Has anybody mentioned Stephen Drew?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Morales would be a super guy to have on the bench. Can play a corner OF or first base, switch hits, has some powa and could compete for starting jobs in the positions he plays moreso than command one. I'm sure he'd never go for such an opportunity but in the event it's the best he can do...

[ashie62]

Edgy MD wrote: Well, again, I don't see Morales as all that great (or all that likely) an improvement to justify the investment of limited resources. Shortstop, starting pitcher, sure. If I had money to spend, I'd look in those directions.

Are you ok with Recker as the #2 behind Travis? I see Travis with 400 PA.. Soo...

I agree with Vic on Morales..Kendry has a nice resume and is till coming around from his celebration dislocation.

I'll take the 30/80 .290 of Morales over anything the Mets currently have.

keeping Ike and Duda around really feels like punting..

Progress Sandy..it aint early anymore..

[Edgy MD]

Am I OK with Recker? I'm not NOT OK. I imagine some vets will be brought in on minor league deals. I won't be too upset if a major league signee isn't among them, but since catchers get hurt, a big league vet would be nice. But then, our conversation gets further and further away from Stephen Drew.

[smg58]

Edgy MD wrote: Am I OK with Recker? I'm not NOT OK. I imagine some vets will be brought in on minor league deals. I won't be too upset if a major league signee isn't among them, but since catchers get hurt, a big league vet would be nice. But then, our conversation gets further and further away from Stephen Drew.

A healthy Stephen Drew can give you an OPS+ at or above 110. Shortstops who can do that aren't so easy to come by. Tejada has broken 90 in the past, but a full rebound season would still make him a poor bet to break 100. By contrast, Ike Davis has broken 110 in three of his four seasons, and Duda had a 118 OPS+ last year to compare with the 123 that Morales gave the Mariners. This isn't meant to knock Morales -- of this year's free agent outfield class, only Choo and Beltran are demonstrably better hitters. But Drew would improve the Mets more.

[Frayed Knot]

Morales only briefly played the OF and is no longer an option there.
Some have questioned whether he's even a 1st baseman going forward or is strictly a DH from here on out.

[ashie62]

Edgy MD wrote: Am I OK with Recker? I'm not NOT OK. I imagine some vets will be brought in on minor league deals. I won't be too upset if a major league signee isn't among them, but since catchers get hurt, a big league vet would be nice. But then, our conversation gets further and further away from Stephen Drew.

Sticking to Stephen Drew..He is simply too expensive for the plan Sandy and Jeff are executing.

Ruben Tejada and Tovar are on board and cheap...

[Benjamin Grimm]

Adam Rubin wrote: The Mets remain engaged with agent Scott Boras about free-agent shortstop Stephen Drew, but a source familiar with the process continues to portray Drew as more of a "possibility" than a "probability." Team officials are divided about how valuable Drew would be to the Mets, who otherwise appear prepared to use Ruben Tejada at shortstop. The team would be more willing to consider a one- or two-year deal for Drew at the right monetary figure, while likely being averse to anything three years or beyond. But if Drew were to accept a shorter-term deal, the feeling is that he ultimately would just return to the Boston Red Sox. So there is some belief within the Mets organization that Boras partly is engaging the Mets in order to maximize the terms with Boston. The Mets' first-round pick is protected in 2014 and the second-round pick has been forfeited to the Yankees for signing Curtis Granderson. So the Mets would lose a third-round pick if they were to sign Drew -- something they are not totally averse to considering. The Mets partly are downplaying their interest in Drew because they do not want to get the fan base excited and then seem to fail in pursuing a player they believe ultimately will end up back with the Red Sox anyway. A team insider does not believe the Mets would need to first shed payroll -- Ike Davis and/or Daniel Murphy -- in order to free available space for Drew. Drew, who turns 31 in March, hit .253 with 13 homers and 67 RBIs in 442 at-bats last season with Boston.

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, the problem with luring him via a short term deal is that he's got that 1-year/$14.1mil offer already in his pocket. So unless the Mets were willing to go purdy durn high for say two years, he'd probably just be tempted to take Boston's qualifying offer and do the FA deal again next year.

[Benjamin Grimm]

When is the deadline for him accepting/rejecting that $14 million?

[Frayed Knot]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: When is the deadline for him accepting/rejecting that $14 million?

I'm not sure.
Boston, I suppose, could reach a point where they'd make other plans and simply withdraw it. I assume that would then result in them not gaining the draft pick if and when he signs elsewhere.

[smg58]

I'm not sure how you justify four years for Granderson but would balk at three for the younger Drew.

[Frayed Knot]

Recent track record of staying on the field.
Drew turns 31 in March but hasn't had a 500+ AB season since he was 27

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

What FK said. Hell, during last year's successful "comeback," he only played 124 games.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Jim Duquette and Andy Martino were both on Mets Hot Stove today. Sounds like they feel that Drew to the Mets is becoming a bit less remote the closer we get to spring training.

Martino says that, right now anyway, the Mets are holding to only offering a one-year contract, but would probably be willing, eventually, to go to two years or three. (My hunch is that two could get it done.) Duquette says that there are only two teams in serious play for Drew, the Mets and the Red Sox, with the Twins as a possible dark horse.

[Centerfield]

I don't really understand why the Red Sox would want him. Don't they have that prospect Bogaerts ready to slot in at SS?

[Edgy MD]

And that explains why the Sox are being coy too. They could certainly use him on terms favorable to them --- after all they're the champs and they're playing for keeps, and not all prospects slot in nicely. But they don't want to make any extended or extensive commitment to him. In the long term, they have healthy options and don't want to be tied up and tied down.

Probably something akin to why the Mets wouldn't offer more years to Ray Knight in 1987.

[MFS62]

Jon Heyman mentiones Drew.
Oh, crap!
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/23/report-the-yankees-are-now-considering-going-after-stephen-drew/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Vacarro over at the Post is banging the drum for the Mets to step up for Drew. He talks about a three-year deal although that becomes a bit risky with his past health issues and being on the other side of 30 - although it's hard to get a read on where the market is for him right now.

With what I saw from Drew last season (my first lengthy look at him) I think he'd be nuts to take a job where he wouldn't be the #1 SS. That alone would rule out the Yanx because if St. Derek is even somewhat healthy he's going to play SS and there are only limited opportunities to DH with Soriano, Beltran and others in the mix. Heyman mentions other teams with 2B possibilities also but, if I'm Drew, I'm going somewhere where I'm the first option at SS even if it's for a shorter deal that let's me do this all over again next year.

[MFS62]

As mentioned before, he's a Boras client. Does Scott have a history of letting his players double clutch for a year to allow the road to open up for them later? I can't think of another example.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Although I can't think of any specific examples at the moment, if Drew winds up accepting a one-year deal a few months after Boras announcing to all concerned that only ___ years at $_____ would be acceptable, it wouldn't be the first time.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think that with each week that passes, Drew to the Mets looks more and more likely.

I know that they still want a veteran reliever, but if it's true that they were offering $12 million/2 years to Grant Balfour, that means they still have money to spend.

[Edgy MD]

Mystery teams seem like bullshit, but Boras has managed to make good on such bluffs before.

That said, a good 2/3 of me thinks that reports of the Yankees being interested have been carefully engineered by Boras and his agency.

I think Harvey is the Mets' only current Boras client.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: Mystery teams seem like bullshit, but Boras has managed to make good on such bluffs before.

I hereby place Edgy's name in nomination for this year's "I Can Spot Bullshit When I See It" Award (another one we didn't know existed).
Both Olney and Rosenthal are tweeting that the Yanks won't be going after Drew.
Good call.

Later

[bmfc1]

"A potentially great player."
http://www.gammonsdaily.com/what-youre-getting-in-stephen-drew/
Yeah, the Mets wouldn't want THAT when they have Tejada.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Wily Mo Pena... now there was a potentially great player.

Drew makes some sense on the right deal, but... come on. It's not like he's the last piece of this championship puzzle, and WHYGODWHYWON'TTHECOUPONSPULLTHETRIGGER.

[Edgy MD]

What price would you put on the guy? Two years, and $22 million? $24 million?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I'd do either. I'd probably top at out somewhere near $25-26M, with a goodwill mutual option for 2016.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm sort of hoping he'd come here for 1 year. Be a potential tradeaway guy at the deadline.

[Edgy MD]

I'd do either. I'd probably top at out somewhere near $25-26M, with a goodwill mutual option for 2016.

That's a lot of lettuce for a guy who just reached triple digits in games for the first time in four years.

Here's me being creative:

Two years, $22 million, with a one million dollar bonus if he clears 100 games, and another million if he clears 130.

If he clears, say, 270 games, that third year option of $14 million becomes automatic from the Mets side, but Drew can still opt out.

[ashie62]

Drew has rebounded well after a career threatening ankle dislocation.

At this point his price isn't going up..

I'd like the Mets to get him but Boras would love to trump any Met bid..