The Mets are shopping outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman suggests the Mets might not have much of a role for Matthews, and the Reds are a trade possibility.
Matthews has two years remaining on his contract, and when the Mets acquired him from the Angels in January the Halos agreed to include $21.5MM. Even on a two-year, $2MM commitment, the Mets will likely find that Matthews has little trade value. Who wants a 35-year-old malcontent who doesn't hit or play strong defense? Free agent Alex Romero, for example, is much younger, won't be a distraction, and can be acquired for a smaller commitment. The Reds, by the way, still have six outfielders in camp (seven if you count Juan Francisco) and no clear need for Matthews.
I really doubt the Reds are a possibility. Next thing you know Mets fans will be on here proposing GMJ for Brandon Phillips and Arroyo trades.
Wow… already? Must be because Matthews Jr. is starting to complain again.
Guess Omar shouldn’t have traded for him in the first place…
This cracks me up. Of course they’re shopping him, it’s Gary Matthews Jr.
Why to people keep thinking the Reds are a possibility?
I know i agree with you , The reds are NOT a trading partner and writers should get that in there head the reds dont want him or need him so stop bring it up. We have Gomes, Dickerson, Stubbs,Nix four outfielders for two spots , matthews is useless to us and probally every team in the mlb
The only outfielder i would like to see in the reds uniform is Eliajh (sp) Dukes he has alot of upside if he can straighten up his act
5 actually, can’t forget Jay Bruce, or is that the person that you put in the other spot?
Well im counting Jay Bruce as a lock for right so i was just counting the ones competing for a job in center its between stubbs and dickerson then left you have gomes nix and dickerson
Does Sherman even know there’s a team in Cincinnati? With the speculation that they would be interested in GMJ, my guess is no.
Reds have two leadoff/CF candidates in Dickerson and Stubbs who are more than 600k less expensive each, Bruce in RF, and Gomes and Balentien as LF and backup outfielders. And Francisco waiting in the wings.
But you don’t know Toothpick Baker.
He is probably lobbying for GMJ so that he has an excuse to add some “veteran presence” (code words for, “I just want to fill out the line up card and chew on my toothpicks but have no interest in teaching any of the young players anything, being responsible for the actions that go on in the club house or make in game decisions other than having a guy Bunt every now and then and make a late inning double switch”).
If the Reds trade for GMJ, Chris Dickerson will probably be the one going to the Mets and Stubbs will probably be sent to the Minors so as to get regular playing time.
Yeah, the Reds make no sense for Matthews Jr. When you throw in the Dusty aspect, it makes perfect sense. I can see ‘Trusty In Dusty’ telling his good friend Matthews Sr. he would give Jr. a look. I’m not sure if he can convence his boss though. It would be a typical Dusty move, not a good Reds move.
Toothpick convinced Ca$htellini to waste $3 million dollars on Corey Patterson. So much so that then GM Wayne Krivsky was told to “do whatever it takes” to get Patterson.
My question has always been, if hiring Baker as Manager was Wayne Krivsky’s idea all along then WHY did Krivsky have to be TOLD to “do whatever it takes” to get Patterson and WHO told him to do that?
If Krivsky trusted Baker enough to want him as Manager then WHY didn’t he trust him enough to just go out and sign Patterson on his own? Why did Krivsky have to be told to do so and who has enough power in the organization to do that?
Most likely only grumpy Bob Ca$htellini.
So, if Baker had Ca$htellini’s ear on acquiring the mistake that was Patterson then the Reds made a similiar mistake in going after Taveras, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ca$htellini says to go after GMJ, if Baker wants him to.
Good points. If he has Cashtellini’s ear, which make sense, then a GMJ possibility can not be totally ruled out.
Calm down with the Mets/Omar bashing. GMJ was only insurance to compete with Pagan. The trade wasn’t that bad as people want to make it out to be. Stokes was a dime a dozen reliever and ever since GMJ has been in Mets camp all he has done is hit and hit. The man was a distraction in LA, but give the man a break, at least he wasn’t a Milton Bradley.
GMJ wasnt a distraction. He waited until the season was over and then asked to be traded. He wasnt a malcontent, he wasnt a distraction. He is a very average baseball player who was wrongly given an exceptional contract… think travis hafner among other roiders who suddenly declined once the tests were in place.
For 2 million for 2 years he is a good deal. He isnt a worthless complainer, (without steroids) the guy is just an average baseball player.
I think that the Nationals, Yankees and possibly the Cubs would come up first in my mind as opposed to the Reds. Plus, Matthews looked pretty good at the plate and in the outfield this Spring so he should draw some interest. Unfortunately, the Mets won’t get much for him considering his age and salary. Whichever club he ends up on, he will perform for them.
can i ask you why the yankees? They have gardner,winn,thames, competing for the left field spot gardner will hopefully get it and thames will be the right hand bat and winn as the other out fielder so they dont really need him then
Right now, it doesn’t look like the Yankees have all the confidence in the world with Gardner, which explains why they keep acquiring more and more people to compete for the LF job. I’m skeptical of the Winn signing. For years, I haven’t envisioned him as anything more than a platoonm or 5th outfielder. I would like to see Thames pull ahead, but he’s had a less than impressive Spring Training. Weber has even surpassed him. Matthews would have provided a nice tandem in left and would have provided additional flexibility considering he can play all three outfield positions. Obviously, this would leave Thames flapping in the wind. But he needs to produce.
Right now, it doesn’t look like the Yankees have all the confidence in the world with Gardner, which explains why they keep acquiring more and more people to compete for the LF job. I’m skeptical of the Winn signing. For years, I haven’t envisioned him as anything more than a platoonm or 5th outfielder. I would like to see Thames pull ahead, but he’s had a less than impressive Spring Training. Weber has even surpassed him. Matthews would have provided a nice tandem in left and would have provided additional flexibility considering he can play all three outfield positions. Obviously, this would leave Thames flapping in the wind. But he needs to produce.
blech. no thanks from a nats fan. i’d rather see them stick willie harris out there every day.
Trading away our 8th inning man for GMJ was real smart.
You must be outta your mind, Stokes was an 8th inning guy? LMAO cats like you make us Mets fans look foolish. Stokes was a dime a dozen reliever and people too often fall in love with the fastball. That’s all he had, an average to above average fastball at most. Be glad Stokes was traded for GMJ and not a prospect that probably would of came back to bite us in our asses.
Stokes is a far more useful player than GMJ. An actual bag of balls is worth more than GMJ.
You’re kidding right? You’d take the useless GMJ over Stokes who was used over Green, only because Manuel is awful, and then overused. Stokes was fine in the pen, don’t know what you’re talking about.
“Who wants a 35-year-old malcontent who doesn’t hit or play strong defense?”
At least he’s tainted by steroids.
I took a stupid move by a stupid GM to land GMJ in NY so I’m guessing it’ll take an even more stupid set of circumstances to get him out of NY. Someone go wake up Dusty……
Don’t you mean wake up Jim Hendry?
Shhhhhhh….he still thinks the Cubs have a shot at dodging this bullet.
I think even Hendry would say no thanks to that one.
I think you give him too much credit.
Exhibit A. Milton Bradley’s contract
Exhibit B. Alfonso Soriano’s contract
Not the best decision maker.
In fairness, the Soriano contract was not all Hendry. All the Cubs bosses (Sam Zell, Crane Kenney, John McDonough and Hendry and his people) wanted the ‘big splash’ to make the team look more attractive when it was for sale.
Bradley was all Hendry.
The other reason I say Hendry would pass is both Soriano and Bradley were coming off big years and were suppose to be key pieces when Hendry signed them. Matthews Jr. is not so much. The Cubs, like many every other teams, have internal options at a fraction of the cost that can provide what Matthews Jr. can these days. Plus, the new owner has Hendry on a tighter leash that when Soriano or Bradley were signed. Hendry is hoping 2010 is a playoff team for his job. No chance he rolls dice on a GMJ when the wounds of Bradley’s signing is still fresh.
Why did the Reds pick Corey (Two pitch At Bat) Patterson off the scrap heap and give him a $3 million dollar contract?
Why did the Reds pick Willie Taveras off the scrap heap and give him a two year, $6.25 million dollar contract?
Because Toothpick Baker is NOT a good judge of talent and thinks that just because a guy is fast he HAS to play Center Field and he HAS to bat lead off.
Why would the Reds be interested in Gary Matthews Jr?
So that Toothpick Baker can complete the trifecta of having (crappy, past their prime) fast Center Fielders with low On Base Percentages bat lead off and play poor defense.
And so that social worker Baker can give one more guy some undeserved playing time before they are forced to schlep from one team to another getting Minor League deals or are forced into retirement.
Why are the Reds interested in Gary Mathews Jr?
Because neither Chris Dickerson nor Drew Stubbs will date Dusty’s daughter.
Better question: Why is anyone interested in Gary Matthews Jr.?
He’s not that bad. Dont get me wrong, he’s not great and all angels fans celebrated the day he packed it up, but he’s got some value. The guy is an average hitter and fielder and he doesn’t complain much.
“The Mets might not have much of a role for Matthews…”
The good news is that I won’t have to watch Gary Matthews Jr.’s sorry ass play the game of baseball badly.
The bad news is that this is what, $3M or so that the Mets have blown on guys (GMJ, Kelvim Escobar) that will never even play an inning for the team? AWESOME! If this season is anything but a total trainwreck, I’ll be shocked.
If GMJ didn’t like being a 4th OF in LA, he’s going to LOVE being out of baseball. Take your millions and go home.
Why would they even get him in the first place?
Someone needed to tell Omar when he was grabbing Matthews at a fraction of his contract that if you actually just had two years and two million remaining of Matthews, it would be an easy decision to just release him. To not only acquire him, but trade someone with a pulse for him, well that’s just stupid.
yeah, the angels were probably like a week away from just DFA’ing him so thanks minaya, you saved us a couple million and gave us a nice reliever.
Have any of you paid attention to GMJ this Spring? he’s in roid shape, batting great and playing a good CF. The Mets only gave up Brian Stokes for him. Stokes would not have made the team this season..NO he would not have. Calero is a better pitcher.
The NY Mets will get a better return for GMJ that what they gave up in Stoke
Who would trade anything of value for Matthews?
Putting stock into ST stats is always a good idea.
yup…considering if he was hitting .050 and playing crap defense, people would jump all over Omar even more than they have…
u cant have it both ways
I’d rather have a dime a dozen middle reliever than a dime a dozen 5th outfielder who complains about playing time.
Isn’t his full name Clubhouse Cancer Gary Matthews Jr.? He’s a great fit for the Cubs…someone needs to take over for Milton Bradley.
though the New York Mets seem like a New York mess, they are not the ones that should be wearing the stain that “was/is” GMJ. that is clearly on the Halos of Los Anaheim, a team that is both one of the smartest (that crop of players they grew, the way they play) and stupidest (their free agent deals, as in GMJ)
but the real question here: “was OR is”
Are all these posts just painting Matthews with the same brush from LA? Or is the guy’s apparently strong spring a sign he’s focused and has some baseball life yet?
some guys can bounce back from a lot farther than GMJ: hello Fernando Tatis
How about the Giants..?
packaging GMJ, one minor league prospect, and either Maine or Pelfrey for Jonathan Sanchez ?
Yep, that is what scares/angers me.
Baker has proven that he can only win when he has a team with a payroll in the upper third of the NL and a steroid abusing power hitter batting in the middle of his line up yet Ca$htellini thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Personally, I would MUCH rather have a Manager from the Florida Marlins as the Reds Manager.
Going into the season, those guys KNOW they are going to have a team payroll at or near the bottom of the NL. They also know that, even if they are in Play Off contention near the trade deadline, there is NO guarantee the owners will open up the wallet and spend money to acquire better players.
So, with all of that in mind, they work their butts off every day trying to get the most out of the talent they have. If that means that a veteran sits while a younger player plays than so be it. If that means batting a fast Center Fielder with a low On Base Percentage or a Short Stop near the bottom of the order then so be it.
But not rigid Toothpick Baker. HE just HAS to bat that Center Fielder lead off and that SHort Stop second and he just HAS to play that veteran, even if it means hurting the team in doing so.
So, again, if Gary Mathews Jr is available and Toothpick Baker has ANY say in the matter, there is ALWAYS a chance the Reds trade for him. Since Chris Dickerson seems to have gotten on Baker’s bad side, then I think he would be one of those involved in a GMJ trade.
To everyone saying the reds will be acquiring GMJ because of toothpick dusty and old bob – let me remind u that this is the only reason anyone would suggest this – and let me remind u that neither of those guys have any power over WALT JOCKETTY – he is the man in cincy and yes he messed up on tavares but won’t happen again
Ha! Don’t tell me Sarge Jr.’s already worn out his welcome. Not that this was a great trade for either team, but at least Stokes has some upside. $2 mil is chump change for the Mets, so it’s not a big deal to just release him. Still, sounds like Omar didn’t do his homework….again.
“Who wants a 35-year-old malcontent who doesn’t hit or play strong defense?”
Wow. Tell us what you really think.
“Who wants a 35-year-old malcontent who doesn’t hit or play strong defense?”
Wow. Tell us what you really think.