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Cameron for Ibanez?

Will asked an interesting question in the comments yesterday:

What about Seattle? Do you see any likelihood that Cameron could wind up back there. They could use a CF, although they are close to their payroll limit. What could Seattle offer the Mets? How do the numbers look with a Raul Ibañez and (put another name here) trade?

Kudos on including the eñe with Ibañez' name, by the way. Cameron would probably love to go back to Seattle, but I don't know if the Mets are really interested. Ibanez had a suprising season with the Mariners, hitting .304/.353/.472 in a terrible hitters park. Surprising to me at least, since I didn't think he was any good.

He's an above-average fielder (UZR of +6/162 games from 2000-2003). Offensively, he posted a higher VORP than Cameron last year (30.1 to 27.0). Given a similar offensive season in 2005, Cameron's VORP would stand to decrease for the Mets as he would be playing right field instead of center.

They are the same age (32, with Ibanez older by six months), and Ibanez is a couple million dollars cheaper. The two differences as I see it are that Cameron probably holds a slight edge offensively, at least for the Mets, with the better power numbers and stolen bases. He brings a huge advantage defensively, where he's probably a win or two better than Ibanez with the glove.

I expect that Cameron will have a better season offensively in 2005, considering his hand and wrist and toe bothered him for much of the year. I don't think it's outlandish to suggest that he is worth two wins over Raul Ibanez. If that's the case, then I would much rather have those wins than the $2 million the Mets would save by making the trade. $1 million for a win is a number the Mets would gladly spend.