(Neil Miller/Sportsday Wire)
So the Mets got some good news today. At least that’s what it appears to be.
Today the Mets announced that David Wright is going to resume limited baseball activities, meaning if all goes well, The Captain will be probably back on the field sometime after the All-Star break.
Now having David Wright back is better than David Wright with a bad back. No doubt about it. But you have to wonder if you will have Wright back at 100 percent, a shell of his former self, with the Mets praying for his better days.
Either way it doesn’t matter. With No. 5 in the lineup, the Mets are a better team. Wright is still a credible hitter and pitcher still need to respect him in the lineup.
That said, Wright better not be the Mets big mid-season acquisition. We had better not see Sandy Alderson standing in front of the press with his wry sarcastic smile and say there was nothing he could do because there was nothing to acquire.
Hogwash.
Alderson needs to make a trade. Outfielder, second baseman or shortstop -they are all available for upgrade. He has a farm system filled with a bunch of b-level prospects that could be used as chips.
For all of their flaws, the past Mets general managers did have the “go for it” gene in them. Steve Phillips would add players even if they were on the fringe and Jim Duquette made those poor trades back in 2004 with the team on the outside looking in.
And Omar Minaya thrived at the trade deadline, and even kept it going through august.
Alderson, though, has never bought. Oh, he has been a great seller and you wouldn’t have Zack Wheeler, Dilson Herrera and Vic Black on the team if he wasn’t able to turn fire sales into gold. Now, though, the time has come to be a buyer.
He has to take some risks here. Even if some of the young players turn out to be eventual All-Stars, Alderson needs to take the chance and go for it. If the Mets make the playoffs, then his trade would have worked out. But without risks, there are no rewards.
But you can see it’s not working right now. The Cubs, who have been in the market for pitching, shut the Mets down yesterday and today it looks like Jon Lester is going to pitch another beauty. It’s time to make a move.
And that move is not just waiting for Mr. Wright.
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