Word from New York is that Oliver Perez is back with the Mets on a 3–year, $36 M deal. That’s big money these days. Lucky Ollie.
The deal presumably takes the Mets out of the running for Ben Sheets. How stunning is this: The guy who started the All-Star Game for the National League still doesn’t have a job two weeks before spring training. Sheets’ injury history is a huge factor, of course. His elbow pain forced him out of games early in the crucial stretch run and playoffs last year. But the guy is an ace when healthy.
I don’t know what’s showing up on Sheets’s x-rays. Hell, I probably couldn’t tell bone chips from a bag of low-cholesterol, cruelty-free, shade-grown, baked-not-fried, union-proud, chipotle and organic sumac flavored tortilla chips, but let’s play “What if” for a moment anyway — call it a bit of Sabeanesque tire-kicking for the soul.
What if Sheets’s arm had, say, a 50% chance of holding up for a full season? And what if, seeing how his market was fading fast, he was willing to go one year plus an option based on innings pitched (weighted toward late-season innings, as the Giants did with a certain part of Matt Cain’s contract)?
What if the Giants could sign him? Remember, this isn’t an aging veteran or an unproven kid. When healthy, Sheets is elite. Putting dollars aside for a moment, here’s the calculation: Would the Giants have enough faith in Sheets’s health to trade Jonathan Sanchez in spring training for a legitimate bat? If so, and Sheets’s arm gave out, would Noah Lowry be ready to step into the rotation?
If not Lowry, would the team still be strong enough with a starting four of Lincecum, Cain, Johnson and Zito, and the improved offense from the Sanchez trade?
Would having Sheets and Johnson in the same rotation without adequate backup be too risky? I’m eager to read your thoughts, even some dollar figures you think would be worth taking the risk on Sheets. Before you pooh-pooh, imagine: The Four Aces and some guy named Zito, plus a serious offensive upgrade.
