As we head into May and the divide between contenders and pretenders starts to make itself obvious, let’s do a deep dive into team needs. The marketplace is starting to come alive, with people other than Ginter posting team needs and wants for the 19 different teams he’s running, so away we go.
With no offense meant to the Detroit Tigers or the Baltimore Orioles.
New York Mets
Sitting at 19-18 after going 2-8 in their last ten games, the Mets have a 0 run differential. Which is impressive, considering they’ve gone 2-8 lately. You’d think they’d at least have managed to get outscored by 40 runs.
The pitching has been fine. The lineup is where things get uncomfortable.
I could point to Phil Nevin (0.2 WAR), Bret Boone (0.0 WAR), and a couple of regulars who haven’t found .200 yet, but the neon signs are pointing to catcher.
BJ Surhoff and Bill Haselman have combined for -0.4 WAR. And despite being the backup catcher, Phil Nevin has gotten more time behind the plate than Surhoff. Nothing says “we have a plan” quite like replacing your backup catcher with a guy who wasn’t supposed to be catching.
For one of the best offenses on paper, this is a team that needs a jolt before the wild-card race gets away from them.
Best fit: Todd Hundley, Cleveland Spiders.
Hundley is the best catcher on the market and fits this lineup perfectly — big power and considerably less emphasis on defense. He’s also a fit financially for the long term.
The Mets went all-in last season with Randy Johnson. Do they have another big trade in them?
They probably should.
Montreal Expos
Remember when everyone wrote Montreal off?
That was fun.
The Expos are 8-1 in May, 8-2 over their last ten, and only 4.5 games back. The slow starters are coming around, the rotation has stabilized, and suddenly this looks like a team nobody wants to play.
What do they need?
Bullpen help.
Ed Correa, last year’s Fireman of the Year, has pitched in 21 games to a 6.41 ERA. That’s generally not what you’re looking for from the guy whose job description involves putting out fires.
Mike Jeffcoat is injured but expected back in two weeks.
Best fit: Joey Eischen, Colorado Rockies.
Eischen is 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA and 11 saves in 14 games, and he’s a luxury for a Colorado team that needs prospects and picks as they seemingly reset after their rough start.
At 27, this feels like a picks-for-player swap that makes sense for both sides.
Montreal doesn’t need Mariano Rivera.
They just need somebody who doesn’t make the bullpen feel like a fire drill.
Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto continues to prove the haters wrong, which is becoming mildly irritating.
They’re second in runs scored and second in runs allowed. The bullpen has been outstanding and the starting pitching is good enough to make noise in the playoffs.
The offense is a different story.
First in slugging. First in home runs. First in extra-base hits. Seventh in OBP. Fifth in average.
Basically, hit the ball very far is the offensive strategy.
And right now, they need outfielders.
Darrin Jackson and Dwayne Hosey have combined for -0.1 WAR, and right field is looking more like a revolving door. Dan Pasqua is hitting well in roughly 22 at-bats, while Shane Spencer and Felix Jose are, well, Shane Spencer and Felix Jose.
Losing Ellis Burks for the season sounds bad until you remember how poorly he was playing. Toronto may have accidentally improved itself.
Best fit: A cheap veteran or interesting AAA player.
That’s the problem. Toronto has a late third-round pick and not a ton of other obvious trade assets.
They could move someone like Will Clark for an outfielder, but that’s basically moving deck chairs around.
Michael Tucker (Oakland), Dmitri Young (Colorado), Doug Glanville (St. Louis), Butch Huskey (Arizona), Brian McRae (Orlando), Chad Curtis (Florida) or Jeffrey Hammonds (Detroit) could all make some sense.
Toronto doesn’t need a star. They need someone they can trust to play right field without everyone holding their breath when the ball is hit that way.
Washington Senators
What do you get the team that has everything?
Time.
Washington’s rotation and bullpen are humming, and this is a young team that continues to grow.
Unfortunately, the bats are growing at their own pace.
The Senators are 3-6 in May and 10th in the league in runs scored. Albert Belle is hitting .234, Alex Rodriguez .220, and Carlos Beltran and Carlos Guillen are both at .227.
Someone needs to wake up.
They went out and got Ken Caminiti, who’s been almost league average over 17 games. They need another bat, preferably at third base.
Jeff Cirillo, brought in earlier this season, is hitting .154 with one home run and three RBI — somehow worse than he was doing with the Cubs.
That’s an achievement.
Best fit: Chris Brown, Baltimore Orioles.
This one feels obvious. Brown was signed by Baltimore in the offseason with what I can only assume was the intention of flipping him, and he’s posted a WAR over 1 this season.
He can play first or third, brings a veteran presence, and gives Washington some stability while the younger players figure things out.
Washington doesn’t need another blockbuster. They already made their big move with Caminiti and don’t typically want to move their first-round picks.
They need a grown-up.
Chris Brown might be exactly that.
And honestly, getting somebody to hit .250 would probably qualify as a pretty significant upgrade.