The Rangers' search for a reliable catcher may be taking them to a former Ranger who they pursued in the offseason. T.R. Sullivan and Chris Cox of MLB.com report that if the Mets put Rod Barajas on the market, the Rangers will have an interest in the veteran catcher. Sullivan and Cox notes that Texas is contacting several clubs about finding a solution to their catching problems.
Barajas turned down a minor-league contract from Texas over the winter, eventually signing a one-year deal with New York worth $500K. He has already earned a $400K bonus for making the Opening Day roster, and another $1MM is also available if Barajas reaches other incentive plateaus. Even if he gets to that maximum price, Barajas has been a bargain for the Mets, hitting a club-leading 10 homers and carrying an OPS of .893 into Friday's game with the Yankees.
Sullivan and Cox cite sources who say that if the Mets do choose to deal Barajas, it won't be until much closer to the July trade deadline. This could be to try and create a bidding war for the catcher's services, or maybe the Mets still think they can get back into contention.
NO!!!!!
Yea too bad he will never be available….should have signed him in the offseason
Isn’t it amazing that catchers of this type (low quality) are being marketed and hyped like they are some high priced commodity? It is just absurd. Rockies think that “can’t hit so sent to AAA AND overpaid at 8.35M over 3 years” Ianetta is worth a boatload of prospects. 35YO NYM Barajas who does not know a pitch he won’t swing at and will probably end up costing 2M this year being branded about for decent prospects. Teams are better off with the decent people they have then throwing away GOOD PROSPECTS for these low caliber players.
Ok, our Barajas for your Martin Perez, please?
No? We have our own Perez to replace yours, free of charge.
Dude, we ARE in the cellar!! :-((
When was the last time that the Mets were true cellars? This sounds like the Rangers hopes and dreams, not something the Mets would actually do. It would take proof that Beltran is not coming back and 2 abysmal turns through the rotation for them to give up hope.
I just don’t see any kind of a long term strategy with what the Mets are doing. The way they are handling Mejia, the haphazard way they are addressing the rotation issues that everyone knew were likely this year, the veterans they brought in, and the lack of willingness to take steps to upgrade their farm system indicate that there are a lot of other motivations for the Mets beside making the sensible move to upgrade the long term prospects of their team.
The other part of this equation is that it’s a lot easier to make responsible decisions when you’re not under the bright lights. Jerry’s trying to hold on to his job as long as possible and needs talent that his front office hasn’t provided him. Tonight’s game against the Yanks is an example of why Mejia is on the roster. He does increase their chances to win and he does have some plus stuff that can get some of the best hitters in the game out. When he pitched against my Nats, he was able to get through the middle of our lineup.
For them to thoroughly rebuild, they would risk fan rage and national shame in games against the Yankees and Phillies. The sad thing is that they can be merely mediocre and not godawful and still end up fighting to stay out of the NL East basement.
Sometimes my heart goes out to Mets fan because I go through some of the same stuff during football season rooting for the Washington Redskins. You maintain some emotional distance but you root for the team anyway.