The right way — and wrong way — for Mets to get Tulowitzki

You're a Mets fan, and you want Hot Stove action. You want another big name, another big bat. You're envious of the Padres' dramatic outfield revamping in a week's time, and you wish your team would acquire a stud shortstop as efficiently.

Here's your prescription: Take a trip, preferably to a remote location without Internet service. Or try a new hobby, like collecting bootleg copies of "The Interview." Anything to divert yourself.

Because not only is Troy Tulowitzki unlikely to become a Met anytime soon, but he shouldn't become a Met anytime soon, not as long as the Rockies ask for both significant talent and significant money in return for their ultra-popular player.

No, as much as you might not want to hear it, this is a concern on which patience — engaging in a game of chicken, if you want to make it sound more exciting — marks the proper strategy.

In the Mets' most recent conversations with the Rockies, during last week's Winter Meetings, the Rockies wanted three or four top players — some current major leaguers, some prospects still in the minors — and also wanted the Mets to assume the entire $118 million that Tulowitzki has guaranteed through 2020.

That's a tough ask for a guy coming off the Alex Rodriguez hip surgery. For a guy who has averaged 111.6 games played over the last seven seasons. Consider that Tulowitzki's idol, Derek Jeter, who is 10-plus years older than Tulowitzki, averaged 130.3 games played over that same time frame. Yes, an in-his-prime Tulowitzki provided more value in fewer games than the final-laps Jeter, yet that still left the Rockies without their best player for extended periods.

Which leads you to believe that the Rockies really don't want to trade Tulowitzki, no matter how many subtle hints he drops that it might be time to move on to a contending team and, win-win, give the guys who drafted and developed him a chance to improve their talent pool with the trade return.

Talent should be the key here, because the Mets have it and the Rockies need it. While the Mets might not give up three or four "top players" under any circumstances, depending on how you define such an entity, they have compiled the depth to make impact trades without it dramatically hurting their chances to contend in 2015. Zack Wheeler shouldn't be off limits for Tulowitzki. Nor should any of the Mets' major league relievers, or Wilmer Flores, or Dilson Herrera, or anyone in their minor leagues…

… as long as the Rockies mitigate the risk by taking on a healthy chunk of Tulowitzki's salary. By all appearances (general manager Sandy Alderson is on the record that the team probably won't be taking on anymore payroll for next season), the Mets have more wiggle room in talent than they do in dollars.

The Dodgers just paid $32 million of the $107 million they owed Matt Kemp to ship the outfielder to San Diego. That's 29.9 percent. Let's use that same percentage with the justification that, while Tulowitzki has been a far better player than Kemp, he is coming off a very serious operation. If the Rockies paid 29.9 percent of what Tulowitzki is owed, that would be $35.3 million, leaving the Mets with $82.7 million. That's $13.78 million per season — an absolute steal if Tulowitzki can approach his prior numbers.

Colorado might never reach a point where it would be comfortable lowering its bar. Tulowitzki might too smooth an operator, too polished, to push his longtime employers to a place where it would be untenable to keep him. The downside of the patience strategy is not getting the desired player.

That's a cost the Mets should accept as they sit back and wait on the Rockies. Anyone who watched A-Rod grow increasingly immobile as he returned from his first hip surgery, and eventually require a second, understands what can go wrong with Tulowitzki's return.

Perhaps the Mets have plum exhausted your patience. That's understandable. Yet to make Hot Stove noise just to appease the masses would be foolhardy for a club that finally looks to be on the verge of something exciting — whether they get Tulowitzki or not.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

The right way — and wrong way — for Mets to get Tulowitzki

Dengan url

http://bahayaprostat.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-right-way-and-wrong-way-for-mets-to.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

The right way — and wrong way — for Mets to get Tulowitzki

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

The right way — and wrong way — for Mets to get Tulowitzki

sebagai sumbernya