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Martino On Granderson, Beltran, Mets, Yankees

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Andy Martino shares some hot stove news in a pair of articles for the New York Daily News…

  • Curtis Granderson has drawn "preliminary interest" from the Mets, two sources tell Martino, though the depth of that interest will depend on how Granderson's market develops.  "When it comes to New York, this much is fair to say: [Granderson] is more likely to be a Met than a Yankee in 2014," Martino writes.
  • Carlos Beltran "would love to come back to New York, but I think he’d like Boston, too,” a friend of the veteran slugger tells Martino.  Both the Yankees and Red Sox have been rumored to be interested in Beltran's services.
  • The Mets have considered Andre Ethier as a trade option since at least last December, while the Dodgers have been open to dealing the outfielder since at least summer of 2012, rival executives say.  That timing is odd given that the Dodgers only signed Ethier to his current five-year, $85MM contract in June 2012.  There is no chance, Martino writes, that the Mets would move Zack Wheeler or Noah Syndergaard for Ethier, though Martino speculates that the team could be more open to moving right-handed pitching prospect Rafael Montero.
  • Kevin Youkilis "is 100% healthy" and recovered from back surgery, agent Joe Bick says.
  • Joe Nathan is expected to draw strong interest this winter but agent Dave Pepe said he had "nothing to report" thus far about his client's free agency.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicts that Nathan will find a two-year, $26MM contract this offseason.

Sherman On Mets: Choo, Davis, Peralta

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Look for a lot of change to the Mets for 2014, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman projects a revamped lineup, not as a specific prediction, but as representative of the kinds of additions the front office is contemplating. It includes Norichika Aoki in the leadoff spot, Andre Ethier batting cleanup, and Jhonny Peralta manning short. Here are the key takeaways from Sherman's piece:

  • The Mets are much less likely to chase after top free agents like Shin-Soo Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury than they are to add multiple pieces.
  • Ike Davis is very likely to be dealt, with Lucas Duda getting an opportunity to play first. Sherman suggests that a Davis-for-Aoki swap could save the Mets money and create a better fit for New York.
  • Peralta is definitely on the club's radar, and they could try to sign him early in order to set the tone for the offseason. If they fail to land Peralta, says Sherman, the Mets will check in on the trade market to fill their shortstop void.
  • Though Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler may well be off limits, the Mets could deal from their other pitching depth, including Rafael Montero. Sherman floats the concept of a trade with the Dodgers for Ethier or even Matt Kemp, and notes that the team might otherwise pursue Curtis Granderson in free agency.
  • Look for the addition of several veteran depth pieces in the pitching staff and bench, says Sherman.

Mets Notes: Choo, D’Arnaud, 40-Man

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Here's the latest out of New York's National League entrant:

  • The Mets have reached out to Scott Boras in regards to free agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post via Twitter. The sides "haven't talked dollars," however, a club official told Puma. Per another tweet, that same official expressed uncertainty as to whether a Choo signing was a real possibility, explaining that "it depends at what number."
  • Boras is marketing Choo in the $90MM range, tweets Puma. The 31-year-old ranks third on MLBTR's Tim Dierkes's list of the top fifty free agents, and Dierkes predicted that he would reach a nine-figure deal.
  • Another team source says that the club could be in on basically any free agent other than crosstown star Robinson Cano, according to Marc Carig of Newsday, who emphasizes that the club has had preliminary discussions with a lot of targets. (Twitter links.) 
  • New York's front office is optimistic about adding talent via trade, Carig further tweets. 
  • With the Mets hoping to add a bat by working out a deal, but unwilling to ship out top young arms like Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News wonders whether GM Sandy Alderson might instead be willing to part with catcher Travis D'Arnaud. Though he notes that there are plenty of reasons why that may not be a wise strategy, Martino adds that many in the organization think highly of prospect Kevin Plawecki.
  • According to Assistant GM Paul DePodesta, the club will likely add "more than a handfull" of prospects to the club's 40-man roster, reports Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Rubin proceeds to tick through the possibilities, noting that only Jacob deGrom and Jeff Walters appear to be definite additions to a big league roster that currently has thirty-six spots occupied.

Mets Notes: Hawkins, Hart, Ellsbury, Choo

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Here's the latest out of Queens..

  • The Mets have already reached out to free agent reliever LaTroy Hawkins about returning, a baseball source tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).  Another unknown club has also gotten in touch with Hawkins, who served as the Mets' closer to finish the 2013 season.  The 40-year-old posted a 2.93 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in 70.2 innings of work last season.
  • The Mets are one of a dozen teams that have reached out to veteran free agent Corey Hart, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).  MLBTR's Steve Adams sees Hart getting a one-year, $8MM pact with $2-4MM in incentives.
  • In today's mailbag, a reader asks MLB.com's Anthony DiComo if Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-Soo Choo could be realistic options for the Mets.  After speaking with a number of people both inside and outside the Mets organization, DiComo came away with the impression that no one expects GM Sandy Alderson to do anything of that magnitude.

Five To Six Teams Interested In Rafael Furcal

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Rafael Furcal appears to be drawing quite a bit of interest with free agency in its early stages. Jorge Castillo of the Star Ledger reports that the Mets have already reached out to the former Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star, and Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that as many as five to six teams have shown early interest.

Furcal, who turned 36 just two weeks ago, didn't play in 2013 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but should be healthy for the 2014 season. Castillo notes that Furcal participated in fielding drills with the Cardinals prior to postseason games without any noticeable hindrance.

Furcal flopped in his final season with the Dodgers, prompting a trade to the Cardinals where he restored quite a bit of his value. Furcal helped the Cards to the 2011 World Series, and his strong performance in St. Louis was enough to earn him a two-year, $14MM contract that offseason. Furcal spent 171 regular-season games in a Cardinals uniform from 2011-12, slashing .262/.323/.367 with 12 homers and 16 stolen bases in 748 plate appearances.

In addition to the Mets, contenders such as the Pirates and Cardinals have a need at shortstop. The Twins have little stability at the position outside of Pedro Florimon's defensive wizardry, and other teams such as the A's and Indians could make sense. Oakland could play Jed Lowrie at second base and use Furcal as a bridge to top prospect Addison Russell, while the Indians, who likely would be open to dealing Asdrubal Cabrera, could use Furcal as a bridge to Francisco Lindor in the event of such a trade. Doing so would allow them to reallocate some or all of Cabrera's $10MM salary to fill other needs.

Quick Hits: Qualifying Offers, Red Sox, Mets, Pavano

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The biggest winners at this year's qualifying offer deadline include Bronson Arroyo, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and the Yankees and Red Sox, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes. Arroyo and Saltalamacchia, who did not receive qualifying offers, could now be headed toward nice-sized paydays. And the Yankees and Red Sox, who extended qualifying offers to three players apiece, could receive plenty of draft picks if they don't re-sign their players. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Despite their World Series win, the Red Sox don't plan on standing pat this offseason, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com reports. Leaving aside that a number of players (Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and so on) are free agents, the Red Sox believe (probably wisely, given the experiences of franchises like the 2002 Angels who got too attached to successful teams) that they can't simply hope to repeat the same success in 2014 with the same players. "I remember at the time what Theo (Epstein, former general manager) felt strongly about is that if you try to replicate exactly, it's probably not going to work the same," says Cherington.
  • The Mets aren't big fans of Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo, and therefore don't appear likely to deal for him, Andy Martino of New York Daily News tweets. Given that the Mets don't seem to be looking for a first baseman, that makes sense, although Trumbo played 27 games in the outfield last season as well.
  • Agent Dave Pepe tells Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (Twitter link) that Carl Pavano will start throwing December 1 to determine if he wants to come back. The right-hander, who will turn 38 in early January, missed all of last season after having his spleen removed.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

East Notes: Phillies, Mets, Orioles, Rays

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The Phillies' possible offseason targets include Nelson Cruz and Carlos Beltran, CSNPhilly.com's Corey Seidman notes. Seidman suggests that signing Cruz to a two-year deal for $30MM might make sense. He notes that, while the Phillies shouldn't be trying to get older at this stage, and with $120MM already committed to other players in 2014, they won't have a ton of money to spend. A power-hitting outfielder appears to be the Phillies' greatest short-term need, however. Here are more notes from the East divisions.

  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson says it's "safe to say" the loss of a draft pick won't prevent them from signing a free agent who has received a qualifying offer, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. The Mets' first-round pick in next year's draft, the tenth overall, is protected. If they sign a free agent, they could lose their second-round pick, but not their first.
  • Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com wonders if the Orioles can afford to extend both Chris Davis and Matt Wieters without stretching themseles too thin. Dubroff notes that if Wieters were a free agent this year, he’d probably more coveted than Atlanta’s Brian McCann, who is ranked as the fourth-best free agent available by Tim Dierkes.
  • The Rays' biggest obstacle in finding a deal for ace David Price might be their own sky-high expectation for a return, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Tampa Bay will want to beat out their return for James Shields by a vast margin, but they may have to accept a little less than what they have in mind.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Mets Decline Johan Santana’s Option

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The Mets announced that they have declined their $25MM club option on left-hander Johan Santana. The move is perhaps the least surprising option decision we'll see this season. The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner will be paid a $5.5MM buyout and hit the free agent market.

The 34-year-old Santana recently started throwing again and hopes to pitch in 2014 after missing the entire 2013 season with a shoulder injury, according to a report from earlier this morning by Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Santana, who missed the entire 2011 season with shoulder problems as well, last pitched in 2012, totaling 117 innings of a 4.85 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He had cruised through the season up until June 1 of that year, looking like his vintage self. Santana was coming off a complete-game shutout of the Padres entering that June 1 start — a historic day on which Mets fans bore witness to the first no-hitter in franchise history. However, in tossing his masterpiece, Santana threw a whopping 134 pitches — an alarming amount considering he'd only topped 100 pitches on three other occasions that season. He went on to post an 8.27 ERA over his next 10 starts before finishing the season on the disabled list.

Santana, perhaps the greatest pitcher to ever come out of the Rule 5 Draft, won a pair of Cy Young Awards in Minnesota before being traded to the Mets in January, 2008 for a package of Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. The Twins received little return on that deal (Gomez didn't break out until he'd been traded to Milwaukee), and one would think that the Mets would like to take back the six-year, $137.5MM extension they granted upon Santana's arrival in Queens.

New York Notes: Yankees, Cano, Ellsbury

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As always, New York will be an interesting market to watch this season, highlighted by the Yankees' attempts to re-sign Robinson Cano and the Mets' desire to aggressively participate in the free agent market. Here's the latest on both teams, courtesy of Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and Andy Martino of the New York Daily News…

  • The Yankees have already been linked to big fish like Masahiro Tanaka, Brian McCann, Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran, but Heyman adds that they've also had internal discussions about Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza and Stephen Drew. As Heyman points out, Drew would be a peculiar target given Derek Jeter's $9.5MM player option for 2014.
  • According to Heyman, the Yankees are still the favorites for Cano, but there's a sizable gap between his eye-popping $305-310MM asking price and the Yankees' current thinking. Heyman says the Yankees have only shown a willingness to go to $160MM or so to this point.
  • According to Martino, no one from either camp has denied the fact that Cano's camp began negotiations by asking for $300MM+.
  • Martino adds that the Mets aren't likely to pursue Ellsbury on the free agent market, as his sources have indicated that GM Sandy Alderson simply isn't comfortable with the type of contract that Ellsbury will ultimately end up signing. Instead, expect the Mets to pursue trades and free agent signings of corner outfielders, as they're very pleased with Juan Lagares' glove in center field. This marks the second instance in the past six weeks or so in which we've heard specifically that the Mets aren't a likely match for Ellsbury.
  • General manager Brian Cashman worries that Hiroki Kuroda will return to Japan, writes Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger. He adds that one baseball official to whom he spoke would "be blown away" if Curtis Granderson didn't receive a series of lucrative offers on the open market despite his lost season.

East Links: Wallace, Mets, Blue Jays

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The Orioles announced yesterday that they have hired Dave Wallace as their new pitching coach. Wallace, 66, has 10 years of experience as a Major League pitching coach and filled that role for the 2004 World Series Champion Red Sox. He has served as pitching coach for the Dodgers (1995-97), Mets (1999-2000), Red Sox (2003-06) and Astros (2007) prior to Baltimore's hiring. Here's more out of baseball's Eastern divisions…

  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun thinks the Wallace hiring to be somewhat of a surprise, if only for the reason that many felt he ultimately wouldn't take the job. Wallace was serving as the Braves' minor league pitching coordinator and was known to be content with his job. Of leaving his post with the Braves, Wallace told Connolly: "As a teacher, it’s kind of tough sometimes to walk away from those students. But you are also proud because you’ve had somewhat of an influence on what they’ve been able to accomplish in the last few years."
  • It remains likely that the Mets will trade either Ike Davis or Lucas Duda this offseason, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, but team insiders tell him that it's too soon to tell which player will have more value on the market. COO Jeff Wilpon said yesterday that the team has already begun to receive calls from teams with a need for first base help.
  • Martino also points out that Wilpon identified just four players as "solidified" for next year: David Wright, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Zack Wheeler. Notably omitted is Daniel Murphy, who could find himself on the trading block with the Mets looking to move Eric Young Jr. to second base on a permanent basis. Martino opines that because of the team's desire for Young to man the keystone, it's actually a good thing that he didn't win a Gold Glove for his work in left field, as it would've made the decision tougher to justify to fans.
  • The Blue Jays announced yesterday that they have extended their player development contract with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats through the 2016 season. The Fisher Cats have been the Jays' Double-A affiliate since 2004, winning a pair of Eastern League titles in that time.
  • Earlier today, MLBTR's Mark Polishuk peeked into Baltimore's future with the Orioles edition of our Offseason Outlook series.
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