Mets looking for centerfielder

[Hugh2]

Betts for Syndergaard seems fair enough. Although at this point I like the balance of the rotation and wouldn't want to hurt the offense anymore after losing Ortiz bat.

 

If we had NOT traded for Sale this year I'd be ok with a Betts/Pom trade for Noah Syndergaard and possibly going out and signing EE to play 1b/DH.

 

This is all under the assumption that Swihart is a decent left fielder and I'm the G.M. and it's two months ago.

[Emp9]

Betts for Syndergaard seems fair enough. Although at this point I like the balance of the rotation and wouldn't want to hurt the offense anymore after losing Ortiz bat.

 

If we had NOT traded for Sale this year I'd be ok with a Betts/Pom trade for Noah Syndergaard and possibly going out and signing EE to play 1b/DH.

 

This is all under the assumption that Swihart is a decent left fielder and I'm the G.M. and it's two months ago.

 

At the moment, yes Betts for Syndergaard would be a fair trade straight up. But I couldn't pull the trigger on that even if the Sale trade didn't happen.

[Hugh2]

At the moment, yes Betts for Syndergaard would be a fair trade straight up. But I couldn't pull the trigger on that even if the Sale trade didn't happen.

 

Yeah it seems unreasonable now. While the offense took a step back I still think it's going to be above average and with how much better our pitching will be this team is primed to be well balanced and dangerous. Subtracting Betts from the equation changes that dynamic, but without Sale I would explore that type of trade.

 

The team obviously still sees Swihart as having a potential place on this team and I think they really like him. He was a top 20 prospect just a year ago and he had a funny season in 2016. He was jerked around a bit, moved into new positions and then got hurt. It's real easy to look at the slash line, see how the outfield has solidified itself and forget about him but he could really end up being a big part of this teams future.

 

And.....his name starts with B.

[Bellhorn04]

Cut it out with the Betts trade talk...yeesh. Guy almost won the MVP. He's the Franchise with Papi gone.

[mvp 78]

I'd ask for Conforto and a minor leaguer at minimum. Whether you think 2016 is a fluke (I do - a little), a controllable quality CF is valuable, especially to the Mets who have to use Cespedes to fake it there.

 

Yuck. Hard pass.

[Kimmi]

Cut it out with the Betts trade talk...yeesh. Guy almost won the MVP. He's the Franchise with Papi gone.

 

And Shaw stated that he was the clubhouse leader last season, even while Papi was still with the team.

[mvp 78]

if swihart is still considered a prospect i fully expect DD to trade him.

 

DD said he's almost untouchable.

[bosoxmal]

QUOTE=Wade Boggs;1043415]He got injured and was lost for the season playing LF. A gut feeling he belongs behind the plate.Swihart poved proved last year, beyond any doubt[. that he is a lousy catcher, and a good left fielder.

[bosoxmal]

Betts for Syndergaard seems fair enough. Although at this point I like the balance of the rotation and wouldn't want to hurt the offense anymore after losing Ortiz bat.

 

If we had NOT traded for Sale this year I'd be ok with a Betts/Pom trade for Noah Syndergaard and possibly going out and signing EE to play 1b/DH.

 

This is all under the assumption that Swihart is a decent left fielder and I'm the G.M. and it's two months ago.

My Mom would have said, "anybody who talks about trading Mookie Betts should have he is washed out."

[bosoxmal]

DD said he's almost untouchable.

And I agree.

[a700hitter]

Cut it out with the Betts trade talk...yeesh. Guy almost won the MVP. He's the Franchise with Papi gone.

I would never trade an every day superstar in his prime for a pitcher, but that is just me.

[Nick]

It's not like Swi was a clumsy f*** in left field. He was injured trying to make a great play.

 

s*** happens.

 

Yeah, not like a knuckleballer trying to tackle second base bag........

Edited December 21, 2016 by Nick

[a700hitter]

Yeah, not like a knuckleballer trying to tackle a second base bag........

Farrell would have done better picking a fan from the stands to run the bases that night. Wright looked like he had never run the bases in his life. Oh, wait.... he hadn't run the bases since high school.

[Emp9]

Yeah it seems unreasonable now. While the offense took a step back I still think it's going to be above average and with how much better our pitching will be this team is primed to be well balanced and dangerous. Subtracting Betts from the equation changes that dynamic, but without Sale I would explore that type of trade.

 

The team obviously still sees Swihart as having a potential place on this team and I think they really like him. He was a top 20 prospect just a year ago and he had a funny season in 2016. He was jerked around a bit, moved into new positions and then got hurt. It's real easy to look at the slash line, see how the outfield has solidified itself and forget about him but he could really end up being a big part of this teams future.

 

And.....his name starts with B.

 

I still consider Swihart a prospect, a good one, one that got rushed and was versatile enough as an athlete to fill in LF when we needed him to. Just saying, Price could always opt out for 2019 and Pom's a FA in '19 as well. My post was in jest but crazy things could happen.

[Hugh2]

I wouldn't trade Betts for anyone right now. We matched up well with the Mets 1-2 years ago but this team is set for the next 5(ish) years and Betts is at the center of it.

[moonslav59]

I agree - but I think there was some politics involved there. And the team is not exactly starving there. If there was a quality corner or someone - moving Bradley would make sense. You could end up with a better outfield in the right trade. But that trade is very unlikely - so that is fine. This is a good group.

 

I meant swap JBJ and Betts from CF & RF, assuming Betts could become a better CF'er in little time, something I don't necessarily disagree with.

[Nick]

I wouldn't trade Betts for anyone right now. We matched up well with the Mets 1-2 years ago but this team is set for the next 5(ish) years and Betts is at the center of it.

 

Our OF will be intact for 4 years along with Pedey, Swihart, Sandy. Xander, Pablo and Hanley for 3 years. We're good to go.

[moonslav59]

Our OF will be intact for 4 years along with Pedey, Swihart, Sandy. Xander, Pablo and Hanley for 3 years. We're good to go.

 

I've never seen a modern Sox team so locked up for so long with basically no positions up for grabs except the 7th RP'er/25th roster spot.

 

Years of control

C

4- Leon & Vaz

5- Swihart

(Romanski)

1B

1- Moreland

1 Craig (not on 40 man)

3- HanRam

(Travis, Ockimey, Longhi)

2B

3- Holt

5- Pedey

3B

3-4 Pablo

3 Rutledge

(Devers, Dalbec, Chavis)

SS

3- Bogey

(Hernandez, Marrero, Chatham )

LF

1- Young

4+ Beni

(Brentz)

CF

4- Bradley

4- Castillo (not on 40 man roster)

RF

4- Betts

 

SP

2 Pomeranz

2 or 6 Price

3- Porcello

3- Sale

4- Wright

5- ERod

(Johnson, Owens, Groome, Raudes)

 

RP

1- Abad (out of options)

2- Kimbrel

2- Kelly

2- Ross

3- Thornburg

3- Workman

4- C Smith

4- Barnes

4- Hembree (out of options)

4- Elias (out of options)

(R Scott, N Ramirez, Martin)

[a700hitter]

I've never seen a modern Sox team so locked up for so long with basically no positions up for grabs except the 7th RP'er/25th roster spot.

 

You almost sound disappointed. Don't worry. I have it on good authority that it will be a real s*** show in 2021.

[moonslav59]

You almost sound disappointed. Don't worry. I have it on good authority that it will be a real s*** show in 2021.

 

Well, sometimes it can be a curse, but in our case, only the Pablo deal looks awful, and even that signing is showing a glimmer of hope.

 

I see it as a blessing for now, but having so many key players coming off the books in a 2 to 3 year window (2019-2021) could make decisions more complicated and difficult.

 

A lot can and will happen before 2021, and winning a ring or two before then will make any possible decline a lot more easier to handle.

 

[southpaw777]

Swihart needs to stay behind the plate for now.

[mvp 78]

You almost sound disappointed. Don't worry. I have it on good authority that it will be a real s*** show in 2021.

 

But shouldn't we be clutching our pearls because of all the missing prospects?

[mvp 78]

Swihart needs to stay behind the plate for now.

 

Yeah, I only want him back in LF if he never improves behind the plate.

[dustcover]

It's just a gut feeling on my part, but I think Swihart's future lies in LF. He still has a long ways to go before becoming a top notch defensive catcher. Not so much as an outfielder, and his bat is too valuable to keep out of an everyday role. Perhaps in Spring training he will prove my point by making his bat indispensable.

[moonslav59]

It's just a gut feeling on my part, but I think Swihart's future lies in LF. He still has a long ways to go before becoming a top notch defensive catcher. Not so much as an outfielder, and his bat is too valuable to keep out of an everyday role. Perhaps in Spring training he will prove my point by making his bat indispensable.

 

That is the scenario that would open up a can of worms. If Swihart is tearing up ST'ing and/or AAA, but has shown little progress on defense, how do we justify keeping him at catcher in AAA for too much longer?

 

There's LF vs LHPs (assuming we might think of platooning Beni/JBJ).

 

There's 1B, if they want to teach him yet another position before exhausting the catcher chance.

 

There's DH, which is not ideal for an athlete like Swihart, but for one season or part of a season, sometime you have to do what is best for the line-up, and to hell with the growth model set up for Swi to become a capable catcher.

 

If Leon or Vaz are struggling, calling him up would be easier, but both Vaz and Leon are out of options. We'd have to be pretty sure Swi "is the man" to trade away Leon or Vaz. I guess we could invent a DL excuse, but how long can that last?

 

I know Sox management is committed to giving him every chance at catcher, but thinks happen that change plans.

 

[mvp 78]

It's just a gut feeling on my part, but I think Swihart's future lies in LF. He still has a long ways to go before becoming a top notch defensive catcher. Not so much as an outfielder, and his bat is too valuable to keep out of an everyday role. Perhaps in Spring training he will prove my point by making his bat indispensable.

 

But his bat isn't THAT good. He's a contact hitter with little pop that strikes out about 25% of the time. You'll take what he can give you as a C, but as a LF he'd need to really improve.

[Emp9]

I tend to thnk Swihart's woes at catcher are overblown. I do hope we leave him at the Catcher position, but still.. if you're looking for elite defense at catcher, with the key word being 'Elite' we may be waiting a long time and that's nothing against him per se.

 

I like all 3 of our catchers and hope they all prove themselves worthy. I'd keep two out of the three and trade one for a need or future need, then have the other two split time. I know, fat chance all three do well. But if Swihart is tearing it up in AAA w/ average to good defense, Vazquez is holding his own at the plate on the major league club, and Leon has another prolonged outburst of offense, I could see us trading Leon while his value is sky high. At least that's what I hope happens.

[Emp9]

But his bat isn't THAT good. He's a contact hitter with little pop that strikes out about 25% of the time. You'll take what he can give you as a C, but as a LF he'd need to really improve.

 

I agree that as catcher you take what you get. I like how his bat is developing though. For now we're stuck with sss from a player that by all rights was rushed, twice. Him being a good contact hitter is a good start in my book.

[moonslav59]

I agree that as catcher you take what you get. I like how his bat is developing though. For now we're stuck with sss from a player that by all rights was rushed, twice. Him being a good contact hitter is a good start in my book.

 

Swihart doing well at the plate in the context of being "rushed twice" is what has gotten us all believing his bat is not the issue.

 

He looks great at the plate- nice swing.

 

Good contact hitter for a catcher is a very good start; you are right.

 

I'm not trying to rain on Swi's parade, but the small sample sizes make me still open to the chance that his offensive projection could be over-rated.

 

Certainly, I see his chances at plus offense as greater than Vaz/Leon, but there's still a lot of questions on all three of these guys- offensively and defensively.

[bosoxmal]

Do the Mets have anything that could help the Sox? Because I could see a Sox lineup with Swihart in LF, Benintendi in CF, and Betts in RF. And JBJ would certainly be a nice fit for the Mets in CF. And I believe JBJ would blossom into a true All-Star in the National League.

 

Now the question is, what do the Mets have to offer that would get DD's attention?

 

That's the only lineup that makes sense. I'd take a young starter for JBJ. Somebody similar in experince, age, etc. to ERod. JBJ seems to be a great guy and great teammate, but------!