As the rumor mill heats up, I saw an interesting tweet this weekend from Newsday’s David Lennon:
Boras arrived earlier today, and #Mets will get an idea of where to head with offseason plans (Drew, Choo) after meeting with him this week
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) November 11, 2013
The Mets are to meet with Scott Boras this week about the possibility of looking at adding Stephen Drew to the lineup to play shortstop. He also tweeted:
If Tejada rehabs well, and rebounds as a player, would be interesting at 2B with a new SS. Chance to really strengthen middle D.
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) November 11, 2013
Now even though that may seem intriguing, what happens with Daniel Murphy. Defensively, Murphy may have not been the teams best choice for second base, but his bat has been very important in the Mets lineup and I am sure that Tejada will not be able to fill Murphy’s shoes on the offensive side. I am all for bringing in a shortstop that can sure up the left side of the infield and be a constant in the lineup, but should Tejada still be in the plans to remain in the lineup? The organization actually has a few guys in the minors that would be a better fit than him at second.
Lets take for example, Daniel Muno, who was a viable asset in the lineup with the B-Mets in 2013 and reminds me of a young Wally Backman who can handle the defensive side just as well as any player the Mets have now. He may be at least a year away, but I feel he is a much better option to replace Murphy, then Tejada would be.
The Mets also have T.J. Rivera who is just a few years away himself and is also a viable bat, who led the Florida State League in hits last season with 145 and has played very well defensively at shortstop and second base. He also reminds me of a young Derek Jeter and that is not a bad thing to have in any organization. He may not hit for power, but neither will Tejada.
If it were up to me, I would just leave Murphy at second, sure up the rest of the needed positions and when the younger players are ready to come up, then revisit the whole move Murphy to another position plan. For now, I am happy with what we have. As for Tejada, I am not sure where he fits in the plans, but if the Mets feel he is capable of manning a position on a Major League club, then maybe dangle his stock to see what they can get in return. To me it’s worth a shot and not much will be lost.
When you don’t have speed, you have power.
When you don’t have power, you have speed.
When you have neither power or speed, you have a great glove (see Brandon Crawford).
When you none of a great glove, power, or speed, you need to be replaced.
Tejada is a backup. We always knew it, but he was hitting .280+. Even if he hits .280 again, he needs to be replaced.
The Mets should do everything in their power to keep Daniel Murphy, period!! He is too important for their lineup! Other than Wright and Byrd, he was the ONLY player who hit with any consistency at all!!