On this day in 2000, the (Devil) Rays purchased Dwight Gooden from the Astros. Doc made eight starts with Tampa Bay before being released in May, allowing him to finish out his career in New York with the Yankees. Gooden obviously didn't replicate the numbers of his prime in this final season but did post a 4.71 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 for the three teams. Here's a look at tonight's links..
- The Royals have hope for the first time in a long time but they'll have to ramp up the spending to truly contend, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
- Teams continue to sign first basemen to long, expensive agreements despite mounting evidence that such deals are not very good ideas, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. It looks as though Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is in decline in the middle of his monster deal and even Todd Helton's team-friendly pact with the Rockies wound up looking like an overpay.
- In a piece for CapitalNewYork.com, Howard Megdal wonders if the Mets might be laying the PR groundwork to let David Wright walk at the end of this season. The Mets hold a $16MM option on the third baseman for 2013.
- Mike Fontenot could replace Pete Orr on the Phillies' bench as the utility man, but don't expect him to replace Freddy Galvis, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Phillies signed the 31-year-old infielder to a minor league deal earlier today.
- Mike Cameron signed a one-day deal with the Mariners today in order to retire with the club and though he may look to be a coach or instructor he vowed to never pursue a managerial career, tweets John Hickey of SportsPressNW.com.
teixeira better not be in decline… i drafted in him in fantasy this year
and the mets wont let wright just walk.. if they arent in it at the deadline they would trade him then just let him walk at end of season
I don’t know if dealing him at the deadline’s the right move either, unless they get 100% what they want.
It’s going to be tough because rentals don’t yield draft pick compensation. (I know he got Wheeler for Beltran but that was a bad move by the Giants). If they want talent, they might be better off taking the first round pick in the off season or exercising the option and trading him to a team like LA or Philly, whoever loses out in the Cole Hamels sweepstakes.
His OBP goes down every year, that can’t be a good sign.
Just like they did with Reyes….
Completely different. If the Mets still had Reyes, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wright moved or letting him walk. Without Reyes that franchise needs a player that the fans want to see, and can lead the team. I’d like to see Davis enter the spotlight personally. Wright is just so valuable to that fanbase, unless he starts hitting like Jason Bay…
Valuable to a franchise not drawing any sort of attendance? Winning sells tickets and their GM wasn’t hired to cater to mediocrity. If the Mets find the right deal, they should deal Wright, just like they should have traded Reyes. They’re realistically not resigning either player in either situation, so they need to get a return. There will be another David Wright eventually, and if it’s on a winning team, that’s going to be more valuable to the franchise.
The Mets aren’t going to let Wright walk. He’s face of the franchise and has looked like the David Wright of his best years at the plate having rediscovered his successful mechanics before fracturing his pinkie. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wright is signed to extension during the season particularly with the Madoff mess behind them.
And in terms of Megdal, always self-serving just like he is in this article, hates Mets ownership, loves inventing and reinventing facts for his own purposes. I have zero respect for Megdal’s writings and think he very much deserved the rescinding his Mets press credentials.
Why would they just let Wright walk at the end of the season instead of exercising his club option and trading him? Surely someone would give up something of value for 1 year of Wright.
the piece by megdal is a good read
Ok…but that still doesn’t answer my answer at all. Like I asked…why would you not exercise his club option, then trade him? Forcing him back from injury sooner to give him a bad rep is just decreasing his trade value, so why not get him back healthy, have him put up some good numbers, then trade him for something instead of letting him walk for nothing. Would losing a star player perceived to be injury prone for nothing make Mets fans happier than receiving a valuable piece for the future?
The simple of it all is that Megdal is not accurately interpreting the facts but is continuing his anti-Mets ownership agenda. Wright is almost certainly heading to the DL as soon as today, as of Friday being unable to grip either bat or ball and if can’t today, DL is near certainty as Mets can’t continue playing with 24-man roster.
Exactly the worse part of the article by Megdal is where he uses Martino’s article as citing the Mets letting something leak. If you read Martino’s article it comes off as an opinion piece and nowhere even mentions an unnamed source from the Mets saying anything of the sort. Martino’s article is not a leak from the Mets and it makes Megdal come off as inventing things.
I agree…I dont see them letting him walk, that would be completely ridiculous. They need to hope he has a good rest of this season, extend his option and then trade him. I believe they can get more in terms of prospects than a first round pick they would receive if they let him walk. They already messed up with Reyes by not trading him and I would assume they don’t want the same to happen with Wright.
They cannot let him walk this year and get anything for him. They would have to decline the option at which point you cannot get picks for him unless I am missing something. They would either need to trade him or pick up the option and then let him walk after 2013 then they could get picks. If he hits like he used I think they extend him and keep as a vet presence while they build in pieces around him. But the extension will be for a couple of years and not 6 or 7.
Did I just see the Rays and the word “purchase” in the same sentence?!
Mike Cameron had a pretty good career, especially his Seattle days. Loved watching him play center.
tex always has a slow start….
Can
I thought Cameron was going to become a flight attendant?