Jayson Stark on the Mets future

[Kingdom]

It's one of those hodge-podge articles but about half is concerning the mets. Clearly not something LJ wants to read but,

New York Mets' future looks downright gloomy - ESPN

Fixing the Holes

Before we get into which player(s) this team might need to subtract, we first need to assess all the players it needs to add. It's not a short list.


"What are they going to do for a rotation behind Johan [Santana]?" asked one scout. "Oliver Perez has turned into their Adam Eaton. [John] Maine has reverted back to a Triple-A pitcher. [Jonathon] Niese is a rookie. Bobby Parnell is Aaron Heilman all over again. [Mike] Pelfrey is just a [No.] 4 or 5 [starter]. So they have to go out and get at least two, and probably three, starters.
"Now let's go around the field. They've got to get a catcher, a first baseman, a left fielder and maybe a right fielder, depending on what you think about [Jeff] Francoeur. They also need a left-handed reliever to go with [Pedro] Feliciano. So needless to say, they've got lots of needs."


Now let's remind you again: The Mets also have just about nobody in their system to call up to fill those needs. So even though this is a team with five certifiable superstars (Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran), the talent drop-off to the rest of the Mets' roster is downright precipitous.
And how do they address that drop-off? With dollars alone? Tough to do. Fortunately, they have about $30 million in contracts coming off their books. But do the Wilpons have the financial wherewithal to buy everything this team needs? Pivotal question. And even if they do, they'll be dealing with such a pedestrian free-agent class, there aren't enough upgrades to be bought.


So the obvious answer is: They should just trade to fill those needs. But that leads to the most challenging question of all: Trade whom?

Although not associated with the mets, the little paragraph "Ready to Rumble" was surprising. But I don't know what was more surprising, Franklin being the first FA to be to sign a contract extension or labeling David Eckstein as "prospective" ...o_O

[DavidKelly18]

It pretty much ends saying we will come in 4th no matter what next year and that we can't just sign guys but instead rebuild and trade Jose Reyes.

[Slyder]

Alonso to the Mets for Reyes? PLease .