Daily Archives: January 18, 2010
Steve Popper of the Bergen Record says the Mets will hold their annual mini-camp at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Fla., from Jan. 25 to 27.
According to Popper, Jerry Manuel, John Maine and Oliver Perez, among others, will be there, though, obviously, Carlos Beltran will not.
…from what i can gather, though it is not confirmed, Johan Santana and Jose Reyes are both hoping to be there as well, as will some other players from the major-league roster, which is rare… frankly, i think it’s a great example being set if johan, reyes, David Wright, and other leaders from the team show up…
According to John Morosi of FoxSports.com, Scott Boras said 31–year-old, free-agent 1B-OF Xavier Nady is on schedule in his rehab from Tommy John surgery and will be ready in spring training.
Morosi believes the Cubs are among the teams with interest in Nady.
…like i said last week, i would love for the Mets to bring back nady, but not in a prominent role… from what i can gather, the Mets discussed nady early in the off season, as a potential left fielder, had they been unable to sign Jason Bay… i don’t know if he’s being considered as a right-handed hitting platoon partner for Daniel Murphy, but he should be… he actually makes a lot of sense, in that he could be signed, he can work out, and by the time the Mets have an idea about murphy and Carlos Beltran, say, May, nady will be getting ready to return… as we know, as Mets fans, from having watched him from a few years ago, he’s a right-handed bat that can hit left-handed pitching, and he can hold his own in the field, and so he fits quite well, since he could also be a power bat for the bench, and a fill-in for all three outfield positions, all on a short-term, low-risk contract… the problem is, the Braves, Yankees, Pirates and Cardinals, and now apparently the Cubs, have all shown interest in nady as well, and so there is competition for his services…
New Era has released this year’s Spring Training batting practice hats, which you can see here.
…i am getting excited for Spring Training… it’s looking like i will be down there, live blogging, doing interviews, and more or less just hanging out from Feb. 22 through March 7, which will cover pitchers and catchers and the first week or so of games…
…the end of this month i will start asking for other fans who are going, to put together a contact list, so maybe we can all get together for a Meet Up some night…
Jon Heyman of SI.com heard the Brewers will sign at least one more starting pitcher.
In a report for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo says the Brewers could have interest in free-agent LHP Jarrod Washburn, while the Giants might have interest in free-agent RHP Jon Garland.
…i believe the Mets remain focused on free-agent RHP Joel Pineiro, RHP Ben Sheets and RHP John Smoltz, as well as, as always, free-agent C Bengie Molina, while still trying to trade 2B Luis Castillo in some sort of complicated deal that could net a starting pitcher… in the end, i expect the Mets to bring in at least one starting pitcher, a bullpen arm, like smoltz, then molina, and that last hurdle will be second base, which i can’t imagine will end any different than last season… but, there’s still time…
Last week, Heyman said the Mets and Royals had shown interest in Washburn, who received an offer from the Twins the week before.
The 35–year-old Washburn was 9–9 with a 3.78 ERA in 28 starts for the Tigers and Mariners last season, during which he struck out 99 batters, while walking just 49, in 177 innings pitched.
Patrick Flood from Exile on 126th Street is selling his fanhood to the highest bidder.
Mike Lloyd from Mets Merized explains why the Mets need to pursue ‘quality, versatile players.’
In a post to Faith and Fear in Flushing, Greg Prince compares Jets RB Shonn Green to Mets reliever Sean Green and former OF Shawn Green.
Lastly, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs believes the Mets need to ‘start over,’ concluding, ‘It’s time for some wholesale changes before things get any worse, if that’s possible.’
Joe Janish of Mets Today looks at nine free agents, two trade candidates, three in-house options, and one joke, in regards to a potential fill-in for Carlos Beltran, who likely miss all of April in his rehab from knee surgery.
In the end, though, Janish writes, “I think we know the way the Mets will go – they’ll plug in Angel Pagan and hope for the best.”
…frankly, i think pagan is the best option… i do… i don’t think pagan is any sort of long-term solution, but i think this very scenario is what he does well… the problem is, he and Fernando Martinez are also known for being pretty fragile… and so, like i have been saying, i think the Mets will look to sign an outfielder or two to a minor-league deal, so to have a variety of options towards the end of March…
…personally, i’d like to see the Mets bring in a veteran option, like free-agent OF Randy Winn, because he can provide some stability early in the season, and i think that is going to be the team’s mantra this march: consistent play… winn is not great… he’s just good… and you know what you’re going to get, and you’ll get it… either that, or i’d look to sign one or two of Reed Johnson, Jeremy Reed or Cory Sullivan… Rick Ankiel has no interest in New York, and he’s not worth overpaying just to convince him to come here to be a fill-in guy… i still appreciate Endy Chavez, but there is no guarantee he will bounce back well from season-ending knee surgery, and if he couldn’t hit before the surgery, i’m pretty sure he still can’t hit now…
Last week, in a post to his blog for ESPN.com, Rob Neyer listed the Mets and Citi Field among the places free-agent OF Johnny Damon will probably not end up playing in 2010.
…in Citi Field, damon’s throw couldn’t reach second base on a hop… please, i hope neyer’s right…
Rosenthal believes the Padres will pay Hairston $2 million.
…the Yankees were interested in hairston, as well… i am not sure how serious the Mets were, but i am surprised neither of these two teams beat the Padres offer, which would suggest their interest was limited… or, hairston really wanted to play in San Diego…
Original Post, 5:11 pm,
by Michael Baron:
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says Jerry Hairston is close to signing with the Padres.
Last season, Hairston split his season with the Yankees and the Reds, and combined to hit .251 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 131 games and 433 at bats.
