If Not Manny, Why Not Dunn for Mets?

David Wright's comments about Manny Ramirez were splashed all over back pages in New York on Friday morning in an attempt to gin up a story. Omar Minaya hasn't made any move in Manny's direction, but if his star player wants Manny maybe we can force him into it. And, believe me, there's no player New York sportswriters would rather have around than Ramirez.

Alas, a deeper look into Wright's comments paint a different picture. "I would be on board with Manny 100 percent," Wright said, "assuming that he comes in and puts the team first and wants to be part of this thing and wants to win."

That's about the same as if Wright said, "I would be on board with calling my grandmother Grandpa, assuming she grows a pair of testicles." If you aren't willing to deal with the bad of Ramirez, you don't get the good of Ramirez and that means it just ain't gonna happen.

But Ramirez isn't the only bat languishing on the market. Bobby Abreu is still unsigned, although he's not the best choice for the Mets needs. Adam Dunn, he of the 40 home runs and 100 walks in each of the last five seasons, is a free agent, and his asking price is said to be plummeting by the day. Dunn's not a very good fielder and strikes out a ton, but he pounds the ball and sitting behind Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran would mean a ton of RBIs from his spot in the order.

There's been word that he could wind up signing for as little as $5 million for 2009, which should make him even more attractive to the Mets. Or any team that would like to add that slugging and on-base percentage to the middle of their order. When the rest of baseball ignores talented players, it's incumbent on teams like the Mets to use their monetary advantage to sign them.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us