In today's blog post at ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes about Miguel Tejada's trip to Haiti, plus what other agents have privately speculated about what a fair deal for Felix Hernandez (six years and $110 million) would be.
Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Mets' GM Omar Minaya was never given a budget this offseason. The front office is making recommendations to COO Jeff Wilpon on a case-by-case basis without knowing if they're approaching a payroll limit. It's easy to see how that could become a problem.
- The Orioles continue to look for a corner infielder, preferably a third baseman so that Garrett Atkins could man first. Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun notes that Andy MacPhail has had talks with the agents for Joe Crede and Tejada.
- Last week's GM meeting went so well that it ended up lasting five hours longer than originally scheduled. They discussed changes to the draft among other things, but Olney notes that some executes are concerned that a slotting system may lead to a situation where having the first overall pick is viewed as a bad thing because of the bonus required to sign the player. Allowing teams to trade picks would solve that.
- Some scouts question how Bryce Harper's size will impact his game going forward. Harper, the projected top pick for the 2010 Draft, is already 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds at age-17. "You worry that if he gets too big, his swing just won't be quick enough when he starts facing guys who throw harder," said one evaluator.
Trading picks… Make it so, Captain
Engage!
Omar takes a lot of blame for Jeff Wilpon’s foolishness.
I miss Nelson Doubleday.
^^^^ finally some one who gets it …the reason they know they cant fire minaya is cuz he is there to take the blame for the wilpons
So! I see someone else notices that. What is it 3 of us?
Tejada makes sense for the O’s, RH bat with pop for 3B better than Crede
I understand Mets are waiting out the market, but Spring Training is less than 1 month away and we have numerous holes – Catcher, Starting pitcher (maybe 2), lefty Reliever, 1st baseman, solid 4th OF, and of course upgrading 2B by getting rid of Castillo. The time for action is upon us.
I get that about Harper. It’s not like we have any recent examples of big hitters (6’2″ – 200+) showing any success. … what a dumb thing to say.
2 of the most prolific (and steroid aided) HR hitters in the past 10 years were well above Harper’s size (McGwire and Bonds). At this point, I just think people are looking for anything they can to rip the kid. That way, if he doesn’t pan out they will be able to point back to their statement and say – “see – I told you so”.