Buzz: Turning to Ibanez, Bay and Winn
According to Jayson Stark, in a post to the MLB Trade Deadline blog for ESPN.com, now that Xavier Nady and Casey Blake are off the market, the Mets will turn their attention to M’s OF Raul Ibanez, “whom they believe is their only remaining realistic option to acquire as an outfield bat.”
The left-handed hitting Ibanez, 35, is hitting .275 with 14 HR and 61 RBI for the Mariners this season, while batting .307 against lefties and .262 against righties.
In a report for Newsday, in which he explains why Manny Ramirez is not an option for the Mets, Ken Davidoff writes, “The Mariners have been asking a high price in return for Ibañez.”
…like in other cases, the buzz from seattle is that the M’s must get back two high-ceiling prospects, equal to the type of talent they would draft with two first-round picks…
Meanwhile, according to Peter Gammons, in a post to ESPN.com, the Pirates are still listening to offers for OF Jason Bay, “but right now 
there doesn’t seem to be anyone willing to step up and pay the price.”
Such as the Mets, who, according to Stark, feel the asking price for Bay is too ‘excessive.’
In a recent report for SI.com, in which he too explains why Ramirez will not be traded to the Mets, Jon Heyman writes, regarding Pittsburgh’s asking price:
“Mets people balked at including top outfield prospect Fernando Martinez for Nady and are said to be extremely reluctant to part with either Martinez or left-handed pitching prospect Jon Niese.”
Yesterday, in a video report for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal said the Mets will not trade Martinez, Niese, nor Robert Parnell.
Lastly, in a separate post, citing ‘one baseball man who has spoken with the Mets,’ Stark writes that the Giants and Mets have had recent conversations about 34–year-old OF Randy Winn.
…from what i can gather out of san francisco, if the Mets are willing to take on all of winn’s money, including his $8.6 million salary 
for next season, they will not have to give up a significant prospect in trade…
Winn is batting .275 with five HR, 40 RBI and 20 stole bases in 98 games for the Giants this season, during which he has played both center and right field.
By the way, in Stark’s post, he also details Minaya’s efforts to wade through the relief pitcher market, which could include such targets as Cla Meredith, Chad Bradford and Jeremy Affeldt.
