Latest Mets Buzz

I spoke to my Mets source recently, so here's the latest buzz around the team.

As has been reported in several places, Tom Glavine plans on returning to the Braves.  I'm told a "handshake agreement" is in place.  If the playoff excitement can't change his mind, the Mets will take a look at Barry Zito and Mark Mulder.  Orlando Hernandez may be re-signed and of course Steve Trachsel is a goner.  Beyond that, the Mets have many in-house starting pitching options.

The Mets still like outfielder Lastings Milledge even with the problems he's had in the clubhouse.  The only way he'd be dealt is if Dontrelle Willis comes in return.  Should Willis become available, the Mets will be all over it.  If Milledge is traded to Florida, to team is high on David Dellucci for left field.  Alfonso Soriano is not on the radar.

My source also tells me that there is a lot of consideration for Aaron Heilman to return to starting for 2007.  They hope to re-sign Guillermo Mota but expect Darren Oliver to command too much money.

The Mets will probably pursue a trade for second base, as Valentin is not expected back.  In-house options Ruben Gotay and Anderson Hernandez do not impress.  Interest in Julio Lugo is minimal.

The team will take the payroll to the $105MM range.  If Glavine leaves that could mean $20MM to play with.

Comments

[ozziethesaint]

Talk all around St Louis is Mulder is going to resign with the Cards for a 1 year below market value deal. with loads of incentives and then cash in next winter assuming he bounces back.

[TheRealErik]

I don't want Mulder OR Zito. In fact, if we can't get Matsuzaka, I don't want anyone.

Yeah, i'm sure getting Willis will take Milledge, Humber, and Heilman. Um, No. I'm not a big fan of Lastings, but Willis is scary. Just look at the numbers. There are some SCARY markers in his translated pitching line.

I don't want Mota or Oliver back. Just re-sign Bradford and i'll be very happy.

I keep El Duque, but only if the price is right.

What are your thoughts on Piniella?

[RICH]

I haven't seen (at least this year or last) articles about Glavine's handshake agreement. It hasn't hit the NY media.

[cajunrevenge]

It was reported all over when Glavine reworked his contract which put the options in his contract that the mets agreed not to pick up the option if he wanted to return to braves. Considering the mets option is for 14 mill I doubt they would pick it up anyways. Why pay Glavine 14 mill when they can pay Zito 16 mill.

[georgek]

therealerik, are you serious? okay i dont want mulder either, but think of zito
A. moving to the weaker national league without DH
B. returning to the jacket (rick peterson)
C. never gets hurt

so here's what i think
(this is all opinion):

1. sign zito. we have to. if glavine really wants to go back to atlanta, and pedro wont be back till july, what do we have? nothing. so first, sign zito. give him what he wants. he's worth it.

2. you dont want mota back? thats strange considering he did a complete 180 degree turn in his career since coming to the mets..

3. i dont want darren oliver back either, so resign el duque and let him be long man.
of course re-sign bradford.
4. from what i hear, the padres are VERY high on oliver perez..so what we could do is trade ollie and another decent prospect for scott linebrink as a 3rd setup man (sanchez when he comes back, mota, linebrink). that would make aaron heilman available to other teams since we wouldnt need him in the pen with literally an untouchable 'pen (especially when juan padilla comes back as well).
5. milledge, heilman, alay soler (feelin good in miami with more cubans!), and someone like jesus flores to bring the d-train here. now that the marlins know they have great young talent in scott olsen, josh johnson, and anibal sanchez, it makes dontrelle more expendable to be traded.

so our rotation could look like this

1. dontrelle willis
2. barry zito
3. john maine
4 and 5 spots are a toss up between the rookies like bannister, humber, and pelfrey.

that should cover it..resign floyd to play left, beltran in center of course, greenie and chavez in right, infield the same, but ahern plays second with valentin backing him up. valentin will be the new franco next year. heh, >new< franco. old guy. hehe.

if we have some spare cash lying around (haha), we could possibly go after carlos lee? but we'd probably be out of the cash by then...i dont want matsuzaka..i've had enough experiences with japenese dudes. and 30 mil just to talk?? no thanks. not my cup of tea.

if we get carlos lee, put him in left and sign floyd to play the bench..either that or he will definitely retire.

LETS GO METS

[Vuchato]

Just curious, what sources are reporting Glavine's heading back to Atlanta?

[ozziethesaint]

Matsuzaka is pretty much only going to go the Yanks or Seattle. If another team outbids these 2 teams, I expect him to just stay in Japan another year until he hits free agency. and to the guy that said he wouldn't want him anyways? Wait and see, he will be the best Japanese pitcher to come over to the states yet. He's a definite ace in the bigs next season if he's here.

Erik,
not sure who you aimed the Pinella question at, but here's my take. He won't be in Chicago when his contract ends. It will be TB all over again. Lou doesn't do well with losing teams. and that's what the cubs are. The Arod discussions will cause Aram to leave because they can't give him a major extension, pay dlee, Z and Arod and improve their pitching staff at all. So I suspect Aram will decline his option and sign with the Yanks or Angels. Then Hendry will continue his man crush on Prior and think he's ever gonna start more than 12-15 games in a season. Which btw, Prior is still having shoulder problems and going for a new exam this week :P
So with not alot of talent, and little in the way of top prospects to give a chance too Sweet Lou will be losing his cool often in Chicago and will want out yet again. Girardi wold have been the smart move because he strikes me as much more patient and willing to rebuild the cubs which is what they need. It's time to blow it up and accept you're gonna be worse than the pirates and start over.

[Baseballfan79]

The marlins would never trade Dontrelle Willis to a division rival. Trading 30+ year old Catcher that is often injured and a 30+ year old huge contracted 1B that cant play defense is totally different then trading the heart of your team and ace of your staff to them.

why didnt you put in there that the first words out of Fredi Gonzalez's mouth when he became Manager were that Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis would be marlins on opening day next year?

Feel free to look up the press interview for his hiring, as that was a fact. Obviously he was promised they would be there with the team.

The marlins could get far more for willis then a problem child in Milledge even if they decided to move Willis.
Chris Young, Montero and Nippert would be a much better package for their needs. Kemp, Billingsley and a prospect another one that fits far better. Even if the mets decide to include Pelfrey along with Milledge the marlins can get more elsewhere then crappy Lastings "Overrated" Milledge.

[Calibre]

I'll be happy if Glavine leaves...he's not worth all that money and I don't care if he goes to Atlanta. Zito or the Japanese guy is a must. Zito is young and durable...my only concern is the Petite syndrome...Zito might get hurt swinging the bat...but I think he'll do good switching to the NL and returning with Peterson. I'll even go after Mulder...he and Pedro coming into our rotation mid-july would be a boost. I say re-sign Mota and Bradford and give Heilman a rotation position. With Padilla coming back and having Owens, Linstrom and Ring as back-up, Hielman can be our number three starter. Keep Perez in the rotation and let Maine, Pelfrey and Humber fight out the last spot. Either resign El Duque or use one of those three as our long man. Then trade Bannister for Orlando Hudson or Callaspo from the D-backs and use them on Second...Callaspo is the cheaper option and only 23-24. We can also use Williams or Soler as the long man either way we have depth unlike this year. I don't see Willis becoming available to the Mets...if he does it's going to cost us...so I say leave Milledge and Chaves in LF as a platoon...and hopefully Gomez is ready to take over if either fails to impress. If they can't get Mulder I say look into Meche...another AL pitcher who can succed in the NL...our rotation Zito/Jap, Meche/Mulder, Heilman, Perez, Maine/Pelfrey/Humber...Young and full of promise...with Pedro coming back in July...not bad

[RotoAuthority]

I think the Mets would trade Willis to any team if they offered the best package. Obviously it would include more than Milledge alone.

[RotoAuthority]

On the Glavine thing - I think it started on an ESPN message board written by his brother or brother in law. I think the guy was legit in that he knew about Glavine's blood clot first and was linked to by Olney.

[cajunrevenge]

That is right, his brother in law who first came out with the blood clot story did say Glavine was deffinatly going to Atlanta next year.

[epi]

My 2007 opening day roster (with Pedro and Duaner Sanchez on de disabled list):

SP: Zito, Vicente Padilla, Maine, Oliver Perez, Pelfrey

Relievers: Duque, Mota, Heilman, Bradford, Feliciano, J.C. Romero and Wagner

C: LoDuca & Castro
1B: Delgado & Franco
2B: Lugo & Valentin
3B: Wright
SS: Reyes
OF: Beltran, Soriano, Green, Chavez and Milledge

[start_wearing_purple]

1) No one saw the complete firesale by the Marlins coming, Willis and Cabrera are not deadlocked to be in Marlin uniforms. Furthermore anyone is for sale for the right price.

2) When is Sanchez coming back, I was never more pleased to be wrong about a trade than by seeing Sanchez go beyond his potential...

3) george, the buzz as far as I heard is Lee wants to be an Astro and the Astros want Lee... that tends to work out.

4) Mets hitting is fine, don't mess with it. Bullpen could always use an upgrade but hey it may not be a bad idea to see what the minor league talent can do.

5) Starting staff, here's a place that could use a fellow like Zito and will overpay him as well. Maybe see how well Heilman will take to starting...

[RotoAuthority]

Yeah...I was also way surprised that Sanchez was as good as he was.

Sanchez should be ready for spring training next year. He had shoulder surgery in early Aug. and is ahead of schedule.

[georgek]

baseball fan, please use your head. fredi gonzalez A. is a new manager and B. doesnt have much say in where any player goes..its the GM's decision to trade players.

[Baseballfan79]

The Gm, the President, the Owner have all made the comment that Cabrera specially and willis arent for trade.

This is the same recycled rumor that the mets put out all last year from the 1st week of the season through the trade deadline. Remember the marlins put both on waivers a week early to make a statement for the face they werent for trade.

Trading willis removes their ability to compete, he is the ace of the staff, despite the numbers the youth put up last year. He is the face of the franchise and holds more value in the selling aspect of the team and for the hope for a stadium for them.

Besides trading 33 year old catchers and 34 year old 1B are much different then trading a 24 year old 20+ game winner to your division rivals.

I am not saying if the price wasnt right they wouldnt move Willis. But, the LAD, Arizona, etc etc etc could all offer much more value for Willis then the mets could.
Lastings Milledge isnt that great of a chip after the press nightmare, the headaches and attitude he displayed along with the showing he wasnt ready for the big time. He had talent when I saw him play but he is still very raw.

What would the marlins want more.

Kemp + Billingsley + good prospect?

milledge + pelfrey type of deal.
or perhaps
Chris Young, Montero and Nippert/ (one of their other solid SP prospects).

Personally unless the mets overpay to a huge margain you dont move him in division. You make them pay an extra price for that. Besides I would rather have Chris Young then Lastings Milledge anywqays.

[RotoAuthority]

Chris Young isn't available at all and Nippert had a crappy year. A Milledge/Humber or Pelfrey deal would blow that away.

[TheRealErik]

Roto, theoretically, what could the Mets get for David Wright? Are we talking Josh Beckett type talent?

[Leeman]

Hey mets fans, DREAM ON. Look, I know you guys have tons of money, but that doesn't mean yoou are goin to go out and get the freakin all star team to play in crappy shea stadium 81 times next year. Hears how I see it:
Zito= definitely a possibility for the Mets cause of $ and Peterson.
Soriano= dream on, he will not sign there, if he comes back to NY it will be in pin stripes.
Willis= you must be high. Th marlins have a REAL chance to contend next year with that staff and there is no way they will trade there veteran anchor away, no way. Plus, the Marlins are a division rival, which means you have zero chance of getting him.
Glavine= I bet he resigns for cheaper, he is old and lacks the consistency that made him great. And, as of right now, the Braves have six starting pitchers. So unless something happens there, I don't see that happening.

[JerseyMetFan]

David Wright nettng Josh Beckett-type talent? You must be high.

I wouldn't trade DW for any single pitcher in baseball. If I had to, I would be looking for Weaver/Liriano/Verlander type talent. Top talent.

[Baseballfan79]

He means the talent beckett got in trade

Elite young SS mlb ready (top 25 prospect)
elite young SP prospect (top 25)
2 good setup/closer prospects
dropping 16 million dead weight in lowell and another 5-6 dead weight in mota in trade.

yes david wright could get something like that. But, it would be dumb to move someone like him.

[RotoAuthority]

Wright...yeah he's one of the game's most valuable properties I would think. Beckett, no.

[tom seaver]

Me gustaria que Glavine no renovara, asi podriamos traer a Zito que es mas joven y es un magnifico lanzador, en cuanto a Dontrelle Willis, estaria bien que viniera porque puede actuar perfectamente de segundo, pero si es a cambio de Milledge, me lo pensaría dos veces ya que este jugador parece una gran promesa que no hay que perder.
En cuanto al mercado de agentes libres, una prioridad debe ser la adquisicion de Alfonso Soriano, con él, con Beltran y con el resto se puede hacer un potente grupo de exteriores.
En cuanto a los jugadores del cuadro, yo no tocaba nada, excepto reforzar la posición de 2B ya que con Valentin solo no se puede afrontar la temporada con garantias, aceptando tambien que ni Gotay ni Hernandez pueden defender la camiseta de los Mets con calidad suficiente. Asi que yo me decantaria por Julio Lugo que puede llegar a ser un refuerzo importante a lo largo de la temporada tanto para jugar de 2B como para cubrir el resto de las posiciones del cuadro junto a Valentin.
En cuanto al tema renovaciones, se deberia a renovar al exterior Floyd, que puede ser un complemento importante en ese puesto y a Valentin. Y entre los lanzadores: a Mota que demostro en los Mets su gran nivel, a Bradford y Oliver. También habria que pensar si merece la pena renovar a El Duque o a Trachsel.

Con todo lo dicho mis Mets para el 2007 seria:
C-Lo Duca y Castro
1B-Delgado y Franco
2B-Lugo y Valentin
SS-Reyes
3B-Wright
OF-Beltran
OF-Soriano
OF-Green
OF-Floyd
OF-Chavez
OF-Milledge

La lista de lanzadores podria ser:
Zito, Willis, Maine, Perez/Zambrano, Bannister/Pelfrey/Humber.
Y entre los relevistas:
Heilman, Sanchez, Feliciano, Mota, Bradford, Oliver, Ring, Wagner.

[MadMatt15]

real eric please stop posting stupid things. please, the things you said about the mets pitching staff and then speakingf of david wright trade value. C'mon, dwright will not be moved AT ALL!! no chance in hell.

[MadMatt15]

great post tom seaver.....?

[nrmax88]

therealeric r u kidding? we need one of those guys and why wouldnt u want mota back? now its different because of the 50 game suspension but r bullpen was by far are strongest area and u want to just let them all go? Why the hell wouldnt u want el duque back? he was sick this season. K now for georgek
what the hell are u talking about. Zito i agree with you. why wouldnt u want oliver back? probaly not gona keep him but just wondering why u wouldnt want him. as for oliver perez
he isnt goin anywhere, um did u watch game 7? the guys stuff is sick look at his numbers from 2 years agho with a lastplace team in the pirates. We could have traded perez for linebrink straight up and didnt. I would like dtrain but not having to give up all the guys u just said. Floyd is most certainly not resigning to play the bench and most certainly not retiring either. Zito would be good though
and the LETS GO METS part is also good. Rotation will be fine if we get zito and resign glavine or el duque along with maine perez pelfrey humber all competing in spring for top spots until pedro comes back healthy. mets offense is good enough to make up for a decent rotation especially if their bullpen is anything like last year

[nrmax88]

omg realeric..............
i read your first idiotic post and didnt even comment on the second one
maddmatt is right what the hell is wrong with you? Wright for Becket are you stupid? if u r a met fan who thinks they should trade wright for becket i think you should never watch baseball again lol you moron. Wright for Becket? WRIGHT FOR BECKET??
WRIGHT FOR BECKETT?????????????????????????????????????????????????

[nrmax88]

Leeman i half agree with you. Zito is a possibility, Willis isn't. Unless of course we give them an offer that cant be refused. Soriano most likely wont come to the mets but that has nothing to do with the stadium, but theres a much bigger chance of him playing for the mets then the yankees. Im sure they will jus get rid of their top prospect in Cano for Soriano, or maybe if there was a 4th OF position soriano could play, im not sure if you knew this but the yankees are already paying millions of dollars to these guys named uhh matsui ummm damon and uhhh bobby abreu. And while u talk about crappy shea stadium i hardly think that will stop some1 from siging with the mets because of their staadium, especially when they are opening a new park in 2009. Soriano would be a good fit as a met, they need a LF and a 2b, the two positions he plays, and minaya has a knack for bringin in all the latino talent. Pedro 2 Carlos', where soriano would fit right in. On Glavine you are 100% wrong. His old age makes him smarter and more effective, its not like he has an overpowering fastball that is going to lose velocity and render him ineffective, check the numbers out from 06, best season he has had as a met by far. And u cant honestly say the mets are guilty of trying to build an allstar team when u mention the yankees in the same sentence when the bombers have spent 100 Billion plus in 5 years with absolutely nothing to show for it