ShortStop 2014

[Benjamin Grimm]

Ruben Tejada apparently not making a good impression so far. Scott Boras probably likes this news.

Kevin Kernan, New York Post wrote: Frustrated with Tejada out of shape, Mets keep eyes on Drew PORT ST. LUCIE � Ruben Tejada still isn�t working out for the Mets. Even though Tejada attended an offseason strength/conditioning and nutrition camp in Michigan, Mets management has not been overwhelmed by the shortstop�s �new�� body. �He looks pretty much the same,�� one source told The Post on Monday. Frustrated with Tejada, the Mets still have a strong interest in signing free-agent shortstop Stephen Drew, two sources have told The Post. They also have shown interest in Seattle�s Nick Franklin. Sure, Tejada made the offseason commitment, but there clearly is a long way to go and that is why the Mets, if they could strike a deal with Drew�s agent, Scott Boras, would do so. But that is one big if. The Mets have reportedly offered a one-year, $9.5 million contract to Drew. �I would not be surprised if we signed Drew,�� one Mets official told the Post, �but at the same time, I don�t expect it to happen.�� Drew could sit out until after the June amateur draft, when the draft- pick compensation rule would no longer apply. The Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets, Pirates and A�s have shown interest, and the Yankees are always lurking. At this juncture, Tejada continues to hold the position by default. To keep it, Tejada is going to have to have an impressive spring. Tejada already has let one golden opportunity slip through his fingers, not taking hold of the position after the Mets allowed Jose Reyes to sign with the Marlins. And now Tejada, 24, is in danger of allowing the same thing to happen again. Tejada said he is confident he will play well this season, saying, �The [Michigan] camp was good preparation for me for spring training.�� As for Drew, Tejada is not concerned about the free agent or any other shortstop the Mets have an interest in. �I don�t make the decisions,�� Tejada said. �I�m just trying to prepare myself as best I can. You never know what happens here. My concentration and preparation is on the game. I want to show everybody I can play good baseball.�� Asked if he felt an opportunity slipped through his fingers in blowing his chance to replace Reyes, Tejada said, �I do my best every time I go to the field. This year I really think I�ve come here prepared to work hard every day.�� Listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, he appears a bit slimmer than last spring when he was clearly overweight, but he is not moving that much better. While the Mets have raved about Wilmer Flores� more athletic body (they don�t view him as a shortstop) and Lucas Duda�s drop in body fat, you have not heard many comments from the Mets about the new Tejada since camp began. Several Mets officials wanted to avoid the subject entirely Monday. �Right now I feel really good,�� Tejada said. �I think the best decision I could make was to go there and prepare myself for the rest of my career.�� Careers can come to a jolting halt. Remember when Eduardo Nunez was going to slide into the Yankees infield? He still hasn�t been able to secure a job. The fact the Mets have made an offer to Drew and shown interest in Franklin shows they have severe doubts about Tejada, who hit .202 last season. To land Drew, the Mets have to come up with big money and with the financial restrictions they have put on themselves, that is a difficult situation. For now, Tejada remains on the job, but so far, nothing is working out at shortstop for the 2014 Mets.

[Benjamin Grimm]

And here's what they're saying in Seattle:

Report: New York Mets interested in Seattle Mariners infielder Nick Franklin Posted on February 24, 2014 | By Nick Eaton In need of a shortstop, the New York Mets are reportedly interested in a trade for Seattle Mariners infielder Nick Franklin. Franklin, 22, enamored Seattle fans when he was first called up from Triple-A Tacoma last May. He got off to a hot offensive debut in the major leagues, sustaining his batting average around .290 until he began slumping in July. He finished the 2013 season with a .225 average over 102 games, tallying 83 hits, 45 RBI, 42 walks, 12 homers and 113 strikeouts. A shortstop in the minors, Franklin filled in for a struggling Dustin Ackley at second base last season; the Mariners already had rookie Brad Miller starting at shortstop. Especially with the offseason signing of All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano, it�s likely Seattle will trade one of them before Opening Day, and it seems more likely to be Franklin than Miller. The Mets, according to ESPN, on Monday acknowledged interest in Franklin as a shortstop. As ESPNNewYork.com�s Adam Rubin wrote last week, Franklin would �be considered an upgrade� over Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada. Citing an anonymous source, Rubin reported Monday that the Mariners and Mets have been talking since the MLB winter meetings in December. �The talk is expected to pick up in the next month with Seattle having an excess infielder and the Mets having the type of young pitching Seattle desires to obtain in a swap,� Rubin wrote. �The Mets likely would need to further debate whether they feel Franklin can handle full-time shortstop before pulling the trigger on any such deal.�

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Well that Seattle report is based on The Rube's local report.

The Rube btw seems exasperated with Post writers making his job more difficult by picking fights on sensitive topics. First the Ike thing and now this Tejada thing.

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, the Seattle report is based on the NY report, and the Post report is based entirely on "one source" saying �He looks pretty much the same��.
IOW, I don't think there's anything new here.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

At some level, the Post's posture toward the Mets is a shot at the Snooze, whose writers are seen as carrying water for the Wilpons through exclusives and their interest in co-branded product at SNY. The Rube of course went to ESPN via the Snooze.

I am not impressed with Kristy Ackert's work yet on the Snooze Metbeat.

[Edgy MD]

Kernan's report actually reads like he has two distinct Mets inside sources, one telling 'em Tejada looks the same (whatev), and another speculating on Drew.

[ashie62]

Quite a bit of fuss over two quasi marginal guys.

So Tejada didn't show up "buff" as hoped... He seems to be painted as lazy in most of what I read..

Franklin is young and a decent athlete who wore down in his first year of the MLB life...I have no idea what he would cost in trade... Jenry Mejia ish....?

[Vic Sage]

The Mets moved Flores off SS after 2011 because they felt he lacked range and quickness, not because he couldn't catch and throw. If they're considering Franklin, they may as well play Flores. He's young, he's coming off a productive AAA season, and he's already here so he won't cost anything extra. If he can play the position even barely adequately -- Howard Johnson, Keven Mitchell, and Melvin Mora come to mind -- then the upside of his bat at that position makes it worth exploring. But what i don't want us to do is give up a decent prospect for someone i view as a similar player.

[Edgy MD]

Ashie62 wrote: So Tejada didn't show up "buff" as hoped... He seems to be painted as lazy in most of what I read..

I think you're reading a lot into a single utterly empty quote.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm with Vic. Let's give Flores a shot at shortstop. Murphy will probably be gone within a year or two, and then Wilmer can slide over to second base if need be.

[MFS62]

Vic Sage wrote: The Mets moved Flores off SS after 2011 because they felt he lacked range and quickness, not because he couldn't catch and throw.

Exactly. I saw Dick Groat play short for the WS winning Pirates. He had very limited range. But he played the position for many years because he read the catcher's signals, fugured out where the batter was likely to his the pitch, and positioned himself accordingly. I thought he had the least range of any shortstop I ever saw, until I saw that guy across town the last few years. But they made up for any fielding deficiency with a live bat.
Sign me up, too. I want Wilmer.

Later

[Vic Sage]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm with Vic. Let's give Flores a shot at shortstop. Murphy will probably be gone within a year or two, and then Wilmer can slide over to second base if need be.

Don't understand me so fast. i'm not saying i want Flores as our SS; i'd just prefer they try him rather than trade a good prospect for a guy like Franklin. I'd still like to see Seratelli get a fair shot, too. And i'd prefer both of them to Tejada, at this point. But we'll see how ST goes.

[Edgy MD]

Indeed.

The Met-lovin' online world puts a lot of stock in Mitchell's 24 games at shortstop, 20 starting, 17 complete, over a quarter century ago.

It's all cool but we'll see. First, the guy's got to show he can hit.

[Frayed Knot]

Do we have any evidence to suggest that Franklin & Flores are more or less defensive equivalents at SS? That Franklin was moved late last year and is currently on the trading block seems more a case of circumstances than a knock on his glove skills.

According to the prospect gurus, there's not a scout in the world who thinks Flores can play SS at the major league level (a recent Q&A at BA said specifically that).
Now maybe when a scout says that he's really saying that Flores won't be a long term solution there; or maybe it reflects a bias on their part based on him not fitting their image of the ideal SS; or maybe they just haven't seen the newer, fitter, supercalifragalcious version of him and he's about to surprise everyone.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Like I said, give him a shot. If he can't play there, we'll find out soon enough. There's a chance that he's the best option the Mets currently have.

[dinosaur jesus]

Edgy MD wrote: Indeed. The Met-lovin' online world puts a lot of stock in Mitchell's 24 games at shortstop, 20 starting, 17 complete, over a quarter century ago. It's all cool but we'll see. First, the guy's got to show he can hit.

Oh, I'm pretty sure Mitchell can hit. They need to put him out there every day and let him find his rhythm.

Then maybe they can trade that Elster kid for a left fielder.

[Vic Sage]

The Met-lovin' online world puts a lot of stock in Mitchell's 24 games at shortstop, 20 starting, 17 complete, over a quarter century ago.

Hojo played 34 games that year, too (with 22 starts), and 38 more games the next year, increasing every year after that, through 1990.
Goddamn, i loved me some Davey Johnson.

[metsmarathon]

Whether it's tejada Drew or maybe even Flores, one thing is certain in my mind. The mets will get more production at short than the postal clerks across town

[Ceetar]

metsmarathon wrote: Whether it's tejada Drew or maybe even Flores, one thing is certain in my mind. The mets will get more production at short than the postal clerks across town

park-adjusted of course, pop-fly home runs being what they are.

[metsmarathon]

fWAR, bWAR, OPS+, wOBA.

our alphabet soup will taste better than theirs.

at second and third and maybe (for the sake of our season) first as well.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

ESPN's Christina Karhl says Mets should trade Doodoo, Flores and RHP prospect Michael Fulmer to Cleveland for Asdrubal Cabrera.

Latter is a good hitter for a SS but his D isn't great and will be a free agent.

Argunent seems overly weighted with the idea that Cabrera is better than Tejada (thanks, we knew that) and the "90 win" pronouncement.

Not that I wouldn't want to have a real hitter play SS but geez I'm thinking now maybe it's just Flores.

[metirish]

That's a lot for a guy who's a FA after 2014, right?

Who fits all of those criteria? I think just one team, the "we'll win 90 now" New York Mets.

that fucking 90 win crap is going to haunt this team.

[Benjamin Grimm]

ESPN's Christina Karhl says Mets should trade Doodoo, Flores and RHP prospect Michael Fulmer to Cleveland for Asdrubal Cabrera.

The article also had the premise that Flores is disposable to the Mets because he's blocked at third base by David Wright.

Flores has recently been compared to Edgardo Alfonzo. If there's a reasonable chance that that's true, I want him to stick around. (My guess: he'll be the everyday second baseman by 2016, if not before.) I certainty don't want him traded for a one-year rental.

[Edgy MD]

metirish wrote: That's a lot for a guy who's a FA after 2014, right? Who fits all of those criteria? I think just one team, the "we'll win 90 now" New York Mets. that fucking 90 win crap is going to haunt this team.

Douchey columnists will haunt them no matter what they say.

[smg58]

If I'm talking to Cleveland, it's about Francisco Lindor.

It would make far more sense to sign Drew than trade for Cabrera.

[Edgy MD]

Well, that would depend on the nature of the trade or the nature of the signing, I think. Those are just names that a columnist is throwing around.

Maybe, perhaps, it would be a trade-plus-extension. The Mets have had a noticeable dearth of Asdrubals in recent years.

[Vic Sage]

i would only trade one of our top prospects (like Flores) for either one of another team's top prospects, or as part of a package for a star player under team control for a few of his prime years at fair market price. Cabrera is still just 28 (so still in his prime), and has had 2 all-star appearances and a silver slugger, and WAR between 3-5 for 4 of his last 6 seasons, with range factor in top 5 for 3 of his last 5 years (so a "star" player, i would think), despite coming off a down year. Guys have bad years. Therefore, I would consider Flores in such a deal, but only if Cabrera was locked up for the next 3-5 seasons or so at an affordable rate. I'm certainly not interested in him for a 1-year rental for the 2014 season; not at that price.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

It's a steep price to pay, to be sure. But keep in mind-- that one-year rental is just 28, has put up above-league-average numbers with the bat at a premium defensive position (where he's been fair defensively, if JUST fair), and even if he walks, he walks leaving his team a draft pick.

That said, he's a 3-win guy even when he's hitting his best. Duda/Davis-and-second-tier-pitching-prospect(s) should do it.

[Vic Sage]

sure, if the proposal was Duda/Fulmer, I'd consider it. But Flores? Not without a long-term commitment from Cabrera. And maybe not even then.

[Benjamin Grimm]

What do we think of Nimmo instead of Flores?