The Mets are likely to sign Scott Hairston to a minor league deal, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Ted Berg first reported that a deal was likely (Twitter link).
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YES! Good work AGAIN SANDY!
Yeah, the San Diego Mets are shaping up just great! 😉
All we need now is Brian Giles and Tony Gwynn Jr!
I Believe Ted Berg Heard it First.
I believe Ted Berg heard it first
And 2nd??
Sorry, Double post
Another solid move, could be like Tatis without all the double plays hopefully..
Did Ted Berg hear it first?
Yes , sorry about the double post
Again as a Yankee fan no love for the Mets but I have to say that I am extremely impressed by the moves Alderson has made so far. He has a tight budget this year but is still finding ways to improve this team- I had said the pitching staff if everyone is healthy maybe a very big surprise. This move is a great one as it gives them depth and is only a minor league deal. Look at his home run totals in limited playing time- a very nice bat to have off the bench as a pinch hitter and spot starter.
Alderson is a great gm- as far as the Met pitching staff look at some of the guys he signed in Oakland and their numbers before playing there and what they did when they were there. He took Stewart off the scrap heap and got 5 20 win seasons. I think he is attempting that again and there is no doubt he already made the Mets better.
Ya I agree Alderson is making a lot of low risk high reward moves. Just imagine if Brian Cashman had to finagle a roster in the way Alderson has too. I think its safe to say it would be a disaster.
Would be- It was a disaster as he has tried- Wilson Betemit, Cody Ransom- Giving up Dunn, Cabrera and the stud who is now the Braves number 1 prospect for Vazquez. Signing Johnson instead of Matsui or Damon. Most times the money has to be spent to make up for mistakes. It gets me mad because for an extra 5 million a year the yankees can sign 10 low risk high reward guys.
Not to mention there really wasn’t anyone for the Mets to sign this year. I’m totally in disbelief the Yankees are gonna bring in Jones. Why?? Should just re-sign Thames..pay him more $$$ he has proven he is worth it. He mashes lefties and plays hard. Why pay Jones to be a bench player. If they give up on Gardiner for any reason you Yankee fans need to band together and protest Cashman.
The idea on Jones is that he can still play the field where Thames by the numbers was one of the worst outfielders in baseball. Jones did have more homeruns and they look at is as pop of the bench and a reserve outfielder where Thames was only pop off the bench. I actually like the Jones signing because in years past they paid no attention to the bench until April and this year they are atleast attempting to build a deep one when it was a weak spot in the past.
They wont give up on Gardner and I actually think they have a vision of him being the leadoff hitter this year. He was injured last year and still put up decent numbers and I just dont see him going anywhere- especially in light of the Soriano signing- KC has always been high on Gardner and he would likely have been part of any trade for Soria- Soriano makes getting Soria unlikely.
Long ago now the Yankees signed Jon Lieber- low risk high reward and it worked out very well since then it is as if they have refused to do this until 2011 when they signed Prior. My outlook on baseball is a good GM must find value where nobody else sees it so as to allocate resources accordingly. The Yankees Mets Redsox, Dodgers and Phillies have money to spend but if there is nothing available to spend it on to address a need then they are out of luck. Finding value means you can save money and then look ahead to target players who will help in the future meaning if you need a second baseman in two years but none will be available then you can sign one now using the money you saved on the low risk high reward guys.
Good point…. I think next year the Mets will look to make a splash or 2. they will have a lot off the payroll and there are some very good players on the market. If they fall out of it this year and can get some good young players back in trades the Mets will be lookin good. I’m interested in seeing hat Alderson does when he actually has some money to sign guys and there are actually guys available that the team needs.
I’m not a big Andrew Jones fan, but assuming he can hit while not playing nearly everyday it will be a solid move. In the interest of full disclosure I;m a sox fan and I’m kind of bewildered as to what the Yankees plan is for their starting pitching. The way I see it is if Nova is a bust this year they are doomed. I mean the guy has very limited experience and I see the mild level of hype around very premature considering the vast majority of hitters he will face have either not seen him yet or only faced him once. we all now that the second time around for young pitchers can be very revealing as to their true potential.
I think they will eventually move Chamberlain to the rotation – which is a good thing- if he pitches like he did in 09 and 10 to a era around 4.40 I think he is a 12 or 13 game winner as a fifth starter. I also think they will sign a Bonderman/Garcia or Millwood for the fourth spot.
I am not a fan of Nova being in the rotation but I am a fan of his as a long man spot starter. He reminds me of Ramiro Mendoza and I think he has the ability to put up similar stats to Mendoza in that role.
As a sox fan I would like your opinion on Saltamachia- I believe if he is healthy he can be an All Star catcher and very productive. He is only a few years removed from being the number 1 prospect in the trade that got the Braves Texiera. I believe the Sox acquiring Saltamachia was a steal and that his learning from Varitek will also help him play at a high level.
I am a diehard Yankees fan but I am different in that I greatly respect the Mets and Redsox and enjoy following them closely. The team I hate with a passion is the Twins.
I agree with Mendoza comparisons. I feel it a disservice to expect too much from him. Joba can be a starter, he’s still very young and lets face it…what other options do the Yankees really have right now. They can’t make a trade for a good starter till the season when teams start falling out of it. And what will their catching prospects prove? Can either young player stand out…Russel Martin is lousy. It won’t take long for Yankee fans to start chastising him…trust me. I’m not sold on Saltamachia offensively, but he appears to be good defensively. I think Varitek can help him a bit but he still has to go out there and play the game himself. The presence of Varitek alone isn’t gonna make him an all-start player by any means. I was relieved when the Sox lost out on Martin. My old mans a Dodgers fan and all I’ve heard for the past 3 years is how far martin;s fallen off since his first few years. he’s gotten worse every year. He’s not a defensive catcher and he is coming off a hip injury. i say the Yanks should have just gambled with the young guys and had Posada has their fall back. I mean ya Posada is done behind the plate but Martin isn’t far behind.
I’m wondering why the Mets havn’t made a formal offer to Millwood. he started out very good last year for the O’s. Pitching in Citi Field may suit him well and the Mets could use a veteran presence. The Yankees could go that route too, but obviously not expect much. At a low contract $$$ that would be a good “low risk” “high reward” scenario.
I liked the Martin signing as it does not entail much risk and there is a chance he rebounds- he is young enough and has said that personal issues impacted his focus. If this is true there is an upside without much risk. The reasoning behind the signing is they dont believe Montero will stay a catcher as they dont think he is good enough defensively and will more likely be a DH or if he hits well this year they will possibly move him to right for when Swisher’s contract is up. The long term solution at catcher in their eyes is Gary Sanchez who I believe is not yet, or just recently turned 20.
Posada is finished and I believe his presence is really going to hurt them this year based on who they could not sign as a result. He hit .248 with 18 homeruns and at 40 I dont see him being any better this year even if he is a full time DH. Posada keeps them from signing a Vlad or Adam Dunn- who is the guy I really wanted, or even Victor Martinez. Personally I would have rather them avoid the Lee chase and have had them sign Dunn and De la Rosa. I think they would be much better without Posada and if they had signed Vlad or Magglio Ordonez to a one year deal to DH. I think if Montero hits well that by the end of the season he will be the full time DH.
Right now I would really like them to sign Duscherer because I think he has a high cieling in terms of reward. If not him then Garcia. Decent numbers with Chicago last year and he wont be switching leagues, veteran with post season experience, wont cost much and you can get him on a one year deal. I would not complain about Millwood with the Yankee lineup I can see him getting 10-12 wins.
Glad he is out of the NL West! This guy is a Giant killer!!
If we can only get Oliver to sign off on his retirement papers. now
As others have argued before me, it’s probably better to have Hairston on a minor league deal than Matt Diaz on a 2 year guaranteed deal.
I dont know- Diaz can hit when he is healthy and is not being paid squat. The guy can flat out hit and look at the .330 seasons with the Braves. He is one of the most underrated hitters in baseball. Stick him in the two hole and if he is healthy you got a 110 runs scored player.
Don’t go too crazy now, I understand how you could think that by looking at his numbers quickly but take a closer look. He hits 60 or so points higher against lefties for his career, and has a sub .400 slugging % against righties. He’s a great platoon guy and pinch hitter, but using him in any other role I think would be a mistake.
Agreed.
The Hairston-over-Diaz argument was on Fangraphs recently. Here’s a bit:
“This isn’t to say that Hairston is a better choice than Diaz. Given the choice between the two players I would take Diaz. His bat has historically been better, and while both players have had injury problems, Diaz’s haven’t been quite as bad — Hairston has hit the DL every year since 2006. But I don’t think the difference between these two has been reflected in the free agent market.”
So maybe I oversold Hairston. Even so, it’s closer than the disparity in wages would have you believe.
Time for a history lesson. Go back and look at just how good of a GM Alderson was with the A’s. Nobody was clamoring to hire LaRussa when he hired him- sort of like Terry Collins.
Go back and look at all the signings and trades for guys who were on the scrap heap and then became big parts of the dominant Oakland teams. You will see alot of similarities between his signings with Oakland and what he has done with the Mets so far. He STOLE Henderson from the Yankees, Polonia, Caderet and Plunk were the players he gave up. This guy is one of the best GM’s in history. Billy Beane gets the treatment and respect that Alderson should have gotten. He even dumped Canseco when he knew it was the right time. I see absolutely no flaws in Aldersons thinking. I remember being a kid looking at the standings and the A’s being very bad and then boom a powerhouse pseudo dynesty in a short time.
i love the way Alderson is approaching the second base situation. I like these guys that he is signing. They may not be top of the line second basemen, but they are cheap and efficient. Hopefully he is done signing second basemen (middle infielders), because i think we we have now is a nice group of players for collins to choose from. Plus it gives a reason to not need castillo to warm the bench.
I love the mets and will have fun watching them this season
thank god for Sandy Alderson and his approach to rebuild this team
2nd base by committee.
A minor league deal!? He’s the best OF free agent left and that’s all he can get AND the White Sox didn’t think to sign him when they have zero outfield depth behind their starters. So pissed.
You can have Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo from us as conselation prizes if you’d like.
Yo! Don’t be wasting a handy self-destructiing device like Oliver Pérez on the ChiSox! Offer him up to the Phillies & Braves like a real Mets fan!! 😀
You sir, are a GENIUS! All this Jets mania has my Mets brain on the backburner.
Whaat else can they do- you have Castillo so why not pray he can be productive rather than just releasing him. Even if you dont want him as your second baseman all year if he can prove he can still play in April and then May comes and a guy like Pedroia or Uggla or any second baseman gets injured and that team has no internal candidates you may be able to flip Castillo to that team if they know that he can atleast still play the position and be minimallyy effective at the plate.
Castillo’s only plus that I can discern is that he’s generally been a good guy to have in terms of OBP. If he could manage even a somewhat respectable BA, I think he could be more than serviceable offensively. Big if though.
No complaints. Sandy has made a ton of signings so far and all have been like-able and small.
Slightly unrelated but as per MetsBlog: Luis Castillo MIGHT be cut in order to make room for Chris Young.