Mets’ Offseason Grades and Review

New York Mets
2009 Record: 70-92
4th place in NL East

Key Acquisitions:
C Rod Barajas (free agent from Toronto)
C Henry Blanco (free agent from Padres)
1B Mike Jacobs (minor league free agent from Royals)
OF Jason Bay (free agent from Red Sox)
OF Gary Matthews Jr. (trade from Angels)
UTL Frank Catalanotto (minor league free agent from Brewers)
OF Jason Pridie (waivers)
LHP Jay Marshall (waivers)
LHP Hisanori Takahashi (Japan)
RHP Ryota Igarashi (Japan)
RHP Kelvim Escobar (free agent from Angels)

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Mets sign C Rod Barajas

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, the Mets have signed catcher Rod Barajas to a one-year $1 million dollar major league contract. The Mets first offered Barajas a minor-league deal, but upped their offer this past week to nab the catcher. Barajas will most likely pair with Henry Blanco as the team’s catchers. The 34-year-old Barajas hit .226 last season with 19 HR and 71 RBI.

As a result of Barajas being a Type B free agent, the Toronto Blue Jays will receive the 41st overall pick in the supplemental first round of the 2010 draft.

Mets Interested in Signing Rod Barajas

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com via twitter, the Mets have offered catcher Rod Barajas a minor-league deal.

Barajas is a career .238 hitter with a career OBP of .284. Last year with the Toronto Blue Jays, Barajas hit 19 home runs and collected 71 RBIs in 429 at-bats.

The Mets seem to be doing their due diligence in collecting back-up catchers. Without an acceptable starter to obtain via free agency or trade, the Mets are loading up on the “plan Bs” hoping to catch a career year out of one them. Barajas is a decent back-up with respectable power, and, if signed, will compete with Omir Santos, Josh Thole, and Henry Blanco for the starting catcher’s position.

NY Mets 2010 5th Starter: Now Accepting Applications

With only 4 days remaining until pitchers and catchers report, the Mets have seemingly closed the books on their uneventful offseason.  While questions still surround the health and return of several players, there is one spot on the roster that is virtually wide open: the 5^th starter.

The Candidates

Fernando Nieve – RHP. Omar Minaya did well by picking up Nieve off the waiver scrap heap from the Houston Astros in March of 2009. For six weeks in 2009, Nieve was an effective starter filling in for the M.A.S.H. unit known as the Mets rotation before a right quadriceps tear ended his season in mid-July. In eight appearances and seven starts, the 27 year old Nieve went 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA., walking 19 batters and striking out 23 in 36 2/3 innings. Pundits have criticized Nieve for his lack of command and pitch repertoire to be a successful starter for a full season.  Nieve sports a low-to-mid 90s fastball with a hard slider and the Mets believe his short lived success in 2009 was not just a flash in the pan. In five appearances and four starts in the Venezuelan Winter League, Nieve went 1-2 with a 2.42 ERA, walking just three batters and striking out 26 in 26 innings.

Jon Niese – LHP. The 23 year old lefty with a newly developed cut fastball and a looping curveball suffered a similar fate to that of Nieve in the 2009 season.  Niese, who was finally showing potential in AAA while posting a 3.82 ERA and an 82/26 K/BB ratio in 94 1/3 innings, was called up to the show in May for two spot starts and again in late-July.  Niese went 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA and an 18/9 K/BB ratio over 25 2/3 innings before suffering a torn right hamstring in August. There is doubt on whether Niese will be ready for spring training to compete for the 5^th rotation spot after suffering such a devastating injury. Many are labeling Niese as the favorite to land in the Mets rotation because of his good command and upside.

Nelson Figueroa – RHP. The 35 year old Brooklyn native has been frequently shuffling his way between the Mets major league and AAA roster for the past two seasons. For the Mets last season, Figueroa was 2–8 with a 4.19 ERA in 10 starts and had a 3.65 ERA in six relief appearances.  At the tail end of his career, Figueroa is now a control pitcher that relies heavily on his defense. The Mets seem to only use Figueroa when they are in dire need for an arm. Even when he puts together a string of good performances, the Mets are willing to ship him down to AAA when one of their underperforming mainstays returns to the roster. Now, however, Figueroa is out of options and the Mets must risk losing him to waivers if they decide to move him to the AAA roster.

Mets Sign Takahashi

ESPN sources suggest the Mets have agreed to terms with Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. It is a minor league contract. The 34 year old lefty has spent the last 10 season with the Yomiuri Giants. His record over that span was 79-66.

SNY Mets field reporter Kevin Burkhardt heard that Takahashi will not pitch out of the bullpen. Burkhardt tweeted, “I’m told Takahashi is not a bullpen option. (He is) A Glavine-type who will either make the rotation or find a place in Buffalo.”

Takahashi has the ability to start or relieve and is known to throw a screwball. 

Any pitching addition is good for the Mets. They need depth in their rotation in case of injury.

Mets Sign First Basemen Mike Jacobs

The Mets have signed first basemen Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal. Jacobs is expected to compete with Daniel Murphy at first base.

Jacobs had a very good season with the Marlins in 2008. Although he only hit .247, he had 32 home runs and 93 RBI. His numbers took a dip last season with the Royals. He hit .228 with 19 home runs and 61 RBI.

Jacobs was initially drafted by the Mets in 1999. He made his major league debut in 2005 with the Mets. During that season he had 11 home runs, 23 RBI and hit .310 in 100 at-bats. 

I like this move. Competition will only make both players better. Jacobs can be a good player for the Mets even if he doesn’t win the starting first base job.

Mets Lower Center Field Wall

In hopes of aiding their home run power, the Mets have lowered the center field wall at Citi Field from 16 feet to 8 feet. The Mets hit a total of 95 home runs in 2009, the lowest of any team in the league by far. Forty-nine of their home runs were hit at home and 46 were away from Citi Field. 

Citi Field plays big but I can’t only blame the stadium’s dimensions for the Mets lack of home runs in 2009. If there were a huge discrepancy between the amount of home runs they hit away from Citi Field compared to at Citi Field then maybe we could have concluded the size of the stadium was the main factor but that’s not the case. The Mets didn’t have healthy power bats and David Wright didn’t have a big power season which contributed to the power outage. Injuries played a major factor in the low total as well. With the addition of Jason Bay and a healthy lineup, the Mets should increase their home run total in 2010 no matter how tall the center field wall is.

Mets Pitching Options Dwindle

A few hours after I wrote about how the Mets should look to Jon Garland over John Smoltz, it was announced that Garland signed a deal with the Padres. Sheets and Garland’s names can both be crossed off the Mets list on the same day. 

Now it seems certain the Mets will make a pitch for Smoltz. Other free agent pitchers still available include Jarrod Washburn, Brandon Backe, Erik Bedard, Jason Jennings, Eric Milton, Chien-Ming Wang, Kip Wells and Horacio Ramirez to name a few.

The Mets should seriously consider Wang, Bedard, Washburn and maybe Backe before Smoltz.

John Smoltz, Mets

As Ben Sheets heads to the west coast, the Mets will turn their attention to other starting pitchers. Sheets agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal with Oakland Tuesday leaving one less pitcher on the market for the Mets to pick up.

A few pitchers still remain on the market, but the Mets are focusing on one of the oldest pitchers, if not the oldest pitcher available; 42-year old John Smoltz. The NY Daily News cites that the Mets have been actively talking with the veteran’s reps and have intentions of using him as a starter.

What did they see in Smoltz last year that tells them he can be productive in 2010? He went 3-8 with a 6.35 ERA for the Red Sox and Cardinals combined in 2009. He can break down at any time and the Mets don’t need a 42-year old starting pitcher. They need someone younger and more reliable and one guy left out there that fits that bill is Jon Garland.

Garland’s stats may have come down the last two years, but he still eats innings. He has recorded over 190 innings in each season since 2002 and he’s 12 years younger than Smoltz. If Garland works out well, he could help the Mets for several seasons. How many years does Smoltz have left and how confident are we that Smoltz will pitch better than Garland in 2010?

Signing Smoltz over Garland or another free agent pitcher, like Jarrod Washburn, isn’t the right move for the Mets. Free agent pitchers haven’t chosen the Mets this winter and if other free agents don’t want to come to New York and Smoltz is the only one that does, then they might as well add the body and at least try to add some depth to their rotation.

Mets Acquire Matthews, Still Need Pitching

The Mets have acquired Gary Matthews Jr. from the Angels for pitcher Brian Stokes and the Angels will pay $21.5 million of the $23.5 million left on Matthews’ contract. This is the Mets way of taking out an insurance policy on Carlos Beltran, who is facing knee problems. This move adds depth to the Mets outfield in case of injury, but it doesn’t address their biggest need; another starting pitcher. 

Reports are that the Mets have between $15 and 20 million left to spend this offseason and that money must be put toward a starting pitcher. They have flirted with the idea of getting a catcher or first basemen, but a pitcher is their biggest need. The Mets wanted Joel Pineiro, but he chose to go to the Angels. Ben Sheets, Chien-Ming Wang, and Jon Garland are three names that come up when talking about he Mets’ pursuit of a starter and any one of those guys would boost their staff. Wang and Sheets would come with question marks do to injuries in 2009. Nonetheless, the Mets should take the risk and go for Wang or Sheets. Their potential is high and either one of them, if healthy, would compliment Johan Santana well at the front end of the rotation. 

One player the Mets should not go after is John Smoltz. A good amount of Met fans want Smoltz and some sources say that Smoltz is on the Mets’ radar, but what will he do for the team this year? I know he pitched better in St. Louis, but he was absolutely torched in Boston and he is not the answer for the Mets. He’ll be 43 in May. 

For now, people will focus on the Gary Matthews acquisition, but more importantly, they should be focusing on the fact that the Mets still need to sign or acquire a starting pitcher.