Since it was announced yesterday that the Braves had signed Billy Wagner to a one year contract, Mets GM Omar Minaya has been getting destroyed in the media. The reason? Minaya traded Wagner this August for two fringe prospects instead of holding onto Wagner. As a result, the Red Sox offered Wagner salary arbitration at the end of the season and the Braves ultimately signed Wagner, which meant that the Red Sox were now in line to pick up the Braves' first round pick.What a bummer for the Mets.
Essentially, the Mets essentially traded Wagner away for two fringe prospects but if they held on to him and offered Wagner arbitration, then the Mets would have gotten an addition two draft picks (1 first round, 1 sandwich).
From the Mets' perspective, there were a number of reasons why the would want to make this deal:
1. they really like the prospects they got in return
2. they wanted to save some money
3. doing a favor for Billy Wagner
Out of those three options, number three seems like the worst one to base a decision off of, but unfortunately for Met fans, it looks like that's how Omar Minaya made up his mind:
"He wanted to be part of a pennant race," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said on a conference call. "We were able to get a couple of prospects for him. We felt it was the right thing to do."So in a nutshell, the Mets traded Billy Wagner to the Red Sox in large part so they could give him an opportunity to play in the postseason? As nice as that sounds, that's a terrible way for the organization to base their decision. Sure, I bet the Mets like Chris Carter a bit and yes, it's nice to save some money, but I'm sure Omar Minaya would love to have another first round draft pick at his disposal right about now to eventually add some depth to the Mets farm system.
***Where do you stand on this? Was Minaya's decision stupid, careless, or just too nice?***
