Daily Archives: November 16, 2008
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According to El Universal, Francisco Rodriguez traveled to New York City ‘to be checked by doctors,’ in advance of eventually signing a contract with the Mets, according to a source linked to the closer.
“The Mets have made the best offer so far,” the source tells the Venezuelan newspaper, “though I know he wanted more money than what was offered.”
…i hate when this happens…time and time again, reports from foreign newspapers indicate items that never come true, when dealing with the baseball rumor mill…yet, i have to post them, because you just never know…
…my standard policy is to post these tidbits, but always suggest you take them with a grain of salt, at least until other media outlets begin confirming the information…
…Update…9:25 pm…
…i was only able to connect with a few people, some media, some connected to the team, and i have a feeling the above link could be untrue…also, at this point, the best and brightest, i.e., Jon Heyman, Joel Sherman, Buster Olney, Ken Davidoff, Ken Rosenthal, etc., have yet to write anything suggesting the above on their blogs or websites…so, there you go…
…Update…6:15 am…
According to the New York Post, the story from El Universal is ‘total BS,’ which adds, “We’re not saying Rodriguez to the Mets is never going to happen, people, but it ain’t happening now.”
Meanwhile, in MLB.com, Marty Noble quotes a Mets official as saying the report is ‘untrue,’ and Rodriguez’s agent, Paul Kinzer, did the same.
According to Noble, per Kinzer, the Mets and Rodriguez have been in touch, but no offer has been made.
However, according to NY Mets Report, 1050 ESPN Radio’s Rich Coutinho recently said on air that Rodriguez will be in New York City on Tuesday.
Lastly, at the beat writer’s blog for the Star Ledger, Jeremy Cothran writes the following:
“As Dan Graziano suggested, sometimes these reports have a tendency to hit the center of the mark…
“The same thing happened with the Erik Bedard trade to the Mariners last winter. A report out of Diario Panorama in Venezuela said the Mariners had pulled star prospect Adam Jones out of winter ball and were shipping him to Baltimore for a physical. The M’s denied it, but all it did was stall a deal that was eventually finished.”
…thanks to Andres M for the link, and the wild goose chase…
Davidoff cites an AL executive who agrees with the approach, essentially saying the Mets would be better trading a high-level prospect for Jenks, ‘than throwing big dollars at K-Rod.’
The AL executive continues on to give a scouting report of Jenks, and explain why his decrease in strike outs could be a good thing, as compared to Rodriguez.
Meanwhile, in the New York Post, citing an ‘AL official regularly in touch with the Mets executives,’ “The Mets will wait to see if supply-and-demand take holds and the price falls.”
According to Sherman, as he has written previously on his blog, Hardball, Minaya’s main targets are Fuentes and Derek Lowe.
Nevertheless, if the Mets do go for Jenks, he will almost certainly cost OF Fernando Martinez, writes Sherman, who quotes a Mets official as saying, “Unless something changes, I would say the chances of us getting Jenks are close to zero. The price is too high and he isn’t close to the top of our list.”
Sherman also writes of how the M’s intend to handle J.J. Putz, and whether the Astros will trade Jose Valverde, and whether the Mets would have interest.
