Mets offseason

[rob0417]

I have been hearing a lot of talk of the what the Yankee's should do this off season. so i decided to create a thread for the Mets.

Catcher- They have to let Piazza go, if they re sign him Willie will play him everyday, and in all honest his body can't handle it anymore. Let him go and DH in the American League. Keep Ramon Castro as the backup, he was excellent in that role, and should keep it, but he is not a starting catcher. Before the postseason started i wanted them to sign Benji Molina. he has a good bat and is solid defensivly. But i think his big postseason, might make him to expensive. I don't want ramon Hernandez, he seems to be a little to brittle. I would love Brian Schnider but I don't think Washington will trade him. The Japanesse guy scares me becasue the Mets never have success bringing in japanesse players. I think the mets will sign either Molina, Hernandez or the japanesse guy. My pick would be Brian Schneider or Jason Larue.

Firstbase - The Mets desperatly need a power bat, and firstbase seems like the logical answer. I don't want Lyle Overbay becasue it will take a lot to get him, and he doesn't scare me in the middle of the lineup. To me he is a younger sean casey, nice player but not the stud the mets need. I would let Jacobs play, and keep Mientkavitch to be the backup.

Secondbase - Obviously my first choice is Soriano, and I would move Milledge to get him, but not much more than that. Say Milledge and Victor Zambrano. Than trade Matsui for an overpaid middle releiver in the last year of his contract. Trading Matsui scares me a little because i have a feeling that as soon as they trade him he will turn into the player they thought they were getting. If they couldn't get Soriano, their really isn't much else out their, maybe Orlando Hudson but I am not that big on him or Todd Walker (but he is a butcher defensively and is brittle, i would rather a Anderson Hernandez Kaz Matsui platoon. Because i don't see Hudson or Walker as that much of an upgrade. I don't think Furcal is reasonable, I don't see him moving to second, and to move reyes agian would be a mistake.

Thirdbase - Wright

Shortstop - Obviously Reyes.

Outfield - Beltran is the only guy i would keep. My main focus would be on trading Cliff Floyd. His value is never going to be any higher than it is right now. He has a history of injuries and I would try and trade him to Boston in a package for Manny. I don't understand why boston would consider trading him. I know he is a pain, but the guy does nothing but hit. You put him in the middle of the lineup and the mets lineup becomes a lot better. I would do Floyd, Heilman or Cameron and prospects. The level of prospects would depend on how much salary Boston will eat. In right field I would go with either Cameron or Diaz. The do need to get a quality fourth outfielder, maybe a gary mathews or Jeff Davanon type player.

Starting Pitching - This is pretty much set Pedro, Glavine, Benson, Seo, Trachsel or Zambrano. Trachsel got a raw deal last year, he has been their best pitcher the last few years, and deserved to be put back in the rotation as soon as he was ready. They have a cheap option 2.5 mil I believe and for 13-15 wins and 200 innings i would pick that up. he isn't great but he keeps you in games. Zambrano I would trade or leave in the bullpen.

Bullpen - A solid closer is the main priority here, and I would get into a bidding war with the Yankees for BJ Ryan. He is younger than Wagner, and might even come a little cheaper. If they can't get Ryan, than i would go after Wagner or Hoffman. but no more than a two year deal. i don't want to see Tom gordon or Danys Baez in a mets uniform. I wouldn't be opposed to bringing back Looper or Roberto Hernandez as long as they know they are going to have earn their spots, I wouldn't just give them the 8th innings. that job I would give to Heilman. I would also take a look at Julian Tavarez, Scot Eyer, and Bob Howery and find someone who can get lefties out. For the rest of the spots, just bring in a whole bunch of guys with good stuff and see if you hit on something good. Much like Hernandez last yers.

I don't think the Mets are that far away from being a realy good team. They just need a power bat in the middle of the lineup and a solid closer.

Ideal Lineup

Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Manny
Soriano (both him and manny is very unlikely)
Jacobs
Diaz
Schneder/Larue

Pitching
Pedro
Glavine
Benson
Seo
Trachsel

Closer
BJ Ryan

8th inning
Heilman or Tavarez

[Broncmet724]

our team defense would be horrible and Glavine would return to his 2004 form and not his 2005 one. Offense can't make up for everything. Just ask the Yankees and Red Sox this year

[Coppermine]

The Mets are already excited about next season's influx of high-priced, high-reward free agents. Never a team to tighten the purse strings, the Mets will double their budget with profits from the special edition three-disc DVD of The Cameron-Beltran Collision '05, featuring hundreds of angles, two "making of" documentaries, and dozens of commentaries by players, coaches, fans, physicians, and Jessica and Ashlee Simpson.

[joshyboy72]

I agree with you about Ryan...he seems like a solid reliever to go after at this point that shouldn't cost us a fortune.

Wagner is good but will just caust too damn much, and with his age we can't really give him more than 2 years. We need a good closer, but we aren't even going to be getting into many save situations if we don't fix the holes in the lineup.

Also...I don't think losing Floyd and gaining Manny would really be that much of a help. Floyd played great this season but I don't know how much his trade value went up.

However, Glavine's trade value definitely went up with his performance down the stretch...if we could get ourselves either Manny or Soriano by giving up pitchers like Heilman, Glavine, or prospects or some combination like that, it would be pretty good for us.

[Amazinz]

If the media quotes are accurate Ryan is a Yankees fanboy. It will be interesting otherwise because I believe that the Mets are in good shape to outbid the Yankees if Ryan considers playing for the Mets.

I am all aboard the Manny train as long as it does not cost Milledge.