Daily Archives: January 18, 2008
According to Newsday, the Mets and Aaron Heilman have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year $1.2-million contract.
Pedro Feliciano, Ryan Church, Endy Chavez, Oliver Perez and Jorge Sosa have all exchanged salary figures with the Mets and filed for arbitration, but are free to continue negotiations in an attempt to reach an agreement before a ruling is made.
For a full list of players who have filed and have yet to sign with their teams, head over to MLB.com.
MLB.com is reporting that there is no contract agreement between the White Sox and RHP Octavio Dotel.
According to Dotel’s agent, Dan Horwits, the White Sox are one of the teams in the 
mix for his services. However, he says, “All the rest of the stuff is inaccurate.”
This morning, Impacto Deportivo, reported that the White Sox and Dotel had reached agreement on a two-year, $11 million deal.
…well done detective cerrone…you questioned the validity of the earlier report by stating, “note that the source of this information is one of dotel’s relatives…this is not to say it is incorrect, but i will not consider him off the market until i see this reported by a second outlet…”
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…as i have mentioned in the past, i would not be surprised to see dotel on the Mets, since he’s exactly the type of additional arm they could use in their bullpen for next season…however, i don’t believe the Mets are inclined to give any relief pitcher a long-term deal during this off-season…of course, time will tell…
Tagged Octavio Dotel |
Aaron Gleeman is a Twins fan, and freelance writer whose work can be found regularly at AaronGleeman.com, NBC Sports and Rotoworld.
…i spent a few minuted by phone with gleeman earlier today to try and gauge how Twins feel about the rumored packages being mentioned for Johan Santana…
Matthew Cerrone: It seems to me that the Minnesota reporters and the team’s GM are conveying this sense that Twins fans expect more than five unproven-prospects in a deal for Johan Santana, yet when I read Twins blogs and comments that does not appear to be the case – in fact, they seem to like the Mets prospects. So, what’s your take on what the Mets are rumored to be offering, compared to, say, Hughes or Ellsbury, etc…
Aaron Gleeman: You bring up a good point, in that the closer you get to a source or a report being mainstream, like a newspaper, the more they’re going to rely on well-known prospects, like Hughes, which is why I think people tend to lean more towards the Yankees deal. Fernando Martinez is a really good prospect, but he’s a teenager and he hasn’t been around as much as Hughes, or hyped as much as Hughes. So, I think that’s why you may see some Twins fans shy away from the Mets.
If Martinez is in the Mets package, I actually think it’s comparable to the Red Sox package, though I think I still might lean towards Hughes just because I tend to think they should go quality over quantity if possible in this type of deal.
You know, you’ve got to get at least one guy who you know will be a star, if not a super star.
Matthew Cerrone: So, let’s say the Twins have to accept the deal from the Mets, how do you think this sort of prospect-heavy package would go over among your fellow fans…
Aaron Gleeman: I think it’s gonna be tough no matter what, even if they get Hughes back or well-known guys like that. It’s gonna be a huge PR-hit, I can already see that, it’s already building – especially with Torii Hunter already leaving…It’s gonna be a big PR-hit either way, but I think people will be fine with the Mets package.
Matthew Cerrone: You may have insight in to this from two points of view, one as a Twins fan and one as a Fantasy guru: Have you picked up anything regarding a potential injury? There was the report by Buster Olney at his blog for ESPN.com the other day, and I know Johan had surgery on his elbow around five years ago. 
Should a team like the Mets be concerned at all, since he looked a bit off in the second half of last season…
Aaron Gleeman: Well, there are two possible things with Santana. Yes, he had the bone spurs removed in his elbow, which hasn’t been an issue – I don’t even think any one has talked about it in a couple of years. The second thing is, he some times deals with a cracked finger-nail on his pitching hand, which did bother him in the second half last year – I think it was closer to the All-Star break than the end of the season, though I don’t have the exact date…Since he struggled down the stretch, that’s definitely something people have pointed to as a possible explanation.
I saw the Olney article, and I think it was a bit of a stretch, from his stand point, to bring that up all of sudden and say maybe he was hurt. But, really, Santana has been a really streaky pitcher. He tends to, at least before last season, he would get off to sort of a slow start and then just be dominant in the second. Whereas last year, he was great in the first half then slowed down in the second half. If you flip that around there’s no injury concern, which is why I think it’s a little overblown.
Matthew Cerrone: If you were a Mets fan, knowing what you know of Santana, and knowing he wants a seven-year deal, and knowing what you know of the the Mets prospects, would you pull the trigger on that deal?
Aaron Gleeman: It’s a little tough for me to do, because it’s such an opposite situation from a Twins perspective. We never think like that. You have to always be planning, who is our best prospect at Low Single-A and how many years of service time do we get out of him before he leaves via free agency. Whereas, I imagine you guys think, as Mets fans, we might as well try to compete and go for a 95–win team every year because we have the resources to do that. They can do it through the draft, and hand out big signings bonuses, or through the International signings, like how you got Martinez to begin with – they can always sort of restock the system if you go for broke on a guy like Santana, which I think makes it a decent trade.
I think they’d be over-paying if they gave up Martinez, Gomez and the three main pitchers, especially if you have to give Santana $150 million. But, the Mets are one of a few teams who can make that overpayment, in terms of prospects and money, because they have money and they can restock with prospects a lot easier than a team like the Twins can.
The Mets have signed free-agent 2B Jose Valentin to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training.
Mets GM Omar Minaya, on the return of Valentin…
“Jose is progressing well from his surgery and already is rehabbing for his return. We hope he can bounce back and help us in a variety of ways.”
Valentin, on returning to the Mets…
“The main reason I came back to the Mets is that the team is focused on returning to the postseason and I want to do my part to help us win. My goal is to start playing spring training games by mid-March.”
Valentin had season-ending ACL surgery on his knee in late September, which he initially hurt in April.
He recently told El Nuevo Dia that he still not 100 percent, and may need to begin the year at Triple-A.
The Mets declined Valentin’s $4.3 million option for 2008 during early November.
In addition to Valentin, the Mets will have Damion Easley, Anderson Hernandez, Ruben Gotay, Luis Castillo, Marlon Anderson, Fernando Tatis and Jose Reyes in camp, all of whom have experience playing second base.
…and so, i now challenge them to start an entire team of second basemen during one of their spring training split-squad games, which is fitting since their manager, Willie Randolph, was a second baseman as well…
…it’s not easy being a Mets fan – not just because of the team’s more successful, older, cross-town brother, but because my favorite organization has no idea how to manage expectations…
…the Mets need to do us and themselves a favor and stop leading with their chin…
…my professional background, prior to writing MetsBlog, was as a media consultant – and there is an old adage in journalism that goes, “Never get out in front of the story,” because if the story changes or dies on the table, you’ll be lost and alone and looking like a fool…well, i’d impart this same advice to the Mets: don’t get out in front of your results…because when you do, and you fail, like last season, you look lost, alone and foolish…and what’s worse, you drag us with you…
…it’s all about managing expectations, which, from what i can tell, the Mets have never been very good at doing…
…for instance, when you hang a gigantic banner on the front door which reads, “Your Season has Come,” or, “The New Mets,” or, “Catch the Energy,” you are setting yourself up to be mocked – assuming you do not win the World Series…i mean, in this media environment, and with such arrogant rivals, if you stick our collective head out that far it’s bound to get lopped off…not even the most successful team is going to be able to meet this level of hype, which is probably why the team’s who are perceived to be most successful simply let their results for speak for themselves…
…in other words, please, quit it with the slogans…and definitely do not put them to music, like this horrible effort…believe me, i’ll know if you are a good team just by watching the product, i don’t need you to raise my expectations in advance…
Earlier this week, in a report for the Boston Herald, Michael Silverman talked with Jim Callis and John Manuel from Baseball America about a variety of the prospects being mentioned in rumored deals for Johan Santana.
Regarding the Mets rumored five-player offer, which could include 19–year-old OF Fernando Martinez, Manuel said…
“(Martinez’s) offensive potential is significant.
(He’s) a special offensive player…he can do anything he wants offensively.”
However, yesterday, in a chat for ESPN.com, Callis was questioned by a reader as though he made the statement, not Manuel. Callis responded by saying…
“Wait a minute…I never said Martinez can do anything he wants offensively. In that article in the Boston Herald, I said the Mets’ offer potential could be the best — if it includes Martinez, Guerra and Gomez AND they all reach their potential. That’s a big IF, because there’s a significant gap between their present abilities and their ceilings. If someone wanted to gamble, that could be a big payoff. But you also could be left holding the bag if only one of those guys pans out as hoped. The problem with the Mets’ packages is that Humber and Pelfrey have diminished value, Mulvey is interesting but not a frontline pitcher and their best players lack a lot of polish because they’re so young.”
…for the exact reasons that callis believes the Twins should be hesitant, are the exact reasons why i would pull the trigger…
According to the Associated Press, 1B Mark Teixeira signed a one-year, 12.5 million deal with the Braves.
In 54 games with Atlanta last season, he batted .317 with 17 homers and 56 RBIs.
…following the 2008 season, i assume Atlanta will do whatever it takes to sign teixeira long-term, however he will more than likely explore his options as a free-agent…hopefully he finds his way to Queens…
Last week in the Star-Tribune, citing ‘people with knowledge of the discussions,’ Joe Christensen wrote that the Twins have told the Mets they can have Johan Santana if they add OF Fernando Martinez to their current offer of OF Carlos Gomez and RHPs Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber.
For what it’s worth, the following day in a poll for MetsBlog.com, when asked if the Mets should trade these five prospects for Santana, and sign him to a long-term deal, 78 percent said, “Yes.”
Today in Newsday, Ken Davidoff writes that Martinez could be ‘the key’ to acquiring Santana.
According to Davidoff, citing ‘an industry official familiar with Minnesota’s trade discussions,’ the Mets could have a deal if Martinez is included, assuming he is packaged with Gomez, Guerra, Humber and Mulvey.
…it’s like deja-vu all over again…i mean, what are the odds that davidoff and christensen are talking to the same guy…if you recall, the buzz in new york following christensen’s report was that it had essentially been aimed directly at the Bronx, in hopes that it would motivate the Yankees to get involved again…so, i’m thinking this is a second round of ammo…hopefully, it’s also the last…
Because, Davidoff also writes, “The Yankees appear set to move forward without the two-time Cy Young Award winner.”
…i’ll be honest, i catch buzz from all sorts of people, some who believe the Yankees are still in this, others who think they’ve moved on, others who think they’re interested only to the extent that the Red Sox are interested, and others who think they’re mounting a new proposal different from the Phil-Hughes centered package we have heard so much about since December…
…point is, i don’t trust them…i don’t trust the people who are filling my head with information i never report, and i don’t trust the Yankees…as far as i am concerned, i assume the worse, because, as a Mets fan, that is my nature when it comes to the Bronx…so, tell me they’re in it, tell me they’re out, i don’t care…as far as i am concerned, they’re only irrelevant when this story has reached a conclusion, which i certainly hope is sooner than later…
By the way, if you’re interested, at MetsGeek, Steve Hubbell and John Peterson do a ‘Point-Counterpoint” post regarding Santana, and whether the Mets should or should not acquire him.
According to Impacto Deportivo, citing ‘a relative of the player,’ the White Sox and free-agent RHP Octavio Dotel have reached agreement on a two-year, $11 million deal.
…thanks to Steve P for the link…
The White Sox will be Dotel’s fifth team in five years, and the seventh team he has played with during his nine-year career.
…if true, it suggests to me that Aaron Heilman will be on the Mets come opening day…because, the way i understood it, dotel was viewed by the Mets as a potential replacement for a guy like heilman, who could have been traded in a deal for a starting pitcher…that said, $5.5 million per year for two years is a lot of money for dotel…and, again, i just don’t sense that Omar Minaya and Company have any interest in signing a relief pitcher to a multi-year deal right now…which is wise…had heilman been dealt, dotel would have been my first choice, though…no doubt…but not for two years…
Since 2002, pitching exclusively from the bullpen, against roughly 1,400 batters, opponents are batting .200 against Dotel, who has struck out roughly 30 percent of the hitters he has faced.
…by the way, i just don’t know what to make of these sort of reports…note that the source of this information is one of dotel’s relatives…this is not to say it is incorrect, but i will not consider him off the market until i see this reported by a second outlet…
For instance, last week Impacto Deportivo reported that the Royals had reached agreement with RHP Bartolo Colon.
…and, as far as i can tell, colon is still very much a free agent…
Tagged Octavio Dotel |
