Daily Archives: December 20, 2007
According to multiple reports, the Tigers and recently-acquired LHP Dontrelle Willis have agreed to a three-year, $29 million contract extension, which will lock up the 25-year-old pitcher through 2010.
…good, at least we won’t have to read about rumors involving him and the Mets for another three years…
Tagged Mike Nichols |
At his blog for the Star-Tribune, La Velle E. Neal III conducts a Q&A with himself regarding the future of Johan Santana and Joe Nathan, among other issues facing the Twins.
Neal, on the Mets…
“I still hear that, unless the names Wright and Reyes enter the picture (and I doubt they will), the Mets have no shot.
The word at the winter meetings was that the Mets kept their name involved for PR purposes. This is an indication that the Twins may not be that fond of some of the Mets prospects.”
…i have heard this ‘PR theory,’ as well, and while i believed it to be the case then, i do not think it is so today…the Mets have interest…back at the Meetings, Omar Minaya targeted Dan Haren, a) because he is under contract, and b) he is not currently seeking a seven-year extension, like santana…and, as hard as this is to believe, the Mets, like most teams, are very much against signing a pitcher beyond five years, even if he is the best pitcher in baseball…so, i would not be shocked if the ‘public relations theory’ had been true…today, though, with haren having been traded to the D’Backs, and Erik Bedard being too costly, i know the Mets interest is legit…
Mets GM Omar Minaya was a guest last night on MSG’s Boomer Esiason Show.
To watch a clip of Minaya’s appearance, click play…
Tagged Omar Minaya |Sean from Colorado asks…
“Due to the team’s supposed ‘lack of good prospects,’ wouldn’t it make sense for the Mets to entice the Twins with a package of Oliver Perez and three or
four prospects for Johan Santana – and a package of John Maine and similar prospects to the Orioles for Erik Bedard?
“Why not sell high on these guys? There’s no guarantee that they’ll ever again duplicate 15 wins per year.”
…from what i understand, the Twins have no interest in acquiring any player who is due significant money over the next few years, which is the main reason Jose Reyes is not needed in such a deal…in fact, Twins fans are calling this off-season ‘Project 2010,’ which should give you an idea of how they view the future…additionally, perez is a free agent after this coming season, so the Twins could acquire him from the Mets only to see him leave for another team in 12 months…
…as for maine, from what i understand, the Mets were unwilling to include him in a deal for Dan Haren, and so i have to believe the same must be true for bedard…nevertheless, i believe the O’s are putting more emphasis on offense, which is why Matt Kemp, Jay Bruce and others are mentioned, as opposed to what the Mets can offer – with or without maine…
Tagged Oliver Perez |In his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney believes the Mets can acquire RHP Joe Blanton from the A’s, if they offeer OF Carlos Gomez, RHP Aaron Heilman and RHP Kevin Mulvey.
…this is consistent with what i said earlier in the week, which is that blanton will cost at least two, maybe three, of the Mets top prospects, including gomez…turns out, according to buster, it’s gomez, one pitching prospect and heilman…
…thanks to Jason B for the link…
Last season for the A’s, Blanton was 14–10 with a 3.95 ERA through 34 starts, during which he allowed an average of just one walk per start.
He made at least 32 starts in each of the last three seasons.
He is eligible for salary arbitration this off-season, and eligible for free agency after 2010.
…he’d be a nice fit, especially switching his game to the National League East…however, gomez, mulvey and heilman is a hefty price tag for a picther who, though he did well last season, had a 4.82 ERA in 2006…
…if Johan Santana is not an option, and the Mets are confident heilman can be replaced, i believe i would pull the trigger on this deal, because blanton, John Maine and Oliver Perez will make a nice, young foundation to build upon over the next few seasons…and, as i have said before, it is quite clear that the only way to acquire quality pitching is to overpay in prospects…
…plus, though i’d be disappointed to not get santana, starting Pedro Martinez, blanton, maine, perez and, say, Kyle Lohse, would be a balanced, durable and semi-reliable starting rotation, especially when compared to the rest of the division…
Samuel from NC asks…
“Why did Omar Minaya sign Luis Castillo to a four-year deal when David Eckstein signed a one-year, $4.3 million
deal with the Blue Jays, and Tadihito Iguchi signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Padres?”
…because he wanted castillo…plain and simple…it’s quite clear that minaya wanted to improve the team’s up-the-middle defense for next season, which he has done by keeping castillo and bringing on Brian Schneider…
…for what it’s worth, the buzz around iguchi had been that most teams, including the Mets, were questioning his defense and whether he should be given a starting job…also, from what i can gather, eckstein was no longer an option when he decided to not switch from shortstop to second base…
…personally, i believe Ruben Gotay could have handled the job on offense, but the team still has major questions about his defense – and upgrading, not downgrading, their defense was a priority, so i assume gotay was never a legitimate option…
…as for castillo’s contract, remember, the buzz from Houston had been that the Astros were offering castillo a three-year deal worth roughly $6 million per season…from what i can gather, the Mets offered castillo the same exact contract, plus an additional guaranteed year, the moment minaya identified him as their primary target…also, as i understand it, minaya felt it was important to act fast and lock up second base through the free-agent market, so to hang on to prospects he may need to get a pitcher…and so they targeted castillo on the free-agent market and paid him an additional year to get it done…
…for what it’s worth, Kaz Matsui ended up signing houston’s three-year deal to play second base for the Astros…so, to get castillo done quickly, it’s clear that the fourth year was required…
…assuming he is healthy, i like the idea of castillo playing second base for the Mets, while batting behind Jose Reyes…i think it’s a great solution on all ends…i can even digest the idea of him playing for two years, maybe three, but that fourth year will not be fun, if castillo is even still on the team at that point…but, at $6 million per year, i guess they’ll hobble across that bridge when they get to it…
By the way, according to Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com, 2B Orlando Hudson is likely to leave the D’Backs when he becomes a free agent at the end of next season.
…meanwhile, castillo will be locked in to the Mets for another three years, and will still be due $19 million…this hurts, because hudson is the guy for queens…but, given the options for this season, castillo was the best way to go, especially since he is a known commodity with regards his defense, working well with reyes and dealing with new york…
…thanks to your voting, MetsBlog.com defeated the Sports 
Hernia in Round One of this year’s Sports Blog Of The Year tournament at Busted Coverage, ‘a blog about booze, ladies and football.’…
In Round Two, No. 6 MetsBlog is matched up against No. 14 Dan Shanoff, who used to write The Daily Quickie for ESPN.com.
To vote, click here and scroll down.
…if MetsBlog advances to next round, it’s looking like we may face Baseball Prospectus, which should be interesting…
…i may have a chance to talk with Mets C Brian 
Schneider today, thanks to SNY…
…if i get the chance to speak with him, i’m leaning towards asking him about a) how the Mets are viewed by other players around the league, and b) the day-to-day job of working with a pitching staff…
…if you have a question, along this line of thinking, list it in the comments section of this post and i will do my best to work it in…
According to Newsday, Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner 
recently told reporters that his team is no longer interested in free-agent RHP Mark Prior.
In a report yesterday from FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal wrote that the Astros and Rangers have been the most ‘aggressive’ in trying to sign Prior, whose goal is to sign a one-year deal, ‘then re-enter the free-agent market in a stronger position next off-season.’
According to Rosenthal, Prior is not expected to pitch in the majors before mid-May.
Nevertheless, the Mets, Cardinals and Padres, including several others, are interested in Prior, writes Rosenthal.
The Phillies are close to signing free-agent OF Geoff Jenkins, reports the 
Philadelphia Daily News.
…Update…11:07 am…
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that Jenkins and the Phillies have agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal.
In 132 games for the Brewers last season, Jenkins hit .255 with 21 HR, 64 RBI, while striking out 116 times with a .319 OBP.
His batting average has declined in each of the last three seasons.
As John K pointed out to MetsBlog in a recent e-mail, Jenkins is batting .371 during 35 at-bats in Shea Stadium over the last three years. However, in 42 at-bats in Citizen’s Bank Park, Jenkins hit .214 with just one home run.
Tagged Phillies | ← Older posts
