Daily Archives: January 3, 2010
Jon Heyman of SI.com says Jason Bay will undergo a physical for the Mets tomorrow.
Earlier this past week, Bay agreed to a four year, $66 million deal with the Mets, with an easily attainable fifth year option, making the total deal worth about $80 million.
In a post to New York Baseball Digest, Matt Pignataro thinks “Jason Bay won’t be a bust.”
Meanwhile, Joe over at Mets Merized Online takes a look back at former Met and now Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan.
Andrew over at The Ropolitans is holding another round of voting for Mets Player of the Year.
Finally, Ed Ryan from Mets Fever wonders who the second lefty will be out of the Mets bullpen.
Larry Brooks, in a report in today’s New York Post, says Mets COO Jeff Wilpon would like to hold the NHL’s Winter Classic at Citi Field.
On Thursday, Wilpon told the Post:
“I’ve had several conversations with Commissioner Bettman and have informed him that we’d love to have the game…Gary [Bettman] has told me that he and his team will come out and do a site visit early in the year, so I know that we are going to be under consideration.”
Wilpon also said he has spoken to New York Rangers CEO Larry Dolan and New York Islanders owner Charles Wang about the possibility of bringing the game to Citi Field in 2011, and with regards to the Islanders, Wilpon said “there is interest there.”
However, Brooks says NBC isn’t thrilled about having two teams from the same market play in the Winter Classic.
…like i said the other day, i think it would be great to hold events like this at Citi Field, as i believe it would help brand the ballpark as a great national venue for all sorts of events, and not just a single use facility, much the way Giants Stadium and Shea Stadium and even the old Yankee Stadium had become…
For more on the Mets and the Winter Classic, check out Brooks’ article in the New York Post here.
Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas says the Rangers are looking to add a veteran catcher, and they could be interested in Rays catcher Dioner Navarro or free agent Rod Barajas.
Durrett says the Rangers would like to add insurance behind the plate in the event Jarrod Saltalamacchia isn’t ready to play everyday, as he is recovering from shoulder surgery.
However, Barajas is seeking a two year deal and Durrett says Rangers GM Jon Daniels does not want to commit more than one year to a veteran catcher.
…i think from a Mets perspective, Barajas is certainly a cheaper alternative to Bengie Molina in terms of dollars, but i don’t think Barajas offers enough defensively to compensate for his inability to hit…ultimately, if either ever become a Met, i don’t think it will be for more than two years even though Molina wants a three year deal…i’m just worried that even a two year commitment is too long for either of these catchers…i feel the goal should be for this club to get younger and more flexible where they can rather than stymie their farm system with older and less versatile players at the top, ie i would like the catching opportunity to be afforded to Josh Thole at least by 2011, if not sometime in 2010…
The 34 year old Barajas hit just .226 with 19 home runs and 71 RBI for the Blue Jays in 2009, and he is a career .238 hitter.
The 35 year old Molina hit .265 with a career high 20 home runs and 80 RBI with the Giants in 2009, marking the third year in a row he has driven in 80 or more runs.
For more on the Rangers, check out ESPN Dallas here.
In a recent interview on ESPN Radio, Buster Olney said a possible landing spot for free agent 2B Orlando Hudson could be the Mariners.
During his interview on Mike and Mike in the Morning, Olney said:
“it wouldn’t surprise me if at some point the Seattle Mariners jump in there…he’d be a perfect fit in what they’re doing.”
…i still would like to see Hudson become a Met, but for the second consecutive winter, it’s looking less and less likely that will occur, considering Omar Minaya’s futile efforts to deal Luis Castillo…it’s not that he is so much better than Castillo although he has more power than him, and frankly i think there are more pressing issues at the moment, such as fixing their starting rotation…it’s just that he does a lot of the little things better than Castillo at this point and his positive influence can rub off on the current Mets group, which i believe this club sorely needs at the moment…considering he made about $8 million in 2009 and his desire to play for the Mets, he can probably be had for around that figure for 2010…i’m still curious as to why he was hardly used in the postseason this past October…
In 149 games for the Dodgers, Hudson hit .283 with nine home runs and 62 RBI in 2009, including a Gold Glove for the fourth time in five seasons. However, he had only four at bats in eight postseason games.
