Daily Archives: January 20, 2010
Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that free-agent RHP Joel Pineiro is signing a two-year deal to pitch for the Angels, worth around $16 million.
…well, much like with Bengie Molina, it appears pineiro didn’t want to pitch in Citi Field, as well; instead choosing the Angels for what i believe was essentially the same contract offered to him the Mets…
…so, like Michael Baron was alluding to in the previous post, in which Ken Davidoff of Newsday said pineiro prefeered the Angels, now what do the Mets do…
…in other words, the off-season storyline, so far, is: The Mets have Cooties…
Ken Davidoff of Newsday says free-agent RHP Joel Pineiro prefers to pitch for the Angels.
In addition, he believes Pineiro notified the Mets he will be signing elsewhere.
…i’ve not been thrilled with the concept of pineiro joining the Mets, as i really believe he is a Dave Duncan product, so, from that standpoint, if he were to sign with Anaheim, i won’t shed a tear…
…that said, if the Mets are less interested in Ben Sheets at his current asking price, i have to wonder what direction they are going to go with the rotation, now that Doug Davis is off the market… i haven’t heard much buzz lately surrounding either Bronson Arroyo or Aaron Harang, but that’s not to say their names won’t be popping up if pineiro joins Anaheim… but all along, i wanted the Mets to make pitching their top priority, and there are now such few options left, which is frustrating…
Original Post, 9:59 am,
by Matthew Cerrone:
Free-agent RHP Ben Sheets pitched for interested teams yesterday in Louisiana.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, the Mets and Phillies were in attendance.
According to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, the Mets and the Marlins are close to officially moving their series from June 28-30 to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Blum says the Marlins, who were the original host of the series in Miami, will remain the home team, and the games will be played at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
…i hope for both teams sake the games are played at night…it’s not the best time of year to be playing day games in San Juan…i actually enjoy watching games played their during the Carribean Series in February, and i also enjoyed watching the Mets play there against the Expos back in 2003…
According to Rotoworld, the Diamondbacks have released outfielder Eric Byrnes.
Last week, the Diamondbacks designated Byrnes for assignment, but they were unable to find a trade partner for Byrnes, and will now have to pay all of the remaining $11 million on his contract.
…during the entire off-season, i’ve had numerous people ask me if the Mets could acquire Byrnes, as he is a hard nosed guy who hustles and that could rub off positively in the Mets clubhouse…it seems to make sense from that standpoint, but he has had a wave of injuries that has limited him over the past two seasons, which i wouldn’t imagine the Mets want to deal with at the moment, considering their own injury problems in the outfield right now…that said, from a financial standpoint, it would be like when the Mets picked up Gary Sheffield last year as it would cost them a minimal amount, and i suppose it could be a low risk, high reward situation if he is healthy…
The soon-to-be 34-year-old Byrnes played in just 84 games in 2009, and hit just .226 with eight HR and 31 RBI. He was limited to just 52 games in 2008 and hit .209 with six HR and 23 RBI.
According to Alyson Footer from MLB.com, the Astros signed outfielder Cory Sullivan to a Minor League Contract, and have invited him to Spring Training.
…i thought Sullivan did a nice job in a short stint with the Mets last year…he was a good glove to have in the outfield, and he had some pretty good at-bats as well…there probably wasn’t a fit coming into this season, although they could use a little outfield depth with Carlos Beltran shelved for at least the early part of the year…
Last year with the Mets, the 30 year old Sullivan appeared in 64 games and hit .250 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 136 at bats.
In a post to Twitter, Andrew Marchand of 1050 ESPN Radio said a team executive told him the Mariners were never serious about signing OF Jason Bay.
So, Marchand asks, “Were the Mets bidding against themselves on Bay?”
…maybe… sort of… i mean, that’s the thing, at the four-year level, sure, they probably were bidding against themselves… but, had it become known he could be had for, say, a three-year deal, other teams most certainly would have gotten in… and so, in the end, to get him, the Mets probably would have had to pay four years any way, to be out the competition… and so, yes, technically, i guess they were bidding against themselves… but, that doesn’t mean they paid too much, either… the same can probably be said for the Cardinals and Matt Holliday, to a certain extent…
WFAN’s Mike Francesa mentioned D-Backs C Chris Snyder as a possible target for the Mets, who are still looking to find a catcher to team up with C Henry Blanco.
…from what i can gather, the Mets would prefer not to start the season with Omir Santos behind the plate… i think the team likes him, but, from what i have been told, their pitchers would prefer to throw to someone else, and Dan Warthen and Jerry Manuel agree… in short, i think they see him as ‘acceptable,’ but, though they like his bat, the pitching staff needs a better, more fundamtally-sound reciever back there…
…in terms of snyder, i know the Mets and D-Backs discussed him towards the end of last season… but, as usual, the Mets were pushing Luis Castillo and the D-Backs had no interest…
According to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, the D-Backs had a deal in place to send Snyder to Toronto in return for 1B Lyle Overbay, “but the Blue Jays backed out due to concerns about Snyder’s surgically repaired back.”
In late December, Gilbert said the D-Backs were still looking to trade Snyder.
Snyder, who hit 16 HR in 2008, but missed 100 games due to back surgery in 2009, will earn at least $11.5 million over the next two seasons, after which he can be made a free agent.
For more on Snyder, check out Ted Berg’s post on TedQuarters.
John Morosi of FoxSports.com quotes the player’s agent as saying free-agent 2B Adam Kennedy has narrowed his search down to three teams, two of which see him as an every-day second baseman, while the third team likes him as a ‘super-utility player.’
Last month, during the MLB Winter Meetings, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com said the Mets and D-Backs had interest in Kennedy, with both teams viewing him as a ‘super-utility player.’
The 34–year-old Kennedy, who bats left-handed, hit .289 with a .348 OBP, 11 HR, 29 doubles and 63 RBI in 129 games for the A’s last season.
Kennedy has played played all four infield positions, plus left and right field, during his career.
He is a career .249 hitter in 1009 at bats against left-handed pitching.
…he would be a very, very interesting player for the Mets… he’s significantly better in the field, at second, then he was earlier in his career… in the box, he strikes out a lot and doesn’t walk enough, but he puts the ball in play and can move runners around pretty well… that said, if the Mets were to bring him in to spot Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy from time to time, as well as sliding in to the outfield, he and Alex Cora, plus Angel Pagan, could essentially cover the entire bench…
…i still prefer Ryan Garko, though, whose name i have not heard in a long, long time…
According to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, LHP Doug Davis has agreed to a one year, $5.25 million contract with the Brewers.
…I know Davis’ name popped up as one of the guys who could fill the void in the Mets rotation earlier in the winter…outside of his battle with Cancer, he has been fairly durable throughout his career but I wasn’t thrilled with him as an option with the Mets…
McCalvy says Davis will earn $4.25 million in 2010 and can earn an additional $1 million in incentives, and there is either a mutual option for 2011 or a $1 million buyout.
According to Rotoworld, Jeremy Reed has signed a Minor League contract with the Blue Jays.
The 28 year old Reed appeared in 126 games and had 161 at bats, and hit .242 with no home runs and nine RBI with the Mets in 2009.
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