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LF options

Vic Sage Nov 13 2006 05:19 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Nov 14 2006 11:17 AM

Now that 2b is settled (more or less), we can turn our attention to LF. 1) Soriano - best available, but 6 yrs/$90+m is just too much for a guy in his 30s, with absolutely no control of the strikezone and no defensive position, and not a great rep in the clubhouse. 2) Carlos Lee - long term megabux deal for a DH in waiting? 3) Moises Alou - he can still hit, but brittle and old. 4) Milledge - not ready for prime time? 5) a RHed FA from amongst the following: -Phil Nevin -Shannon Stewart -Jay Payton -Mark De Rosa -Preston Wilson -Pedro Feliz -Jose Guillen [on edit: - Craig Wilson (for some reason i thought he was a LH hitter)] YIKES! It's beginning to look like it will be Milledge's job to lose.

sharpie Nov 13 2006 05:25 PM

Moises Alou giving way to Milledge might be the best option presented in Soriano is not available. O'course Omar might surprise us and get someone we're not considering.

smg58 Nov 13 2006 06:19 PM

Craig Wilson. He's a better (or at least more proven when allowed to play full time) version of Xavier Nady, and a monster against lefties. At the very least we need an extra righty bat to go with Milledge because I don't really want Shawn Green starting against lefties, but anybody on that list would apply.

Elster88 Nov 13 2006 06:57 PM

2B better NOT be settled. We signed Valentin to play infield sub, right?

seawolf17 Nov 13 2006 06:58 PM

I wouldn't argue with Craig Wilson. Dude can hit.

Edgy DC Nov 13 2006 07:42 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Nov 13 2006 11:21 PM

I'm curious about Wilson. He didn't really show for the Yankees last year, but there are worse sins. He knows Cooby, and he can probably be had for a year --- or the kind of commitment that would keep the Mets from being shy about cutting his PT if he's not hitting and an understudy is. Plus, as said, he mashes lefties, which was a Met weakness the second half last year. Still, as an option off the lower shelf, the Mets would have to pick up a top-shelf pitcher. The way I see it, there's one top-shelf talent in Soriano, one middle-shelfer in Lee, and everybody else. I guess Lee would be a top-shelf guy if we were confident that he could adequately field.

Nymr83 Nov 13 2006 08:20 PM

i like Nevin as a hitter but i've always thought of him as 1B/3B, is he a credible outfielder? STAY AWAY from Carlos Lee, while he can sure hit i think "DH in the making" is an understatement if you give him a long-term deal. i'd avoid Soriano in LF, though Valentin shouldnt be set in stone and theres no reason we can't still sign Soriano for 2B (and shift him to LF if Milledge blows while starting Valentin again)

metirish Nov 13 2006 08:54 PM

If the Mets are going to spend big on a FA I'd rather that be Soriano and not Lee...for LF I mean.

MFS62 Nov 13 2006 09:19 PM

The only negative comments I've read about Lee are about his defense. But IIRC he stole almost 20 bases this year. Is his perceived defensive problem about his speed or just about his glove? Later

smg58 Nov 13 2006 10:15 PM

I'd heard that Lee's defense has gotten steadily better since he came up with the White Sox. Lee's a proven RBI guy, and I wouldn't be against getting him. There would have to be a pretty big market difference between Lee and Soriano before I made a priority out of him, though, and I still think I'd deal with starting pitching first.

Frayed Knot Nov 13 2006 11:13 PM

Lee's defense is just plain awful, both from what I've seen and also heard. Texas was upset at how out of shape he was after landing there in mid-season (where did I read just recently about his scale tipping at about 270 ?!?). This guy isn't a DH in the making, he's a DH NOW!!!!! and that's a problem when the only way you'll likely get him is to commit for several years (like til he's 34 or 35).

Sandgnat Nov 14 2006 10:34 AM

Given the annual offseason infatuation with him, anyone else think that now more then ever Manny might be in left field at Shea considering the Sox are about to dump 11,756,666,596.45 yen for a pitcher?

Johnny Dickshot Nov 14 2006 10:36 AM

Jon Heyman in the peice I'm about to cut and paste into a new thread, suggests Jerry Manuel is a big Lee fan.

metirish Nov 14 2006 10:40 AM

Just read the Heyman article, I guess Wally took over for Heyman at Newsday.

metirish Nov 14 2006 10:49 AM

Keith Law ranking the top 40 free agents.... ] Lee is the third member of the troika of power hitters on the market this winter, but there are some substantial differences between him, Ramirez and Soriano. On the positive side, Lee has plus-plus power with good extension in his swing, very good bat speed, and a selective approach at the plate that produces a lot of contact. For teams looking for a legitimate power threat to hit fourth or fifth, Lee is a solid fit. On the negative side, he's not fond of the base on balls, he's limited to left field or DH (although he's passable in left), and he's a bad-body guy who's likely to decline faster than the more athletic Ramirez and Soriano will. He's already 31, meaning that he's reaching the end of his peak offensive years, and a hypothetical five-year deal would take him up to age 36, at which point he's likely to be a DH-only guy with a slider-speed bat.

metirish Nov 15 2006 10:08 AM

Joel Sherman in the Post has this.... ] If you want an idea about how aggressive Omar Minaya is as GM and how high he shoots for talent, consider that in internal meetings with his staff, Minaya has broached the idea of trying to acquire star center fielder Vernon Wells from Toronto to play left field next to Carlos Beltran. The Mets had not yet broached the idea with the Blue Jays. In addition, Toronto officials indicated if they were to trade Wells, they would want starting pitching in return that is more certain than the Mets' enticing but not yet proven arms such as Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber, John Maine or Oliver Perez. The Blue Jays are trying to re-sign Wells, who can be a free agent after the season. They are not likely to be able to do that, but since they have hopes of contending in 2007, the Jays might just decide to keep Wells and make a decision in July based on where they are in the standings whether they would trade him or not.

metsmarathon Nov 15 2006 11:29 AM

um, i'd give 'em ollie perez for vernon wells.

Frayed Knot Nov 15 2006 12:40 PM

The problem with Wells - and this assumes that Toronto is really ready to trade him - is that he's a true CFer and thus would be worth more to a team that needs one. He's also a FA after one year meaning that he'd be more likely to stick around on a team that needs a true CFer. We ain't that team. Interesting idea, but I'm afraid we'd have to overpay for him twice - once w/players to get him here and then once w/a FA contract to keep him all to have him play out of position. And do we really need an extra OFer at the expense of the young pitching it would almost certainly take to get him?

Yancy Street Gang Nov 15 2006 01:09 PM

I agree with your points, Frayed, but would Wells really be an extra? I assume he'd be the starting left or right fielder.

Frayed Knot Nov 15 2006 01:13 PM

Oh of course he'd be a starter; the guy's a legit All-Star. What I mean is that I don't think we want to be adding [u:53f7a19da3]more[/u:53f7a19da3] OFers and subtracting [u:53f7a19da3]young[/u:53f7a19da3] pitching at this point.

smg58 Nov 15 2006 03:50 PM

Especially since we just did that with Ring and Bell.I hope all the eager talk in places other than here about dealing Heilman can stop now.