Mets Hot Stove: The Cost of Big Name Signings

I don't find this until after I made the last posting. For those of you out there that believe that top free agents cost only money:

Mets.com: Mets navigating the free agent terrain

Marty Noble, in a must-read for any Mets fan, points out the cost to the Mets in the ability to draft some impact players if they are successful in signing "Type A" free agents such as Billy Wagner, B.J. Ryan, Trevor Hoffman, Bengie Molina, Ramon Hernandez or Rafael Furcal.

The Mets, who have lost their 2nd and 3rd round Amateur Draft picks 3 of the last 4 years, could conceivably lose their 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks this year if they landed 3 of the players. Since almost all of the eventual true impact players come from these rounds, that's a huge hit to the farm system.

The one redeeming note here is the Mets can conceivably receive picks back if they offer arbitration to Looper and Piazza and then another team signs them.

Noble also cites sources in the Mets hierarchy for the following:

• The Mets' top priority is Wagner, who they want much more than the other closer options, including B.J. Ryan, and they are willing to "overpay" to get him.
  
  
• Number 2 priority is a catcher, and they want Molina more than Hernandez.
  
  
• They feel they can sign Wagner, one of the catchers, and make the trade for Manny.
  
  
• The Mets probably won't make a deal with Tampa Bay, if they do, it will be for Baez.

Wow, Noble has given us a lot to chew on here. I keep hoping that Omar loses his fascination with Manny Ramirez, but I guess to those of us that don't want him, we're down to hoping the Sox decide not to trade him.