"Pardon me boy is this the Transylvania Station?"
The August waiver trading period, coincidentally like August itself, is almost over. The Mets have engaged in the process at least once in 2010 putting catcher Rod Barajas on waivers where he was claimed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Some reports state that the Mets received “cash considerations” for Barajas while others suggest he was simply claimed and not withdrawn from these revocable waivers implying the cash consideration was in fact that the Mets would now not have to pay Barajas the remainder of his 2010 salary (according to Cot’s Contracts Barajas’ 2010 contract called for a base salary of $500,000 plus a $400,000 roster bonus and $1 million in non-specified incentives).
While it’s unclear exactly how official it is MLBTR has a list of players who have cleared waivers and thus may be traded (as they note barring a no-trade clause). According to their list one Met, Carlos Beltran, has cleared waivers. Beltran has a full no-trade clause.
Due to the fact that it is murky at best regarding who exactly has been waived or not and who has cleared or not the following is a hypothetical exercise. Nonetheless on this off day for the 4th place 62-62 Mets we shall take a look at some players the Mets might consider parting with this month.
- Oliver Perez – Well yes of course they would be willing to part with him but no one is going to claim him or trade for him. Prediction: Released during spring training 2011 after continued inefficiency.
- Luis Castillo – Like Perez the Mets would love to part with Castillo but no one will take on his salary through claim or trade. Prediction: Mets trade him for a non-prospect during spring training 2011 to a team that loses a starting 2B to serious injury.
- Carlos Beltran – Per MLBTR has cleared waivers but has that nasty no-trade clause. He might consider waiving it under circumstances appealing to him. There is at least one published report suggesting that a writer who covers the Red Sox thinks they should consider trading for him so there’s that. Prediction: Finishes his contract (through 2011) with the Mets.
- Jeff Francoeur – Has been a woefully unproductive baseball player for years now and the promise of his youth grows more distant with every ferocious hack-and-miss. The Mets finally acquiesced to his lack of production and benched him only to have both he and his agent whine about his not starting every day and request a trade. The Mets would likely be happy to oblige him if only someone wanted him. Francoeur has 1 year of arbitration remaining but can be non-tendered in the off season. Prediction: Finishes this season with the Mets then is non-tendered and brings his frustrating game to the Kansas City Royals or Japan in 2011.
- Pedro Feliciano – Perhaps the only real August waiver period asset the Mets have. The Chicago White Sox are contending in the American League and have had some recent bullpen issues he might be of use there. It is precisely the kind of move one could envision White Sox GM Kenny Williams making but seems out of character for Omar Minaya who is more likely to bestow Feliciano with a rich multi-year deal than trade him now. Feliciano is eligible for free agency after 2010 and per Adam Rubin via MLBTR the Mets and Feliciano have “agreed to wait until after the season to hold contract talks.” According to MLBTR’s latest Elias Rankings Projections Feliciano projects to be a Type B free agent and thus would be a good candidate for the Mets to offer arbitration to this winter. Should he accept it the Mets would have him in the fold at market rate for another season, should he reject it and enter free agency the Mets would receive a compensatory draft pick if he signed elsewhere. To help understand how the Mets might value Feliciano it should be noted that Rod Barajas also is currently projected as a Type B free agent but how relevant the comparison is due to the different positions they play is debatable. Prediction: Mets sign Feliciano to a multi-year contract during the off season.
Overall prediction for the August waiver period: for the Mets the action has already occurred with the Barajas move, they will be silent on the trade front until the off season. What are your predictions for the rest of the waiver period?
7 comments
kingman 26
8/23/2010-2:06pm at 2:06 pm (UTC -4)
LOL! The best Who record AND a Young Frankenstein reference!
I agree with your prediction.
Fine piece sir.
asod75
8/23/2010-5:04pm at 5:04 pm (UTC -4)
Always preferred Quadrophenia myself, maybe because the songs weren’t overplayed on classic rock radio as much as the ones on Who’s Next? Although that indeed is a classic album.
Mr North Jersey
8/23/2010-2:07pm at 2:07 pm (UTC -4)
In all honesty Grave I have no idea what this organization thought process is or what exactly are they trying to accomplish when it comes to their players.
I just can’t predict what an unpredictable organization will do at this time.
stickguy
8/23/2010-2:07pm at 2:07 pm (UTC -4)
Pretty much agree on most of these. Except I think Ollie will actually get traded in the off season. Not sure if it is going to be a bad contract trade, or the Mets eat a ton of $$ and get a couple of marginal prospects, but I think they get something back. But if not, then he will be released in ST.
I would not mind seeing Pedro go in a trade. If not, they better just do arbitration, since I don’t want to see a relatively large (say, 2/7 or 3/11) deal for an aging LOOGY. If someone makes a decent offer now, grab it.
If nothing else, they can economize even more paying a different lefty (they got a couple in the minors) minimum wage. Same with Frenchy going. And maine. Save 2-5 mill here and there, and maybe they can afford a real player at some point!
Beltran? Maybe in the off seaosn, but he needs a strong September to make that happen. I suspect he would take a trade to the AL, if he thought it was a team with a better chance to win. But no one is taking him by 9/1, considering how bad he looks.
metsfan4decades
8/23/2010-3:13pm at 3:13 pm (UTC -4)
IMO, this is all going to depend on who the GM is going into the off season….
stickguy
8/23/2010-3:29pm at 3:29 pm (UTC -4)
off topic, but what the heck is “feedasplush”? the site keeps getting hung up while it keeps trying to download a picture (images/get/player/777777). Sometimes I have to get out and go back into the site to get rid of it.
Asif the facebook app bogging it down wasn’t bad enough!
Mr North Jersey
8/23/2010-4:54pm at 4:54 pm (UTC -4)
Yea I noticed today that it was taking long to load sometimes not loading at all. It is a wfan audio rss feed for mets postgame. Of course they day I add it that is the day they decide to not update it so I took it out for now and see if by the time they start updating it does it continue to load slowly and if it does then I will just kill it.