The latest from the blog of ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney muses on who the Giants might look at as a midseason acquisition if Miguel Tejada does not work out at shortstop. He comes up with Jose Reyes, Marco Scutaro, and Jack Wilson as possible trade candidates. I can see Stephen Drew, J.J. Hardy, and Ronny Cedeno as other possibilities.
- Evaluators tell Olney Rays reliever Juan Cruz looks excellent. Apparently recovered from shoulder surgery, Cruz has allowed one run in eight spring innings. He's whiffed nine and allowed only two hits, but also walked seven.
- The Mets intend to keep Rule 5 picks Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato, according to Olney. With Justin Turner being cut today, Emaus certainly appears to be the second base starter. Joel Sherman of the New York Post digs into the Mets' logic with Emaus here. The infielder, 25 on Monday, hit .298/.395/.495 at Triple-A last year.
Dustin Ackley will be our 2nd baseman in June, so Jack Wilson will be available soon, Brendan Ryan will be the SS, and a terrific defender like Wilson would be a good trade candidate for many teams…
Jack Wilson is not much of a hitter. They don’t like automatic outs in the lineup, because you want a big inning and you may need a big hit with runners on base.
Think the Mets can get a top flight starter if they trade Reyes?
I had a strong feeling Juan Cruz was a potential steal. Let’s see if this holds up.
Reyes has no value. He used to be good, but his health has been bad and he is just a big name who no longer produces. Not much power and his speed hasn’t been used effectively in recent years.
There is so much wrong with this statement. He has value, maybe not the value expected till he stays healthy. He’s a leadoff hitter who’s not suppose to produce like a middle of the lineup guy. How much power do you want from a SS, that leads off? He hit 11 homers, 29 doubles and 10 Triples last year in a spacious Citifield. Now if you mentioned his OBP for a leadoff hitter, then you’d have a case, but then someone else would probably point out his .350+ OBP, from 2006-2009.
If the diamondbacks are out of it, do you really think they would shop Drew? Because if so I would think a lot of teams would want in on him, the asking price for him won’t be break the farm huge by any means. I would love to see him in cubbie blue with Castro sliding over to 2B
Drew will be a HOT summer trade option for a number of teams! DBacks will be 2nd or 3rd worst team in the NL this year. With the top 4-5 shortstops locked up for the next few years, Drew is the only elite talent left at that position for the next few years.
Not only that, but I would think the Mets would prefer to have the prospects. Acquiring a top-flight starter defeats the purpose of trading Reyes. Either keep Reyes, trade prospects for a starter or sign a starter in the off-season… or trade for prospects and win later. New York is a “win now” town, but unless the Wilpons sell, I think the Mets will be short on cash for a while.
* Resumes praying for Wilpons to sell. *