Carlos Beltran clears waivers.

[TransMonk]

There's no denying that Beltran may have some baseball left in him. But does he help the 2011 team? Without increasing payroll are the Mets going to be better in 2011 than they were in 2010? If not, does Beltran even matter? If not, should we use dealing him to build for the future?

What's the plan? Show me the plan!

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: There's no denying that Beltran may have some baseball left in him. But does he help the 2011 team? Without increasing payroll are the Mets going to be better in 2011 than they were in 2010? If not, does Beltran even matter? If not, should we use dealing him to build for the future? What's the plan? Show me the plan!

Showing you the plan would be detrimental to the plan. Don't want to tip their hands, etc. Sorry, you don't have clearance. :-D

I think a lot of what they did and didn't do this year suggests they have a plan.

I think, unless he's completely washed up, that Beltran definitely helps the 2011 team. I don't really care what he's making. The Mets should have some flexibility to upgrade in a couple of areas (and they don't need a ton of high priced imports to do so anyway), so the $/run Beltran provided doesn't really matter much.

[Willets Point]

TransMonk wrote: What's the plan? Show me the plan!

Hee-hee-hee. Ambler.

[TransMonk]

Had to get into the way-way back machine for that one. I've never felt more like Ambler.

Now all I need is a four-panel headshot and I'll be good to go.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't understand all these proposals to deal him. Is there really a market for him at all? The guy just cleared waivers.

The reality seems to be that he's worth far more to the Mets right now than he is to any other team.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: I don't understand all these proposals to deal him. Is there really a market for him at all? The guy just cleared waivers. The reality seems to be that he's worth far more to the Mets right now than he is to any other team.

but but but... as David Lennon points out, Frenchy hit two home runs recently! Beltran's taking time away from him!

Definitely worth more to the Mets. hopefully tonight is the first step of a 200+ game stretch of hitting .320 with 40 home runs.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Beltran's not going to get traded with that contract, and I think it's understood when you sign a guy to a long-term deal, especially when the big numbers are in the final years, you are kicking that problem down the road with the idea of worrying about it when you get there.

They signed Beltran for what he could do in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the rest is gravy. Could he be a good, solid major league outfielder? Of course! Will he be the kind of guy you'd go out and spend $20 million on right now if he was a free agent? Of course not.

I'd still make that deal back then. Now is just the time when you have to deal with it. And it would be nice for Carlos to understand that, right now, he helps the team more by being in right field -- and running Ollie over in the parking lot when no one is looking.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I'd still make that deal back then.

Sure but, I dunno. Everyone forgets we had a perfectly fine defensive centerfielder coming off a 30-home-run season (and a bad year relative to his history) who who had a bargain contract. Omar of course loads the buttend of deals, gives away no-trade clauses, etc because he figured that the pile of championship trophies decorating his office by now would forgive him, or at least afford a few ridiculously expensive, impossible-to-move veterans.

[nymr83]

Why would a team take on the back end of a contract when they didn't enjoy the benefits of the front end

ask the Mets re: Bonilla

[Guest Edgy DC]

That was a case of trading a bad contract for a bad contract. I mean, sure, we can flip him for Kei Igawa or Francisco Cordero or somebody, but most all such deals will sounds like more of a crap shoot than letting him play out his deal and seeing if they can improve in other areas (coff! manager coff!).