An Alternate Approach

What if I were to suggest the Mets start their offseason... NOT signing Jose Reyes? GASP! What? But... He's Jose! We LOVE Jose! YOU love Jose! How could you? Well... I'm just trying to think pragmatically about what is available and what is easier/harder to find through free agency. For instance is it more or less hard to find a leadoff hitter, or a middle of the order guy?

I've already given you all my Plan A: Sign Reyes and Win Posting Rights/Sign Yu Darvish. I think the plan would make me and most Met fans a touch more optimistic about the 2012 season and beyond. HOWEVER... I'm going to be working hard to come up with some other plans that might involve thinking outside the box a little more.

Step 1: Buy the Biggest Impact Bat Out There
Albert Pujols is in his low 30s and still likely to be among the top 5 players in the game for the next... 5 years? Let's ignore that the Mets are not a likely landing zone, the Cardinals are likely to retain him and that he'll cost a good deal MORE than Jose Reyes. If the Mets sign Pujols and not Reyes... their roster's overall hitting takes a hefty up-tick. It does add the SLIGHT problem of then not having a spot for our dear friend Ike Davis to play. Not to worry, I found him one... though some fans may not like it.

Step 2: Trade Ike Davis to the Tampa Bay Rays
It hurts to trade home-grown talent. ESPECIALLY cheap and productive talent like Davis but you need to understand the market with trades. The Rays are not a wealthy team and a player, like Davis would be valuable as much for his bad as for his low contract. The big piece I'm asking for is just as cherished by the Rays. David Price is 26, he's a lefty and he's DANG good. Why in the world would the Rays trade Price? Well... Price's price tag is about to be on the rise... and quickly. His FIRST arbitration is supposed to exceed all other first arbitration cases thus far... (Kershaw's will be higher still). ALSO, the Rays have a pretty well-stocked system in regards to pitching and Davis fills one of their problem areas cheaply and effectively. Now... if I'm the Mets I'm including another prospect with Davis for a prospect back from the Rays. (Ike Davis + Zack Wheeler for David Price + Tim Beckham or something similar) The Mets would target Tim Beckham or Hak Ju Lee (The Rays top SS prospects) in an effort to replace the void left by Jose's departure. This would give Mets a better chance of developing a useful MLB talent between Tejada, Valdespin and the player we acquired.

By doing this, the Met payroll STILL winds up being around $110-120 Million Dollars and the team... at least on paper, seems to be a touch more potent. (Overall) We might lose a pitcher from our AA stock-pile in the trade with Tampa but we get deeper at a position where our options are limited and

Lineup:
1. Angel Pagan, CF (S)
2. Reese Havens, 2B (L)
3. Albert Pujols, 1B (R)
4. Lucas Duda, RF (L)
5. David Wright, 3B (R)
6. Jason Bay, LF (R)
7. Josh Thole, C (L)
8. Ruben Tejada, SS (R)

Bench:
Ronny Paulino, C (R)
Fernando Martinez, OF (L)
Daniel Murphy, Util (L)
Justin Turner, IF (R)
Joshua Satin, IF (R)

Rotation:
1. David Price, LHSP
2. Johan Santana, LHSP
3. Jonathan Niese, LHSP
4. R.A. Dickey, RHSP
5. Dillon Gee, RHSP

Bullpen:
Bobby Parnell, RHRP
Pedro Beato, RHRP
Taylor Buchholz, RHRP
Manny Acosta, RHRP
D.J. Carrasco, RHRP
Josh Stinson, RHRP
Daniel Herrera, LHRP

Now... I'm not saying this is the right approach. I'm just looking for alternate plans. With this plan we have Pujols' bat in the heart of our order, Price at the front of the rotation and Valdespin and Beckham in the minors as a long-term solution for SS.