Minaya Finds Diamonds in Rough

Mets General Manager Omar Minaya will forever be remembered for luring in two of the best Hispanic players of this generation through free agency. With the help of $173 million dollars, Minaya convinced Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez to join the Mets for the 2005 season and beyond. Martinez decided to leave the Red Sox, even though they had just won the World Series, and Beltran left Houston, where he had one of the most memorable individual performances in recent memory. Minaya will forever be linked to these two moves—the two moves that gave the Mets the respect they had not had since the 80’s, and that made them instant contenders. But Minaya knew that if he wanted to make a serious run at a World Series, it would take more than two players.

Since those two free agent signings, Minaya has been one of the most active GMs in all of baseball. His acquisitions of lesser known players, and players who other teams had given up on who turn out to be steals, deserve as much credit as his big-name free agent signings.

In 2007, Minaya has watched his team stay atop the NL East majority of the season without him having to trade away his top prospects or spend much money in the free agent market—assuring a winning team in the future, as well as in 2007. Instead of making the blockbuster move, Minaya has found a way to fill holes by acquiring players who seem to cost the Mets little to get, but make a big impact when they get to the Big Apple.

This year’s pitching staff has been anchored by John Maine and Oliver Perez, two players Minaya acquired after their former teams had all but given up on them. In what seemed to be a salary dump, Minaya traded away solid starting pitcher Kris Benson to Baltimore in return for John Maine and reliever Jorge Julio. During his two seasons with the Mets, Maine has pitched better than Benson ever pitched in New York. Maine posted a 3.60 ERA in 2006 and led the Mets pitching staff with 10 wins before the all-star break this season. Perez, a young lefty with a devastating slider, was acquired last year in a mid-season trade for mediocre right fielder Xavier Nady. The Mets also received veteran relief pitcher Roberto Hernandez. The one thing that the Perez and Maine deals had in common was that to the naked eye, these trades were made to help out the Mets bullpen, not the rotation. However, Minaya saw something in each of these two young pitchers, and he is still reaping the benefits long after the two relief pitchers have left the team.

Minaya has made other moves to strengthen his bench: the signing of Damion Easley, who had eight home runs in the first half in limited playing time, and trading for switch-hitting second baseman Ruben Gotay, who has batted .344 in the 41 games he has played in thus far.

When a deal is made, it is not always clear why Minaya made that decision. But as time goes by Minaya’s deals almost always show that he sees something in a player that no one else does. Minaya has proved that he does not have to spend big money or trade valuable prospects in order to make big improvements to his team.

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