|
|
|
According to Impacto Deportivo, the Royals may be close to signing free-agent RHP Bartolo Colon.
…thanks to Steve W for the link…
…from what i could gather, the Mets had 
interest in colon, and even checked in on him while he pitched in the Dominican Winter League, but there is no indication their interest went any further than that - even though colon was said to have been performing quite well this winter…
…assuming this link is accurate - and, frankly, i am always reluctant to totally bank on these google translations - then good for the Royals, because i think colon may be a nice gamble…
Colon, who has been battling shoulder and elbow problems since 2006, has a career record of 146-95 and a 4.10 ERA in 306 starts.
…however, if the Royals give him a guaranteed roster spot, i will understand why he did not end up on the Mets - because, frankly, i’m not sure the Mets need to lock in a spot with a guy like colon right now…if he ends up signing a multi-year deal, as MLB.com once suggested he is seeking, not bringing him to queens will make even more sense…
…he is worth inviting to camp, which is certainly his second choice, but i have no interest in getting more bogged down in players who are clearly on the back nine of a career…
…nevertheless, the buzz during the Winter Meetings had been that the Mets were the front runners for free-agent RHP Freddy Garcia, who will not be ready to pitch in a major-league game until mid-summer…
Garcia, 32, is rehabbing from shoulder surgery on his labrum and rotator cuff and should be ready to pitch by midseason.
During his nine-year career, he is 117-76 and has a 4.07 ERA - though he was just 1–5 last season for the Phillies.
…as i wrote last week, the i sense i got is that the Mets would end up signing one of these two starting pitchers to a one-year deal, or a similar pitcher like them, because it only makes sense from a risk-reward stand point…of course, that’s assuming they end up in a position in which they need to take that risk…
Thought for sure we were getting him
We should def swoop in and pick up Colon - what u hear now is that as projects we are looking at Colon or Garcia and Garcia isnt even going to pitch for half the season - If we go w/ what we have Colon would be a nice possibilty for the back end of the rotation. And 1 year commitment is huge.
Royals = the New Evil Empire.
Who do these Royals think they are?
Might be time for Reggie Sanders to come out of retirement.
AL Central Chumps here we come?
We were also “close” to Erick Bedard, I’ll believe it when I see it
I thought we were close to him too, until I found out that an ESPN Reporter was the one who reported it…
yeah but the mets being close and someone else being close is two different things. we dont close deals. other teams do. first, haren was the backup if we didnt get santana, then it was colon, now it’ll be garcia, then santana wont get dealt and we’ll be afraid to commit to garcia and we will end up with no one. get used to this.
haren was the backup? The dude is a stud. He was your backup, but not for a bunch of other teams.
we didnt have the players to get haren.
giving the farm for him would have been a bad move.
dropping out of the santana race that early would have been a bad move.
the a’s got a haul for him, so again, we didnt have the players.
Not many teams have a realistic shot at trade-clause/free agent santana, we shouldn’t pass it up.
Guys relax.. opening day is still 13 weeks away, right Matt?
We have plenty of time to not upgrade this team
Are you actually complaining that we aren’t going after mediocre prospects?
Fact: The sooner the Mets make a deal, the more they get ripped off.
Fiction: When making trades, the sooner the better.
Prediction:
Carlos Gomez
Aaron Heilman
Kevin Mulvey
Philip Humber
for
Johan Santana
This deal is the one I see getting done. It’s very similar to the Haren deal. Three prospects of high value to the “receiving team,” one mid-level prospects and one lower level prospect. Of course, the A’s also recieved Dana Eveland… But, come on, Dana Eveland?
Based on my own judgement, John Sickel’s judgement, and Bill Smith’s judgement:
Red Sox offer:
Jed Lowrie B+ (Sickels loves him, Smith is obviously indifferent, I don’t think of him as highly as Sickels.)
Jon Lester B+
Justin Masterson B
Coco Crisp C+ (He had a good first 1000 AB)
What Twins want from Yankees:
Philip Hughes A- (Injury brings him down from A)
Melky Cabrera B (decent speed, great glove, marginal MLB success)
Jeff Marquez C+
Mitch Hilligoss C
D’Backs deal for Haren:
Brett Anderson B+
Carlos Gonzalez B+ (Top 50 prospect)
Chris Carter B+
Aaron Cunningham B-
Greg Smith C+
Dana Eveland C-
My prediction:
Carlos Gomez B+ (Smith freakin’ loves the guy, and his AAA performance was very good.)
Aaron Heilman B+ (could be a B, they have Neshek, Guerrier & Nathan)
Kevin Mulvey B (MLB ready)
Philip Humber B-
Subtract the “one lower level prospect.”
So basically you subscribe to the Johan or bust idea of this off-season?
No matter how likely or unlikely you think the deal is.. at best it’s probably a 33% something chance… that’s what you’re saying.. Johan or nothing..
If that is the case.. yes I am complaining.. that we continue to ignore every option.. except to chase Johan.
By the time the dust settles on the Johan deal.. there will be no Plan Bs…
Sounds good to me. It would be painful, but not devastating. Whatever the final outcome, it will be something like this, I think.
The Twins’ fantasy of taking some team to the cleaners for ALL its best prospects is just not going to pan out. Yes, he’s the top pitcher in baseball, but the Twins can only offer him at a reasonable price for one year. It’s not Cabrera and Willis, for instance, both of whom were under contract for two-plus more seasons.
You’re giving Jon Lester and Aaron Heilman the same rating? Seriously?
At this point Heilman is a proven commodity..Lester has performed in small sample sizes, but still is a bit of a wild card…upside is obviously higher than Heilman, but the downside is worse.
What do you know? Really. Not trying to be a jerk. But, can you honestly say you can access big league talent? Are you a scout? Do you have any credentials that should tell me to take your ratings seriously?
Lester = Heilman? No.
Mulvey is MLB ready? No.
Gomez > Crisp? Even though Crisp has a .280 average over six seasons and Gomez has played 58 games?
Is this some kind of joke?
he didnt pull these letter grades out of thin air. We have seen them all over the internet from many “experts” and scouts.
Yes they should be taken with a grain of salt, but still… our prospects are not that good. And Heilman has been one of the better relief pitchers in the game the past couple years.
His loss would be the toughest to take.
opps… our prospects are not that bad (is that a Freudian slip?)
extrawhitemeat is the same guy who probably laughed when suggested that our top 4 MVP 3bman would eventally hit .325 with 30 HRs back in early May.
He truly believes if we don’t have any new players now, we will have no new players later.
You can’t reach the internet age children these days with reality.
Wow.. I actually have had a BA subscription for 3 years and probably read more articles on our farm club then 90% of this board..
I also never made a single coment on the grades above.. even though I find them laughable at best.
My only arugment was the Johan or bust philosophy.. no matter what reality you think you live in that I don’t.. the chances of the Mets getting Johan are around 30% at best..
So.. if the entire off season plan is take that 30% chance.. and that’s it.. and ignore other options like we have.. that is what my post said…
I have followed Wright’s career since he was drafted.. since he turned down an offer at Georige Tech to take Texiera’s place… to his first big season in AA ball..
So do me a favor and take your head out of your a** before you post something about me next time
This could be a blessing in disguise. Sometimes the best signings are the ones you don’t make.
in that case.. we’re having the best off season ever!!
Touche! So, who out that mangy group of reclamation projects would you like the Mets to sign? Or would you prefer to bring back Jose Lima?
I would of welcomed signings elsewhere on the team this offseason, but as far as pitchers go I really thought Omar’s ties to Colon would bring him here..
I’m not as down on the Mets for the offseason thus far, but I’d be upset if they passed up on Colon (especially with some news that he appears healthy again) and lost out to the Royals. With all due respect to the Royals, they should not be able to outbid the Mets when it comes to signing a FA pitcher.
Colon would give the Mets depth in the rotation, and flexibility to trade some of the younger arms for another starter. Signing him would also remove the stigma of needing Santana, and replace it with the luxury of wanting him.
Conversely, once Colon comes off the market, there’s not much else out there in terms of starting pitching. The ability to add depth will fade. And the shroud of desperation around this team’s pitching staff will grow - the price of Santana may grow with it.
Signing Colon seems like a real minimal risk, high reward move for the Mets. There’s no logical baseball reason to not bring him in.
BBQ’s better in KC….
I think that Omar is correct not to guarantee Colon a roster spot or a multi-year deal…Its not a smart move.
I disagree. Not to repeat my full post from below but there is no such thing as a “guaranteed roster spot”. You may have to give him a “guaranteed contract”, meaning you have to pay him even if you release him outright. But if he’s hurt, you can always put him on the DL, and if he stinks, you can always release him and eat the money (see Franco, Julio).
Offer him one year at 8 million. If he pitches 180 innings with an ERA under 4.00, he automatically gets two more years at 25 million. If not, we can let him go if we want to.
What do we have to lose?
its not a fiscally sound plan. The Wilpons aren’t just going to go and throw around money - we both know that. Plus every dollar spent gets us closer to the luxury tax, especially with rising salaries of Reyes/Wright/Beltran. Plus, they are going to paying out quite a sum in next years offseason replacing guys like Pedro and Delgado.
I hear what you’re saying. But if he proves himself to be the Bartolo Colon of old, then it IS fiscally sound - you’d be getting a Cy Young winner for the cost of Carlos Silva. If he doesn’t, you’ve wasted $8 million (the cost of two seasons of Jose Valentin) on a one-year gamble that, to me, seems very worthwhile.