Giancarlo Stanton Is Not Available

You'll have to excuse me while I have an "I told you so" moment.  All season Mets fans and some bloggers alike gushed over the notion that the Mets would acquire one of Giancarlo Stanton or Carlos Gonzalez this weekend.  A few weeks back Rockies owner, Dick Monfort, stated the Rockies were inclined to hold on to the young Gonzalez and now it was Marlins' general manager, Dan Jennings, that said Stanton was not on the market.

Moving Gonzalez makes much more sense than moving Stanton.  Both are amongst the brightest young outfielders in baseball, but Gonzalez already has an expensive contract.  Stanton who will be eligible for arbitration this winter, remains under team control relatively cheap for the next three seasons.  Simply put, there will be plenty of opportunities to trade Stanton if things go south, but now isn't the time.

One thing I will say is that unless the Marlins drastically turn things around in South Beach, Stanton will eventually be traded.  He is really really good and was the odd man left in when the Marlins traded what was essentially everyone last winter.  He wasn't happy then, and I would assume won't be happy long term in Miami.  When the time comes he'll be seeking a new, very expensive contract the Marlins will move him.  However that time isn't now and Mets fans will be left to pick of the pieces of their shattered pipe dreams.

Jose Bautista On The Mets..Yes, Please!

Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet Canada reported yesterday that the Toronto Blue Jays could be open to trading any one of a number of players on their current major league roster, to include right-fielder Jose Bautista.  Guess who's in the market for a right-fielder?  You guessed it, the New York Mets.

Bautista is an interesting offseason option for the Mets' front office.  He remains under contract for the next three seasons, set to make $14 million in both 2014 and 2015, and finally has a team option for the same in 2016.  The front office would probably say that's a lot of money to allocate to an outfielder who will be thirty-three when he arrives for spring training next year.  To be honest they may be right, but having the option to make only a two year commitment should things go south, should be appealing to Alderson and Co.

If a trade were to go down, Bautista would instantly become the team's best offensive outfielder and arguably the best bat on the roster.  That said, he does have injury concerns, having played only 118 games last season and just 92 the year before that.  If he did make it through a full season, he would threaten to hit forty home runs and drive in well over one hundred runs.  The Mets haven't seen that type of production from an outfielder since Carlos Beltran's 2006 campaign.

The other perk to Bautista over some other potential outfield trade options (think CarGo or Stanton) is the Mets would have to part with much less to get him.  The two teams also have a history together (RA Dickey/Travis d'Arnaud).  Plus, JP Riccardi has worked within the Blue Jays system.

So sure, Baustista represents a considerable risk for the Mets.  He may come in and struggle to stay on the field just like the aforementioned Beltran did, but he would be a short term risk.  If things go well, the Mets could pick up the option year on his contract.  If they don't, the Mets can walk away or look to trade a power hitting outfielder in the last year of the deal (Alderson is good at this).

On the surface I like the idea.  I think its a good fit for the Mets provided they don't have to give up too too much in the trade.  I think he allows the team to make a quality addition who will help the team now, but also won't tie up payroll very long.  I think that would be ideal, but its still early and other options could come available as the winter moves on.

That's my two cents.  What do you think?  Is Bautista a viable option for the Mets or would you prefer they look elsewhere?

Side Note:  Bautista follows me on Twitter (no clue why), you should too at @RobPatterson83.

CarGo No Longer An Option For The Mets..Or Is He?

I'm one of the few who spent the summer questioning why on earth the Rockies would ever trade away Carlos Gonzalez.  It just didn't add up for me.  Granted CarGo's services are about to get pretty expensive ($10.5M in 2014 rising every season to $20M in 2017), but you're talking about a twenty-seven year old who is not only under contract for years to come, but he also had a chance to lead the league in home runs prior to getting injured this summer.  Maybe he isn't an elite player..certainly not as rare as a Troy Tulowitzki, but still.

I felt pretty vindicated yesterday when the news broke that Rockies wouldn't be trading the young slugger this winter.  Again..why would they?  However, after a little more research I learned that Rockies owner, Dick Monfort, actually said the following:

My plan is to always keep them (Tulowitzki and Gonzalez). Is that the smartest thing in the world to do? I don't know but our fans think so.

Wow..that is about as non-committal as it comes!  In fact, I'm more confident that CarGo is available than I have ever been.  According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, many people in Colorado believe that a full rebuild is in order.  That's likely the reason Troy Tulowitzki's name came up as a possible trade option this week.  Again, while I think it would lead to full fan revolt, I can only begin to imagine the prospects the Rockies would receive in return for the two of these guys.

So I suppose this leaves the option of Carlos Gonzalez on the table this winter for the Mets brass, and the large portion of the fan base that has been demanding his acquisition since early summer.  I'm less certain the Mets have/are willing to part with the prospects necessary to make the trade happen.  However for the time being, that isn't the issue.  For a team looking to fill so many holes, the possibility of Gonzalez still provides hope.

As October and November give way to December and January we'll undoubtedly get a better idea of where Mr. Monfort's intentions really lie.  We'll also have a better idea of what the Mets' front office is thinking.  But for the time being at least, all options remain on the table this winter.

CarGo Will Be Available, Mets Unlikely To Be Suitors

Photo Courtesy of RockiesReview.com

Rumor has it the Colorado Rockies will in fact entertain offers for slugging outfielder, Carlos Gonzalez, this winter.  He had been in the midst of the stellar season that featured a .302 BA, with 26 HR and 70 RBI until a sprained middle finger sidelined him in early August.  He missed nearly a full month of play before appearing as a defensive replacement multiple times this month, but has not batted and appears unlikely to do so.

Gonzalez led the National League in home runs at the All-Star break this season, but was ineligible to appear in the Home Run Derby due to a hand injury not unsimilar to the one that's ultimately ended his season.  In addition to being amongst the most formidable sluggers available this winter, he also remains under contract through the 2017.  As a result, it will take quite a haul to secure his services.

As per the New York Daily News' John Harper, the Rockies will seek a position player oriented package, due to the fact that pitchers often struggle at high altitude.  Harper goes on to explain that the Rockies remain unimpressed with the position players the Mets have to offer, which could leave them on the outside looking if/when he is dealt in the months to come.

Its no secret that the Mets best prospects are pitchers, however the team has said they will not move top prospect, Noah Syndergaard, and remains hesitant to deal anyone who could impact the rotation next season as a result of the injury to Matt Harvey.  As a result, a position player package would have to revolve around the likes of Wilmer Flores, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Matt den Dekker, etc.  In any case, these players either haven't carved out a role at the major league level or find their role in question going forward.

As a result, none will have the impact potential necessary to acquire Gonzalez from the Rockies in the months to come.  While it's assured that the Mets will find their way into the rumor mill, they may be forced to turn their sights to Marlin's slugger, Giancarlo Stanton, if he too becomes available.  With all the farm system building the front office has done in recent years, it would be a shame if they don't have the horses to land one of the biggest fish on the market this winter, but that remains to be seen.  Which would be a better fit in Queens has been the topic of much debate, but at this point that may unfortunately be a moot point.

What Could Ninety Million Dollars Buy The Mets In 2014?

What would you need if you were going to rebuild the New York Mets?  A magic lamp, a genie and three wishes, you say?  All jokes aside, you would need money and young talent.  Truth be told, as the offseason draws near, Sandy Alderson will have both to work with.

In case you've forgotten, here are the major contracts which stand to come off the books this winter:
- Johan Santana ($25.5 million)
- Jason Bay ($18 million)
- Frank Francisco ($6.5 million)

There will be others, but those three alone represent $50 million in team payroll which, with the exception of whatever Francisco gives you in the next three weeks, have contributed absolutely nothing to the cause this season.  Yes, that's right.. the Mets have essentially fielded a $50 million dollar team this season.  While their record probably reflects that, you can see how reallocating that money can improve the team..fast!

Its been hypothesized by Sandy Alderson that after raises to folks like Daniel Murphy and Bobby Parnell (and maybe Ike Davis), that the Mets will enter the offseason with roughly $55 million committed to the 2014 season.  So how much will they spend and more importantly, where will they spend it?

Photo Courtesy of ESPN

The most alarming hole going into the offseason will be the team's outfield.  Believe it or not, the front office should be concerned that it has to replace Marlon Byrd's production.  Enter a player such a Shin-Soo Choo, who the Mets have been linked to as recently as this week, and your talking about a player who will earn an average salary of between twelve and fifteen million dollars.  While that takes a bite out of your budget, it certainly leaves enough to address other areas.

Sandy Alderson has recently expressed an interest in adding a veteran pitcher to the fold this offseason.  How much money will that cost?  Well, Bronson Arroyo has posted two very solid seasons in a row and could command as much as ten million dollars.  I chose Arroyo because he has pitched no fewer than 199 innings every season since 2005.  He's also had an ERA under four, doesn't walk many batters and basically just seems like an Alderson type guy to me.

Photo Courtesy of ESPN

Those two deals by themselves, skyrocket your potential payroll from $55 million to as much as $80 million, and you still have another hole in the outfield to address, may look to improve at shortstop, and then there is that disaster at first base.  So where do we go from there?

In all honesty, I expect the Mets to acquire a second outfielder via trade.  I'm still not convinced that second outfielder will be named Stanton or Gonzalez, but I do anticipate another quality acquisition. The fact that it can be completed via trade (hypothetically, of course) means you have more money to spend elsewhere.  I'm not quite sure there is a guy available who you can conceivably spend more than five to seven million on at shortstop, and at the end of the day I still expect to see Ike Davis get another shot at first.

That leaves you a payroll somewhere from $85 million to $90 million after adding cheaper pieces here and there.  That would mean the Mets would field a much, much better team in the process of lowering their payroll ten million dollars from 2013.  Am I nuts to think that everything I've discussed here is completely plausible?  Does Alderson have the nerve to make such free agent decisions?

The last few years have beaten me down to the point where I'm rarely an optimist, but the team not only needs a big offseason, they have the means to make it happen.  Is a rotation of Wheeler/Niese/Arroyo/Mejia/Gee and a renovated outfield enough to see the Mets turn the corner?  Because that what $90 million and the departure of some quality prospects probably buys you in 2014.

Like what you've read?  You can follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83.