Daily Archives: February 5, 2010
Jon Morosi of Fox Sports says the Mets are more likely to sign a pitcher this month, rather than filling their void behind the plate.
According to Morosi, and industry source says the Mets are not likely to sign either Rod Barajas or Jose Molina, but at the same time, signing one of them cannot be ruled out.
Morosi also says the Mets continue to consider John Smoltz as well as Todd Wellemeyer for the starting rotation.
However, on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of SI.com said the Mets appeared to be falling behind on John Smoltz.
…of the two names Morosi mentions, i think Smoltz is the most desireable considering he would be a good mentor to guys like John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, and Oliver Perez…i’m not sure what either would offer at this point, and Smoltz’s arm is a real concern of mine…if it comes down to either of these guys, with all-do-respect to Smoltz, i’d rather the Mets take a pass on both and see what they can get out of Jon Niese, Nelson Figueroa, and Fernando Nieve…
In 2009, the soon-to-be 43 year old Smoltz split his season between the Red Sox and Cardinals, and while with the Red Sox, he went 2-5 with an 8.32 ERA in 40 innings across eight starts, and with the Cardinals, Smoltz went 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA with 40 strikeouts in seven starts across 38 innings.
For the latest buzz from around the Majors, be sure to check out Jon Morosi’s blog here.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Giants are the favorites to land Todd Wellemeyer, followed by the Rockies.
Original Post, 2:45 pm:
According to Bart Hubbuch New York Post, free agent RHP Todd Wellemeyer told a St. Louis Radio Station that the Mets are one of the teams interested in his services.
…i don’t know much about Wellemeyer, although the Mets rocked him a few times last season while he was with St. Louis…he had a good 2008 season but was dismal last season for St. Louis overall…he really didn’t show me much last year to the point i would want the Mets to bring him in, although an invite to Spring Training is never the end of the world…
In 28 appearances and 21 starts, Wellemeyer went 7-10 with a 5.89 ERA and allowed 57 walks and 19 home runs in 122 1/3 innings, all while earning just over $4 million in 2009 with St. Louis.
However, in 2008, Wellemeyer went 13-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 191 2/3 innings across 32 starts for the Cardinals.
According to Laurel Phahler of TCPalm.com, Edgar Alfonzo will manage the St. Lucie Mets during the 2010 season.
Alfonzo managed the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2001 and led them to a 52-24 record in their inaugural season in the Single-A NY-Penn League, and is replacing Tim Teufel who will be managing the Binghamton Mets this season.
…hat tip to Brian Costa of the Star Ledger for the link…
Love My Team: Fan Friendly Award for David Wright
…wright joins Torii Hunter, Brian Roberts and Nick Swisher… by the way, i love what swisher is doing for himself online, using Twitter, building a new website, and basically creating an audience for himself that will live beyond baseball…
Buster Olney of ESPN says C Yorvit Torrealba has agreed to a one year, $1.25 million deal with the Padres.
…i never thought there was any chance of Torrealba signing with the Mets considering the two sides are engaged in a legal battle over the offer the Mets pulled from him two years ago…
According to Olney, Torrealba will have a base salary of $750,000 in 2010 with a $3.5 million mutual option for 2011, or a $500,000 buyout.
Original Post, February 3 at 10:51 am,
by Matthew Cerrone:
Buster Olney of ESPN.com believes the Padres are on the verge of signing free-agent C Yorvit Torrealba to a one-year deal.
Earlier this week, Olney said Torrealba hoped to discuss a contract with the Mets, before signing with the Padres, “but to this point, the Mets have indicated they don’t have any money available to make something happen.”
The 31–year-old Torrealba hit .291 with a .351 OBP with two HR in 64 games for the Rockies last year, while splitting time with C Chris Iannetta.
…well, Rod Barajas is still available on the free-agent market… and so, short of him or a trade, it’s looking like the Mets will go at it with some sort of platoon, mixing up Henry Blanco and either Omir Santos, Josh Thole or Chris Coste… seriously, who saw that coming…
In a post to his new blog, Caught Lookin’, Matt compares Bengie Molina and Rod Barajas, and he feels at this point, Barajas will be better than Omir Santos.
Meanwhile, in a video post to On the Black, Kerel Cooper gives his thoughts on the Mets outfield prospects.
Over at the Real Dirty Mets Blog, Grave Digger looks back on some big trades involving stars for prospects and wonders if these deals really work.
JD from Section 518 takes a statistical look at the Mets baserunning abilities.
Finally, if you’re interested, check out my “Photo of the Day” today and every week day, over on Twitter.
Jed Weisberger: Mets Will Be Fine With Santos as a Starter
...it’s not his offense the team is concerned about, it’s what he does behind the plate, though… i agree with most people who voted in yesterday’s poll, i prefer Rob Barajas and Henry Blanco…
In a post to Mets Fever, Ed Ryan notes that Pedro Feliciano is the only left handed pitcher in the Mets bullpen and says “The Mets really need to add a second lefty out of the bullpen.”
…i couldn’t agree more, ed…adding another lefty, or at the very least, a righty who handles lefties well would go a long way towards improving the Mets bullpen, as i have to believe all of the mileage Pedro Feliciano has put on his arm over recent years will eventually take it’s toll on him…
Ryan believes Jay Marshall and his “funky Bradford-esq delivery” could earn him a spot in the bullpen if he proves to be effective this Spring.
…the strongest ive seen the Mets bullpen in recent years was in 2006 when they had Feliciano and Darren Oliver from the left side and Chad Bradford from the right side, and i really feel, over the past three seasons, this team has lacked not just another left handed arm, but also a guy who can get big right handed hitters out…having a bevy of options like that makes it easier to maneuver late in games against dynamic lineups, such as the Phillies, and even though the Mets bullpen was undoubtedly improved last year from 2008, it still lacked a lot of good, situational relievers which leads to pitchers facing too many batters in the wrong matchup, and ultimately getting burned…
For more on the possible left handed additions to the Mets bullpen, check out Mets Fever here.
Patrick Flood: Graph-o-matic: The Mets outfield D
...in the end, he says, “The Mets have an average ranged outfield with a bunch of bazooka arms – so they’ll probably be above average in 2010,” which sounds about right… by the way, patrick is doing terrific work on his blog…
Today at 12 pm, I will speaking at Social Media NY about social media and sports with Gary Vaynerchuk, Jim Bankoff from SBN, Tyler Kepner and Michael DiLorenzo from the NHL.
To watch live, go here.
