Nady, who will be a free agent at the end of this season, hit .305 with 25 HR and 97 RBI last season, while playing for the Yankees and Pirates.

…this is significant for two reasons…

…one) it is an affordable contract when you consider Pat Burrell, who also plays corner outfield, is roughly the same age and bats righty, and put up similar numbers, if not lesser numbers, yet he signed a deal that will pay him only $1.5 million more next season – and so i believe this increases the likelihood that the Yankees trade nady…

According to Peter Abraham, of the Journal News, “Several teams, including the Mets, have an interest in Nady.”

…two) Adam Dunn is now very much justified in asking for $10 million per season… he earned $9 million last season, Milton Bradley signed for $10 million, burrel is getting $8 million, and nady is getting $6.55 million (from the Yankees no less), and so to expect dunn to be offered anything less than nady at this point is ridiculous…

Speaking of outfielders…

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com believes that Adam Dunn is still looking for a four-year, $56 million deal.

“The Angels and possibly the Giants and Mets could be suitors,” Nick Cafardo simply writes in the Boston Globe.

However, Davidoff added, “The Mets are focused on their starting rotation and are not looking to acquire a bat either through free agency or through a trade.”

…actually, i wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets look to trade for a bat, but, if they do, it will not be until after they complete their overhaul of the pitching staff, like davidoff explains, and it will not involve any top prospects… the way i see it, once the rotation and bullpen are done being worked on, the team will reassess where it is financially… if they have the need, resources, etc., to consider a bat, they will…

…as for nady, i just can’t see the Mets and Yankees hooking up on such a deal…in Fantasy Land maybe, but in reality these two teams just never connect like this…

According to Davidoff, “The Mets enjoyed having Nady on their club… and they inquired about him last July… For now, however, the Mets are focused on their starting rotation and are not looking to acquire a bat either through free agency or through a trade.”

Honestly, each day this past week, people connected to the team have been telling me not to expect any significant upgrade to the team’s offense.  Unfortunately, I’m starting to believe them.

I sense two reasons for this: 1) the budget, which is not set in stone, but only flexible for the absolute right scenario, and 2) the team genuinely believes the offense is fine as is – especially when it is far easier to get a bat at the trade deadline than a quality pitcher.

I believe their thinking is: Ryan Church will be better than last year, because he’ll play a full season; Brian Schneider and Luis Castillo have no place to go but up; Carlos Delgado will give a full season of what he produced in the second half of last year; and Daniel Murphy will be all they hope he can be.  The thing is, none of these scenarios are a given – in fact, it’s pretty easy to argue why they will not happen, as it is to argue why they will.

I agree with trying to build the most stable, well-rounded pitching staff possible, which the Mets are on route to doing.  And I understand that last season, technically, it can be argued that the offense was more than fine, but that the bullpen continually ruined their efforts.  However, counting on a rookie and a past-his-prime second baseman, and hoping Church stays healthy and Delgado improves at age 37, is risky – and so having at least one, new, reliable bat would he helpful.

…if you recall, rumor had it that the Mets were trying to re-acquire nady from the Pirates last summer, but the asking price was too much…as i have said before, it seems like every year for the rest of my life i will be writing about the possible return of nady to queens, though no rumors have appeared in print thus far…in the end, i am sure the Yankees will first try to trade matsui, with nady being a last option…nevertheless, nady still would be a good short-term solution for the Mets in left field…

Speaking of outfielders…

Buster Olney of ESPN.com explains why Bobby Abreu or Pat Burrell could end up signing a deal worth roughly $4 million and $9 million per season with the A’s and Rays.

The Reds signed free-agent OF Wily Tavares to a two-year deal, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News.

Also, they have been in contact with the Yankees regarding Nady and the other outfielders, reports 1530 AM in Cincinnati.

Speaking of right-handed hitting corner outfielder, the Royals may have to trade OF Jose Guillen, if they end up signing free-agent SS Rafael Furcal, reports the Kansas City Star.

In an October report for the New York Post, Joel Sherman wrote that the Mets will probably have to ‘take on another headache,’ if they want to trade Luis Castillo to another team.

According to Sherman, citing an executive familiar with the talks, “the Mets and Royals had discussions in July about swapping Guillen for Castillo.”

Guillen will earn $24 million for the next two seasons, while Castillo is due to make $18 million during the next three.

Lastly, George King of the New York Post believes that, if the Yankees do not sign Mark Teixeira, they will go after free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez, “and to clear some money, they might entertain offers for outfielder Xavier Nady.”

…if you recall, rumor had it that the Mets were trying to re-acquire Xavier Nady from the Pirates last summer, but the asking price was too much…it seems like every year for the rest of my life i will be writing about the possible return of nady to queens…i see no reason why this off-season should be any different…other than it’s the Yankees who have him, and the Mets and Yankees rarely ever hook up in trade…that said, you know, he is the right-handed Ryan Church, etc., etc…

Speaking of outfielders, and the Yankees…

The Yankees and Brewers continue to discuss Mike Cameron, with the deal hinging upon Kei Igawa, explains Jon Heyman at SI.com.

However, the receipent of both Nady and Marte are unknown at this time.

…Update…7:50 pm…

According to Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, the Yankees have acquired Nady and Marte.

…hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors for the link…

…added to by Matthew Cerrone…

According to Pete Abraham at his blog for the Journal News, Yankees RHP Phil Coke was pulled mid-way through his start for Triple-A Trenton tonight, suggesting he could be part of the deal for Nady.

...however, coke was not on Baseball America’s Top 10 Yankees Prospects at the start of the season…of course, maybe he is the iffy-prospect, as alluded to by Jayson Stark from ESPN.com…

…Update…8:07 pm…

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Yankees have traded RHP Ross Ohlendorf, RHP Phil Coke, RHP George Kontos and OF Jose Tabata to the Pirates for Nady and Marte.

…Update…8:33 pm…

…added to by Matthew Cerrone…

In his report, Rosenthal adds, “The Rays were among the teams pursuing Nady, along with the Mets and Phillies.”

…i can’t even begin to wonder what the Mets may have been able to offer…the thing is, i just can’t think of four prospects, including one who is major-league ready for the mound, who the Mets could even offer, let alone a deal that fits like this…

…also, like i said earlier, from what i could gather, the Rays were being the most aggressive for nady, and who has more minor-league talent then they do…and they didn’t get him…

…sometimes, it’s just a matter of who the Pirates may have wanted…and not necessarily about who you and i think is a better prospect – if that makes any sense…

…earlier today, i heard from a person in Pittsburgh who said that if a team was willing to take on marte’s contract, plus nady, the deal could become more about quantity than quality…

…what tonight’s nady deal tells me is that a) the Rays must be eyeing bay, etc., and b) the Mets may be even unable to put together a quantity deal, let alone quality…

According to Olney, citing one rival executive, the Pirates asking price has been slightly downgraded from ‘absurd to crazy.’

In his latest Rumblings & Grumblings column for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark writes that you can get Bay in exchange for ‘two sure-thing prospects, one good prospect and a fourth prospect with upside.’ 

According to Stark, Nady will cost you ‘one sure thing, one good prospect and a third, more iffy, prospect.’

…from what i can gather, the Rays seem to be making the most aggressive push for bay…the D’Backs and A’s have been pretty interested as well, while the Mets have totally backed off…

…as for nady, again the Rays are most aggressive, followed by the the Yankees…the thing is, nady – or bay, for that matter – like stark suggests, will likely cost at least Rays LHP Jake McGee or RHP Wade Davis, or Yankees LHP Ian Kennedy, and it does not sound like either team is at that point yet…for instance, the Rays are probably thinking more along the lines of a RHP Jeff Neimann, though that is just a guess…

…in other words, to get nady, the Mets will have to part with most all of their best pitching prospects…again…

Earlier this week in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dejan Kovacevic listed the Braves and Mets as having interest in Nady as well.

Last week, Kovacevic wrote that the Mets and Braves went so far as to recently conduct a conference call with the Pirates to discuss Nady.

…the problem, as i see it, is that the Pirates are rumored to be seeking your team’s two best prospects…also, for what it’s worth, there are few players for whom the Mets will trade Fernando Martinez, and nady is not one of them…

…and so, from what i can gather, for the Mets to have a shot at snagging nady - without giving up martinez - the Phillies, Rays and Braves need to turn their attention elsewhere, or at least get bogged down in talks for other players involving the prospects who Pittsburgh is seeking…this could happen if the Rockies start honestly shopping Matt Holliday…

…if this happens, my sense is that if the Mets give up at least their two best pitching prospects, in the eye’s of the Pirates, and the Phillies and Braves back off, nady could end up back in Queens…but that’s a lot of if’s…

By the way, Rosenthal also reports on rumors involving the Yankees, Bronson Arroyo and Jarrod Washburn, as well as Oakland’s interest in Bay.

Rosenthal also suggests the White Sox, Dodgers and Brewers are interested in Street.

Meanwhile, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the Mets still continue to be a ‘prime suitor’ for the Pirates OF Xavier Nady.

Kovacevic reports the Pirates continue to seek two prospects each for both Nady and LHP Damaso Marte.

…hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors for the links..