Mets Want Wolf, Yanks in on Lackey… DUCK!
Posted by trs86 on 8:20am, Friday November 6th 2009
I almost hate to post this story because I know where it will lead BUT it is Mets related news and I am obligated to let you know what the rumors are.
According to Metsblog, Jon Heyman yesterday informed the viewers on the MLB Network that the Mets would love a do over on Randy Wolf. Wolf had his best year since 2002 and logged 214 innings of 3.23 ERA ball with a superb 1.101 WHIP. Certainly #2 level stuff last year. Who knows if he can retain that? Based on career stats he is at worst a #4/5 and at best a #2. I think the Mets should be very interested in him because at the rumored 2/16ish it would take to sign him it does not keep them from pursuing Holliday or Lackey.
Speaking of Lackey
According to Matt Cerrone of Metsblog: Heyman believes free-agent RHP John Lackey could get close to $100 million, “and the Yankees are definitely looking at him.”
So I already know where this will go with some of our readers and in Mets nation. Mets look for average to save money and Yanks look for the best. At this point we do not know that is the case. Feel free to speculate but at this point I am willing to bet that either Holliday, Lackey or Bay are in a Mets uniform for 2010.
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Curse you Yankeeees!!!!!!!!
With a rotation of CC/Lackey/Burnett/Pettitte the Yankees could throw a donkey out there every fifth day and still win 100 games.
I won’t really be surprise if we end up with Wolf and someone like Pat Burrel or a player like him right now I still can’t trust this team to get the right parts they need
I still think Wolf would be a good pickup as a ROLE player. It can work as long as we are getting Lackey or Holliday.
What do you mean by role player? He’s not Alex Cora; he’s a bonafide starting pitcher who had a very good year last season, and his salary will reflect that. If the Mets sign him, he’s a lock for the starting rotation. And then they couldn’t really get Lackey, because the rotation would be saturated…unless you’re planning on trading Pelfrey.
How would the rotation be saturated?
Santana, Pelfrey, Wolf (just to balace LH), Maine?, Perez?
Perez is most likely a lock. Maine is not. Slide him into the pen and then if Perez falls apart he can take his place.
Role player does not mean scrub. Frenchy is a role player, Murphy is a role player, Vicki and Werth are very good role players.
You know what, you’re right. For some reason I was adding an extra starter to my count!
A year too late,as always.And instead
of getting on aone yr
deal we’ll sign him for 2 or 3,now that hes a yr older,and ofcourse now that hes been paid will revert back to his inconsistant,injured
ways of old.
Plus,at his best,is this guy a #1 or 2
because THATs what we need.
At his best he is a #2, His stats were for sure #2.
Please……
Did you bother looking at his stats for last year? I am guessing that was his best and they for sure WERE #2 like stats.
214 innings, 1.101 WHIP, 3.23 ERA. Yes that is NL but how do those compare with other #2 pitchers? How about Hamels? Lackey? Again, do I expect him to be a #2 next year? Nope. But as you said AT HIS BEST he is a #2.
Figures.
I knew you would love it Fongy. But again the article never says the Mets are not interested in Lackey or Halladay as well. They were very upset with the rotation after Santana and I would not be surprised to see 2 pitchers.
1)Santana
2)
3)Pelf
4)Ollie(damn contract)
5)Free for all…b/t..
Maine,Niese,Nieve,Your
name here,(please,no more Tim Reddings)
Whats missing?
This ain’t complicated
Omar!
Oh,yeah…We know you
read this blog!
Again, what information do we have that he will NOT get another pitcher besides Wolf?
every other site/source that the mets are on a budjet. They already said that a hitter is higher in their priority list than a pitcher. What makes you think the mets will get holiday AND lackey AND wolf. To me(if this is true), they will settle on wolf as their #2 and sign holiday..
I don’t. I trust that we will get 1 of the big 3 names in Lackey, Holliday or Bay. Omar is very good at getting at least one big name. What we will find out this year is if he can also get the role players to go with the big name. Wolf would be a great pickup to go with one of those big names.
And yes the Mets are on a budget but based on what we know not a tight one. Based on every comment from a Mets guy we will spend about what we did last year which gives us 28-32 million to spend. Holliday and Wolf would only take up about 26 according to rumors that may or may not be true.
Gotta love Omar, …Aim Low!
That way we’re not disappointed.
Fongy why do you jump to conclusions? How do we know he does not plan on getting Wolf AND Lackey or Halladay?
’cause jumpin’…like..
..skippin’….is fun.
And constantly being negative and jumping to conclusions instead of reading the facts is much more fun as well. Maybe I should try it as a koolaid drinker.
Mets will be the best team in baseball next year and sign Lackey, Holliday, Halladay, and Wolf because they are rumored in each one and Omar always signs the big names.
Nope I got no fun out of it.
I hope they dont consider wolf a #2. Sigh, this may be hotstove rumors so i wont put too much weight on it but WE NEED A #2 PITCHER…and pelf is NOT it, im sorry.
I agree. Now if for some reason Lackey prices himself out and we are forced to trade for Halladay and we still don’t get him then Wolf and uh.. someone combined with Holliday is at least an attempt to get better.
I can’t sit here like some and say we are doomed if we don’t pay Lackey 100 million or trade our top 4 prospects for Halladay. There are other ways to make us competitive. Perhaps Wolf, other midrotation guy, Holliday and Gonzalez is enough.
You are right though that Wolf can’t be our ONLY pitcher pickup.
I got to agree. I dont want Omar to do any “desprite” moves(i.e. castillo, perez). Fact is we need a #2 pitcher and the “easy” way out of it is lacky and halladay but if those pose to be too expensive in prospects or $$, I want him to get creative. I know you guys hashed alot of things out regarding pinero but soemone who has a high groundball ratio must be a target for us…hell even a decent flyball pitcher should be on the radar. Gotta work to our advantage here and play to our park. No question we need holliday or bay. Gonzalez would be a win/win for us though, at least pedro would appreciate it lol
Yeah, ground ball pitcher is not that high on the list in Citi for sure. Especially with Castillo and who knows how Reyes and Murphy will do next year?
A think there was an article a few weeks ago on some fly ball pitchers that could rebound in Citi. Problem is those fly ball pitchers also have to pitch in the little league Philly park as well.
I really wouldn’t read too much into the Yankees interest in Lackey, Holliday, or anyone else at this point as it’s just way to early to speculate. Any agent worth his salt is going to float the rumor that the Yankees are interested, especially if the mets appear to be the better fit, in order to drive up the price. It’s just too early.
What’s funny is that Wolf’s career ERA is only .32 higher than Lackey’s, yet Lackey’s an ace deserving of a $100 mil contract and Wolf might get a 2 year deal for less than $20 mil.
Obviously Lackey’s younger and he has that to his advantage, but he’s definitely overrated, and Wolf may be underrated.
Wolf is underrated but is older and has more of an injury history and has pitched in less big games. Lackey for sure is worth twice as much total. Picking up both would be a dream.
Except for the minor facts that Lackeys(almost)always healthy,has pitched in big games and been the ace of a team which wins its division
every year and makes a world series run.Oh, and you forgot the fact that Lackey pitches in the AL not the NL.
But except for all that they’re real close.
UH almost always healthy? He’s missed a lot of games the last 2 years. He has finshed very strong but injury is still a concern. Wolf has missed a LOT of time but has been healthy for 2 years, injury is still a major concern.
Lackey also pitches in the AL West which has not had a great conversion rate from there to the NL. I am not sure pitching in the AL West is much different than in the NL East.
Well, the Angels signed Abreu, and we got a new third base coach!
Does Omar know the postseason has begun?
Let’s Go Mets!
Randy Wolf can go into the HOF in a Met uni!!!
Kingman, slow down. What did you want Omar to do so far?
He can’t sign any FA but our own and who do you want him to re-sign?
Eh, I know you are right, but after watching the other teams in the postseason closely, the idea of Wolf as number two next year is really quite nauseating.
Again, we have no idea if that is the plan or not. The Phillies did quite well with Hamels 4.00+ ERA as their #2 but their offense is incredible. If we get stuck with guys like Wolf and Marquis in the rotation then we have to upgrade our offense a LOT. But who says that is not the plan? I have no idea and think either plan could work.
Speaking of stats,didn’t you notice
Marquis’
2nd half?
Its called
Returning to form.
A #5 innings eater.
Yeah I saw those stats. Of course Marquis is back of the rotation. But my point is if you don’t get Lackey or Halladay then you need to both upgrade over the guys you have even if it’s only marginal and then really upgrade the offense. Unless you think if we don’t get Lackey or Halladay then we are doomed. If so then we might as well shut down the site if that happens.
New cream colored,Padre like
uni that is.
And TRS, I know his stats,not
just from last yr BUT his
careers.To call this guy
a #2 is a stretch.
Best case, you wanna match up
Johan and Wolf with Lee and
Hamels??..So forget Wolfs lost
seasons,2004,2005,2006&2007.
Forget his 7 visits to the DL,
forget the fact that he’ll be 34 during the season or that
his last three contracts have been one yr deals because of
concerns about his health.
Suddenly we’ll sign him and
he’ll be a legit #2 on a team
which hopes to win a championship. Plus, at THIS
point,we’re to trust Omar not
to just sign him and someone
like Marlon Byrd and maybe Molina then tell the fans hes retooled and reloaded,and provided everyones health
we’re a contender?
Trust Omar? Six years in and
for the last couple we’re heading in the wrong direction AND fast BUT trust Omar?
Okay.
When was the last year that Omar did not get at least one big name in the offseason Fongy?
And when did I ever say I EXPECTED him to be a #2. Your comment was that at BEST he was not a #2. I say that last year WAS his best and he WAS a #2. How can you deny that?
He was LAs #2
by happenstance
last yr not by design.
If Omar wants to sign Wolf as
insurance for
Ollie/Maine in the 4/5 spots
fine,and what does that say
about is judgement(again)
on Ollie.
However, he must have a plan
on another top pitcher should
Lackey indeed get blown away by the Yankees
and 100mil.
Plus, if that happens we can say good bye
to Doc Hallady because the RedSox will get him
to counter the Yankees move.
Amd guys,forget
Matt Hollidy,he
ain’t coming here.
Maybe, I think if the Redsox trade for a pitcher then it’s a guy like Felix. But back to your point on needing another pitcher to go with him. Yes for sure. You are still missing the point. At his best he pitched like a #2 last year. Can you really debate the point that last year he pitched like a #2? Obviously we can debate if he will again and we can not debate that he should be expected to pitch like a #2 because no one would think that.
As for Holliday, as I said below, Omar does a good job of getting the top guy so I see no reason that he won’t overpay and bring him in.
Well hes gonna have to overpay to get him . Especially once Bay signs quickly with either Seattle or the Giants,which he will.
Not to mention the Scott Boras factor AND the Cardinals already making him an offer.
Agreed, but as we know if that is who Omar and the Wilpons have identified as their guy they don’t mind overpaying to get him.
Bay I would not be so sure he signs quickly. If I were him I would wait on Holliday.
regardless of what else the MEts hope or plan or end up doing, if they have a chance to get a good player that improves the team, for a good price and contract terms, they shold do it.
If Wolf shows up and offers to sign a 2/16 deal, then jump on it.
Even if your plan is to sign lackey, that is a reasonable deal, and makes the team better, without eliminating the chance to add lackey, holliday, bay, or any other FA.
If the big FA sweep is Wolf and Holliday and Barajas? Yeah, that makes the team better. So does Wolf, Lackey and Barajas. Tweak the bench and maybe the pen, and good to go.
wolf in the rotation, and Maine to the pen? could work great. And who knows, maybe some fool will take Ollie
COMPLETELY agree. We are not going to get Lackey AND Holliday no matter what. Signing a guy like Wolf as a role player or a guy like Nady does not mean that we can’t get a top name.
Well if wolf would take that deal, omar would be an idiot to not accept it. I doubt he will take that deal tho. We need offense…period. Im okay with Holiday being our big signing. Pitching can come in alot of forms and who knows, he can tap into the trade market and bring in some good talent.
I still think either way can work. If we get say Halladay we can survive with a lesser guy in LF (meaning solid LF but not great) like Ibanez to the Phillies. There are a lot of options in my opinion for how we can make the Mets competitive and to me there is not one MUST have guy. Take what the market allows and get as much of it as you can.
EVERYONE LOVES A PARADE!!!
2009
Krod and Putz
2008 Santana
2007 No one? Can’t think of anything
2006 Delgado, Wagner, Loduca
2005 Beltran, Pedro
So where is this idea that Omar will just get an average player and say he we did what we could? Looks like more times than not he goes out and gets 1-2 top guys for their position. What he has not done is get guys like Wolf to go along with those top guys.
aw cmon..arent you forgeting perez for 09 ;p
LOL, I guess I should put him up there but I did not put re-signing our guys up there.
2007 Castillo
hahaha
Yeah as I said before I did not count re-signing our own guy or mid-season aquistions either.
Okay then..
Marlon Anderson
Tony Armas
Ben Johnson
Juan Padilla
Matt Wise
Are those not the big FA names you’re looking for?
So again 2007 we got no one. But as a whole Omar gets the big name.
Technically Alou was our big name for 2007 but of course that is the one example of NOT getting the big name.
I know, I was just kidding.
Yeah I know. 2007 is the year we really should be holding Omar accountable for. He tried to protect the future and go for it all at the same time and ended up in the middle. We should have forgot that guys like Millege and Fmart even existed and went out and got a guy like Lee for LF.
Yep, instead he (and the Wilpons, have to blame them too) was complacent, assuming the team would be at the same level in 2008 and could bank on the youngin’ in the years to follow.
When I say 2007 I mean the offseason of 2006. I think you know that already. So we had just been very close to going to the WS but instead of doing what the Phillies did in picking up Ibanez we got Alou. That being said there were some similarities to Ibanez and Alou. Both old and very good hitters, Ibanez much healthier and it worked.
And lets stop the drum-beat for Mike Gonzalez,isn’t he a type”A” FA?
Uh even if he is he would be worth what would most likely be a 3rd round pick. That’s assuming the Mets ONLY sign one other type A FA.
He ain’t that good and with relievers its all a crap shoot.
I’d rather they saved the money and pick.
We desperately need a setup man and good setup men cost money. Yes relievers are a crapshoot sometimes but assuming he cost 5 million or less and 2 years or less I am interested. The guy when healthy has been near dominant. I could go for a guy like Lyon too but I would rather have a lefty.
I think I’d look into Parnell,Nieve&Maine as
possible set-up men.
I don’t dislike Gonzalez or Lyon,just not sure they’re
all that
good to spending
millions on.
I think depending on any of those guys to be a setup man is VERY risky. Parnell has not shown the ability to be a good 8th inning guy, Nieve has not put together even 2 months of quality work and Maine may be in the rotation, may try relieving or may have his shoulder fall off.
Sometimes relieving has the opposite effect.
I used to think the same thing and thought both the A’s were crazy converting Izzy and the Braves likewise with Smoltz.Didn’t turn out too bad in those cases.
Sure, but can we depend on it? Especially with Krod’s struggles last year? To me getting a very good setup man is also a key to the season. Maybe you could get a guy like Downs as a salary dump but we need one in my opinion.
I don’t think we can depend on Gonzalez not being hurt or Lyon not being ordinary either.
Atleast my plan doesn’t tie-up millions and give up draft picks.
Yes he is a type A.
Ya know,you’re right TRS.
I’ve changed my mind on this.
Please let Omar come out of this off season with Wolf,Gonzalez&Byrd.
That would likely be the quickest
way to finally land him on the unemployment line.
Right Fongy that is what I said. I said the Mets should ONLY get Wolf Gonzalez and Byrd. Yup. You don’t read Fongy either that or you are being an agitator and I know you would never do that.
I believe that I have said those guys would be good role players to add to either Lackey, Halladay, Holliday but yeah lets leave those guys names off because it helps your point.
Actually,I’m a pretty serious reader,non-fiction only.
Just being an agitator
because Omar gives me
agita
Was once a fan, but he
had me turn against him
and now theres no going
back.
I can understand your distain for him. But again, facts are facts. Each year besides 2007 he has gotten at least 1 big name. I see no reason why he won’t this year as well.
But that’s besides the point you saying that my plan is for them only to bring in role players is just plain false.
I wasn’t being critical of your plan.Heck,I’d rather have you making
the calls over Omar.
LOL, I know but this is a couple of times you have immplied that I want him to just go after average. If I thought the Mets would go out and spend then I would say I want Halladay, Lackey and Holliday.
Can we trade for AGonz too!? And sign Hudson, dropping Castillo. Heck, let’s get Wolf too!
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Gonzalez
Holliday
Hudson
Frenchy
Thole/Santos
Santana
Halladay
Lackey
Wolf
Pelfrey
“I would say I want Halladay, Lackey and Holliday”…
Halladay and Lackey are the least the team needs for 2010. One good pitcher is not enough. As Fongy listed above:
1)Santana
2)??? (teen-wolf??) please!
3)Pelfrey Mr. “”idunno, I kept pitching ground balls but they kept finding their way into the holes”
4)Perez (plop!)
5)One THOUSAND AA pitchers….
I think I have tried to post this 100 times but it’s not going through.
Would
Johan
Lackey
Wolf
Pelfrey
Maine/Perez
Not be a good rotation?
I think the writing was on the wall re: Lackey and the Yanks once the Yankees made it abundantly obvious that they had no confidence in Joba, Gaudin or anyone else to slot into the 4th slot in their postseason rotation. And I’m sure they’re not counting on Wang being the guy to do it next year.
I’m not sure if that’s true. I agree with you that the Yanks don’t have confidence on Gaudin, but I think they willing to go with Joba and Hughes as their #4 and 5. The only scenario that I see in signing Lackey is if the Yanks don’t want to re-sign Pettite. Clear possibility, but I really don’t think Yanks are going to be in this race for Lackey.
My last words on all this(until later)
’cause I gotta boogie is…….
Look at the Phils last yr..It wasn’t just that Lidge was perfect all season
BUT THAT after Tom Gordon became a
total bust for them they were able
to get Madson healthy and situated
in the BullPen,little by little,long relief,7th inning and finally 8th inning set-up for Lidge.
They also pick-up JC Romero,Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey for nothing
and all,playing for their MLB lives
had great seasons,working cheaply.
Again, I say we look into Parnell,who I have loved since seeing him a few times in ‘07@AA, Maine who we know is
at his best just throwing fastballs,
and Nieve,all cheap and still young
for the Pen. Con’t to look around
for guys like Brad Thompson who have
been given up on by someone else,like a Condrey,Durbin&Romero AND add that
to KRod and Feliciano, keeping millions available for the most
important needs which we HAVE to fill,LF and #1A/2SP. If not thru Free agency then by trade.
If we get into Feb.and someone like
Lyon still doesn’t have a contract
and we can get him below market,fine.
Later fellas,have a good,fun and safe Friday AND…Let’s Go Mets!
How about a guy like X Nady? I know that the Mets are hesitant (or they should be) on guys with injury history, but for an incentive contract, he’s worth a try. He may not be Holliday or Bay, but if healthy, Nady can give you solid numbers and can come cheap. But I think he should be looked at ONLY if we get a power bat.
I like nady but not as the answer to LF. For the bench, hell yes
Again it just depends on which big guy the go after. If they get Halladay or Lackey then I think a platoon of Nady and Ankiel would be a cheap way to go in LF. I just think we are not going to get permenant answers at all of our holes this offseason.
Nady may also have some value as a RH option at 1B.
Incredible value there Wanny. His ability to play 1B, LF and RF would be a huge plus.
Yes. And to play them all adequately while hitting with pop makes him an infinitely better option for the bench/rotation than Jeremy Reed, Nick Evans or Cory Sullivan (assuming Pagan or someone else is around to play late inning defense or CF occasionally).
Agreed, as much as I hate platoons you could do worse than Murphy Nady and then Pagan Nady IF you invested a lot of money in pitching.
Oh I think signing guys like Wolf and Nady early is a good move. Then you can concentrate on the big names that take forever to sign.
that’s an interesting point, but would Omar be as hard pressed to go after the big names if he already has guys like Wolf and Nady?
I think that could be a good move. With Nady, it might be easy to sign him early given his injury history. But Wolf might be different. He’s had the best season in recent years and might want to drag his FA thing out to get the max value.
Maybe? Again I think it has been identified that is our problem. We get the big guy but never the role players to finish out the team. Last year it was LF and another starter. This year again it’s the same holes that have to be filled. Instead of signing just Lackey we need to have a solid player in LF and a guy to go with Murphy at 1B.
whoops, that was supposed to go on Case’s comment.
As for yours Wolf may decide that if he waits until Lackey and Harden are signed then there may not be much competition for his services?
I agree with you on getting role players. But in Wolf’s case, he would be seeking more than just a role player type money. Given that he’s had 2 full healthy seasons with great numbers last year, I think he maybe looking for more than what the Mets are willing to pay (given that the Mets are going after a big time FA).
Based on RUMORS he is looking for 2/16-18 which in my book counts as a role player.
Yeah, I saw this yesterday. I wonder if anyone’s gone back and looked at these so called “predictions” or rumors or whatever you want to call what Heyman does, and see how many times he was right.
My prediction, Yanks keep Damon and Matsui.
Re: Wolf, why would we pay a guy who is at worse a #5 and best a #2 something close to $8M?
Don’t we already have three guys that fit that description in Ollie, Maine and Pelf? Maine was supposed to be that guy last year, and Pelf this year. I guess that only leaves Ollie.
I hate to be a broken record but we really need a #2. So let’s hope the cards are in our favor.
On the topic of your first paragraph, I am not aware of anyone who keeps track of “sportswriter rumors” and how they do or don’t pan out. Perhaps that’s a niche for TRDMB to look into, if no one else is doing it that could really put us on the map.
This is not Heyman related, but I do know that on 10/14 Ken Rosenthal said that Tim Hudson was going to leave the Braves via free agency “barring a last minute knock out offer” and that on 10/28 Hudson signed a 3 year extension with Atlanta at a pay cut.
I got your back. I have Heyman’s predictions from last year. Hold on a few minutes.
Ooh. Apparently we’re already doing it. Yummy.
See I disagree. That type of pitcher with the results he had last year can’t be found easily for that money. Who would you trust to put up #3/4 numbers with 200 or more innings? Perez, Maine or Wolf. My money is on Wolf.
That being said it’s not keeping us from getting the #2 anyway. 8 million would not tie our hands to spend 16 million on Halladay or Lackey but it does give us a little protection incase we can’t get either one.
I think there is a HUGE difference in predictions and rumors. Predictions is like me saying I think the Mets will sign either Lackey, Holliday or Bay because they have always went after a big name. A rumor is that based on sources Lackey wants 5/90. To me those are a big difference. I expect them to have sources for rumors and don’t care if they do for predictions.
Yeah, I’m not concerned with what a bunch of reporters say if they sit on a panel at the beginning of the off season and are asked “what do you think will happen?”
But I am concerned when a reporter says his sources tell him blah blah blah and then shortly thereafter something almost completely different actually happens.
True, but thing is I think teams play the media and the media is glad to have it.
And somewhere in that circle of life is TRDMB.
Fellas, have you seen this?
http://www.faniq.com/blog/BYU-vs-New-Mexico-Womens-Mountain-West-Conference-Soccer-Tournament-Semifinals-Catfight-Blog-31934
That’s crazy… #15 needs some serious anger issue.
has* some serious anger issue