Plan B Just Got Expensive For the Mets

The dance that the Mets have tried to play with Scott Boras and his clients this winter just got a lot trickier now that Omar Minaya's top option is off to the division rival Braves. Losing out on Derek Lowe leaves Oliver Perez as the best option to fill a top rotation spot for the Mets. And it leaves Boras firmly in the drivers seat.

The Mets, who held firm on their three-year, $36 million offer to him, must have known that Lowe was headed to the Braves. They were losing their grip on him, so they tried to turn the market in their favor by offering Perez three years at $30 million, hoping he would bite quickly.

But now that Perez stands front and center as the top free-agent starter available, the Mets aren't getting away that cheaply. Nor are they likely to get away with a three-year deal now that Lowe got his four years.

The one thing in the Mets' favor is that the Perez rumors have been completely quiet in terms of other teams. But for the Mets to assume that they're bidding against themselves for Perez would be asinine. They thought they were bidding against themselves for Lowe when they offered him $36 million, and it only gave other teams an opportunity to gather up some money feeling they had a chance to step in. (And, really, the Mets should have known that the Braves, who had a boatload of money earmarked for A.J. Burnett and Rafael Furcal, would spend it on somebody.)

They called Boras' bluff (or what they thought was a bluff), and let him look elsewhere instead of doing everything they could to get Lowe, a mistake for a team with holes in the starting rotation. They basically drove Lowe, a guy who had said that he preferred to pitch in the Northeast, down South and into the arms of the Braves. (Though to be real, if a Scott Boras client got top dollar from Siberia, that's where he'd pitch.)

And I'm sure that if the Mets try to pull the same "take it or leave it" stance on Perez, a team like the Brewers might consider getting some money together and making a more attractive offer to him. So now that they've refused to spend the money on Lowe, they're forced to either overspend on Perez, or look at options like Randy Wolf and Jon Garland, or perhaps hope that Ben Sheets' injuries are behind him, and keep their fingers crossed. If that's the case, that improved bullpen the Mets have might lose its impact this season. And if that's the case, the Mets will have spent responsibly but not necessarily wisely.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-13-2009 @ 7:54PM

Bob said...

Omar Minaya really blew this one. Now he will try to sign Perez and pay much more for him than he is worth and be stuck with him for longer than he is worth. The Mets will be the same second place choke team again in 2009, and to think of the really great starting pitchers they could have had if they weren't so cheap about it. This will come back to bite Minaya.
A frustrated Mets fan!

1-14-2009 @ 7:40AM

Brad said...

Still cheaper than 161 million. recession? lol

1-13-2009 @ 10:28PM

ric said...

Well i agree that Lowe is better, or let's say less psychotic than Perez. Remember for a couple of month's when Perez had it going NOBODY could touch him. I think that the Mets, with the addition of a reliable Redding, and Niese and Parnell, are not hurting for pitching.If any of the top 5, assuming Perez goes down,the Mets will have depth.
Second base seems to be a problem Minaya an easily solve, but hasn't yet. Orlando Hudson, and his 3 gold gloves, and excellent bat, certainly wouldn't hurt !! Omar keeps talking about Castillo's golden gloves,o.b.p., etc. I would too if i spent $24 mill on damaged goods ! Why doesn't he just be a man and get it over already !!!!!! Let's bring back Easley, he was sooo good off the bench, at any position LET'S GO METS

1-14-2009 @ 12:26AM

Met-Obsessed said...

Agree with you whole-heartedly on the Castillo contract, Ric; one of the worse boners in recent Met history. In a perfect world, Omar would cut Castillo and reimburse the Mets from his own pockets (assuming he has a better financial advisor than the Wilpons!)

Love Orlando Hudson, but the reality is that the Wilpons will not eat Castillo’s contract and no sane general manager would ever accept him in a trade, even if the Mets were to pay most of his salary. As an alternative, the Mets would be wise to sign former draft pick Ty Wigginton; he is relatively young, has some pop, and can fill in at several positions. In my opinion, he would be a great fit for this team.

Can’t agree with you on the starting pitching, though; the youngsters are unproven, Maine is coming off an injury (he should be ok, but he needs to cut down his super-high pitch counts so he can go past 5 innings), and Pelfry may regress slightly after a breakthrough year (remember he cooled off a bit towards the end of last season).

Unfortunately, Boras totally outwitted Omar by not taking a low-ball offer and being patient enough to allow a desperate team to emerge and overpay for Lowe. Perhaps if Omar offered 42 mil for 3 years with a vesting option for a 4th, the deal could have been done before the Braves went on” tilt”? Sadly, we’ll never know.

One thing I do know is that we desperately need Oliver Perez (as nuts as he is, he pitches his best against the Phillies, Braves, and Yankees), or, at the very least, Randy Wolfe (an ok, but not great option). Ben Sheets would be an acceptable risk as a plan C, but we’d be holding our breathe after every pitch he throws!

Here’s hoping 2009 ends much happier than 2008!

1-13-2009 @ 11:14PM

iggy said...

Great for Minaya. I would never give an old arm 4yrs-60mil. That is throwing away at least 20m that he wont be around to throw. Rather take a chance and overspend a little on Perez!!

1-14-2009 @ 10:29AM

andrew said...

now get manny
sign perez
done 1st place in the east

1-14-2009 @ 9:17AM

LILOLA said...

I am a big Met fan,but I realized long time ago that we are second class citizens compared to the $ankees,We have the means but we always have an excuse,thank Thank God that Johan wanted us, another year getting our noses rubbed by the Phillies

1-16-2009 @ 11:55AM

LEW said...

PEREZ WILL GIVE UP 30 TO 40 HOMERUNS AND OVER 125 WALKS. HE IS CRAP. TOY WILL PAY HIM 10MILLION. IF HE SIGNS, HES NOT WORTH 2 MILLION.YOU SIGNED A WASHINGTON LOSER THAT COULD HAVE BEEN PUT TOWARD AN OFFER TO LOWE YOU MORON MET OWNERS. 15 MILLION 4 YEARS GOOD FOR ATLANTA, METS 3RD OR 4TH PLACE, NO SECOND BASEMAN LEFT FIELDER NO CATCHER NO RIGHT FIELSD CHURCH IS DONE. YOU WILL BE STUCK WITH 3 PITCHER

1-19-2009 @ 11:09PM

AtTheWall said...

The Mets have improved their bullpen but I still think theyll only win around 90 games in '09. The good news is that may be enough to get them to the playoffs. The Braves will suck even with Lowe, The Phillies wont be as good, The MArlins will be feisty but too young, and the Nats will be garbage again. I really think the Mets main problem is their GM Omar Minaya. For the past 3 years all he's done is focus on acquiring hispanic players. Now that he's feeling the heat about that he's decided to acquire a few whites and blacks. But it doesnt seem like his heart is into it. If Derrick Lowe were spanish Omar wouldve offered him 16 mil instead of 12. Thats just the sad reality of where this racist scumbag GM has led the Mets for the past 3 years.