Yes I do.  Even I'm surprised I'm saying it.

You may remember the last time Chan Ho Park wore a Mets uniform and promptly pitched himself out of MLB after one start in 2007.

Or perhaps you remember the last time he started in the majors, on May 6th against the Mets in Citifield and shutout the Mets with a one-hitter over 6 innings (2 BB, 5K).  Course, thats when the Mets had Delgado, Reyes and Beltran healthy and Murphy was still starting in LF.

At any rate, Chan Ho has earned a reputation as a solid RP over the last two years and it's relatively well deserved.  His 2.68 ERA as a RP last year and 4.0 xFIP says he's above average. But he wants to start and that's probably the main reason why he remains unsigned.

So why am I advocating the Mets taking the plunge and accommodating him? As everyone knows, the Mets have a very unsettled rotation at the moment and a bullpen with some RHP question marks (Igr and Esco).  The Mets can offer Chan Ho a very similar deal to what the Phillies offered him last year... low guarantee with incentives and the opportunity for him to earn a starting spot out of ST.  At this point, the Mets might offer the best opportunity for him to earn a starting spot.

I can hear it already though...  "Why offer him the opportunity to start? Why take away innings from Neise? Replacement level, etc. etc.  He's terrible as a starter, he couldn't stick as a starter with the Phillies and Dodgers the last two years."  That's a half truth.  Looking just at last year, Chan Ho was given 6 starts.  In 3 of them, he was subpar.  In the other 3, he was above average, going 7, 6, 6 IP with 6 ER total between the 3 games.  Before being demoted to the pen, he posted two of those above average starts against the Dodgers (Mannyless) and Mets (full-strength) lineups. Anyways, he wasn't given much of a chance as a starter, but showed enough for me to believe.  Especially since most of his poor starts came in CBP and on the road in colorado, which is notoriously difficult for road pitchers, especially ones who rely on the touch of their secondary pitches.

But my overall belief in Chan Ho really boils down to one thing... his GB/FB ratio.  His career GB/FB is 1.29, though in the last two years its been slightly higher.  Chan Ho is a flyball pitcher. Not quite an extreme one, but he's the type of pitcher that benefits from deep fences.  The Mets just so happen to have a stadium that's accommodating to these types.  If they can try to work most of starts to Citifield, Florida and the caverns of the West, they could have a very decent 5th starter or at the very least a strong middle RP.

I'm looking forward to the responses, but I do believe Chan Ho is worth a $2 million guarantee with incentives for either starting or relief innings. 

 

Update:

So after reading the comments, I get the feeling people are missing just how good of a RP Chan Ho has been these last two years.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/breaking-news-chan-ho-park-is-good/

To put Chan Ho's worth in perspective, he had a 1.5 WAR as a starter and RP last year.  By comparison, Brandon Lyon posted a 1.5 WAR season as a RP in 2007.  The last two years, his WAR was .7 and he received a 3 year, $5 mill per year contract from the Astros.  That is the worst contract for a RP this offseason, but it gives a slight idea of where Chan Ho's value really is.   He's worth at least the $2.5 million he got from the Phillies last year, but he might take a slight discount if it comes with a real shot to be a starter, something the Mets can reasonably offer.

Poll

Should the Mets tender Chan Ho Park a contract, assuming it's around $2-3 million with incentives?

39%

Yes

20 votes

60%

No

31 votes

51 votes | Poll has closed

Debate the results all you like and please feel free to post your own.  Results are based on current rosters and no considerations were made for mid-seasons acquisitions or expected landing spots for remaining free agents (Lopez, Wang, Smoltz, etc.).  Only teams predicted to finish above .500 were considered for the most-improved section.

 

 

Most Improved Teams

 

The National League 

 

East: NY Mets

86 wins could be symbolic, or it could be just enough to miss playoffs again without a midseason move. 

 

Central: Brewers

Randy Wolf was all they needed to win this. A solid rookie campaign from Alcides and the division title is within reach.

 

West: D'Backs

Getting Webb back and importing Edwin Jackson give the D'Backs a top 3 unmatched in the NL.  Adam LaRoche signing makes them a contender.

 

The American League

 

East: Red Sox

Lackey, Beltre, and Cameron negate the loss of Bay.  Downgrade the offense slightly, but this team will be the toughest to score runs on in the AL, if not the entire league.  A healthy Ortiz with a full season of Victor Martinez and this team could push 105 wins. 

 

Orioles will likely improve more in terms of total wins over 09, but they don't break the .500 requirement.

 

Central: White Sox

A full season of the 3Ps (Peavy, Putz and Pierre) will keep them competitive with the Tigers and the Twins.  Ahead of the competition is another story.

 

West: Mariners

Figgins, Bradley, Lee, Byrnes and the potential for 18 starts from Bedard. Losing Beltre is an afterthought.  Mariners are easily the most improved team in all of MLB. 

 

Least Improved Teams

 

The National League

 

East: Tie: Braves and Marlins

Both were surprisingly good on the road last year, which won't be the case this year.  Off-seasons moves or lack thereof does neither team favors, though emergence of Heyward should ease Braves loss of Vazquez.  

 

Central: Tie: Pirates and Reds

Neither did much. Reds could reach .500 with a full season from Votto and Homer.  Pirates are putting pieces in place for a better 2011, but 2010 doesn't look pretty.

 

West: Dodgers

50 more starts from Manny won't do much to negate losses elsewhere.  The rest of the West got wilder while they made no significant upgrades.  

 

The American League

 

East: Toronto

Losing Halladay would hurt any team.  Lil Drabek and Morrow are good pieces to start rebuilding with.

 

Central: Indians

Quiet offseason forebodes an even worse 2010.  Lots of rookies will crack the lineup, but learning curves will be steep. 

 

West: Angels

Figgins and Vlad walk into the competitions starting lineups.  Lackey just walks far, far away.  Pineiro and Hideki ease the pain, but Wood will have to put up some historic rookie numbers to prevent the Angels from sliding into second or third place. 

Poll

Which team will improve the most in 2010 over it's 2009 counterpart based on record?

50%

Mets

57 votes

0%

Brewers

0 votes

8%

D'Backs

10 votes

2%

Red Sox

3 votes

2%

White Sox

3 votes

31%

Mariners

36 votes

3%

Other

4 votes

113 votes | Poll has closed