Daily Archives: October 30, 2007
In a post to his blog, 38 Pitches, free-agent RHP Curt Schilling lists the Mets among 12 teams he would be interested in signing with.
…this is wild…first off, schilling has a blog, and is writing to it about who he is interested in playing for, while operating in an open market…i am very eager to see how this all plays out…as for the blog itself, it’s great…in the linked-to post, curt breaks down the process of actually filing for free agency, such as how to fill out the paper work and notify the commisioner’s office…
The Dodgers and Joe Torre have agreed on a three-year deal, according to Pete Abraham’s blog for the Journal News.
Tagged Yankees |During his weekly appearance on SNY’s Daily News Live, 
FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal told the show’s host that Paul Lo Duca is as good as gone from the Mets.
Also, Rosenthal believes Tom Glavine will eventually end up pitching for the Braves next season - and while the Mets may look to re-sign free-agent 2B Luis Castillo, in his opinion, second base will not be a difficult position to fill.
Tagged Paul Lo Duca, Tom Glavine |Sandy Alomar Jr., Mike DiFelice and Aaron Sele all filed for free agency today, along with 39 other major leaguers.
…i do not expect sele to be back, though i would not be shocked to find mike d back in the team’s minor-league system…meanwhile, the popular buzz in new york seems to be that alomar will retire…
…this is priceless…so, so odd to watch…
The following is a video clip from WABC-TV in New York reporting on the firing of Joe Torre as manager of the Mets, complete with on-air responses from then-GM Frank Cashen, OF Lee Mazzilli, and several man-on-the-street reactions…
…by the way, hat’s off to mazz for rocking that stylish mustache…he looks like my dad at that age…outstanding…
…thanks to peter for the link…
Tagged YouTube |
A reader of MetsBlog recently sent in the following email…
“Hey, any chance you might have a post on how free agent compensation works.”
…free agent compensation is one of the most confusing parts of the off-season, but fortunately there are many resources out there that help explain it…
Last November, Keith Law, at his blog for ESPN.com, posted a terrific primer regarding free agent compensation and how it works under the new collective bargaining agreement.
Here is a quick rundown on free agent compensation using information collected from the above Law post, Major League Baseball’s 2007 – 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement, MLB Trade Rumors and Cot’s Baseball Contracts:
- Free agents are grouped into three types of players; Type A, Type B and Unclassified.
- Type A players comprise of players in the top 20 percent of their positions. A team that signs a Type A player must give its top draft pick to the team that is losing the player. The team that lost the player also receives a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds. However, if the signing team has a draft pick in the first half of the first round (picks 1-15), their first round pick is protected and would then surrender their next highest draft pick.
- Type B players comprise of players in the top 21-40 percent of their positions. Any team that loses a Type B players receives a supplemental pick, but the signing team does not lose any picks.
- Any team who loses an unclassified player is not subject to any compensation.
- The formula to determine player types, which is not widely known, is comprised of several factors, including statistical analysis of the players previous two seasons, and players are grouped into the following positional categories: 1B/DH/OF, 2B/SS/3B, C, SP, and RP.
- In order for the former team of a free agent to receive compensation for losing a player to free agency, the player must sign with another team before December 2 or the team must have offered the player arbitration before December 1.
- If a team signs multiple free agents from within the same category, the team loses picks in order of the highest-ranked players.
- Teams are limited to the number of Type A and Type B free agents they can sign, which is determined by the number of free agents available. Example: If there are less than 14 Type A or B free agents, no one team can sign more than one Type A or B free agent. According to Law, last season there were approximately 93 Type A or B free agents, who filed for free agency, which left the per-team quota at eight.
…is the room spinning…
…as you can see a lot goes into free agent compensation…i would imagine this is one of the many determining factors that come in play for all mlb gms, including Omar Minaya…and in case you are wondering, if the Mets sign a type a free agent, they have the 22nd pick in the first round of next season’s first-year player draft…on the flip side if the buzz concerning Tom Glavine and the Braves comes to fruition, the Mets would receive the Braves first rounder, which is the 18th pick…
…seriously, is the room spinning yet…
Tagged Mike Nichols |The Mets are holding their organizational meetings today, reports Mark Hale in the New York Post.
…basically, management and the team’s owners will get together and 
formulate an off-season game plan based on a collection of issues facing their future…
In Hale’s report, he lists a variety of potential issues that are expected to be on the team’s docket.
…so, let’s go through them, in a stream-of-consciousness kind of way…
“The Mets are long shots to pursue Alex Rodriguez,” writes Hale, “but that doesn’t mean they won’t at least discuss him.”
…agreed…but, wow, that’s not a light-weight discussion…i hope the team has been discussing it, frankly, knowing full well he was likely to end up a free agent…they most certainly have the dollars, and can justify the cost since a-rod is clearly worth it from a television, marketing p.o.v.…the real debate is whether he is worth changing the fundamental nature of this team, including a series of position switches involving the team’s best players…as i have stated in other posts, i’m undecided on this…i have a bad feeling about what he’d do to the ‘make-up’ of this team…on the other hand, its current make-up was not good enough to fight off a rough slide last season - so maybe a change would be good…plus, i can’t fault the team for putting ticket sales and sny ad-revenue high on their priority list - you know, seeing as this is a business…
Minaya, as quoted by Hale…
“First and foremost we want to address pitching. Championships are won with pitching; we saw that with the Red Sox.”
…as of now, Pedro Martinez, John Maine and Oliver Perez are locks for the starting rotation…Mike Pelfrey may be ready…Phil Humber will need more work…however, both could realistically start the year for the Mets…i just don’t think that will happen…i truly believe the team will work hard to acquire a young, under-contract starting pitcher via trade…how much that will cost remains to be seen…subsequently, if it costs Lastings Milledge, the team will need to 
address a void in right field…if milledge stays, it’s time to trust him with the starting spot…
Lastly, Hale writes: “Interestingly, if the Mets are able to acquire another starting pitcher this winter, they may consider putting El Duque in the bullpen.”
…this is a no brainer, especially if a younger, healthier starting pitcher is acquired…additionally, it’s like making an acquisition for the bullpen, where el duque can more realistically work and rest according to his aches and pains, of which he’ll have many…
Tagged Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez, Pedro Martinez, Philip Humber |According to Troy E. Renck in the Denver Post, the Mets and Marlins have interest in 29–year-old, free-agent C Yorvit Torrealba, who hit .256 during the World Series for the Rockies.
In 113 games for the Rockies this past season, Torrealba hit .255 with eight home runs and 47 RBI, while striking out 73 times in 396 at-bats.
…i’d rather lo duca, frankly, who is a better hitter and a better defensive player, as far as i’m concerned, though i understand the Mets flipping over every rock…
Renck writes that the Rockies would like to retain Torrealba, however they will also look in to free-agent C Paul Lo Duca and Michael Barrett.
…thanks to bob m for the link…
Tagged Paul Lo Duca, Yorvit Torrealba |At his blog for the Daily News, Mark Feinsand gives details on the Yankees meeting today with free-agent RHP Mariano Rivera.
According to Feinsand, the Yankees are expected to offer Rivera a three-year, $40 million deal.
…the slight buzz around baseball seems to be that if mo does not sign with the Yankees, which it’s assumed that he will, the next likely team would be the Phillies, though he’ll most certainly flirt with the Mets for leverage…however, personally, i can’t see how he would turn down $13 million per season to stay home for three years, unless the Phillies let it be known they’ll go to a fourth year, which they were unwilling to do for Billy Wagner back in 2005…
The Mets have until November 15 to exercise a $7.5 million option to retain Moises Alou for next season.
…every indication over the last few weeks has 
been that the Mets will do so…which i am excited about…i liked watching alou perform…the thing is, it feels like a foregone conclusion that he will miss a ton of games due to injury, and i’m okay with that - as long as the entire outfield doesn’t go down with injuries at the same time, like last year…seriously, with a healthy, fully-functioning Endy Chavez, the Mets can weather the odd day-off for alou…but, like i said towards the end of last season, his teammates can never be in a position where alou is the focal point of the team’s offense - and i’m looking at you Carlos Delgado - because alou is too brittle to lean upon…
