Off Season Scorecard

The prevailing thought these days states that Mets GM Omar Minaya is having a terrible off season so far. Fans and media alike claim that Omar deserves a failing grade for his fruitless efforts of late. Such is not necessarily the case. Let's review the facts....

Going into this off season the Mets had a number of holes to fill. The Mets entered the off season needing a second baseman, a LF, a RF, a catcher, a backup catcher, and some pitching help (for both the bullpen and the rotation).

With that in mind, let's look at the moves by Omar thus far.

1) The Mets filled the hole at second by resigning Castillo.
2) The Mets filled the hole in LF by picking up the option on Alou.
3) The Mets helped their bullpen by signing Matt Wise.
4) The Mets filled the need for a backup catcher by resigning Castro.
5) The Mets filled their needs for a starting catcher and a LF by trading Milledge for Schneider and Church.
6) The Mets cleared salary by dumping Mota to the Brewers.

So far the Mets have met most of their immediate needs. For the most part, these moves should be viewed far more favorably then they have been to date. Consider each trade....

1) Signing Castillo to a four year deal definitely hurts. Still, the options before the Mets this year were not very attractive. Built as a win-now team, the Mets needed a veteran second baseman. Castillo will provide a perfect bat for the Mets lineup, while also stabilizing their up-the-middle defense. Fact is, the other free agent alternatives this off season were no where near as attractive as Castillo. Gotay, although he has a good bat, would have really hurt the team defense.
2) Picking up the option on Alou was a fairly solid move. Although he is 41, Alou proved in 2007 that he can still swing a great bat. And with the endless sea of capable backups the Mets have for the outfield, Alou was a simple fix for 2007. He is on a one year contract, giving the Mets the fix they need now while leaving open the door for Martinez and Gomez in 2008.
3) The pick up of Matt Wise was an outstanding move. Wise is a good addition to the bullpen which suffered a collapse late last season. The acquisition of Wise, coupled with the possible return of Sanchez, should be a big boost to the bullpen which had been rock solid for all of 2006 and most of 2007.
4) Retaining Ramon Castro was a great move by Omar. Castro provides a valuable bat off the bench, and in my opinion is one of the best backup catchers in the game. Castro is not just a capable reserve, he is a dangerous weapon that Randolph likes to utilize.
5) The trade of Milledge for Schneider and Church initially spurned very negative reaction from the Mets fan base (myself included). As time has passed, however, I have reflected more and more on the trade. As a result of my reflection, I have come to understand the trade. Yes, it is frustrating that we had to trade Milledge while his value is low. Yes, I believe Milledge will become a very good ballplayer one day and that we will regret not having him. However, as I said before, the Mets are a win-now team and needed to solidify their roster with more seasoned talent. In the trade the Mets finally got the catcher they wanted in Schneider. They got a great game caller with a terrific arm who thus improves their up-the-middle defense (something that is clearly important to the 2008 Mets game plan). With Reyes, Castillo, Schneider, and Beltran the Mets now have a great middle defense core. As for the weak bat of Schneider, who cares. Schneider will serve as the 8th hitter in their lineup and hitting was not been the Mets problem in 2006 and 2007. Also included in this trade was Ryan Church. Church provides the Mets with an upgrade in RF from 2006 and 2007. He has a good bat and a reliable glove in the corner OF spot. In all, the Mets were able to sure up 2 important starting positions by trading Milledge.
6) Omar's ability to dump Mota's salary without taking on anything in return is fantastic. Mota was a disaster in 2007, and had clearly worn out his welcome in Queens.

Yes, Omar has failed to land a front-line starter for the rotation. However, he has quietly filled most of the Mets needs without adding any payroll or losing his top prospects. He has retained financial flexibility while holding onto Martinez, Pelfrey, Humber, Mulvey, Guerra, Gomez, etc. Does that mean I am satisfied with our off season? No, it does not. It does mean, though, that Omar has made some progress and improved the ball club from last season. Like all Mets fans, I still worry about entering the 2008 season with a pitching staff reliant on an aging Pedro, a young John Maine, an erratic Oliver Perez, an injury prone Orlando Hernandez, and an unproven rookie (Pelfrey, Humber, etc). As such, let's hope Omar can use the financial flexibility and stash of prospects discussed earlier to land a front-line starter.

My grade for the job Omar Minaya has done so far in the months since the Mets collapse is a B. Since the collapse Omar resisted the temptation to making drastic trades and signings just for the sake of change. He realized that the nucleus of this team is still very good, and with the proper work can be the leaders of the National League in 2008.