http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js“Mets are in no position to deal prospects of any worth at this point.” -David Lennon of Newsday Long Island
One month ago I would have disagreed with this tweet, as would most Met fans, but at this point I wholeheartedly agree. The team has basically let their season unravel and has not been able to overcome key obstacles. We are now seeing the Mets for what they really are, a flawed .500 caliber baseball club.
The asking price of many of the players on the block is far too high in my opinion to begin with. With the Mets sinking lower and lower in the standings, to trade away the team’s young talent in an act of desperation now would make no sense. Although the Mets do have some promising young players on the farm, the depth of the system is still a concern. The Mets are simply in no position to dispatch prospects in an effort to get climb back into the thick of the race.
As dissatisfied as I was that Omar Minaya didn’t make a move when the team looked like they would stay in contention, I can’t say that I really believe that any pitcher, except for maybe a Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt, would have made a significant difference. During the recent stretch that has buried the Mets in the standings, the offense, or lack thereof, has been the team’s primarily fault. This is after fans were calling for Minaya’s head for not acquiring a top of the line starting pitcher. I’ll admit, I was one of them.
Although the front office failed in the Lee and Oswalt sweepstakes, I was happy that Omar did not give up Jon Niese or Ike Davis, as I view those two as cogs of the future and trade untouchables. Recently, it was understood that the Astros were asking for Josh Thole and Bobby Parnell in exchange for RHP Brett Myers or perhaps LHP Wandy Rodriguez. Thole looks to be the catcher of the future and Parnell seems to be progressing nicely in his development. Neither of those pitchers are worth Parnell and Thole in my opinion.
Omar has clearly been very stingy on the phones with other GM’s this season and I’m not exactly sure why. The Pirates were asking for Class A LHP Robert Carson for ex-Met Octavio Dotel. Carson, 21, is someone who is never spoken of in conversations regarding the Mets prized prospects so I was a little surprised that Omar didn’t pull the string on this one. Maybe he would have if the team was 3 or 4 and a half out of a playoff spot rather than 7.5. It leads me to believe that Omar’s main focus is unloading the dead weight and bad contracts that the organization is in possession of (i.e. Mike Jacobs, Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo). It also makes me wonder if Omar’s lack of activity this season is a result of poor Met trades of the past and the fear of similar results. I hope that is not the case, because that is a terrible frame of mind for any GM.
Its funny that Oliver Perez was a throw-in of one of the Mets main trades of 2006, while Luis Castillo was the main piece of a 2007 deadline deal. These two of course, with their horrendous contracts, seem to be the focus right now for Omar. A deal that would send them both to Chicago for RHP Carlos Zambrano was proposed but got rejected by Cubs GM Jim Hendry. I am not opposed to any deal that would get rid of either of these guys, and now a deal of Perez for Zambrano seems like it could be negotiated. It would certainly be trading garbage for garbage, however, it is my belief that if Zambrano can get his head screwed on straight, he could help the Mets down the road.
The Mets Report 
2 thoughts on “Mets Quiet at 2010 Trade Deadline”