The More Teams Change, The More The Mets Stay The Same

I try to look at the MLB Trade Rumors site as often as I can to see what the Mets and their division rivals are up to.  More often than not, I find what their fellow NL East residents are doing long before I find any new information on the Mets.  Today was no exception.

Sandy Alderson has wanted to add a new arm in the bullpen (since most of the new arms he added last off-season pitched so miserably), a new starting pitcher to replace the Cy Young Award winner he traded away, and a major league outfielder to add to the Quadruple-A players the Mets already have.

So of course, I woke up this morning hoping to find something new on MLB Trade Rumors.  I found their "Week In Review" segment and perused the list of transactions and rumors for all major league teams.  This is an example of what I found.  (Thanks to Daniel Seco at mlbtraderumors.com for his thorough work.  For the complete "Week In Review" list, please click here.)

• The Rangers agreed to a five-year, $55MM extension with Matt Harrison. The contract contains an team option for a sixth year in 2018 that can become a vesting option if Harrison pitches certain innings plateaus.
• The Nationals agreed to sign free agent closer Rafael Soriano to a two-year, $28MM contract. Soriano posted a 2.26 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 35.9% ground ball rate for the Yankees this past season.
• The Red Sox and Mike Napoli reached an agreement on a new contract. Napoli gets $5MM plus incentives for the one-year deal that could reach $13MM.
• The Mariners, Nationals and Athletics combined on a three-team trade that will send Michael Morse to the Mariners, John Jaso to the A's and a three-player package to the Nationals that includes minor league right-handers A.J. Cole, Blake Treinen and a player to be named from the Athletics. 
• The Diamondbacks agreed to sign J.J. Putz to a one-year extension that will keep him in Arizona through 2014.The LSW Baseball client will reportedly receive a $7MM salary in 2014.
• The Pirates agreed to sign right-hander Jeff Karstens to a one-year deal worth $2.5MM.
• The Rockies signed Miguel Batista to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Batista, 41, posted a 4.61 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 in 52 2/3 innings for the Mets and Braves last season. 
• The White Sox agreed to sign Matt Lindstrom to a one-year contract with a club option. Lindstrom, 32, pitched to a 2.68 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 47 innings for the Orioles and Diamondbacks last season.
• The Indians signed Ryan Raburn to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Raburn averaged 15 home runs per season from 2009-11 and owns a career batting line of .256/.311/.430.
• The Phillies signed right-hander Juan Cruz to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.
• The Marlins signed Austin Kearns to a minor league deal with an invitation to MLB Spring Training.

Austin Kearns, International Marlin of Mystery

I see where the defending NL East champion Nationals traded away outfielder Michael Morse to Seattle and signed closer Rafael Soriano to a two-year deal.  I also see that the Phillies signed reliever Juan Cruz and plan to invite him to Spring Training.  Heck, even the frugal Marlins signed outfielder Austin Kearns to a minor league deal.  I see many teams in the majors mentioned here.

I don't see the Mets.

Well, if you want to be technical about it, the Mets are mentioned, but only because the Rockies signed Miguel Batista off the Mets' scrap heap.

Almost every team in baseball is wheeling and dealing, signing and refining, moving and improving.  The Mets, on the other hand, are not doing anything worthy of a rhyme.  In fact, they're not doing anything at all.

Since trading R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays on December 17, the Mets have done the following:

• Dec. 28, 2012: Signed LHP Aaron Laffey to a minor league contract.
• Jan. 3, 2013: Signed OF Andrew Brown to a minor league contract.
• Jan. 6, 2013: Signed INF Omar Quintanilla to a minor league contract.
• Jan. 18, 2013: Signed C Landon Powell to a minor league contract.
• Jan. 21, 2013: Signed LHP Pedro Feliciano to a minor league contract.

Never mind the fact the MLB Trade Rumors didn't mention anything about the Mets making a transaction last week (Landon Powell).  All the Mets have done over the last month is sign journeyman players, including a former Met who hasn't pitched since the last time he was a Met in 2010 (Pedro Feliciano).  Sure, they've re-signed some of their own players, like Tim Byrdak and David Wright, and avoided arbitration with Bobby Parnell and Ike Davis.  But that about sums up their activity.

The Mets say they're interested in starting pitcher Carl Pavano.  They would like to remain in the mix for outfielder Michael Bourn.  They gave a look-see at closer Brian Wilson.  But I wouldn't bet all the money in Papa Smirk's piggy bank that either of those players will be receiving their fan mail at Citi Field in 2013.

"Seriously, why do you call me Papa Smirk so much?"

Sandy Alderson is asking the fans to be patient.  Although he claims that he is not sacrificing 2013 for the future, he also hasn't been doing anything to make the upcoming season more than just a battle for fourth place with the Marlins.

Alderson has acquired some good young talent since he came on board prior to the 2011 season.  Through shrewd trades, he's been able to add a number of top prospects, like Zack Wheeler, Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard, to name a few.  But the major league talent at Citi Field still leaves a lot to be desired.

Scott Hairston is a good outfielder and a fine hitter.  Against lefties, he's as good as they get.  It should be a no-brainer for Alderson to bring him back into the fold.  But he's waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting some more, just to get Hairston to bite on a one-year deal.  If Hairston really is seeking a two-year deal worth somewhere in the $8 million range, why wouldn't Alderson take that chance?

He already doled out two-year contracts to relievers D.J. Carrasco and Frank Francisco, but he can't do the same for an outfielder (a position the Mets desperately need to fill) who actually has produced during his time with the team?  As a famous entertainer once said, "what up with that?"





Say Hairston is signed by the Mets to a two-year deal worth $8 million ($4 million annually).  And say he doesn't produce as well as he did in 2012.  Given his history against left-handed pitching and the team control until 2014, as well as his relatively low annual salary, wouldn't he be a valuable trade commodity?  What team wouldn't want him at that price?  But if the Mets were to give him a one-year deal, he'd just be a rental for a potential playoff contender.

For the Mets, it should begin with Scott Hairston.  Then they should add pieces who are ready to contribute at the major league level.  Then, and only then, will I believe the Mets are doing something to make this season more than just a competition with the Marlins for fourth place.

Frank Cashen had a five-year plan for the Mets when he came aboard as the Mets general manager in 1980.  By year five, the team was competitive.  However, Cashen inherited a team that hadn't won 70 games since 1976 and needed a complete overhaul.  The current Mets, despite their shortcomings, have won at least 70 games in each of the last four seasons and have been in the playoff mix at the All-Star Break every year.  But they've fallen apart every season after the break and haven't truly shown any type of improvement in the last four years.

Year five for Sandy Alderson will be in 2015.  Will the Mets have what it takes to contend for an NL East title by then?  We know the teams around them aren't going to be steadfast with their major league rosters.  It's time for the Mets to change.  We already know what happens to them when they remain the same.

Let The Phillies Get Older With Michael Young

There is an old adage in baseball that says pitching wins championships.  The San Francisco Giants can attest to that, as they've won two titles in three years on the strength of their stellar starting rotation and deep bullpen.  But while pitching wins titles, it's youth that keeps teams playing for championships.

After winning four World Series in five seasons from 1996 to 2000 with a number of homegrown players who were still in their 20s (Jeter, Williams, Posada, Pettitte, Rivera), the Yankees have managed just one championship over the past 12 seasons.  Basically, they've become too old to compete with the young studs in places like Detroit and Texas.  Heck, they barely beat out Baltimore in the regular season and ALDS, while allowing Tampa to win two division titles over the past five seasons.

Similarly, the Phillies won five consecutive division titles from 2007 to 2011, but could only manage a .500 record in 2012.  All that success earned them one World Series trophy.  In 2012, the Phillies had 17 players play in at least 70 games.  None of them were younger than age 28 and all but two of them were at least 31 years of age.  In addition, Cliff Lee (age 33) and Roy Halladay (age 35) both spent time on the disabled list, combining to make 55 starts, winning only 17 of them.

Here's a sign that the Phillies are an old, fragile team.  Carlos Ruiz, their recently caught-with-PEDs catcher, finished fifth on the team in games played.  That's a catcher who gets day games after night games off, spending more time on the field than all but four players on the team.

So are the Phillies looking to get any younger this year, especially after seeing the youth movement in Washington lead to a major league-leading 98 wins for the Nationals during the 2012 regular season?

Uh, not exactly.

Many sources, including MLB Trade Rumors, are reporting that the Phillies have just completed a trade with the Texas Rangers for the services of third baseman Michael Young, who has decided to waive his no-trade clause to leave the only team he has played for in the major leagues.

For those who are not aware of Michael Young's career, he is a former Gold Glove winner (2008) and seven-time All-Star.  He is also Texas' all-time leader in hits, as well as games played, at-bats, runs scored, singles, doubles, triples, total bases and sacrifice flies.

Translation?  He's old.

In addition to getting up there in years, the 36-year-old Young just completed one of the worst seasons of his career.  After hitting a career-high .338 for the pennant-winning Rangers in 2011, Young's average dropped dramatically to .277, his lowest mark in ten years.  His 27 doubles were also his lowest total since 2002, as were his 67 RBI and .312 on-base percentage.  Young's eight home runs, two stolen bases and .370 slugging percentage in 2012 all represented career-lows.  And I haven't even mentioned his horrid -2.4 WAR from last season, which includes his fourth consecutive sub-zero dWAR, a number that should become five straight playing in a non-DH league in 2013.  (Oops.  Guess I just did mention it.)

Young's 2012 numbers are what you would have expected from him had he spent time on the disabled list, missing a significant portion of the season.  Instead, those numbers are what Young produced in a season in which he played 156 games and collected 611 at-bats.  But of course, the Phillies would love to have him and his $16 million salary for 2013 (although Texas would be paying a portion of that hefty salary).

The Phillies recently signed Cole Hamels to a contract extension that will keep him in Philadelphia through 2018 with a team option for the 2019 season.  Cole Hamels will turn 36 in 2019.  They also have Cliff Lee signed through the 2015 season, with a vesting option for 2016, a year in which the southpaw will turn 38.  Ryan Howard is signed to a monster contract that will keep the rapidly declining slugger in red through his 37th birthday, the same age Jimmy Rollins will be if his option vests in 2015.

Perhaps the reason why the Phillies are trying so desperately to bring in Michael Young is because Citizens Bank Nursing Home needs another resident to replace Shane Victorino (who was a relatively young 31 years of age when the Phillies traded him to the Dodgers this past summer).  Or maybe it's just that they really miss Scott Rolen.

The Phillies are going all out to acquire Michael Young.  But a 36-year-old Young is still no 26-year-old Rolen.

Since Scott Rolen was shipped out of Philly at the trade deadline in 2002, the third baseman has been a member of six division champions, two pennant winners and one World Series champion.  In the ten years since he played his last game as a Phillie, Rolen has also won five Gold Gloves and made the All-Star team six times.  Meanwhile, the roll call of Phillies' third basemen since Rolen's departure has included names like David Bell, Abraham Nuñez, Greg Dobbs, Wes Helms, Pedro Feliz, Placido Polanco and Kevin Frandsen.  In other words, the Phillies have yet to find a long-term replacement for Scott Rolen, who was the closest thing they've had to Mike Schmidt since ... Mike Schmidt.

Michael Young, all three dozen years of him and coming off the worst full season of his career, is now the Phillies' new third baseman.  And with Young only signed through the 2013 season, the Phillies may be looking for yet another player to man the hot corner in 2014, assuming they don't continue their recent tradition of signing 30-something players to multi-year extensions.

Let Ruben Amaro continue to throw money at players who will be collecting their first social security checks shortly.  I'd rather take my chances with our recently-signed third baseman.  I'm sure the Phillies would love to have him right about now.  Then again, David Wright is probably too young for the Phillies anyway.

Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Davey?

The David Wright contract extension.  That's what on the minds of all Mets fans today, especially with conflicting reports that Wright has been offered a long-term extension.

Over at ESPNNewYork, Adam Rubin's sources claim that the Mets have offered Wright a seven-year extension that would allow him to remain a Met until 2020.  But MLBTR is reporting that no such deal has been offered.  In fact, Wright himself was quoted on the site, saying:

"I have said from Day 1 that I want to play my entire career with the New York Mets.  I remain hopeful that goal can be achieved.  However, I am disappointed by the reports that I have read today which are inaccurate."

Wright's "now you see the extension, now you don't" news comes a day after the Tampa Bay Rays gave homegrown third baseman Evan Longoria a six-year extension worth $100 million.  Earlier this year, the Nationals signed the man in their hot corner to a similar deal, keeping Ryan Zimmerman in Washington through 2019, with a team option for 2020.

Both six-year, $100 million extensions were signed after each player was coming off an injury.  Zimmerman's deal this spring came after he played only 101 games in 2011 and posted the worst power numbers of his career (12 HR, 49 RBI).  Similarly, Evan Longoria signed his extension after missing 88 games for Tampa Bay in 2012.  Both Zimmerman and Longoria were 27 years old at the time their new contracts were signed.

David Wright will turn 30 in three weeks.  He was not injured in 2012 and posted fine numbers (.306, 41 doubles, 21 HR, 93 RBI).  However, his production fell off during the second half, as it has over the past few seasons in which he was fully healthy.

Zimmerman and Longoria are just entering their prime.  Wright will soon be leaving his.  If the Mets do offer Wright a seven-year extension, which would not begin until the 2014 campaign, that would keep him in New York through 2020, his age 37 season.  Will he be worth the amount of money the Mets would be paying him that year?

Carlos Beltran was given a seven-year deal by the Mets at age 27.  He played well until he was 31, then started to miss large chunks of time with injuries.  Before Beltran, there was Mike Piazza, who also signed a seven-year deal to remain a Met after the 1998 season.  Piazza had his last .300 season in 2001 at age 32 (the third year of his seven-year deal) and his final 30-homer season at age 33 (his fourth year).

If the Mets are truly going to give Wright a seven-year deal, they have to make sure they don't backload it with a high salary that will make it difficult to bring in other players once Wright starts to slow down, whether it be through injuries (like Beltran) or age and a demanding position (like Piazza).

Is Wright going to remain a Met for life?  Conflicting reports are confusing the issue.  But one thing the Mets should not be confused about is letting Zimmerman and Longoria's deals affect what they're going to do with Wright.  Both players are younger than Wright and should get more money because of it.  But Wright's best season may already be behind him.  It's up to the Mets to notice that before they talk dollars and cents with their third baseman.