The Mets recently re-engaged the Diamondbacks in trade talks for catcher Chris Snyder, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. However, Sherman says there will be no deal because the Mets wanted the D'Backs to assume almost all of the $4.75MM Snyder will earn in 2010.
Snyder is also owed $5.75MM in 2011 and a $750K buyout on a 2012 club option. He'll turn 29 in a few days and is coming off September back surgery. On January 20th, the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro did a piece examing the pros and cons of trading Snyder from the D'Backs' point of view.
Sherman takes the re-engagement on Snyder as a sign that the Mets would like to improve upon their current catching options – Omir Santos, Josh Thole, and Henry Blanco. Sherman recommends the Mets go after free agent Rod Barajas.
Sherman also advises the Mets allocate some of the money earmarked for Joel Pineiro and Bengie Molina toward free agents such as Russell Branyan, Kiko Calero, Felipe Lopez, and Jarrod Washburn. MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone would like to see at least some of those players pursued.
maybe if the mets didnt waiste 2 million on cora they could sign lopez. they should sign barajas. i doubt it would take very much at this point. in addition the mets are one of the only teams where he could get significant playing time. the mets were rushed at the begining of the offseason with guys like cora and blanco, yet they were too patient on molina and piniero and let them get away. terrible offseason.
They still have the money they didn’t spend on Molina, Lackey/assorted FA starters, and appropriate bullpen help. The Mets got the dollars…they just ain’t got any sense.
Although I agree that most of this FA is not worth the money, Mets could always spend some of the money and claim it desperation. Sign Hudson. If Castillo is really that bad then forget about the money, especially if they are willing to eat it. I’m sure someone is willing to take him for hardly anything, look at GMJ. Right now, they need to sign Lopez. They can use him just about anywhere and if he can play like he did last season, he’d be a great addition. Not that the Mets need any more OBP guys… here’s my line-up:
1. Reyes 2. Lopez 3. Wright 4. Beltran 5. Bay 6. Murphey/Branyan 7. Frenchy 8. Catcher
Yeah, it’s been “forget-about-the-money-and-do-what-you-gotta-do” time for a while now, and somehow the FO still hasn’t quite caught on. They need to sign some folks, and the players you mention will do. Of course….fans will probably have to organize a full-scale protest in front of their offices before Omar & Jeff get a clue….
If Frenchy and Wright return to form, you have yourself an A++ offense. Then Reyes and Beltran need to be healthy. You would also need something from Murphy, Castillo, and your catcher. Lastly, if the Rotation can hold it’s own, you have a great team.
That’s a lot of IF’s, but they are all within reason. Plus, if you overboard the team you can find a few perfect pieces and go with it. Eventually you could end up competing strongly.
If all else fails, save the money for 2010 and make a strong push then. Who becomes a FA at the end of the year?
Yes they are all big “IF’s,” and while I think some are attainable, I don’t see everything snapping into place in the ideal way you speculate about. Despite his great showing I really have questions about how Frenchy will do over an extended period of time in NY. He had a nice comeback last season, but it wasn’t a full one with the Mets. A change of scenery revives some players, but for some their “revival” is on a short-term basis. So offensively we’ll just have to see what we have in him as he racks up significant time in Queens. The pitching…I just can’t swear by it after what I have seen. For me they’re going to have to prove themselves.
As for FA, not a lot coming off the team books from what I recall, but it’s going to be a feeding frenzy with many prime SP and position players coming available. If the Mets are more or less done making pickups for this season, it’s a good time to make ye olde 2011 wish list!
correction, when you miss out on overpaying overhyped players such as molina and piniero, its a good offseason.
Not when you have even worse glaring holes on your team.
Their is one glaring hole…..#2 starter, thats it. Everything else is easily debatable.
Debatable yes, but there are far too many debates. I don’t the Mets have a #2 or #3 pitcher. 2B, in Castillo is hardly debatable. OBP is good yes, but SLG is even worse. I expect your catcher to have an OPS of .730. 1 injured position player who was also injured last year. 1 pos player who was injured last year. 1 player who needs to bounce back, and I think Wright will. Another 1 player who needs to bounce back from a 2-year stint, but proved he could. 1B is below average but doable. Cather is the obvious glaring hole. Some can be filled through FA, but none of them will fix the weakness there. Outside of K-Rod, Santana, Beltran(out for 2 months), Reyes(bounce back from injury), Bay(needs to provide adequate D), & Wright(prob will bounce back), the Mets have nothing. Now I believe those players will bounce back and do well for this year, but it’s not enough.
To me the Mets season hinges on these players, Maine or Perez and then Escobar or Rygota. Either Maine will have to stay healthy or Perez will have to pitch like he did in 07 or 08. And in the pen, either Rygota or Escobar have to be a successful setup guy.
I admired the Mets hardballing earlier in the season not giving into demands of the FAs but now isn’t the time for that. If they made a stand right now and commited +$10 mil to Lopez, Barajas, some FA pitcher and possibly another addition to several one year deals with incentives I think the team would be in much, much better shape. Hell just replacing Lopez with Castillo alone will look like a gigantic improvement from fans standpoint.
Probably should have read yours before I posted mine.
this franchise is a mess and will be a mess until the Wilpons get smart and fire Minaya. how do you not address the pitcher you need the catcher you need and but turn around and give frenchy 5 million and plus who is playing first base for you guys?
While firing Minaya, the Wilpons might as well fire themselves. These days good ol’ Jeff is at the helm right beside Omar…and together this is what they have to show for it.
If Omar could fire the Wilpons, you’d be on the right track. This is not as much on Omar’s shoulders as you might think — the handcuffs were firmly locked after the Beltran fiasco (he was close on Molina and had an offer to Pineiro, they have not made a move since).
You responded to Fred but I think your comment was for me. What you said is part of the point I’m making. Omar has made his share of mistakes but it has been increasingly with Jeff Wilpon’s influence that his decisions are made these days. From some stuff I’ve read Jeff has long fancied himself “GM material,” but opinion around the League is that his skill in that department is “all in his mind.”
They absolutely have to sign Barajas, but I don’t understand why they’d consider pursuing Felipe Lopez at this point. The Russel Branyan idea isn’t a bad one, but I assume that they’re planning on platooning Tatis and Murphy at 1B, right? And if Washburn would be interested in coming to New York (which doesn’t seem to be the case) they should try to sign him. That would give them 3 lefthanded starters though…
So they were willing to spend that money on Molina, but now they’re not willing to spend it on Snyder?
They should go after Ryan Doumit. Tony Sanchez will start the year of in AA so Doumit had a max of 2 years. Hopefully Minaya does what he usually does (something stupid) and trades Ike Davis for Doumit.
I can’t see the Mets overtaking the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Mariners, or Dodgers. They have the biggest NL payroll and have so many holes. I don’t understand how they could be picky and balk at the cost in a trade for a catcher that will guarantee you don’t have to see Omir Santos every day. What a disaster.
I don’t understand how they could be picky and balk at the cost in a trade for a catcher that will guarantee you don’t have to see Omir Santos every day.
No kidding….especially considering they got plenty of $$ help when they took Gary Matthews Jr. off the Halos’ hands. Imagine that…the biggest payroll in the NL looking for a hand-out.
They could have saved money by not even acquiring GMJ.
The Mets front office is becoming as bad as the Royals a few years ago.
You’re absolutely right – on both counts.
I think I might have to hide under the bed until this season is over…and it didn’t even start yet!
The Mets aren’t even close to the highest NL payroll.
Yes they are…
You know, check the facts, then speak.
Mets were 2nd in the league in payroll in 2009, behind that Yankees and infront of the Cubs (3) and Red Sox (4).
Signing Barajas and Lopez is a must at this point. Even if Lopez starts out on the bench, it would only be a matter of time before Castillo shows signs of being Castillo and hopefully ends up on the waiver wire. Both could be signed for $5-6 mil together tops.
And the only pitcher I would take a chance on at this point is Wang. Same as the Sheets situation but less money invested. If it it works out, great. If not, its only 1 year.
“Even if Lopez starts out on the bench, it would only be a matter of time before Castillo shows signs of being Castillo”
Not only that, but Lopez would provide a lot of the depth the Mets desperately need. He is an average to above, starting capable player who would be able to back up/take over for Castillo plus back-up Reyes and Wright in case of injury and even see an inning or two in left in an absolute pinch.
The Mets issue last season wasnt the injuries as much as having almost exclusively replacement level back-ups for their starters. Of course you are going to have some injuries, you need someone able to fill in with semi-respectable numbers. You need a bench that doesnt resemble something generally found in the independent leagues, and you need a couple guys in Triple-A who have been in the majors so you dont have to go looking for scraps after the need arises. Last year the number of injuries ended up getting rather extreme, but could one or two possibly even been avoided if the team didnt rely so heavily on the remaining stars to pick up the slack once the first guy or two went down?
It boils down to this. You cant spend 150 Million on 5-6 Positional Players and 5-6 members of your Pitching Staff then surround them by nearly worthless players and expect good things to happen. But that seems to be exactly his plan right now and it is going to backfire once again the first time anyone hits the DL.
who’s payroll is $150mil? And the main thing the Mets did accomplish this offseason is adding good options to compete for the bench while keeping their prospects who are near ML ready.
“who’s payroll is $150mil?”
Sorry, 120 after 150 last season
“And the main thing the Mets did accomplish this offseason is adding good options to compete for the bench”
The bench (and the starters who shouldnt be starting):
Francouer – replacement level to slightly above
Murphy – replacement level to slightly above
Matthews – replacement level
Cora – replacement level
Hernandez – replacement level
Coste – replacement level
J. Cabrera – replacement level
M. Hessman – replacement level
H. Blanco – replacement level to maybe slightly above
who else did they add?
So far, the only worthy bench player is Pagan, who is about average. With holes in Right, First and Catcher and replacement level or below players on the bench to fill the gaps and backup everyone else you have zero depth
Until francouer reverts back to his Braves stats, he is adequate. Murphy is a prospect who is a hard worker and improved. You kow, not all prospects come into the league as good ML players. Mathews will most likely be gone by the time Beltran is back. Other players who will be competing for a bench spot are Thole, FMart, Evans, Tatis, Carter.
But, whats the point in even responding to your garbage when Pagan is only “average” as a bench player? I’m sure just about every team has a guy who switch hits and can play all 3 OF spots and hit around .300 with around an .800 ops.
“Until francouer reverts back to his Braves stats”
Oh yeah, that wont happen :/ Francouer is replacement level
“Murphy is a prospect who is a hard worker and improved”
Who was only average at-best in the minors (dont let a .380 BAbip fool you into thinking a slash-line is the players ability)
“Other players who will be competing for a bench spot are Thole, FMart, Evans, Tatis, Carter”
Which is their internal options, a fairly average hitting DH received from Boston and Tatis.
“when Pagan is only “average” as a bench player?”
.281/.331/.443/.774 100 OPS+ over career. Again, average.
Frenchy seemed to thrive playing in NY. Some players are meant for the big city while others can’t handle it. If he flat out sucks, I’m sure Pagan will get his spot, or possibly FMart depending on how he is doing in AAA.
I believe in Murphy, I’ve watched every game he plays. I dont expect him to develop into a big time player but I do believe he is capable of developing into a .280avg and 20hrs player while becoming a good 1B(currently working with K.hernandez).
I also forgot to mention catalanato as a bench option. As far as Tatis goes, while I’m not a huge fan, not many other players are going to give you around .280avg/.775ops w/ 8-10hrs and play just about everywhere off the bench.
“Frenchy seemed to thrive playing in NY.”
To finish the sentence, “for about three weeks”. He hit a combined .286/.320/.468 after the trade and into September then .368/.382/.563 the final three weeks of the season.
“I believe in Murphy… but I do believe he is capable of developing into a .280avg and 20hrs player”
Which is fine, but his prior ability shown points to a ceiling around average. BUT, if your expectations are merely .280/20 HR with his 7% BB range and average range ISO then you are merely hoping he becomes average so we pretty much agree – currently somewhere around replacement with the ceiling of average.
Makes to much sense for our team. It’s tough
Didn’t Snyder fail a physical when the Jays were going to trade for him?
no. snyder is doing really well and is alredy taking batting practice.
Oh my god Snyder thats great minaya/wilpons what an upgrade for the team. Are you guys seriously kidding me. How about you go back on the mike francesa show and apologize to all the mets fans for lying to them at the end of last year. You are charging an crazy amount for tickets and the Washington Nationals have a better roster then you guys do. Do me a favor trade for meche or arroyo and add felipe lopez maybe i will be a little excited for this year!
Who is the nationals ace? who is their closer? who are the nats top players? i’m sure that zimmerman and dunn is better than having wright, reyes, beltran, bay. talk some more, its funny.
Johan, Bay Reyes and Wright will be fine.
Frenchie, Maine, and Perez yes Ollie Perez will be average.
Our Catchers, Murphy and Castillo suck.
K-Rod could go either way., depending on how competitive the team is.
Out of all their question marks they need Pelfrey to step up and produce. This is his 3rd year as a 30+ start a year starting pitcher, he’s home grown, makes only 500K. No excuses.Speaking of question marks, Beltran is on the top of that list. he has to prove his career he is not done.Finally, Met payroll has to have been reduced at least 20 million. The better use at least a little of that to land a catcher.
Disagree with Frenchie, Maine and Ollie being average.
Maine is a good pitcher. I pray he stays healthy but doubt it
If the Mets want to be taken seriously they need to upgrade their rotation. I have little or no issue with their lineup if guys stay healthy. Bench could be better but if starters stay healthy — and the bench players don’t have to play every day like last year — they’ll be helpful. Beltran coming back will be a huge factor. If he’s out more than a month, ouch. If he’s only out a month max, then OK.
Pitching, not catching, is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Who are they kidding with those four guys after Santana? And I actually like John Maine and Mike Pelfrey but as they like to say on NFL Live: “C’mon mannnnnnnnnnnnnnn.”
Pitching, not catching, is the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
If only the gorilla could pitch….
No ones talking about players who could be in this trade. If the dbacks pay snyders salary this season they are going to want a good prospect. Maybe Ike Davis hes from Arizona and played at ASU plus it gives a better option than Allen as the future firstbaseman. Or snyder for a lower level catcher to play as a backup and the mets take on his salary, then the dbacks sign another starter maybe even jump in on a Washburn level guy.
A lot of people are bagging on Snyder, yes he has been hurt lately but when healthy he has been a solid backstop. Great defense and his bat was starting to pick up and had good flashes before he got hurt. In 07 playoffs he was one of the best bats on the team. As someone whos watched him a lot since he went pro it would not surprise me if he turned it around and became an allstar one day
No ones talking about players who could be in this trade. If the dbacks pay snyders salary this season they are going to want a good prospect. Maybe Ike Davis hes from Arizona and played at ASU plus it gives a better option than Allen as the future firstbaseman. Or snyder for a lower level catcher to play as a backup and the mets take on his salary, then the dbacks sign another starter maybe even jump in on a Washburn level guy.
A lot of people are bagging on Snyder, yes he has been hurt lately but when healthy he has been a solid backstop. Great defense and his bat was starting to pick up and had good flashes before he got hurt. In 07 playoffs he was one of the best bats on the team. As someone whos watched him a lot since he went pro it would not surprise me if he turned it around and became an allstar one day
There is no way the Dbacks could get a prospect like Davis for Snyder.
just trade castillo for snyder, jeez, the money is even.