How to Make the 2013 Post Season with a $100M payroll

[rdg515]

We've been hearing about a Bay for Bell and Buck trade [and ask for MIA to add $3M to offset the $24M v $17M due] and I say go for it...nothing to lose and filling two holes if we win. Figure Bell gotta be better than Rauch and Buck is better than Nickeas and despite those two underachievers in 2012 we were in the wild card lead on July 4th so anything we get from Bell and Buck is a plus. The most important off season move is getting a slugging OFer to replace Bay and Nick Swisher fits the bill. Cut loose Pelfrey, Rauch and Torres and pocket the $13M and use it to pay for Swisher or equal at $9M per and some raises for the current squad. Use the current $91M payroll minus $16M saved, $9M for Swisher and raises and you're around where we are right now but with a better, more balanced team. I really got sick of seeing Torres' .236 BA, Bay's .158 and Nickeas' .165 in the lineup [RJ is an upgrade]. No more deadwood please!

New Lineup:

Tejada-R
Valdespin-L---playing CF---I really like this kid
Wright-R
Davis-L
Swisher-L/R
Duda-L/Hairston-R---go with the hot hand
Buck-R/Thole-L---go with the hot hand
Murphy-L----so if a .300 hitter is batting 8th we are in good shape and he could bat #2 when he is hot and Valdy is cold.

This lineup would have good lefty-righty balance for once and depth. And if Buck has anything left we could get 15-30 homers from positions 2-7.

Turner-R, Cedeno-R or equal, Nieuwenhuis-L and/or Baxter-L fill out the bench.

Santana, Dickey, Niese, Harvey, Gee with Young re-signed for insurance and Wheeler [up next July when Santana's gets arm tired] and Familia at AAA honing their skills.

Francisco, Bell, Byrdak, Parnell, Edgin, RRamirez makes 12 and guys like Mejia, Carson, ERamirez developing at AAA along with retreads like Hefner, Schwinden and Acosta for emergency spots.

And if SA gets the okay make a run at Michael Bourn for $15M per using the unspent Reyes money and with a little backloading the payroll could be $100M and then Murphy becomes trade bait to upgrade another spot. I do wonder what the Mets could get for a package of Murphy or Valdespin, Familia and Nieuwenhuis??? Maybe a younger slugging outfielder that wouldn't cost us much. Would Bourn cost us a first round draft pick??? Weakening the Braves and strengthening us would be a bonus. Comments?

[YoungStuna]

This team doesn't make the post-season either.

[KingsOfQueens]

Sorry but that team sucks.

[bklynny67]

LOL this guy again? Thats a terrible team u just put together. Good try i guess.

[MetsLegacy]

This should be the team next year if they want a shot, IMO

1B- Ike Davis
2B- Daniel Murphy
3B- David Wright
SS- Ruben Tejada
LF- Jordanny Valdepsin
CF-Michael Bourne
RF- Lucas Duda/Scott Hairston/ or Kirk
C- Mike Napoli

Bench:
C- Josh Thole
2B/SS/3B/1B- Justin Turner
2B/SS- Ronny Cedeno
OF- Hairston/Duda/Kirk
OF-Hairston/Duda/Kirk

Starting 5:
1.) Johan Santana
2.) R.A Dickey
3.) Jonathon Niese
4.) Matt Harvey
5.) Dillon Gee

As insurance, if he's healthy through the end of the year and doesn't receive a multiyear deal from another party, I think an offer should be made to retain Chris Young at a 1-year deal for about $3-5M depending on performance. If not, see ya.

Bullpen:
Leaving this one largely up the reality, but I'd like to see Parnell, Edgin, Rauch (Yes, Rauch, he has been fantastic lately), Ramirez, Francisco, and someone like Brandon League, Mark Lowe, or Jeremy Affeldt.

[WrightStuff82]

If your 2013 free agent offseason doesn't involve Napoli, Bourne/Cabrera as our new bats, you can forget about making the playoffs next year.

Bullpen has nowhere to go except to get better. I'd like to pick up an arm or two there, but I see alot of young arms that will be better next year (Beato, E.Ramirez, Edgin, and hopefully Parnell learns a two-seamer), so I wouldn't go too crazy throwing $6m at guys like Brandon Lyon.

[rdg515]

This should be the team next year if they want a shot, IMO

1B- Ike Davis
2B- Daniel Murphy
3B- David Wright
SS- Ruben Tejada
LF- Jordanny Valdepsin
CF-Michael Bourne
RF- Lucas Duda/Scott Hairston/ or Kirk
C- Mike Napoli

Bench:
C- Josh Thole
2B/SS/3B/1B- Justin Turner
2B/SS- Ronny Cedeno
OF- Hairston/Duda/Kirk
OF-Hairston/Duda/Kirk

Starting 5:
1.) Johan Santana
2.) R.A Dickey
3.) Jonathon Niese
4.) Matt Harvey
5.) Dillon Gee

As insurance, if he's healthy through the end of the year and doesn't receive a multiyear deal from another party, I think an offer should be made to retain Chris Young at a 1-year deal for about $3-5M depending on performance. If not, see ya.

Bullpen:
Leaving this one largely up the reality, but I'd like to see Parnell, Edgin, Rauch (Yes, Rauch, he has been fantastic lately), Ramirez, Francisco, and someone like Brandon League, Mark Lowe, or Jeremy Affeldt.

Let's see---you added Napoli instead of Buck and no mention of Bay's $17M being used elsewhere so that payroll would be the current squad at $98M + Bourn at $15M plus Napoli at at least $12M and League for $5M per so now we're up to $130M. Sure---it's easy to solve all of our probelms with a checkbook and I'd like to see the Mets sign three premium free agents but I don't see it happening until SA sees that Harvey and Wheeler are the real thing and Santana's contract expires so my attempt is making the most of what we could do at a reasonable price. Assuming he's a FA I would love Montero [or Ruiz or McCann who are likely to re-sign with PHI and ATL] as a building block but I don't see that happening...yet.

[rdg515]

If your 2013 free agent offseason doesn't involve Napoli, Bourne/Cabrera as our new bats, you can forget about making the playoffs next year.

Bullpen has nowhere to go except to get better. I'd like to pick up an arm or two there, but I see alot of young arms that will be better next year (Beato, E.Ramirez, Edgin, and hopefully Parnell learns a two-seamer), so I wouldn't go too crazy throwing $6m at guys like Brandon Lyon.

My roster has Bourn as the most important target and new leadoff hitter budgets allowing....Cabrera is the new Bay---he will hit .264 next year and his awful defense was apparent in LF this week---he's having a career year and will get overpaid for it. Bourn is the only leadoff hitting CF I see on FA the market.

[MetsLegacy]

Let's see---you added Napoli instead of Buck and no mention of Bay's $17M being used elsewhere so that payroll would be the current squad at $98M + Bourn at $15M plus Napoli at at least $12M and League for $5M per so now we're up to $130M. Sure---it's easy to solve all of our probelms with a checkbook and I'd like to see the Mets sign three premium free agents but I don't see it happening until SA sees that Harvey and Wheeler are the real thing and Santana's contract expires so my attempt is making the most of what we could do at a reasonable price. Assuming he's a FA I would love Montero [or Ruiz or McCann who are likely to re-sign with PHI and ATL] as a building block but I don't see that happening...yet.

That's assuming the deal gets done. I didn't say League was necessarily needed, I was suggesting names.

I think that it could be obtainable for $130, but I don't think your roster comes anything close to making the postseason. It's much too similar to this years group.

I think Santana is a key, and if they can win with him here they will.

Montero signed an extension with Arizona.

Ruiz will be in his late-30s. McCann isn't going anywhere.

[acerimusdux]

Bourne is also having a career year and will also get overpaid. Reality is he's a good defensive player, but he's not any better a hitter than Andres Torres.

I also think you are underestimating your costs a bit, but you could probably still get in under $100M. Mainly, I think the Mets would be the ones picking up a couple of million additional salary in that Marlins trade. The money savings is the only incentive the Marlins would have to do that deal; they aren't actually going to prefer Bay to Bell & Buck.

On a $100M payroll though, I'm not sure there is any way to build a likely contender. At that payroll, I'd probably get creative with trades and take chances on a lot of unproven guys, not signing any big free agents.

[Sick Of It All]

Bourn is basically a given to post a WAR of 4.5 year in year out.

[WrightStuff82]

Bourne is also having a career year and will also get overpaid. Reality is he's a good defensive player, but he's not any better a hitter than Andres Torres..

Cmon. Torres is 34 years old and has one good season in his entire career. He's a switch hitter but absolutely worthless from the left side of the plate vs RHP. He's nothing more than a platoon player vs LHP at this point in his career.

Michael Bourn is 5 years younger than him. One of the best defensive centerfielders in the game, .350 OBP, great base stealer. He's a 4-6 fWAR player and one of the few FA's out there that dramatically could upgrade our team into a contender. I'd give Bourn 80/5 in a heartbeat and it would not be overpaying.

[KingsOfQueens]

-Sign Mike Napoli 4Y/60M
-Sign BJ Upton (can't afford Bourn after Napoli) 3Y/30M
-Sign Mike Adams 3Y/15M
-Sign Octavio Dotel 1Y/2M
-Sign Jeremy Affeldt 3Y/12M
-Sign Pedro Feliciano 1Y/1M

With that in combination with arbitration raises and Wright extension its ~$45M a year.

Current payroll is $95M, ~$17M coming off so thats ~$78 committed next year. Addin the new contracts, thats approximately ~$125M...and Bay and Santana expire the next year.

No reason why we shouldnt be able to put out a $125M dollar team.

[YoungStuna]

Bourne is also having a career year and will also get overpaid. Reality is he's a good defensive player, but he's not any better a hitter than Andres Torres.

I disagree and his defense is so good that he'd be worth the deal. If he continues to hit for a little power, he's extremely valuable. Also Torres sucks, he's had like 1 1/2 good years while the rest have been poor.

[ManningToTyree]

Swisher-Valdy-Duda

The worst defensive outfield in baseball.