Mets and Yankees Busy This Offseason, but Will They Get Who They Want?
December 13, 2009 · Steven Merriam · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
So far this MLB off-season, the teams in New York have been very busy. The Yankees‘ move this week may have been the biggest.
In a three-team deal, the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson, formerly a member of the Detroit Tigers, while the Diamondbacks acquired Edwin Jackson and former Yankee Ian Kennedy. The Tigers acquired Phil Coke and top Diamondbacks prospects Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth. The Tigers also acquired Austin Jackson.
Though Granderson is a good power hitter, he is not the best fielder in left. This season, Granderson hit 30 home runs with 71 RBI. He had a low average of .249.
The Yankees’ left fielders last year, Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, are currently free agents and not guaranteed to be members of the Yankees next year. I personally wonder whether the Yankees will bring back Damon or Matsui. I would personally take Damon since he is younger.
The Yankees have also brought back legend Andy Pettitte on a one-year, $11.75 million deal. Pettitte had a much better year this season than most expected.
The Mets have also been busy, but on a much smaller scale.
They have brought back second baseman Alex Cora, who batted a bit over .250 this season and played frequently for the Mets until he suffered an injury.
The Mets have also signed catchers Chris Coste and Henry Blanco. As a member of the Astros last season, Coste batted a sub-par .224 while Blanco, as a member of the Padres, batted sub-par with a .235 average and around 15 RBI.
The Mets also have brought back Elmer Dessens on a minor-league deal. Last season Dessens had a 3.31 ERA coming out of the bullpen.
Both the Yankees and Mets are trying to make gigantic moves to improve their team next season.
The Mets have currently made offers to former Giants catcher Bengie Molina and former Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay. They also may have offered former Angel John Lackey a deal.
The Yankees are currently trying to make a move to bring Roy Halladay to the Bronx to secure an even better pitching staff. If Halladay is not traded during the off-season, he says he will not be traded at all.
Baseball fans around the world wonder if these deals will happen. I personally don’t think the Yankees will be able to acquire Halladay because they sent some of their best young pitchers away in the Granderson deal.
As for the Mets’ Jason Bay hopes, I doubt Bay will sign the contract New York offered him because it is basically the same as the Red Sox offer he turned down.
The only one of these deals I think will definitely happen is the Mets bringing in Bengie Molina behind the plate.
This off-season’s Hot Stove has been busy and the Mets and Yankees are two of the biggest parts of it. Expect to see these two teams continue to busy themselves this off-season. But don’t expect to see the big deals like the Yankees acquiring Roy Halladay.
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