Cory Sullivan believes Matt Holliday would be fine on any team in baseball, but the more Holliday’s team is in contention, the better the superstar left fielder tends to be.
“I think it’s evident when the teams are in it,” Sullivan said yesterday, “he’s usually in the thick of things.”
Sullivan spent four years as Holliday’s teammate in Colorado, but neither is still with the Rockies. Sullivan is an outfielder with the Mets and Holliday is in St. Louis, having been shipped to the Cardinals from Oakland earlier this season. Holliday will be a free agent this winter, maybe the biggest and brightest one available, and Sullivan — who has stayed in touch with Holliday — thinks Holliday would fit New York just fine.
“I think he’d be comfortable wherever he was, obviously, with Oakland excluded,” Sullivan told The Post yesterday. “I think he’s the kind of player that can be successful anywhere, and I think he thrives in a — I don’t want to say higher market — but in situations where it matters. “He’s a great teammate. He’s a good friend and he’s always there when you need him. And I think [the Mets] would be a good situation for him if he chooses it.”
Holliday would certainly fit the Mets offensively. With the A’s and Cardinals combined this season, he went into yesterday hitting .311 with 24 homers, 103 RBIs and 14 stolen bases and a .388 on-base percentage. With division-leading St. Louis, Holliday was hitting .356 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs in 50 games.
Whether the Mets can afford Holliday is the question. He could end up getting a similar contract to Mark Teixeira’s eight-year, $180 million package. There are several similarities between Holliday and Teixeira. They are each 29, born three months apart. They have the same agent, Scott Boras. In Teixeira’s three seasons before free agency, he averaged .298 with 32 homers and 112 RBIs. In Holliday’s three seasons (with 14 games to go this year), he has averaged .325 with 28 homers and 109 RBIs.
The Mets will have $40 million coming off their payroll, but they are going to owe an estimated $10-15 million in raises. So if the payroll doesn’t change much and presuming the Mets don’t unload more salaries elsewhere, they will have approximately $20-25 million to spend.Yesterday, Jerry Manuel talked about whether the Mets could better use a power hitter or a speedier player to man left field.
“That would depend, again, on the makeup of first or catcher,” Manuel said. “If you found something there that could complement that, then speed in this park would be very, very important. But if you can’t and you just add power, I think you could still survive.”
Sullivan says Holliday, who was the 2007 NL MVP runner-up and the 2007 NLCS MVP as he lifted the Rockies to the World Series, has a personality that would be okay in New York. He said his former teammate is steady emotionally.
“He’s never too high or too low,” Sullivan said. “He’s a consistent guy, consistent player and I think he’d be fine in this environment.”