The Mets have an opportunity to come out from under a total of $3.7 million of Billy Wagner‘s contract. The reports are that he was claimed on waivers by the Boston Red Sox. I’m sure the Mets were shocked that anyone would claim Wagner after coming off Tommy John surgery and only pitching in one game on Thursday night.
The Mets now have until Tuesday to: 1) work out a trade with the Red Sox 2) let Wagner go to the Red Sox for nothing 3) pull Wagner off waivers and keep him for the rest of this season. Of course, option 1 is ideal but it will depend highly on how much of Wagner’s remaining salary ($2.7 million) and next year’s option buyout ($1 million) that the Mets are willing to eat. It also depends on Wagner allowing a trade because he has a full no-trade clause in his contract. The reports are that he wouldn’t allow a trade back to the Phillies but would go to a contender.
The Mets should just let Wagner go for nothing and have the Red Sox pick up the rest of his contract. At this point, the Mets are bordering on becoming one of the worst teams that money can buy in the history of Major League Baseball at almost $2 million per win. The only worse team was the 2008 Seattle Mariners, and that cost almost everyone in the front office and the manager their jobs.
For the sake of his reputation and legacy, Omar Minaya needs to drawn down the Mets financial exposure as much as possible. He’s already responsible for one of the worst trades in MLB history and now he’s on the verge of spending the second most money per win in history. Minaya could very well become known as one of the worst general managers in baseball’s 140 year history.
If you were watching the Mets-Giants game last night you saw Billy Wagner back with the team in the dugout. He hasn’t pitched in a game since Aug. 2, 2008 when he had to have Tommy John surgery.
The plan is for Wagner to come off the disabled list on Friday and start throwing in games as an audition for a trade. Wagner has already told the Mets that he would waive his full no-trade clause to go to a contender.
MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Mets put Gary Sheffield and Pedro Feliciano through waivers but both were claimed by team(s). Apparently, the Mets were unable to work out a suitable trade for the players and decided to pull them back. Both players will have to remain with the Mets for the rest of the season.
That’s bad news for Gary Sheffield that’s starting to see diminishing playing time as he doesn’t figure into the Mets plans for 2010. I’m sure that he would’ve loved to go to an American League team in the playoff race despite his comments about wanting to stay with the Mets.
The Mets did another deal with the struggling Washington Nationals today re-acquiring light-hitting infielder Anderson Hernandez. You probably recall that the Mets sent Hernandez to the Nationals about one year ago to complete the deal for Luis Ayala.
This season with the Nats he’s hitting .251| .310| .320 with 9 doubles, 1 homer and 23 RBI’s in 77 games.
The Mets sent Single-A second baseman Greg Veloz to the Nationals in return.
Clearly, this is a move intended as insurance for Luis Castillo‘s injury. This doesn’t bolster the team for a playoff run. Far from it. Hernandez is a live body that can play second base and that’s all.
I have to say that I’m surprised that the Mets didn’t even pull off a minor deal at the non-waiver trade deadline. Of course, there will still be trades for players that have made it through waivers until August 31. After the brutal week that GM Omar Minaya had, he could have used a trade to take the attention away from his lack of mass communication skills.
Victor Martinez going to Boston wasn’t shocking. But I had hoped the Mets would make a splash by landing him. The Mets will need a catcher and first baseman next season and nobody better than Martinez could fit that bill.
I thought that the Mets would have tried to land some Major League talent who is under contract for more than this season. Apparently, the Mets brain trust is married to their prospects. They better pan out. That’s all that I can say.
I haven’t seen anything from Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese, or Fernando Martinez that would prevent me from trading them for a proven Major Leaguer that’s under contract for more than half a season.
I’m not saying that the Mets should have gone all out to make the playoffs this year. But they could have tried to fill some huge holes in the lineup that they’ll have next season. Left field, first base, and catcher are all question marks for next season.
As much as I’d like to see Halladay in a Met uniform, it doesn’t make sense to unload four big prospects for him right now for the Mets. The 2009 season is all but over for the Mets so they shouldn’t be in a position to be buyers right now.
They can get their hands on Halladay after the 2010 season as a free agent anyway. So to give up young players wouldn’t be a prudent move for the Mets as a team. It’s too bad though. I’d love to see Johan Santana and Halladay together for a couple of years.
The Mets and Braves trading right fielders gave me a great opportunity to share opinions on the deal with Braves blogger Peter Hjort of Captiol Avenue Club. Peter does a great job there of documenting the Braves performance. Here are the questions I had for Peter and his answers about what we’ll be seeing from Jeff Francoeur:
Mets Report: Every once in a while you see a very promising young player like Francoeur seemingly lose it and not be able to get it back. In your view, how did Francoeur go from a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2005 to where he is today?
Peter Hjort: Well, there are 2 fundamental problems with Francoeur. The first is his lack of plate discipline. Pitchers figured that out after his monster July of 2005 (his first month in MLB) when he posted an OPS of 1.326. He was able to get by during the remainder of 2005 through 2007 posting decent numbers despite his lack of plate discipline due to his incredible athleticism. After the 2007 off-season he tried to bulk up in an attempt to hit for more power. That backfired and he not only lost the ability to hit for power, he lost the ability to hit at all. His horrendous stats tell half the story and the fact that his bat speed was completely shot in 2008 tells the other half. So the combination of his lack of plate discipline and the deterioration of his athleticism are the reasons he is where he is today. Other issues like his stubbornness (early in his career) and his perceived birthright to a starting role didn’t help. Add that onto the high-pressure situation of playing at the highest level in your home town and you’ve got a rather unfavorable situation.
Mets Report: Is Francoeur’s fielding skill enough to carry him as a corner outfielder if he’s not hitting?
Peter Hjort: No amount of fielding skill in Right Field can make up for how bad he’s been over the past two years. Right Fielders simply don’t have enough defensive chances to make that kind of an impact with their glove. But when he bulked up pre-2008, his foot-speed went with his bat speed and he’s been a below-average defender in right for a year and a half now. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 he was very good in right displaying average range and a plus plus arm. The arm is still there and this year he’s re-gained some of the range he lost in 2008. As he continues to shed the raw muscle and get into better “baseball shape” his range should come back and he’ll be an above-average defender again before we know it. He has the potential to be the best defensive RF in the game. But when you’re putting up a sub-.300 OBP, you just can’t make up for it with corner OF defense.
Mets Report: It seemed like some ill will developed last season between Francoeur and the Braves when they sent him back to the minors for a few day. Is that accurate?
Peter Hjort: Yes. That is accurate. Francoeur didn’t approve of the demotion. He also seemed upset that Frank Wren and Bobby Cox only gave him “a five minute meeting” to explain the demotion. But Francoeur eventually realized he was being a bit immature and in the words of many, he grew up a lot from that experience. I’m sure the organization was irked by his public comments and refusal to admit he was hurting the team, but they never showed any signs of disapproval–especially since he was recalled after only 3 days. Francoeur has always been good about saying the right things to the media with regards to his teammates but not so much when talking about the coaching staff or the front office.
Mets Report: Do you think that the Braves would have non-tendered Francoeur after this season?
Peter Hjort: Yes. I don’t think there’s any chance they would’ve tendered him a contract. The Braves simply can’t afford to take a chance on a guy not producing offensively in his 2nd year of arbitration. I think the upside of the move for the Mets is that Francoeur has 2 option years left and if he continues to struggle the Mets can probably afford to stash a player in his 2nd year of arbitration in AAA in hopes that he gets his swing back.
Mets Report: What was Francoeur’s reputation in terms of locker room presence?
Peter Hjort: Francoeur was loved by teammates and was always a positive influence in the locker room. When Francoeur was down, the team was down. When he was up, the team was up. I’ve heard loads of anecdotes about him being a tremendous positive influence in the locker room and none about him being a negative influence. He will certainly be a great addition from that perspective.
Thanks to Peter for doing a great job with his answers and giving us some insight into what we’ll see from Francoeur. The down side of this deal is that it seems to be universal opinion that the Braves would have non-tendered Francoeur after this season and the Mets could have picked him up for nothing.
You can read my answers to Peter’s questions about Ryan Church at Capitol Avenue Club.
The Mets Report 