Trades are always a tricky thing to argue about, especially when July
31st comes around. There have been countless trades over the past 100
years that were meant to give a contending team the push it needed to
break into the playoffs, only to watch the newly acquired player fall
flat on his face and leave the team up the proverbial creek without a
paddle.
Trades are not just to be looked at for the present day but for the future- this is an ideology that has gained adherence from every team in Major League Baseball with each passing year. In the mid-50’s through 70’s, prospects were a dime a dozen, and marquee names were the ones that stayed with teams for the long haul. In the free agent era, though, with star players demanding upwards of 20 million dollars per year and with quality pitchers becoming a rarer sight than Lindsay Lohan out of rehab, almost all teams have begun to realize the importance of maintaining young quality prospects, and getting rid of both marquee names and marquee salaries. Naturally as a side effect, the trading deadline has become a time for more wheeling and less dealing, and teams have become more dependent on finding players from within the farm system rather than from outside.
That said, it is the job of this generation’s general managers to make deals happen, notably when teams within their division make drastic improvements. Sometimes, good players must be traded away to bring in the talent a team needs to make a postseason run. The best example of this was in 2004, when Theo Epstein made one of the more controversial deals in recent memory by trading away franchise player Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs, and brought in defensive gems Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz, as well as speedster Dave Roberts. Both former Gold Glovers, they brought the Red Sox the defense they needed to get to the postseason, and Dave Roberts had arguably the most important stolen base in the history of the Red Sox, if not all of baseball. A controversial deal at the time, Epstein made it happen, and brought the Sox their first championship in 86 years (which, remember, is supposed to be the goal of all 30 teams.)
In plain, simple verse, here is the truth: as they are today, the Mets are simply not prepared to make a deep run into the playoffs. The pitching has not improved, a reliever was not brought in to back up a faltering bullpen, and the only position filled was the one position that arguably should have been given the least priority, second base. Ruben Gotay has been an admirable fill-in for the Mets, and while Luis Castillo will be an upgrade for the Mets, he is not the upgrade they needed the most. This season, Tom Glavine has become less sharp with each start, and finds himself in serious trouble whenever an umpire does not give him the extra inch off the plate he needs to make his change-up work. El Duque has signed in as the resident Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, exchanging brilliant starts with horrific ones, and let’s not forget this is the same man who hurt his hamstring while jogging the day before the NLDS. John Maine remains the ace of the staff, but has shown signs of beginning to slow down from his start, and Oliver Perez remains consistently inconsistent.
At this point, to depend on Pedro Martinez is foolhardy, especially when the back-up plan for Martinez is Jorge Sosa. Sosa’s slider is nowhere near what it was when he was called up from New Orleans, and he has lost his command. Even with this struggle, the Mets’ biggest problem that could be addressed from outside was relief pitching. After Feliciano and Wagner, the Mets have a giant bulls-eye on whoever comes out of the pen. Heilman has given up several important home runs/game-deciding runs, and Scott Schoeneweis has been pitching injured. Aaron Sele is equivalent to a white flag, and Guillermo Mota apparently did need his little helper to pitch effectively (or perhaps it was those 50 games he foolishly missed when he decided to go for a little something extra.) To believe that each of the Mets’ pitchers will be capable of going 7 innings and leaving the 8th and 9th for Feliciano and Wagner is ridiculous, and worse yet, dangerous to the Mets’ ambitions of winning a championship.
What makes Minaya’s inaction worse is the market was rife with impact players. Why did the Mets not make a play for Eric Gagne, who was available from Texas until the Red Sox stepped in, and offered Kason Gabbard, David Murphy and Engel Beltre? Epstein and the Red Sox are a perfect example of what to do at the trade deadline- rather than stay pat at the deadline under the illusion that they need nothing, they received the best reliever on the market, despite the following obstacles: 1) Gagne had a no-trade clause to the Red Sox; 2) His agent, Scott Boras, was prepared to have the Red Sox and any other team on the no-trade list make amendments to Gagne’s contract to award him more money; and 3) Gagne emphasized that he did not want to go to any team unless he could close. And yet, the Red Sox have added Gagne as the 8th inning set-up man to complement Jonathon Papelbon; to sweeten the deal, their acquirement of Gagne ensures that the Yankees will receive no pitching help on the way to the end of the season. Epstein found a way to get the player he wanted, and was unafraid to improve his team.
In this market, no one did a better job than Atlanta Braves’ GM John Schuerholz. Make no mistake about it, Schuerholz knows how much he gave up to get his man- Jarrod Saltalamacchia has the chance to become an excellent catcher, especially in Texas’ hitter-friendly ball park. Throw in two top-level prospects, and the Braves were dealt a decent punch to their farm system. In spite of this, the Braves found a player in Mark Teixeira who makes their lineup every bit as tough as anyone else’s. Teixeira is a 30-homer threat every year, and his defense ranks among the best first basemen in either league. Throw him into a lineup that already has power threats Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Jeff Francouer and Brian McCann, and the Braves can go toe-to-toe with any lineup in the National League. They may not have improved their pitching, but neither did the Mets (nor the Phillies, unless you happen to think Kyle Lohse is an improvement.)
Gagne and Dotel were only two of a bunch of pitchers available; others included Chad Cordero, Damaso Marte, Scott Proctor, Jose Contreras, and perhaps the pitcher they should have pursued most, Matt Morris- now with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Morris is an experienced pitcher who could have provided at the least a valuable backup and 5th starter if Martinez fell back in his rehab, and at most the number 4 starter of a weak rotation. Minaya made an effort, going as far as to offer top prospect Phillip Humber for Cordero, but no farther. There was the chance for a deal between the Mets, Nationals and Diamondbacks, but Minaya stood pat. It may have been wise to hold on to Humber- who knows, maybe the Mets have someone who will be a significant part of the rotation for several years? But don’t be fooled- this is a team that is built to win now- not next year, not 5 years down the road: Now. Their lineup is faltering, and they have 2 outfielders, 1 infielder, and 4 pitchers over 35. The Mets declared themselves contenders 2 years ago, and yet today they were not prepared to do what was necessary to carry out what is supposedly their goal. From here, the road only gets tougher-pulling off a deal for a starter during the waiver trade deadline is very difficult, with many teams lower in the standings able to throw a wrench into the deal if they so desire.
In their defense, the Mets remain a good team, and are still in first place. However, they had a chance to make their push for the playoffs much easier by adding a necessary cog to the rotation. Instead, the Mets will be chased closely by the Braves and Phillies for the rest of the season. Now, Martinez’ return is no longer a boon to a successful season- it is a critical necessity. Without Martinez in prime form, the Mets will fall. As it was in 2005, the Mets’ championship future still depends on Martinez’ arm- this time though, the feeling is not quite as ecstatic as back then.
