Pressure On Mets To Trade Milledge

In general, it seems the New York media would like to see Lastings Milledge pushed out of town.  They don't like his cocky attitude and can't comprehend his rap music.  He's not seen as a humble team player.

Far more important, though, is that the 22 year-old still looks like he will be a very valuable center fielder.  I keep going back to this post from Nate Silver in January.  Milledge remains underrated, and his mild transgressions plus this year's foot injury may only further improve the opportunity to buy low.  So he has too much swagger and said some standard stuff in a rap song?  To me those are really weak reasons to trade a top prospect for fifty or seventy-five cents on the dollar. 

Comments

[schellis]

I have a feeling that this is going to be like the Kazmir deal. Some team is going to get a very good young player for next to nothing. I could see him going for something like Kyle Lohse or Blanton, two guys that really aren't anything special but are pitching well.

If I was running the Reds and had Griffey's approval I'd gladly send the Mets Griffey/Lohse for Milledge and a bullpen arm.

I have to agree though the reasons that I've heard about trading him are extremely weak, play the kid every day and let him produce and those hated traits would become loved quirks.

I do think however that he'd do better in a smaller market were he has the chance to be the big fish in a small pond.

[Blutarski]

If this is true, the White Sox should jump on this.

They need a good young outfielder in the worst way.

They could offer Brian Anderson and a decent arm.

[John Peterson]

1) Omar Minaya is not Steve Philips or Dan Duquette. He is not going to trade Lastings Milledge for a not-so-young mediocre pitcher.

2) If Minaya was going to give in to the pressure of the ridiculous NY media, a) he would not be the team's GM, and b) he would have traded Milledge already.

3) I don't know how many times on MLBTR I've heard it suggested that the White Sox dump Brian Anderson on the Mets, but it's been silly each time, and that's not going to change? Why do the Mets want Anderson when they have 3 awesome young outfielders in the mix, not including the still-young Carlos Beltran?

4) Despite all the talk, the Mets have plenty of pitching, and it's young. With Glavine, El Duque and Martinez in the mix, they night need to add an arm int the offseason, but for now they are set. They are not going to ship Milledge for Joe Blanton or Kyle Lohse. And Ken Griffey, Jr.? There are about 10 reasons why this is not a possibility, one of which is point #3 above.

5) Having said all this, the Mets might trade Milledge, but not because he recorded a damn rap song. That is not going to stop them from getting full value for Milledge. It is likely that the Athletics will send the injury-prone Rich Harden to the Mets for Milledge and Aaron Heilman, though, as we've heard often, the Mets really want Dan Haren. In this case, the Athletics would not be accepting a Milton Bradley -character problem- defect in the price of the deal. They would just hope that the Mets would undervalue Milledge's skills as compared to their other outfield prospects. It is certainly likely that this is the case.

[J.L.]

Two Meltdown Bradleys in the same outfield? I'd hate to think. Is the Dontrelle to the Mets thing dead? Dontrelle still seems like a good bet to be dealt at the deadline. The Marlins could use Milledge in CF and Heilman in some role.

[Zonis]

If the A's traded for Milledge, Bradley and Milledge would only be on the same team for a few months. Bradley is a Free Agent.

Who would the A's give up though?

The A's have the following starters: [ERA/WHIP]
Dan Haren [1.64/0.96]
Rich Harden [1.42/1.00]
Joe Blanton [3.32/1.11]
Chad Gaudin [2.93/1.26]
Joe Kennedy [2.53/1.24]
Esteban Loaiza**
*Jason Windsor
*Dan Meyer
Dallas Braden
*Shane Komine
*Brad Halsey

* in the minors
** Presumed Dead

The thing is, Milledge's value has decreased, as has Pelfrey and even Heilman. Blanton's value has skyrocketted in comparision, and Dan Haren's value is as high as it could be. Rich Harden is doing what everyone expected him to do; pitch like Cy Young when healthy, and on the DL the rest of the time. And Chad Gaudin and Joe Kennedy are channelling the spirits of pitchers past.

But I could see the A's asking for Milledge, Pelfrey and Heilman for Harden. They'll ask an arm and a leg, and remember that Harden is still very young, and signed for the next 3 years at a very cheap contract.

[nrmax88]

I dont think that Omar will trade Milledge for nothing just because the media wants him out of town. Omar said yesterday that he has no doubts that Milledge has lost a lot of trade value, which makes me think he isnt going to be dealt.

"But I could see the A's asking for Milledge, Pelfrey and Heilman for Harden. They'll ask an arm and a leg, and remember that Harden is still very young, and signed for the next 3 years at a very cheap contract"

Omar wouldnt bite on that. Harden looks like he could be the next Mark Prior, maybe that package for Haren, I doubt he would trade those guys for a questionmark, albeit one with huge upside. Dan Haren is more of a sure thing, innings eater. Thats what the mets would be looking for. They already have El duque and Pedro coming back, they wont want another guy with injury questions. How bout that 5 run comeback in the 9th for my mets today?

[nrmax88]

"They need a good young outfielder in the worst way.

They could offer Brian Anderson and a decent arm"

LOL, funny. I really dont think theres anybody on the whitesox the mets would have any interest in. Not on the major league roster anyway. Brian Anderson is horrible, and the Mets have Beltran in center and Gomez and Martinez as top OF prospects. No thanks

[spieldogg]

The Mets fustration with Milledge is more than the rap record, that is just the latest thing. Before he was even drafted he was in trouble with the law for statatory rape. Upon comming to the majors he wore gold chains that would make Mr T. jealous on the field. After hitting a game tying homerun to send a game to extra innings, he ran down the right field line and high fived all the fans which angered the Old School Willie Randolph who told him to act like he had hit one before. Then during this past off season the Mets asked him to play winterball and he refused because he was working on his record company. I think there was another issue with him in the minors, but I forget what it was.

Sure some of these things are kind of petty, but the Mets philosophy is that they have Beltran who will be the center fielder for atleast the next 4 years. They have 2 kids who they feel are both better than Milledge and hope that atleast one of them can turn out to be a solid corner. And Omar Minaya has said numorous times that corner outfielders are not that high of a priority for building the core of a team as every winter there will be atleast 3-4 good ones available. So even if they trade him and don't get full value in return, he really isn't in thier lomg term plans anyway. I think the plan is still to save the chips for when the big pitcher becomes available. Maybe Milledge isn't the centerpiece, but he still has decent value in a package.

[Baseballfan79]

Two Meltdown Bradleys in the same outfield? I'd hate to think. Is the Dontrelle to the Mets thing dead? Dontrelle still seems like a good bet to be dealt at the deadline. The Marlins could use Milledge in CF and Heilman in some role.

Posted by: J.L. | May 17, 2007 at 02:19 PM

The marlins have repeatedly said they dont like him. And Heilman would be useless to us. No thank you

We need a stud catcher, and the marlins like Martinez

Now if the offer was something like Martinez, (a good catcher prospect but the mets really dont have besides that pena kid, think that is his name but even he is way down there), and humber/pelfrey perhaps might do it

but I dont see the mets trading Martinez

[PrivatePyle]

"1) Omar Minaya is not Steve Philips or Dan Duquette."

Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee beg to differ

[moebarguy]

While Minaya doesn't like players like Milledge (cocky and bad attitude), he's also not dumb enough to give him away. He may no longer be in the Mets future, but if we were to trade him, we'd be getting back something we need. I would be down with trading Milledge, Pelfrey, and Heilman for Haren. Gomez could take one of the corner spots next season, and the Mets could re-sign either Alou or Green. Haren would take Pelfrey's spot in the rotation. If Mota is good this year, he could take Heilman's spot (and Duaner will be healthy next year).

[Goat]

Jay Greenburg sucks.

[nrmax88]

"The marlins have repeatedly said they dont like him. And Heilman would be useless to us. No thank you"

Lol yeah your awesome bullpen couldnt use any help. Who cares that you have nobody to patrol one of the biggest centerfields in baseball. Those arent problems. Miguel Olivo isnt your problem

[nrmax88]

"I would be down with trading Milledge, Pelfrey, and Heilman for Haren"

Amen

[nrmax88]

And for the record I think Pelfrey can be really good, but it might take him a while. He has the potential to be a groundball machine like Webb is, but again it will probably take him 2 or 3 more years before he reaches that potential if ever. Webb struggled early in his career walking way to many people, but once he started commanding his sinking fastball he dominated. I think that is the kind of pitcher Pelfrey can be, but who knows if he will ever reach that status.

[zubes007]

"And for the record I think Pelfrey can be really good, but it might take him a while."

Abso-freaking-lutely. Look at all of the players that Pelfrey has been compared to: Lackey, Sheets, Bonderman etc...they ALL took 2-3 full season to become top pitchers, same goes for Pelfrey. As long the Mets are patient with Pelfrey, he will find some usable secondary stuff, better his command and will become a very good pitcher.

As far as Milledge, Omar doesn't need to care about the back pages anymore (see: not doing anything at the 05 and 06 deadlines). Milledge will go, but not for junk like Lohse and probably not Blanton.

These are some decent ideas in theory, but none of them work pratically:
Milledge for Dave Bush (if Bill Hall can't stick in CF and Gallardo meets expectations, quite unlikely as the will both be in playoffs)

Milledge for John Patterson, if he can get healthy and perform (unlikely and unlikely).

Milledge for Matt Garza, unorthodox, but makes some sense since Hunter will be a FA and Twins have plenty of other promising whippersnappers on the mound (of course, prospect-for-prospect trades are always unlikely).

[Blutarski]

You Met fans are funny - thinking that Milledge would bring a lot in trade.

That's the reason he wasn't traded last year. There wasn't a great deal of interest in him.

One more slip up by him and Minaya will dump him for whatever he can get - and it won't be much.

[moebarguy]

"You Met fans are funny - thinking that Milledge would bring a lot in trade.

That's the reason he wasn't traded last year. There wasn't a great deal of interest in him.

One more slip up by him and Minaya will dump him for whatever he can get - and it won't be much."

Well, apparently you know everything. No point in thinking anything else guys...

[ErroRod1985]

I remember a game last year versus the Red Sox with him playing left. He misplayed two or three balls in that game miserably. He didn't hit a lick in the series. I'm not that high on a rapper/outfielder whose cocky and overrated. Reminds me of someone we have in left right now, minus the rap "skills".

[Devlsh]

I think it's about time for an Omar Minaya GM Profile. My recollection has him gutting what was once a spectacular Montreal Expos system and getting marginal talent in return. He's also assembled an incredibly old Mets team (Green, El Duque, Glavine, Pedro, Wagner, Alou, Delgado, Valentin, Franco, LoDuca, etc.) that has a very small window for success. I also recall that he lobbied hard to acquire Sosa from the Cubs before he was dumped on the Orioles.

[DentalPlan]

I've never heard Pelfrey compared to those guys, I'd also heard him projected as more of a Matt Morris type.

[DentalPlan]

I've never heard Pelfrey compared to those guys, I'd always heard him projected as more of a Matt Morris type.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

"I remember a game last year versus the Red Sox with him playing left. He misplayed two or three balls in that game miserably. He didn't hit a lick in the series. I'm not that high on a rapper/outfielder whose cocky and overrated. Reminds me of someone we have in left right now, minus the rap "skills".

Wow you can't talk anymore.

[zubes007]

"I remember a game last year versus the Red Sox with him playing left. He misplayed two or three balls in that game miserably. He didn't hit a lick in the series."

Great sample size...dumbass.

[nrmax88]

"One more slip up by him and Minaya will dump him for whatever he can get - and it won't be much."

Or, he will just not trade him, and let him develop into an all star wearing a Met uniform, that works also.

"I've never heard Pelfrey compared to those guys, I'd also heard him projected as more of a Matt Morris type."

I havent.

[nrmax88]

"He's also assembled an incredibly old Mets team (Green, El Duque, Glavine, Pedro, Wagner, Alou, Delgado, Valentin, Franco, LoDuca, etc.) that has a very small window for success. I also recall that he lobbied hard to acquire Sosa from the Cubs before he was dumped on the Orioles. "

They have a young window for success according to who? They have a core of Reyes, Wright, and Beltran for the next 5 years, along with young pitchers in Maine and Perez. Who has a better core of 3 position players then Beltran, Reyes, and Wright in the NL? You dont mention that the "old team" is in 1st place. You say he gutted the Expo system, Im sure you knew Sizemore and Lee would become very good players, and its funny you didnt mention the fact he was trying to get a big name pitcher and save the franchise from being moved. He took the laughing stock of the national league, and in 2 years they were a serious world series contender. I dont care how old the guys are we have. Alou and Green may both be gone after 07, Milledge and Gomez should be more then ready to step in and should be atleast league average. Next you will say the team he assembled is too hispanic. Thanks for leaving out all of his ridiculous pickups like Endy Chavez, Oliver Perez, Chad Bradford, John Maine, El duque, Darren Oliver, Joe smith, Ambiorix Burgos, Damion Easley, Jose Valentin, getting Delgado for nothing, Guillermo Mota, Rueben Gotay, Jorge Sosa, every single one of these guys was gotten for basically nothing, most of them throw ins in trades (smith a draft pick) and every single one of those guys has produced.

[achilles17]

Yeah, nrmax88 hit the nail on the head, there really shouldn't be any Omar Minaya bashing going on. He has done great things with the Mets, and if you say otherwise, you're just jealous. Look at all the nobodies he has picked up that have flourished with the Mets, as nrmax said.

Also, in defense of his Sizemore, Lee, and Phillips for Colon trade, it was generally accepted that the Expos were going to get contracted. He was quoted in the recent article in SI on Sizemore, saying that nobody in the organization even thought about prospects in A or AA, as the chances of them actually reaching the Expos and prodcuing were basically zero at the time, as nobody thought the Expos would be around for much longer. In trading for Colon he made a push in order to save the franchise, and although they didn't make the playoffs, it could have been instrumental in preventing contraction.

[Baseballfan79]

"The marlins have repeatedly said they dont like him. And Heilman would be useless to us. No thank you"
Lol yeah your awesome bullpen couldnt use any help. Who cares that you have nobody to patrol one of the biggest centerfields in baseball. Those arent problems. Miguel Olivo isnt your problem
Posted by: nrmax88 | May 17, 2007 at 05:11 PM

Our bullpen is not the problem it is the fact that everyone in our bullpen and rotation are injured for the moment. We have 5 guys coming back within the next month though and all should be fine again then. (Martinez, kensing, Johnson, sanchez, owens, and more).

Again Heilman is crap. That is why the mets have often floated him out there for trade.

As for Omar he makes good trades and bad trades. Every GM has some that work out and some that blow up in their faces. You never know what you will get in the end. The Colon trade ended up pretty bad (and no they werent going to be contracted). But, he has had some really good trades too. The same can be said for Beane, Beinfest, and every other top GM out there in baseball. Nobody is perfect not even the braves GM (best gm in baseball).

That said, Milledge's stat-line in a hitter friendly league is alright but not that impressive. He is not the best CF prospect in the game anymore.

[worldcupfever]

It's so kickass that someone brought up a Darren Oliver acquisition as proof of a GM's skills.

[coolpapabell]

I have seen some posts that systematically destroy other arguments, but nrmax88's response is in my top ten. He just took a howitzer to devlish's post. I still don't see how anyone could really complain about Minaya when he seems to be the best GM the Mets have had since Frank Cashen. No other Mets GM has managed to bring a healthy quantity of potential impact talent in the minors all the while making the big club competitive. They are contenders now, hello! He made sure he brought the right talent in as well.

As for Milledge....it does seem that Mets fans, Billy Beane, Rotoauthority and Nate Silver are the only ones who think Lastings has serious potential. I am not Nate Silver, Billy Beane, nor Rotoauthority incognito; however, I am a Mets fan. Having seen him play, it is not hard to see the talent that he posseses. He works hard, and he hustles. I feel that a lot of people on this board who call Lastings over rated really haven't seen him play much aside from the SportsCenter highlights of the Green Monster eating the 21 yr. I implore you all to go to MLB.com and check out the games he played in spring and maybe even the games he played outside of Fenway park, then make a judgement. If you haven't seen the kid play then don't comment, because you are wasting our time.

[coolpapabell]

No other Mets GM has managed to bring a healthy quantity of potential impact talent in the minors all the while making the big club competitive.(Since Frank Cashen)

[zubes007]

"He's also assembled an incredibly old Mets team (Green, El Duque, Glavine, Pedro, Wagner, Alou, Delgado, Valentin, Franco, LoDuca, etc.) that has a very small window for success."

Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez, Michael Pelfrey, Phillip Humber, Deolis Guerra and a host of others say hello and shut up.

[moebarguy]

"He's also assembled an incredibly old Mets team (Green, El Duque, Glavine, Pedro, Wagner, Alou, Delgado, Valentin, Franco, LoDuca, etc.) that has a very small window for success."

First of all, how many successful teams have not had a good amount of veteran players? Also, you can just list old players, but let's look at some of the people you list:

Shawn Green: Minaya got him for a mediocre prospect last season and the D-Backs are paying the majority of his contract. He's currently hitting .327, and is a major reason why the bottom of our lineup is so solid.

El Duque: Once again, Minaya got him for a mediocre prospect. He came over to the Mets last season, and posted a 4.09 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 8.64 K's/9 IP. Sure he's injury-prone, but he'll still give you a good amount of innings and always keep the Mets in the game. He currently has a 2.53 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 7.03 K's/9 IP. He's on the DL, but he's due to come off soon.

Tom Glavine: He's the anchor of the Mets rotation. He currently has 4 wins, a 3.31 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP. Not only that, he's an invaluable teacher for the younger starters on the team.

Pedro Martinez: Before Pedro signed, no major free agent wanted to sign with the Mets because of their lack of winning. When Pedro signed, the Mets got more respect. He convinced Carlos Beltran to sign. He was great for us in '05, and it going to be a great bump for us at the All-Star break.

Billy Wagner: Still one of the best closers in the game. If you don't have a good closer, you're not going to contend.

Moises Alou: This signing was considered by most to be the steal of the off-season. This guy can flat out hit. Sure he's old, but once again, he makes that bottom half of the lineup solid.

Carlos Delgado: Petit didn't pan out, and Jacobs is average. The trade was a steal. Delgado hit 38 HR for us last season, and has won us 2 games in the series against the Cubs recently.

Jose Valentin: A diamond in the rough. Minaya picked him up off the trash heap, and he turned out to be a great defensive 2B and quite good with the bat too.

Julio Franco: The best clubhouse guy in baseball, hands down. He's a good pinch-hitter and serves as a player-mentor.

Paul Lo Duca: While I'm not a huge fan of him, you can't ignore the stats he put up last season. He's a good hitter, he doesn't strikeout much, and he calls a great game.

[nom3k]

"That's the reason he wasn't traded last year. There wasn't a great deal of interest in him."

He was the verge of being traded until Sanchez got hurt, stooge.

[John Peterson]

"As for Milledge....it does seem that Mets fans, Billy Beane, Rotoauthority and Nate Silver are the only ones who think Lastings has serious potential."

Leaving out Mets fans, that's praise from the right quarters. Billy Beane likes him? Hold on to him!

[moebarguy]

"As for Milledge....it does seem that Mets fans, Billy Beane, Rotoauthority and Nate Silver are the only ones who think Lastings has serious potential."

How about all the other GM's the would want to "buy low?"

[nrmax88]

"That said, Milledge's stat-line in a hitter friendly league is alright but not that impressive. He is not the best CF prospect in the game anymore."

Well, he has been injured most of the season. Just because half the clowns on here dont like the fact that Milledge curses on his rap CD doesnt mean Omar will give him away. If he can play, there will be a spot for him. Once other teams see he can play at the ML level, it wont matter if he is making X rated porno movies, somebody will have a job for him.

[nrmax88]

"Pedro Martinez: Before Pedro signed, no major free agent wanted to sign with the Mets because of their lack of winning. When Pedro signed, the Mets got more respect. He convinced Carlos Beltran to sign. He was great for us in '05, and it going to be a great bump for us at the All-Star break."

Thats the point I try to make to my friends all the time. Pedro was worth his weight in gold for that contract the minute he signed becuase he brought legitimacy to an organization that could not lock up Henry Blanco for and extra year on his contract a few years ago. HENRY BLANCO! Now people want to play here. That all started with Pedro, even if he never stepped foot on a mound.

[nrmax88]

Marlins pick up Todd Linden

[DentalPlan]

"Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez, Michael Pelfrey, Phillip Humber, Deolis Guerra and a host of others say hello and shut up."

Don't say shut up when your list includes guys that have proven nothing at the major league level.

And that Pedro Martinez stuff is the most blatant ass-kiss spin. Carlos Beltran sent that message sufficiently enough, you guys just can't admit a bad signing.

[DentalPlan]

Also, the Mets didn't sign top free agents awhile because they didn't have the money. Guys like Piazza, Cliff Floyd, Mo Vaughn, Roger Cedeno, etc. were eating it all up.

[nrmax88]

Martinez was a great signing, nothing you say will change my mind. The fact is, he made the Mets legit immediately, when up to that moment they were a joke. Whats your point about cedeno, floyd, vaughn, and piazza having big contracts. That has nothing to do with Milledge, and it also has nothing to do with Minaya, the 2 things being discussed in here. Congratulations. You have just contributed nothing to this conversation. Omar made a loser into a winner, thats all it comes down to.

[nrmax88]

"Jay Greenburg sucks"

Yessir, him and most of the rest of the NY media.