Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reported yesterday that the Mets turned down an offer from the Toronto Blue Jays to trade their ace Roy Halladay for four Mets prospects and players: Jonathon Niese, Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell and Ruben Tejada. Multiple sources are denying the deal was ever dangled, and Mets general manager Omar Minaya said he won’t comment on rumors.
Yet the rumors are flying fast and furious. Fans are calling in to radio stations and threatening to stop being Mets fans if the deal was indeed real and turned down.
In some instances, the trade would’ve been a good thing. Martinez is young, sure, but he is still unproven. Could he be the next Lastings Milledge or the next Carlos Beltran? Niese has been great in the minors lately but has had mixed results in the majors. Bobby Parnell is up and down, sometimes lights out, sometimes not.
In return, the Mets would get a pitcher who can really solidify the Mets’ starting rotation. A Johan Santana-Halladay one-two punch would be quite formidable. Aside from Santana, the Mets’ starters are inconsistent. Only Santana has a record that shows any sign of dominance and even he has seven losses. The other pitchers who have started with any consistency have the following records: 7-5, 6-5, 5-4, 2-2, 1-4. Right now, not one of them is a prototypical No. 2.
On the other hand, they could’ve been trading away some cornerstones of the Mets’ future. If the Mets trade away Jose Reyes, it’ll be good to have a homegrown replacement in Tejada who plays shortstop. Martinez could still turn out to be a great player with a little more seasoning. Niese could be the No. 2 of the future if he can duplicate his success in the minors.
What are your thoughts on the rumored trade? Do you think the Mets should’ve made the deal if it was real? Or do you think the Mets can wait until next season when hopefully all of their injured players will be healthy again?
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