Last night I said Lo Duca would do the conga out of Miami. Today, he's dancing his way to the New York Mets. In exchange for Lo Duca, the Mets gave up 19 year old single-A pitcher Gaby Hernandez (6-1, 2.43 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 99K/92.2 IP) and a player to be named later.
This is a fairly good trade for the Mets because they've only given up (so far) a pitcher in the low minor leagues who, most likely, won't contribute in the big leagues until 2008. Lo Duca is by no means elite despite his three All-Star selections but at the cost of $12.5M over the next two years, he provides a more cost-effective solution to the catcher position than Bengie Molina or Ramon Hernandez would have. Lo Duca is not much of a hitter and won't contribute to the Mets lineup any better than a depleted Mike Piazza did in 2005. Still, the Mets now have a catcher for the next two years and can revisit Mike Piazza's long-term replacement at a later date. A nice little bonus for the Mets is that Lo Duca was born in Brooklyn and they can now add a homecoming story to their ever-increasing season ticket salesforce literature.
Where does this leave Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez? I have no idea. Bengie Molina's agent probably underestimated the Mets' willingness to go after non-Latin American players and thus lost their best opportunity at finding Bengie his big payday.
For the record, the Marlins have a very good chance at breaking the 110-loss barrier. Outside of Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera (and assuming Pierre's imminent departure), the Marlins have no solid major league should now be considered worse than Pittsburgh and Tampa.
Also, quickly, about the Mets -- there is a rumor that they might sign Sammy Sosa because of his connection with GM Omar Minaya. The thinking is that as a part-time RF, he might provide the Mets some depth and extra pop for 200-350 AB's. If I were the Mets, I'd leave Sammy the hell alone. He's shot. Done for. Has nothing left. The Mets should do what they can to focus on adding a setup man, a starter for the back end of their rotation and a utility infielder. They don't need Sosa and Sosa, at this point in his career trajectory, doesn't need the boos from Mets fans. If Sosa's smart, he either takes a job in a low-pressure situation (ie Midwest or West Coast) or simply walks away from the game.
This is a fairly good trade for the Mets because they've only given up (so far) a pitcher in the low minor leagues who, most likely, won't contribute in the big leagues until 2008. Lo Duca is by no means elite despite his three All-Star selections but at the cost of $12.5M over the next two years, he provides a more cost-effective solution to the catcher position than Bengie Molina or Ramon Hernandez would have. Lo Duca is not much of a hitter and won't contribute to the Mets lineup any better than a depleted Mike Piazza did in 2005. Still, the Mets now have a catcher for the next two years and can revisit Mike Piazza's long-term replacement at a later date. A nice little bonus for the Mets is that Lo Duca was born in Brooklyn and they can now add a homecoming story to their ever-increasing season ticket salesforce literature.
Where does this leave Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez? I have no idea. Bengie Molina's agent probably underestimated the Mets' willingness to go after non-Latin American players and thus lost their best opportunity at finding Bengie his big payday.
For the record, the Marlins have a very good chance at breaking the 110-loss barrier. Outside of Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera (and assuming Pierre's imminent departure), the Marlins have no solid major league should now be considered worse than Pittsburgh and Tampa.
Also, quickly, about the Mets -- there is a rumor that they might sign Sammy Sosa because of his connection with GM Omar Minaya. The thinking is that as a part-time RF, he might provide the Mets some depth and extra pop for 200-350 AB's. If I were the Mets, I'd leave Sammy the hell alone. He's shot. Done for. Has nothing left. The Mets should do what they can to focus on adding a setup man, a starter for the back end of their rotation and a utility infielder. They don't need Sosa and Sosa, at this point in his career trajectory, doesn't need the boos from Mets fans. If Sosa's smart, he either takes a job in a low-pressure situation (ie Midwest or West Coast) or simply walks away from the game.
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