Daily Archives: December 14, 2009
Update, 9:51 am
by Michael Baron:
According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, in addition to receiving Roy Halladay, the Phillies will receive $6 million from the Blue Jays, and Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and Juan Ramirez from the Mariners.
The Phillies will send Kyle Drabek, outfielder Michael Taylor and catcher Travis D’Arnaud to the Blue Jays, and Cliff Lee to the Mariners.
Update, 10:20 pm
by Michael Baron:
According Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, a source says only the Phillies will receive prospects from the Mariners and not the Blue Jays.
In addition, Zolecki says Phillies prospect Kyle Drabek is involved in the trade.
Update, 9:55 pm
by Michael Baron:
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com says as part of this deal, Roy Halladay would agree to a three year contract extension, taking him through the 2013 season, and it will guarantee him $60 million plus the $15.75 million he is owed in 2010.
…amazing…all along i believed it would take a five or six year extension and over $25 million per season and in the end, it’s a three year deal for less than what Johan Santana makes…if this is the case, the only reason why i wouldn’t question the Mets involvement is if he simply had no interest in signing any sort of extension with them…
As part of the trade, Stark says the Blue Jays will receive Mariners pitching prospect Phillippe Aumont, Phillies catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, plus another Phillies prospect, and the Mariners will send two prospects to the Phillies in exchange for Cliff Lee.
In addition, while it’s not clear Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ and top prospect Domonic Brown are a part of the trade, they were both in Philadelphia taking physicals today.
…as Stark points out, it’s essentially a swap of two aces for the Phillies but on paper, at least for 2010, it looks as though the Mariners could be a big winner in this deal as well, as they can couple Lee and Felix Hernandez together at the top of the rotation…
Updated at 4:21 pm:
According to Jon Heyman, of SI.com, Roy Halladay will agree to a deal sending him from the Blue Jays to the Phillies, meaning the deal is done, but it is not likely to be finalized today.
Mike Francesa on WFAN continues to say Mets sources have told him the Blue Jays wanted SS Jose Reyes in a deal for Halladay.
…maybe… i don’t know… i heard the Blue Jays wanted at least Mike Pelfrey, but that it didn’t matter, because halladay was not going to sign an extension, and so the Mets were not interested… and i don’t blame them… the buzz during the Winter Meetings had been that halladay would only sign an extension with the Phillies, otherwise, he would test the open market… and so, here we are…
Updated at 3:39 pm:
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Phillies, Mariners and Blue Jays have agreed to a deal that will send Halladay to Philadelphia, Cliff Lee to Seattle and prospects from both teams to Toronto.
According to CSN Philly, Halladay is currently in Philadelphia working on a contract extension.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday says in light of other catchers receiving two year deals, Bengie Molina is seeking a three year contract.
…if that’s the case, i see no reason for the Mets to commit to him at that price…i just don’t think it’s wise to give a 35 year old catcher a three year deal, and it would certainly be unwise to expect him to catch 140 games even if it was only a two year deal…
Update, 10:05 pm:
Sweeney Murti of WFAN says the deal will become official after Cameron completes a physical.
Original Post, 9:04 pm:
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Red Sox are in serious talks to sign Mike Cameron, who would replace Jason Bay in the outfield.
…well, chalk another one off the board for the Mets…not that Cameron was my top choice, but given the fact John Lackey is no longer available and Roy Halladay went to the worst possible destination, like Matt said earlier i’m getting real worried the Mets are now going to do something foolish like overpaying Bay and locking themselves into another bad contract just for the sake of making a big deal, and as ive been saying for a while now, a splash for the sake of making a splash is precisely what i think this team doesn’t need…
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says Cameron would receive a two year deal worth about $15.5 million.
Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says the Blue Jays have signed former Met Ramon Castro to a one year contract worth $1 million.
The Mets traded Castro to the White Sox this past May for P Lance Broadway, and the Mets non-tendered Broadway this past Saturday.
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Yes, intellectually, I know the Mets never had a chance to trade for Roy Halladay.
Also, I know there are legitimate concerns among interested teams regarding John Lackey’s elbow, and so I realize it would be unwise to over-commit to him, especially if the contract is not able to be insured.
And so, technically, while I know signing Lackey or trading for Lee or Halladay was never going to happen, as a Mets fan, emotionally, I can’t help but feel like I was just punched in the stomach.
I think it’s just knowing there are less options available today than yesterday; and so there is less chance of significant improvement. Or, it’s this feeling that, while other big-market teams are moving forward, my favorite team is collecting back-up catchers… while being sued by another. Or, perhaps I’m just not very excited about the idea of signing Jason Bay and Bengie Molina.
This is not to say Bay is terrible, or that the Mets have no options, or that they have no trick up their sleeve to be better… they might. I don’t know. I am not judging the off season… yet. I will not assume to know who wanted what for whom, and how much it could’ve cost for so-and-so, and so I intend to reserve judgment until the off season is complete. However, right now, today, seeing how other teams are improving, and being creative in doing so, I can’t help but freak out a bit.
I know I shouldn’t, but I am.
What’s more, I’m most worried the Mets might freak out too and do something crazy, making matters worse, just to try and ‘make a splash,’ like step up and sign Joel Pineiro to a terrible contract, or overbid to sign Bay, just to have something to put on disaply.
The thing is, it’s OK for me to lose my cool, I can be emotional… the Mets can’t. I have no idea what their plan is, or if they even have one, but, whatever it is, gentlemen, stay focused. Please, leave the overreacting and the worrying to me.
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Red Sox and free-agent RHP John Lackey have agreed to a five-year, $85 million deal.
Updated at 2:41 pm:
According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, “Lackey underwent a physical Monday with the Red Sox, an indication that he is close to an agreement with the team.”
Mets GM Omar Minaya told the New York Post he intends to take advantage of the new crop of free agents who were non-tendered last Friday.
In a post to Mets Today, Joe Janish looks at 11 non-tendered players who should be of interest to the Mets, such as 1B Ryan Garko and outfielders Jack Cust and Jonny Gomes.
…i have to think garko will be considered as a platoon-partner for 1B Daniel Murphy, while also being able to play the outfielder once in a while… but, in the end, at that point, the Mets might as well just let murphy handle the job himself, since garko is not that much better at hitting righties, nor would he be considered a defense upgrade…
…similarly, it would seem cust and gomes will be considered, in the event the Mets are unable to sign a big hitter, like Jason Bay or Matt Holliday… frankly, i wonder if they’d be better off signing a guy like cust, to play left field, alongside Carlos Beltran and Jeff Francoeur, then adding John Lackey to the rotation…
In his three years with the A’s, Cust averaged roughly 460 at bats per season, with a .241 average, around 25 home runs, 15 or so doubles, and a .375 OBP, while batting slightly better against right-handed pitching.
Cust, who was born and raised in Flemington, NJ, is eligible for arbitration each of the next two seasons, after which he can become a free agent.
In late November, Adam Rubin of the Daily News said the Mets were among the teams interested in trading for Cust, before he was non tendered by the A’s.
Speaking of free agents…
According to Honkbalsite.com, the Mets signed two 18-year-old Dutch players, infielders Kevin Weijgertse and Bjorn Hato, to minor league contracts last weekend.
For more on Weijgertse and Hato, check out Mack’s Mets.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday says the Mets expect to hear from free-agent OF Jason Bay this week.
Similarly, Ed Price of AOL FanHouse cites a team official, from a team interested in Bay, who feels his club will hear back from Bay with a decision later this week.
Original Post at 10:28 am:
According to Jorge Arangure of ESPN, “Venezuelan journalist Efrain Zavarce reports that the Mets have offered free-agent RHP Kelvim Escobar a minor league deal.”
…of course, i can’t tell for whom zavarce writes, and where he wrote this… but, i also don’t speak or read Spanish… so, i’ll take jorge’s word for it…
This morning, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com said Escobar recently recieved a positive medical report from Dr. Altcheck, and might pitch in the Venezuela this winter.
Crasnick lists the Mets, Yankees, Rays, Mariners, Brewers and Orioles among teams who could have interest.
The 33–year-old Escobar was 18–7 with a 3.40 ERA in 30 starts for the Angels in 2007; he had a 3.61 ERA in 30 starts for the Angels in 2006. However, he did not pitch in 2008, having shoulder surgery in June.
…when healthy, he has incredible stuff… no question… he has a nasty splitter, which he commands quite well… but, it’s all about being healthy for escobar…
…he has missed all sorts of games over the last few seasons due to a variety of issues connected to his throwing arm, be it his eblow, shoulder and his hand… he had surgery on his shoulder, tried to pitch in 2009, but was again shut down in June…
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