Tom Verducci of SI.com believes the Mets were willing to give $14 million per season to Derek Lowe, before he agreed to sign with the Braves.
…if this is the case, it makes me question the popular notion that Omar Minaya is unwilling to commit more than $12 million to Oliver Perez…

In the end, Derek Lowe and the Braves agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal, while Omar Minaya’s best reported offer stopped at three years, $36 million.
From what I can gather, while Minaya may have been willing to give Lowe a fourth-year option, he was never going to guarantee the fourth season – and, frankly, according to [...]

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Derek Lowe has agreed to a four-year, $60 million with the Braves.
…well at least we now have an answer…i would think that if the Mets don’t pick up Ben Sheets or Oliver Perez, the front office can consider it a tremendous failure…this deal is a little [...]

Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Braves offered Derek Lowe a four-year contract, worth close to $60 million.
According to Heyman, “Lowe is in serious discussions with the Braves.”
Last night on the MLB Network’s Hot Stove show, Heyman said the Mets are discouraged by negotiations with Lowe, who is also being pursued by the Braves, ‘any [...]

During tonight’s Hot Stove show on the MLB Network, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said the Mets offered free-agent LHP Oliver Perez a three-year deal, ‘worth close to $30 million.’
Heyman says the Mets are discouraged by negotiations with Lowe, who is also being pursued by the Braves, ‘any maybe the Phillies, and maybe the Brewers.’
According to Heyman, [...]

In an interview with 790 AM Radio in Atlanta yesterday, Braves GM Frank Wren said he is not just focused on free-agent RHP Derek Lowe, but is also entertaining trade proposals for a starting pitcher, saying:

“There’s other guys out there that we like… I have trade proposals on my desk, as we speak, that would bring another pitcher [...]

On Friday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Braves meeting with Derek Lowe lasted five hours on Thursday, complete with a video presentation and a recorded message from country music artist Alan Jackson.
…last week, people connected to the Mets seemed very confident in Omar Minaya’s ability to sign lowe…i have no idea how they feel now, since news of [...]

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com believes the Mets are now pessimistic about their chances of signing Derek Lowe.
Rosenthal says, ‘the Braves are ‘all over Lowe,’ according to a source.
However, he adds, “The Braves are reluctant to offer Lowe a guaranteed fourth year, but one possibility for them is to make a three-year proposal in the range [...]

Update, 8:01 pm:
Dan Graziano, the NY Baseball Hack, believes the Braves are considering a deal worth $14 million per season, according to people familiar with the team’s thinking.
According to Graziano, “The Mets will probably be willing to go as high as $42 million for three years and may be willing to talk [...]

On Wednesday, Scott Boras talked with the Mets about RHP Derek Lowe, LHP Oliver Perez and infielder Alex Cora.
Yesterday, Boras and Lowe met with Braves GM Frank Wren, Bobby Cox and other team officials in Atlanta, as was first reported by the Boston Globe – on the same day, John Smoltz signed with the Red Sox.
John Harper in [...]

Update, 7:50 pm:
Interestingly, during tonight’s Hot Stove show on the MLB Network, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said, while Omar Minaya prefers Oliver Perez to Lowe, some in the team’s front-office prefer Lowe, because he is a ground-ball pitcher – this is important because when David Wright and others took batting practice in Citi Field last September, [...]

“The Mets and Derek Lowe remain far apart in negotiations,” Jon Heyman recently wrote to his blog for SI.com.
According to the Boston Globe, Lowe is meeting today in Atlanta with Braves GM Frank Wren and Bobby Cox.
Heyman believes the Braves could emerge as a big threat to the Mets, since ‘Atlanta saved its money after offering A.J. [...]

Update, 2:09 pm:
Earlier this afternoon, Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote, “Braves GM Frank Wren arranged the meeting,” prior to learning John Smoltz would sign with the Red Sox.
According to Bowman, Bobby Cox traveled to Turner Field late Thursday morning to meet with Lowe, while Chipper Jones already made a recruiting pitch to the veteran sinkerballer.
Update, [...]

Jeff Wilpon gave Scott Boras and his assistant a tour of Citi Field yesterday, after which the group had lunch with Omar Minaya and other team executives to discuss Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez.
From what I understand, Boras met with team executives on Tuesday evening as well, in New York City.
In Newsday, Ken Davidoff writes, “If [...]

Update, 9:15 pm:
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com says Minaya talked with Boras about Lowe, as well as Ramirez and Perez.
I was under the impression Ramirez and Perez were not discussed. I’m glad I was wrong about this.
However, unfortunately, I still sense there is little-to-no chance Ramirez ends up on the [...]