Prospects just don't make sense for a team like the Mets. They are in the NYY and LAD realm where they pay big $$ and mostly play established veterans. They can't afford to take a year or 2 off for prospects to establish themselves. Now I could see them trading away a contract with only 1 year left for young controllable players like Pena, but at least 1 likely future all star would need to be in the deal not a combination of #5 starters and bench players.
Dropped our podcast last night and a little different, we were joined by a former sports writer in the metroplex who gave us some insight into what’s going on in Ranger land as we go into the most important series of the year in Arlington, before we finish with Astros talk. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0onRlp05Kxe9m22Moirwng?si=DrycRVEvQn6joSCJnC5uug Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...n-astros-podcast/id1683955456?i=1000618440922 Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8...est-guest?ref=dm_sh_0HQMz93ctT5hUwEYPjsn50aRf
Verlander's contract has got to be underwater, right? The Mets will have to pay someone to take that contract. If the Mets want additional players back, be they prospects or MLB players, the Mets will have to pay even more.
Cannot see anyway that a team is going to give up a young controllable player like Pena, nor a likely future all star for a contract like Verlander with 1 year left. If a GM did, I suspect he loses his job the next day
The bottom line is that the Mets don't want to trade Verlander so it doesn't matter. They hope and pray that he is good the rest of this year and go into next year with him hoping to win. They need stars and names and he provides that. They spent a fortune so hope to compete if not this year then next. They are not suddenly going to try to get out from under contracts and retool or rebuild with younger cheaper players. Because of all this, they are not going to make any concessions to a team trying to get him. - if you want him the Mets will get the better of the deal because they will only trade him if someone makes them an offer they can't refuse.
I'm not 100% convinced of this, although I admittedly don't really follow the Mets. Cohen seemed to view this offseason as an opportunity to buy his way into contention without mortgaging the future. They spent a bunch of money so they wouldn't have to trade prospects, and it didn't work. The Mets FO could make the argument that covering veterans salaries in trades is tantamount to buying prospects as a way to invest in the future of the team. One could point to the Padres turning James Shields into Tatis as an example of the potential benefits. If the Mets come calling and ask for Luis Baez and Kenni Gomez for Verlander and a pile of money, is there a pile of money big enough to get Dana Brown to consider it? What about other contenders? If the Mets can turn Verlander's contract into some high upside prospects, would they?
Baez and Gomez are a long way away. Many many prospects even higher regarded ones never pan out. I think Brown jumps at that offer. The problem is fans and NY media would crucify the Mets for it. NY teams need to be "win now", or at very least "win very very soon" mode. And the fans and media will always want the bigger names and bigger stories going TO NY in those deals not AWAY FROM NY.
Really well said on the Mets strategy. I meant to write that as a reply a few times and didn’t get around to it.
The one Met fan I knew had about as much hope for their future as the Royals fans I grew up with. They may be in New York, but they're not the Yankees, and they're unlikely to make the playoffs this season. Cohen can go buy Giolito or whoever this offseason if they need to. If he signs Otani, literally no one will care that they traded Verlander. There's a lot of hurdles to a Verlander trade, but the New York media and fans aren't the ones making these decisions. I have a hard time believing that a hedgefund manager is categorically opposed to trading a 40 year old pitcher on a team 16 games out of the division lead.
I love Dusty and am not on the "fire dusty" train like so many of you...but this is a f***ing stupid thing to say. He's not been good. He cannot be trusted in anything that's not a blowout. Don't try to make it anything more than what it is...he got his paycheck and he's not handled it.
It doesn't matter. You can't carry 14 pitchers anymore. Everyone in an 8 man bullpen has to pitch and probably multiple times in a week unless you get a bunch of 7 inning performances from your starters. You can't save him for blowouts when you are also carrying Martinez and Dubin.
