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Since the end of 2006, Omar Minaya has made a ton of moves, some for the better, some for the worse. Let’s take a look at Omar’s moves.
Traded RPs Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens to the Marlins for SPs Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.
- This trade made no sense when it was made, and still makes no sense to the day. Why you would trade a 26 year old arm who can reach 100 mph for two lefty pitchers who have shown nothing in the majors. Granted, we all knew Owens arm would fall off sooner or later with that funky motion (he had Tommy John surgery), giving up Lindstrom alone is enough to make you pull your hair out. In case your wondering, Vargas has yet to pitch this year and Bostick is sporting a 6.04 ERA. Tsk, tsk Omar. GRADE then: D, GRADE now: D
Traded RPs Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the Padres for OF Ben Johnson and RP Jon Adkins
- Well, you really can’t fault Omar for this one. Bell was on the Norfolk Express in his time with the Mets, and although he was dominant in AAA, he could never figure it out in NY. Johnson was a promising OF prospect and Adkins was a stopgap reliever. Unfortunately, neither Johnson or Adkins are with the organization anymore. Because the trade OK at the time it was made, i’ll give Omar a decent grade. Bell was never going to make it here, anyway. To get anything for Bell was an accomplishment. GRADE then: B, Grade now: C
Traded SP Brian Bannister for RP Ambiorix Burgos
- Although Burgos suffered a torn ligament in his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery, I still loved this trade for the Mets at the time it was made. We were on the opposite spectrum this time, as we gave up the average SP for the flamethrowing reliever. Bannister has been a huge bust with the Royals, and is sporting an ERA over 5 this year. Burgos is making his way back, and should be ready for ST ‘09. GRADE then: B, GRADE now: B
Traded C Drew Butera and OF Dustin Martin to the Twins for 2B Luis Castillo
- Castillo has been a big bust for the Mets, especially this year, after Minaya rewarded him with a 4 year 25m dollar contract. Butera has done nothing in the minors this year, but Martin is a bit more intriguing. He is hitting .284 with 10 homers and 69 RBI for the Twinkies AA team. Now, Castillo has an atrocious contract that we have to eat for three more years, and thus blocks Daniel Murphy from playing 2B next year. Grade then: B, GRADE now: D
Traded OF Lastings Milledge for OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider
- When I heard this trade went down, I went into a tailspin. How could you trade Milledge for a journeyman outfielder who has never proven that he can hit lefties, and a C who has no offensive bat at all. Well, Church showed us all really fast that Omar saw something in him that we didn’t. Through the first few months of the year, Church was our best hitter, but unfortunately a concussion derailed his great season and he has missed much of the last three months. Schneider has been OK, we knew what we were getting, Solid D and No bat. The dealbreaker: Until recently, Milledge had not hit a lick this year, making it look like Omar won this trade big. GRADE Then: D, GRADE Now:B
Traded SPs Deolis Guerra Phil Humber Kevin Mulvey and OF Carlos Gomez to the Twins for SP Johan Santana.
- Best news I heard all winter. Getting Santana was a gift. The Mets were the darkhorse, but when the Sox and Yanks wouldn’t trade their best young prospects, the Mets jumped in and stole Santana. Mulvey and Humber have been ineffective at AAA for the Twins, and Guerra has had trouble commanding his pitches. Gomez got off to a fast start, but has since faded. Santana has been all we could have asked for, and then some. GRADE Then: A, GRADE Now: A
Traded 2B Anderson Hernandez for RP Luis Ayala
- Ayala has shown flashes that he can be counted on in the bullpen, but has also had his meltdown moments. Hernandez wasn’t going to do anything with the Mets, so it’s really a low risk high reward type of thing. Grade: B
Traded RHP Aaron Heilman for a bag of balls
- (OK, I’m Kidding)
Also, Getting Brian Stokes for cash from Tampa Bay was a nice deal. I give that a B so far.
Overall, Omar has made some head scratchers, but has also made some great deals. It should be interesting to see whether or not he gets that extension.
Thanks to Gary Grund for gathering all the trades.
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7 Responses for "My Report Card for Omar Minaya"
On castillo: The trade was a B…ridiculously low risk for decent reward. Cant judge a trade like that low simply cuz we gave up nothing of value.
On his contract, well thats another story, and deserves the D. But if we’re talking FA moves, there’s a whole lot of others to add, so if we’re just doing transactions, the grade’s a B.
i agree. it was a B then, how is it a B now? Castillo has done nada for this team.
Well, you judge it based on the fact we lost nothing, and castillo wasnt exactly a problem last year. IMO: D and F’s are only for trades that end up biting you (it didnt), maybe a C is deserved.
BTW rob, im here now.so if you want to come in irc.
I disagree on the Bell trade. I might just be fuzzy, but from what I remember, Heath Bell got rare chances and when he did, he exclusively pitched in the long reliever role. In fact, I remember in 2006 that that was pretty much his only job, mostly because the bullpen at the time was very good as a whole.
But I think like — if Heath Bell was two years younger and 2006 was 2008, Bell would have emerged as a Met while their 2008 pen struggled. If just given an opportunity here, I think he would have eventually emerged. Would he have put up the same numbers as in San Diego? Eh, probably not because that’s San Diego. But I don’t think Heath Bell had like a mental block against NYC. That just seems like rationale for what turned out to be a bad trade.
I didn’t like the Bell trade at the time it was made, mostly because like you said, Jon Adkins was a stopgap reliever that nobody liked even at the time of the deal. It was basically for Ben Johnson, which was ridiculous because there was only room for him as a 5th OF, if that. So basically the Mets traded their Triple-A setup man and closer for a 5th OF. It’d be like if Carlos Muniz and Willie Collazo were traded for like a 24 year old Willie Harris today. And say, one of them (Muniz or Collazo) turned out to be pretty good.
As far as Bannister/Burgos, I don’t think you can call it a good trade until Burgos does well for the Mets. After all, Bannister has given the Royals a decent 2007 IIRC and a good April 2008. That’s better than nothing. I’m not somebody who thinks Bannister could have been AMAZING, though I did like him when the trade was made.
You forgot a big trade. Trading Nady for Perez. I think that was a maybe a B or C then but it’s def a B or even an A now!
Gal, I think Rob was only mentioning trades since the 06 season.
Otherwise, this scorecard would look a lot better
yes loran is right. I think Omar has been a pass since the ned of 06, so i wanted to take a look at the end of 06 until now.
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