Determined to become more of a power-oriented team, the Mets have decided against trading Ike Davis this winter, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Mets originally considered trading Davis and moving Lucas Duda to first base, but the club will now slot Duda in left field and keep Davis at first in an effort to boost their home run total.
General Manager Sandy Alderson is expected to do even more to add power to the Mets lineup. If the Mets wind up trading R.A. Dickey, they would push to get at least one young slugger in return, preferably an outfielder. Sherman also writes that the Mets can be expected to pursue low-cost veteran sluggers and may consider names such as Jonny Gomes and Raul Ibanez.
Can somebody refresh my memory: did the Mets say they’d bring their fences in for next season?
Sandy was making a funny, said instead of signing new players they’d move the fences in another 150ft.
Not a Duda fan myself, especially in left field.
Thanks! Turns out I was thinking of last offseason when they actually did bring in the fences.
They already did, last year.
My have the mets fallen. They’re now competing for the likes of players that the A’s are interested in.
Which seemed to work out pretty well for the A’s last year. Gomes would be a good pickup. Duda will be a liability out there. He ought to be moved to a club looking for 1B/DH. He’s not a match for this club. He’d be more valuable elsewhere.
Except the A’s were a better all around team than the Mets. I don’t think the answer is obviously just one player. The mets need to have young, cost controlled outfielders that have enough pop and will be around when the team (hopefully) is ready to compete in roughly 2-3 years.
I agree about Duda but now that he’s having surgery, there’s no trading him.
Not true at all. The A’s were not better all around. If anything when you balance every position out they are equal if not the Mets have a more dangerous lineup. Oakland had an unproductive catcher, second baseman, shortstop, a center fielder for more than half the season, and platoon first base. They did get great production from the corner outfield and a team MVP performance from Donaldson down the stretch. The Mets offensively top Oakland at first, second, third, and short. The A’s starting pitching and shut down bullpen was their Achilles heel. The Mets have that same potential with solid young arms, a perennial Cy Young winner, and a veteran presence that can be solid at times. Bullpen will be a large part of the Mets success if they have any…
Remind me again who the Mets second baseman and catcher are. Also, who was their CF? How was Ike’s play for the first 2months? In addition, how was the mets defense this past year?
The a’s outfield was light years ahead of the mets. Agree on the pitching aspect though.
With the exception of Murphy, the Mets infield defensively is far superior than Oakland’s plain and simple. You cannot say that Weeks was a productive second baseman this season. Murphy is a solid hitter, but lacks power. Weeks had to be sent to the minors because of his lack of production in the lineup. Catcher is wash. Suzuki/Norris/Kottaras all struggled offensively as well as Thole for the Mets. Before you antagonize my comments, you would notice that I stated that Oakland’s outfield was far better than the Mets. Center field for the first 3/4 of the season was a wash. Crisp was awful with the bat (until he got hot down the stretch), like Torres, and they are both superior defenders. If you are going to antagonize me, at least have a point and be accurate…
Didn’t mean to come across as antagonistic. My apologies.
You had stated catcher and second base as examples. My point is at thole was terrible and Murphy was barely passable.
Torres was pretty terrible the entire year, hence why he’ll be non-tendered.
I still stand with my original statement that Oakland was a better all around team.
I am talking about Oakland vs. NY since that’s the point here. Murphy was offensively superior to Weeks, and Weeks had a .977 fielding percentage, Murphy .974. Even if you want to throw out fielding percentage for measuring one’s defensive capabilities, Murphy is not that bad. He makes a lot of difficult plays. Again, catcher is a wash. Both teams saw limited to no production from that position. Torres was terrible the entire season, but there was about a 1.5 month period where Kirk Nieuwenhuis was ROY material. Crisp was awful for 3/4 of the season, but I would still take him over the Torres/Nieuwenuis platoon. So as I said in my original comment, the teams if anything are similar in a sense, than Oakland being far superior…
Never once did I say”far superior”. I said better all around team. I’m not quite sure why you’re even arguing it as this point where you have essentially proved my Theory.
Mets’ glaring weaknesses were the same as Oakland. Where the mets “somewhat” succeeded, Oakland was better.
The Murphy experiment at 2b actually was one of the bright spots for the Mets last season. He was passable in the field, which is all they were looking for. As for Thole, he hits singles and nothing else, but is kinda cruddy behind the plate. That cannot be overemphasized. His defensive prowess is pathetic and he really should be a backup, but as we have nobody else, he starts.
As for Ike, the first two months of the season, he was recovering from Valley Fever. What do you expect from the guy? He was sick and shouldn’t have even been playing, but was there for the team anyway. As time passed and he got better, so did his numbers!
Just thought I’d throw all that in for the conversation.
um, torres is NOT a superior defender. he is average at best
I’d agree. But the Mets shopping for the sorts of players the A’s find attractive does not preclude them fielding a competitive team. Bay’s buyout likely gives just a tiny bit of elbow room for Alderson. I also wouldn’t bemoan the Mets current budget restraints for too long. I expect them to relax after this season is done. The same can’t be said of the A’s. For the Mets, Oakland-like austerity is a place they must visit, not a place they must live in.
We have to many lefties why would we want Ibanez….outfield: Duda Kirk Gomes Torres Baxter
Why Torres.. Defensive replacement for Duda or Gomes and he batted well from the right side of the plate this year and you know Kirk can’t hit lefties…and Torres its cheap
Last I heard Torres is going to be non-tendered
Need power, Mets? This Jason Bay kid is available….
BTW, watch the K parade this year with Ike and Duda. And the gaffe parade in the OF.
watch somone will sign Bay and he will hit 30 HR this year
J.P. Arencibia looks like a good fit if the Mets are willing to move pitching.
Niese for Arencibia.
I’d prefer Gee for Arencibia
I’m convinced. Sign me up.
Gee, Familia and Duda?
after they pay Bay, they are waiting for Santana to come off the books..the Mets are not under the impression they are going to be a contender in 2013. They have several young arms who will legitimize their rotation for years to come, and a possible trade of Dickey could bring in more Major League ready players/prospects who would add even more to boost their contendership in 2014 and beyond.
😀
Duda for Arencibia.
Dickey for Cargo and Ramon Hernandez. The only reason I think the rockies would do it is because they need BIG help. They have plenty outfield depth and they have people to build around like Tulo and Fowler and veterans like Cuddyer and Helton. To me, that would be a good deal for both teams. Maybe add a prospect from the Rockies too.