On the day I got Shaun Marcum‘s baseball card for my 2013 Topps Update Mets team set, the rumors have started about which “bargain basement” free agent injury reclamation project might be among Sandy Alderson‘s targets this winter.
The infamous “person with knowledge of the situation” tells Jorge Castillo of the Star-Ledger that the Mets could pursue Rafael Furcal instead of going after Stephen Drew or Jhonny Peralta to upgrade the Ruben Tejada / Omar Quintanilla combo at shortstop next season.
Of course, even though Furcal missed all of the 2013 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, he may not actually be much of a bargain. MLB Trade Rumors reports that four or five other teams also have interest in Furcal… surely that’s enough to start a bidding war.
Furcal’s 2012 line (.264 / .325 /.346) looks a lot nicer than Tejada’s numbers from 2013 (.202 / .259 / .260), but Tejada’s own 2012 line (.289 / .333 / .351) was better than Furcal’s.
If you remember Furcal’s early career with the Atlanta Braves, he used to be a big stolen base threat. That’s no longer true – you have to go back to 2010 to find a season where he reached 20 steals. And 2012 is the only year since 2009 when Furcal appeared in at least 100 games.
If you can pop the Atlanta Braves version of Furcal out of a time machine, I could get excited about the prospect of him being a Met. But I almost think I’d prefer to see Tejada get another chance if the 2014 version of Furcal is the best available “upgrade.”
In other news, 17 minor league players in the Mets system became free agents because they were not added to the 40-man roster. Of the group, relief pitcher Greg Burke is probably the most notable, so there’s no real reason to stress about any of the departures.
And the Mets finalized their radio broadcasting agreement with WOR 710 on Monday, forging a tie with the Clear Channel Media family that also includes Z100, KTU and Q104. The interesting aspect of the team’s announcement that I didn’t see get that much play in the media coverage is this:
The Mets and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment will work together to enhance in-game entertainment at Citi Field and jointly explore the production and promotion of top name concerts, festivals and large-scale entertainment events at Citi Field.
I’m curious to see what actually develops in terms of concerts, festivals and “large-scale entertainment events.”
PaulHadsall.com 
To me, Francisco Pena was the big name on that list of Mets let go. I had high hopes for him. And so did the Mets, at one point. He even went on an offensive tear early this year with Vegas (probably the thin, dry air). Overall, a very strong catcher with (I kind of thought) a steady, unremarkable bat. Pretty much a .240-.250 hitter at this point, but still just 23. I guess Centeno had passed him on the depth chart (better average, less pop, also a very good catcher from what I hear). I know I’m in the minority, but I’m still not sold on D’Arnaud.
I think the Mets will take a run at Drew this offseason. Whether or not that’s a good thing, I’m not sure. Can’t say it excites me any. I think I’d rather see if I could get Dee Gordon on the cheap from LaLa Land. I haven’t given up on him yet, but I think the Dodgers have.
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I never got to see Pena play, and he never posted numbers that really made me say”wow.”
I’m not sold on d’Arnaud after his 2013 performance either, but you know he’ll get every opportunity next year.
I more or less expect Alderson to sign a veteran backup, with Centeno and Anthony Recker landing in Las Vegas.
I don’t think anyone is excited about Drew, but let’s see what happens. I don’t think there’s really anything that Alderson can do to cure my apathy this winter- it’s going to be up to the team to demonstrate some visible progress in 2014.
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