Could Mets Pull Off Red Sox-Dodgers Type Trade?
The Red Sox have proven that there is no such thing as an untradeable contract — you just have to include a good player (Adrian Gonzalez) in the deal. The Mets have a couple of bad contracts they would love to unload. Can they do the same thing the Red Sox did?
The contracts, of course, belong to Johan Santana and Jason Bay. Santana is owed $25.5 million for 2013 plus a $5.5 million buyout, while Bay is due $18.125 million next year with a $3 million buyout. The Mets situation is not as dire as Boston’s because there is only one year left on those deals, but eliminating them would give the Mets a whole lot of flexibility for next season.
The first thought is that there is no way the Mets can unload these contracts. After all, Johan Santana was shut down because of injury last month and Jason Bay plays like, well, Jason Bay. But what if there was a player whom a team wanted so much that they would absorb one of those contracts?
The only player who fits that bill is R.A. Dickey (because I refuse to entertain the thought of trading David Wright). Let’s say there is a team which thinks it is one pitcher away from the World Series, and it thinks that pitcher is Dickey. Don’t you think it would take on Santana or Bay in order to get Dickey, especially when Dickey is signed for a bargain $5 million for 2013?
The only problem is that the other team might be unwilling to give the Mets a top prospect in addition to taking on one of those unpleasant contracts. Unless the Mets find a desperate team like the Red Sox did with the Dodgers. Most observers were stunned that the Dodgers gave up two top prospects among the five players they sent to Boston in addition to taking on all of those contracts. Perhaps the Mets can do the same.
The odds of this happening are remote. But if the Red Sox could do it, then we can at least dream that the Mets could pull it off.
i do NOT want to see dickey traded, he is a once in a lifetime attraction for the mets, and just watching him on tv is the most awesome thing to look forward to watching baseball this whole year. im not saying they should trade david wright, but absorbing those contracts for another year or just flat out cutting bay and maybe santana (a la castillo/perez) isn’t the worst plan. obviously it’s a bad situation, but the mets planned their player development pretty well around it. that being said, it would have been nice to see some of the younger guys earlier, but especially with the rotation, there was just no room for everyone this year.
Let me get this straight…what you’re saying is that you think it’s possible some team will want at 38 year old, one year wonder, knuckelballer in R.A. Dicky for 1 year at $55 million (Santana, Bay Dickey’s contracts + buyouts).
The Mets can make that trade but RA Dickey wouldn’t be able to play in the post season, so why would anyone make that deal for a player that couldn’t play in the post season?
It is the same story every year with this organization. The can always find pitchers, but they cannot find or trade for impact hitters. The farm system does not produce proficient hitters, but they have always produced pitching. It is time to unload Dickey, Niece, and a few others to bring in one or two potent bats to juice up the offense. When you have a team era of 2.78, since the all-star break, and you do not win more games than you lose, something is wrong with the philosophy of this organization. Alderson, it is time for moneyball, like you did in the nineties with the Oakland A’s.