The News and $
The Mets have traded Billy Wagner to the Boston Red Sox for two players to be named later. David Lennon of Newsday (www.twitter.com/lenno212) has reported, via his twitter feed “Source confirmed the #Red Sox picking up entire $2.5-million tab (plus $1 M buyout).”
4 PM Update: That $3+ million is not an insignificant amount. I mean it’s over 60% of Bobby Abreu’s 2009 salary for example. Or just over 25% of Oliver Perez’s 2010.
Adam Rubin makes this point on his Surfing the Mets blog: “For an organization that is expected to be cash-strapped this winter, saving the money owed to Wagner potentially will free funds to allow for other free-agent spending.”
The Red Sox have the rights to receive draft pick compensation because while they have agreed to decline Wagner’s option, they still have the right to offer him arbitration, which they will presumably do.
The Prospects
Bart Hubbach of the NY Post has reported that “The Mets are getting two AA-level prospects. The Red Sox agreed to decline Wagner’s option but are retaining draft-pick compensation.” Joel Sherman (twitter.com/nyp_joelsherman) disagrees “#Redsox feel they r giving up non-prospects, 1 will probably be D-A and 1 lower than that”
At New York Baseball Digest, Howard Megdal breaks land-speed record in spectulating about the players the Mets could receive back from Boston assuming that the players the Mets will receive are on the Sox 40-man roster. I’m not going to play this guessing game. It’s possible that the PTBNL are PTBNL because they are 40-man guys who wouldn’t clear waivers. Alternatively, the Mets and Sox are still negotiating. For example, the Mets could still be picking from among a list of Sox prospects.
Given that the Sox are picking up all of the remaining money owed Wagner this season, it is very unlikely the Mets will receive a high-impact prospect.
Rubin is more skeptical about the quality of prospects the Mets will receive in the deal, writing, “The Mets will receive a pair of lower-tier minor-leaguers to be named as part of the deal.”
The Roster
Dave Lennon also reports that 1B/LF Nick Evans has joined the Mets in Florida, but the team has not announced a move to fill the roster spot vacated by Wagner. Of course, with the news that Johan Santana will need arthroscopic surgery, the Mets will have a second roster spot to fill. The surgery news on Santana is good, actually, the team says he’ll be ready to go in 2010.
4 PM Update: The Mets have made it official, recalling Evans and LHP Pat Misch from AAA Buffalo to take Wagner and Santana’s roster spots.
Sounding more and more like a salary dump as it unfolds. For 3.4 mil? Are we the Pirates?
There are many reasons they could be PTBNL’s including having not cleared waivers, the teams haven’t decided on who exactly it will be, or they were just drafted and cannot be traded until the winter. Guessing who the players are at this point is kind of silly.
Someone on Metsblog suggested Argenis Diaz and Adam Mills are the kinds of players Omar is likely to ask for. Sadly true…
Having a 3rd catcher with options next year wouldn’t be a bad thing, and someone like Chris Carter could help… but if that the kind of players you get then why even bother. Salary dump.
btw, Felix Doubront is scheduled to be the starting pitcher in Binghamton tonight against the B-Mets. ‘Hey look Mets fans, here’s what you couldn’t get’
I posted this in the Tejada and Thole thread, but i really feel these two are options and would like feedback… Maybe i am overly optomistic but I could see at least one of Luis Exposito and Stephen Fife. Ranked 16th and 17th respectively in the Sox prospects list. Both look like decent big league ballplayers which is a testament to the depth of the Red Sox farm system. Thoughts?
I’ve not heard of either previously… seems like reasonable selections. Both are 22 and 6’3″ so they have that going for them. Not sure what makes them any more likely to be the ones traded though.
Luis Exposito’s stats make him look like a righty version of Thole. He’s been slow and steady in his development and would probably have to be rule 5 protected this winter. Do the Mets really want to carry 4 catchers on the 40 man roster?
Stephen Fife doesn’t walk anyone… this is clearly not a player Omar would want… seriously nice K/BB numbers. His rough start to AA aside he’s probably too highly regarded as a 4th round pick in 2008, it would be early for the Sox to give up on him.
wouldnt we have been better off just offering arbitration and takin the draft picks ….im really starting to hate Omar
Maybe from a talent-only perspective, depending on the prospects the Mets received. BUT, this way they saved $3.5 million too. The Mets certainly aren’t behaving like a team in the biggest market in the country in a new stadium this summer….
there is a lot of risk involved in offering wagner arbitration. or planning on it.
billy wouldn’t accept arbitration but its not a big deal anyway… mets get rid of $3.5M+ and get 2 depth prospects. good enough.
far from ‘good enough’ in my opinion. Unfortunately good enough for Jeff Wilpon, and good enough for all the sorry fans who keep going to games this year, happily paying Yankee price for Royals product.
When you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, you have no easy choices.
If they had kept Wagner you were on the hook for 3.5 mil plus the chance he gets hurt and since he wanted to close and you offered him arbitration no team would be willing to give up at minimum bottom half of the 1st round pick or a top half of the 2nd round pick for a player who at best has 2 years left to play.
A draft pick in that range plus the sandwich pick will not impact the roster for at least 2 to 3 years at best.
Also don’t easily dismiss the 2 players the Mets will get.
They will add depth to the AA or AAA team next year and we all know those teams were beyond lousy. It will also help in not trying to rush prospects up the ladder.
This could also help in not having to overpay for back ups such as Alex Cora and Corey Sullivan, (who cost the Mets close to 3 mil this year).
The Mets with all the injuries will have an off season with many issues to deal with, and not having to deal with Wagner ( and his mouth ) will make things a little easier.
Clearly to say this is just a salary dump is taking a short term view of the situation.
i understand your points but if that was the case they should have threw in some money included with wagner if it would have helped bring back a solid prospect ..even if it was just 1 player instead of 2 and we threw in like 2 million we could have gotten a legit prospect …i just wish we were acting like big market team and this was a chance to add a couple potentially nice pieces to our farm system …we will see who we get but whenever its a player to be named its not usually an impact prospect
Agreed with all the comments on here. We cannot judge this deal until the PTBNL are officially announced. Some are speculating they are both in AA, some are speculation they are both going to have to be on the 40-man roster. Some have said that one is a AA player and one is in the A+. So you don’t know.
Once these players are announced then we can tell.
Well, on the bright side, that $3.5 million they just saved is roughly double what they spent on the first 10 rounds of this year’s draft. Wait a sec, that’s not the bright side, that’s a second dark side. Where the hell am I?!?!?
Don’t bother looking for a light switch, they sold off the fixtures too…
some roster manipulations today…
Nick Evans and Pat Misch to the Mets replacing Santana and Wagner.
Misch was scheduled to by Buffalo’s starter tonight after throwing 4 innings two days ago. So I guess he’s one of the rubber arm types, he’ll get a lot of work with the Mets current rotation…
Chris Mason up to AAA as they need a starter tonight. Andy Green has cleared waivers and is active for Buffalo.
Mason moving up is a good sign that Holt could be ready to return to the Bingy rotation. The only other options are from the pen or St. Lucie.
Connor Robertson went on the DL, he last pitched on Friday.
wait so will we figure out who the mets got by tonight? b/c im sure you can look at the sox’ AA lineup and see whose missing…
and when are the names *officially* even announced?
Two possibilities I’m aware of… among others I’m not aware of…
The player(s) on the 40 man roster clear waivers and are sent to the Mets once they do.
The player(s) on the 40 man roster do not (or havent) clear waivers and become Mets in November. I believe they will continue to play for the Sox minors until they are officially traded. Considering the Sox farm system that’s probably for the best.
Rotowire is saying Chris Carter is one of the PTBNL. Not sure how true it is…but I don’t like the idea of getting a 27 yr old AAA player.
carter’s numbers aren’t bad at all hes just been stuck in AAA for yearssss.. i think he’ll be a fine bench player. hes got good power too.
He’s considered horrible on Defense. His numbers offensively have DECLINED this year. He’s a 1B to converted OF.
Sounds like he’s at best another Murphy.
Two draft picks would’ve been a fucking better hall. God.