While the New York Mets completed their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday afternoon, winning their fourth in a row and going 7-3 in their last 10 games, I can’t help but hope that GM Sandy Alderson has some ideas of how to better this lineup for the second half of the season. If he thinks that this sudden outburst of runs the Mets have scored (17 runs in their last 4 games) is going to be a continuance going forward, I believe he is gravely mistaken. With the Mets back to 5 games over .500, Alderson needs to make a move that will help bolster this lineup, and the guy I’ve been calling for is left-fielder Justin Upton of the San Diego Padres.
Upton, 27, is a young power-hitting right-handed batter that would instantly add credibility to the Mets lineup, and help lengthen the lineup and slot guys into better suited spots in the batting order. Upton is also one of the rare stars to actually be available in the prime of his career, something of an exception in our modern day baseball. Teams are signing their talent to long term deals and team friendly contracts nowadays (see Evan Longoria, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew McCutchen) that players aren’t reaching free agency until well into their early to mid thirties. When a player of Upton’s caliber becomes available at this stage of his career (career .824 OPS, 178 home runs, and .331 BABIP) teams need to be proactive and do everything in their power to bring this type of talent aboard.
Upton is having another All Star year, his 3rd appearance in the last 7 seasons. He’s batting .253 with 14 home-runs and 48 RBI. He’s also a threat on the base paths, having stole 17 out of 18 bases. While he’s been mired in a bit of a slump as of late, 10 for his last 57 in the past 15 games with 18 strikeouts, Upton has proven that big ballparks don’t scare him, as he’s hit 11 of his 14 home runs at PETCO Park, typically referred to as a pitcher’s park. In fact, Upton’s overall numbers are much better home than away, as he’s compiled a .306 average, .558 SLG, and a .918 OPS in 40 home games. Compare that to Mets left-fielder Michael Cuddyer, whose home stats are .273, with 4 home runs, a .427 SLG, and .764 OPS, and Upton’s numbers start looking comparatively better.
What would it take to pry Upton away from the 41-49 San Diego Padres, currently sitting in 4th place in the National League West and 10 games back of the 1st place Los Angeles Dodgers? Being that Upton is essentially a half year rental, as he’s set to hit free agency following the 2015 season, it shouldn’t take a top pitching prospect like Noah Syndergaard to trade for Upton. Could a package surrounding right-hander Michael Fulmer, currently 4-1 in Double A Binghamton with a 2.22 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 77 innings pitched, outfielder Brandon Nimmo, and right-hander Rafael Montero get the deal done? Nimmo would be a big piece the Mets are trading away, as he came into the season ranked 3rd in the Mets system, and is having a good year in Double A. However, if the Mets plan on having Juan Lagares in center-field, and top prospect Michael Conforto manning one of the corner spots, that leaves open a place for a power hitting corner spot the Mets desperately need to help this lineup.
I would go ahead and pull the trigger on this trade, with the intent of trying to resign Upton in the off-season to a long term deal, think somewhere in the neighborhood of the deal Shin Soo Choo deal for 7 years and $130 million. Choo was also 4 years older when he signed his 7-year deal, leaving open the possibility that Upton secures an even longer deal due to the age of free agency. Would the Mets pony up the years and the finances to sign Upton long term? I could see Mets brass shelling out more money over fewer years, as it’s not Alderson’s MO to give long term deals to players, no matter what their age. David Wright was the exception, as he was viewed for years as the face of the organization, and in turn was given an 8-year deal.
If the Mets want to be taken seriously as contenders, and also want to do right by the fans of this long-suffering organization, then Alderson needs to make this deal happen. Reports have been that Upton is available by the Padres, as they look to rebuild and retool after their big off-season in which they traded for Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, Derek Norris, Craig Kimbrel and signing James Shields. This move would go a long way of bringing credibility back to this franchise, and help put seats in the ballpark. With the uncertain return of David Wright, and the fragile nature of Travis d’Arnaud this season, it’s imperative the Mets have as much punch in the lineup as possible, and Justin Upton is just the man for the job.
