Should F-Mart Stay Or Should He Go?

Mets Blog

By Joseph Pascullo

Monday, January 11, 2010 6:09 PM EST

     Hello everybody and welcome back for another edition! By no means is the product complete yet, but slowly and surely the commodity known as the 2010 New York Mets is starting to mutate and take shape. However, no matter what angle you view the team from, there is one guy that does not seem to have a role with the major league club heading into the 2010 campaign. That guy is 21 year old former top farmhand, Fernando Martinez.

     Martinez is very young, especially in terms of playing professional baseball. However, past talk of him being a 5 tool superstar someday has dampened down quite considerably recently, especially with the rising stock of slugging first baseman Ike Davis who dominated in 2009 with both St. Lucie and Binghamton. With Davis' emergence, it seems almost as if Fernando Martinez is old news despite his young age. However, it's not as if Martinez's slightly slumping stock isn't justified.

     Martinez has been playing pro ball from the ages 17 through 21. Throughout his brief career, his minor league totals look something like this: 275 games played, 30 home runs in 1105 AB's, .281 career batting average, .782 career OPS. Not exactly eye-popping, but for a minor leaguer who isn't even 21 and a half yet, that's not bad. One would assume with more "seasoning" - I hate that term, I associate seasoning with salt, garlic, and paprika, instead of minor league preparation, but what can you do? - he'll only get better and one day blossom into a major league juggernaut. …Right?

     Well there is kind of glaring problem with that assumption: F-Mart has been injured nonstop over the course of his career, with all different sorts of injuries. Whether it be his knee, his hamstring, his thigh - which he injured not even a month ago - this is very problematic, and is also the key reason why people are changing their estimation of Martinez from a "sure thing future star" to a "weather permitting future star." The team has held Martinez in high regard over the past couple of years, but us being pessimistic Mets fans, one can only wonder if we should still do so - his 29 game appearance for the big club last year didn't exactly help quench the doubts in my mind.

     What to do (if anything at all) with Fernando Martinez? This is a very tough call. On one hand, being a young kid with superstar potential is a nice bargaining chip for the Mets to utilize in their pursuit of obtaining a solid starting pitcher, which at this point in the offseason the Mets aren't going to be able to buy off the shelves of their local free agency store. And they really need one. On the other hand, we could keep F-Mart, and cross our fingers and say our prayers to the baseball gods, asking that Martinez stops getting injured all the time, and reaches his full potential while playing in Flushing. But you can't help but admit: He's so young, and is accumulating injury after injury. Are we supposed to believe as he gets older, he's going to be healthier, a la Benjamin Button?

     No, this is not a Brad Pitt movie, this is real life. Pessimism goes hand in hand with rooting for the Mets, so naturally I'm skeptical after all Martinez has been through. This is why I'm glad I am not the team's general manager, there are too many pros and cons for both keeping and trading F-Mart. But my bottom line point is this. He's barely over 21, and can't stay on the field. Maybe the Mets need to face facts, admit not all top prospects pan out, and sell high while they can. Someday, it may be too late. Just something to ponder.

     I feel a debate brewing! If you were the Mets GM, what would your stance on Fernando Martinez be? Would you keep him, and hope he stops getting injured constantly and reaches his 5 tool potential? Or do you sell high on Martinez while you still can, acquire a helpful piece or two for him, and hope his injury woes never cease so when all is said and done there isn't nothing to miss out on? That may be a cruel thought, but do you want to see Martinez dealt away and wind up an All-Star on some other team? Comment below my friends, I'm interested to see your stance on this topic. And as always, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my blog!