Mets of Tomorrow

I decided to just have a day of pure fantasy speculation. As many know, the Mets are in a bit of a financial situation and have a big name player approaching free agency. I'm going to take a glass half-full look at this and future off seasons and make some roster guesses. I think playoffs in 2012 and World Series in 2013 and 2014 is totally attainable. Right?

2012 New York Mets:

The Mets do decide to re-sign Jose Reyes who agrees to a lucrative three year deal, with a vesting option for a 4th and 5th. Alderson uses the rest of the money the Mets clear to sign Edwin Jackson and Jonathan Broxton to two year deals. Lastly the Mets promote Fernando Martinez and Reese Havens from AAA to fill the gaps at RF and 2B. Jenrry Mejia continues to pitch well after his mid-season promotion in 2011.

Lineup:
1. Jose Reyes, SS (S)
2. Angel Pagan, CF (S)
3. David Wright, 3B (R)
4. Ike Davis, 1B (L)
5. Jason Bay, LF (R)
6. Fernando Martinez, RF (L)
7. Josh Thole, C (L)
8. Reese Havens, 2B (L)
Rotation:
1. Johan Santana, SP (L)
2. Jonathan Niese, SP (L)
3. Jenrry Mejia, SP (R)
4. Edwin Jackson, SP (R)
5. R.A. Dickey, SP (R)

Bullpen:
CL: Jonathan Broxton, RP (R)
SU: Bobby Parnell, RP (R)

Notable Losses:

Carlos Beltran - Beltran leaves the Mets and catches a 1-year deal with Boston. He replaces David Ortiz as the DH and fills in occasionally in the OF. Francisco Rodriguez - Francisco Rodriguez signs a contract with Philadelphia and has two 30+ save seasons before losing the job. Mike Pelfrey - Mike Pelfrey catches on with Milwaukee and wins 10 games.

Notable Acquisitions:

Edwin Jackson - Jackson comes to New York but never amounts to a front-line starter. He does prove to be reliable in the second half of the rotation.
Jonathan Broxton - The Dodgers let Broxton go after two consecutive down seasons and the Mets sign him to compete with Parnell for the closer role. Broxton wins the role in camp.

2013 New York Mets:

Angel Pagan and Santana leave town and the Mets again build from both within and without. Caesar Puello is promoted after crushing AA in 2012 and takes over in center. The Mets re-sign David Wright during the season after using their 2013 option. Mark Cohoon has a mediocre year as the Mets #5 starter but the Mets do find success with their front 4.

Lineup:
1. Jose Reyes, SS (S)
2. Josh Thole, C (L)
3. David Wright, 3B (R)
4. Ike Davis, 1B (L)
5. Jason Bay, LF (R)
6. Fernando Martinez, RF (L)
7. Caesar Puello, CF (R)
8. Reese Havens, 2B (L)
Rotation:
1. Cole Hamels, SP (L)
2. Jonathan Niese, SP (L)
3. Jenrry Mejia, SP (R)
4. Edwin Jackson, SP (R)
5. Mark Cohoon, SP (L)

Bullpen:
CL: Jonathan Broxton, RP (R)
SU: Bobby Parnell, RP (R)
Notable Losses:

Angel Pagan - The Mets decide that they can't afford to give Pagan the contract he is seeking. He signs with Seattle. Johan Santana - The Mets let Santana out of his option and he signs a two-year deal with the Cubs.

Notable Acquisitions:

Cole Hamels - The Mets take advantage of their fiscal conservative 2011 and 2012 and sign Hamels to a four year deal.

2014 New York Mets:

The Mets offer Edwin Jackson arbitration and he accepts. Clearing out Jason Bay and Broxton allows the Mets the financial freedom to make a big trade for Felix Hernandez. King Felix extends his contract with the Mets for 4 additional years. Wilmer Flores after converting in 2013 to the outfield finds his place in right field.

Lineup:
1. Jose Reyes, SS (S)
2. Josh Thole, C (L)
3. David Wright, 3B (R)
4. Ike Davis, 1B (L)
5. Wilmer Flores, RF (R)
6. Fernando Martinez, RF (L)
7. Caesar Puello, CF (R)
8. Reese Havens, 2B (L)
Rotation:
1. Cole Hamels, SP (L)
2. Jenrry Mejia, SP (R)
3. Jonathan Niese, SP (L)
4. Felix Hernandez, SP (R)
5. Edwin Jackson, SP (R)

Bullpen:
CL: Bobby Parnell, RP (R)
SU: Juan Urbina, RP (L)
Notable Losses:
Jason Bay - Bay's option is not exercised and he eventually signs a 1-year deal with the Tigers.

Notable Acquisitions:

Felix Hernandez - The Mets acquire Hernandez from Seattle who could not afford his $20 Million contract and wished to re-build.

Fantasy can be fun sometimes. Sadly... that's all this is.

The Mets of the Future

The Mets have a new man at the helm and he likes to keep the wallet from opening too frequently. That is good in general, but does it mean that the Mets payroll will dwindle to the ranks of the middle 20 teams of baseball or does it just mean that the money the Mets typically spend (bottom of the top 5 payrolls) will just be spent better?

2012: We know the story, 40 Mil comes off the books (as long as K-Rod doesn't close a certain number of games...) yes whatever. 40 Mil is good, but what can it buy us? The Mets will likely be letting Jose Reyes reach free agency, this means that if the Mets don't have an in-house backup plan, almost half of that is going to Jose. Add in the raises for a number of the players and the Mets could be left with 10 or so million to spend on NEW talent. That isn't SO bad, it's just not SO good either.

The Mets COULD go a different direction with Jose. Move Ike Davis into the outfield and have God awful defense... or something of that nature. Actually let's get it out there... If you want Pujols... know this: The Mets will trade Davis to make room and fix the actual problem of no pitching. That isn't an awful solution as no great free agent SP's are available this winter. Know also that Pujols might mean no Jose and that it would require the exact kind of contract Sandy Alderson opposes.

2013: Almost no additional money comes off the books in 2013 but do you know what DOES happen? David Wright enters the option year of his contract. That means David Wright goes from making 16 million to upwards of 20. That's another giant contract but one I assume Alderson will be forced to hand out. It will also likely be the last Met year for Johan Santana who has proved a little too injury prone for his contract's terms.

2014: Basically all the big money on the table today can be off the books for 2014. If the Mets wanted to cut all ties with major players and get their payroll below that of the Pittsburgh Pirates they could manage it by 2014. Jason Bay comes off the books, Johan Santana is gone... this would mean that quite a few other players also left and the Mets failed to retain Jose Reyes, David Wright, and other young players currently on the Big Club. Hopefully by 2014 the Mets can roll out the HOJO-BOT 5000 and the laser pistol and super shoulder I equipped him with.

This is Phlavio Phega and, if it relates to the Mets, I have an opinion.