Keith Meyers at Sodo Mojo put forth a proposal for addressing the 3B issue with the Mariners this year. He identified Daniel Murphy of the NY Mets as a plausible trade target in that Murphy is pretty good, kinda young, blocked, and on a team with weaknesses that can be addressed via trade. Basically, it can be a win-win move and we all know how much Jack Z likes the win-win deal. So. Would Daniel Murphy be a good fit for the Mariners? Let’s see. He can hit, he can
–SOLD!—
Wait. There’s more.
— Don’t care. You said he can hit. I’m in. —
Nonono. It’s not as simple as that. There are other factors, many other factors, that can have a significant influence on his ability to help a team, this team, contend. What kind of hitter is he? Can he play defense? Can he do it well? Can he stay healthy? How would his personality fit in to the clubhouse? Browncoats or Imp
–Don’t care—
*Sigh* Look. I did some digging. Allow me the courtesy. Please bear with me.
— : / —
Ready? 3…2…1…*ROAR*
— *ROAR*—
Thanks for bear-ing with me. Now, to continue.
Facts: Murphy is 27 years old. He’s had 1,130 plate appearances in The Bigs. He bats left and throws right. He’s had a history of knee problems. He’s been the Mets’ utility player in the consummate National League mold. Statistically speaking, he’s been a poor defensive outfielder and a good defensive infielder (defensive metric caveats apply). He’s got a greater than average contact percentage. His career ISO is .149 which is a tick above average and, considering his ability to make contact, is very good. He strikes out much less than league average because he puts the ball in play so much. He’s not a very big stolen base threat, having stolen 9 total bases in his career.
According to this article the Mets continue to work him out at second base and are open to trading him. In return they’d, at least, want a swing-man starter, one who could be used as both a spot starter and out of the bullpen. It’s like they were trying to describe Charlie Furbush.
Any trade would have to net them a replacement. Someone who could presumably play second base but also has enough versatility to be a useful NL roving player. I submit, Kyle Seager.
To incentivize the Mets to give up their utility player, we would need a sweetener. Consider their need for outfield depth, versatility, and a bridge to the future. Duda’s good but Torres and Bay aren’t. Wells would be perfect for them.
3 players with Major-League experience for 1 utility player would be a touch imbalanced. We would need a prospect coming back. Not any of their top 3 pitchers or anything but a significant one. Maybe someone who’s stock has taken a recent hit, like Wilmer Flores. Or Mazzoni or Nimmo or Fulmer or whomever.
So: M’s send IF Seager, LHP Furbush, and OF Wells for IF Murphy and [insert prospect here]. I think it’s in the realm of possibility. Is that giving up too much? It’s giving up too much, isn’t it?
: /
Wells’s inclusion is too much. Maybe we’d have to up the prospect. Trouble is their top 3, Wheeler, Harvey, and Familia, are significant pitching prospects. Wheeler and Harvey are just a nock below where Pineda was a year ago. And I don’t like Familia.
Man, trading is hard. Maybe we should just stick with Seager and see what he can do, huh?
— Are you done? —
Hey, shaddup. It’s my blog and no one else reads it anyway. I’ll do what I want. If I want to bounce ideas off of my blog for my own sake, then I’ll do it. This ain’t no fangraphs.
— *rolls eyes*—
So the question is: How do we feel about Kyle Seager? Of course, smarter people than I have addressed this issue and failed to reach a definitive conclusion. Considering what I’ve seen from him defensively, I like him at 2nd and not so much at 3rd. His throws always have this banana curve to them and can get pretty crazy the further away he is from his target. His hands, range, and instincts seem fine. It seems to me that he’d benefit from having a shorter throw to first. Offensively: He tore through the minors and ended up with a .306 wOBA in 201 major league plate appearances as a green rookie. (Murphy’s career wOBA is .338 at this point, for comparison’s sake.)
Are the Mariners capable of starting *gulp* Chone Figgins at 3rd and optioning Seager to the minors? Would a Liddi, Franklin, Seager, Catricala infield in Tacoma work? I know it’d make Mike Curto happy. Whither Truinfel? Back to AA? Poythress repeats? If they did that and Seager were officially blocked by Ackley, whither Seager’s future?
Would it be in the Mariner’s best interest to play Seager at 3rd in the majors? He’s an unproven commodity but so far has held his own at the plate. His throws, though. Ick. Can his offense make up for the occasional bad throw? We don’t know yet. Is it worth taking this year to find out? I don’t know. I’m not one for throwing in the towel before the first punch is thrown. How effective can the team be while continuing a try-out at an historically offense-oriented position? This is something that I will have a close eye on during spring-training. And by close eye I mean reading Larry Stone’s blog and Shannon Drayer’s tweets from thousands of miles away.
: (
Stupid not having disposable income.
—Conclusion? —
None. Might be a good idea. Might not considering the price of Murphy’s acquisition and how you feel about Seager.
—Brilliant. —
Man, you’re moody today. Is it Prince? Is it that Prince isn’t signed yet?
—…yes. —
You need a hug. A BEAR hug! See what I did there? I know, I know, it was an ursinine comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment