It's not just any first round pick...it's the 15th pick for crying out loud. One of the most valuable non-protected picks in the draft. Why in the world would you give up such a high pick to sign a 36 year old to a 2 year deal when you surely won't be offering him a QO at the end of his contract?
Baffling move by a team that isn't really in position to contend next year.
Meet the Mets.
Phils to move Howard "at any cost" according to sources...
Sounds like they are going full BJ Upton mode in the brotherly love city.
I'm not a big fan of sacrificing the pick, but what are the alternatives? If you want an impact bat on FA, you're giving up the pick. If you go the trade route, you're giving up prospects with a greater present value than the pick. If the Mets call it an off season, I'll be left scratching my head. But if it's a sign of things to come, I can live with the move. It's beyond time that the Mets start trying to actually win games at the ML level.
If you are going to give up the 15th pick in the draft (Heyward was drafted #14), you don't give it up to sign a defensively limited 36 year old for 2 years. You either sign a guy for 4+ years, or sign a guy for 1 year and then offer him a QO the following year to recover the lost draft pick (like Santana's case).
The signing does make more sense if they are going to go ahead and also jump at one of the upper level FA pitchers that rejected a QO, so maybe I jumped the gun with my criticism.
If you are going to give up the 15th pick in the draft (Heyward was drafted #14), you don't give it up to sign a defensively limited 36 year old for 2 years. You either sign a guy for 4+ years, or sign a guy for 1 year and then offer him a QO the following year to recover the lost draft pick (like Santana's case).
The signing does make more sense if they are going to go ahead and also jump at one of the upper level FA pitchers that rejected a QO, so maybe I jumped the gun with my criticism.
David O'Brien
@DOBrienAJC
#Braves want to add a LH hitter who could possibly platoon with 3B Chris Johnson
I really ****ing despise platoons.