In his weekly column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo reports that Mark DeRosa’s asking price -- once in the $10 million range --has come down recently. He follows that up with a pretty innocent statement that the Mets could “pull the trigger and use him at first base.” This seems like pure speculation on Cafardo’s part, not backed by any real information or sources, but now that this specific passage has been noted in a few places, the possibility should at least be addressed.
The Mets don’t make any sense for DeRosa. In fact, any first baseman who craves regular playing time and a multi-year contract doesn’t. The Mets seem committed to using Daniel Murphy as part of a platoon at first base, ideally with a right-handed hitting compliment, but possibly with Carlos Delgado on an incentive-laden contract. The Mets surely hope that whoever fills first base in 2010 is a mere stopgap until Ike Davis arrives, possibly as soon as next season. Davis, who turns 23 in March, batted .298/.381/.524 with 20 home runs and 71 RBI in his first full professional season in 2009, andwas recently named the No. 4 prospect in the organization by Baseball America.On top of all that, the 34-year-old DeRosa has only played 23 games at first base during his major league career. DeRosa is average or better in the outfield, according to defensive metrics, but should the Mets sign Jason Bay, as many expect they will, he wouldn’t find any regular playing time there, either. DeRosa’s versatility is a huge reason why he is so coveted, but agent Keith Grunewald should be able to do better than the Mets, otherwise he has completely misread his client’s market.