The Mets and Yankees are tied in one of the intriguing subplots late in this spring training: finding a shortstop.
The Mets need one now, yet seem most likely to begin the season with Ruben Tejada at short while continuing to see if Wilmer Flores can handle the position at Triple-A.
There is a split among Mets executives about whether Flores can even be passable at short. But they wanted to sign a limited-range shortstop in Jhonny Peralta and wonder whether Flores could be some version of that, in which his offensive production makes his limited defense more palatable.
The Yankees are not desperate. Derek Jeter is the current shortstop, defensive whiz Brendan Ryan is available and so is Eduardo Núñez. Yet rival executives say the Yankees are willing to be proactive and have their eyes on Arizona’s Didi Gregorius and Seattle’s Nick Franklin — who would be more likely to step in at second base in the near future.
The Yankees want to use surplus catching depth to build a deal for an infielder who would provide depth now and be a starter in the future. However, it might take more than that.
So one question the Yankees are contemplating is: How much do they trust Michael Pineda? Because if they feel Pineda is good to go in the fifth-starter slot, they would be more willing to use David Phelps as part of a deal, which would be tough for them because Phelps provides good rotation support plus potential help in the bullpen. Both the Diamondbacks (who lost Opening Day starter Patrick Corbin for the season with a torn elbow ligament) and the Mariners (who will be without Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker to open the season) want to add starters who can help now.
Neither of those organizations is looking for prospects. Seattle signed Robinson Cano and Fernando Rodney, and general manager Jack Zduriencik is on the hot seat to produce a winning team now. The Diamondbacks sacrificed well-regarded youngsters Matt Davidson, Tyler Skaggs and Adam Eaton to land Mark Trumbo and Addison Reed, and signed Bronson Arroyo to a three-year contract. Arizona GM Kevin Towers also is viewed as in an unsafe spot.
The price tags still are high for Franklin and Gregorius — the Royals, for example, tried to land Franklin in the offseason, thought the cost in prospects was too high and instead gave a four-year, $32 million pact to Omar Infante. Both Franklin, who is expected to lose a Seattle shortstop battle to Brad Miller, and Gregorius, who is expected to lose to Chris Owings, can be optioned to the minors.
And executives from both teams have told me they can wait to see what needs arise during the regular season and use their bullets then. However, an official from an interested club said that once players lose a positional battle and are sent to the minors, it is harder to sell them having extravagant value. So there could be some pressure on those clubs — beyond their win-now status — to make moves sooner rather than later.
Adding further drama to the matter is the Tigers now need a shortstop with the loss of Jose Iglesias, likely for the whole year, due to stress fractures in both shins. Plus Stephen Drew continues to be available as a free agent.
The perception is Detroit is focusing mainly on defense because that was Iglesias’ specialty — he was expected to hit ninth and rookie Nick Castellanos, according to multiple scouts who have watched the team, is having defensive problems at third. Nevertheless, two executives tell me they perceive the Tigers are interested in the switch-hitting Franklin, and there is a lot of doubt in the industry about Franklin’s ability to handle shortstop. Second base is his better spot.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told me he’s likely to go with an internal candidate at short, probably Danny Worth or Hernán Pérez. However, Detroit also could recognize it needs a lefty bat with some heft, and Franklin had 11 homers in 250 at-bats from the left side as a rookie last year. The Tigers traded Prince Fielder in the offseason and Andy Dirks, who was expected to be the lefty part of a left-field platoon with Rajai Davis, was lost for three months with a back ailment. That leaves switch-hitting DH Victor Martínez and catcher Alex Avila as the only significant lefty hitters.
Drew hits lefty and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch has a long history of a) doing deals for Scott Boras clients, and b) spending extra when a need arises to keep Detroit a championship contender. That is how, for example, he signed Fielder, a Boras client, late in the 2012 offseason for nine years at $214 million after Martínez suffered a season-ending knee injury during winter workouts.
Boras told me Thursday “the key thing is that you have to get the players out from under the rules.” Translation: He wants to make sure Drew does not have the qualifying offer put on him again next offseason. The qualifying offer means a signing team loses its first- or second-round pick, which clearly has hurt the market for good-to-very-good players such as Drew. It is possible, therefore, that Drew will not sign until the season begins, because a player has to be with a team a whole season to have the qualifying offer put on him.
The Mets continue to look as if they will not make a serious play for Drew. They are firm that they will not do what Boras asked — give a two-year contract that Drew could opt out of after one season. They believe if Drew plays well, he will leave, and if he plays poorly or is hurt, they are stuck with a second year on a deal.
They also believe Drew’s overall offensive numbers last year were enhanced by playing at Fenway Park and in a powerful Red Sox lineup, and he will come down somewhat in effectiveness. Their hope was Tejada would come up from last season and the difference would not be worth the financial difference.