Category: Trades

Mets Trade Jeff Francoeur To Texas Rangers

July 18, 2010 - San Francisco, CA, United States of America - 18 July 2010; San Francisco, CA: New York Mets Jeff Francoeur.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsJeff Francoeur is done in New York. It’s not a huge surprise as he was going to be non-tendered after the season anyway.

Here’s the press release from the Mets:

FLUSHING, N.Y. — The New York Mets today announced they traded outfielder Jeff Francoeur to the Texas Rangers in exchange for infielder Joaquin Arias.

Arias, 25, hit .276 (27-for-98) with five doubles, one triple, no home runs, 18 runs scored and nine RBIs in 50 games for Texas this season. The 6-1, 165-pound right-handed-hitting infielder made starts at second base (16), first base (five) and shortstop (one) this season for the Rangers, making two errors in 121 total chances (.983 fielding percentage). He landed on the 15-day disabled list twice with a lower back strain, first from April 30 to May 16 and then again from July 31 to Aug. 16. He was designated for assignment on Aug. 24.

A career .286 hitter, Arias originally signed a non-drafted free-agent contract with the New York Yankees on July 12, 2001. The Rangers acquired him on March 23, 2004, as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees. Arias, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, made his Major League debut on Sept. 13, 2006, at Detroit, playing in 91 games for the Rangers over parts of four seasons.

Francoeur, 26, hit .237 (95-for-401) with 16 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 43 runs scored and 54 RBIs in 124 games for the Mets this season. Acquired from the Braves in exchange for Ryan Church on July 10, 2009, the 6-5, 220 pound Francoeur hit .268 (185-for- 690) with 21 home runs and 95 RBIs in 199 games with the Mets. http://mlb.mlb.com/scripts/webtools.js

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Dodgers Claim Rod Barajas on Waivers

New York Mets Rod Barajas reacts at the plate in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field in New York City on May 12, 2010. The Nationals defeated the Mets 6-4. UPI/John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets assigned Rod Barajas to the Dodgers today on a waiver claim. It’s a good move for both teams and Barajas as well. The Dodgers have absolutely no offense at catcher with Russell Martin on the disabled list, Brad Ausmus and A.J. Ellis couldn’t hit their way out of a paper bag. So they’ll gain a little benefit from having Barajas.

It seems like this is the rare win-win-win situation. The Mets unload a useless player and dump salary in a meaningless season, the Dodgers get a little more offense from the catcher, and Barajas gets to go home to L.A. Jesus Feliciano will take over Barajas’ roster spot which is much more useful for the Mets.

Barajas has done next to nothing for the Mets for most of this season. He has 17 hits since the end of May! Although he seems like a good guy, he’s wasting a roster spot at this point.

Josh Thole is doing a nice job and Henry Blanco is a capable backup that the pitchers like to throw to.

Take a look at Barajas’ stats for 2010 by month and it’s easy to see why he’s history.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/js/sr_share.js
Report from Baseball-reference.com

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Carlos Beltran’s Future with the Mets

July 23, 2010 Los Angeles, CA..Mets Carlos Beltran in action during the Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets defeated the Dodgers, 6-1..Josh Thompson/CSM.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsIt’s been over two weeks since Carlos Beltran’s return from his knee injury and you can just about stick a fork in the Mets. Prior to his return, I was cautiously optimistic that Beltran would be capable of igniting a power surge in the middle of the lineup. This has not been the case. Instead, we’ve seen him not be able to bat his weight and not be able to display his graceful mobility in center field, suggesting that he is better suited for a corner outfield position at this stage in his career. With another month and half left of what just about promises to be meaningless baseball, Carlos Beltran’s future can be a topic of discussion.

Should the Mets shop him around to other teams this off-season or no? He is Carlos Beltran, and when healthy, he undoubtedly provides a game changing presence. My answer to that question is ‘no’ based on the fact that he will be playing for a new contract in 2011 with his biggest fan Scott Boras by his side. Beltran also has a full no-trade clause and would likely request a contract extension and only accept a trade to a few teams to waive that clause. Continue reading “Carlos Beltran’s Future with the Mets”

Video: Mets’ Minaya on 2010 Trading Deadline

April 27 2010: Mets' starting pitcher Oliver Perez (46) delivers a pitch during game 2 of a double header MLB game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. The Mets beat the Dodgers 10-5.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsHere’s some video from ESPN with Omar Minaya talking about the Mets lack of activity at the non-waiver trading deadline yesterday. The biggest issue he talks about is that other teams were interested in the Mets young players that are making an impact in the bigs this year like Jon Niese, Josh Thole, Ike Davis, and Bobby Parnell.

It wouldn’t make sense to me to trade those guys for a rental pitcher like a Ted Lilly or Jake Westbrook. The Mets are 6.5 games out of the division and the wild card today. It wouldn’t make sense to make bold moves when they’re not really in either race at the moment.

The Mets need to keep working hard to unload the dead weight on the roster in August. It’s a guarantee that Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo will be going through waivers this week. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jeff Francoeur went through waivers this month either. There’s no chance he’ll be offered arbitration after this season. So there’s no reason not to put him through waivers to see if there’s a taker out there.

Here’s the video:

http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf

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Mets Quiet at 2010 Trade Deadline

July 23, 2010 Los Angeles, CA..Mets Luis Castillo in action during the Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets defeated the Dodgers, 6-1..Josh Thompson/CSM.

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. Continue reading “Mets Quiet at 2010 Trade Deadline”

Report: Mets-Royals Trade Talks

May 09, 2010 - Queens, United States - epa02150708 New York Mets starting pitcher Oliver Perez firing a pitch to home plate to the San Francisco Giants in the first inning at Citi Field, in Queens, New York, 09 May 2010.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsFox Sports Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Mets and Royals are still talking about an Oliver Perez for Gil Meche deal. That isn’t news. It’s been out there for a few days. It wouldn’t be an earth shattering trade considering both pitchers are considered diminished goods with bad contracts.

The big news is that there are several other names included in the discussion including Jeff Francoeur, Luis Castillo, Kyle Farnsworth, and Jose Guillen.

It would be interesting to see if they could work out a deal that was a minor facelift for the Mets. I’m not sure that a trade like this would have any major implications for the season other than to shake things up. But sometimes, that’s all it takes to get things moving in the right direction.

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Chone Figgins To Mets Trade Could Work

Jul 16, 2010; Anaheim, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman Chone Figgins (9) bats during the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. The Angels defeated the Mariners 3-2. . Photo via Newscom

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsIf Omar Minaya was smart, he would contact the Mariners’ Jack Zduriencik about trading bad contracts before the non-waiver trading deadline. I have to imagine that the Mariners would love to dump Chone Figgins after the fight in the dugout on Friday with manager Don Wakamatsu. Obviously, the Mets would love to unload their own bad contracts, i.e. Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo.

The funny thing is that the money is pretty even. Castillo and Perez are owed a combined approximately $25 million over the next year and a half. Figgins is owed about $29 million through 2013 plus he has a vesting option for 2014 for $9 million if he gets 600 plate appearances in 2013. The money is fairly close.

The Mets would appear to be getting the better player in the deal but they’d be absorbing more money and potentially more risk if Figgins continues to be a problem. He’s also 32 years-old and his offensive numbers have fallen off a cliff this year. There’s the added risk that he’s in a severe performance decline and the Mets are stuck with a long-term contract for him.

I think it’s a nice “change of scenery” deal for both teams that the Mets had luck with last season when they moved Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur. I don’t think it would be as easy as the deal with the Braves. But the Mets would probably have to throw in a prospect to make it work. Continue reading “Chone Figgins To Mets Trade Could Work”