Reports circulated that Mets general manager Omar Minaya is hesitant to throw money around in this year's free agent class. His approach is to build around the team with lower-level free agents.
Typically, Minaya loves to target the big names and get them to the dotted line, and he has been successful with that approach, but with the team playing awful these last two years, he felt it was time to go to another direction.
This is the wrong time for him to change his mind especially in light of the Yankees winning a World Series championship last year. After how this season went for the Mets, they need to make up for it by spending money to get the best players in this uninspiring free agent market.
It worked for the Yankees this past season.
It's imperative for this team to spend since they feature a roster that has many weaknesses. Their farm system is abysmal so they have no choice.
The Mets have that luxury of overcoming past mistakes and farm system by being a big-market team.
Jason Bay fits well with that team. He can hit for power and doubles, and he flashes the leather well by playing good defense.
He knows what he is doing when he is out on the field. He played in a market where fans are nuts about their baseball team so playing in New York won't be a problem.
That's something Matt Holliday can't say. Holliday would be a poor fit since Citi Field would be tough for him or any good hitter to hit with the park being devoted to defense and pitching.
He is not worth the money that Teixiera got especially with him being on the downside of his career. He peaked during his heyday in Colorado, and odds are he won't match those numbers again after performing decently this past season with the Cardinals and the Athletics.
The Mets need to fix a leaky starting rotation. For them to do it, they need to go after John Lackey and Brett Myers so they can complement Johan Santana.
By signing those two, Mike Pelfrey can develop as the fourth starter rather than being the second starter. The Mets forced Pelfrey to pitch like a second starter when he is not ready to be in that role just yet.
Once they signed Bay, Lackey, and Myers, then they can sign those complementary players to build around, and based on recent history, those guys will likely get their contracts a month before spring training.
After that, the Mets should pay up by hiring Bobby Valentine. He would be an improvement over that comedian Jerry Manuel. Valentine would demand accountability out of his team, which is something Manuel can't say.
This division is there for the taking. The Phillies will likely deal with the hangover of not winning a championship while the Marlins are a young team that doesn't know what it takes to be a playoff team. The Braves are not what they used to be.
Now is not the time to act like a small-market team.
It's time to seize the opportunity.
Omar Minaya's job can be saved by some smart spending so he would be a fool not to do it.
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