Murray Chass wrote an interesting blog post today about the Mets’ offseason process:
But more than one agent cited the Mets’ inability to deal with more than one free agent at a time as the primary reason they lost out on free agents. “We’re interested in your guy,” more than one agent recalled the Mets saying, “but we have to deal with this other guy first.”
In one instance, the Mets were a player’s first choice, an agent said, but he was one or two down on the Mets’ pecking order – a phrase used by another agent – and the player and the agent weren’t going to wait for the Mets to deal with them. They went elsewhere….
Another agent called the process frustrating. I have other names for it: foolish, wasteful, destructive, irresponsible, to suggest a few. Surely, a general manager is capable of talking to more than one agent simultaneously, working on parallel tracks, even if one signing depends on another.
I’ve used this space to rip Chass a bit in the past, but getting on the horn with agents to dig up dirt on the Mets is definitely the type of thing he spent a long time training to do, and everything he writes here seems to fit with everything we’ve already heard about the Mets this offseason.
But what I don’t get is why so anybody’s acting like this is an altogether new problem. Remember that last year Omar Minaya said, on the record, “we’re not in the position-player market, we’re in the starting-pitcher market.”
It’s certainly possible — and entirely likely — that the issues have been amplified by the rumored hedges on Minaya’s power that might now be in place, but it doesn’t seem like operating with a narrow and myopic focus is exclusive to the 2010 version of the Mets’ front office.
Tedquarters 
I as always when I read of one party saying negative things about another, look for the motivation. Not questioning Chass here, but the agents he talked to are the agents of players the Mets basically told to take a hike. These are agents who had put a value on a clients worth, and then were told by the Mets we dont think your guy is worth that.
Bruised egos perhaps? The way this offseason played out, with many signing not happening until late in the game, I find it hard to believe that an agent would get that antsy and just pass up what could be more money from the Mets had they just waited a bit longer.
That’s a good point, but at the same time, if the Mets weren’t going to come out and blow a guy away — with Pineiro, for instance — I could understand the player getting frustrated with their inability to commit or negotiate. The players have their own concerns, figuring out where they’re heading for Spring Training, lining up where they’ll live for the season and all that. If I’m already offered $8 mil a year, am I going to wait an extra month for the Mets to maybe offer me an extra million spread over two years, or just get something done immediately and not have to worry about where I’m going to be?
I agree…. who know what really went on there. I was just pointing out the fact that whenever someone is talking bad about the Mets, or any other organization for that matter, if you look, there usually some sort of motivating factor. I’m not surprised that the agents of players who wanted to play for the Mets and were rebuffed, would now come out and say these things.
I think like everyone else, its just easy to blame the Mets, for anything no matter what it is. Putz sucked last year and got hurt, but somehow thats the Mets fault? Cliff Floyd didnt get a hit in game 7 in 2006, and yesterday he would have you believe that this was not his fault, but the Mets fault, specifically Willie Randolph.
I’m not surprised that the agents of players who wanted to play for the Mets and were rebuffed, would now come out and say these things. If you asked Jason Bays agent about dealing with the Mets what would he say? Or ask Scott Boras who has many clients with the Mets? Or the agents for Santana and Reyes etc. They’d prob give a much different persepctive on dealing with the Mets front office as it all comes down to specific experiences.
It’s not a blog!!!
I agree that the inability to multi task is a recurring theme with Minaya. Even if he has to get each offer approved by Wilpon, he can still pursue more than one at a time. I am not buying into the problem is Jeff Wilpon holding back Omar. If you look at his body of work it is unimpressive. Signing a guy like Cora early instead of waiting to see how the market develops makes sense for building a bench, while being aggresive with the key players you want early also makes sense. It’s not like waiting/riding out the market got the Mets any bargins (see Oliver Perez). It seems Omar went after Bay with some aggressiveness and had him wrapped up by Christmas. The same attention should have applied to a pitcher. Assuming the Mets chose Bay over Lackey (which I am fine with) then they should have been more assertive with the next option. It looks like 2 years at $18M would have taken care of Pinero, and although he isn’t a real #2 he would have provided a needed boost. Either Minaya is a very poor GM or the approach he took was a way of looking like he was working hard to improve the Mets with no real intention of signing another player of consequence. The Mets, as an organization have been consistent under achievers while Minaya has been the GM. With the payroll and large market of NY the Mets should have been more than a very good team with too many old guys that break down too often at critical times. Pitcher & player development in the farm system is mediocore at best, the drafts are penny wise-pound foolish, and the Major League club roster can’t take advantage of guys like Fellipe Lopez or Orlando Hudson’s availability because Omar signed “his guys” to bench role early at gross overpayment prices, or traded for has beens like GM Jr. What the Mets need most is a change in leadership. Lets remember that when Omar came in he had alot of freedom and he picked a terrible staff but made some good high dollar signings. After repeated miscues and a poor on-field product the owner has reigned him in. That isn’t the owners fault, its Omar’s. Where the Wilpons’ are at fault is allowing Omar to remain the GM.
I think sometimes people also confuse his ‘inability to multitask’ with what are likely budget restraints. I think its the case with most GMs that they had top targets and they first explore them before moving on to secondary targets.
I just find it hard to believe that Omar only talks to one guy at a time. That just seems completely ridiculous to me, no matter what the source is.
It’s what plenty of people have reported this winter. And it is completely ridiculous, but it’s what other front offices and agents are telling reporters. Lots of reports, all winter long. You thing the mets are being beaten on unfairly, but they appear to really deserve what they’re getting right now. All of it – Beltran, to Putz, to signing negotiations.
I don’t make a habit of defending Omar, but most rumors said he had to get everything approved by Omar AND he wasn’t given a specific budget. So it would be hard to have two offers to players and not know how much money you actually have left to spend. It would probably hurt our reputation more if he made a big contract offer to two players, and both wanted to sign and he had to go back to one and say “my bad”.
Not to mention it’s hard to constantly being negotiating when you have to get every offer you make approved by the owner before you can actual make it. I can see how it would keep him from consistently being able to negotiate with multiple agents and keep on top of both.
I don’t want to speculate too much because I have no idea exactly how the process works, but I don’t really see why. You’d think — and I’m not saying this is the case, again — he’d be able to get some cap on what the team was willing to pay for players so he could negotiate within that spectrum. If he wasn’t, that’s on ownership. I just wanted to point out with the post how the “one player at a time, this is the way we’ll fix our club” mentality was nothing new with the handcuffing.