All you have to know about how much the Mets needed Richard Hidalgo is this:
In Houston, he was benched. In New York, he’ll have the second-most RBIs on the team.
With their sagging offense craving a boost, the Mets struck yesterday, packaging David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths to the Astros for Hidalgo. He’ll be the Mets’ new rightfielder and likely No. 5 hitter starting tonight.
If the move isn’t high profile, it’s certainly low risk. Hidalgo may be slumping, but he oozes talent (44 homers in 2000) and will turn just 29 later this month. Meanwhile, the Mets are adding only $1 million to their current payroll.
Hidalgo has $7.2 million left on the $12 million he’s making this year, while Weathers has $2.2 million left on the $3.6 million he’s earning. Add in the $4 million the Mets also got from Houston, and you’ve got high-end potential for about a million bucks.
Hardly a steep price for an offensively-challenged team trying to hang in the NL East race.
“Our feeling is, we’re close enough to make a move like this,” GM Jim Duquette said.
Of course, Duquette also admitted, “You can’t get a guy like Richard if he’s hitting like he did in the past.” And there’s the rub.
Hidalgo is hitting just .256 with four homers and 30 RBIs. Worse, after batting .341 in April, he hit .202 in May and is at .179 in June. He hasn’t homered since April 13.
Still, in the past, Hidalgo has thrived. Last season he batted .309 with 28 homers, 88 RBIs and a .385 OBP (he also led MLB outfielders with 22 assists). And in 2000, he hit .314 with 44 homers and 122 RBIs. Which Hidalgo shows up at Shea is the question.
“I know what I can do,” Hidalgo said. “It’s going to be a new start for me.”
Clearly, the Mets are hoping that new start inspires Hidalgo to previous heights. They also believe they can make some swing alterations.
“Sometimes,” Duquette said, “a guy needs a change of scenery.”
Sometimes a team also needs another hitter, and that was the case here. There weren’t many other options, especially with Kansas City insisting on David Wright in a deal for Carlos Beltran. That wasn’t happening.
“I didn’t think there was a real fit,” Duquette said of Beltran, adding this trade does not preclude him from others (likely pitching). Hidalgo has a $15 million club option for 2005, which assuredly won’t be picked up. The Mets are responsible for a $2 million buyout.
One question is how much Hidalgo upgrades the Karim Garcia/Shane Spencer platoon. Garcia and Spencer are hitting a combined .268 with nine homers and 34 RBIs, though they have 122 more at-bats than Hidalgo.
Weathers (5-3, 4.28 ERA) was a durable commodity, but with Orber Moreno, Ricky Bottalico, Dan Wheeler and on-the-way Scott Strickland as right-handed relievers, he became expendable.
“I knew it was going to happen,” said Weathers, a free-agent-to-be, noting once the Mets didn’t talk contract extension, he figured he’d be dealt. Now he goes to Houston. Potential comes here.