Michael Bourn

That's some admirable work for sure Yogi and it looks good on paper.

The issue though is sample size.  Cowgill has a total of 196 major-league AB and Nieuwenhuis has 282.  Plus Nieuwenhuis had some worrisome trends last year, hitting .325 in April, .263 in May, .238 in June and .105 in July. 

The sample sizes work both ways--there could be big upside for Cowgill and Nieuwenhius that we don't know about.  The difference is that Bourne has 3000+ AB in the majors, so his numbers are much more reliable. 

Granted the sample is small but that may just be the platoon in CF for 2013 and would be, even if the number don't hold up, better than either Cowgill or Nieuwenhuis singularly.  Matt Van Dekker has been invited to the major league camp this spring so he may be part of the mix.  Incidently Mike Baxter and Andrew Brown can be dropped in the Cusinart and blended into a better RF than the 2012 model.   Mets could make up unis with Michael Andrew Baxter-Brown on the back after the DNA is all spun together.

















                 

Yogi I agree that is Aldersons' plan going into the spring unless Bourn really takes a discount however I think Bourn will be more effective this year overall.

Man that's a real murderer's row out there...

Seriously though I know that's the plan, and there is always a chance that someone will emerge from that group to be a productive major league player.  I have very little faith in any of them, though we all did see Nieuwenhuis give something for a short time last year and Cowgill and Baxter have a certain measure of upside but overall that's just not much to go on.

 

I don't think anyone is giving Bourn more than a 3-year deal so Alderson will be right in holding off any talks unless they start and end with 3-years. i also think $15 is way too overpriced for a guy who's career year last season amounted to a .276 average. Alderson has to use Angel Pagan's free agent contract as a comparison ($10 million for 3 years). Pagan has speed like Bourn, covered centerfield wonderfully in SF last year, and is the same age. But Pagan has more power, hits more extra base hits and hits for a higher average.

As for the combinations that people are suggesting instead of signing Bourn, forget about the numbers you're putting on paper. No combination will give you the necessary defense Bourn will bring to the team and no combination will provide the speed or OBP necessary to score runs.

I'm not a great fan of Bourn's but would gladly pay him $10m-$11M for 3 years, not more. Offensively he's not a superstar. He strikes out more often than you'd like to see and is basically a singles hitter with speed. But when I think of the disaster we have as an alternative, and the fact we have nobody in our minor league system ready to step in this year or probably next year in centerfield, then Bourn becomes my center of attention because at least you know we're set in centerfield. That's one of 3 positions in our outfield out of the way. 

Then you can use the circus of platoon players to fill the two corner outfield positions.  

Excuse me, Pagan is 2-years older than Bourn and signed a 4-year deal at $10m per.

Alderson/Mets FO flew to Houston to have dinner with Bourn and his agent Scott Bora$.  Bourn said he wanted a 5 year deal, obviously this is what he's gonna say... But... that doesn't mean he won't accept a 3 year deal with an opt out after a year or 2.  Boras likes those kinds of contracts when the market is minimal or slow for his free agents, he's okay's it before for other players of his.  And the Mets like the idea of it too, it buys them time to get outfielders like Nimmo closer to ready while having a respectable outfielder over the next year or 2.

This is what is said to have been discussed during the dinner.

Again though, none of this stuff will matter unless the Mets know they can keep their 1st round pick first.