Daily Archives: December 26, 2009
Cuban pitcher Yuniesky Maya threw for scouts in the Dominican Republic last week.
Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com quotes a scout who watched Maya as saying he threw in the 88–92 mph range, while sporting a fastball, two-seamer, a slider, curveball and a changeup.
The Mets and White Sox are the front-runners to sign Maya, according to a recent report on Globedia.com.
Maya’s agent, Bart Hernandez, told Arangure, “Due to his arsenal of pitches, Maya projects as a starting pitcher… It would be a shame to put him in the bullpen. He’s in the prime of his career. It’s not like he’s a young kid needing development.”
In one start and two relief appearances, during last spring’s World Baseball Classic, the 27–year-old Maya allowed one earned run in seven innings, while walking two batters and striking out four.
update, 11:38 am
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN says Escobar has $1.25 million guarantees withal $125,000 for making the Opening Day roster.
In addition, Escobar could earn am extra $2 million based on games pitched, and an additional $1 million based on games finished.
original post:
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets signed free-agent Kelvim Escobar to a one-year, major-league deal to be a possible set up for Francisco Rodriguez.
Original Post at 12:24 am:
According to Francisco Blavia of Lider en Deportes, the Mets and free-agent pitcher Kelvin Escobar agreed to a one-year contract.
…thanks to andres m for the tip…
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox have not completely shut the door on re-signing Jason Bay or bringing in Matt Holliday.
Silverman says the Red Sox are keeping an “open mind” about their budget and Bay, but Silverman feels a new offer to Holliday isn’t as likely.
Yesterday, Peter Gammons of WEEI said the Red Sox have made the best offer to Bay, as the proposal has a higher present day value than the Mets offer.
Buster Olney, in a post to his blog for ESPN, says the Mets, top starting pitching target is likely to be RHP Joel Pineiro.
…i think the Mets really need to be careful about Pineiro because he could be a product of Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan…i’d be ok with a short term deal for Pineiro but nothing more than one or two years…i think he would be ok and certainly less risky than a guy like Erik Bedard or Ben Sheets, although his upside isn’t as good as those two…
In addition, Olney believes the Mets, who he says has between $15 – $22 million in payroll flexibility, should abandon the pursuit of Jason Bay and focus their money on three or four players who provide them with short term depth which will give them flexibility beyond 2010.
…this is what i said earlier, and exactly what Matt said yesterday and the day before…
…i think as far as an available dollar amount is concerned, there is no way to really know how much they have to spend, but the offers out to Bengie Molina and Jason Bay push what Olney believes is the Mets’ ceiling…it’s safe to say they probably don’t want to go above the luxury tax threshold, and nor should they with the crop of players that are available…that said, the Mets, as will any team, should always have flexibility at the top, provided the right player come around…
According to Roger Rubin of the Daily News, a baseball official says he “wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets move on soon” from Jason Bay.
…if that’s the case, i think that’s a wise decision…as Matt said yesterday, at this point the Mets really need to separate themselves altogether from Bay and look to fill the need in some other way…
Rubin says the priority continues to be inproving the lineup, but they could look to add a second left handed pitcher to the bullpen later in the off season.
…for the entire winter, i have not understood the club’s reasoning to pursue offense first over pitching…i very much understand the problem in left field and behind the plate, but if their key players are healthy, their offense should be good enough that they don’t need to make such a commitment to a not-so-great player like Bay and they can fill their offensive needs with players who do the little things well…i would only say deviate from pitching as the priority when there is exceptional talent available, and i believe a guy like Matt Holliday is one of those exceptions…
