Daily Archives: December 31, 2008
In a post to MetsGeek, Mike Newman takes a look at Mets minor leaguers Shawn Bowman, Dylan Owen and Josh Thole, and asks if they are ‘prospects or 
pretenders,’ since, ‘the likelihood of any of these players becoming more than role players is slim.’
It does feel like the term prospect is thrown around a lot. I mean, they can’t all be prospects, as that would defeat the purpose. In reality, most of these guys are just minor-league baseball players, who may or may not sniff the big leagues one day, let alone become big-time players.
This is why I tend to only put stock in to elite prospects, and do not typically concern myself with every player in the system, because it inevitably will just not matter.
For more on Thole, check out Mets Minor League Blog, where Toby Hyde talks with Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus about the young catcher.
The Angels have signed free-agent closer Brian Fuentes to a two-year, $17.5 million deal, with a third-year option, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
Meanwhile, the Cubs signed infielder Aaron Miles to a two-year, $4.9 million deal, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Cubs are also close to sending infielder Mark DeRosa to the Indians in exchange for three minor-league pitchers, reports ESPN Radio in Chicago.
…hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors for the information…
Last night, according to multiple reports, the Mets offered Derek Lowe a three-year, $36 million contract.
“Lowe recently told a friend that the Red 
Sox have never showed serious interest in him,” explains John Harper in the Daily News, who believes, ‘more and more,’ it is only a matter of time before Lowe signs with the Mets.
According to ‘the friend,’ the Mets and Lowe exchanged contract proposals before Christmas, like the Boston Globe suggested last week.
Harper’s right, it is feeling inevitable – in the same way the Johan Santana Trade was starting to feel inevitable one year ago.
Similar to the Santana situation from last year, the competition is minimal, and the marriage makes sense – keeping Lowe in the National League, while returning him to the East Coast on a team that is built to win now.
In the end, I do not believe the Mets intend to guarantee a fourth year to the deal, and would love to keep the price below $15 million per season, which, if they pull it off, will be impressive, considering only a month ago he was seeking a ‘Zito-like Deal,’ according to Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com.
In case you’re thinking it…
In the New York Post, Mike Puma writes, “A Mets official termed it unlikely that the team would sign more than one starter from the group that includes Lowe, Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf.”
