The Mets want Bobby Parnell to be the closer moving forward — and why not? He is a homegrown success story: the guy they saw talent in, stuck with and watched develop into an elite closer.
Ignore his save total (15), which reflects the Mets’ low win total. Parnell has the same WHIP (0.88) as NL saves leader Jason Grilli and essentially the same ERA (2.48) as Edward Mujica (2.41), who is third in saves, and no NL closer had a lower OPS against than Parnell’s .499.
The Mets are assembling a young rotation led by Matt Harvey and, they hope, Zack Wheeler with, they believe, more to come. The idea of having an established closer to protect that group makes sense. But so does this — seizing opportunity.
The Mets have to be open-minded about trading Parnell this month because two factors exist that could increase his value and, thus, increase the likelihood of finding a young, impact, cost-controlled bat to blend with those young arms:
1. There are several teams, notably the Tigers and Red Sox, in full go-for-it mode that are desperate for late-inning solutions.
2. There is not a lot of inventory. There is no certainty, for example, the Phillies will trade Jonathan Papelbon. But even if they do, his velocity has dropped and he is owed $13 million in both 2014 and ’15. Parnell is making $1.7 million this year and would earn about $10 million in total between 2014-15, after which he would become a free agent.
The Mets have their doubts if even teams in ninth-inning panic will surrender significant pieces for a closer. After all, it was not until well into the second half that the 2011 Cardinals settled on Jason Motte to close and the 2012 Giants picked Sergio Romo — and those are the past two champions. Even this year, the Pirates’ Grilli and the Cardinals’ Mujica show that closers — more than any other position on the field — can materialize.
Also, the Mets more and more are feeling they need to add established position players because it is hard to construct a winner around so much youth (check out the Royals, for example). So, perhaps, they could avoid moving an asset such as Parnell by obtaining a high-salaried player a team is trying to move (such as the Dodgers with Andre Ethier) or by delving into free agency for a Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-Soo Choo.
That is fine. But costly — if you succeed in even getting the players. And nothing precludes the Mets from doing both, dealing Parnell and adding more positional help later. As one outside executive said: “They should trade [Parnell]. A team in building mode doesn’t need a flashy one-inning guy.”
Look, this is not a dump. This is about getting targeted talent or moving on. Keep in mind the Mets have among the deepest reserves of pitching prospects. That should give them confidence that someone on the come can ultimately become their closer. Just as important, it gives them more pieces to potentially include in a deal to get what they want.
Remember, all the prospects are not going to make it and pitch here. So protect Harvey, Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard, and at least see what Parnell — in conjuction with a Rafael Montero, Gabriel Ynoa, Michael Fulmer, Luis Mateo or Domingo Tapia — might get you.
Here are five teams the Mets should at least call and what they should seek:
1. Tigers (Nick Casetellanos): Detroit is championship-ready everywhere but the pen and have an owner willing to do anything to get a title. Castellanos is a third baseman who can play left and is one of the better prospects in the game.
2. Red Sox (Jackie Bradley Jr.): With Ellsbury a free agent, outside executives cannot imagine Boston moving Bradley. But with Joel Hanrahan out for the year and Andrew Bailey faltering, the Red Sox are a first-place team that needs closer help.
3. Angels (Mark Trumbo): They are an all-in team that has worked its way to the outskirts of the AL West/wild-card races. Ernesto Frieri has done well closing, but the team lacks depth up and down its staff and has plenty of offense. I wonder if Parnell, Dillon Gee or Jeremy Hefner (for a rotation weak behind Jered Weaver) and Marlon Byrd (to replace Trumbo this year) get it done with Trumbo going to right field and being insurance if Ike Davis does not work out at first.
4. Diamondbacks (Adam Eaton): I could not find an executive who thought Arizona would part with Eaton, saying he is just the kind of tenacious player it wants to build around. His comparison to Lenny Dykstra makes him attractive. The center fielder is getting closer to returning from an elbow injury that has cost him the entire season. To hold off the Dodgers, Arizona also needs both rotation and late-game help, thanks to the failings of former Mets J.J. Putz and Heath Bell.
5. Rays (Matt Joyce): It is not Tampa Bay’s way to make a big pen expenditure. The only hope here would be the Rays love Parnell’s future, hate the reeling Fernando Rodney’s present and see the only way to capture the competitive AL East this year is to fix their late-game look. Is the well-rounded Joyce more expendable with Wil Myers now in the majors?
Jeter could return in Royal fashion
What impressed scouts who watched Derek Jeter’s first few rehab games almost as much as his undeterred movements on a twice-broken ankle was how fluid his swing’s rhythm and timing was after not facing game action for nine months. That is one reason why the Yankees feel he is on the fast track back to The Bronx.
The Yankees would never let matchups dictate when Jeter is ready, but the ideal scenario would be this: Jeter returns Thursday for a matinee against Kansas City’s Ervin Santana, against whom he has a .408 average (20-for-49) with four homers (tied for the most he has against any active pitcher with fellow Royal Bruce Chen). Then Jeter gets extra rest between Games 1 and 2 with a night game Friday against Twins lefty Scott Diamond, at a time when the Yankees have been craving Jeter’s historically elite bat against southpaws.