The New York Mets 2012-2013 Off-Season Thread

This is going to be an interesting off-season. In a way, what happens will probably define what the next 5 years will look like. It can be debated whether Alderson has taken any concrete steps to build a winner. In any event, willingness to extend Dickey and Wright will indicate whether Ownership intends to spend any money in the foreseeable future. This will mean the difference between an 85 loss and 100 loss kind of team going forward.

Or the Wilpons may surprise us and sign Hamilton, Bourn, the Upton Brothers and maybe Kate Upton, too.

What do you think?

I think Alderson told us everything we need to know about there philosophy and the direction they want the team to go in during his interview with Francesa a couple of days ago. It may not be what we want to hear but it is what it is. below is a list of some of the things I think and would like to find out what others think.

David Wright- Mets want him back. I think they realize he is face of the team and there are not many better players to represent you as a franchise than Wright. Has Wright performed well enough in the last few years to warrant a lifetime contract? Probably not. But with Wright and pretty much what they already have in talent the Mets think they can tread water as far as revenue and attendance is concerned. I have not seen there books, but I think they feel anything over 2mil fans with a budget under $100 mil they can handle and they are just looking to stay afloat at this time. In my opinion could Wright be more valuable as a trade chip, yes, but I would hate to see him go. He is our last chance of having a career Met to root for.

RA Dickey- Mets want Dickey but I feel they will not currently give him any offers to be a Met well into his 40s. Again, a fantastic story and a fantastic person but there is a big risk giving him a long term deal and as we have seen the Mets currently do not like risks. He also may have more value in a trade but I would hate to see it. I truly root for RA not only as a player but as a person and I cannot say that about most current athletes.

Davis/Duda and 1st base- I think the best scenerio is a healthy Ike at 1st and a productive Duda in LF in a platoon with Bay next year. If both can perform well there trade value will go up and whoever doesn't get traded by the deadline or offseason next year should be the 1st baseman of the future.

Murphy- Another guy to root for but I fear he will be gone before the Mets put a winning product on the field. I think without true speed and SB potential from other spots, the Mets need to find a 2B who can provide that. Murphy is the best of about 4 or 5 decent platoon/utility players currently on the roster. Turner, Valdespin, Cedeno and Baxter fit in the same category. I do respect Murphy's determination and was very impressed with the way he played 2nd last year. He truly outworked many to perform as well as he did. I would love to have him on my bench if I was a 95 win team, the Mets are not.

Tejada- Leave him there and do not worry about another shortstop for 10 years. I think he has suprised the Mets with how good he is. He is a tough out and a great make every play he should shortstop.

Outfield- Who knows, but what ever they did last year didn't work. Torres showed me nothing. They really must have disliked Pagan. They need an everyday RF who hits for power and can play defense. Is Newenheis that player for either CF or RF, good question! Now for Jason Bay. If nothing else I know he's trying. Is he done, probably. Can you just pay him to stay home? no. Use him next year as a buffer for Duda and if Duda can develop as a legit player next year at least he contributed some how. Will he hurt the team on the bench? no.

Catcher- Thole is a good 2nd catcher/platoon on a good team. Shoppard looked good but historically is nothing to brag about. Platoon those two next year. It doesn't excite me but it may be the best scenerio.

Starters- Harvey for a full year next year will help. Niese proved he can be a part of a team that might actually have a important game in Sept buy lasting a full year. Very good contract for Mets and they would have to get a boatload for him to trade him. Santana if nothing else is a good role model for the youth and he is definately a gamer, don't count him out. Maybe Wheeler may be next years Harvey, that would help. Gee, reliable #4,5. Keep Pelfrey/Young around as depth and they have a decent rotation.

RP- Let the young guys fight it out and ride the hot hand next year. I would try my best to get rid of Francisco. Rauch and Ramirez are gone.

Overall, I do not expect much more in 2013 then we saw in 2012. I did enjoy watching them, Santanas no no, Dickeys season, Harveys emergence, Tejada's old school approach and Wright getting back to being close to the player he was at Shea. Alderson pretty much told us what his plans were last year and did what he said but he will never come out and tell us that until the remnants of the Madoff money signings contracts are finished he really does not have the power or ability to radically change this team. But they can be in it every year with a well spent 95 mil. But not when 2 or 3 past there prime players are making over 1/2 of it.

Lets Go Mets.

Great post! I don't agree with everything but it's well documented and discussed.

The question with Wright is whether he wants to stay on this team long-term without the kind of improvements he's asked for. And will the Mets go the 7-8 years $150M plus he'll get from the Dodgers? He could bring back real value in a trade - but only a trade this winter where a big market team team has a chance to trade and sign. He'll got for less at mid-season.

Yeah, if you're not going to try and win in 2013, why not trade Dickey for talent? He'll bring some - less than Wright, though. And he's another guy who wants to win - told Alderson to improve the team.

Trading Davis would be incredibly stupid - just total out-and-out stupid. Duda is a nothing, a 4th OF type, a platoon 1b, a AAAA player. If the front office thinks otherwise - then we need a new front office.

40 doubles can't be sneezed at - he's not expensive and his defense has become acceptable. That said, if you can get a pitcher, you deal him.

This overrates young Ruben. I don't see him as a 10-year Mets (or any other team). He's a "bottom of the middle" level shortstop in terms of talent. Range limited. Arm limited. Zero speed - similar to Duda! Makes the routine plays and is a pesky hitter. A good team would bat him 8th. If anybody asks about Tejada for a pitcher, Mets should fall over themselves doing it.

Duda = no.
Others = worse.
The Mets need three Major League outfielders. That's really pathetic when you think of it.

There are no MLB caliber catchers on the New York Mets roster.

This is the one "strength" area on the team - and it's a good one. Yeah, they're not lights out - but the Mets have starting pitching. Santana's is a shadow who may give you 15 starts and cost you $25M plus buyout. But Harvey-Niese-Gee-Dickey (if not traded) is above average. Who knows if Wheeler is real - we'll hopefully find out in 2013.

See Outfield, New York Mets.

A total gut job needed. Which is also pathetic, as it was the centerpiece of the front office's off-season strategy and cost more than Jose Reyes's 2012 contract.

Your expectations shouldn't have to be this low in the largest media market in the world. The Mets are horribly owned and very poorly managed. It's not looking great for '13 and beyond.

When I was sleeping....Strawman must have read my mind ! RJ and Straw put together a great pair of posts. RJ from an optimist view and Straw from a realist. At this point the Mets need a minimum of ten new bodies on a 25 man roster. I just can't see why Wright does not at least play the market. RA needs to cash in; I could see Dickey agreeing to stay.

Jack Egbert, who pitched in one game for the Mets in 2012, has left to free agency. Garrett Olson left too.

Reports on Metsblog say Wright may be looking for 7 years at 125mil and Dickey 3 years at 36mil. In my opinion, neither request is ridiculous and I would love to see these 2 deals get done at those prices, thoughts?

IMHO, RA should and would take that deal, unless he really wants 4 or more years. Which is possible since he is getting up there in years. At his age, knuckleball or not, the body sometimes breaks down.

Wright , if this is even true, should get $20 million a year. (Jason Bay get $18 million !) With the Dodgers sneezing $$$$$, no way should any agent at least not see what's going on in Chavez Ravine.

I agree with you that neither request is ridiculous and I would love to see these 2
deals get done at those prices.If Oliver Perez can get 3 years at 36 million then
Dickey should be able to get that as well to say the least.If the Mets offer that it
also may be in Dickey's best interest to take that deal.The Mets have a team option
for Dickey in 2013 at 5 million.So let's say the Mets pick up the team option and
they don't agree to a contract past 2013.Suppose Dickey has a bad year or gets
injured in 2013.At age 38 Dickey might have blown his best chance to get a big
contract in his career like mandrake said knuckleball or not.And as for Wright I
would be pleasantly surprised if he takes 7 years at 125 million.And also like
mandrake said Wright should get 20 million a year.Like I said I hope those deals
do get done at those prices.

I would like to see them signed at those prices also. Along with 7-8 other players at those prices to make this a team because if Wright is your best player and Dickey is your best pitcher,,,,,your not winning anything. I am assuming here that Dickey doesnt duplicate 2012.

Thank God he's gone and did NOT come back

Yes...there were a few people on BF that suggested getting K-Roid back. I don't care how bad the bullpen is, this criminal needs to be in stripes, and I don't mean pinstripes !



TOWN OF WALES, Wis. -- A prosecutor says Milwaukee Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez was arrested last month on a domestic violence complaint involving his girlfriend.

Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel said in an email Saturday that Rodriguez has not been charged and that any possible charges would be misdemeanors.

Schimel says deputies arrested Rodriguez at his Town of Wales home early Sept. 18 after responding to a 911 call from his girlfriend, with whom he lives and has a child. He says Rodriguez was booked and released on bond.

The prosecutor says Rodriguez is accused of "physical abuse." He says he can't comment further because charges haven't been filed.

A Brewers spokesman said in an email it would be premature to comment since charges haven't been filed.

While with the New York Mets, Rodriguez pleaded guilty in 2010 to attempted assault after allegedly attacking his girlfriend's father. He was sent to anger management classes.


Will the time ever come where being a pro athlete does not allow people to get away with this stuff?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/09/21/keidel-wilting-wilpons/

I missed this one from 9/21/12, but it still rings true:


The Mets’ ghastly season seems to have trap doors. One night they lose a 3-2 heartbreaker at home, then they get pummeled 16-1, making them 4-24 in at Citi Field since the All-Star break. Yes, 4-24. They haven’t won a game at home since August 26.

According to The New York Times, the Mets are on pace to have the worst winning percentage at home (.148) in the second half of a season since 1933, eclipsing their own .158 mark in 1979. Even the Astros, on course to lose 110 games, do better in their building.

This begs a fair question…

Are the Mets the worst franchise in baseball? Between Bernie Madoff and Jason Bay, there’s a lot of bad karma in Queens. And since the team can’t fire Fred or Jeff Wilpon, should Sandy Alderson hit the road?

After the Omar Minaya ship sank, aided by Ollie Perez, Luis Castillo, and Mike Tyson (AKA Tony Bernazard), the Mets promised New York a New Day, with Alderson’s stability and nobility leading the way.

Alderson’s answer to the problem was to drown the Mets in brain cells, in Ivy League intelligence, hiring J.P. Riccardi and Paul DePodesta to form a formidable think tank to flush the rancid past from Flushing.

How’s that going? There hasn’t been one solid signing over the last two years to which Mets fans can hitch their wagons and say, “Hey, that’s gonna be big in a year or two.” And there’s no excuse for the inertia in player development, free agency, or the standings. You can’t play the rebuilding card in New York without at least flashing a little cash or plucking some stud from a fertile farm system.

It’s not Terry Collins’s fault that Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey are injured, or that the lineup is thinner than Angelina Jolie. But there’s always an excuse for the Mets, who have a profitable network, a pulchritudinous ballpark, and some of the best real estate in America. New York City is still a baseball town, yet you can only find it in the Bronx.

According to USA Today, the Mets are spending about $93 million on their roster. Three playoff-bound teams in the National League – Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Washington – are spending at least $10 million less. The Oakland Athletics have a paltry, $55 million payroll and are a whisker from winning a postseason spot, as are the Baltimore Orioles, who are spending $81 million.

If Wilpon is the problem, then the Mets and their fans are in trouble. Yadier Molina, as Molinas do in New York, put a hex on the Mets in 2006. Once Adam Wainwright’s curve put Carlos Beltran to sleep, the Mets have gotten exponentially worse, blowing colossal September leads in 2007 and ’08 before dropping out of the playoff picture entirely.

This year the Mets were the darling of New York for a few months, peaking at eight games over .500. David Wright darted out as the National League’s MVP and Terry Collins was conducting a lovely summer symphony. Until he wasn’t.

Frankly, the Mets’ collapse is almost as inexplicable as their early-season ascent. They just don’t even try to be good anymore. And a dearth of decent talent is no excuse for apathy. Is there any reason to think the Mets will turn this around?

And where’s the symbolic light at the end of this endless tunnel? Shall we pretend Matt Harvey is the next Bob Gibson? Sadly, the future looks as wretched as the past and present. Alderson’s charge was to shave payroll while keeping the Mets tolerable, if not competitive. He has accomplished neither.

Someone has to pay, but the Mets have no money. And maybe no future.

For all of the flaws in this franchise, the one thing we can be thankful for is Citi Field's pulchritudinousness.

Justin Hampson and Rob Johnson are now free agents. There are 38 slots on the 40 man roster.

Zack Wheeler will probably be put on the roster at some point to avoid the rule five draft.