TransMonk

The Mets still have some pitching depth with Verrett, Montero and Wheeler set to return mid-season. If the Mets had a piece to deal, the obvious one was Niese. The move only blocks Herrera for one season. If he's good enough, he'll make the club later in the year anyway. This move doesn't rely on Herrera producing as an everyday player right away. I'm of the opinion that Niese was going to be dealt sooner or later. I didn't see a way that he was going to finish out his contract with the Mets. Murph wasn't coming back anyway.

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Love. Niese was expendable and Walker is a short term solution that can play well. He's better than Murph on D and I like having switch hitters. I much prefer this move to the deal Chicago gave Zobrist.

Dislike. A marginal upgrade over Wilmer, so a waste of money in my mind. If nothing else, it improves the offensive depth on the infield, but does little to help the D.

Like. The team could have used him last year and I'm hoping he stays injury free in 2016.

Love. A veteran to throw among the youngsters. He doesn't miss starts and doesn't give up walks. He does have off nights, but over the long haul will be average...which is what is needed from a 5th starter.

I wasn't expecting as much as CF from Freddy and the boys this winter...but De Aza? Color me unimpressed.

No game today...but in booking my company's group outing for 2016, I got a private tour of the Miller Park clubhouse, dugout and other behind the scenes areas today. Even though, it was 30 degrees out, I'm ready for baseball again. [fimg=600:3i5ctyls]http://i.imgur.com/4UKtRIy.jpg[/fimg:3i5ctyls] [fimg=600:3i5ctyls]http://i.imgur.com/Wr3DHuM.jpg[/fimg:3i5ctyls] I found out on the down-low that the Miller Park Star Wars night will be when the Mets are in town. Shhh.

A Boy Named Seo wrote: At least Ty Cobb never did this.* *That I know of.

Neil and Niki Walker

Per Metsblog, Walker will wear #20. His dad wore #20 in the 70s when he started out in Montreal. #20 is retired in Pittsburgh.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I sometimes wonder if the Nieuwenhuis role wouldn't be better served by Nieuwenhuis.

[fimg=400:1d1r2d35]http://i.imgur.com/WCTisgw.png[/fimg:1d1r2d35]

Got it. Parra's not a great defender because Jeter's won Gold Gloves too.

It does seem hard not to prefer Span (if healthy) to Parra.

Centerfield wrote: Hot, hot rumors connect him with the Mets. Parra basically sucks. .730 career OPS. He has played his entire career in hitter-friendly parks (Arizona, Milwaukee, Baltimore). Had a great first half in 2015, but then after getting traded to Baltimore, remembered that he sucked and tanked. Not a full-time centerfielder, not a great defender. But lots of positives too: 1. bats left-handed 2. will steal about 10 bases a year. 3. Projections before the season had him getting a 3 year deal around $10 million per. Sounds perfect. Once we get him, the Asdrubal Cabrera signing will look great in comparison! Not a great defender? He has two Gold Gloves!!! Is Parra the best there is (was) out there? Probably not, but it seems like you are underselling him in order to make a broader point. I'm not pro-Parra, but if the Mets signed Parra tomorrow, they would be better than they are today.

Niese's biggest problem, in my eyes, was that he never had the talent nor the mental toughness to be able to pitch through adversity and jams (whether they were caused by himself or failures of the defense). I doubt that will change in the steel city.

Ceetar wrote: Yes, but Cabera DOES play SS better than everyone else on the Mets overall... Is this true? I have yet to find ANYONE saying that he's anything better than average recently. I just don't see the $9.25M per year difference from Wilmer either offensively or defensively. 01/02/15 Asdrubal Cabrera doesn’t have world beating defense, but that’s not an indictment. Most of the negative reports out there come from his days at short stop, which may not be his position in the future. 09/11/15 Meanwhile, Cabrera is no longer beloved by defensive metrics. On the season, Cabrera now rates as 3.1 runs below average by UZR (which puts him on pace for six runs below average over 150 games) and seven runs below average by DRS. Those numbers too are right in line with what a reasonable person should have expected, and they tell the story of Cabrera as a below-average (but not terrible) shortstop*, who would probably be a league-average second baseman. 10/19/15 Cabrera has never been a great defender and the second half of this season was the first time he had starred at the plate since 2012.

Are we down on Parra?

I'm not sure I like this one. Seems expensive given the slight upgrade from Wilmer. I'm not even sure his defense is any better.

Centerfield wrote: I'm not sure I understand your post. I think payroll is set by the payer, not the payee. Yes, payer. I'm a dope.

Centerfield wrote: The payroll should be commensurate with industry standard for the market you play in. This is where you are going to bang your head against the wall every time. Should? Maybe. But payroll is set by the payee based on their business plan for making maximum profit on their investment. Championship optional.

d'Kong76 wrote: No one here wants spending for sake of spending, nor being saddled with bad contracts. I don't get why people don't see they're still broke (or cheap). But where do you draw the line between broke or cheap and cost efficient? Just an honest question from a devil's advocate who mostly agrees with the "F the Wilpons" side.