Tag Archives: Scott Kazmir

According to Baseball America, the Mets have signed minor-league, free-agent RHP Joselo Diaz.

…yes, his name should sound familiar to you, since he’s the other guy who went with Scott Kazmir in the tampa bay deal…

…so, one down from that deal…and one to go…

…hat tip to Adam Rubin for the link…

Tagged Scott Kazmir |

Omar Minaya, talking to reporters yesterday from Orlando…

“We’re always looking for a frontline starter, and that’s difficult to do…Teams aren’t willing to give them up unless you really blow them away and give them a lot of players.”

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi recently told ESPN.com that he is willing to entertain trade offers for RHP A.J. Burnett, who may opt out of his contract with Toronto after next season.

In his nine-year career, the frequently-injured Burnett has started at least 30 games in a season just once.  Yet, in 177 career starts, he is 69–66 with a 3.76 ERA, having struck out nearly one batter per inning.

…i could see the Mets being interested…burnett will likely cost a pitcher in return, but as long as the jays are freed of his money i am not sure the price in talent will be all that much…

Burnett, 30, will earn $12 million this coming season, but has o-trade protection against 15 teams.  

Meanwhile, according to Mark Hale in the New York Post, the Mets have talked to the Devil Rays during the GM Meetings, but not about LHP Scott Kazmir.

…my guess is on talks involving either Dan Wheeler, Al Reyes or Edwin Jackson…jackson is 24, a fallen prospect with a quick arm and arbitration eligible this off season…while wheeler and reyers are two relief pitchers who were of interest to many teams, including the Mets, during last year’s trade deadline…

Meanwhile, in Newsday, Ken Davidoff reports that Minaya had dinner last night with Indians GM Mark Shapiro. 

According to Davidoff, citing ‘a person familiar with the team’s thinking,’ Minaya and Shapiro intended to speak about potential matches in a deal for pitching.

Davidoff rules out the Mets acquiring C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona or Jake Westbrook, meaning a likely option could be LHP Cliff Lee.

Lee, 29, will earn $3.75 million next year and $5.75 million in 2009.  His team will hold an $8 million option for 2010.

Last season, Lee got bumped from Cleveland’s starting rotation, then was demoted to Triple-A after starting the season 5–8 with a 6.38 ERA.  However, he won 14, 18 and 14 games in each of the previous three seasons, while compiling a 4.50 ERA.

Tagged Scott Kazmir |

In a recent post to his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney details how difficult it is going to be for the Mets to acquire the top-flight starting pitcher they are looking for.

According to Olney, executives and scouts with other teams do not believe Mike Pelfrey or Phil Humber are close to being ready, considering the team’s immediate needs.

Meanwhile, Olney acknowledges that the Twins will listen to offers for Johan Santana, as will the Astros for Roy Oswalt; the A’s for Dan Haren and Joe Blanton; the Rays for Scott Kazmir; the Marlins for Dontrelle Willis; and the White Sox for Jon Garland.

However, Olney writes that rival executives question whether the Mets have the young talent to make such a trade, adding that most view Pelfrey and Humber as low-end starters with only middle-relief potential.

In Olney’s best guess, the Mets will end up working out a deal with the A’s for Blanton, “but it won’t be easy.”

During last year’s trade deadline, according to Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com, the Mets had ‘kicked around the idea’ of trading for Blanton, but the price was ‘too high.’

…the buzz in baseball has long been that the A’s continue to eye the Dodgers, who have a lot of young talent and are in need of a durable starting pitcher…

Meanwhile, at Gotham Baseball Magazine, Mark Healey has repeatedly written during the last year that if the Mets are to ever make a deal with the A’s it will only be for Rich Harden or Haren.

…if beane continues to ask for milledge, i agree…however, at some point, it’s becoming clear that if the Mets are actually going to acquire a pitcher, well, milledge is going to have to go and it may have to be for less than another team’s ace…

This past season for the A’s, Blanton was 14–10 with a 3.95 ERA through 34 starts, during which he allowed an average of just one walk per start.

He has made at least 32 starts in each of his last three seasons.

He is eligible for salary arbitration this off-season, and eligible for free agency after 2010.

Tagged Rich Harden, Scott Kazmir |

In the New York Post, citing ‘an executive familiar with the team’s thinking,’ Joel Sherman writes that the Devil Rays may entertain offers for LHP Scott Kazmir, depending on how the market develops for Johan Santana.

…first off, i vowed to stop taking the bait on d’rays rumors years ago, after they sat on Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez…that being said, good god…could you imagine if the Mets ever re-acquired kazmir…and he got hurt, or stumbled or fell apart, etc…it’s not a reason to deny a trade, but it’s certainly a reason to hesitate…i mean, they’re finally at a point in which we never mention his name, and then bam, here we go again…

Kazmir is eligible for arbitration for the first time this off season, and is eligible to be a free agent after 2010.

In three seasons with the last-place Rays, Kazmir is 33–26 with a 3.53 ERA while striking out 576 hitters through 537 innings.

…damn, he really is good…i try to just ignore him, but those numbers are reallly, really hard to ignore…ugh…

According to Sherman, the Rays would want ‘multiple high-end pitchers,’ and so he writes…

“There is a lot of buzz that the Giants would consider moving Tim Lincecum…Interestingly, Lincecum is just the type of young, talented, controllable pitcher Tampa is pursuing, and the Rays have a boatload of young positional talent.  The Rays have essentially made only B.J. Upton, whom they perceive as a top-flight center fielder for years, an untouchable.  That means players such as Carl Crawford and Delmon Young could be had in the right deal.”

…so, if this is the case, i think this hilarious, painful talk of the Mets re-acquiring kazmir should come to an immediate halt, because the Mets clearly do not have the chips to acquire him, not by a long-shot…

Tagged Scott Kazmir | Newer posts →