PORT ST. LUCIE — The first reaction to Derek Jeter’s Facebook retirement was surprise. The second was to mentally fit a luminary for pinstripes to be his replacement.
Such is Yankees history — particularly the history of using their largesse to secure stars — that rather quickly we were imagining, among others, Jose Reyes in The Bronx.
So here is one job now for the Wilpons and Sandy Alderson: When a top player becomes available, we need to start thinking the Mets have the wherewithal in prospects, capital and aggression to get him. After all, the Mets need a shortstop today — and likely tomorrow — as much as the Yankees. Why shouldn’t they be in play should Reyes actually be marketed by the Blue Jays?
I started considering this because of Mike Piazza. He returned to the Mets clubhouse Monday as a guest coach and it got me thinking. Yes, many of the great phases in Mets history have elite pitching as a backbone — notably 1969, 1973 and 1986. But all of the best Mets teams were finished off by a willingness to trade for a significant hitter, often at the cost of big prospects and/or big money:
1969 — Donn Clendenon
1973 — Rusty Staub
1986 — Keith Hernandez/Gary Carter
2000 — Piazza
2006 — Carlos Delgado
The Mets, at the least, want to believe they are close to the finishing-touches portion of the program. They envision Matt Harvey/Zack Wheeler/Noah Syndergaard as the 2.0 version of Tom Seaver/Jerry Koosman/Gary Gentry. Yet, even if that works out, they still must inflate their lineup.
The solutions are harder than ever to find in free agency, with teams proactively locking up their best players, particularly for prime years. I believe this will stimulate the trade market, specifically in the hunt for position players. In fact, I think the new free agency will see more teams than ever trading players under long-term contracts.
Here is why: A flush baseball economy combined with the enticement of a second wild card have moved many teams to boldly stretch budgets. I can’t remember a time when more front offices were convinced their teams could make the playoffs.
Obviously, not all will do so — or even contend. So soon there will be a landscape of despondent also-rans with buyer’s remorse and a fervor to escape the long-term dollars.
“You will get guys [out in the trade market] who no longer fit their organization’s payroll parameters,” Alderson said.
Teams might eat some salary or accept lesser youngsters just to move as many dollars as possible. Still, it will be the organizations with prospects, money and the willingness to use both who will be best positioned. The Mets have the prospects. Will they have the financial willingness?
“When it is prudent, I am sure Sandy will bring it up,” Jeff Wilpon said. “We usually say yes to what the baseball department says it wants.”
Obviously, the fan base needs more than those words. They still don’t trust this ownership will pry its wallets wide, take the big-market financial plunge again.
And we also have to see Alderson’s tolerance for dealing from his youthful stockpile — particularly of arms. To date, his greatest triumphs as Mets GM have been to turn Carlos Beltran and R.A. Dickey into Wheeler, Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud. Now, can he go the other way, like he did in the late 1980s by finishing off a championship A’s team with trades for players such as Rickey Henderson, Bob Welch and Dave Parker.
Perhaps, it is instructive to note that in 1984 when his A’s were not contenders, Alderson dealt Henderson to the Yankees for a boatload of prospects and in 1989 — when they were a powerhouse — he reacquired Henderson and won a championship because of that.
“Patience is not a virtue unless you take advantage of it by exercising it well,” Alderson said. “Patience is only part of a strategy.”
Translation: It is time to stop stockpiling and start winning. To do that he understands he will have to protect a few pitchers — Harvey and Syndergaard stand out, perhaps Wheeler, too — and be open-minded about all else.
Maybe Jon Niese and Dillon Gee could appeal to clubs still trying to win, and the surplus of — among others — Steve Matz, Rafael Montero, Michael Fulmer, Gabriel Ynoa, Jake deGrom, Marcus Molina, Robert Gsellman and Chris Flexen give the Mets the potential to put two or three arms together to land their Rickey.
If, for example, the Blue Jays continue not to contend, will they want the three years at $70 million still owed Reyes after 2014? The Mets didn’t want to do a six-year deal with Reyes, but would they go after him in his 30s should they still need a leadoff man/shortstop? How about Troy Tulowitzki or Matt Kemp? How about if Giancarlo Stanton doesn’t want to go long-term and Miami makes him available (the Mets did get Piazza and Delgado in deals with the Marlins). How about if the Orioles don’t believe they can do a long-term deal with the Scott Boras-repped Chris Davis?
“We are approaching that juncture,” Alderson said. He was speaking about that time when the best virtue for an organization is action, not patience.