Which starting pitcher are you MOST willing to part with?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Assuming that one of these guys gets traded, who would you rather see it be?

[seawolf17]

Gee, but he also brings the smallest return.

[Lefty Specialist]

Yeah, Gee. He's the one they'd miss the least. Without Niese, there's no lefty. Without Colon, there's no comic relief.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Took Gee too, surprised he's not gone yet. Oh, wait,
they're already on holiday break and are done with
business until spring training.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I'd least miss Gee, but I'd probably be a lot more curious to see what the others-- or, say, Montero-- bring back.

[Ceetar]

Colon. If they don't go All-DH, losing him almost instantly improve the offense too.

[metsmarathon]

colon, because i think we'd get hte most back for him while also not depleting the staff going forward. gee would be the easiest to part with, but i'd rather they part with colon and get something better back.

gee, and to a lesser extent, niese as well, is undervalued and underappreciated. he's much more likely to be useful to us moreso than what wed get back. the opposite is true of colon.

[Zvon]

I picked Gee but he & Colon are on my block if the player(s) is(are) right.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

EVERYBODY is on my block if the players are right, friend-o.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Adam Rubin wrote: SAN DIEGO -- The Mets are aggressively shopping Dillon Gee to teams in need of a starting pitcher, a high-ranking source at the winter meetings told ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets have publicly acknowledged they plan to trade a starting pitcher with Matt Harvey returning, with the candidates being Jonathon Niese, Gee and Bartolo Colon. A source said the Mets are actively peddling Gee more than the other starters, though. Gee is under the Mets' control for two more seasons and is projected to earn roughly $5 million in 2015. The Kansas City Royals are believed to be among the teams approached by the Mets. Meanwhile, Calvin Watkins of ESPNDallas.com reports that the Texas Rangers plan to meet with the Mets at the winter meetings regarding Gee and Niese.

[MFS62]

I'd drive Niese to the airport, just to make sure he gets on the plane.
Getting him off the Mets would drop my blood pressure by about 20 points.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Why do you find him more stress-inducing than Gee or Colon? Or Wheeler, for that matter?

[MFS62]

Its based on impression. It seems like he can't hold a lead. And when he doesn't have his best stuff, he doesn't seem able to find a way to compensate.
The other two can "battle". He can't. He loses it quickly and never gets back on track.
I have no figures to back it up, but its a gut feel.
I find myself screaming at the set more when he pitches than with any of the other starters. Wheeler will move out of the scream zone when he matures and gets better command.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Niese has certainly shown more command than all of them except Colon.

[Frayed Knot]

I'm surprised here at all the Gee votes even given his injured and rocky second half.
To me, the one I'm most willing to part with has to be Colon as his lifespan here has one year left on it even if everything goes well.

That doesn't mean I'd balk at trading either of the other two (or anyone else for that matter) in the right deal, but given the younger/cheaper/controllable status I'd prefer to trade Big Bartolo.

[Ceetar]

MFS62 wrote: Its based on impression. It seems like he can't hold a lead. And when he doesn't have his best stuff, he doesn't seem able to find a way to compensate. The other two can "battle". He can't. He loses it quickly and never gets back on track. I have no figures to back it up, but its a gut feel. I find myself screaming at the set more when he pitches than with any of the other starters. Wheeler will move out of the scream zone when he matures and gets better command. Later

I blame Gary Cohen for this attitude. I feel like he's perpetuated (and it probably didn't originate with him) a stubbornness rumor in Niese that's not really based in fact. Sort of a "It rains it pours" type pitcher.

[Edgy MD]

I'm surprised here at all the Gee votes even given his injured and rocky second half. To me, the one I'm most willing to part with has to be Colon as his lifespan here has one year left on it even if everything goes well. That doesn't mean I'd balk at trading either of the other two (or anyone else for that matter) in the right deal, but given the younger/cheaper/controllable status I'd prefer to trade Big Bartolo.

I'm here. Any of these guys can blow up tomorrow. But Black Bart is seemingly most likely to turn his ankle getting out of bed tomorrow, and any run of success has a definite and rapidly encroaching sunset. Two sunsets: the first being the end of his contract and the second being his viability as a professional athlete, given his age and condition. It's a reality, even if I do joy in watching him dodge that reality as long as possible.

[Ceetar]

I'm surprised here at all the Gee votes even given his injured and rocky second half. To me, the one I'm most willing to part with has to be Colon as his lifespan here has one year left on it even if everything goes well. That doesn't mean I'd balk at trading either of the other two (or anyone else for that matter) in the right deal, but given the younger/cheaper/controllable status I'd prefer to trade Big Bartolo. I'm here. Any of these guys can blow up tomorrow. But Black Bart is seemingly most likely to turn his ankle getting out of bed tomorrow, and any run of success has a definite and rapidly encroaching sunset. Two sunsets: the first being the end of his contract and the second being his viability as a professional athlete, given his age and condition. It's a reality, even if I do joy in watching him dodge that reality as long as possible.

I wonder if Colon has more trade value in say May, after he's proved it's still only civil twilight.

[Edgy MD]

Sure. And he may have more value simply sticking around and playing out his contract. Only way Sandy finds out is to to put a number on that likelihood and asking around to see what's being offered.

Predicting the future is a fun science, but it's thankfully inexact.

[smg58]

I'd most like to see Colon go at this point, but he's also probably the toughest sell.

[Frayed Knot]

I don't see why Colon should be such a tough sell - even though that phrase seems to be stated as a given by most sources.

For all his age and size questions, he's also started 111 games, won 51 of them (vs 38 losses) and racked up a 3.54 ERA & 1.22 WHiP over the last four seasons.
Pitchers a decade younger get multi-year deals with off those numbers at seven figures per* and Bartolo comes with just a one year commitment making both his age and the $11mil price tag not that big a risk.



* Jason Hammel, 31 y/o but with much worse stats [99 GS, 32-38, 4.17. 1.31], just got 2 x $9