Report: Mets Won’t Sign Phil Hughes
A report says the Mets no longer consider Phil Hughes as a possible free agent signing because they refuse to go more than one season for him.
The story in the New York Post says Hughes wants a two-year deal and is likely to get it from someone. It was believed that he would only seek a one-year contract in order to rebuild his free agent stock after a miserable 4-14, 5.19 ERA 2013 season. But apparently Hughes does not want to go through another walk year.
On one hand, this makes sense for the Mets. In 2015 they will (hopefully) have Matt Harvey back, to go along with Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero. That’s already too many starters; they certainly won’t need Phil Hughes.
But since the Mets insist that Syndergaard and Montero start 2014 in the minors, they currently only have three starters in place for next season. Phil Hughes would have fit in nicely.
And besides, if Hughes had a good season, he could easily be traded in the second year of his deal. Or Niese or Gee could be dealt for the bat the Mets will surely still need a year from now.
It is just another example of short-sighted, non-creative thinking by Sandy Alderson.
Not short-sighted at all. The plan is NOT TO SIGN ANYONE. By saying, “Oh, no, he wanted TWO YEARS!” they can effectively eliminate any significant free agent from the running and only sign washouts and has-beens, people hoping for one more year of baseball before hanging it up. I think Stand Pat Sandy is thinking that by doing so and saving the Coupons from having to pay that he will get his extension, giving us yet one more year of chronic losing.
It is very convenient to say, “What’s the use? Harvey is out, so we don’t stand a chance” but how did an entire team get hinged on ONE guy who plays every FIVE days? A general manager is supposed to put together a roster of 25 guys determined to win, yet it seems that management has already thrown in the towel.
It seems that to be a Met fan these days is to have to accept failure as a way of life.
I agree — it is ludicrous to blame losing Harvey for not trying to field a competitive team in 2014. Yes, not having Harvey will hurt, but it should not ruin the season. Perhaps Alderson had a plan to trade one of his starters for a bat, and he cannot do that now because Harvey won’t be there. That is understandable. So he should change his plan, but I don’t think Alderson is very good at shifting gears and coming up with a new plan.