A Mets trade for Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is “not happening,” a source tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Rubin says such a move is not on the Mets’ radar due to the $120MM owed to Tulo through 2020, as well as the prospect cost of “two or three blue-chippers.” More from Rubin:
- The Mets spoke with the Phillies about acquiring Jimmy Rollins, writes Rubin. Rubin adds, “The pursuit since has been dismissed because Rollins does not want to leave Philadelphia.”
- The Mets are unenthusiastic about the available free agent shortstops, and plan to go the trade route to fill the position. The Diamondbacks, Mariners, White Sox, and Cubs are viewed as viable trade partners. Andy Martino of the New York Daily News says “it has been difficult, if not impossible” for the Mets and Cubs to agree on the value of Starlin Castro. Meanwhile, Martino says Alexei Ramirez of the White Sox only emerged as a possibility within the past week. Martino’s early read has the White Sox seeking the Mets’ top young starters and the Mets pitching their veterans.
- If the Mets are unable to acquire a shortstop, or go with a defense-first type like Didi Gregorius, they are likely to retain second baseman Daniel Murphy, writes Rubin. If they get a shortstop who can hit, Murphy is more likely to be dealt if the Mets get a sufficient offer. Rubin expects the Mets to wait on Murphy until after resolving their shortstop situation.
- The Mets seek a veteran lefty reliever to complement Josh Edgin in their bullpen. They are also seeking a backup infielder, unless Wilmer Flores is bumped to that role.
- The Mets will also consider trading Dillon Gee, Jonathon Niese, or Bartolo Colon.
The teams that the Rockies want a haul from are mostly the same teams that can’t take on alot of salary. I guess the Rockies FO has a high demand much like Ruben in Philly wants for his vets.
You have to have high demands when you’re talking about the face of your franchise. Tulo is an MVP caliber guy when hes healthy.
But if your demands aren’t realistic then no moves will be made. The Tulo and Cargo contracts have the potential to handcuff this team. This might be the best time to trade them, they are only getting older and more prone to injury.
The Rockies are crazy to think that they’re going to get that many prospects and be able to dump either one of their salaries especially since they’re injury prone and they’re splits hurt their value
Exactly if they want a couple to prospects they better eat some of the salary. If they don’t mind a package of niese gee MONTERO Marcos Molina and flores then the mets would have to eat it all
I can’t believe there’s anyone credulous enough to think the Mets were ever in the running for a player who’ll get 20m a season. That’s a bad joke.
It’s the equivalent of dangling car keys in front of an infant to distract from the Cuddye… I mean the castor oil you’re about to give it.
So what? He’s unlikely to ever be healthy for a full season again, and his OPS drops by .150 away from Coors, all the way down to .274 / .349 / .469.
Away from Coors Tulip is at best a 4 win player. His health is lousy, he’s in his decline phase, and he’s inked through his age 35 season at around $20m per. I doubt he’s much more than even money to be worth his deal at $7m per win, never mind what the Mets would have to give up to get him.
Comparing anyone to RAJ isn’t something you joke about.
the mets can take on a lot of salary if they wanted to. just not worth it for an aging player. and not worth it to send prospects and young players for someone who’s going to sit on the DL half his games
wonder if the cub they really end up with is baez….
Baez is an intriguing player. With his power and all those strikeouts, he is literally hit or miss. I’d be fine with a trade that exits Baez or Castro. Just don’t move Rizzo or Bryant.
Cubs are locked in with Rizzo, Baez, and Bryant in the infield, SS is where they would move a player for the right deal. They have Addison on the way, so Castro might be the odd man out. He would cost a couple of top pitcher prospects.
I think the Mets end up with a shortstop from Chicago. Either Ramirez, Castro, Baez, and Russell. Ramirez would probably be the easiest to grab but the Sox won’t just give him away. They don’t need to clear his salary.
I think Baez is gonna be the guy if a trade goes down with the Cubs. I just can’t see them parting with Castro with that contract
Yeah its friendly and hes a proven player who is young. Could grab a top arm or two for Baez
Not a fan of Baez all/nothing approach.. too many Ks
Amen. Mark Reynolds 2.0
Mets would probably quiet his swing like they did with d’Arnaud. Baez could be a big time player, but he has too much noise with his swing right now.
He could yes and he’s still young enough to change his approach. Those Ks numbers he showed in his rookie year were just terrifying.
Baez is a young stud, the Mets don’t have a hitter like him. He hit 30 homers this year.
He also struck out over 40% of the time in the majors and 30% in AAA. He seems like he is going to be a low AVG/low OBP slugger that K’s 30% of the time.
Castro needs to move off SS though when Russell is promoted which he might not be willing to do.
Baez is a tough guy to trade right now. Looked clueless last year in MLB and struck out at historic rates but man… that ceiling.
The problem is Russell may not be quite ready yet, so the Cubs may not be ready to move one of their SS. Ramirez would cost the Mets at least Syndergaard and Familia.
Niese for alexei
Mets are going to need to offer more than that.
Niese/Gee, Montero and one more piece. Get a pitching prospect, another starter to round out rotation then another prospect.
Offer up Gee and Montero. That is a fair deal for A. Ramirez. If they do get another prospect in the deal it’s got to be a PTBNL. Two possible years of quality at SS from Alexi and we get to hold onto Syndergaard and Matz while also allowing prospects like Rosario, Ramos and Cecchini filter up through the system.
White Sox won’t accept that.
Okay. Then i find a good back-up middle infielder and play Flores at SS. Non-Tender candidate Everth Cabrera comes to mind.
Syndergaard kevin plaweck for alexei ramirez
All you hear is a dial tone after that proposal.
lol, this guy (tony kowalski) in the other thread from the other day said Alexi is worth a team’s top 3 or 4 prospects.
have fun with no SS then
we only trade alexei if someone over pays we dont have to trade him
How’s about Zach Wheeler? We take him?
Semien as SS, if Alexei gets traded?
Yeah…I’d love that…but syndergaard could be used to unlock a better deal for ny
Not too much more than that, I hope. Ramirez will be 33, is not much of a bat, is coming off his best OPS+ since 2008. I like his defense and speed, but these are things that tend to decline in the mid-30s.
Niese? Exactly what the White Sox need, their 5th left handed starter!
Sox will want Syndergaard and another pitcher!
The Mets have the pieces to trade. From my brief examination of the ChiSox roster, they need young middle infield help and young starting pitching.
I would think some package including Wilmer Flores and Niese or Montero plus another non-blue chip prospect should be enough.
For Tulo? I don’t know if Flores, Montero AND Niese would be enough.
Replace Niese with Gee and it may be enough to get Alexei
Is Tulo on the White Sox?
Sox don’t need young middle infielders. Semien, Micah Johnson, and Carlos Sanchez along with Tim Anderson
I dont know much about the White Sox but based on the Offseason Outlook from this site, they have Ramirez and three young 2B/SS options already as well as their SS 1st rd pick from 2013 in AA. This is why I am confused that they are entertaining Ramirez to be traded now. He seems to be the perfect player to keep until their top prospect arrives.
The White Sox might feel they can land another bridge ss to replace Ramirez
Yep I’d either go with Lowrie on a possible 2-year deal or Asdrubal Cabrera on a 3-4 year deal (trading him eventually). Either way, neither costs a draft pick.
All timing during free agency. Lowrie and Cabrera going off the market changes things.
Sox need relief pitching too. Badly
Your examination of the Sox roster was WAY too brief… we have stud young pitchers in Sale, Quintana and Rodon and too many middle infielder prospects we need 3B, Bullpen, Catcher and Left Field/DH (lefty)
Would i trade Thor (Syndergaard) for Starlin Castro? a proven Major league SS that can hit and plays decent defense. Yes! Make it happen Sandy.
Except he’s going to have to move off SS very soon.
Not with the Mets. They don’t have anyone knocking on the door which is the point of getting him.
True, if the Mets acquired Castro he would be their starting SS for the forseeable future.
Why?
I think he’s referring to with the Cubs. They have a good glove in Russell coming up. I don’t know why that matters for the Mets if they get him haha
The problem lies in who else the Cubs would demand.
I would offer them Plawecki he has no room in our Team We have Travis Darnaud.
Plawecki is insurance in case d’Arnaud is unable to stay healthy again.
Right. Just throw away REALLY valuable prospects just because WE don’t have use for them. That’s a great idea. Plawecki + Thor is a pretty big haul for Castro and the Cubs would be dancing in the streets.
Baez instead and we’ll give you Edlose Jackson and eat some of his contract. No? OK 🙁
You don’t trade proven top MLB talent under reasonable long term contracts for 1 prospect pitcher whose arm could fall off tomorrow. Just don’t see a Mets/Cubs deal happening as a Cubs fan. Love Syndergaard but Castro doesn’t move for anything less than another proven MLB player, plus whatever evens out the deal from both sides IMO.
Which proven player do you want? Pitcher or Hitter? As a Mets fan i’m of the opinion that i’m more inclined to offer
Wheeler, Plawecki and someone along the lines of Ynoa. If i needed to i could even entertain the idea of Wheeler, Mejia and Plawecki for Starlin Castro. I’ll throw in an okay PTBNL if you want to kick a LHRP or Travis Wood back our way, since he is a non-tender candidate.
Wood gives me a backend starter and allows me to feel less of a brunt trading Niese to recoup prospects.
That seems like a massive overpay for Castro.
Not really. He is a three time AS. Has had a 200 hit season. Only 24 with a pretty nice contract. If i could be assured he would make an ideal leadoff hitter we may be giving up too little. Look, i know he has defensives woes but maybe with him playing on a team where he isn’t the only star and one of the “old guys” on the field he could get his head righted on his shoulders. Nonetheless do not be mistaken in thinking that Castro isn’t worth Wheeler and another top prospect.
“All star” is next to useless when evaluating players, especially in Castro’s case. Two of those three times he was just the best player on a bad team and the Cubs needed representation at the AS game. I doubt any team’s front office uses that to determine value, unless you’re Ruben Amaro or Kevin Towers. Castro is young, talented with the bat, and has a solid contract. He’s also inconsistent, a poor defender, and a below average base runner. It’ll be interesting to see the package he’s sent for, if he does get moved.
It’d have to be a pitcher, I don’t see any position players on the Mets that fit with the Cubs. I’m not really sure who makes the deal work, those players would be redundant in the Cubs’ system although depth never hurts.
The thing about Starlin Castro is in 2014 he was second only to Hanley and Jhonny Peralta in wOBA and wRC+ among SS. He’s 24 years old and under control until 2019 for 43 M with a 16 M option for 2020. He’s been remarkably healthy. Even if he stays a 3 WAR player that has serious value. Think about how much money Hanley is about to get that to spend a ton of time on the DL and eventually(immediately?) get moved off SS.
Its hard to say what it would take because the Cubs really don’t have a replacement for him yet. Will Baez figure out his contact woes? Will Russell continue on his trajectory? Will he outgrow the position? That’s why the asking price is so high. I think the Mets should inquire with the Dbacks on some of their young MIFers who they won’t need to break the bank for.
Why would the Mets trade to acquire a shortstop, then trade Murphy to create a hole at 2nd base?
I think that if they trade for a SS, that they’d probably try out Flores or Herrera at 2B. They’d be more willing to take a chance at 2B with one of them if SS is covered.
To move Wilmer Flores to second base. Most regard him as major league hitter but defensively limited to 2B.
i take syndergard, kevin plawecki for alexei ramirez
The Mets won’t offer that.
So far all I’ve seen are offers from both sides that the other won’t accept. Something’s gotta give.
Truth. Syndergaard on his own would be an overpay, imo. A potential ace for two years and ~4-6 WAR of Alexei Ramirez seems imprudent.
I doubt White Sox will accept a deal without a top Mets arm like Syndegaard at the minimum. No, Montero doesn’t count.
Yep. If that’s the case, I see no deal here.
That’s the issue. The fact is that when teams are currently dealing with the Mets, they will simply covet what the Mets aren’t likely willing to deal. Syndegaard/Wheeler/Harvey/DeGrom. I only see the Mets making an impact trade for offense if they are willing to give up one of them
Yes, and if we want an “impact” bat from Chicago it would be Castro. Then i’d discuss Syndergaard or Wheeler. Alexi Ramirez is a Montero and down type player. A top 5 pitcher in the Mets organization and should still be a top 100 pitcher in baseball.
If the WSox deal their best chip for Montero and down, that is a mistake.
And which potential top prospect do you think they would be getting for him? Montero is still a top 100 prospect in baseball even with his down year in AAA Las Vegas and brief stint in the Majors. Him working with Don Cooper would be a win. Like i said, if i’m the Mets i stand fast at Gee, Montero and PTBNL. Otherwise you and they are just really overvaluing Alexei Ramirez.
It’s their right to overvalue Ramirez, who should be a top 10 SS the next two years on a team friendly salary. Mets aren’t getting him w/o giving up one of Syndegaard/Wheeler/DeGrom. As I also see the Mets likely not giving any of them up. A deal won’t happen unless the Mets get desperate, which they should be for a SS.
Sometimes I’m confused at the notion adding names increases the value of a deal. I’m not sayinh you’ve done that…just the common theme. Why not just Wheeler for Ramirez straight up? Add a deep dish pizza going to NY and a fine deli sub coming back.
Because i don’t think he is worth Wheeler straight up.
Well, from what I hear…the Mets want an impact SS…they’ll have to crack one of those three to get it. I see Ramirez and Castro as a toss up. Unless those pitchers go for Tulo…not sure they have a better deal.
I wonder if the Mets will play in free agency starting pitching to counter the loss of pitching prospects in a deal to Colorado for Tulo. It’ll cost them a couple arms for him for sure
That’s probably the most fair offer I’ve seen so far and one that I would do. Met’s fans are seriously undervaluing what Ramirez brings to the table contract wise and performance.Plus they dont seem to understand that the White Sox wont be the ones blinking in this trade. They absolutely do not need to trade him.
With the amount of rumored SS on the market…the Mets fans have a right to judge any deal I suppose. Zach Wheeler might get the more than Ramirez…not sure. Rumors are rampant… There’s Lowrie and Cabrera in FA…Profar/Andrus are probably available… Even Tulo at some pitching cost.
When you calculate the how much he’s making vs his WAR. Plus where he ranked in total performance(7th of all SSs) I think Wheeler straight up is perfect and fair.
Ramirez is a SS on the wrong side of 30, with 2 years left on his contract. What did you EXPECT to get for him? Gee is a nice #3 with 2 years left on his deal and Montero is a top 100. What more do you WANT?
What are you talking about and who are you addressing. As a Mets fan who would be fine with 2 years of Ramirez i’m willing to part with Gee, Montero and if pushed a PTBNL.
Pretty much agree with this. If we’re giving up a top 10 prospect overall, not just pitchers, then it better be for a cost controlled younger guy. I like Ramirez but not at the cost of Thor.
Well if they genuinely want a SS the Mets are going to have to give up something to get something. The White Sox are in no need to trade Alexei who was an allstar, a finalist for the gold glove, and won the silver slugger in the AL. The White Sox have Carlos Sanchez, Marcus Semien and Micah Johnson who they really like and all would get an opportunity to win the middle infield positions in the spring. So, in order for the Mets to get Ramirez, the Mets would have to give up some young pitching that the Sox are looking for and if they don’t Rick Hahn and the Sox will just move on..
I think the Mets ARE willing to deal Syndergaard or Wheeler, but the return has to be right. That means no Castro, no Alexei. They would do it for Russell or Lindor, but those ceilings are a LOT higher too. If you offer a lower grade player, the Mets have plenty of lower grade pitching to offer.
The problem is that teams keep offering their Camry’s and want to trade them for the BMW’s. The Mets have the BMW’s and are willing to swap them, and they have plenty of Camry’s as well, but the Mets are not interested in giving anyone their BMW for a Camry.
You can doubt all you want, but you are severely over-valuing Ramirez I think.
I’m just being impartial and looking at things from both teams perspective.
I hear you but would be shocked if the White Sox could realistically believe that Ramirez would net them one of the Mets young pitchers (Harvey, Wheeler, deGrom, Syndergaard or Matz). That will likely be their starting point, but if they are truly interested in moving Ramirez, they would come off of it very quickly.
Impartial, to me, would be either Niese (who is perpetually undervalued by many fans) or Montero plus another solid B type of prospect, and maybe throw in a lower level, high risk/high reward guy like Akeel Morris.
The problem with all of the Met fans replies to an Alexi Trade is simple. The Sox don’t NEED to trade an All-Star, Silver Slugger SS. They don’t grow on trees, and the team values him… The Met’s are the one’s pursuing the trade so THEY WILL overpay to get him. That simple.
fine then no deal have fun with castro
I honestly don’t think the Mets are willing to offer what the Cubs want for Castro, either.
I hope not as by all accounts the Cubs would want a major haul. If the Mets were to give that haul, I’d much prefer Addison Russell, even without an MLB track record.
I think the Mets would be OK taking a 24 year old Castro over a 33 year old Ramirez
I’ll upvote for the hearty laugh i got out of this comment.
yanks need a short stop I see Tulo going to Yanks
They want Andrus, which would be wise for them to do. One of the best young defensive SS’s in the game who’s offensive game would thrive in Yankee Stadium. You also have to consider Tulo’s hip issue.
Andrus already plays in a hitter’s park in Texas, and Yankee Stadium is not a ballpark for Right handed Hitters. Matter of fact, Yankee Stadium had the Lowest BA and Slugging percentage of all balls hit to Left Center this season. An article just came out on that today as a matter of fact (though it was about Cuddyer and Citi Field, but it shows ballpark numbers for Left/Center)
Oh and by the way, Andrus is absolutely terrible offensively. I’d rather see the Yankees try to acquire Alexei.
Andrus still has time to turn it around offensively and he brings defense and speed to the table. Don’t like the contract though.
andrus being a severe GB hitter should negate the park factor of fly balls hit to left center.
Yanks don’t have the prospects to get him.
Something apparently everyone but Yankees fans understand. Yankees fans have been foaming at the mouth ever since Tulo showed up at a game to watch Jeter (the reason why his number is 2) play for the last time.
Maybe the Yanks can get him when he’s 36 and not in his prime anymore, then maybe then dreams can come true
I’m not sure I agree. Severino, Judge, and Sanchez is a very good deal for super-injury prone $20 million 30-year-old Tulowitzki. The Yankees would likely take on 100% of the salary. Their farm system would return to completely depleted, but if Tulo were to continue to have serious injuries, it would be a disaster for their franchise.
Tulo going to the Yanks is not even realistic. Keep dreamin I guess?
Mets & Rockies will be back at the discussion table soon enough when Colorado realizes that nobody is gonna give them 2-3 top prospects when that much money owed to Tulo. I believe the Mets want Tulo, but at a reasonable range. It’s definitely not about the chips, because the Mets were actually putting Syndergaard out there, a guy the Mets have been adamant about being untouchable.
The Mets can’t afford Tulowitzki.
They can, but it would ruin their rebuild.
The rebuild phase is done with. With the SP talent close to being ML ready, all they need is that bat for SS to put it together.
And they will have to deal at least one of those young arms for that impact SS.
Who do you like among impact or potential impact SS’s right now? I’m a big fan of Addison Russell.
I don’t think you have been paying much attention then. The Mets cannot afford another $100 million player. Sandy has stated this before, and he also stated even if they could he still wouldn’t because that’s a recipe for disaster.
I meant from a player/prospect perspective.
Hence “reasonable range”. If the Rockies were willing to eat at least 25%-30% of Tulo’s contract, Tulo would be introduced at Citi Field.
So you believe the Rockies will eat a portion of Tulowitzki’s salary and not ask for the Mets top prospects? Does Jeff Bridich have a stake in the Mets or something?
In your original comment you stated 2-3 prospects is too much and no one will give them that, so basically what you are proposing is sending Syndergaard for Tulowitzki, while they also agree on eating a portion of his salary?
Talk about a one-sided deal…
My friend, you need to read my comment again carefully.
I never said giving up 2-3 prospects is “too much”, I said that no one will give them 2-3 of their team’s top prospects AND take on that whole contract for someone with a hip issue. Giving up the 2-3 top prospects is NOT the problem, the contract is!
So state your exact proposal of getting Tulowitzki?
Syndergaard, Molina, Plawecki & Flores.
Okay, and that’s with them eating a portion of his salary as well, right?
The salary is the dealbreaker.
There are definitely teams that would give 2-3 top prospects for the best SS in baseball. I’d give that for Tulo WAY before I would give it for Hamels.
Think too…Tulo is an upgrade over what the vast majority of teams run out there. He’d make even a very good ss available in a trade. A team would get Tulo and whatever they could get by dealing their current SS.
Maybe, maybe not. Hip injuries are tricky, and his overall health may put some off to taking on that entire contract.
I really hope any team interested in Niese or Gee doesn’t overpay for them. They are a product of Citi Field and their career Home/Road splits are there to all prove it.
Yeah I looked at their numbers and that really stood out to me. I wouldn’t be interested in either of them for the White Sox. Especially Niese just because he is left handed and the Sox have 4 lefties as it is right now. Gee to me seems no better than what Hector Noesi can bring you at probably half the cost.
I haven’t seen it touted, but the thoughts crossed my mind that the Mets and Royals might get together on Alicedes Escobar.
I was thinking the same thing the other day. GM meeting is a good place to get those dialogues going. A player like Escobar would cost us Thor though. I am pondering it.
Sometimes we don’t look past the obvious names thrown out there. Could be possible the Royals want to juggle the roster a bit and not knock out everything in free agency. Escobar just has so much defensive value…not sure where they go from there if he’s packed out.
I agree. I also think, unfortunately, that if he does get moved it may be to the Yankees and they’ll over pay. Think Judge and Severino plus.
Hard to decipher….seems that there are a number of SS available that are known…and probably a bunch that aren’t.
Another that i thought of and i don’t even think there was ever a mention of him being remotely available was Jean Segura from the Brewers.
I wouldn’t touch Jean Segura with a 10 foot pole. I watched him quite a bit coming up..and I see that one half as an outlier. He might never be better than a.utility ss. I do suppose its what they want to send for him.
Seems to me the Mets are just kicking the tires with Colorado to test an outlier shortstops worth. They want to, essentially, know what a Ferrari costs so they don’t overpay for a Chevy
Ferrari with the mechanical composition of a Fiat.
That’s awesome…yeah didn’t know where to go with that…lol….so many auto companies offer good warranties nowdays
I honestly want to see more Wilmer Flores at SS, or even at 2B if such a situation arises. While unproven most of his time so far, I’ve seen a steady progression as though he is starting to get in sync with MLB pitching. Though, I think things will get complicated after the start of the season. Trades between the Mets and other teams won’t go down over the off season, but comes late-April-May, or even later, as you just cannot trade unproven guys for “stars” in between seasons.
The Cuddyer signing, and frankly the Keven Long signing, are signs the Mets really do mean business, though.
A pipedream I know, but Tulo tossin to Cano in Safeco would be spectacular.
But if the Mets see the Mariner’s as a possible trade partner, would we send Taylor or Miller? what would be the return?
Have you seen Tulo numbers in the row, I mean his offense.
I can’t think of a single team that has two or three blue-chip prospects, the ability to take on the $120MM owed to Tulo through 2020 and needs a SS. The Rockies are either going to have to lower their asking price or kick in some cash to facilitate a trade.
“Hey Sandy! I’ve got this guy Villar that would look GREAT at your SS position, and all it takes is Noah Syndergaard!” – Jeff Luhnow.
Perfect fit for the A’s! Bring him back home!
Jimmy just doesn’t want to go to the Mets if anything. I bet he’d love to play for the Yankees. Would be right up his alley to play for the large market, most prestigious franchise, while replacing a future HOFer, so that he can try to prove he’s HOF worthy himself. Jimmy’s been better than Jeter each season dating back to 2009, so the Yankees win out by getting a better SS at a cheaper price. Phillies get a piece or two for their rebuild in addition to salary relief. Win-win-win.
Id rather keep the pitchers and start flores at short. Ramirez could easily have another sub .700 OPS year in 2015. The only guys that are worth giving up a lot for are addison russell and Starlin Castro
if the mets want another lefty go str8 for Miller and pay the man to have that lights out bullpen at the back end with parnell with mejia and jeurys familia also coming back
Mets need a lot of help
Mets should go after manny maccado .he may be available . Murphy,Niese and montero could get it done
This makes me happy! Rollins is trash and I would NEVER want him on our team even if it means no championships for another 28 years!