Three and a half years ago, Sandy Alderson took over the controls of the New York Mets to turn a high-priced team full of aging veterans, into a contending team while replenishing a barren farm system. The latter part of that statement has been taken care of, while the first part has not.
Mets fans have seen Alderson turn three 35-year-old and up players, into some pretty highly regarded prospects. Carlos Beltran, RA Dickey, and Marlon Byrd have netted Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, Wuilmer Becerra, Vic Black, and Dilson Herrera. Wheeler, d’ Arnaud, and Black have already reached the big club with varying amounts of success, and are clearly part of the big picture for the future.
But when does it become time to stop trading away players for pieces, and add MLB ready players instead? That time is now. We’ve heard Alderson and Joffery (yes, Jeff Wilpon), publicly state that depending on the players in return, the Mets can add payroll in a trade. But there my not be any salary to add in a trade, unless you are going to make a move for a 30-year-old player.
Take the recent developments in Chicago for example. The Cubs have a farm system that is one of the best in baseball due to their abundance of power hitting infielders. During their recent all out rebuild, they traded for 1B Anthony Rizzo by parting with their only real pitching prospect in Andrew Cashner. The trade has actually worked for both teams, although Cashner has been struggling all year with a shoulder issue, but pitching well at the same time. Then yesterday, they acquired the Oakland Athletics top two prospects for SP Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. One of those prospects was Addison Russell. Russell was Baseball America’s #14 prospect heading into the 2014 season…and a shortstop. So now the Cubs have the #14 and the #5 prospects (Javier Baez) in baseball, but are both shortstops. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Starlin Castro is the Cubs shortstop who just last year signed a 7-year $60 million extension. It seems as if the Cubs have a pretty good problem on their hands these days. An established, young starter in Castro, monster power hitter in Baez, and an all around player in Russell. This is where Alderson absolutely needs to make a move for NOW. Not 4 years down the road.
It’s so unbelievably obvious that the Mets and Cubs match up, that I fully expect Alderson NOT to do anything. It’s sad to say, but I have completely lost faith in him to improve the MLB roster. The Mets have an abundance of young arms and the Cubs have almost none. There couldn’t be two minor league systems who are as much of polar opposites than these two. Who’s to say that the Cubs are actually interested in the Mets pitching prospects though? It always takes two to tango.
If you have followed me on twitter, you know that I was once a 100% believer in “Sandy’s Plan”. As the years have gone by, the 100% has incrementally gone down each year. Right now it’s at about 30%. Being a patient Mets fan is growing tiresome and it’s about time for a change. Not change for the sake of making change, like firing Terry Collins, but change to improve the MLB team now. No one honestly cares that the minor league affiliates have the best combined record of all 30 MLB teams. It does nothing for me. ZERO. My team has been stuck with win totals in the 70’s for the last five, going on six, years. I’m not going to start making trade proposals here because baseball trades always are more complicated than most of us realize. There’s no MLB Trade Machine app on ESPN.com to start plugging in players. If you want to hear that, listen to WFAN at 2AM.
Mets fans have been suffering like no other fan base in baseball. Astros fans were told point-blank what was going on and they are now seeing some results. Padres fans have been treated to a surprising 90 win season a few years back. Hell, even the Pirates made the playoffs. Mets fans have been strung along with false hope, ponzi schemes, and flat-out lying by ownership. Enough with hoarding the prospects. I’ve had it, you’ve had it, WE’VE ALL HAD IT. Improve the MLB roster Mr. Alderson.
