Unless you have been living under a rock the past week or so, you would know that Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract with the New York Yankees and is looking to continue his career in a different uniform.
There is a very limited market of clubs that can afford the contract that Scott Boras, A-Rod’s agent, is looking to get for A-Rod, which is rumored to be in the neighborhood of 12 years and $360 million.
Included on his list of teams is the New York Mets, the cross-town rivals of the Yankees.
During the winter GM meetings in Orlando, it has been reported that the Mets have expressed interest in A-Rod’s services and they are meeting with Boras to discuss the possibility that A-Rod becomes a Met next season. While they cannot discuss money until next week, it is known what ballpark the Mets will have to get to in order to receive consideration from Boras. The question comes down to whether the Mets, who have issues bigger than Rodriguez entering this off-season, are willing to overlook their other problems in an effort to get Rodriguez into Queens next season.
My thought? No way does Rodriguez play for the Mets next season. The first question that must be asked in this scenario is where exactly would A-Rod play? He has played 3rd base the past few years for the Yankees, but the Mets already have All-Star David Wright playing there. Wright not only does it with his bat, but he just won his first Gold Glove this year in the NL at that position. Another consideration would be for A-Rod to play shortstop, but that is currently held down by All-Star Jose Reyes. Last time the Mets moved Reyes for a high-priced player was the Kaz Matsui disaster. Reyes can play shortstop, so just leave him there. The last option would be to put A-Rod at 2nd base. While a fun scenario for Mets fans, there is no way A-Rod goes somewhere just to switch positions, so let’s put that out of our heads now.
Some people have argued that Wright is willing to move from 3rd to 2nd and then signing Rodriguez would be the most beneficial thing for the Mets. Guess what. You’re wrong. What the Mets need is pitching, pitching, and more pitching. As the saying goes, offense wins you games, but pitching wins championships. Currently, the Mets don’t have the pitching worthy of winning the World Series. The Red Sox this year won the World Series with great pitching from Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, and Dice-K. The Cardinals won it in 2006 with spectacular pitching from Anthony Reyes, Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan, and Jeff Weaver. The 2005 White Sox got good pitching from Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Orlando Hernandez, and Freddy Garcia. The list goes on and on.
What the Mets have sorely lacked in the past few years is a reliable pitcher who can go at least 7 innings every time he is on the mound. They have instead had pitchers who would throw 7 when they had their best stuff. This caused for an overtaxed bullpen by the end of the season, and it is one of the reasons that they collapsed down the stretch this year and couldn’t beat the Cardinals in last year’s postseason. This year’s free agent pitching market, however, is headlined by Carlos Silva. For those who don’t know who Carlos Silva is, or just assume he is a good pitcher because he will probably make somewhere near $40 million over 4 or 5 years, let me give you his stats from this past season.
13-14, 4.19 ERA, 20 home runs, 89 strikeouts in 2007
11-15, 5.94 ERA, 38 home runs, 70 strikeouts in 2006
He averages about 6 innings per start the past two seasons, has proven essentially nothing, has given up 475 hits in 382.1 innings, and is going to get a big contract for simply being the “best” of the market. I can whole-heartedly say that if the Mets sign Carlos Silva and try to spin it as their big signing to the fans, I will be incredibly disappointed in upper management. Not that I think they will, but anything is a possibility in New York.
The other option is to look for a trade for an ace. The names being thrown around are Johan Santana, Jon Garland, Dontrelle Willis, Erik Bedard, Dan Haren, Joe Blanton, and Scott Kazmir. The Mets best chances to get someone lie in Blaton. They have spoken with the A’s about the possibility of getting Blaton, and it has become apparent that the A’s want a lot of youth in exchange for him. The names being tossed around include Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, Aaron Heilman, Mike Pelfrey, and Philip Humber. If I’m the Mets, I would take a run at Blanton and let him work with Rick Peterson to become an elite pitcher. He has thrown at least 190 innings in each of the past 3 seasons (his only full 3 in the league), is 26, and improved last year to become a solid pitcher. The question becomes who do you give up? You figure they have to give up either Milledge or Gomez, and at least one of the three pitchers. I am a big Carlos Gomez fan, so I would hate to see him go, and as much as I think Aaron Heilman is a giant disappointment and is a hit-or-miss pitcher and is maddingly inconsistent, you can’t remove a part of an already paper-thin bullpen. However, starting pitching is king in baseball, and if you can get a guy like Blanton, who could eat up innings and is still young enough to develop into the Mets ace down the road.
What else do the Mets need? How about a starting catcher. They might stick with Ramon Castro, but I feel that they would bring back Paul LoDuca before doing that. They are said to be aggressively pursuing Jorge Posada, another Yankee from 2006. Whoever it is, including LoDuca, they must give the Mets more production from that position offensively than they got last year from the Duke. His .272 average, 9 homers and 54 RBI won’t cut it in the 6th hole again.
With Shawn Green leaving (thankfully) the Mets will be introducing a new outfielder this season. Whoever stays between Milledge and Gomez has a real chance at starting in right, although it wouldn’t shock me if they went out and got a right fielder, although the market is thin. Hopefully one of the young guys steps in and shows off his stuff, grows, and begins a new era in the outfield of New York. Speaking of new eras in the outfield, after Moises Alou leaves, it is possible that another young stud named Fernando Martinez, who is the ripe young age of 19. Pair them with current center fielder Carlos Beltran, and the Mets would have one of the most excitable outfields in the National League.
One more position the Mets need to address their 2nd base issues. With Luis Castillo currently on the free agent market and Jose Valentin’s career possibly over, the boys from Queens need someone to take that position by the horns. Whether they re-sign Castillo or go young and start Anderson Hernandez, someone needs to become the starter for a few years.
But, most importantly, the Mets need pitching. Starting pitching and bullpen help. Their biggest priority should be getting an inning-eating starting pitcher who can take some of the strain off the bullpen. Obviously, it would be fantastic if they could deal for Santana and/or Blanton, but they may mortgage too much of their future to get both of them. Expect them to either get Blanton from the A’s or Silva from the free agent market, and hopefully one of those two will be able to pitch deep into games for years to come in Queens.
As for A-Rod, he won't be in a Mets uniform next season, but there is a market for his services, no matter how limited it is. I believe his best chance to be signed is in Detroit, where he would replace Brandon Inge, who hit .236 with 14 home runs and 71 RBI last season, a far cry from A-Rod's .314/54/156. The Tigers also have a good relationship with Scott Boras, Rodriguez's agent, so that combination seems like a match made in heaven.
