Posted on by Shannon Shark @metspolice

A Reyes-less Mets lineup with $19m spent on other things

Is this really that bad?

CF    ?     Centerfielder TBA

SS    R    Tejada  .284

2B    L     Murphy   .320

3B    R     Wright   lets give him a full season (in a contract year) like 2010’s .283 29 103

1B    L     Davis  let’s also give him 2010’s stats of .264 19 71

LF    R     Jason Bay batting 7th.  .245 12 57

RF    L     Duda  .292 10 50.   The .292 may be unrealistic to expect (though he did hit .286 in the minors) but the power seems fine.

C      ?      A catcher

…

Basically what this comes down to is:

Do you think Reyes’ .337 and glove is better than 17 points lower, fewer steals, way worse glove but maybe $19m in other parts.

The flip-side…losing one of the team’s most popular players who is atop the leaderboard in many of the team’s offensive categories.

I know this makes me the unpopular kid in the schoolyard…but I think I’d rather try the lineup above and $19 million in other things.  As for what those other things are..I leave that to the smart bloggers with their WAR and OPS+ and knowledge of baseball.

10 Replies to “A Reyes-less Mets lineup with $19m spent on other things”

  1. Not a big fan of defense, are you?

    anyway, yes, without reyes they can field a perfectly acceptable offense, and if the money goes into pitching, overall a better team.

    couple points:

    – I Don’t really see murphy as regular 2B
    – Don’t sell Duda short. he will put up some serious power/production #s
    – Bay needs to be in a straight platoon next year.

    1. I can’t figure out how to fund defense. Duda has to play, and if anybody wants to take Bay’s contract they can.

      The Mets won in 86 with Kevin Mitchell at SS in 20 starts (24 appearances) so maybe I’m cocky

      1. Oh, I am fine with Duda overall. Would prefer he plays LF though. And Bay is actually not that bad. That comment had more to do with the up the middle D.

        Ideally, Bay and a LH hitter (if possible, from the farm) will platoon, and preferably in RF (I am assuming it will be F Mart). since the LH guy gets more ABs, if they are more comfortable in RF, then Bay will have to make the switch.

        Duda in LF and Bay/F Mart(or someone like that) in RF, with a solid speedy CF, will be good enough D, and should hit a lot.

        Just would like to see a 2B that can field. I am really, really pulling for Havens to win that job, and soon.

        So, pend the money on a catcher (might have to come via a trade for a minor league guy) and pitching, and cobble together the position players from the vets, rookies you are developing with a future, and filler ST guys to plug holes.

  2. If I am recalling correctly, I think I remember hearing that Davey Johnson said that if Mitchell was playing short, it would be a factor in determining if McDowell or Orosco would be brought in to close the game.

    If the Mets cut Pagan loose, they can always make a run at Lastings Milledge – he just became a AAA free agent. NOT!!!

  3. Probably going to take into 2013 (2012 being the year some guys get blended in, and they might not be up opening day), using your projections, I would like to see (next year and again, this is making the assumption Reyes goes, everyone else stays):

    CF – TBD
    2B – Havens
    1B – Davis
    3B – Wright
    LF – Duda
    RF – Bay/F Mart platoon
    C – TBD (will likely see more thole with some new partner)
    SS – Tejada (though a vet stop-gap is possible).

    I see Tejada as a bottom of the order guy, trying to clear the pitcher type, unless/until he develops more than Castillo-level power.

    C, they need a fresh body, just don’t know where he will come from.

    And CF, pagan probably for 1 more year, but I would love to see some fresh blood. Big question is how long until they will have someone out of the minors to challenge for the job.

  4. Why did you have to bring this up? Here is the grim picture…children may want to leave the room:

    Without even signing Reyes, the Mets owe in 2012 close to $60 Million, about the same or more than the entire payroll of 1/4 of baseball teams, for the following:

    Johan Santana, Jason Bay, David Wright.

    What are the chances that Sanatana comes back the same at age 33 off this type injury? That Bay can recapture his skills at age 33? I would be happy if Santana returned being a number 2 or 3 starter and Bay an average player. Wright hit .254 this year.

    The Mets no longer have the money to paper over past salary obligations. To add insult to injury, I have seen the farm system ranked quite low. And the final dagger…the situation will repeat istelf next off-season, when we will be talking about whether we can afford to re-sign Wright and pay Santana and Bay, both of whom still make huge money in 2013. Bobby Bonilla ($1.2M for sitting home) may seem like a bargain compared to them. If Sandy can make this situation competitive next year, he wins Executive of the Year hands down. If he can’t, the fanbase will continue to erode, while the Yankees compete for #28 or 29.

    At least we can look forward to no dropshadow.

    1. The Mets have a club option they can pick up on Wright in 2013 if they don’t sign him to an extension at the end of next season.

      1. Yes…I missed that…they can sign Wright for 2013 at $16M or buy him out for $1M. Unless he completely falls apart, he will be still be the face of the franchise through 2013.

  5. The most important factor doesn’t even appear in your lineup: Who’s on the mound? That’s upon what the $19 million desperately needs to be spent.

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