Daily Archives: December 24, 2007
According to Jerry Crasnick at ESPN.com, trade talks between the Mets and A’s regarding RHP Joe Blanton have ‘hit a lull.’
…for what it’s worth, given the holiday season, and the commish’s office being closed, my guess is that most all talks will hit a lull…
The Mets are still interested in Blanton, writes Crasnick, but not at the expense of Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey and Aaron Heilman.
Last week, at his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney was the first to suggest that the Mets could acquire Blanton for the above package.
…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…
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.
According to David Ortiz, the Twins do not want to trade Johan Santana to the Red Sox, reports the Boston Herald.
Of course, Ortiz once said the following to the Boston Globe, back in 2004, regarding Pedro Martinez…
“He ain’t going to no Mets.”
Meanwhile yesterday the Globe reported 
that the Red Sox are not budging from their their offer of Coco Crisp, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, and Jed Lowrie for Santana, who the Sox may consider giving a seven-year deal to.
…from what i can gather, from people connected to santana, he still prefers to pitch in the National League, and specifically with the Mets…the thing is, from his point of view, a deal is a long ways off since he has never been approached with a potential trade to any team, nor have contract terms been specifically discussed…
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Rangers are 
Meanwhile, in an older post to SI.com, Jon Heyman wrote that the Mets were among teams who were pursuing Garcia, who will not be able to pitch until June, ‘at the earliest.’
…the buzz during the Winter Meetings had been that the Mets were the front runners for garcia, but were holding back until they know how best to proceed in the trade market…
…from what i can gather, the Mets continue to have interest in Bartolo Colon, as well, while monitoring his progress in the Winter Leagues…
The White Sox and Cuban infielder Alexei Ramírez have agreed to a four-year contract, reports ESPNdeportes.com.
According to the report, the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Indians, Reds, Cubs, Twins and A’s all had conducted ‘individual’ workout sessions with Ramirez, who hit .332 with 87 home runs and 391 RBI in seven seasons in Cuba.
…thanks to Peter Wade, our resident eyes and ears, for the link…
