If the above headline has you hoping the Mets might attempt to reacquire pending free agent OF Angel Pagen, think again. As the New York Post’s Joel Sherman points us, Pagan’s exceptional 2012 and subsequent postseason exploits, “might have priced him out of San Francisco”, meaning the Amazingly Destitutes are more likely to consider a more economical option. Say, disgraced Giants OF Melky Cabrera, who one of Sherman’s unnamed sources characterizes thusly ; “a pretty good player with the Yankees, fat and terrible for Atlanta, very good last year [for Kansas City] and unbelievable this year. Who is the real guy?…Real Melky was a fourth outfielder, fake Melky was the All-Star MVP. Maybe we are going to have to find if there is more nuance to that.”
The Mets were one club that came up regularly as a potential landing spot for Cabrera, as were the outfield-needy Phillies. The Mets need outfielders and don’t have a ton of money to address their severe needs there. So if they could bag Cabrera as corner outfield insurance against Jason Bay and Lucas Duda, it could make sense, especially if they are unable to retain Scott Hairston. Probably at his worst, Cabrera would be a motivated fourth outfielder who always could hit righties well, with the possibility he is more than that if any of the improvements of the past two years are real.