Sadiq Rahman asked: Hey Mack, Jose Reyes, recently said that he doesn't know if he will be back with the Mets. In the sad case that Reyes leaves the Mets, what would be your plan for the offseason? The payroll will be around 110 million and we really need a closer as well. Thanks, Rahman Bros
Mack: It’s nice hearing from you again, Sadiq.
No one wants Jose Reyes to remain a Met more than I do, but, there will be life in this team even if he does leave.
Ruben Tejada will never be in a batting average fight in September, but he’s defensively an equal to Reyes and has already proven he can hit major league pitching. I still don’t think most fans realize how fast he is on the base path and he would be a viable candidate for the leadoff hitter.
Reyes leaving would strengthen keeping Justin Turner, though I am sure the Mets have no plans of getting rid of him. Turner would be your number two shortstop, and, frankly, your emergency SS would be Jordany Valdespin, who will play Buffalo in April.
It would also strengthen the existence of Josh Satin and Daniel Murphy. I would expect Murphy to then win second base out of ST, just because of his bat. Your long-term second baseman, Reese Havens, won't arrive until 2013.
Now, for the good news.
First, you get two supplemental picks in the first round of the June 2012 draft. This draft isn’t as talented as 2011, but that’s based on 50 rounds, not the first 50 picks. Every draft has 50 plus-prospects and this will give the Mets an additional opportunity to stock the system. I could throw out five names here, but I’ve never successfully predicted who the Mets would draft (even had Alan Dykstra over Ike Davis), so I don’t want to jinx anybody. That being said, there will still be SP1/2 projectable pitching as well as a qualified third base prospect when they Mets chose their players.
Regarding the team salary, the Mets would have around $20mil (maybe a little more) to play with to get their closer (my guess – Joe Nathan) and enough to get a stopgap CFer or re-tread starter.
A lot depends on the progress of three pitchers… Johan Santana, Chris Young, and Jenrry Mejia.
Everything I just said can be thrown out the window if the judge rules Monday that the Mets owe nothing in the Madoff suit.
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