D'arnaud to the Mets for Niese?

[sule]

According to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog, the Mets and Blue Jays had “fairly substantive talks” at the Winter Meetings for a deal that would send left-hander Jon Niese to Toronto for catching prospect Travis D?Arnaud and a young, back-end starter.

Sounds far-fetched. Niese is under team control through 2015 and obviously has trade value, but D?Arnaud Toronto’s best prospect. The Mets would need to throw in more for Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos to even consider pulling the trigger.

http://baseballmoves.com/2011/12/14/jon-niese-mets-8/

Niese stats on fangraphs: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?pl ... position=P

[CPT]

Isn't Niese a young, back-end starter himself?

[Fairview4Life]

Anthopolous doesn't tend to do incredibly stupid things, so I am going to say Matt Cerrone is nuts.

[tecumseh18]

AA talks to a lot of people, if only to establish values. He really sweated giving up Molina, but pitcher development is unpredictable and some still project him as a reliever.

AA is not giving up D'Arnaud for Niese. It didn't happen at the meetings, and it's not gonna happen.

[satyr9]

These rumours are always silly. AA calls the Mets and says, hey you like any of my guys for Niese? Mets say, well we'd take D'Arnaud. Maybe AA actually sees if he can get D'Arnaud's value (by getting them to tack on other pieces) and maybe he just walks at that point, but "fairly substantive" is just some staffer knowing the GMs spoke and those two names were mentioned.

Also, once the staffer is willing to mention it, it means the deal is 100% not happening otherwise he'd be likely to lose his job over messing up a deal.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Again posturing to get the best deal for the Mets. I'm sure other players were involved if it was substantial talks.

[TheMainEvent]

Reading this almost made me throw up. I understand fans have a tendency to hype their team's own young players, but really... D'Arnaud for Niese? Ugh.

[CapeCrusader]

That would of been a horrible move.

[rarefind]

Please. Don't. Do. This.

[Rhettmatic]

Anthopolous doesn't tend to do incredibly stupid things, so I am going to say Matt Cerrone is nuts.

Yeah, I posted that rumour in the off-season thread yesterday but just can't believe there's any truth to it. No way.

[Schad]

Niese's peripherals were quite good this past season, but the thing with targeting undervalued assets is that they have to be undervalued. If they cost you one of the better prospects in the game, they aren't.

And before someone steps in to say "BUT HE'S ONLY A PROSPECT AND NIESE CAN HELP US NOW", the issue is the opportunity cost that comes with trading a high-end prospect for a middle-of-the-rotation starter...if we could've instead made him the headliner in a package to get a higher-level player, it's a bad move.

[StringerBell]

The organizations best prospect for a mid rotation starter??? crazy talk

[Randle McMurphy]

Pass.

[Raptor_Guy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfpyGyb1J4I

[Skin Blues]

I'd love to get Niese, but not for d'Arnaud.

However, if you want to look at the prospects required to acquire a mid-rotation starting pitcher, look at Lawrie for Marcum. And Marcum only had 2 years of control, while Niese has 4 remaining years. How pissed would you be as a Brewers fan? The rumour probably isn't as far-fetched as peopel think, but I can't see it happening, either.

[Homer Jay]

Niese has some good qualities and projects out as a #2 or #3 starter. D'Arnaud could end up the best cacther in baseball if Mauer doesn't turn it around. So pass.

I think Milwaukee was desperate going into Fielder's walk year to win, so they thought that Marcum/Lawrie was worth it. Marcum also had more definite success at the major league level, and in the AL East no less, so he was more of a sure thing then Niese.

[lilneige]

Jon Niese Scouting report from Mets Fan(I think)

Profile: His plus pitch is supposed to be his 12-6 curve-ball, but inconsistent mechanics last year limited it's effectiveness. He also tends to throw it low as a strike out pitch and hitters have learned to lay off it. His fastball is around 90mph, and he relies on a cutter (85 mph) which has late movement, and it was by far his most effective pitch last year. He will occasionally show a change-up (81 mph), but only threw it 2-3 times a game. He pounds the strike zone (except with his curve-ball, which often misses low). He is a ground-ball pitcher.

maybe he can get more polished in the future and become a pitcher similar to Marcum.

[Lateral Quicks]

This is the type of move you only make if it's balls to the wall win-now mode, and even then you probably wouldn't do it.