Daily Archives: December 9, 2009
The Mets will hold their annual Kids Holiday Party in Citi Field next Tuesday, during which Jeff Francoeur will portray Santa Claus, while Jose Reyes, Bobby Parnell, Angel Pagan and Jon Niese will dress as elves.
The players will hand out presents to children from the five boroughs of New York City and sing holiday carols along with the students.
Scott Boras talked with reporters today from the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis.
In regards to his client, free-agent OF Matt Holliday, Boras said:
“The Mets have a network and they have an infrastructure there, that is, I mean, it’s a juggernaut economically… They’ve got a brand new ballpark. They’re in New York City. Their revenues are in the top three or four in baseball… The Mets have a lot of choices, and the Wilpon family is very successful. The Mets can sign any player they want to… if they so choose to… Matt is a very athletic player. He’s a complete player… Jason Bay is a fine hitter, but Matt Holliday is a different type of hitter. He’s more of a line-drive, strength player. He’s really a great baserunner. He’s really athletic. So, having that type of power with the line-drive swing, it allows you to play in bigger ballparks and produce your 100 RBI, 100 runs scored. He is, to me, more capable of delivering the production in a wider variety of ballparks.”
…hmm, bigger ballpark… i mean, i can’t imagine where he could be possibly be talking about…
To see a picture of the scrum, courtesy of Brian Costa of the Star-Ledger, go here.
To hear more from Boras, watch SNY’s Mets Hot Stove at 7 pm, during which Chris Carlin will speak one-on-one with Mets GM Omar Minaya.
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com believes the Angels and Rangers have been most aggressive in pursuing free-agent relief pitcher Darren Oliver.
Original Post at 9:24 am:
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Mets, Angels, Mariners, Rays and Rangers will compete for Oliver, who was not offered salary arbitration.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, the Mets have not made an offer to free-agent C Bengie Molina.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets will meet with Molina’s agent today, and will make their first offer to him.
To understand why the Mets are so interested in Molina, and how he can influence the pitching staff, read Sherman’s report here.
…for what it’s worth, i was essentially just told the same thing by someone aware of what they’re up to, and so, it stands to reason, the team is pushing to let us, you, media, agents, molina, whomever, that they’re in no rush here… which is a good thing… let it play out, guys… especially if there is a chance one of Dioner Navarro or Kelly Shoppach end up being non tendered in a few days…
According to Rosenthal, the Mets are unsure of the market for Molina, and they do not want to bid against themselves.
According to John Harper in the Daily News, ‘Mets RHP Mike Pelfrey took a major step backward last season, to the point where baseball people are whispering about him as a head case.’
Harper believes the Mets are concerned that Pelfrey has a genuine issue with ‘anxiety on the mound.’
Last summer, in a report for Newsday, David Lennon said Pelfrey decided to run laps in the Coors Field parking lot in the middle of a game in September, after he was pulled in the fourth inning.
Pelfrey had been 4–1 with a 3.88 ERA through his first nine starts of the season, during which the team was 7–2; but he finished going 6–10 in his final 22 starts, with a 5.55 ERA.
Speaking of bizarre antics on the mound…
Earlier today, Mets C Omir Santos was a guest of Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton on WFAN, during which they had the following exchange:
Esiason: What’s going on with Oliver Perez, he’s not all there is he?
Santos: I mean, (pause), he’s, umm…
Carton: It’s OK, go ahead, you can say it to us…
Santos: I mean, he’s kind of, (pause)…
Carton: Nutty.
Santos: (Laughing)
Carton: Go ahead, Omir, come on now…
Esiason: He’s talking to himself out there, isn’t he?
Santos: Yeah, he talks to himself a lot. Sometimes I go out there, because I think he’s talking to me and he’s not… I say, ‘Did you call me?’ He says, ‘No, no, I’m talking to myself.’
To listen to Santos’s entire interview with WFAN, go to WFAN.com.
According to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, his agent is telling teams that free-agent RHP Joel Pineiro is the second-best starting pitcher on the open market, and should be paid more than the three-year, $10 million deal agreed to today by Randy Wolf and the Brewers.
Speaking of starting pitchers…
Padres RHP Kevin Correa believes he will be non-tendered, according to ESPN.com.
Correa, who can be a free agent after next season, was 12–11 with a 3.91 ERA last year.
Original Post at 1:16 pm:
The Mets, Yankees, Nationals, Orioles and Angels are among the teams showing an early interest in free-agent RHP Joel Pineiro, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports.
John Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com believes there is scattered interest in Tigers 1B-OF Carlos Guillen, “but his big contract will make any deal difficult.”
Guillen, 34, will earn $13 million each of the next two seasons, after which he will be a free agent.
He hit just .242 last season, with a .339 OBP, while missing roughly half the year with inflammation in his right shoulder. His OPS has declined, from .920 to .757, each of the last four seasons.
In a separate report, Morosi said the Tigers have interest in Dodgers OF Juan Pierre, but are looking for a third team with a pitcher to help facilitate the deal.
In other words, as Morosi writes, “If a team likes Guillen, and has an expensive pitcher available, who the Dodgers want, then you have a deal.”
Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of SI.com said on the MLB Network that the Mets are willing to send Luis Castillo to the Dodgers for Pierre, but, although the Dodgers need a second baseman, they are not interested.
“The Orioles have a tentative agreement in place on to send reliever Chris Ray to the Rangers for RHP Kevin Millwood and cash, according to the Baltimore Sun.
However, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com quotes a Rangers official who says the deal is not done.
Speaking of starting pitchers…
John Morosi of FoxSports.com believes free-agent RHP Rich Harden is willing to sign a one-year deal with incentives, and is drawing interest from the Yankees, Red Sox and Mariners.
The following exchange on Twitter, between @teamdoster and @EliFromBrooklyn, was too funny not to relay here on MetsBlog:
According to a team official, ‘The Marlins aren’t making 1B Jorge Cantu available,” reports John Morosi of FoxSports.com.
…i didn’t think there was any chance of him being traded to the Mets, but that also didn’t stop me from thinking he could have been an effective platoon-mate for Daniel Murphy…
Last night, Morosi said the Rangers had strong interest in Cantu.
Last month, Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post said there is a 50–50 chance the Marlins trade Cantu, and, “Indications are 2B Dan Uggla will get traded by the Winter Meetings.”
…actually, buzz right now from the Winter Meetings suggests uggla could be non tendered before the weekend, making him a free agent, assuming the Marlins are unable to trade him…
Uggla is eligible for arbitration this off season, during which he is likely to earn close to $8 million; he is also arbitration eligible in 2011; after which he can become a free agent.
…the Orioles and Giants have been most connected in rumor to uggla this off season…
← Older postsNewer posts →
