Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com believes four teams have made a contract offer to free-agent LHP Will Ohman.

…from what i can gather, the Mets have been eying ohman since the start of the Hot Stove season, but for a long while thought it he would require a long-term deal… at this point, i believe they can land him for one year and under $5 million, though i am not sure they’re interested in going that far…

According to Rosenthal, Ohman could sign a new contract as soon as today or tomorrow.

Last week, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explained why he believed the Braves were getting close to a deal with Ohman, who would not divulge details of negotiations to O’Brien in a text message.

…i hope the Mets sign ohman, if for no other reason than to ask him to repeatedly do his impersonation of Harry Caray… if you haven’t seen it, it’s hilarious…

To see Ohman’s impersonation of Caray, check out this old post from Braves Love.

Ohman, 31, was 4-1 record with a 3.68 ERA in 83 appearances for the Braves last season, during which he struck out 53 batters in 59 innings, while lefties hit .200 against him.

Fonzie, now 35, signed a deal worth $350,000 for the team considered Yankees of Japan.

…while it’s not the majors, it beats playing in the tiny stadiums of the Atlantic League…Japan’s fans are rabid, and the Giants are even bigger there than the Yankees are here…

…Fonzie was my favorite player growing up, so it’s time to switch allegiances from Bobby V’s Chiba Lotte Marines to the Giants, as painful as that is…

Rosenthal believes Aurilia chose staying in San Francisco over signing with the Cubs or Phillies.

…from what i understand, according to people who know the player, aurilia was open to returning to New York and playing for the Mets, however i don’t sense the Mets expressed much interest… plus, aurilia will get more playing in time with the Giants, i would think, even if they end up signing Joe Crede…

…to me, the team’s lack of interest in aurilia has a lot to do with their confidence in Marlon Anderson, who is more or less guaranteed a roster spot at this point, during which he’ll earn just $1 million… again… he’ll be a bat off the bench, play corner outfield and back-up first base on occasion… plus, he’s a popular guy in that clubhouse… for what it’s worth, i continue to be told anderson is in great shape, and how the team is confident he can return to the player he had been for the Mets in years past…

…well, i hope so… because, hitting .210 again, while on the roster for the entire season, is not going to cut it…

Anderson will be a free agent at the end of this season.

Rubin adds, “The Mets would ‘look’ at Abreu if his asking price was $2 million to $4 million for one year, which is an unlikely scenario.”

However, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Abreu could settle for a one-year, $3 million deal, while listing the Mets, Angels, Braves, Dodgers and Mariners as teams with interest.

…last week, here, i wrote:

…from what i can gather, having talked with people connected to the player, Bobby Abreu has been reaching out to the Mets, as he is willing to accept a one-year deal to stay in New York and switch back to the National League… however, i have not heard his name mentioned by people connected to the team, which is not surprising, considering he’s yet another left-handed hitter, he’s not strong enough on defense to handle right in Citi Field, and he may still looking for $10 million per season…

…at $10 million, i was totally against bringing on abreu…

…if, however, he’s willing to accept such a short-term, inexpensive guarantee, even with his flaws, i’m all for the Mets signing him… it probably means Daniel Murphy starts the year in Triple-A, and means abreu will have to adjust to left field, but it is what it is… he, tatis and murphy are probably comparable on defense, but at least abreu is a known commodity, who, though he has a lack of power, gets on base a lot… again, for so little money, it’s hard to deny abreu’s consistent bat and how it could help the lineup…

Speaking of outfielders…

The Rangers signed free-agent OF Andruw Jones to minor-league contract, reports the New York Post, which the team’s GM confirmed to the Star-Telegram.

Lastly, the Astros are considering whether to offer free-agent OF Adam Dunn a one-year contract, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Instead, Stark believes Hudson may be looking at signing a one-year contract with the Nationals or Dodgers.

…i believe, once the Mets realized Luis Castillo could not be traded, and then committed to giving him the opportunity to succeed in spring training, it all but sealed hudson’s fate…

Speaking of one-year deals…

…from what i can gather, having talked with people connected to the player, Bobby Abreu has been reaching out to the Mets, as he is willing to accept a one-year deal to stay in New York and switch back to the National League…

…however, i have not heard his name mentioned by people connected to the team, which is not surprising, considering he’s yet another left-handed hitter, he’s not strong enough on defense to handle right in Citi Field, and he may still looking for $10 million per season…

In Newsday, Wallace Matthews explains:

“Fred Wilpon gets 75 mentions alone.  The name of his brother-in-law and partner in Sterling Equities, Saul Katz, is mentioned in 39 entries.  There are 15 accounts for Citigroup and 13 accounts for The New York Mets, including one for The Mets Foundation… There are (six) accounts for Jeff Wilpon… Sterling Equities, the parent company that owns the Mets and the Brooklyn Cyclones has a full 2 1/2 pages worth of accounts, more than 100 in all… And yet the Mets continue to insist that it is no big deal.”

Richard Sandomir says in the New York Times, “No dollar figures were cited, so it is impossible to determine how much the team alone lost or what those accounts were earmarked for.”

However, he adds, “The team remains financially sound,” according to a statement from the team.

…we’ve all been thinking, but carton says it best below…

This morning on WFAN, host Craig Carton said:

“Now, we’re not gonna sit here and be naive, and think that the Mets would open up an account with Bernie Maddoff for $50,000… It’s my guess that you’re talking about tens of millions of dollars that the Mets had invested with Maddoff in these 13 separate accounts…

“It would make complete sense to me then that the Mets franchise, while clearly not cheap at all – they will have one of the top two or three payrolls in all of baseball this year, so you can’t say they don’t spend any money, so you can’t say they’re cheap and you can’t say they’re nickel and diming guys, they did go out and K-Rod, they went out and got Putz, they got the guys they coveted and spent what they had to spend, they brought Perez back, so I want to be fair – but, had the Mets not lost tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars you’ve got to believe they would have signed Manny Ramirez, and here’s why…

“The manager of the Mets has come out repeatedly and said, ‘I want Manny Ramirez.’  The GM has said nothing but great things about Manny Ramirez, but basically said, ‘He’s not in our plans.’  And ownership, guys I have a great deal of respect for and know personally, they have never said, ‘We have no interest in Manny.’  They’ve kind of been coy about it… If you’re the Mets, and you recognize the need a) for a right-handed bat and b) the best hitter in baseball, who fits two needs for you… How would the Mets not go after him…

“A year ago, when they were flush with cash and no Maddoff problems and they spent the world to get Johan Santana.  So, you have to believe a team that was willing to get Santana, a team that spent money to get Beltran, that got Piazza, to write the big check for one or two guys, why wouldn’t they do it this year if not for their financial problems…

“I’m not saying they’re out on the corner pan-handling… but the reality is, you have 13 accounts with Maddoff… I’ve read accounts that overall the Wilpons and their investment folks lost anywhere from $300 million to $900 million… How much of that was Mets money, with 13 accounts with Maddoff.  So, you wonder, why are the Mets so reluctant to get Manny Ramirez, or even make a two-year offer?  I believe the reason is financially their coffers are not as full as they were a year ago.  That’s my belief.”

To listen to WFAN live from your computer, click here.

Meanwhile, in Newsday, Anthony Rieber does a fantastic job of exposing the other 21 financial companies to receive bailout money who also have naming rights deals, just like Citigroup and the Mets.

Rieber points out the Yankees are slated to receive roughly $20 million from Bank of America, “as a potential signature sponsor in the new Yankee Stadium.”

Top executives from Citigroup and Bank of America, among others, have been called to testify before the House Financial Services Committee next Wednesday.

The 38–year-old Dessens is 7–11 with a 5.95 ERA through the last three seasons, during which he made five starts and 78 relief appearances, while walking just 38 batters in 115 innings.

He has pitched for eight teams in his 11–year career.

Minaya added, ‘It doesn’t mean that we have to get (a left-handed reliever), because we do have some righties that can get lefties out, but, that being said, we will continue to look.”

…it sounded, to me, like minaya was talking about bringing in guys on minor-league deals, not bigger-name pitchers on major-league deals, noting how he got Pedro Feliciano on a minor-league deal, and pointing out he currently has Valerio De Los Santos in on a minor-league deal for this spring as well…

However, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com believes the Mets have been in contact with free-agent LHP Will Ohman, in an effort to sign the pitcher at a bargain.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors identified seven left-handed relievers who are still available on the free-agent market, including Joe Beimel, Randy Flores, Ohman, Dennys Reyes and Ron Villone, among others.

…i have to think most of these guys will get major-league deals some place, but, at this rate, who knows… i believe the Mets showed interest in biemel and reyes earlier in the off season, but that was quite a while ago…

In addition to De Los Santos , the Mets will also have left-handed relievers Tom Martin, Casey Fossum, Jon Switzer and Heriberto Ruelas in camp, all acquired this off season on minor-league deals, as well as LHP Adam Bostick, who spent most of last season in Triple-A on the disabled list.

…i believe Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, Sean Green, Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano and Duaner Sanchez are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the Opening Day bullpen…

…so, assuming Marlon Anderson is on the roster, that will make room for one more bench player, because Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy will be in a platoon, which means there is technically only one room for one more relief pitcher in the bullpen, assuming Tim Redding is the team’s fifth starter, which will be needed in the first week of the season…

The Mets also will have RHP Rocky Cherry in camp, who they acquired from the O’s during the Rule V Draft in December.

In 19 career innings, spanning three seasons, left-handed hitters are batting .167 against Cherry, who must be returned to Baltimore if he is not on the Mets 25–man roster.

Meanwhile, Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes free-agent OF-1B Kevin Millar will soon sign a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays.

According to Sherman, the Mets, Yankees, Nationals and Rangers had shown interest in Millar.

In a separate post, Sherman reports the Mets have not yet made contact with free-agent infielder Rich Aurilia, despite people suggesting the two would be a good match.

…i was under the impression aurilia was destine to re-sign with the Giants, because he likes it there, they like him, and he can expect to get a good chunk of playing time…

…that said, i do believe the Mets are still looking around for a right-handed bat for the bench… i keep coming back to Nomar Garciaparra, though i have never heard his name in connection to the Mets…

…he seems like a good fit… however, from what i understand, he’s still unsure if he’s going to play in 2009, though i suspect that mostly depends on the type of deal he is offered…

In 55 games for the Dodgers last season, the 35–year-old Garciaparra hit .264 with 17 extra base hits and a .326 OBP, while batting .339 against left-handed pitchers.

He has played multiple games at first base, second, third and shortstop during the last three seasons.

…i keep asking, but i have been unable to determine what this guy’s price actually is… i no longer have any idea what he’s looking for… for a while, i understood he was requesting a two-year deal… but, at this point, two weeks before pitchers and catchers, i just don’t see how he gets it, especially if the Rangers are backing out…

…from what i understand, the Mets only considered offering a one-year deal for sheets, as did the Rangers, as do the Brewers, and probably any other team with interest… i once thought it would cost a deal similar to what Brad Penny got from boston, i.e., one year, $5 million and a ton of incentives to push its potential value to well over $10 million… but, again, at this point, with the Mets likely out, with the Rangers out, and with the Brewers on the fence, how does he even get that…

…i would love for the Mets to do it… if i were them, i’d work real hard to find the money, and even guarantee two years… because, as i wrote last week, even if sheets can make only 20 starts, missing two months to injury, that is still money well spent when you consider how he’ll likely pitch in those 20 starts… i mean, for at least three months or so, the Mets could have two aces… if he gets hurt, he gets hurt… that’s what the incentives are for…

…unfortunately, right now, i don’t think sheets is an option for the Mets any more, who, instead are focused on maybe acquiring a left-handed reliever and another low-cost bat or two to compete in spring training…

…i’m sorry, i know they have said, ‘We’re done.’… the thing is, if the Mets are gonna spend $5 million on a reliever and a bat or two, let’s say, i would rather see them spend it on sheets, assuming he can be had for that price…

Speaking of starting pitchers…

Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports the Dodgers are once again negotiating with free-agent LHP Randy Wolf.