regular is the key word) in ’11 and ’12, he wasn’t worth the price of Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy.

Earlier in the offseason I wanted nothing to do with the big outfield free agents i.e. Nelson Cruz and Curtis Granderson – both were too Jay Bay-like for my taste. Shin-Soo Choo was desirable, but if Jacoby Ellsbury is able to obtain a 7-year/$153 million dollar deal, then Choo will be in that neighborhood and then some.  My preference was to bring back Marlon Byrd and seeing what the trade market could yield for an impact hitter (see Matt Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki).

My attitude has changed after seeing how expensive rumored trades can be (reports were that top pitching prospect Shelby Miller would have been the price for the Cardinals to obtain J.J. Hardy from Baltimore), and the insane contracts given out (see Jacoby Ellsbury). When it’s all said and done, four years for Granderson at $60 million dollars is a very reasonable contract. Furthermore, it doesn’t require the Mets giving up any of their upper- level pitching prospects.

What are the Mets getting with Granderson? A player that will play 150 games, hit 25-30 homers, steal 15 bases and bring a professional winning presence to the clubhouse. The concerns over his ability to hit LHP have been alleviated since his work with hitting coach Kevin Long. The last three years have seen him hit nearly identical against LHP and RHP pitching, and in some cases, better against the southpaws.

This move has been compared to the Mets signings of Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran in 2004- that’s nonsense. Those were impact players that were sending a message to the league the Mets were major players again. Granderson is a complementary player that shows the Wilpons actually have the means to commit to a long-term contract. Granderson improve an anemic offense that was towards the bottom of the National League.

In other words, this was a nice move for Sandy Alderson and company, but not a difference-maker in of itself ala Beltran and Martinez.  What’s next will determine how far along the Mets rebuilding program has come.

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Mike Silva

Mike Silva has hosted sports shows on 107.1 FM Champions ESPN Radio Long Island ,1240 AM WGBB , Blog Talk Radio and live from Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant. He’s also built and maintained two popular social media hubs: New York Baseball Digest and Sports Media Watchdog. Mike has broken national and local stories, as well as been mentioned on the YES Network, SNY.tv, WFAN, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NY Daily News, New York Magazine, Journal News and the NY Post. Contact Mike professionally at mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Curtis Granderson, New York Mets, Sandy Alderson