Re-Sign Cespedes

[Guest d'Kong76]

I haven't been able to look for it, but according to a fan fb page there's some
stuff out there that agents and some of the media are calling the Wilpon's
ownership of an MLB team a "travesty."

Imagine that!

[Guest d'Kong76]

Whispers that the Yanks might move in on CesPaydes...

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I gotta be honest -- I still don't see the sense of Cespedes unless the Mets are also prepared to trade high on Grandy/Conforto or low on Lagares. And even then there are all those warning signs.

My sense is that they go into the year with what they have and reassess in the summer. It would be more apparent then if its necessary to replace/upgrade the Lagares/DeAza duo and/or load up on more power. Also by then there's a chance Zimmo is an option.

And when/if that's the case you figure to have plenty fuel for a potential trade -- Harvey, Plawecki/dArnaud, Lagares, Wheeler, Flores/Walker/Herrera just to name a few -- and can look toward a controllable type. There's a school of thought that teams will be anxious to trade over the summer given what looks to be an underwhelming FA class in 2016.

So I'm saying, its not ideal but theoretically okay to go into the year knowing your offense won't likely have the NL HR king as long as your options are open, and the Mets' are.

Thoughts?

Edited January 21, 2016 by Guest

[batmagadanleadoff]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Also by then there's a chance Zimmo is an option.... Thoughts?

Yeah. Who's Zimmo? Is he related to Harpo?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Brandon Zimmo

[batmagadanleadoff]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Brandon Zimmo

Ha. I remember that. But I thought Fred said "Zimbo" instead of "Zimmo".

[Guest d'Kong76]

I only want Yo for a short time, preferably a year. Probably not going to happen.
If the Nats wanna go 5 years and over $100 mil we can laugh at them. But that's
gonna be a pretty potent 2016 foe and will probably win the division like they were
supposed to last year.

Wilpon's still suck and are cheap and ought to be ousted from MLB.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Not to speak for everyone here, but everyone here agrees the Wilpons are boobs. That's not really what I was asking about.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I know it irritates some, I suppose I could make it my sig line instead of the
upbeat one I currently have.

The other thing is, how do we know Yo ain't 32-33? It happens all the time.
Remember how quickly Fonzie appeared to age?

[Frayed Knot]

If Cespedes winds up with the Nats it would be interesting to see what they do with their OF.
Harper is obviously a given and will play every day. But also they just traded for Ben Revere to hit leadoff and man CF while, in the other corner, Werth is still under an expensive and no-trade contract for another two seasons and shirley still sees himself as an everyday player if healthy.

[Guest d'Kong76]

The line-up they showed on MLB show earlier was Yo in CF and
batting 4th or 5th.

[Ceetar]

as far as power goes, the Mets are likely going into the season with only CF as a position where they don't have at least a 10 HR guy. (And it's not like Lagares and De Aza don't homer at all). Power is Cespedes' tool, and the Mets aren't completely lacking in that dept.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Remove that power from last summer the Mets play golf in October.
I was one of the original Metsapoligists, we can do this until Spring
Training is in full swing.

[Ceetar]

d'Kong76 wrote: Remove that power from last summer the Mets play golf in October. I was one of the original Metsapoligists, we can do this until Spring Training is in full swing.

Nope, the Mets still make the playoffs without Cespedes. It's not like they squeaked in.

[Guest d'Kong76]

You're discounting a lot there, Ceets. It's not all about your magic numbers.

[Ceetar]

d'Kong76 wrote: You're discounting a lot there, Ceets. It's not all about your magic numbers.

yeah, it very much is. Cespedes wasn't even really a factor in the first Nats series. He certainly wasn't worth 7 wins over 2 months.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Start a poll... "Do the Mets Make The Playoffs Without the Cespedis Acquisition?"

[Ceetar]

I'm not really interested in the public perception. Public polls suggest people want to see Donald Trump as president too, so grain of salt.

[Guest d'Kong76]

It's not the same thing, and there's more ingredients to the run the Mets
went on and the transformation that took place than a fucking grain of salt.

You really don't have to be so dismissive.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

The popular conception is that the Mets wouldn't have made the playoffs without Cespedes.

The reality is obviously impossible to untangle. But, assuming everyone else had done what they did going down the stretch-- SEE: d'Arnaud, Wright, Johnny Lags On Fire-- it does seem likely that this conception would be incorrect.

[Centerfield]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I gotta be honest -- I still don't see the sense of Cespedes unless the Mets are also prepared to trade high on Grandy/Conforto or low on Lagares. And even then there are all those warning signs.

The sense of bringing in Cespedes, is that he is a terrific hitter. He is leaps and bounds better than Lagares. He will likely outperform Granderson, and though we hope Conforto has a higher ceiling, we just don't know what he will be yet. You don't need to trade any of those four, because there are plenty of AB's in a season for 4 outfielders. You have to assume some injuries, etc.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: My sense is that they go into the year with what they have and reassess in the summer. It would be more apparent then if its necessary to replace/upgrade the Lagares/DeAza duo and/or load up on more power. Also by then there's a chance Zimmo is an option.

My sense is that this is what they will do as well. But bringing in Cespedes is highly preferable.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: And when/if that's the case you figure to have plenty fuel for a potential trade -- Harvey, Plawecki/dArnaud, Lagares, Wheeler, Flores/Walker/Herrera just to name a few -- and can look toward a controllable type.

Well, I guess you can always make a trade. But trades are a give and take. Re-signing your own player is just a take. Plus, you have to wait until the market develops and hope that there is a match. Can the Mets stay alive until this happens? Maybe. Maybe even probably. But it's a risk.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: There's a school of thought that teams will be anxious to trade over the summer given what looks to be an underwhelming FA class in 2016.

It is a weak FA market next year, and more teams will be looking to improve via trades. And that means more competition, which means it's harder to make that trade.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: So I'm saying, its not ideal but theoretically okay to go into the year knowing your offense won't likely have the NL HR king as long as your options are open, and the Mets' are. Thoughts?

Well, whether or not we have Cespedes, we are not going to have the NL HR king. The real question here is whether it's ok to go in knowing that the offense could be a weakness. And I guess I don't really know what you mean by "ok".

I mean, everything is ok. The Mets don't get fined for this. I guess what you mean is whether it's ok to us, as fans. And to that I say, it depends on the fan.

If your objective each off-season is to create a team that is competitive, then sure. The Mets have done this. If your objective is to create a juggernaut, then no, I don't think the Mets have done that.

My philosophy is that the Mets (and really every team) should use the off-season to build as good a team as they possibly can while balancing future interests. And here, by taking a pass not just with Cespedes, but the myriad of great options that were available this winter, they have failed.

It's funny that the knock on Cespedes is that he's been gifted with incredible talent, but he lacks that killer instinct required to make the most of that talent. And so instead of being amazing, he's just good enough.

But the Mets, if anything, are like the team version of Cespedes. They have been gifted an incredible home-grown rotation, but they are demonstrating a lack of killer instinct required to make take them over the top. So instead of becoming a legendary team, they will be just good enough.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

By OK I mean adequate. By adequate I mean, free of major suck-holes 1-8 in the lineup.

[Centerfield]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: By OK I mean adequate. By adequate I mean, free of major suck-holes 1-8 in the lineup.

I think they can compete for a playoff spot with that. And I think they will not be "doomed" or anything like that.

I just think it sucks that they had the opportunity to do so much more, and for whatever reason, didn't.

[Centerfield]

And for what it's worth, Heyman is now saying 5 years, around $100 million offered by Washington.

If that's true, Cespedes is gone. And joins Murphy in Washington.

[MFS62]

Despite the good guy image he projects when interviewed on WFAN, Heyman is a YLDB to the core.
The next positive thing he writes about the Mets might just be his first one. He was probably smiling as he typed that with only one hand on the keyboard.

Later.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Centerfield wrote: I think they can compete for a playoff spot with that. And I think they will not be "doomed" or anything like that. I just think it sucks that they had the opportunity to do so much more, and for whatever reason, didn't.

Well we've been thru the reasons. Poor d in cf, 2 corner of already under contract, broke and those projections man. How about Marlon Byrd?

[Frayed Knot]

d'Kong76 wrote: The line-up they showed on MLB show earlier was Yo in CF and batting 4th or 5th.

Which means whoever is doing that projection is essentially shunting aside the just-acquired Ben Revere - and I even forgot to include Michael Taylor in my earlier post about the Nats already crowded OF,
so that would make it Cespedes + Taylor + Werth + Revere + Harper.
That reports have the Nats already making an offer to Cespedes means it's probably true it's also an odd way to spend their allowance in my view, especially for a team that lost two top starters and a reliever over the winter.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, if only I could convince them to acquire another asshole closer like they did at the deadline.

[Centerfield]

Ken Rosenthal says Cespedes is torn between the 5 year deal from the Nats, and his desire to stay with the Mets.

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/yoenis-cespedes-nationals-offer-five-year-deal-would-prefer-stay-with-mets-ken-rosenthal-012116

Come on guys. He's a terrific player and he wants to come back.

Four years. Team option for 5 with a buyout. I think this gets it done.

[Mex17]

Random observation from the Washington perspective. . .if they had this kind on money to throw around, why not use it to keep Jordan Zimmermann instead?