In less than a week New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson added three likely summer rentals to the team, Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson, and the biggest name, Yoenis Cespedes, weakening the farm system in the process, one of the prospects traded away, Michael Fulmer, a top ten prospect. Fulmer was part of the trade for Cespedes, who is eligible for free agency at season's end. If Cespedes signs with another team, the Mets will not be eligible for free agent compensation.
Though the Cespedes trade gained media attention, Alderson's action that gained the most publicity was his mishandling of the almost-trade for Carlos Gomez, a cancelled deal that made me question what Alderson was doing. If Gomez has such a significant hip problem then why did the Astros trade for him the day after Alderson backed out of the Gomez deal?
One reason the trades were made was to try to increase the Mets chances of reaching the post-season, a goal the team is now more likely to achieve though they are very unlikely to make it to the World Series. I don't think that Collins can manage the team that far.
If the Mets fail to make it to the World Series and, after the season, fail to re-sign Uribe, Johnson, and Cespedes, all becoming free agents at season's end, they will have lost five pitching prospects for a bit of summer excitement. Of course, there is another benefit the team has started to get: better attendance. In Cespedes first game at Citi Field, the team drew the second-most fans ever to that ballpark: 42,996.
After the Mets just swept the Nats, it is also interesting that Uribe, Johnson, and Cespedes are hitting just 9 for 45, a .200 average. The team's current surge is being led by players who were on the team before the Mets summer rental plan went into effect.
Alderson is starting to remind me of James Dolan, a man too willing to sacrifice the Knicks future in the hopes of achieving short-term gain.
Is the Mets foundation starting to crack?
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