Daily Archives: January 5, 2010
Buster Olney of ESPN.com believes free-agent 1B Adam LaRoche is entertaining signing with either the Orioles or Giants.
Olney says the Giants once offered LaRoche a two-year, $17 million deal, but that now may be ‘off the table.’
…i never really got the impression the Mets had interest in laroche… i just don’t feel they want to block Ike Davis in anyway… i mean, sure, if by some miracle the Mets could get Adrian Gonzalez at the trade deadline, that would be one thing… but, i don’t see the Mets signing a free agent or trading for a mid-range player who will get in his way, or Daniel Murphy’s way…
..if laroche signs in Baltimore, i do think it makes Carlos Delgado showing up in Port St. Lucie a foregone conclusion… the type of deal delgado gets from the Mets will be determined by how healthy he appears to be in Winter Ball… in either case, i think he’ll have to win a job on the 25–man roster, i don’t think he will be guarenteed anything, or Daniel Murphy will have to lose his hold on first base… in other case, i think first base is still up in the air, and might not be settled for a while… i also wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mets bring in other players, like a Russ Adams who they signed earlier today, who could win a spot on the bench, back-up murphy at first base and fill in at other positions, by winning a job in the spring, in the event delgado isn’t ready…
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Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Cardinals and free-agent OF Matt Holliday have agreed to a seven-year, $120 million contract, which includes a full no-trade clause.
According to Matthew Leach of MLB.com, Holliday indicated the deal might include a team option for an eighth season.
…good for him… i didn’t think he’d end up getting that seventh year, let alone a potential season eight… he fell short of $18 million per season, which seemed to be his goal… but, like i had a feeling would be the case, the team who guarenteed at least six seaosns and who got the total value up over $100 million would get him… and so, good for all of those involved…
So, here’s the big question:
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According to the Sporting News Canada, the Mets have signed 29–year-old free-agent Russ Adams to a minor-league deal.
Adams appeared in 286 games for the Blue Jays over the past six seasons, playing left field, second base, shortstop and third base.
He is a career .248 hitter with 17 home runs and 113 RBI.
Today on WFAN, host Mike Francesa talked to OF Jason Bay and GM Omar Minaya.
Minaya told Francesa:
- Bay was his top target when the off-season started.
- Bay is a consistent player, who works hard every day.
- The Mets are negotiating with Bengie Molina, but he is not the only catcher the team is interested in acquiring, or with whom they’ve been in contact with.
- There are starting pitchers available in trade, who he described as, ‘Money-swap guys.’
- He is not worried about David Wright, Carlos Beltran or Jose Reyes.
- The team will continue to monitor Carlos Delgado.
- Kelvim Escobar has the potential to be a dominant set-up man for the Mets.
Bay told Francesa:
- He does not see himself as a home-run hitter, like a Ryan Howard or an Adam Dunn. He said he is an RBI guy, and a doubles guy, who happens to hit home runs.
- He enjoyed playing in a high-intensity, pressure-packed market like Boston, and he looks forward to being in a similar situation in New York.
To read a more detailed recap, click below – to listen to both interviews, go here.
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Red Sox made a four-year, $60 million offer to Jason Bay last summer, but retracted it and then offered a three-year, $44 million contract this off season instead.
…this would probably explain why the Mets never felt it necessary to guarantee a fifth season to bay… it seems quite clear only the Mets and Red Sox, and probably the Cardinals, had legitimate, serious interest in bay…
…in my research, i always find the Mariners and Angels interest to be overstated, and the Giants and Yankees were never going to offer the money and years to get a deal done… and, frankly, i would think the Cardinals interest had more to do with leverage against Matt Holliday… and that was the thing, in the end, it was bay and holliday and the Mets and the Cardinals… bay said he had a short list, but i think short might be an overstatement…
…this is not to say he doesn’t genuinely want to be on the Mets… he might… he might not… the point is, the Mets offered the most and he took it… this will of course lead people to speculate he would rather have played in Seattle or Boston, but settled on the Mets because really had no choice… i guess… but, really, who cares… what’s the difference… i’d rather have a guy who hates New York but who gets the job done, than have a guy who loves being here and stinks… the point is, it’s about productivity and helping the Mets win, and if he does that, that’s all that matters to me…
…again, i still would have rather seen the Mets sign holliday… but, if holliday ends up getting an eight-year deal, and the Mets got bay for four, i’d probably switch positions… in either case, i do not think the Mets will ever regret signing bay… i also have seen no evidence from people connected to the team that his contract will hinder their ability to sign other free agents, or retain their own, in future off seasons…
…and so, with that, good luck, jason… and welcome to the Mets…
In a post to his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman interrupts his vacation to list 10 tidbits he picked up during today’s press conference at Citi Field.
According to Sherman, the Mets began the off-season ready to move on from free-agent 1B Carlos Delgado, but now that he is playing again in Winter Ball, team officials are suddenly sounding very much like an organization that wants him back under a few conditions:
- He shows he can play multiple days in a row at first base and can move in the field and on the bases without a noticeable limp or impairment.
- That he is willing to take a contract similar to Troy Glaus.
…which makes sense, since this morning i wrote that delgado is said to be looking for a similar deal to glaus, but for more guarenteed money, say, $5 million, instead of $2 million…
Lastly, Sherman believes the team is leaning towards wanting sure innings from whomever they acquire for the starting rotation, as opposed to a more talented reclamation project, such as Ben Sheets or Erik Bedard.
To read more from Sherman, who also writes about the rumored Mike Lowell-for-Luis Castillo swap, the team’s batting order for next season, whether Carlos Zambrano can realistically be had in trade, and how signing Delgado could give the Mets leverage in talks with free-agent C Bengie Molina, check out his post, here.
By the way, in case you missed it, to see video of Delgado hitting last night in Winter Ball, click here.
In advance of publishing his review of the Mets farm system, at Minor League Ball, prospect guru John Sickels is leading a open discussion about the team’s top minor leaguers, asking:
“This is one of the teams that tends to have a lot of propaganda and groupthink surrounding the farm system. What do you guys think of it? It is hard to get a read on some of their prospects sometimes, especially the Latin American guys that they promote very aggressively.”
…from what i understand, the aggressive promotion of players like Fernando Martinez and Carlos Gomez, among others, was a Tony Bernazard strategy… and so, i’m willing to bet the Mets take a more traditional approach now that Adam Wogan is the team’s farm director…
Earlier today on SNY, Bob Ojeda said he recently talked with Howard Johnson, who says he’s been working with David Wright this off season on getting him in to the hitting position sooner, in an effort to attack the ball quicker and avoid getting beat on the inside fastball, while also pulling the ball more in Citi Field.
…i am not going to pretend to know if this is smart or not… however, while wright had just five home runs at the break last season, he was also hitting .324 and was on pace to hit 50 doubles and drive in 90 RBI… what’s more, in April and May, with Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado in the lineup, he was hitting .360 and still driving in runs…
…i don’t know, i just feel like he imploded last year due to losing all sorts of protection in the batting order, then letting that and the ballpark get in his head… it had to be a difficult and confusing, and disappointing season, and with some clarity, some tweaks to his swing and batting between reyes and beltran again, as well as with Jason Bay behind him, i think he’ll be fine…
…in other words, i’m not at all worried about wright…
Jon Heyman of SI.com says, ‘The Mets don’t seem gung-ho over Castillo-for-Lowell swap.’
Updated at 8:20 am:
Rob Bradford of WEEI Radio in Boston says a source told him a deal swapping Red Sox 3B Mike Lowell and Mets 2B Luis Castillo is ‘not close.’
Meanwhile, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, the Rangers have not ruled out working again with the Red Sox to try and re-acquire Lowell.
The Rangers and Red Sox agreed on a deal during the Winter Meetings, which would have sent Lowell and money to Texas in exchange for minor-league C Max Ramirez, but the deal fell through when a physical revealed Lowell would need surgery on his thumb.
Original Post at 8:22 pm:
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com says he heard the Mets and Red Sox have talked about swapping Lowell and Castillo.
However, he adds, “Not sure how serious it is.”
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