NFT: FLORES BABY!!!!

people think we got nothing for Reyes. We got Plawecki who's a top 5 prospect and Wilson.

you give Flores inconsistent ABs and he doesnt hit, but then he gets a critical mass of regular ABs and he hits like he has at every level. That's fucking nuts.

As soon as it was apparent OK City was out of the picture for them.

at the very least, he'll give you passable defense with power potential. He doesn't walk much but doesn't strike out much either. Being a better homerun threat than Tejada already makes Flores that much more valuable.

with giving Flores a shot at SS this year if we make a major upgrade in the OF. I'd love to sign that Cuban OF and keep guys like Gee/Montero as longmen out of the pen/insurance for when pitchers inevitably get hurt.

gonna pay Dillon Gee 5+ million as a long man. Not realistic.

In comment 11867731 DanMetroMan said:

Quote:

gonna pay Dillon Gee 5+ million as a long man. Not realistic.

So what's the alternative?

We give him a rotation spot over a better pitcher? Trade him? I don't mind trading him, even for a small return to clear the $5M, but he really didn't have a good year, would another team really eat that $5M?

...
fangraphs - ( New Window )

either going to be in the rotation, traded or non-tendered. Just can't afford to have 8 million dollar "utility" players (Sherman's idea for Murphy) or 5 million dollar "long men". At this point it's questionable of EYJr is worth the 2+ he will get as a bench player (I'd argue he's not).

But I'm thinking that having a guy around who has been pitching in the majors for 17 years and is still managing to get people out isn't a bad thing at all, especially when the rest of your staff is composed of youngsters.

I'd argue Niese and Gee have been MLB starters long enough that they can serve as "veteran" help if need be. Niese is going into his 6th full MLB season and Gee his 5th.

wouldn't hate keeping Colon and have defended him all year so I'm not dumping on him but it's not as if we have read a bunch of quotes about him helping the young pitchers (not that he is expected to) but this doesn't seem to be a Pedro/Johan situation where he seeks out helping the young guys to the point where his being a "mentor" makes a difference.

disagree with you Dan, but hopefully you agree that with our lineup likely to not be a powerhouse, the team will need to do better than Gee and Colon as our #4/#5 to contend.

I think Gee could provide value in the role that Dice-K had this year but if he's too expensive then I guess that's that. Ideally, we'd be able to get Colon's $$$ off of the books and use that money to go after the Cuban OF.

I also think we need to keep in mind that during Colon's "good" start yesterday, he gave up 11 hits to a Marlins team without Stanton in the lineup.

Gee actually quietly had an awful season. I like Gee but dems the facts. I think even in an ideal world it's unlikely the Mets would pay a "Dice-K" role guy 5 million. I think their hope was it would be Hefner and I suspect they look for a similar scrap heap veteran for that role next year (they COULD go with with a Verrett or Mazzoni type but that would be unusual usage for a young pitcher and given the fact they didn't give them a look now I think it's unlikely).

Mets play hardball with arbitration with Gee and try to get that number down in the $3.75-$4.25M range? I guess that would still be too much to pay for a longman...

he made 3.63 million this year so he's basically "guaranteed" 4 million at minimum negotiations or not. Arbiters tend to look at "traditional" stats so his whip is actually lower than last year at 1.22 and his era is a solid 3.80 so unless Gee is fearful of being non-tendered he can hold firm at 4+

Brian P. Mangan ‏@brianpmangan 3m
#FreeWilmer and he will deliver.

262/302/454 (756 OPS) since starting every day August 1

274/311/548 since August 19th (last 30 days)

Who cares about Terry Collins' ego or Tejada mancrush.

And he's 22 years old.

You had to figure he'd start hitting in the show once he started getting consistent playing time.

Brian P. Mangan ‏@brianpmangan 6m
Terry on July 24th ... RT @AdamRubinESPN "Had [Tejada] not gotten hit in the head, we wouldn't even be talking about [Flores]" TC said.

has always taken time to adjust to a new level and then raked..

if I remember correctly, he started tearing it up in Binghamton, and got promoted. Then started tearing it up in Vegas, got promoted.

the only problem is he's never spent a FULL season on any level.. hopefully in 2015 he will ;)

after Harvey got injured, i pretty much checked out on the Mets. This season, I've kept up with the team although football season has started. They have a bunch of intriguing young players and if they are healthy next season, the rotation and bullpen should be strong.

on Flores' defense.


http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/wilmer-flores-not-a-disaster-at-shortstop-yet/ - ( New Window )

I think there needs to be an organizational commitment to getting him 350+ ABs next season. Dont have to pencil him in as the guaranteed starting SS, but figure out a way to get him at least that many ABs. Obviously, if he's terrible or fantastic over a decent period you adjust.

Between SS, reps at 2B and 3B, plus PH and DH, should be doable. Can he play corner OF at all?

I am interested in how he finishes the season. Is he on a hot streak? Is his confidence increasing??

Do you think this is a playoff lineup in 2015?

Lagares
Murphy
Wright
Tomas
Duda
Granderson
d'arnaud
Flores

Even if they trade Murphy, not too bad with just ONE major addition.

In comment 11868078 feelflows said:

Quote:

Do you think this is a playoff lineup in 2015?

Dont know about Tomas, but I think it is a playoff lineup if Wright returns to form and TDA and Flores hit. Duda I think will be a 25-30 HR guy for a few seasons, and Legares doesnt have to hit a lot to justify a starting nod on a playoff team. Actually, if the Mets can add a .800+ OPS guy, with luck they can have a pretty meaty middle of the lineup. It's really so hard to tell though -- offense is just way down. Versus 2009, MLB OPS is down about 50 points, with .5 fewer runs per team/game

I agree about Tomas, but I'm trying to be optimistic that Sandy does the right thing (or the Wilpons let him).

If there's a way to not trade away the core pitching AND get a legit middle 3 lineup player, it's ideal.

I'm pretty sure it's slim pickings in the FA market, so he's the best option.

I cant engage in a discussion of what the "right thing" is here. I dont concede that we should be spending like a small or mid market club, so in my opinion we should certainly be in on the bidding here. BUT the Wilpons and Sandy dont accept that (it's why they dont get any of my money), and if you think we're going to see a repeat of last year's payroll, then it is probably irresponsible to pay $13 million per to a Cuban import.

BTW, I give this Cuban situation one more offseason. No way the owners are happy that a few teams can circumvent the international signing protocols to sign MLB ready FA talent for tens of millions. Current players cant be happy about it either -- every dollar going to these Cubans is a dollar less spent on current MLBers.

international draft is upon us, as soon as next season (this is why the Yankees went nuts this year).

That 1st HR last night wasn't even a strike. It was one of those low inside pitches lefties love but righties don't hit or only hit for a ground ball. 2nd one was on a tee.

He has an interesting swing. Doesn't really finish it. Somehow he generates plenty of bat speed and then stops the swing before the usual follow through.

I'm a believer that he'll hit enough to be very valuable as a SS. Fielding has been good enough. Don't spend money there.

this is probably the last year you can sign an international player without a draft.. it allows you to:

a) not waste a draft pick
b) not have to trade assets

true, he's not Abreu or Puig, but for at least this year he only costs money.

Which Wilpons don't have to spend.

czonka

In comment 11868387 Csonka said:

Quote:

Which Wilpons don't have to spend.

I find it extremely hard to believe that the Wilpons don't have the money to raise the payroll to a competitive number.

In comment 11868447 PhiPsi125 said:

Quote:

In comment 11868387 Csonka said: Quote: Which Wilpons don't have to spend. I find it extremely hard to believe that the Wilpons don't have the money to raise the payroll to a competitive number.

Don't have it or choose not to use it, either way, they suck.

http://metsblog.com/metsblog/korean-ss-jung-ho-kang-and-his-38-hr-will-get-posted-for-mlb/

Korean SS Jung-ho Kang and his 38 HR will get posted for MLB
September 17th, 2014 2:50 pm
A 27-year-old Korean SS, Jung-ho Kang, will be posted for MLB bidding this winter, reports Nick Cafardo (Boston Globe, Sept. 6).

�The right-handed power hitter will stay at shortstop or convert to second or third base,� says Cafardo.

The Cardinals have reportedly shown early interest in Kang, who has 38 HR and 107 RBI in 107 games this season in Korea.

According to Cafardo, �Kang has major power and with the absence of it in the majors, he should get some serious money.�

Albuquerque is worse. It is also a strong hitter's park and Las Vegas at least has frequent flights to New York City if we need to fly in somebody

He is only 22 and when he fills out, he will definitely hit 20+ HR.

He doesn't draw walks so he will never have a really high OPS. But he will be a run producer. If he can stay at SS or 2B, he is a potential all-star. If he has to move to 3B, he will still be a solid player.

Omar was a crappy GM in many ways. But he and Tony B had an eye for young talent. Flores is just another example of that.

The one's he's hitting aren't exacting scraping the fence and landing in the 1st row. He's making Citi look small with some of his shots, without even taking big swings.

Flores turned 23 last month. But his fundamentals with the bat are very good.

In comment 11868654 Csonka said:

Quote:

The one's he's hitting aren't exacting scraping the fence and landing in the 1st row. He's making Citi look small with some of his shots, without even taking big swings.

You are right about the swing. That's why he has only struck out twice in 55 PA in September. Strong wrists and forearms

Honestly nothing would surprise me with him. He absolutely is one of the best hitting prospects ever in our system and considering he is NOW a competent fielding SS on top of that, his status should go through the roof. If the word was out that he could field SS a couple years ago, he would have been just as acclaimed as Baez, ect.

In comment 11868692 ZGiants98 said:

Quote:

Honestly nothing would surprise me with him. He absolutely is one of the best hitting prospects ever in our system and considering he is NOW a competent fielding SS on top of that, his status should go through the roof. If the word was out that he could field SS a couple years ago, he would have been just as acclaimed as Baez, ect.

Baez has tremendous power, i dont think Flores would be acclaimed at Baez's level. There was a lot of hype surrounding Baez when he was called up.

this year. Flores over a 365 day span before getting called up and rotting on the bench had better overall numbers.

Flores doesn't have that tool. I do like the idea of keeping Wilmer at SS for next season and investing money elsewhere. It's worth seeing if he can reach his offensive ceiling. If he does, and plays an average SS defensively, he's a stud.

Baez does have some serious raw power so maybe that wasn't the best example but my point is Flores would have been ranked as that level of prospect if he was viewed as a competent SS a couple years ago.

I know what it implies, but I don't see too many ground balls that go through where I say Rey Ordonez would have gotten to that. I see a guy that catches the ball, has a terrific arm and can turn a DP with a flat footed throw. I think this is bogus about him not being able to play SS

For two years we've been told that he's slower than molasses.... in January... in Antarctica.

In comment 11868768 Headhunter said:

Quote:

I know what it implies, but I don't see too many ground balls that go through where I say Rey Ordonez would have gotten to that. I see a guy that catches the ball, has a terrific arm and can turn a DP with a flat footed throw. I think this is bogus about him not being able to play SS

Well two things for me. We do know that he was a tall kid and kind of awkward when he was younger. Sometimes guys take a few years to build some leg strength and get comfortable in their bodies. The second thing is we know for a fact he shed 20 lbs or so heading into this year which made him a little quicker. Backman flat out timed him running to 1st and he posted his fastest time ever this year. That said I do think it was mostly overblown. The kid hadn't played SS in a couple years so everyone just assumed he couldn't.

the following guys would cost the Mets their 1st rounder (if correct)

Olney spoke with several executives from around the league and is of the mind that James Shields, Max Scherzer, Pablo Sandoval, Melky Cabrera, Russell Martin, Nelson Cruz, J.J. Hardy, Victor Martinez, Ervin Santana, David Robertson and Hanley Ramirez will receive qualifying offers, which should fall between $15MM and $15.5MM.