If the Diamondbacks endure another non-contending season and decide to enter a rebuild, they might have to consider trading their two best players – first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and center fielder A.J. Pollock – writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Goldschmidt and Pollock are running out of team control (three and two years remaining, respectively), and it would behoove the Diamondbacks to somehow replenish a farm system that ESPN’s Keith Law ranks as the majors’ worst (subscription required/recommended). While moving the two bona fide stars would certainly help Arizona beef up its prospect pool, new general manager Mike Hazen unsurprisingly told Piecoro that such drastic measures aren’t under consideration at this point. “We’re not really there yet in terms of sort of long-term strategic thinking,” Hazen said. “We like this team. We’ll see where this team goes. If we have to make some adjustments, we will.”
More from the National League:
- The Cincinnati-Atlanta trade that Brandon Phillips blocked in November would have resulted in a better return for the second baseman than the one the Reds have since received from the Braves, reports Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Phillips finally agreed to waive his no-trade rights Sunday, largely because he’s going to get more playing time this year with the Braves than he would have with the rebuilding Reds, observes ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required/recommended).
- Even though Jedd Gyorko led the Cardinals with 30 home runs last season, he’ll enter spring training as the underdog to Jhonny Peralta in the team’s third base competition, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Peralta was far less productive than Gyorko in 2016, when he batted .260/307/.408 with eight homers in 313 plate appearances, but a hand injury may have been a key reason for the normally steady contributor’s drop-off. “My hope is that he is 100 percent,” GM John Mozeliak said of Peralta, who’s going into a contract year. “My hope is that he has a little spring in his step. And my hope is that he can either give us a lot of flexibility in the infield or be our anchor at third. He’s one guy who has the ability to hit home runs and hit with power.” Ultimately, despite both Gyorko’s output last season and Mozeliak’s optimism regarding Peralta, Matt Carpenter could see more time at third than either of them if first baseman Matt Adams reemerges as a quality performer this year, posits Goold. For now, Carpenter is penciled in as the Cardinals’ starter at first.
- The Mets “absolutely” believe in corner outfielder Michael Conforto, GM Sandy Alderson told Steve Serby of the New York Post, but the executive didn’t mention the 23-year-old when discussing the club’s outfield. “If Bruce is in right and [Curtis] Granderson and [Juan] Lagares in center, Cespedes in left — Cespedes is an excellent left fielder, Granderson did a nice job for us in center last year, Lagares is excellent, and Jay Bruce I would say he’s league average at least,” said Alderson. Given the amount of major league-caliber outfielders the Mets have, Conforto’s status is “something we’d have to work out in spring training,” Alderson acknowledged. “I don’t think that Michael is the kind of player that we want to be sitting on the bench.” Conforto has two minor league options remaining, so he could again go to Triple-A Las Vegas after embarrassing opposing pitchers there last year (.422/.483/.727 in 143 PAs). The Mets will give the left-handed-hitting Conforto some reps at first base and center field this spring, tweets Newsday’s Marc Carig, though they already have an established, lefty-swinging option manning first in Lucas Duda. And Granderson and Lagares will occupy center, as Alderson mentioned.
Conforto needs to start and get 550 PA’s. Pencil him in the lineup in the 5-6 hole and leave him alone!
That’s basically what it says above…it’s just a matter on if it is in the minors or MLB. I wonder if the Mets would deal a prospect with Bruce to a team like the Sox just to get rid of his whole contract.
Mets won’t have a problem getting rid of Bruce, it’s the fact they ‘want’ a prospect in return.
Nobody wants Bruce unless the Mets eat a ton of cash; isn’t that apparent?
So if you believe in Conforto and you also realize Bruce is league average… why is Conforto not starting every day? Stupid.
The Mets are highly overrated but dear God, let Conforto play more.
Ha. You mean the team that went to the WS two seasons ago. They were decimated with injuries last year and still reached the WC game. Health is the key for any team. Prediction-Mets win division.
Their offense is a mess. Their rotation can be very good but other than Noah, whom i believe will be the best NL starter going forward, everyone else at this point is a question mark/mid rotation guys. Besides, paying in a horrid weak NL East played a role in them having two successful seasons.
Not a Mets fan, but that’s an ignorant comment. DeGrom is still an ace, and Matz is very good too. Harvey is the only question mark. The lineup is not a mess, Cespedes, Granderson, Bruce, Duda, Cabrera are all 20+HR bats. Walker can hit 16-80…
Insightful!
That’s a very broad definition of ace then. Degrom and matz are both good pitchers, but they do both have injury concerns, which is what I think he meant by saying they were question marks.
It takes more than hrs to make a good offense. They’re projected right now as 20/30 for batter wins.
No one is better than kershaw let’s get real here.
Right now yes, but if there is a guy that could eventually dethrone him from #1, it is Noah!
Lol that lineup is a mess – degrom regressed no one on that staff can stay healthy , how long will the famila suspension be . Matz elbow , Harvey Tj, degrom elbow, syndergaard bone chips,wheeler elbow . You’re right only one question mark on that rotation
DeGrom regressed? He was top 3 in ERA before those few starts he had following his injury.
Harvey, deGrom, Thor are all ace type pitchers. Matz is either an ace or a solid #2. Wheeler has the stuff to be in the same category as Matz (he was pitching lights out before getting injured 2 seasons ago). Then there are Gsellman and Lugo who have 2-3 starter stuff. Wheeler is the biggest question mark here (and may be starting the season in the pen) but the rotation is solid. As for the lineup, Cespedes, Cabrera, Walker, and Granderson are solid. Duda was injured last season but when healthy is a .350 obp 30 hr. bat (yes, back injuries need to be a concern for any player, I’ll grant that). The bench is deep and the bullpen is solid.
I wouldn’t say they’re overrated, a healthy pitching rotation and the Mets are easily one of the best teams in baseball.
What does healthy even mean for them at this point? Do you mean that Harvey has no negative effects from having had tos and all of their pitchers make it though a full season’s of innings with no injuries?
I agree that if their staff is healthy they are a good team, but with the staff they have, the chance they are actually healthy is lower than your average staff
That is a huge if. Upside is on their side but i believe their average offense, lack of youth, and overall health is a question mark. I would not hesitant to call up Rosario if i were them.
Syndergaard needs to cut the walks and improve his pickoffs to go to the next level. DeGrom and Harvey remain question marks due to injuries, and they’ll miss Colon more than anyone will admit. Unless the starters are at least
mostly healthy, the Mets aren’t close to being one of the best teams in baseball.
Syndergaard needs to do nothing buy MAYBE develop some kind of pickoff move. He is already GREAT.
“Aren’t close” without “mostly healthy” rotation? Did you watch last year? Rotation had zero health & they still made the post-season. How much “closer” do you want?
Some combination of Gsellman, Lugo, & Wheeler (though he may start in BP) would argue that Bart won’t be missed nearly as much as you imply.
For once the Cards have it right. Gyorko has way more value as a utility player. He can play virtually every spot in the infield and that can be very valuable for the Cards.
Actually the article says the opposite, that they’re gunning on Peralta being good, which is a joke because the last two seasons at least he’s been worthless.
actually, kcelts has it right. gyorko, utility.. which means peralta starts.
Peralta wasn’t junk in 2015. He was above average at short. 2016 was a down year bc of injury.
Peralta isn’t THAT bad. I most definitely think he’s declining, but he can still start. He’s the best option for now (unless going Carpenter back at 3B with Adams at 1B would be better).
What’s good about Gyorko is not only can be a utility man, but he can be a bat off the bench. The bench was a pleasant surprise, but I think the bench isn’t going to be as powerful as it was last season. Gyorko will be the best bat off the bench this season as well as being super versatile.
I’d put Conforto in over Duda, but not sure how he’d do defensively at first. Next year they’ll have a couple of OF openings.
Pretty much everyone around the Mets knows that Conforto > Bruce. Honestly, if Conforto clearly outplays Bruce in spring training, then I hope Collins does the right thing.
On another note, Duda is criminally underrated by most Mets fans.
We dislike him because he has four 7-HR weeks every year, and is garbage the rest of the time. If you only look at his annual stats, you think “hey, he’s pretty good!” If you watch the games, you think “hey, he’s a drag on the team 5/6ths of the time.”
Like he said, a lot of Mets fans underrate him.
Duda stinks
He’s a top 5 NL 1B
Just hope for Bruce to have a great Spring and them whoooosh he’s outa here.
Im sick of matheny and mo and “their guys”. They need to stop going with their best friends and start going with what’s best for the team. Always putting losers like Peralta and broxton in over more productive players. Just like when we had Kozma and Jay. Its really getting old. Gyorko is FAR more superior to Peralta in every sense of the word. Gyorko should be every day first base without question on the merit of defense alone. Not to mention that bat that comes with him. Then you have a defensively solid infield AND outfield, something we were no where near last season.
PLEASE enlighten the masses with exactly how superior Gyorko is to Peralta in EVERY sense of the word. .243 with a .306 OBP, and a measly 59 RBI to go with those 30 HR = you have NO clue what you’re talking about. How many All-Star games has Jedd been on?? Oh yeah, that’s right, NONE. Congratulations for showing how little you know of the game. You’re welcome
You stated RBI as a stat for comparison and then say he doesn’t know anything about the game…
RBI is a valuable stat, just because some people want to bash all old statistics to look smart doesn’t mean they’re right.
No. It is not. It is dependent on # of opportunities a hitter gets. People are not bashing it to look smart, they are doing it because it does a poor job of telling you anything about the actual player.
Refusing to learn better ways to evaluate a player doesn’t mean you’re right. Continue with your head in the sand approach though.
RBI is a useless stat. Runs batted in PER BASERUNNER when a player comes to bat would be useful. Even more useful would be a stat that is weighted to the base the baserunner is on.
The best stat we have to measure offensive performance is wRC+.
Yeah. While knocking runs is obviously an important skill, the RBI stat just does a poor job of actually identifying that players’ ability to do it.
Are you for real?
.320 wOBA, 101 wRC+, 2.9 WAR – Gyorko last 2 seasons
.318 wOBA, 100 wRC+, 1.1 WAR – Peralta last 2 seasons
…yeah, at this point in their respective careers they are very similar (with Jedd being a better defender and therefore worth more overall)
Add in the fact that Gyorko is 28 and quite possibly going to be seeing a career year while Peralta is another year past-prime trying to postpone retirement…
To be fair Gyorko had maybe his best season and Peralta had one of his worst with injury. Although I do like Gyorko starting bc of defense. Peralta has. Even a great signing and since it is a contract year what do you bet he brings his A game.
@omahamadness,
Yeah, that was kind of the point
Gyorko has just entered his peak-performance years and should be expected to produce his best numbers over the next couple seasons; that is what the history of the game has shown
Meanwhile, Peralta is 35+, breaking down and overall on the cusp of retirement – each year moving forward we should probably expect decreased playing time and production from him; that too is the norm
Is the Wong playing some Outfield thing still happening?
Most likely not, with Fowler solidifying the outfield. It’s either 2b or best now.
Not 2b or best; 2b or “bust” — a term Mo refuses to consider when thinking about the needless extension he gave Wong.
Just want people to notice that Conforto’s Triple-A numbers are inflated because Reno is basically Coors Field with added ground ball weirdness. Not to say he’s not great, but the numbers at Reno are not to be taken at anywhere near face value. His road splits might provide better insight, which Baseball Reference has, but not in a separate set, so I’d have to calculate it manually.
Just want people to notice that the Mets’ AAA team is in Las Vegas and NOT Reno. People should also notice that the Pacific Coast League is full of launching pads, so calculating Home/Road splits like they do with Coors is pointless. Hope everyone noticed.
Conforto only spent like 30 games at LV. That has as much to do with his 1200+ OPS as the desert air. Nobody, I think, is suggesting he’ll be a 1200+ OPS player in the MLs. He has another 120 or so minor league games and was called up in 2015 from Binghamton (in a league not known for hitting) when is OPS was about 900, and then was about 850 in the MLs. Something in btw those two numbers looks doable if he’s left alone.
Last month it was reported that the Mets told Bruce he will be the everyday RF. Nothing has changed. Until Bruce is given away or injured, the writing is on the wall for Conforto and his options.
And nothing has been mentioned about Brandon Nimmo. Keeping all from : Conforto, Lagares, Cespedes, Nimmo, Bruce and Granderson would be a little waste. I think someone should get traded, just too bad for the Mets these guys don’t really have a lot of versatility.
Angels and Marlins have much, much worse farms than the Dbacks, and the Orioles, Royals and Tigers aren’t special either. I expect most to go with the Angels, but you could argue for any of them to be the worst.
I, too, would argue that MIA has an inferior farm system after trading for Dan Straily. It’s painful to look at some of LAA’s top prospects.
Angels farm is so bad, that they need to look into trading Trout. Take Trout off the Angels, and you have arguably the worst organization in the MLB…… trading Trout will only build this team in a positive direction.
If the Angels endure another non-contending season….. when will Mike Trout be traded? My opinion, 2017 is his last year as a Halo.
It would take such a huge haul for them to move him I just don’t see that it’s possible. For example: for the dodgers to get it done, it would have to be something like either Urias or Seager, with Bellinger, Alvarez, verdugo, and then some.
Yeah, virtually no teams have the pieces to get Trout without turning themselves into the Angels <>.
Here is my thinking….. He is no way resigning with the Angels, and why would he? He is a Philly, Baltimore rooted guy. The Angels currently have very little to any talent on its current team, with one of the weakest farms systems in the game. It’s gonna come down to trading him or letting him walk. I can see him being dealt next off season after another 3rd or 4th place finish this year.
Why would you say he Trout has ties to Baltimore /Philly when he was a Yankee fan growing up. He has no ties to either of the teams you mentioned. Only reason an tie him to Philly is because Vineland New Jersey is near Pennsylvania. Like I said he was Yankees fan. n
Jeez, could you imagine the haul Goldschmidt would net the Diamondbacks? I get it that his position isn’t as sought after as CF, C, or SS is, but he literally does it all and he’s just a shade over 29 years old.
You could say the same with pollock too, he has less years of control and was just injured, but is a more dynamic player and could easily net a handful of top prospects
“he’ll enter spring training as the underdog to Jhonny Peralta in the team’s third base competition”
What is with a couple teams around the league expecting 35+ year old guys off extremely poor seasons to magically “bounce back”?
That the Cards and Braves are planning on playing these types in the infield of all places, and at the expense of players literally in their peak-age range… well it’s beyond puzzling.
Now neither Gyorko nor Jace Peterson are anything to write home about, dont get me wrong. But they matched to out produced the 35/36 YO alternative last season, and at 28 and 27 respectively – well, these are the seasons you might get that “career year” from the kids while Peralta and Phillips are both merely trying to postpone retirement
This was always the worst risk of the Bruce trade (the one that keeps on “taking”). That it would continue the Mets mission of screwing up the best young hitter that’s come out of their minor league system in at least a decade. Why does he have to go to Las Vegas? Because of organizational stupidity (acquiring the toxic waste that is Bruce in the first place) and cheapness (in not sending him on his way because they might have to pay some of a modest contract).
Conforto never had an issue hitting LHP (not in college, not as a pro) until the Mets decided to bring him up (without having taught him a position) in 2015 and platoon him. Then they continue into 2016 cementing a problem they created, and destroying what started as a breakout season before it could get past early May. Then they try and justify it by looking at the tiny sample size of LHPs they let him hit against. The last straw was when he came back and sat on the bench. Behind almost everyone.
So you are agreeing with me that Sandy s overrated and a Jerk?
Alderson isn’t the problem.
He works for the worst ownership group in baseball. Wipons’ have been the constant since 1990. Alderson’s tenure has been the best they’ve had. He’s only there because the Wilpons were FOB (Friends of Bud) and Selig convinced Alderson to try and mitigate the disaster.that was (and is) Wilpon ownership. If he goes, nobody as good will ever work with the lying penny pinching Wilpons.
Overrated? Vs who? Certainly not more overrated than Billy Beane or Theo Epstein. Alderson built Beane’s best team. Give Alderson the Red Sox or Cub ownership groups and he’d have at least 3 championships as well, and without signing some of the worst contracts in baseball history.
Disagree with you. His one claim to fame is that RA Dickey trade..Other than that the Mets had 5 or 6 very lean years under him (and yes I am blaming the Cheapons also). He’s made a ton of bonehead moves so I don’t give him a bye.
I don’t think that 1 year in it’s fair to classify Heyward’s contract as one “of the worst in baseball history.” He had a career-worst season, absolutely. But he’s 27 and has been an average-to-slightly-above hitter every season previously, with premium defense and baserunning. If his bat rebounds anywhere near his career marks, with his D and baserunning, there’s no way that contract looks that bad down the line. If his bat doesn’t rebound, it’s a bad deal for sure, but not one the big-market Cubs can’t handle.
The worst contracts in baseball have got to take into account team revenue. The Greinke deal taking up 35% of the DBacks’ payroll is far worse, no matter how Greinke rebounds. Braun’s deal with the Brewers is another example.
I’m sorry, but for that money, an “average to slightly above” bat (regardless of defense/baserunning) is a bad contract. It becomes historically bad if he confirms himself as a 4th OF this year. His age is not much of an ameliorating factor. If you haven’t figured it out at 27 (when you have played constantly since age 20 – not some guy a year or 2 into your big league career), you are unlikely to do it now. My guess is we’ve seen his best, and this’ll end up as a “but even Theo made mistakes” story when MLB Network starts eulogizing his career, many years from now in “MLB Network Presents: Cursebreaker – the Theo Epstei Story”.
As much as I’d like to you cant possibly consider Theo Epstein ‘overrated’….I’ll take that as a slip and you meant to type a name like Cashman instead.
You can’t compare someone with unlimited budget (almost) – which Epstein had in Boston and Chicago – with someone who had almost nothing. Foreget free agency, there is was absolutely nothing for his first few years, when you try and build. He had nothing for the draft (above slot) and they spent the lowest amount for IFAs during that period. Development budget also cut. And it goes beyond money. Wilpons need to approve every significant expenditure. There is no budget really (regardless of what I wrote).
Epstein is worshiped by the media, but he left Boston with 3 of the worst FA contracts at the time (Crawford, Beckett and Lackey). The one positive move they made over that time was made when he left for a few months (Gonzales). Boston needed to give Gonzales away to get rid of 2 o the 3 horrific contracts Epstein saddled them with. Lackey came back from TJ surgery, and with that, their large budget freed up and they went back and won another WS. Epstein did what he had to do in Boston, but don’t compare his situation with anyone working for the Wilpons. He did a very good job in Chicago, but he had an unlimited budget, Not only could he draft the most expensive guys, sign the highest priced IFAs (including Solar), he could (even while rebuilding) sign major league FAs for a bonus and 1 or 2 years and then trade them for prospects mid year when most of their contract had been paid. Lots of GMs could do well in that situation. Once they got close, he signed Haywood, Lackey (again), Zobrist all in one year, after signing Lester the prior year. He’s very good, but still overrated based on the things I hear.
It’s not just R.A. Dickey. Zach Wheeler (regardless of injury) was a steal. The Wilpons prevented him from flipping Reyes at the deadline, and insisted he sign Wright. He flipped Byrd into a good prospect in Herrera. He had other deals lined up too, but Wilpons wouldn’t permit them until he shed some salary (one time it was as small a contract as Dillion Gee’s). He drafted Conforto and Smith On a limited budget, he signed Rosario and some other IFAs that are looking pretty good right now. Great record? No. But operating on less, the Mets have a top 10 farm system per BA.
I do. How about Carl Crawford’s contract with Boston?
I read an interesting article about JHey. It says that even though he is only 27, his body is much older. He matured early and has always been huge compared to people his own age growing up. It basically says that he is already regressing bc of this.
The Mets are stuck in Vegas because they blew it with any other city to take their AAA franchise. Vegas was the last choice, and as a result all of their high prospects who play there have to cope with ridiculous conditions and a string of asterisks and caveats next to their stat line.
Sometimes the Mets act like they envy the savvy decision-making of the Marlins, Browns, and Jets.
Why would he say Bruce is league average at best lol. Id imagine that will not help when trying to trade him and might even rub Bruce the wrong way even though it’s probably true. That’s funny though.
The Mets really need to cut bait with Jay Bruce. If they are expecting anything in return, they are mad. I wonder if Sandy was able to keep a straight face when he said “Jay Bruce, I would say he is league average at least”. No, he’s been below average for 3 years in a row. There is no logic in sending Bruce out there in the hope of showcasing him to flip him – he is a detriment to the on-field product. and whatever lottery ticket you may get back for him (if anything), will not make up for what you’ve lost by playing him.
Just put Conforto out there and accept reality.
This isn’t Sandy’s call. The Wilpons have a policy against paying any part of salaries they trade away and they won’t sit someone making money. They’re still holding out delusions that David Wright can still play. Why? Because they’re paying him.
Sandy’s mistakes (if they were his, never simple with the Wilpons) were trading for Bruce and then picking up his option (although most thought the latter was an OK gamble at the time).
Conforto should play in RF everyday. Bruce should be traded even if the Mets have to eat the entire salary. With a short window to win, it’s an easy call. For everyone but the Wilpons.
get ready to be lambasted for saying the mets have a short window.
Well-though-out analysis. I dont agree with you about Sandy (hence my name) but at-least you make good arguments about what you think and say. Yes the Cheapons are a problem but I can name 8-10 bonehead Sandy decisions off the top of my head that I could bet stemmed from his arrogant mind and not theirs. Nice talking with you.
Does anyone know what the November package for Phillips included? I can’t seeing it being anyone inside of the Braves top 15 (loaded), but it would be interesting to know if it was a top 30 guy.
Bruce will become a good acquisition for someone, once spring training begins and a corner outfielder gets hurt and that team needs a replacement. That’s when he will become most marketable.
Skapucki, Molina, Smith, Nimmo, Duda for Goldschmidt, Minor league arm!
Joke right?
Mets have to play Bruce and give the impression they want him to keep his value raised. Conforto will come into games late to get some at bats. Of course if Bruce doesn’t hit he will be sitting and Conforto playing. Bruce will be traded as soon as some outfielders around the league start getting hurt. Just keep his value high until then.
Why are people still listening to Kieth Law when it comes to the Diamondbacks? They could win 162, sweep the post-season, and win every player and team award, and he still say they suck.