Saturday, January 09, 2010

Tejada at First Base?

Metsblog linked to an article today at Caught Lookin' where the author suggests the Mets take a look at Miguel Tejada to play first base. Before this suggestion gets any steam, let me just say:

NO.

Tejada is a 36 year old former shortstop whose best years are behind him. In his peak, from 2000-2007, he posted an 844 OPS, hit 224 home runs, and won an MVP award. In the last two years, however, he has hit a poor .298/.327/.435.

The author of the article opines:

In no way am I calling for Murphy's job, but I just don't see where he fits in with the Mets plans. They now have a left fielder for the next 4 years, Murphy proved he cannot play second base in Arizona last fall and with Ike Davis on the horizon and Wright at third, there is literally nowhere for him to play. So, maybe it's best to get what you can for him now before it's too late and bring in another bat like Tejada to take his place.


This is a bad idea for several reasons.

1. Murphy is likely to be better than Tejada next year anyway -- Tejada's .298/.327/.435 line is actually WORSE than Murphy's line of .275/.331/.437.

2. Murphy's value is as low now as it could possibly be. It would be the worst time to trade him. I'm not a huge Murphy fan, but he deserves a chance to establish himself.

3. I don't believe that Ike Davis is such a "sure thing" that we can make plans around keeping first base open for him.

4. Even if Tejada was better, he will be vastly more expensive than Murphy, who will make almost the minimum salary.

So hopefully this idea doesn't gain any momentum.

2 comments:

Silvestricles said...

I appreciate you taking the time to read my article and comment upon it.

However, I must say I disagree with your analysis of Tejada's .298/.327/.435 line as being "poor", also I disagree with Murphy's line being "better" as he only has a marginal edge in OBP and slugging (like .04 & .02).

As far as Murphy goes, I like him. I just don't see him as the future of the Mets at 1B. And although I realize that his trade value is not high right now, our need for a starting pitcher is. He could be a valuable part of a deal that could land a nice starter.

But thank you for taking the time to read and disagree. Please keep reading, as I will keep reading yours.

Brian Mangan said...

Hey thanks for your comment! Upon re-reading my post, I see that it might have come off as snide - I certainly didn't intend it that way. I just wrote it in a rush on the way out the door.

For what it's worth, here are some projections for next year:

Chone-
Tejada: .297/.333/.434
Murphy: .274/.328/.429

Fans-
Tejada: .291/.328/.426
Murphy: .280/.346/.445

Tejada is older, vastly more expensive, and has never played first base.

Although, if Murphy would bring a decent return in trade I'd definitely revisit it.