Daily Archives: January 9, 2010
In a post to his blog for the Boston Globe, Peter Abraham says Mets GM Omar Minaya participated in the commemoration of “Peter Gammons Day” in Boston on Saturday.
…first off, congratulations to Gammons…he is simply outstanding at what he does and i feel he has become a part of the very fabric of Major League Baseball…
Abraham caught up with Minaya, who re-confirmed the medical reports on Jason Bay were fine and he should have no problem handling Citi Field.
In addition, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein was in attendance, and while he wouldn’t say where they stood in the negotiations for Cuban Defector Aroldis Chapman, he did say he threw for he and Red Sox Manager Terry Francona in October, and both felt he had a high ceiling.
…i wonder if there were any discussions between the two GM’s about a lame-duck Red Sox third baseman and an outcast Mets second baseman…
On Saturday night, Carlos Delgado went 2 for 4 for Los Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but Los Gigantes lost to Los Lobos de Arecibo 9-7.
For a full recap and box score, click here.
Since making his Winter League debut, Delgado is 6 for 15 with one home run and two RBI in four games.
…as Matt said yesterday, i believe the Mets are primarily concerned with his mobility at first base, rather than his ability to get around on the ball…as far as i know, he has yet to play the field as he has served as a DH so far, but i would think that is going to change real soon…
Yesterday, Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse said representatives from the Mets would be in attendance to watch him play this weekend.
In addition, former Met Bill Pulsipher started for Los Lobos de Arecibo, and allowed one run and six hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers have signed Vladimir Guerrero to a one year, $5 million deal plus performance bonuses.
According to Grant, the Rangers had been in contact with free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye as recently as yesterday, and it is believed they had an offer out to him for a similar type of contract.
The soon-to-be 35 year old Guerrero was limited to 100 games in 2009 and will likely become the Rangers full time DH, and he hit .295 with 15 home runs and 50 RBI in 407 at bats.
Lifetime, Guerrero is a .321 career hitter with 407 home runs and 1318 RBI in 14 seasons with the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Angels.
In a report for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, La Velle E. Neal III says free agent Jarrod Washburn has turned down a one year, $5 million offer from the Twins.
The 35 year old Washburn is a native of Wisconsin, and Neal says he would like to pitch closer to home.
Washburn was 9-9 with a 3.78 ERA in 2009, but after a midseason trade that sent him from the Mariners to the Tigers, he went just 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA in eight starts.
For more on Washburn and the Twins, check out the Star Tribune here.
Buster Olney, in a post to his blog for ESPN, says some teams think Cuban Defector Aroldis Chapman is headed for stardom, while others believe he is destined for the bullpen.
Olney says one group of talent evaluators think Chapman is the kind of pitcher seen once a generation, with comparisions to future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, despite the questions about his command and maturity.
However, the flip side to the argument is his problems with his control will limit his abilities to the bullpen, and Olney says teams have reservations about making a large investment to someone who they feel is no better than a short-inning pitcher.
…there is absolutely no way to tell how this will end up for Chapman…i like to look at the examples set by Randy and Nolan Ryan, as they were pitchers who early on, had big time control problems, but they obviously worked them out to become perhaps the most dominant pitchers in the past 40 years…there are other examples, such as Rick Ankiel and Olney’s example with Robbie Beckett, in that this these were guys who had great arms but either could not corral their control or who lost their control in a dangerous way…in the end, Chapman is a kid who throws hard from the left side, and other than him simply being an unknown quantity, i don’t think any team would look bad taking a long term approach with him considering left handed power pitchers don’t come around too often…
…earlier in the off-season, i had reservations about the Mets making an investment in Chapman, simply because he was an unknown quantity, but the more i thought about it, the more comfortable i was with taking a patient and long term approach and developing him over the next two to three years…i’m now disappointed the Mets don’t appear to be factors for Chapman as i feel, long term, the sky is the limit for him and in a ballpark suited for pitching, he would be a match…
For more on Chapman, plus other buzz from around the Majors, check out Olney’s blog here.
Kerel Cooper, in a post to On the Black, shows off some of his autographed baseballs, including one signed by Willie Randolph and Cliff Floyd.
Matt, in a post to his new blog Caught Lookin’ wonders if the Mets will consider bringing in Miguel Tejada to play first base.
Mike from New York Baseball Digest says “Citi Field is no different than Shea.”
Finally, Rusty from the Real Dirty Mets Blog wonders why one reporter is comparing the acquisition of Jason Bay to George Foster, who was more or less a bust with the Mets, before Bay has ever played a game for them.
…i’m assuming, rusty, you are referring to the Jeff Pearlman column for CNNSI.com, and i agree with you in that it’s unfair to draw such a comparison, whether Bay has played a game for the Mets or not, as i feel one circumstance has absolutely nothing to do with the other no matter what the similarities are…the fact of the matter is, any player can be a bust wherever he goes…i mean, who’s to say Matt Holliday won’t flame out with the Cardinals, and who would have ever thought Roberto Alomar would turn out the way he did when the Mets acquired him after the 2001 season…unfortunately, players are acquired and paid to perform the way they did in prior years, and there is no way to tell the future…sure, Bay could be terrible, i guess, or he could get injured, but that’s the assumed risk with any big free agent or player acquired via trade…
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe says Red Sox GM Theo Epstein spoke with Seth and Sam Levinson, the agents for Mike Lowell, and all parties agreed the best thing to do is have Lowell prove he is healthy and can still play during Spring Training, and then put Lowell in the right situation, whether it’s in Boston or elsewhere.
Abraham feels the Red Sox will trade Lowell at their first opportunity, as Epstein told reporters at the Red Sox press conference to introduce Adrian Beltre that he could see how the situation with Lowell could seem awkward, but he said “it will take care of itself.”
Earlier this week, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com heard the Mets had talked with the Red Sox about trading for Lowell in exchange for Luis Castillo, but Jon Heyman of SI.com said the Mets were not “gung-ho” of such a deal and Rob Bradford of WEEI Radio said the deal was “not close”.
…i don’t think Boston has any choice, as they have to trade Lowell due to the fact they already tried to deal him, and have signed his successor at third base in Beltre, and considering they have Kevin Youkilis at first base, and David Ortiz as their designated hitter, there is no place for him on the roster anymore…if he were to join the Mets, i’d be really concerned about his durability and whether or not he will be ready for opening day considering he JUST had thumb surgery…he’d likely be a part time player in a platoon with Daniel Murphy which would allow him to rest…i do think when healthy, he is still a productive player and could certainly add protection to the middle of the Mets order…but suppose he were to be the full time first baseman and Murphy was relegated to the bench, and they sign Bengie Molina – the Mets would have a very righty heavy lineup with David Wright, Jason Bay, Lowell, Jeff Francoeur, and Molina…
Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com believes the Mets are only willing to give a two-year, $15 million contract to free-agent RHP Joel Pineiro, who is seeking a three-year deal worth roughly $30 million.
…as you can read below, last week, i mentioned to how people i talked with believe pineiro, Jon Garland, Jarrod Washburn and Doug Davis all might end up accepting one– or two-year deals… from what i can tell, the Mets really like pineiro, mostly because he throws strikes, avoids walks, and keeps the ball down, which they believe can continue without Dave Duncan… however, they do not seem willing to give him more than a two-year contract, as i mentioned the day before…
According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, the Padres are interested in former Giants LHP Noah Lowry.
According Brock, Lowry’s agent, Damon Lapa says Lowry is ten weeks into his throwing program and will audition for interested teams in Arizona this month, but he will not listen to offers until after that audition.
Lowry last pitched in 2007 and is coming off a series of problems, stemming from wildness in the Spring of 2008 followed by forearm surgery that season, and then a year later he was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and had surgery to have a rib removed.
…i’m not sure if the Mets are interested in Lowry or not, but i don’t think the team is in a position where they can sign him and hope he produces…even before his problems started, Lowry had one season where he pitched more than 160 innings and he has always been a guy who was reliant on his control as he isn’t dominating…i think if he is healthy he could be a nice addition for a club with a surplus of starting pitching…
In 2007, the now 29 year old Lowry was 14-8 with a 3.92 ERA, and is 40-31 with a 4.03 ERA spanning a five year career.
In a report for MLB.com, Alden Gonzalez takes a look at the remaining free agent starting pitchers and how they might fit with the Mets, and takes a look specifically at Joel Pineiro, Jon Garland, Doug Davis, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Ben Sheets, Chien-Ming Wang, and Erik Bedard.
On Thursday, Matt revealed the Mets interest in Smoltz here, and this morning, Anthony McCarron of the Daily News confirmed the Mets interest, which you can read about here.
…i think adding a guy like Smoltz is a low risk, high reward kind of move, and i feel his experience and professionalism could rub off in a positive way on the Mets pitching staff, but realistically, he doesn’t comfort me as far as a reliable solution is concerned…
Gonzalez feels that Joel Pineiro is the best free agent remaining on the free agent market, and Gonzalez also believes Pineiro is who the Mets want out of what’s left.
However, while it is believed Pineiro is looking for a deal similar to the three year, $30 million Randy Wolf received from the Brewers, Gonzalez says the Mets only appear to be willing to offer a deal similar to what Jason Marquis received from the Nationals, which is two years at around $15 million.
…personally, i believe Pineiro is a Dave Duncan product, and i could see him becoming a big problem if he were to join the Mets…i think he could ultimately be a decent, back end of the rotation starter for the Mets, but i just don’t think he is the guy the Mets should be trying to acquire for the top of the rotation, despite the good numbers he posted in 2009…
With regards to Garland, Gonzalez points out that while he struggled for the most part in 2009 with the Diamondbacks, he was outstanding down the stretch for the Dodgers, going 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 36 innings over six starts, and he has had nine consecutive seasons with 30 starts or more.
As far as Davis is concerned, Gonzalez points out his struggles with control in 2009, as he walked 103 batters in 203 innings, resulting in a disappointing 9-14 record with a 4.12 ERA.
…i think the biggest draw towards either Garland or Davis, outside of Davis’ rehab from cancer a couple of years ago, is the fact they have been durable for a long stretch of time, especially since the Mets have so many durability questions in their rotation coming into Spring Training…neither had stellar numbers in 2009, and as far as Davis’ control issues are concerned, i’d be hard pressed to put him in the same rotation with Oliver Perez…i do think, like a lot of pitchers, their numbers could improve playing in Flushing, but i’m not totally comfortable with either in a big role with this club…
…ultimately, the path to success for the Mets might be on the trade market, although the cost in talent along with taking on a large contract might be higher in the long run for them, but i’d rather they make that kind of investment if it means bringing a stronger pitcher into the mix, and i do believe they have the pieces to get a deal done somewhere…
For more on the Mets starting pitching options, including the pitchers coming off injury, check out MLB.com here.
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