11/30/2005 11:30 AM ET
Heilman, Milledge not going anywhere
Mets plan to hang onto valuable reliever, outfield prospect
By Marty Noble / MLB.com

Aaron Heilman is the Mets' most effective setup reliever against left-handed hitters. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK -- The Winter Meetings are on the immediate horizon, and the Mets, reveling in the momentum of their recent successes, say they are not done remodeling.
That may make those without trade protection or primary roles a bit uneasy, but Aaron Heilman and Lastings Milledge need not be. Indeed, the Mets' second-most valuable reliever and their primary prospect are in position to buy some green bananas. Neither will be changing career paths anytime soon.

That became increasingly evident during the Mets' trade negotiations with the Marlins for Carlos Delgado. Heilman and Milledge would have made a more appealing package than Mike Jacobs and Yusmeiro Petit, even though Heilman would have been in position to earn more from the cost-conscious Marlins than Jacobs. As much as general manager Omar Minaya wanted Delgado's left-handed power, he wouldn't deal either.

Moreover, the Mets' reluctance to deal Heilman or Milledge was reinforced Tuesday by members of the club hierarchy as they basked in the glow of the team's signing of closer Billy Wagner. One said neither will be involved in a deal that would import Manny Ramirez, making such an acquisition even less likely. And another expressed confidence the Mets could make the trades they need to make without dealing Heilman or Milledge.

"There's nothing -- no one -- we have in mind that we think will require us to move either [Heilman or Milledge]," another person said. "We think we can make the moves we want without hurting ourselves at other positions."

The club still needs to define its catching assignments and now is more inclined to do so by trade than by signing either of the high-profile, high-priced free agent catchers -- Bengie Molina or Ramon Hernandez. The Mets believe neither would be enough of an acquisition to warrant the projected price tag. They have made offers to each, but the offers were designed to determine what the catchers won't accept.

In the unlikely event Molina or Hernandez accept the Mets' offer, the club would be pleased. But the more likely and preferred scenario is to trade for a catcher who will share the assignment with Ramon Castro and put the money not spent on a new backstop toward importing a free agent reliever.

The Mets have their eye on Toby Hall of the Devil Rays to share the work with Castro, but the Rays are hesitant about dealing unless Heilman is involved.

The value Heilman has to the Mets could decrease if a left-handed reliever were obtained, but probably not to the degree at which the Mets would feel comfortable dealing him. At this point, he is their most effective setup reliever against left-handed hitters.



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And with Heilman increasing his arm strength as a starter in winter ball, he is, more than ever, the one setup reliever manager Willie Randolph can use in challenging situations without regard for left-handed or right-handed hitting. That would mean fewer pitching changes and less need for relievers to warm up.

Coaching swap: Randolph has reassigned two members of his coaching staff. Jerry Manuel will move from first base to the bench, and Sandy Alomar will make opposite move.

Randolph explained the switch was made because "it fits better with what we're trying to do. Sandy brings more to the table on the bases. I feel like Sandy can get the most out of our runners as far as stealing bases."

Unless third-base coach Manny Acta becomes the Dodgers manager, the other coaches will retain the assignment they had last season.




This is the right move IMO - to keep younger players and try to fill in the holes at catcher wand relief pitching. WE do not want to bankrupt the future for all high priced veterans that will probably not pan out- look at my Rangers of the past 7 years in hockey

Faba;

As a long time Rangers fan myself, I could not agree with you any more. The past 7 years (actually 8, but 1 was a lockout) have been pure torture for any Rangers fan.

Things look a lot better these days though.

Back to the topic - Heilman has greatly increased his value to the Mets, and they would be foolish to deal him. And the word is that Lastings is the goods, so why trade him.

Nice going by Omar, if this is true.

Nice idea, in theory, but lets see how long this lasts if a Nady or Floyd struggle early and some average outfielder off to a half decent start like Jose Cruz jr., Juan Encarcion or Richard Hidalgo becomes available?

I took a heep of flack from some punk-a$$ turd at Jetsinsider after the Mets overpaid Beltran and Pedro last season for suggesting buying players doesn't always win championships and the Mets would be no better than they were in 2004.

I also went as far as saying Beltran left a place (Houston), which he loved and could've won a title, because some sleaze-bag agent wanted to make a few extra pennies off his contract. This sent the JI turd into a total meltdown.

This retarded garbage dump was throwing around the F' word at me and saying I was an A-hole.....blah, blah, blah #-o

I guess he just wet his pants over Beltran and didn't want a shrewd baseball fan with foresight telling him the truth: The Mets would still stink :lol:

And they did. For all Omar's spending, they lost to Smoltz, 48 year old Julio Franco, the Jones' and bunch of 21 year olds, who were playing high school football in Georgia not too long ago.


Mets can keep spending and spending....but until they prove they can win with all these free agents (most past their prime), I'll assume they'll stink.



BTY, the only reason the Yanks were great in the mid to latter part of the 1990's was due to Howie Spira (sp?) getting King George suspended...

That allowed Stick Michael, a true baseball man, to draft and develop a team that had guts and attitude -- something Cashman, an obvious raisin-sack in comparison, can't do =D>

P.S: The Mets should waited a few more weeks to hire a GM in 2004 and brought in Gerry Hunsicker (a former Met exec), who built the Astros from top to bottom in the 1990's. He took them from total trash, with little to money......To one of the best ORGANIZATIONS in baseball!

Nice idea, in theory, but lets see how long this lasts if a Nady or Floyd struggle early and some average outfielder off to a half decent start like Jose Cruz jr., Juan Encarcion or Richard Hidalgo becomes available?

I took a heep of flack from some punk-a$$ turd at Jetsinsider after the Mets overpaid Beltran and Pedro last season for suggesting buying players doesn't always win championships and the Mets would be no better than they were in 2004.

I also went as far as saying Beltran left a place (Houston), which he loved and could've won a title, because some sleaze-bag agent wanted to make a few extra pennies off his contract. This sent the JI turd into a total meltdown.

This retarded garbage dump was throwing around the F' word at me and saying I was an A-hole.....blah, blah, blah #-o

I guess he just wet his pants over Beltran and didn't want a shrewd baseball fan with foresight telling him the truth: The Mets would still stink :lol:

And they did. For all Omar's spending, they lost to Smoltz, 48 year old Julio Franco, the Jones' and bunch of 21 year olds, who were playing high school football in Georgia not too long ago.


Mets can keep spending and spending....but until they prove they can win with all these free agents (most past their prime), I'll assume they'll stink.



BTY, the only reason the Yanks were great in the mid to latter part of the 1990's was due to Howie Spira (sp?) getting King George suspended...

That allowed Stick Michael, a true baseball man, to draft and develop a team that had guts and attitude -- something Cashman, an obvious raisin-sack in comparison, can't do =D>

P.S: The Mets should waited a few more weeks to hire a GM in 2004 and brought in Gerry Hunsicker (a former Met exec), who built the Astros from top to bottom in the 1990's. He took them from total trash, with little to money......To one of the best ORGANIZATIONS in baseball!

R44,

No need to Mets bash here. I, as a Mets fan, have been a lot more tolerant of yank and sox fans. Look, Beltran had an off year...but Pedro was absolutely worth the money. The Mets will make the playoffs this year. I think the Braves, phils and Marlins will have off years.

The mets will get a good catcher, find a trade for matsui and get a good 2b (Grudzalinek sp?). We may even get Manny..(which would be amazing!)

SO, in closing, Omar has done well...he has brough excitement back to metsland!

LL

We'll see Gabe. Although I respect your positive outlook.

I'd actually love to see them do well. But as faba pointed out, they are starting to look a lot like the hockey team that plays at Madison Garden over the last 10 seasons -- huge offseason signings for huge money, but little results with a galaxy of stars.

I'll give you this: The Mets should be better. Given their payroll, how can they regress?

But when you look at baseball, when is the last time you saw a team win a title (or even come close) with a team almost totally comprised of big name free agents?

Maybe the Diamondbacks, because they were a recent expansion team? But that team actually put their core group together a few seasons earlier and kept it constant. Also, most of those players came in shrewd trades over time -- getting value players fairly cheap.

In my opinion, and that's all I can give, the Mets are making a huge mistake depleting the farm and trading off several of their top young players (Kazmir, Jacobs, Petit) for players well over 30 -- Grudzalanek (sp?) is another well over 30.

I have to assume Heilman and Milledge will be dealt, if the Mets have a need during the next season, because there will so much pressure to win now.

The Mets of the 1980's, were built from the farm system. When the team got close, after the 1984 season, Cashen got the owners to pony up the money for that 1 star that got them over the top -- Gary Carter (who was only 30 when the Mets got him).

I don't disagree Florida will have an off-season, but don't count Atlanta out. All the young players that help lead them to a title should be better. And Philly still has a great lineup and added a top CF (Aaron Rowland) for a player they no longer needed (Jim Thome).

We'll see in time. As we've talked about since 2004, the Mets need a second baseman.


**P.S: I realize both Wright and Reyes came up through the Mets system, but they are 23.

Nice idea, in theory, but lets see how long this lasts if a Nady or Floyd struggle early and some average outfielder off to a half decent start like Jose Cruz jr., Juan Encarcion or Richard Hidalgo becomes available?

I took a heep of flack from some punk-a$$ turd at Jetsinsider after the Mets overpaid Beltran and Pedro last season for suggesting buying players doesn't always win championships and the Mets would be no better than they were in 2004.

I also went as far as saying Beltran left a place (Houston), which he loved and could've won a title, because some sleaze-bag agent wanted to make a few extra pennies off his contract. This sent the JI turd into a total meltdown.

This retarded garbage dump was throwing around the F' word at me and saying I was an A-hole.....blah, blah, blah #-o

I guess he just wet his pants over Beltran and didn't want a shrewd baseball fan with foresight telling him the truth: The Mets would still stink :lol:

And they did. For all Omar's spending, they lost to Smoltz, 48 year old Julio Franco, the Jones' and bunch of 21 year olds, who were playing high school football in Georgia not too long ago.


Mets can keep spending and spending....but until they prove they can win with all these free agents (most past their prime), I'll assume they'll stink.



BTY, the only reason the Yanks were great in the mid to latter part of the 1990's was due to Howie Spira (sp?) getting King George suspended...

That allowed Stick Michael, a true baseball man, to draft and develop a team that had guts and attitude -- something Cashman, an obvious raisin-sack in comparison, can't do =D>

P.S: The Mets should waited a few more weeks to hire a GM in 2004 and brought in Gerry Hunsicker (a former Met exec), who built the Astros from top to bottom in the 1990's. He took them from total trash, with little to money......To one of the best ORGANIZATIONS in baseball!

R44,

No need to Mets bash here. I, as a Mets fan, have been a lot more tolerant of yank and sox fans. Look, Beltran had an off year...but Pedro was absolutely worth the money. The Mets will make the playoffs this year. I think the Braves, phils and Marlins will have off years.

The mets will get a good catcher, find a trade for matsui and get a good 2b (Grudzalinek sp?). We may even get Manny..(which would be amazing!)

SO, in closing, Omar has done well...he has brough excitement back to metsland!

LL...very astute Godfather

The moves Omar has made so far have been good moves IMO- Beltran and Martinez last year.
Delgado and Wagner moves so far. My point is I do not want to trade all the potentailly good players in the farm system and create a team of high priced free agents to fill in the holes. This has been proven not to work (see Rangers in hockey) and Dodgers and Orioles in baseball just free spending money on guys.
the moves Omar and the money he has spent he had to overspend to bring excitement and legitimacy back to the Mets fan base. Now he needs to fill in spots with guys like Hernandez last year- the guy was lights out as reliever for us at a good price. Heilman is finally living up to ist round selection- he has good stuff- no way I want to see him leave now

jeesh, you'd think the Mets thought they had Harry Heilmann rather than Aaron

jeesh, you'd think the Mets thought they had Harry Heilmann rather than Aaron

I would much rather have heillman, milledge and seo, then Manny

Nice idea, in theory, but lets see how long this lasts if a Nady or Floyd struggle early and some average outfielder off to a half decent start like Jose Cruz jr., Juan Encarcion or Richard Hidalgo becomes available?

I took a heep of flack from some punk-a$$ turd at Jetsinsider after the Mets overpaid Beltran and Pedro last season for suggesting buying players doesn't always win championships and the Mets would be no better than they were in 2004.

I also went as far as saying Beltran left a place (Houston), which he loved and could've won a title, because some sleaze-bag agent wanted to make a few extra pennies off his contract. This sent the JI turd into a total meltdown.

This retarded garbage dump was throwing around the F' word at me and saying I was an A-hole.....blah, blah, blah #-o

I guess he just wet his pants over Beltran and didn't want a shrewd baseball fan with foresight telling him the truth: The Mets would still stink :lol:

And they did. For all Omar's spending, they lost to Smoltz, 48 year old Julio Franco, the Jones' and bunch of 21 year olds, who were playing high school football in Georgia not too long ago.


Mets can keep spending and spending....but until they prove they can win with all these free agents (most past their prime), I'll assume they'll stink.



BTY, the only reason the Yanks were great in the mid to latter part of the 1990's was due to Howie Spira (sp?) getting King George suspended...

That allowed Stick Michael, a true baseball man, to draft and develop a team that had guts and attitude -- something Cashman, an obvious raisin-sack in comparison, can't do =D>

P.S: The Mets should waited a few more weeks to hire a GM in 2004 and brought in Gerry Hunsicker (a former Met exec), who built the Astros from top to bottom in the 1990's. He took them from total trash, with little to money......To one of the best ORGANIZATIONS in baseball!

The Mets were better in 2005 your shrewdness aside.

Looper blowing saves along with no production at 1B is what cost the Mets a play-off shot.

Minaya has addressed both those situations. After that it is up to the players to perform.

Pedro was the best starting pitcher in NY last year and the Mets are built around Reyes and Wright with a mixture of young talent and veteran Free Agents.

The team is once again close as you call it and are "ponying up" with a couple of free agent signings that will be followed by trades.

Does that guarantee a WS? No just ask the Yankees but Omar is correct at taking a shot with this group.

Again, the Mets so far are only replacing the payroll relief they got with Piazza-Looper-Cameron moving on.


Wake me up when Houston wins a WS.