Okay, so if Fred is sincere and Sandy has leave to spend bigger going forward, do you think they might target next Winter for the OF ?

I like Ellsbury, and he'd fit our needs, but the guy makes me a all kinds of nerves, that he'd spend half his time on the DL if you gave him a 4-5 year deal. He be 30 years old going into next season, and if he is truly the guy we saw in 2011, then look out. But there is also Boris who woul drive the price up.

Hunter Pence is another name... Seem like he can give you 25/100 per year. He will be 31 going into next seasin.

How much would these guys cost ?

Would you want either of them ?

Who else on the list works for ya'

No to Ellsbury for me. I'd look at Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez and Shin-Soo Choo. If he accepts 4 years or less at a reasonable rate then I'd consider Hunter Pence but he would be a back up plan to Choo. If Duda does well this year in left then Young comes off the list. We also have to keep in mind how Nimmo is progressing.

Haven't seen the list yet, so can't address it right now. But, I would go with Pence before Ellsbury for the reasons you stated. Ellsbury seems to be a DL candidate waiting to happen every day, Pence seems more solid, good offense and defense, but won't come too cheap. Have to see what he's making now and go from there. Boras being Ellsbury's agent, he would definitely be overpriced also.

If Gomez, Young and Choo is whats avaiable, I would be looking heavily into trades also. But, lets see what the guys we have can do too. Not expecting miracles, but there may be a surprise or two for us.

Choo is an interesting player, though I'd tend too opt for Pence if his $$! Is not to too crazy.

Yeah, Ellsbury kinda seems like a mermaid leading a ship unto a reef crash. He could put up big numbers, but could also be Mr.Glass. I'd be totally scared to give him a contract.

Duda could put up a good year, but I don't know about that kid's head. Does he have the mental toughness to push himself to the next level ?

Captain Kirk I like. Does a number of things fairly well. But will hitting lefties kill his chances of being a full time player ?

Both Duda and Kirk have "potential". Both also have problems with lefties, Kirk more so. The biggest problem with both of them is the confidence factor, I think. Both seem to easily get into a funk when they aren't doing well. Duda more so on that aspect. Both will have to step up this year, needless to say, or they will wind up back in the minors again ... Kirk faster than Duda. They are twins in many ways.

Choo, and it isnt even close. Career .381 OBP batting in front of Wright, also a career .381 OBP. Basically, the number 2 and 3 batters will be on base a good bit, and it would almost make it more reasonable to get a legit clean up hitter in place of Davis, who would then be moved to the number 5 spot.

Who would the legit cleanup hitter be?

Ike loos like a legit cleanup hitter to me. His power is not an issue. He seems like a 35-40hr /100+ RBI bat.

Likely not on the roster. But Davis has power, just he isnt a great OBP guy. He has been in the past, but it would be nice to have a .340 OBP batting 4th with .500 SLG, at least. Davis can be that guy, dont get me wrong, but if there is a chance of Choo-Wright batting 2 and 3, there has to be a legit guy batting behind. If Ike can get back to the .351 OBP he had in 2010, and progress more towards the .383 OBP he had in the first 36 games of '12, he'd be a legit guy to bat 4th. Be a pretty scary 2-4 if Davis plays like that.

He's a good guy to bat there because of his power. The thing is I prefer a guy who will get on base more, and not rely on the HR ball. You got other guys like Murphy who can keep a rally going if Davis reaches base. Murphy batted .291 with .332 OBP last season. So if you got two .381 OBP guys and Davis with a .350 OBP, the chances of scoring more runs goes way up if not relying on a HR. Because Murphy can drive guys in with a single or a double.

Contrary to what Fred says, the class is pretty thin and I don't see Alderson going after most of them, especially the 31 yo guys in a big way. I see him making trades for young talent he can control for 4 or 5 years.

I think the Mets OF will need to be fixed via trade when we are close to contention. At this point there will not be top tier young free agents hitting the market for the near future.

The key for the Mets is to build around SP and the infield. Once we are a few OFers away from making a run then look for a trade.

Who we get via trade depends on how our trade chips develop into the future. We have a potential plethora of SP in the wings. Fullmer, Tapia and Syndergard lead the way of some fine organizational talent in the lower leagues. If Harvey, Wheeler, Niese and Gee can anchor the big league rotation we would be able to trade a young arm or two for a top OFer.

As for Choo vs Pence..

Their career BA is only about 5 points apart,
Pence has a better SLG %
Cho a better career OBP and OPS

I think both players could fit here. Pence is a righty bat, is a year younger, knows the league.

I don't have a major problem with either player. I've always liked Pence though.

I would not worry about Ike's OBP. I think it will be right up their. Last year was a strange year for him. I think you'll see excellent numbers across the board for him going forward.

I could see Alderson going the trade route too. That would be what i prefer actually. If there were a nice 26/27/28 year old he could find I'm all for it. But he reportedly was ready to give Bourn 4/48, and he is 30yrs old, so he might do 4 years for someone like Pence.

choo, cargo and pence are the best fits. ellsbury will want too much $, and his injury history is scary. choo will likely hit the market. he is a proffessional rf'er, hitter. the one drawback is he is a lefty. we should look at milwaukee's carlos gomez too if he hits market. yes, we had him, he went in santana trade. great speed, righty, his hitting has improved and he has some power. he likely will not cost as much as the others. choo AND cargo would be a coup. choo, south korean, is also a natural draw in flushing. a lot depends on what kind of season duda has. if he breaks out. pass on choo and go hard for cargo, maybe a 3yr deal around $7m per, and go with a platoon in rf. if duda is soso, sign choo and cargo, trade duda. as for pence, i am guessing he reups with SF. thats my two cents, but obviously a lot depends on the yrs these guys have. and choo is a boras guy, and will be looking for too many yrs, too many $. i think he would luv to be in flushing. i think he will struggle in cincy as he will be playing out of position in cf. if so, maybe his price comes down. minimum, he gets 4yrs, $48m, probably more. cargo can play any OF position, just looks better and better for us. anyway, that is what I would look at, plus BP (as usual), no idea what fred and sandy would do.

im waiting .I have hopes for Colin Cowgil and Matt Den Dekker,little hope for Duda or Neiwenheis.and Brown,Patterson,Byrd.Ill just call em what they are.Stop gaps until next year,but you never know.

just gotta throw them all against the wall,see which ones stick and then decide who we need for next year..

based on the players available next year.

Ellsbury will be asking for way to much in both years and money and has a huge injury bug on his shoulder.of the price comes down and he stays healthy.hed be a good fit and a doubles,triple machine in citi.but Boras is his agent and hed be asking for 200 million pointing to stats from 3 years ago even if he missed the whole year due to injury.

Pence-i wouldnt mind depending on the contract.

Gomez-his bat might finally be coming around.hes def worth a look.

Hart-i wanna se how he comes back from being hurt,plus isnt he a first basemen now?