Trading Season Stuff

[Frayed Knot]

I remember that Sale was one of the loudest, angriest, and most public about it when the players and mgmt got into a verbal war over the Adam LaRoche kid/retirement issue back in Spring.
This can't be about that of course but Sale was none too subtle about mouthing off both to and about Kenny Williams over what he thought of their handling of the situation.

[Edgy MD]

Report (and how can this not come out?) says that he didn't like the throwback uniform the team was to wear and he cut his up.

What a bunch of frat boys Chicago has.

[ashie62]

He cut all of them up.

Suspended 5 days.

[Edgy MD]

Lots of buzz on Aroldis Chapman, much or most of it pointing Cubward. But the Nats are a minority candidate.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Mets losing patience with d'Arnaud?

Daily News says the Mets offered Travis to the Brewers for Jonathan Lucroy, and want relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith, too.

I can see the Brewers selling, but I'm not sure if Jeffress and Lucroy are the pieces they'd be dealing.

[bmfc1]

I'm a big fan of Lucroy. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/07/mets-interested-in-jonathan-lucroy-offering-travis-darnaud-in-return.html

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I hate the Brewers in general (Selig, Braun, the Gomez thing, belonging to the AL, ugly uniforms, fucking up 2008 by being unable to beat the Phillies at home even once), Lucroy seems like a whiny bitch ("trade me to a contender!") and I kind of want to see dArnaud succeed here so I'd prolly be scared to make this deal but if the Mets are convinced its time to move on then maybe it is.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

If we're gonna get a reliver we may as well keep with the theme this year and get Joe Smith, (or better yet, go back in time and get him and never bother with JJF Putz) but I don't even know how he's doing this year.

[Chad ochoseis]

Think Antonio Bastardo, righthanded and sidearming. No, thanks.

[TransMonk]

I've had my eye on Lucroy since Travis got hurt earlier this year.

However, I think it's going to take much more than a swap for d'A to get him. I'm not sure what else we would have to give up while remaining a contender this season.

[ashie62]

Matt Snyder of CBS reported the Mets offered d'Arnaud for Lucroy even up.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

dArnaud-Lucroy is an interesting idea, I guess our drawback would be competition for him.

And isn't it interesting as further proof of my theory: Players who get traded tend to get traded. Would be 3rd move for dArnaud, and continue the amazin' Tim Bogar Trade Tree.

[Edgy MD]

Tim Bogar will live on forever through d'Arnaud, Syndergaard, and Dilson Herrera. If anything, trading d'Arnie for Lucroy would cut that branch of the tree dead, as Lucroy is a potential free agent this offseason, and the earliest d'Arnaud will be available is 2020.

Much as I love francophonic Mets, I no likey this trade proposal..

[TransMonk]

Lucroy has a team option for 2017 at $5,250,000...I'm assuming that would transfer via a trade.

The Mets may have offered a catcher-for-catcher straight up swap, but I'm not sure why the Brewers would trade one of their best players for someone who has (so far) been inferior even if Travis has a few years of team control.

[Edgy MD]

Because Travis is cheaper, has a good chance of getting better, and they're not looking at a whole lot of meaningful games in September.

Personally, I think d'Arnaud will be better than Lucroy by, like, this time tomorrow.

[Zvon]

I read Chapman to the Cubs is almost a dun deal.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/cubs-yankees-reportedly-have-chapman-trade-in-place-that-could-be-completed-soon/



I like Lucroy. If we are going for a catcher to fill our needs I think he's the best fit. d' straight up don't net him. Lucroys a good bet. d', not so much.

[ashie62]

TransMonk wrote: Lucroy has a team option for 2017 at $5,250,000...I'm assuming that would transfer via a trade. The Mets may have offered a catcher-for-catcher straight up swap, but I'm not sure why the Brewers would trade one of their best players for someone who has (so far) been inferior even if Travis has a few years of team control.

Brewers declined.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Ashie62 wrote: Lucroy has a team option for 2017 at $5,250,000...I'm assuming that would transfer via a trade. The Mets may have offered a catcher-for-catcher straight up swap, but I'm not sure why the Brewers would trade one of their best players for someone who has (so far) been inferior even if Travis has a few years of team control. Brewers declined.

They declined a straight-up deal, according to Snooze beater Kristie Ackert who said also that Brew scouts have been spotted at Mets' low-level minor league games in recent weeks.

It is odd by the way for a team beatwriter to get these kinda scoops. The Trade Deadline is where the national guys shine (Heyman, Rosenthal, Joel Sherman etc). Should be noted Ackert's article includes a prominent Magic Quote* near the top:

“At this time of year, many players are discussed among lots of clubs,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Most of those discussions are no more than idle conversations that lead to nothing.”

* -- a useful gadget in every's journalist's tool belt, a Magic Quote can be used to sell any story and express any emotion! For example.

The Mets are looking into potentially dealing Noah Syndergaard to the Nippon Ham Fighters in exchange for secrets to the hiding places of Pokemon characters in the Tri-State area. “At this time of year, many players are discussed among lots of clubs,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Most of those discussions are no more than idle conversations that lead to nothing.”

[Edgy MD]

ALDERSON DOESN'T EVEN FLAT OUT DENY IT!!! OMG WHAT IS HE THINKING!?!1!

[Guest d'Kong76]

Say what ya want about the Cubs, but they didn't sit on their hands (or their
wallets) this off-season and their the first with a bold move in July.

[Frayed Knot]

Yanx are really making out on this Chapman deal as the details start to come in.
The got him via a salary dump by Cincy although his salary wasn't super high to begin with for a closer ($11.3 mil) because he was still on the final year of his original deal. So for taking the money the Yanx threw four nothing prospects to the Reds (more like four suspects) and then wound up only paying about half that salary anyway between him being suspended for April and banished for August & September. Now they're getting back two Top-100 prospects, also RP Adam Warren who was the pitcher they gave to the Cubs in exchange for Starlin Castro, and it looks like a fourth player thrown in as well all for a guy who is able to walk after the season anyway.

Of course it's still a bit of a blow to them to admit that they're not always in 'Go For It' mode even as they're coming off maybe their best two weeks of the season (3-1 vs CLE, 3-1 vs BALT, 2-1 vs SFG) but Chapman was clearly their most expendable guy.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Jaysis. The price of midseason relief upgrades.

[Edgy MD]

It's hard. I don't know what the answer is as to what the Mets need to get. They are more-or-less getting it done all around the diamond. Nobody is overwhelmingly good except healthy Céspedes, but nobody is the obvious soft spot. They could use a left-handed pinch hitter to replace De Aza, but that'll be taken care of when Duda returns.

Not to say upgrades couldn't be found in any number of places, but it's just not obvious where the best spot to look is. First base and centerfield, I guess.

[TransMonk]

Agreed on DeAza. Disagree on d'Arnaud. Catcher is a place the team can improve. Unless d'Arnaud does become better than Lucroy by this time tomorrow.

[batmagadanleadoff]

If the Mets wanted to be bold, they'd move one of their outfielders whose first name doesn't begin with the letter "Y". Some see depth in that outfield. I see a misallocation and inefficient use of resources. I doubt they'll get Lucroy because there are several teams that have more to offer than the Mets. Not surprised that the Brewers turned down d'Arnaud straight up. They can proably do much better. Jeez, Lucroy's an established all star catcher under 30.


I get the sense that Sandy won't be bold this year. And maybe it'd be the right thing to do. I buy into the idea that the Mets already have the offensive pieces to contend, and that it's just a matter of those pieces playing up to their reasonable expectations, which they clearly haven't so far for the most part.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

“At this time of year, many players are discussed among lots of clubs,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Most of those discussions are no more than idle conversations that lead to nothing.” * -- a useful gadget in every's journalist's tool belt, a Magic Quote can be used to sell any story and express any emotion! For example.

Perfect! A writer can hang a whole column around that, yet do nothing in the way of actual journalism except generate hits and take up space in print.

[Ceetar]

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: “At this time of year, many players are discussed among lots of clubs,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. “Most of those discussions are no more than idle conversations that lead to nothing.” * -- a useful gadget in every's journalist's tool belt, a Magic Quote can be used to sell any story and express any emotion! For example. Perfect! A writer can hang a whole column around that, yet do nothing in the way of actual journalism except generate hits and take up space in print.

And the best part about that is everyone else that posts about it instantly gets more credibility because they're quoting you. And then everyone posts about it,because of course, and suddenly everyone's talking about it because everyone's talking about it.

But it could be worse, it could be politics.

[Guest d'Kong76]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I buy into the idea that the Mets already have the offensive pieces to contend, and that it's just a matter of those pieces playing up to their reasonable expectations, which they clearly haven't so far for the most part.

They just can't be this bad with the RISP thing. As someone here (FK, I think) said,
it has to be approaching or surpassed some kind of historical-failure thing by this
point. A better (preferably much better) next five weeks and we could be looking back
at it all and laughing.

Let's score some fucking runs!!

[Guest d'Kong76]

d'Kong76 wrote: it has to be approaching or surpassed some kind of historical-failure thing by this point.

We need an Elias account, somebody get working on that!

[Edgy MD]

Last I heard, perhaps a week ago, the 1969 San Diego Padres were the last team to struggle so mightily with RISP.

I agree they have the offensive pieces to contend. What an acquisition could bring is a psychological jolt, but that could come from a lot of places.