The Mets currently appear likely to go with Ruben Tejada at shortstop, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo writes. "The same three alternatives exist: sign a free agent, make a trade or go with what we have, subject to probably bringing in a backup to Tejada," says GM Sandy Alderson. "I'd say right now, it's probably more likely that we will go with Option C, which is Ruben at shortstop with the addition of a backup." That means the Mets appear unlikely to sign Stephen Drew. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- The Orioles have not yet upgraded at designated hitter, MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli notes. They're still interested in Kendrys Morales, but don't want to part with the draft pick it will cost to sign him. If they don't end up signing Morales, they could just platoon Nolan Reimold and Henry Urrutia, while sometimes freeing DH up to provide other players with days off from fielding.
- Curtis Granderson of the Mets and Ubaldo Jimenez are likely to be the biggest busts of this year's free-agent class, various GMs tell ESPN's Jim Bowden (Insider-only). One GM cites Granderson's home run total will drop in Citi Field, and another says Jimenez's inconsistent delivery will be an issue.
- The Diamondbacks or Mariners would be the best fit for the Rays' David Price, GMs tell Bowden. Arizona could sign Price long-term and has the talent needed to get the Rays to part with him, one GM says.
No as a dbacks fan, I would trade owings, Brandon Jacobs, and Brandon Drury. That’s it I just don’t think we should have to deplete our farm system for 2 years of price.
I don’t think an old running back does much good for the Rays.
Jacobs would be a throw in.
This is why fans do not get to make trades.
Chris owing is better then jurickson profar by the way, comparing pretty important stats.
What’s the stat? “Ws in last name?”
That package wouldn’t get you Samardzija, let alone Price. If you’re going to throw something out there, at least make it something somewhat reasonable. Would you take Lee, Brett and Kiermaier for Goldy?
I don’t even know who those people are so probably not.
If the Orioles are interested in Morales but are constantly said to be unwilling to give up the draft pick can we just give it rest already? It has grown tiresome.
i thought this post was going to be about the orioles interest in ike davis but are unwilling to give up young pitching for him at first
No GM on Earth would trade Eduardo Rodriguez+ for Ike Davis. Well, other than Sandy Alderson, that is.
Mad Libs. O’s are interested in _______ but are are unwilling to give up _______.
O’s are interested in *a mediocre, over-priced, over-rated DH-only schmoe that should’ve accepted the QO from SEA* but are unwilling to give up *their first round pick, common sense, and dignity.*
I’d like it to go away as well. DD is much too smart to throw away a first round pick on a .780ish OPSing DH that can’t run or play the field when a Wilson Betemit/Steve Pearce DH platoon can be reasonably expected to match or exceed Morales’ production.
Don’t want us to sign Morales either, but didn’t want DD to basically sit pat for two off-season either.
My sources tell me Jim Bowden is a failed gm who didn’t know granderson hit homers in coamerica park in Detroit.
I’ve never liked Bowden
He also hit .272 with a .344 OBP in Comerica. He’s completely changed his approach at the plate since becoming a Yankee. The 20+ HR isn’t all that impressive if he is hitting .220
The BA drop was not impressive, but what was impressive was his RBI and runs surge.
Right, but there is no denying that he changed his approach to cater to Yankee Stadium. He was (for lack of a better term) “swinging for the fences” and pulling the ball. I think it’s much easier to adjust your swing to Yankee Stadium than it is to readjust to a Comerica Park or Citi Field after
If Bowden believes they are busts, then that translates to steals. I’m amazed someone pays Bowden for his “expert” opinions. I think he still believes Lastings Milledge in an MVP caliber player.
The Rays are contenders, they are not rebuilding. The Mariners and D’Backs may not want to give up their best starting pitcher prospect to make a trade for Price. Writers have to write something when there is no news.
They’re will be many ground balls rolling towards left field on March 31st
It’s almost as if Granderson never played for any other team or in any other park than the Yankees and Yankee Stadium. Over the life of the deal I’d worry about his age and defense but Granderson should still he a very productive, probably not MVP, player. Still people act as if he’s Adam Dunn playing in the grand canyon, he’ll be just fine, and as a Yankee fan I’ll be rooting for him in every non cross-town game.
It’s amazing how 3 months before the season starts, you already “know” who will be the biggest bust of free agency. The media is a joke
Ubaldo & Grandyman are not busts. Grandyman had 2 fluky HBP injuries and Ubaldo just came off a 2nd half where he gave up 3 Home Runs in 344 Plate Appearances, striking out 100 of those batters with a 1.82 ERA.
just going to ignore 2011 and 2012 stats
just going to ignore his 2006-2013 stats?
82-75 = winning pitcher (even with two “down” years when he won 19 games)
3.92 career ERA = top of the rotation
8.3 k/9 = elite
If you take the pitchers who had 1000+ innings since 2007 (basically, starters for 5+ years since 2007), you wind up with 55 guys. Ubaldo’s ranks:
18th in wins
10th (most) in losses
30th in ERA
11th in K/9
He also has the highest BB/9 in that group.
None of that is “top of the rotation” or “elite”. It is slightly above average – which is what he evens out to. When he’s on, he’s a really good pitcher. But he’s too unstable to bank a 4-5 year contract on (which is what he’ll probably get) and be paying $15+ M a year.
If guys like Nolasco are worth it, Ubaldo is worth it..
He’s a year removed from posting a 5.40 ERA, and he’s lost 4 MPH off his fastball in recent years. Whoever ends up throwing away the pick and giving him his 4years/$52 million will very likely end up regretting it. Really hope it isn’t the O’s, which fortunately it almost certainly won’t be since DD’s much too smart to sign him.
What should the O’s do to become a legit contender then? Whenever you sign a FA, you don’t get the best bang for your buck, but how else are you going to improve? You don’t really have anything coming from the minors. Your best young player is coming off a major injury and you’re a year or two away from potentially losing a good chunk of your core to FA. Are you content being a 82-85 win team and treading water?
No, but throwing away draft picks in a very good draft year on middling talent isn’t really going to help their chances long-term. I’d like to see them sign either Burnett or Arroyo for the rotation, re-sign Wilson Betemit to serve as the LH DH with Steve Pearce, and maybe add another reliable RP like K-Rod(though I don’t really care who closes). They’d be in pretty good shape with those moves.
“Curtis Granderson of the Mets and Ubaldo Jimenez are likely to be the biggest busts of this year’s free-agent class”
Jacoby Ellsbury and the $21MM he is due to make this year will be the biggest bust.
Granderson may be a better hitter away from YS3. I thought he got a little pull happy at the end and was fooled more often as a result. Defensively I think he will be a much better LF’er than CF’er.
Jiminez OTOH could be a disaster. Not fooled by his last 2 months of 2013 at all. Giambi might have helped him out there.
Bad teams are bad because GM’s make bad decisions. Going with Tejeda is a bad decision. At the very least it shows a team that does not care much about competing. Mets market is so large their revenues are still enormous compared to other teams in the same class of ineptitude.
The issue with your assessment of Granderson is assuming that he can adjust back to not being “pull happy.” As a Mets fan I really would have preferred 2007-08 Granderson to 2011-12 Granderson
I think he realizes he needs to make that adjustment. Whether it works or not… we’ll see. As for pft2’s comment in the last paragraph of his post, I agree with everything sated, but I can see the logic in going with Tejada for 2014 and looking for a longer term solution next off-season. There just isn’t enough available right now. I don’t see Drew as being enough of an upgrade to warrant the enormous difference in cost.
That’s my exact philosophy regarding Tejada. Tejada probably won’t be your starting short stop in 2016, but Drew definitely won’t be. So, if you believe 2014 is a lost year, then your are signing Drew for 2015 only and shutting the door on Tejada. It just doesn’t make sense to me
How could you call Ubaldo Jimenez a bust before he even signs a contract? If he is considered a bust throughout the league, won’t he get paid like a bust, thus not making him not a bust? Bust-ception
Gotta love the media lets call him a bust before he’s even signed with a MLB team… with that said considering he’ll probably only get a 1 year deal anyway at this point I don’t see how you can even remotely call the guy a bust when he’ll probably have an incentive type contract most likely anyway.
After Reed and Trumbo I don’t think it makes sense for the DBacks to give up anymore for Price. Of course, Towers might be going all in for his job. Personally, I think Price is better than the combination of Trumbo and Reed and I have to think that Eaton, Skaggs, and Davidson would have gotten the job done
The Rays will want Archie Bradley even if Arizona still had Eaton and Skaggs
I’d like to think the Rays aren’t that petty. You can like Archie Bradley all you want but if Kevin Towers says he’s not available, but he’s still giving you fair value with other prospects I think you have to take it.
Also, I’m not condoning trading Archie Bradley, but if you still have Skaggs trading Bradley wouldn’t hurt as much
If DD suddenly loses his mind and signs Morales, you’ll be able to find me at the forefront of a pitchfork and torch-wielding mob outside of the warehouse.
Will your torch be lit though?
My pitch-fork and torches are still in the shop.
The O’s only sign Morales if the O’s sign Jimenez, otherwise it won’t happen!
It will be burning so brightly that it will be visible from space.
And I pray that neither of those things happen.
Granderson might be the worst signing of the offseason so far(pending Cruz, Santana, Morales, and Jimenez- stay tuned lol), even worse than Cano- he’ll be 33 when the season begins, and he’s been noticably in decline for several years now. 4 years at $15 million per for his age 33-36 seasons? Yikes. I have a tough time seeing him being worth 5 or 6 wins over the course of that contract, much less the 9 or 10 he’s being paid for.
He would been fine in Baltimore or in Texas. Not a great signing, but his power would made him decent enough. But as a met, he’s bound to be a failure.
As quickly as he’s declined, I’m not sure he’ll be an everyday player in 2-3 years.
I would only trade for Price if we didnt give up Bradley and we knew we could sign him long term
Dont they play half their games away in other stadiums that might be HR friendly for Grandy?
Curtis Granderson of the Mets and Ubaldo Jimenez are likely to be the biggest busts…. boy that’s a really positive message. It’s not even spring training yet and Bowden is clairvoyant enough to already know all of this?
I say they are going to be the two best free agent signings and I will be more than happy to compare notes to see who is right after the season!
It’s funny I remember Heidi Watney asking who saw Fransisco Liriano coming with the year he had. I did! He was a huge help to the Pirates playoff run in 2013 and I suspect, he will do the same in 2014!
Any free agent can be a bust.
If he doesn’t hit 20 homers, he’s going to have 20 triples. He has legit power and speed.
I’d rather have him patroling my outfield than any other OF on the Met’s 40 man roster
He had one bad season because of a freak injury I don’t see how all of sudden he’s not going to know how to field and hit everyday for the Mets all of sudden. People wishing him to be a bust are just people who probably don’t like New York teams in general which is fine and that’s their opinion but you don’t see a Mets fan like me wishing injury and bust upon their own favorite teams players.
I’m still not buying that Tejada will be the Opening Day SS for the Mets. If anything, I think they’ll make a trade before ST with Tejada as the backup. They need to make some calls around. Andrus & Brad Miller should be their top targets.
I don’t see the Mariners moving Brad Miller. Looks like he could put up 4.0 fWAR next year easily. He plays plus defense at short and has enough power to hit 20+ homers.
I believe either Miller or Franklin will be moved because of Cano. If the Mets offered up Niese, I think it would be hard for them to say no.
I think the Mets would offer up Montero over Niese since the starting rotation is anything but solid right now; there’s plenty of depth but that depth is filled with some major question marks. A Montero+Flores deal for Miller (or Franklin) is one that I think could help both sides out quite a bit. Incidentally, can Franklin actually play short? Miller’s a beast defensively, I’m well aware.
I would not offer up Flores right now because we need an upgrade at 2nd base as it is, plus with the uncertainty at 1st base right now with the options there, I’d slide Murph there due to his production over the likes of Davis & Duda. I think it would be better to offer up Niese & have Montero take over in the rotation, along with picking up some guys with high reward like Niemann and/or Hanson. Seattle’s uncertain over the status of their top prospect Hultzen and Niese would be a nice balance as their #3 SP with Imakuma, Felix, Walker, and Pax.