Mets looking to deal Milledge/Heilman?

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Lastings Milledge-OF- Mets Oct. 24 - 9:21 am et

 

 

The Mets are talking about the possibility of dealing Lastings Milledge.

 

Last week, general manager Omar Minaya said the team wasn't comfortable with handing Milledge the left field job next year. Manager Willie Randolph, talking about Milledge and reliever Aaron Heilman's roles next year, said "Who knows? They could be used in trades." In addition to using free agency, the Mets may seek a veteran starter in the trade market, and that's where Milledge and/or Heilman could come in handy.

Source: New York Times

 

 

Guillermo Mota-R- Mets Oct. 24 - 9:15 am et

 

 

The Mets are expected to re-sign Guillermo Mota, a move that could mean Aaron Heilman is on the way out of New York.

 

The club will probably also bring back Chad Bradford and perhaps Pedro Feliciano, so Heilman, who wants to start again, may be on the trading block this offseason. With Duaner Sanchez expected back at full strength in 2007, the Mets' bullpen will get crowed, but the team refuses to convert Heilman back into a starter for now.

Source: New York Times

 

There was talk of the Mets going after Garcia during the season. I would love to have Heilman as a setup guy, the problem is he wants to start. Milledge would be a nice speed guy, and could be a centerfielder if BA were dealt (doubt that happens). Mets wouldn't do milledge+Heilman for Freddy, but a deal centered around Heilman wouldn't be bad.

[Balta1701]

Here's the question I have for folks here: how comfortable are we with a quasi-rookie leadoff hitter/LF next year? (Stick Milledge next to Anderson and suddenly we have a great defensive outfield, with potentially a ton of speed and good power in LF)

[Kalapse]

Here's the question I have for folks here: how comfortable are we with a quasi-rookie leadoff hitter/LF next year? (Stick Milledge next to Anderson and suddenly we have a great defensive outfield, with potentially a ton of speed and good power in LF)

Only if there's a significant offensive upgrade elsewhere on the team such as SS. An Anderson-Milledge-Uribe combination has a good chance of being pretty horrible.

[knightni]

There's nothing in this topic that says "White Sox" and this has already been posted elsewhere here. Why is this here?

[Dick Allen]

If Milledge isn't ready to play with the Mets, why would he be ready to play for the White Sox?

[Chisoxfn]

Here's the question I have for folks here: how comfortable are we with a quasi-rookie leadoff hitter/LF next year? (Stick Milledge next to Anderson and suddenly we have a great defensive outfield, with potentially a ton of speed and good power in LF)

I'll pass. If we land Milledge, BA should be on the block or coming off the bench. Milledge should fit in nicely in the 9 spot. He'd give us like an extra leadoff hitter, especially after the lineup has gone one way through.

 

That 9-1-2 of Millege-Speedy Leadoff Guy-Guchi would be pretty solid.

[Gene Honda Civic]

If Milledge isn't ready to play with the Mets, why would he be ready to play for the White Sox?

He is ready to play. He's had issues with some of the veterans.

[Heads22]

A Milledge-Anderson-Dye outfield would also be among the most dynamic in baseball if Brian takes the bat out of his ass. just oozing with potential, but growing pains for sure.

[Heads22]

I really want to land Milledge this off-season, and I think Kenny finds himself in a good position to make it happen.

 

It's got the potential to be really good for really cheap. If we were ready to give LF to Sweeney/Fields this year, I could see it, but it'd be some pressure there for sure. A lot of it does hinge on Brian's development, and yes, I have the right to criticize him.

[Chisoxfn]

A Milledge-Anderson-Dye outfield would also be among the most dynamic in baseball if Brian takes the bat out of his ass. just oozing with potential, but growing pains for sure.

It would be on different than any fantasy team you've ever had where you take a bunch of young players with potential and go on to finish in the cellar (or apparently kind of how you run your DPPL team or whatever its called).

 

Yes, it would be great if we were rebuilding, but this team should not have rebuilding on its mind and I find it ridiculous how so many people are talking about such. Yes we may have to swing some deals cause we could lose some guys, but this is a 100 mill payroll team we are talking about (and we'll see payroll in that range) so we have a lot of options.

 

I'd still deal Thome/Contreras and find a way to get Arod (or Tejada) and go from there but thats just me. Cause I think both Thome/Contreras have nowhere to go but down and it could happen relatively fast (yet they still have what I'd consider considerable trade value).

[SoxFan562004]

Minaya is probably thrilled that Randolph is saying they may be used in trades, really helps their value

[CWSGuy406]

It would be on different than any fantasy team you've ever had where you take a bunch of young players with potential and go on to finish in the cellar (or apparently kind of how you run your DPPL team or whatever its called).

 

Jason, I know you would strongly disagree with me on this, but I don't think for a second that a Milledge/Anderson/Dye OF would be conceding. For all intents and purposes, we got nothing out of our left-fielder this season. He provided virtually no power, he didn't get on-base, and he didn't do a whole lot defensively either.

 

Let's take Dye out of the equation here, and just talk about Anderson and Milledge. I think you have one of the most reasonable opinions about Anderson's potential. Some people talk about Anderson like he can be a future All-Star at the plate. That's terribly unreasonable. I believe he has the potential (I should say peak) to be a slightly above average hitter (I'm thinking .275/.330/.450, pretty much Torii Hunter's line through his age 27-29 seasons), with the obvious plus of being a good-to-great defender at a premium defensive position.

 

Unfortunately, I still think we're in for another year of 'getting to that potential' from BA. I'd guess something like .250/.320/.425, which is similar to his ZiPS projection for 2007 (.247/.312/.392).

 

That being said, I strongly believe you can put up with a line like that so long as the defense is there. The only two positions I'll say that for are SS and CF, with catcher coming in at a close third.

 

The question is, how is Milledge going to perform next season? He seems to be a much superior offensive talent to Brian Anderson, so I don't think he'd struggle as much as BA did last season. What would you project from Milledge for 2007? And, is that better or worse than Sweeney?

 

Wrapping it all up, the main objective for Kenny this winter is getting the pitching back to its 2005 level. That includes remembering that, if you are going to replace Uribe or Anderson, you're likely to have a defensive downgrade at two really important spots (there are some obvious exceptions, like Mike Cameron). And, although defense in LF isn't as important as CF, it would be nice to have a LFer who could get the ball to homeplate on a fly.

Edited October 25, 2006 by CWSGuy406

[Colorado Sox Fan]

No Lastings. I've watched him in NY and he has problems.

[Chisoxfn]

Jason, I know you would strongly disagree with me on this, but I don't think for a second that a Milledge/Anderson/Dye OF would be conceding. For all intents and purposes, we got nothing out of our left-fielder this season. He provided virtually no power, he didn't get on-base, and he didn't do a whole lot defensively either.

 

Let's take Dye out of the equation here, and just talk about Anderson and Milledge. I think you have one of the most reasonable opinions about Anderson's potential. Some people talk about Anderson like he can be a future All-Star at the plate. That's terribly unreasonable. I believe he has the potential (I should say peak) to be a slightly above average hitter (I'm thinking .275/.330/.450, pretty much Torii Hunter's line through his age 27-29 seasons), with the obvious plus of being a good-to-great defender at a premium defensive position.

 

Unfortunately, I still think we're in for another year of 'getting to that potential' from BA. I'd guess something like .250/.320/.425, which is similar to his ZiPS projection for 2007 (.247/.312/.392).

 

That being said, I strongly believe you can put up with a line like that so long as the defense is there. The only two positions I'll say that for are SS and CF, with catcher coming in at a close third.

 

The question is, how is Milledge going to perform next season? He seems to be a much superior offensive talent to Brian Anderson, so I don't think he'd struggle as much as BA did last season. What would you project from Milledge for 2007? And, is that better or worse than Sweeney?

 

Wrapping it all up, the main objective for Kenny this winter is getting the pitching back to its 2005 level. That includes remembering that, if you are going to replace Uribe or Anderson, you're likely to have a defensive downgrade at two really important spots (there are some obvious exceptions, like Mike Cameron). And, although defense in LF isn't as important as CF, it would be nice to have a LFer who could get the ball to homeplate on a fly.

My problem is if you have Uribe, Anderson and Milledge as a 7-8-9 you have as feeble of a 7-8-9 as anyteam in baseball (and you could almost go on to include NL teams that throw the pitcher in the 9 spot). Now I'm not saying these guys can't do better than that cause all three are highly capable, but I'm not a fan of developing more than a couple guys per-season at the big league level.

 

I think the Atlanta Braves did things best by having a few horses in there rotation, a few key bats in there lineup and than each year they'd have 1-3 guys that they'd be developing but those guys would be completely eased into the situation and have little to no pressure (kind of like how BA had last year).

 

Truthfully the key to next season is getting our pitching to perform more like 05 and less like 06 (rotation and pen). If we knew we had super strong pitching the team could probably get by with the outfield listed above and a weak lineup, especially since Milledge & Anderson would both provide speed and quite frankly you are accurate, our LF last year blew chunks anyway.

 

However, I have very little expecations (like you) for any major/rapid development of Brian Anderson and I think your long term line was very accurate (his upside is that of a Torri Hunter) and he'll never be a super star offensive player but when you mix in his defensive abilities you end up having an above avg CF. In Milledge's case we are talking about a guy that is still extremely young and that is still very raw, but extremely talented.

 

Defensively he has a long ways to go but the tools are there (plus LF isn't a hard place to play unless your Pods). He's still a slap hitter at this point and in a sense I'd expect him and Sweeney to have similar numbers and both are the type's of guys that should develop more power as they progress. I like Sweeney's defensive tools over Milledge's and I think Sweeney has the better swing to hit for a high average, however the few times I saw Milledge I did notice that he has what I'd call a "live" bat which could turn him into a Soriano type guy (small but with lots of power). Now I'm not saying he'll be that good, just kind of comparing body/bat types.

 

Milledge has solid plate discipline for a 21 year old but also has a long swing which leads to ton of K's. I think he'd do a little worse than Ryan over the course of a full season and I tend to think Milledge is over-hyped a bit because as a whole I don't consider him much better (if at all better) than Sweeney (who now is what I'd call an under-rated prospect by those outside of our organization).

 

The one thing Milledge does superior to Sweeney is hit doubles and I'm very confident some of those will turn to HR's.

 

My closing point is that if the Sox want to carry those two in the OF than we might as well bring in a vet that can play both places and fill in from time to time (plus kind of be a mentor). I'm talking a quality guy. That could even mean Mack (who can play LF) as long as Ozzie knows he isn't the everyday CF. In addition to that we'd need someone else at SS that could be the teams explosive leadoff guy and obviously a very good pitching staff.

 

It can definately be done, but the Sox would have to do somethings first.

[Balta1701]

So did A-Rod.....

He is 21 years old, thats going to happen from time to time with a rookie. See, um, like every rookie.

The question is whether or not he'd be in a situation where he could overcome those sorts of attitude issues. In a place like NY, you've got the gigantic spotlight, the added glare of being another organizational-savior, a bunch of big time stars around you, etc. In Chicago, you have a few more quiet leaders (Konerko, Thome, etc.) and a manager who might kill you if you don't listen. Might that work better for the kid?

[ZoomSlowik]

It would be on different than any fantasy team you've ever had where you take a bunch of young players with potential and go on to finish in the cellar (or apparently kind of how you run your DPPL team or whatever its called).

 

Heads wishes he had Milledge. It's not a case of him having young players, it's him having a lack of talent.

 

Anyways, on to the original thing. Heilman is probably a better fit for what we'd want, even though Milledge is a sexier name. If we can't find a more dependable option in LF though I'd consider it, the kid is quite talented.

[Balta1701]

Heads wishes he had Milledge. It's not a case of him having young players, it's him having a lack of talent.

 

Anyways, on to the original thing. Heilman is probably a better fit for what we'd want, even though Milledge is a sexier name. If we can't find a more dependable option in LF though I'd consider it, the kid is quite talented.

Just out of curiosity, how is Heilman a better fit for what we want? Don't we already have 6 guys who want to start in a 5 man rotation, with 2 guys at AAA or above who look close? Doesn't picking up another guy who wants to be a starter just leave us with the same problem?

[Chisoxfn]

Heads wishes he had Milledge. It's not a case of him having young players, it's him having a lack of talent.

 

Anyways, on to the original thing. Heilman is probably a better fit for what we'd want, even though Milledge is a sexier name. If we can't find a more dependable option in LF though I'd consider it, the kid is quite talented.

The guy I want is Mike Pelfrey. Thats an arm to hang our hats on. Give me arm's over a LF because I think our very own Ryan Sweeney is just the prospect Milledge is (or very very close to it) with far less hype (ie a better value).

 

We don't have anyone like Pelfrey in our system.

 

Just out of curiosity, how is Heilman a better fit for what we want? Don't we already have 6 guys who want to start in a 5 man rotation, with 2 guys at AAA or above who look close? Doesn't picking up another guy who wants to be a starter just leave us with the same problem?

It helps the back end of the pen and makes him the new Bmac (our 6th starter if any of our 5 goes down). The only difference is this is a guy who has actually had success pitching out of the pen. The problem is he wants to start and I don't know how happy he'd be coming to Chicago and than pitching out of the pen.

 

If we could swing a Pelfrey/Heilman for Tracey or Haeger/Garcia I'd be freaking exstatic.

[WHITESOXRANDY]

Does anyone consider why a team like the Mets that needs an outfielder and has a heralded prospect like Milledge cheap for many years - but for some reason is trying to deal him ?

 

Well, it's because they have soured on him. He is a VERY dumb ballplayer with a bad attitude.

 

Yes, he is still young but that is why he is available and why his value is down.

 

He's probably several years away from being a major contributor from a maturation standpoint.

 

I would rather trade Freddy for a major pitching prospect.

[CWSGuy406]

He is a VERY dumb ballplayer

 

Ah, I'm glad you know this by all 166 ABs Milledge has at the major league level, because I'm sure you've been following his whole minor league career, right? Why again aren't you working in MLB?

[Chisoxfn]

Ah, I'm glad you know this by all 166 ABs Milledge has at the major league level, because I'm sure you've been following his whole minor league career, right? Why again aren't you working in MLB?

Technically speaking it seems attitude is the big reason the Mets are open to getting rid of him. I've also seen him make some horrible mistakes in the field, but thats totally understandable considering he's a rookie.

 

The question is how much of the attitude is because he's in NY. Either way I'll take Mike Pelfrey. If we want to go young in LF we have Sweeney or Fields.

 

Pelfrey dominated AA in his 12 games, pitched well in his only AAA game and while he's been rushed he has front of the rotation stuff and was able to get his feet wet at the major league level part of last season.

[Rowand44]

Technically speaking it seems attitude is the big reason the Mets are open to getting rid of him. I've also seen him make some horrible mistakes in the field, but thats totally understandable considering he's a rookie.

 

The question is how much of the attitude is because he's in NY. Either way I'll take Mike Pelfrey. If we want to go young in LF we have Sweeney or Fields.

 

Pelfrey dominated AA in his 12 games, pitched well in his only AAA game and while he's been rushed he has front of the rotation stuff and was able to get his feet wet at the major league level part of last season.

I'd take Pelfrey as well and it's not even close for me. But as far as Milledge goes can I ask why the attitude concerns? Cause I remember him getting fined(I believe) for high fiving some fans after a homer but what exactly has he done wrong? Honest question, cause I really don't remember.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

The guy I want is Mike Pelfrey. Thats an arm to hang our hats on. Give me arm's over a LF because I think our very own Ryan Sweeney is just the prospect Milledge is (or very very close to it) with far less hype (ie a better value).

 

We don't have anyone like Pelfrey in our system.

It helps the back end of the pen and makes him the new Bmac (our 6th starter if any of our 5 goes down). The only difference is this is a guy who has actually had success pitching out of the pen. The problem is he wants to start and I don't know how happy he'd be coming to Chicago and than pitching out of the pen.

 

If we could swing a Pelfrey/Heilman for Tracey or Haeger/Garcia I'd be freaking exstatic.

 

I would love to get pelfrey somehow(he can be traded, since he's pitched in the bigs already, so he doesn't have to wait a year after he signed). Would you rather have Pelfrey of Humber? I wouldn't mind either, but I'll go with Pelfrey, especially since Humber was pulled from the AFL with shoulder soreness, although that shouldn't be a big deal. The Mets have a lot to offer, that's for sure.

[Balta1701]

I'd take Pelfrey as well and it's not even close for me. But as far as Milledge goes can I ask why the attitude concerns? Cause I remember him getting fined(I believe) for high fiving some fans after a homer but what exactly has he done wrong? Honest question, cause I really don't remember.

Yeah, after a home run he went and started high-fiving the fans. He also has supposedly mouthed-off to some of the Veterans on that team, had talkings-to by Randolph et al, etc.

 

Linkity.

WASHINGTON - KNOW YOUR PLACE, ROOK!

 

The hand-scrawled message hung above Lastings Milledge's locker after Friday's 4-3 victory over the Nationals. At the bottom of the two sheets of paper was written, "Your Teammates."

 

At a time when the Mets should be focusing on the playoffs, it was a disturbing sign.

 

Milledge, as usual, ate dinner alone seated at his locker, facing inward, as the rest of the Mets crowded the clubhouse cafeteria. Someone had hidden Milledge's street clothes, and one player thought they had been replaced by a dress.

 

The reason? According to one person familiar with the situation, Milledge - whose reputation is deteriorating quickly - mouthed off to a veteran teammate in Atlanta. Friday's rebuke followed. Apparently, his teammates are becoming more and more annoyed by Milledge's attitude.

 

"How much does it take to finally wake up?" the person said. "How long before you realize the way you're acting is the opposite of how you should be acting? Fine. Stay asleep, then."

 

Milledge shrugged when reporters asked him about the sign. When the questions continued, Orlando Hernandez waved them away in an effort to protect the rookie outfielder.

 

Manager Willie Randolph later came out to talk to Milledge, and the rookie eventually got his clothes back. As for his attitude, that remains an unresolved issue.

As soon as we read about Milledge giving a knee-to-the-crotch to one of the Mets trainers, then we'll know he's ready to be on the Chicago White Sox.

[knightni]

Haeger has minimal trade value. Knucklers aren't taken seriously until they've had 5 or 6 years in the majors under their belts.