Pedro Martinez will pitch in 2009, reports Jon Heyman at SI.com and Adam Rubin in the Daily News, both citing the player’s agent, Fern Cuza.
According to Heyman, ‘Multiple teams already have checked in about Martinez,’ says Cuza, who added:
“I think the Mets are a possibility. They know him better than most… They know the condition he’s in. They know about the personal problems that affected him last year. When Pedro’s healthy, he’s one of the best, and he’s healthy.”
However, Rubin writes, “A Mets official wouldn’t rule out Martinez returning, assuming his contract demands are modest.”
…i don’t know…i have a soft spot in my baseball mind for pedro…i do…it’s just, the Mets need to move on from the last two seasons some place, some how, and if not with players like martinez, then who…who will not be back, to differentiate next season from the last two…also, i’m tired of the Pedro Martinez Diagnostic Test…you know, after every single start he makes, it’s not about whether the team wins or loses, it’s about how pedro feels, how is his arm, his mental state, his stuff, was the mound high enough, did he prepare properly, etc…it never ends…
{ 88 comments }
I love Petey…but I think enough is enough…
I agree with some others that Pedro is an option for the rotation next year.
Lets say this scenario was possible. Pedro is resigned for a 1 year deal at $4M with incentives that can earn him another $4M for innings pitched and things of the like. Can even create a vesting option for another year with a similar deal.
Pedro was not only recovering last year from his shoulder issues which he seemed to get over….but his father died in the middle of the season. I do not care who you are. If your father dies…you are affected.
I’d take a flyer on him next year if he was game for the kind of deal mentioned above.
I would not let it affect how I approached going after the top starting pitcher target which should be Lowe, Burnett or Vasquez in my opinion.
I agree totally. People talk about Randy Johnson for #5, how about just Pedro to compete against Niese?
Randy’s crazy, Petey brings a different attitude and swagger.
Agreed.
NO, NO, NO and NO.
He is DONE. He’s been done for a couple of years now.
I’m tired of hearing some stupid baseball analyst say, “Well, you know Pedro. As long as he’s healthy he’ll figure out a way to get guys out.” Yeah, right, while he’s throwing 80 mph.
It’s time to turn the page. He can only hurt the Mets because the Mets would only sign him if they planned on relying on him and if the Mets have to rely on him, they will be sunk.
I agree, I love Pedro but I kinda agree that enough is enough too but I just got this feeling that says he is gonna be a different pitcher next year. No, not the Pedro of 5-6 years ago but an effective Pedro. I want and would love to see Pedro come back, the Mets biggest problem last year wasn’t Pedro. It was the bullpen period! Maybe Pedro could do some of that too>??
I agree but it’s time to move on. thanks for the memories Pedro and good luck
The problem with Pedro is that he was supposedly healthy at some points and did not show “he’s one of the best.”
Wow…. Matt, my post got blocked because I used the workd P-A-S-S-E-D. that is so wrong. Matt, this is the offseason, time to upgrade this site.
Anyway, back to my post.
I think Pedro has the makings of this years Tatis.
Another year p-a-s-s-e-d his surgery and one year p-a-s-s-e-d his dad’s death.
If anyone has the making of a Tatis II; it is he!
Funny, because “past” is the proper word there, not the blocked “p-a-s-s-e-d.”
past
parsed
The site was upgrade to block incorrect usage.
Fail.
Pedro would make a great batting practice coach.
Seriously though, I don’t want him back. I don’t want to hear “When Pedro comes back…” ever again. I heard it more than enough times over the past 3 years.
Again, I take issue with the notion of moving on. By that measure, let’s trade Johan and Wright. Then we won’t look at all like the last two season.
No. What we need is improvement. If the Mets determine Pedro is the best option to be the #4 guy, then they should re-sign him. If there are better options that fit their needs and budget, they should pursue them.
No, not #4. He can be our incentive-ladened #5 with Niese getting more AAA starts behind him. No way we can go with a rookie Niese, Pelfrey off his one good year, Maine off surgery and Pedro in the same rotation.
Yes, you’ve grasped my point perfectly. My point had little to do with which slot in the rotation he fits.
if the contract demands are fair and reasonable, Pedro as the team’s fifth starter would be great.
agreed. Pedro has velocity of 90-91mph on the fastball and he got people out. Big time hitters out. He just seemed incapable of starting a game without giving up 3 runs in the first inning. He would settle down and go 6 but we would be in the hole right away and the pen later on would make it worse.
Just out of curiosity which pedro were you watching this year. The one I saw barely could get it to 85 and last 5 innings. It’s over – let’s move on. And don’t tell me about Randy johnson-we saw him in NY with the other team.
There are other options-Omar needs to find them. Sanatan-Pelfrey-Maine?-Niese- Get a reasonable 2-3 we don’t know about Maine but there are other options.
PLEASE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Ican’t stand how this guy, alou, castillo and el duque robbed the mets of closely 100 millions combine!!! no more !!!
Guess you never came to a Pedro game.
There were easily 5-7 thousand more fans in the stadium on days he pitched (at least for the first 2 years).
He loves the mets and the Mets fans love him.
as a matter of fact i did… look, i’m dominican, and i loved him, but what minaya has done to the mets in terms of signing the past 2 years is an abomination!! alou played 90 games in 2007.. el duque was hurt and he picked up the option.. castillo.. ugh.. and if boston was giving pedro a 2 year contract he didn’t have to overwhelm him with 4 years to come here… pedro should’ve never been here for more than 3… again, i am from dr but i’m also a mets fan.. pedro no more!!!
whether or not you are dominican is not at issue here.
Pedro is a fan favorite of all fans of all ethnicities.
i said that in case anybody brought those points as a racial issue.. pedro WAS a fan favorite but in boston and he’s helped out our community a ton, but he’s way past his prime, and believe me when i tell u, no mets fan in their right mind would consider this guy anymore.. have you checked his stats the las 3 years??? are u serious!!!
KickedintheMetsiclesAgain is correct. The first two seasons Pedro was a zero sum cost, as the higher ticket sales covered the contracts.
agree, so why not bring back alou as well, he was a fan favorite too.. remember.. ALOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!1
It’s not the same thing. It wasn’t just Pedro being a fan favorite, but actually selling many more seats when he started.
Great see him at the next old timers game… Look the fans love Seaver, Cone and Koosman-should we trot them out to. We need a productive pitcher so we don’t have to rely on our bullpen. haven’t we learned that yet???
Santana
Lowe/Burnett
Pelfrey
Maine
Martinez/Niese (when Pedro is injured)
Pedro would be one of the best 5th starters in baseball. He’s just not the #2 anymore. My gut tells me he’s going to turn things around this year. Not quite 1999 or even 2006 form…but significantly better than last year.
exactly…all these id-iots on this site want to somehow sign 2 FA pitchers but Niese better still start!!! i mean…huh? we only need one starter and then let Pedro (or Freddy Garcia, Colon, or some other band-aid pitcher) hold the spot till Niese is ready, and if they pitch well its an added bonus
Some fans are just too warped by fantasy baseball (or the Yankees) to think logically.
Also these same fans want the Mets to
a) Sign all these big time FA like CC, AJ, Lowe, Tex just to name a few
at the same time the Mets are doing this they also want the Mets to
b) To trade for big name players like Peavy etc etc etc
at the same time they don’t want the Mets to
c) trade players like Neise Murphy etc etc etc
Bottom line is next year Pedro is not a bad number 5 at all. He is not what he use to be but still is better then the Garlands, and Silvas. Why not give him a one year deal? Maybe his personal problems affected him this year more then we no. Maybe they did not and he is just at the end. But a one year deal is not a bad move.
Depth in the rotation is never a bad thing. You can still sign Garland or Garcia or trade for a Vasquez and have them work out of the bullpen. To have Neise in triple A or even as a trade chip for a LF or bullpen help is not a bad thing. Say what you want but Pedro is a great leader and brings allot of spark and energy to the Mets. He is a great mentor for the young guys like Pelf, Maine, and if they resign Perez.
If they don’t resign Pedro fine not a big deal but if they do sign him I don’t see how you can say it is a bad move.
No, unless he could be a BP guy. C’mon, he’s so injury-prone at this point. His “good health” means nothing realistically. He’s always a pitch away from the disabled list.
He’s a great guy, but I suspect he’s finished
this is a no-brainer:
If Pedro will sign a 1 year deal for a couple mil, then resign him, it cant hurt, heck as long as its a 1 year deal for whatever amount, absolutely…what are you gonna just hand a spot over to Niese….how’d that work for Pelfrey for 2 years….
And if Pedro fails, either cut him and your losses or throw him in the pen, where we always need extra guys…and/or keep him on the bench as a “coach” and activate him when necessary…it can never hurt to have a HOFer on the team….as long as its a 1 year deal.
People do forget how great he was in 2005 when healthy and the beginning of 2006 when healthy, and then he slipped in the dugout in SD and has not been the same since. Even if he does come back healthy you don’t know if it’s just over for him or not, and it’s quite a risk to take.
That said, if you get a top #4 along the lines of Perez or similar, and hang on to Niese as your #6 in AAA, Pedro could be your #5 with incentive-filled contract. I hate to use this past year as a barometer since we failed to reach the playoffs, but the rotation was not the problem and we essentially went into this season the same way, with El Duque as the #5 and Pelfrey as the #6 guy who stepped in once El Duque was hurt. The difference this year is that Pelfrey is in the rotation as the #2 now, instead of Pedro, and Pedro slides down to #5.
Pelfrey shouldn’t be the #2…. Yet. He might end the year as the Mets 2nd best pitcher, but I do not want to Rely on him as the #2 just yet. He still has a below 500 career record, and at one point last year was 0-9. Yes he had a tremendous 2nd half, and I think he is going to take another step forward this year. He has the same makeup as Brandon Webb. But This year i want him as the #3 with whatever Free-Agent slotting in the #2. Hopefully someone good, or he will be forced there.
Pedro as the #5 would be a low-risk high reward move. Look at Mike Mussina last year. He was older, and no yankee wanted him at that point. But he had to lead to pitch without having the same stuff he used to. I’d rather see Pedro there at least to start the year, then an unproven even at the AAA level Neise. Let Neise get some work in AAA and if he’s needed call him up when/if someone gets hurt, or for double headers. No need to rely on him this year.
It’s all about cost benefit.
Pedro on a low cost 1 ;yr deal would be good as #5- with Niese, Vargas, etc as backup.
What is the downside?
the key is not to rely on him
alou style??? no!!!
yea but the differance is we got someone to fall back on..with alou we only had pagan……
but like pagan we’re not sure how that will turn out.. niese may not even be ready.. u saw what happened last septemeber i’m sure.. other than the braves he got smoked!!
yea thats been my arguement about not giving niese a starting spot but most people believe he can handle it so….
exactly
give Pedro a 1 year deal and let him be the 5th starter. He did have 9 K’s in his last start so he certainly can still pitch.
If you’re only other options behind him are Niese and Vargas I’d say you’re relying on him.
Is Pedro done… most likely but as a 5th starter and a draw sign him for an incentive laden contract… its better than Lima time or Nelson F.
Pedro had trouble hitting 90 last year, and is always one good sneeze away from 2 months on the DL . It’s over, Johnny. Time to move on. I’d rather see Stokes as the #5 than Pedro.
i don’t want Pedro…but that is a ridiculous comment.
Ive always liked pedro(bought his jerzy the day he was signed in 05). If he makes a modest contract req i think it wont hurt to sign him up. Like most people have said just dont depend on him. Have niese(if he is still here) ready to take over once pedro gets injured.
Santana
Lowe
Pelfrey
Maine
Pedro
If Pedro can just get 5-6 IP at 3 runs or less and throw a gem once in a while i’ll take that from the #5 starter
plus what young pitcher coming up couldnt learn a thing or 2 from Pedro.
well said
bring him back on the cheap.
If they fail to bring in a Lowe or better starter then signing Garland and Pedro or Wolf and Pedro, etc would be decent fallback options.
Even as poor as it sounds a rotation of
Santana, Pelfrey, Maine, Wolf, and Pedro (with Niese and Parnell in AAA) would hand over enough leads to the pen to have a playoff year.
I a-s-s-ume you mean a playoff year *if* that bullpen includes some major upgrades…
I make no presumptions about what the pen will do with those leads. But that rotation won’t be the reason they dont make the playoffs. Even as much of a plan D or E that it would be.
The key if you do get Pedro is to secure at least one other very reliable pitcher for the rotation. Remember that Maine is coming off shoulder surgery also and is not a given that he is the Maine of 2006.
Getting Lowe would help a ton to end some of the ??’s
Santana, Lowe, Pelf, Maine, Pedro
With Vargas, Neise and Parnell getting experience and Holt in AA learning his trade seems nice to me
couldn’t of said it better myself
Holt shouldn’t be going from short season rookie league to AA, he should be starting the season in A- and working on his secondary pitches.
Not that I disagree with you, but I would put money that Holt will start in St. Lucie. The Mets don’t seem to send their big prospects outside of the inside circle (Brooklyn-St. Lucie) unless they really have to.
Fern Cuza….that’s up there on the humorous agent name’s list. Not quite Bean Stringfellow, but a good effort nonetheless
If we can’t trade for a Vazquez type after signing a free agent, I really like Pedro as a #5.
Niese cannot throw 175+ innings next year, which means we need an additional arm. But because we have Niese, that pitcher doesn’t need to be durable.
This would be an elegant fit as well as a low risk, high reward signing.
Plus, you know, he’s Pedro. Everybody loves Pedro!
If we land a top three starter (CC, Burnett, Sheets) then having Pedro for the 5th spot would be fine, especially since it’ll give Niese the opportunity to get some starts and if Pedro gives the Mets a home team discount. I wouldn’t mind it at all. Plus, he just turned 37. I’m confident he’ll have a bounce back year.
CC has 0 chance of being a Met, Burnett has a very little chance and maybe Sheets but Lowe seems most realisitc
PEDRO’S 37 IS LIKE ANY OTHER PITCHER AT 46!!!
More like 56. I agree with Alex 100%. Pedro was done over 2 years ago.
He took like 20-something million the last two years for not pitching in 2007 virtually at all and getting shelled every five days last year.
If he wants to come back and earn some of the money he was given for the past the last 2 years, and have a VERY light, incentive-laden deal for one year, then I would say OK.
But otherwise, it is time to move on from the Pedro/Alou/El Joque aging, always injured players.
With Niese and/or Parnell waiting in the wings, I’d be VERY happy with Pedro as our #5!!
Anybody who doesn’t want Pedro, yet wants Niese or Parnell in the rotation now, just isn’t thinking this through clearly.
Not tryin’ to offend anyone, but it’s a no-brainer.
Cheap, low risk-high reward deal. And we’ve got the kids as backup.
I would prefer someone else to protect our kids….not thinking Niese or Parnell in the rotation now.
it would be a terrible move to bring pedro back.
great guy, but he’s done.
sign garland for the 5th starter. at least he pitches into the 7th inning helping to give rest to the bullpen.
We all have Maine penciled in as #4.
Are we sure he is fully recovered?
If Maine is better, are we sure that Pelfrey is better than Maine?
*If Maine is healthy
I had a hard time understanding his 2008 season. He had just as much velocity as he did in 2005 when he first came here, but yet hitters were teeing off. What did he do so differently in 2005 than 2008 if it wasn’t the velocity?
Wasn’t Pedro still in the low 90s in 2005?
Occasionally. But there were plenty of games where he was throwing 89 and still dominating. This past year, he was at 90 a lot of the time.
Tipped his pitches.
Is this April 1st? No, it’s November. Are we seriously discussing this? We’re going to pay Pedro who knows how many millions, to sit injured on the bench all year making funny faces at the other team? Maybe if we can give him the league minimum with an incentive bonus that kicks in if he actually starts 5 games.
I hope to God that Omar has learned his lesson when it comes to giving out contracts to over-35year old guys with serious histories of injuries. How El Duque, Alou and Castillo were on the payroll last year still amazes me.
AMEN to every word of that Senor!!
hE’S WASHED UP.
he’ll have the same impact el duque had this year.
maybe this is part of the mets new retirement plan?
There really isn’t a need to get two pitchers on long contracts when we can have Niese be a full starter in 2010. A healthy and inexpensive Pedro isn’t a bad fallback option.
I’d rather trade for Vasquez and try to sign another pitcher but I wouldn’t be upset with Pedro/Niese as a fall back.
Why all the hate for Pedro? He was hurt the last couple of seasons. FYI, he had a torn cuff before he signed with the Mets. That’s why the Sox didn’t want to resign him. We signed him out of necessity.. Pedro still had flashes of blilliance. I think a year removed from surgery he will be a lot better. He needs to get his rhythm back.
First priority though should be BP. Money left should be spent on a starter. If we can’t get a top of the line guy with the money left, I would be all for resigning Pedro.
one thing about Neise: some posters are getting concerned about pencilling him in for a spot in the rotatin. i think it is more like saving the 5th spopt for a young guy to earn (rookie, reclaim project, whatever) as opposed to signing a big name guy.
IMO, Vargas is probably more likely to get the spot than Neise, if he stays healthy and has a good winter/spring. Could be a dark horse to look out for!
Only way Neise gets the 5 spot is if he is amazing in ST (and of course, they don’t have it prefilled!)
They need 2 SPs. At least one needs to be a legit FT 30 start guy (barring injury). Lowe, Ollie, Sheets, Burnett, Garland, Vazquez, etc.
The 5th starter is likely to be more of a wildcard or crapshoot. And yeah, Pedro could be in the mix.
Or it may just end up being that the Mets have a solid 1-4, and instead of a FT 5 it is 5-9 sharing time!
Santana, maine, Pelf, (Vazquez/Lowe/Ollie/Sheets). A fine top 4.
5? Pedro/rookie/heilmann/some guy no one is thinking of/big unit.
agian though, depth (the 6-9 guys) will be vital.
the idea of giving Pedro a 1 yr deal is to not tie up money for 4 yrs on a bad pitcher (ie Garland, etc).
If you can give Pedro an incentive laden deal as #5, what is the down side?
jeez.
and as a #5 there will be plenty of opportunity to skip over him.
the ONLY downside I can see is if Vargas/Stokes, etc is #5 he can also work long relief as needed.
He was the #5 this year, and how many opportunities did we have to skip over him?
A ton when he was out hurt!
I love Pedro but like a lot of people said it’s just time to move on.
Well depending on the deal I wouldn’t mind him back. But I wouldn’t want him penciled in as the number 5 starter, and I personally don’t think it’s smart to rely on Niese/Vargas to back him up. I just don’t think he, or the options we would have behind him, are reliable enough to make sense when you can bring in a guy like Randy Wolf or even John Garland. Especially with other question marks surrounding the rotation. If I had more faith in Niese then maybe but I don’t really think he’d make a very good fifth starter next year either.
I wouldn’t bring him back, even to be my #6 starter
Who needs the drama anymore.
Old, injury-prone, washed up.
Time to move on
I want to sign Pedro, but not as part of the rotation or bullpen. Just for his personality.
Allow me to fix this post title.
Starting Pitcher: Pedro to Pitch Batting Practice in 2009
There you go. Proceed.
PEDRO GAVE US HIS HEART AND SOUL, HE TRUELY IS ONE OF BASEBALL’S ALL TIME GREAT COMPETITOR’S, TO SAY THAT HE WAS LIGHT’S OUT IN HIS PRIME IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. HE DID’NT JUST WIN, LIKE ALL THE TRUELY GREAT ONE’S HE DOMINATED, HOWEVER, LIKE MANY OF THE GREAT’S THEY USUALLY ARE THE LAST TO REALIZE THAT IT’S OVER.
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