Daily Archives: December 6, 2009
According to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, a team negotiating with free-agent RHP John Lackey says he is 
seeking a deal worth more than the $82.5 million, five-year deal A.J. Burnett signed last off season with the Yankees.
Last week, on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove, which airs every Thursday at 7 pm, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said, as of now, ‘the Mets are not heavily involved in Lackey,’ who he believes will eventually sign a $100–million contract.
However, in a post to his blog last week for 1050 ESPN Radio, Andrew Marchand said he talked to an MLB executive who feels Lackey will be lucky to get a deal ike Burnett’s.
…the buzz from Los Angeles is that lackey rejected a four-year, $60 million extension from the Angels last off season, and so it stands to reason he believes he either a) can do better, or b) wants out of Anaheim… i am starting to think the Angels may push harder to trade for Blue Jays RHP Roy Halladay, than sign any other pitcher… and so, if that happens, it would probably mean the Yankees and Red Sox could end up fighting it out over lackey, and so his price tag could push up to where he wants it, if not more… personally, i am not sure he’s worth it… one season, sure… but, six years, and his elbow, on a contract the Mets most certainly will be unable to insure because they’re already paying Johan Santana, to me, is too risky…
Speaking of pitchers…
The Marlins are in serious talks about trading reliever Matt Lindstron, which you can follow at here.
In 2006, the Mets traded Lindstron and Henry Owens to the Marlins for LHPs Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick.
Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports believes there three or four teams interested in trading for OF Juan Pierre.
According to Hensen, “a three-team deal is being explored to get Los Angeles a bad-contract starter in return.”
…hmmm, umm, Oliver Perez any one… 
any one…
The 32–year-old Pierre will earn $10 million next season and $8.5 million in 2011, after which he can become a free agent.
He hit .308 with a .365 OBP, 24 extra base hits, 30 stolen bases and 27 walks in 380 at bats in 2009.
In November, Jon Heyman of SI.com said the Dodgers had contacted the Mets about 2B Luis Castillo.
…obviously, he is not going to solve the the Mets lack-of-power problem… he is more or less the exact hitter that castillo is… so, in terms of offensive production, i’m not sure swapping the two makes sense… i mean, if the Mets are this dedicated to creating a hole to fill at second, well, this would do it…
…however, i would rather the Mets trade castillo for pierre than to the Cubs for Milton Bradley, or Pat Burrell from the Rays…
Mets GM Omar Minaya arrived at the Winter Meetings less than an hour ago, and talked to reporters before heading up to the team’s suite, and said:
“The free-agent stuff, that seems to be going a little slower this year than in past years… There have been some trade potentials out there. I know I talked to a couple of GMs and hopefully we’re going to get together and further along the discussions. It’s almost a domino effect. Once a free agent or two gets signed, then it becomes a domino effect—both for the trades and the signings… We have potential trades that in conversation with the other GMs could happen here… I think this year, because of the market, there are teams that are willing to at least make an attempt to fill their needs via trade if possible. More so than in past years.”
…like i said the other day, the Mets have options in the trade market… and, from what i can gather, there are deals to be made that could get them an impactful player or two, which would allow them to not overspend in what is an otherwise weak free-agent market…
To read additional quotes from Minaya, including his take on the free-agent market and his team’s priorities, go to Adam Rubin’s blog for the Daily News, here.
Jeff Wilpon is not scheduled to be at the Meetings.
…unless, of course, the Mets are about to finalize the acquisition of a big-time free-agent, like last year with Francisco Rodriguez…
Thomas, and other season-ticket holders, were given a tour of Citi Field this weekend.
To see his pictures, including unique shots from the locker room, check out his Twitter feed, here.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com believes the Mets are interested in OF Josh Willingham.
Willingham hit .260 with 24 HR and 61 RBI in 144 games for the Nationals last season.
… from what i can tell, several teams are interested in willingham, including the Braves, but most see him as a Plan B, not a first choice, mostly because of his poor defense and a lingering issue with his back… he’d be a good fall-back for the Mets, but i would be concerned about how his defensive skills in Citi Field… the Mets should, and will, look elsewhere first…
Willingham, who has played just three games at first base during his six year career, is eligible for arbitration each of the next two seasons, after which he can become a free agent.
According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Rays and Cubs are still not close to a deal involving OF Milton Bradley and OF Pat Burrell.
He adds, “Also, a three-way option with Mets 2B Luis Castillo is ‘not helping things.’”
Original Post:
According to Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, the Cubs will likely sign free-agent OF Mike Cameron as soon they trade OF Milton Bradley in a deal that has been imminent for the last 72 hours.
Earlier this week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post said, “I hear that a trade of Rays OF Pat Burrell for Bradley is still a strong possibility.”
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Mets will do two years for free-agent C Benjie Molina.
Heyman asks, “Why is there no deal yet? Does he want three?”
…yes, from what i can gather, molina believes he can get a three-year deal, be it from the Mets or a few other teams… also, i think he’s looking for around $8 million per season… so, yes, three-years, say, $18 million… which, frankly, is hilarious… i sense the Mets only want to offer a one-year guarantee, with a second-year option… and so, in the end, assuming they have to have him, i believe they can find a compromise…
…but, what i like is that, although people goofed on the Mets for Catcherpalooza, now, they have a whole host of options, plus can still explore the trade market, and not have to give in to molina’s demands… i believe there is a catcher out there in trade for the Mets if they want him… but, the question will be, who, between him and molina, is the better deal, and who is the better guy to handle the bulk of the catching duties and work with the pitching staff, for the right price…
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets should stick with the current Mets core for one more year, and prioritize the draft in June, 2010.
Sherman believes signing one Type A free agent doesn’t elevate the Mets to a championship level, and it would cost the Mets a second round draft pick in the amateur 
draft in June and not necessarily guarantee success based on the results of the spending spree after the 2001 season.
…this is really a wise course in my opinion…i really don’t want the Mets to make a splash just for the sake of spending money and appeasing that desire, rather i would be much happier with spending on several key pieces that upgrade the team all around… not that guys like Matt Holliday, John Lackey and Roy Halladay don’t address their needs, but spending on those types players, while they definitely need their talent and guts, both talent wise and dollar wise, limits their ability to address a lot of other needs they clearly have…
Instead, Sherman suggests augmenting their current group with several pieces this winter, and then supplement the team again at the trade deadline in July, all while addressing the issues of depth which he believes is the reason for their failures the past three years.
…i think depth is certainly a key reason, but i also believe the Mets have been poorly coached over that stretch as well… i feel the pitching staff has been poorly coached and developed as they just don’t seem to progress and improve as they get older and get more experienced and it seems to be a common thread whether it’s with guys on the Major League level or guys they bring up through the system…
For more on this, check out the New York Post here.
Added to by Matthew Cerrone:
...this is why i think previous reports might be correct, in that the team is trying to thread the needle, i.e., sign a big-time free agent, but only if the market shifts in a way that makes that player reasonable, then make a trade or two to switch up the roster and lessen long-term commitments, all while keeping the draft in tact... i bet if they could, they’d make nothing but trades, but that just isn’t realistic…
