Bold-Italics denote question mark for 2011
C Josh Thole..Good number two hitting prospect....Contact hitter can be a plus hitter for position if he can prove to hit .290-300 with low Ks, and .350 OBP.
1B Issac Davis Shows Plus Power potential, a true defensive first baseman who should continue to improve in the field. May hit for average.
2B Luis Castillo Never got a fair shake from Mets Fans. This career .292 hitter played well for them down the stretch in 2007 and was signed to a 4 year 25 million dollar contract. Injured in 2008, arguably the team MVP in 2009 and a bench player in 2010. The Mets fan base would be glad for the team to cut bait. A perfect example of why it is so difficult to play in NY and placate the fans.
SS Jose Reyes Will 2011 be the year this dynamic, but frustrating player, put it all together and stay healthy from spring training to Halloween?
3B David Wright Incredibly streaky hitter, who has proven to not be able to carry the team alone. Needs to cut Ks by 25 percent.
LF Jason Bay Can he rebound to career norms?
CF Carlos Beltran Will his knee hold up? Will the Mets eat half of his 2011 salary and trade him for a prospect or two?
RF Angel Pagan Who will the Mets go with in 2011? Can Pagan improve on his career best year and stay healthy in back to back seasons? Or should the Mets deal him as his value is peaking right now.
SP Johan Santana-Injury Question Mark
SP Mike Pelfrey-Consistency the key here. Solid number three starter who could improve to a number two.
SP R.A. Dickey-Still a little unproven. Showed a lot of guts and poise. Sophomore Jinx for a 37 year old?
SP Jonathan Niese-Was his season ending slump the result of fatigue?
SP Jenry Mejia -Does he have the goods to be a back of the rotation starter?
LM Pat Misch-
6TH Ryota Igarasha-Will good health allow this flamethrower to regain his command?
7TH Bobby Parnell-Hard throwing righty
8TH Hisanori Takahashi-Performed well in closer role after Krod's arrest
Lefty Specialist Pedro Feliciano- Will all those games finally catch up to the durable Lefty?
Closer Krod-Injury, Criminal Charges...what else could go wrong?
Bench
1 Dillon Gee SP
2 Daniel Murphy 2B/1B
3 Chris Carter OF
4 Ruben Tejada SS/2B
5 Lucas Duda OF
6 Fernando Martinez OF
7 Nick Evans 1B/OF
8 Henry Blanco C
9 Oliver Perez LM/SP
The big decision will be if The Mets should trade either David Wright or Jose Reyes. What would they bring back in a trade? I think The Mets biggest need is a number one starter type. Good Luck with that! The meat of the Mets order is also a concern. Where will they find the 90-100 HR's that the middle of the batting order should bring?
The Mets have a glut of 4th OF types and will no doubt trade one or two players. If Fernando Martinez has a strong winter ball season, does he vault back into the picture for the OF? Can Lucas Duda continue to progress enough to win a starting job? Will the Mets move Pagan, whose value has never been higher? Can Carlos Beltran, who is in his walk year play a full season on his surgically repaired knees?
The Mets need to add starting pitching for the front of their rotation. Carlos Zambrano (who has finished 2010 strongly) and Zach Greinke are who I would shoot for. Joakim Soria is another Royal arm that could help The Mets. Obviously, Zambrano poses a significant character risk. The Mets need to also think about catching help. Thole needs a backup. Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, and to a lesser extent Carlos Beltran, are The Mets biggest offseason headaches. Eating salary, and finding trading partners will require a creative GM who will probably have to accept someone else's headache. If Beltran is healthy and can play CF then he can be an asset, and a strong one at that. His switch hitting and power are sorely needed.
