Mets Hunting For Frontline Starter

KW wishes you were a GM looking for a "frontline starter" if you're putting Contreras in that group.

Agreed. Who isn't after a "front line starter," and even more curious is "where do you even find one in thjis market?" Aside from the oft-mentioned Santana possibilities, no one is really of that quality. Sheets is maybe the best possibility out of the group mentioned, but he's damaged goods.

The notion that Jake Peavy is available is ridiculous. The Padres have no motivation to move him. He is under control for 2 more seasons and the Padres believe they can be competitive this year. This would be valid speculation next offseason, but right now there is absolutely NO reason to trade one of the top 3 pitchers in baseball.

Everybody has a price, including Peavy. I do agree though, that if you are going to get the Pads to move him they will have to be blown away by the package.

That list of front line starters was pretty silly.

I don't like dealing young pitching either. That said, I would certainly trade Lester and more for Cabrera if Lowell walks. To me, Lester will not become more than a #3 in the AL East. Let him pitch against pitchers and lousy catchers in the NL and he is a #2 with the potential for a few dominant seasons. He looked good against the Rockies in the World Series. I'm not sure how Lester is viewed around baseball.

Buccholz I would not trade for anyone accept Santana. I am usually quite critical of "prospects" but this kid is the real deal. Ace stuff, and he knows how to use it!

I've seen half a dozen stories now that say the Sox are "very unlikely" to pursue Miguel Cabrera, even if they can't resign Lowell (presumably because the Marlins are asking for Arm/Leg and two more A prospects). There's talk of moving Youkilis to 3B and brining newly-acquired 1B Chris Carter up to the majors. He's the guy they got as the "PTBNL" for Pineiro:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Chris%20Carter&pos=1B&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=452080

It does seem more and more like the Sox are seriously considering moving either Lester or Buchholz. There's lots of talk about packaging one of those guys with Crisp and one or two others to get either Dan Haren or J. Santana. Of course, if they moved Lester and got Haren or Santana, they still wouldn't need Kuroda...

I really don't see the deal with Buchholz. I think Lester is going to be an ace for sure. I would be sooo happy if the Bluejays traded for him as i could definetly see him being a #2 guy leaving the jays were to trade Burnett if they were so inclined.

Hopefully Epstein goes crazy and trades Lester for Troy Glaus. Though they would have a sick rotation if they traded for Haren, whether or not they trade Lester in a package for him. Lester really seems like a Billy Beane type a guy.

haha...no way Epstein trades Lester for Glaus. :)

If you don't see the deal with Buccholz, you just haven't seen him pitch enough. He can bring heat, and has one of the best curveballs I have ever seen. He also doesnt walk many batters. This is where Lester gets into trouble. He allows way to many base runners. While I expect him to improve, I think it could always be an issue for him to a certain extent. Some guys have great careers pitching their way out of trouble, but I don't want to place my bets on a guy like that. I think a move to the NL would be really beneficial. It would potentially lower his pitch counts and runners on base.

I want to note how wrong I could be about Lester. My criticisms of him could have been applied to Erik Bedard just a few years ago. We can see how that turned out. I would love to keep Lester, but if the Red Sox are hypothetically going to trade one of these guys, I consider Buccholz a much safer bet to develop into an ace.

Sox are not going into the season with two 40 yr olds and no starting pitching depth

with that said I do not think Buch will go..nor do I think they acquire miggy (although if its possible to do without giving up Clay I'd do it without thinking)

If anything..if any kind of big deal is going to happen it's going to be another pitcher.

Thats what everyone was saying they were doing with Zambrano and Johan...at some point, they need to take it into their own hands.

I wonder if Dayton Moore is shopping Gil Meche? His contract isn't looking AS ridiculous now. The market is so thin with pitching. Meche isn't the frontline guy the Mets seek, but he'd be a solid addition and they wouldn't have to part with their entire farm system.

"brining newly-acquired 1B Chris Carter up to the majors."

Nope. He was in the DBack minor league system and we let him go for peanuts because he couldn't possibly play 1B and there's no DH in the NL. Ortiz would play better D at 1B than Carter.

Scribbletone, I know, but when you compare them too guys like the Yankees, Redsox, Angels, Dodgers and D backs, it isnt very impressive. If a team wants to be able to top the Mets offer, they probably can. I dont thik Santana/Bedard/Kazmir/Haren is really very realistic. I dont think Blanton is going to a met. The fan base will be furious if they trade Milledge for Blanton. They could have made this trade last year if they wanted. And it is funny you bring up Heilmans name, because I will say it again, he will put up better numbers as a starter then Joe Blanton, or atleast very comparable, for a fraction of the cost and you dont lose Milledge. I know Nando is supposed to be great but he had a bad season and is soo young he cant really be considered a top guy yet. Gomez is my pride and joy in the Mets system. That is the one guy I belive will become a superstar and shouldnt be traded anywhere. Guerra, same as Martinez, he is very talented, but very young and a couple of years away. I also dont consider Blanton even relatively close to a frontline starter. I have watched him pitch, and I know that people here get upset when I say this, but I was thouroughly unimpressed watching Blanton. He has a sharp curve... when it is on, and his fastball is BP. He doesnt strike a lot of guys out and gives up a ton of hits. I think he has been greatly helped by Oaklands home field, because it is so big. I think he is a decent number 4 guy, maybe a number 3 but his price is to high and he is a product of a bad division for hitting and a great pitchers park IMO. If the Mets trade Heilman and Milledge for this dude they would be creating a hole and not even really filling an important hole. Blanton probably becomes the 5 starter for the Mets, and we lose our setupman, when the last thing we need to be doing is losing our solid bullpen arms. I think within a year or 2 Pelfrey/Humber could easily be more valuable then blanton

No Scribble, your right about what Beane would want and the Mets ability to get Blanton if they want, I just dont see it. The can bring back El Duque, and that would give them a bunch of pretty good number 3 guys in Maine, Perez, Pedro, and El Duque. That is okay with a nice pitchers park and a good offense. If they dealt Milledge for Blanton, they would be adding another guy similar to what they already have, a bunch of middle of the rotation guys. Not to mention they would have to go out and pay 10 mil to somebody to play RF because there is nobody in their system who can step in. I think they will only look to make a big splash if there is a top flight starter, like Santana or Bedard or somebody, but in that case I dont think they have the goods. That why I sign A-rod and make the offense as good as you can for this pitching staff full of high upside number 3 types.

I shouldnt say the fan base would be furious(if milledge is dealt for Blanton), because some probably wouldnt be, but more then a few would be very upset. Blanton is not a make or break type of guy to have on your roster. The mets arent going to create 2 more holes to fill a nonexistent hole (number 3 starter). Atleast I hope not.

I would loveeeeeeee Dan Haren. I have been hoping Omar would snag him since the deadline of 06 when all the Zito talks were everywhere. I think for a guy like Haren or another ace that is potentially available, the Mets will go hard for him. I just dont know if they have the parts. But as for more mid-rotation type guys, I just dont see him giving up a bunch of cheap years for Milledge for one when that would mean spending more money on an average outfielder.