In a meeting with his players today, Mets manager Terry Collins told his team that just because they don't have eight players making $20MM doesn't mean that they can't win, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (on Twitter). Could the Mets surprise people this year? We'll have to wait and see. Here's more out of the AL and NL East..
- A rival evaluator told Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that if the Red Sox decide to move Alfredo Aceves, he will have some value in the trade market. Aceves' agent, Tom O'Connell, was in Fort Myers, Florida today and had a chat with GM Ben Cherington, according to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). However, it's not clear if the two were talking about Aceves.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson has committed to reloading the team's farm system and won't sacrifice the club's future to win the short term, writes Andy McCullough of Baseball America (subscription req'd).
- Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano told reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (via Twitter), that he's not thinking about his next contract and is only focused on winning another championship. Last week we heard that Cano and the Bombers aren't making much progress on contract talks.
- Barring something completely unexpected, Yankees manager Joe Girardi seems like a safe bet to re-sign with the team this winter and lead them for another three years or so, writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues.
- Pedro Martinez is pitching in to help out the Red Sox in spring training, but he told reporters that he doesn't see himself wanting to be a manager or a pitching coach, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
