Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Rumors

Quick Hits: Cuddyer, Willingham, Duquette, Mets

By | at

Let's take a look at some weekend links from around the league….

  • Michael Cuddyer is open to returning to the Twins, but even if Minnesota makes him the best offer, there's no guarantee he'll sign there, says Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 (Twitter links). Last night we heard that the Phillies are seriously pursuing Cuddyer.
  • Approximately ten teams have expressed interest in Josh Willingham so far, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (via Twitter). O'Brien adds that the Braves, who could use a power-hitting outfielder, are not one of those clubs.
  • With the Orioles close to hiring Dan Duquette, MASN's Roch Kubatko (Twitter link) talks to one O's person who calls Duquette "brilliant" and says no one is more connected in Asian and Latin American markets.
  • As Alex Speier of WEEI writes, 60-year-old Pete Mackanin, a managerial candidate for the Cubs and Red Sox, would be an unconventional choice – no one 60 or older has been hired for his first full-time managerial job since Bobby Mattick in 1980 with the Blue Jays.
  • Jim Thome doesn't seem to be a great fit in Philadelphia, says ESPN.com's Keith Law (Insider link). The Phillies agreed to sign the 41-year-old slugger to a one-year deal and introduced him at a news conference this afternoon.
  • Rick Sofield, who has played and coached with Clint Hurdle in the past, is the latest addition to the Pirates' staff, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  • The Mets are attempting to attract potential investors by agreeing to pay an annual interest on minority stakes, according to a New York Post report.

NL East Notes: Wang, Buehrle, Ankiel, Braves

By | at

The Mets are losing confidence that Jose Reyes will return in 2012. Here are some more hot stove notes from the NL East…

  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told reporters, including Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com, that the team discussed possible 2013 options with Chien-Ming Wang's representatives before agreeing to a simple one-year deal.
  • The Nationals will continue searching for pitching. "We want a guy that has shown he's a good leader, that can win in the big leagues," Rizzo said. "It's not about having the best stuff. It's about being able to pitch 200 innings many, many times in your career.” As Goessling and a number of other Nationals reporters have noted, that describes Mark Buehrle quite well.
  • Scouts tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney that they like what Buehrle offers, even though the 32-year-old southpaw doesn't light up any radar guns. Meanwhile, the Marlins are concerned about the command issues C.J. Wilson had in the postseason, according to Olney.
  • The Mets haven’t ruled out free agent Rick Ankiel as a center field option, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. They still have arbitration eligible center fielder Angel Pagan, but they may trade or non-tender him instead.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore acknowledged that he has had preliminary trade talks with the Braves, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves are open to moving Jair Jurrjens or Martin Prado and the Royals are looking for starting pitching.

Mets’ Hopes Of Retaining Reyes Fading

By | at

Though the Mets maintain some interest in Jose Reyes and might be prepared to offer a four-year deal in the $60-70MM range, they don’t expect the shortstop to return, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Reyes, a Type A free agent who officially hit the market yesterday, is one of the top available players of the offseason.

One Mets official expects Reyes to “be blown away” by another team. Another official agrees that the team’s chances of retaining the shortstop aren’t good: “my instinct is no shot.”

Sherman explains that Reyes may wait for Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder to sign before agreeing to a deal of his own. The Mets don't expect Reyes to sign before the Winter Meetings, but his agent, Peter Greenberg says there's no timetable set for the shortstop, according to Dan Martin of the Post. As Sherman points out, the Cardinals, Brewers, Nationals, Marlins and Phillies are among the teams that could express interest in the 28-year-old.

Quick Hits: Moyer, Beltran, CBA, Lincecum, Mariners

By | at

It was 10 years ago today that the Diamondbacks set a World Series record for hits in a game, racking up 22 hits en route to a 15-2 rout of the Yankees in Game Six of the 2001 Series.  This set the stage for a legendary seventh game that saw Luis Gonzalez's bloop single in the ninth inning off Mariano Rivera give the D'Backs their first world championship.

Some news from around the majors….

  • The Mariners, Orioles, Pirates, Rangers, Rockies and Royals are among the teams that have sent scouts to monitor Jamie Moyer's throwing sessions, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Moyer now lives in San Diego, so Rosenthal guesses he'd prefer to pitch for a West Coast team — possibly a reunion with the Mariners, where Moyer is the club's all-time wins leader.  The 49-year-old Moyer missed the entire 2011 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but two scouts tell Rosenthal that Moyer is throwing as well as ever.
  • The Blue Jays are getting closer to hiring Chuck LaMar as a scout, tweets Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.  LaMar was the original GM of the then-Devil Rays from 1998-2005 and has since worked in the front offices of the Phillies and the Nationals.
  • Carlos Beltran could be re-signed if the Giants offer him a two-year deal with a vesting option on a third year, or three guaranteed years with a condition that Beltran plays left field, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • A source tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick not to expect any "meaningful news" about the new collective bargaining agreement until next week at the earliest.  The disagreement about hard slotting for draft picks remains the major point of contention, and Crasnick isn't sure if any other issue is holding up the new deal.
  • Dave Cameron of Fangraphs thinks the Giants could save a lot of money and improve the overall state of their roster if they traded Tim Lincecum.
  • Jack Zduriencik tells Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune that veteran relief pitching and an answer at third base are goals for the Mariners this offseason, plus the broader goals of adding a bat and starting pitching.
  • The Padres have hired Chad MacDonald as their new vice-president and assistant general manager, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  MacDonald had been the Mets' scouting director, and ESPN's Keith Law (Twitter link) reports that the Mets have hired former Blue Jays scout Tommy Tanous to fill the position.
  • Bob Garber, the agent for C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, tells Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York that both his clients would enjoy pitching in New York and fit in well with the Yankees.  We've heard, however, the Yankees are worried about Oswalt's injury history and aren't willing to go all-out to sign Wilson.
  • Prince Fielder sits atop Keith Law's ranking of the top 50 free agents, edging out Albert Pujols for the #1 spot since Fielder is younger.  Law calls this year's free agent class "one of the thinnest I've ever seen."  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes flip-flopped Pujols and Fielder atop his own list of the top 50 free agents.  You can get in on the action by entering MLBTR's Free Agent Prediction Contest for the chance to win several terrific prizes.

Jose Reyes Rumors: Thursday

By | at

We've already heard today that the Reds are likely out of the Jose Reyes sweepstakes, as Cincinnati will instead go with rookie Zack Cozart at shortstop next year.  Here are some more items and speculation about where Reyes will play in 2012…

  • Adam Rubin of ESPN New York asked eight beat writers about Reyes' future, and none of the eight (covering the Angels, Brewers, Giants, Marlins, Nationals, Phillies, Tigers and Yankees) seemed optimistic about Reyes signing with their team.
  • From that poll, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that one of the reasons why the Giants won't go after Reyes is because "they believe he's going to sign with the Mets and don't want to be Reyes' stalking horse for his negotiations with Sandy Alderson."  We heard last week that the Mets were going to let other teams set the market for Reyes for making their own offer.
  • Though Dave Dombrowski seemed to rule out the possibility of acquiring another major free agent earlier in the week, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com thinks Reyes would be perfect for the Tigers.  Knobler also thinks the Giants won't be in the running for not only Reyes, but also Jimmy Rollins, as San Francisco will instead target a center fielder.
  • Former Mets general managers Steve Phillips and Jim Duquette don't think Reyes will give the Mets a hometown discount, reports Andrew Keh of the New York Times.  "The New York teams rarely get hometown discounts because there’s always been an assumption that the New York teams don’t need hometown discounts to keep a player," Phillips said.

NL East Links: Sizemore, Vazquez, Nationals

By | at

Three years ago today, the Marlins claimed Dan Meyer off waivers from the Athletics. The left-hander went on to enjoy a strong season out of Florida's bullpen in 2009 (3.09 ERA with 8.6 K/9 in 58 1/3 innings) before struggling in 2010. Here's the lastest from the NL East…

  • The Mets are unlikely to target Grady Sizemore as a center field solution according to Andy McCullough of The Star Ledger (on Twitter). He says it's not much of a surprise given Sizemore's injury problems over the last three seasons.
  • It's "50-50" as to whether former Expos and Marlins hurler Javier Vazquez will play in 2012, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The right-hander strongly prefers the east coast, and his return would depend on the team and its competitive environment.
  • Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post broke down the Nationals' current payroll commitments. Tim Dierkes did the same and more in his Offseason Outlook post.

NL East Links: Wright, Phillies, Braves

By | at

The Nationals are close to bringing back Chien-Ming Wang. Let's now round up some other links from the NL East…

  • “[Mets GM Sandy Alderson] would have to totally be bowled over [to trade David Wright this offseason],” a source told Andy Martino if The New York Daily News. Martino also hears that Wright's representatives have not reached out to the team about a contract extension.
  • ESPN New York's Adam Rubin wonders why the Mets would consider trading Wright this summer rather than wait until 2013 (Twitter links). Wright can opt out of his contract after next season if traded, and keeping him until the following year gives the team another season of their homegrown star while still dealing only a half-season of him.
  • The Phillies believe they need a closer more than they need a shortstop, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Philadelphia has interest in re-signing free agents Ryan Madson and Jimmy Rollins.
  • MLB.com's Mark Bowman looks back at the 2008-2009 offseason, when Braves GM Frank Wren added Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez rather than Jake Peavy and A.J. Burnett.
  • A second lawsuit against Mets owner Fred Wilpon and family related to Bernie Madoff is nearing a settlement, reports Rubin.

Mets Notes: Reyes, Harris, Hairston, Wright

By | at

The Mets announced that they're lowering their outfield fences and moving them in for the 2012 season. The wall will be as much as 12 feet closer to home plate in some places, which should make Citi Field — currently the 28th hardest park to homer in — more hitter-friendly. Here are some more updates on the club…

  • MetsBlog has graphics of the new look for Citi Field.
  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports that the Mets don't expect Jose Reyes to sign in November. The Mets will decide whether to make a competitive offer for Reyes once other teams set the market for him. Martino reports that the Mets won't sign free agents Willie Harris or Scott Hairston until much later in the offseason, if at all.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson asked Reyes' representatives how much it would take to lock him up, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). When Reyes didn't respond, the Mets decided to wait and see how the market develops.
  • Alderson told reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that he expects David Wright to return to the Mets in 2012.
  • Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com gets the impression that the Mets' payroll could dip below $100MM on Opening Day (Twitter link). The Mets have had a payroll of at least $100MM every season since 2004.

NL East Notes: Rollins, Nats, Nathan, Marlins

By | at

On this day three years ago, the Phillies sewed up a World Series title by finishing off the Rays in the resumption of a rain-suspended Game 5. Here's an item regarding that Philly team's shortstop, and a few others from around the NL East …

  • Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins tells CSNPhilly.com that he expects the Phils to make him an offer before he officially hits free agency (video link), though he's not sure what the terms of that offer might be.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo thinks his club can contend for the NL East title in 2012 with the addition of an outfield bat and a starting pitcher, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Washington might also pursue Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, opines Ladson, as the Nats have made "no promises" to Adam LaRoche.
  • Closer Joe Nathan, whose $12MM 2012 option was declined this week by the Twins, said the Mets will be on his radar during his foray into free agency, according to Greg Logan of Newsday. Nathan is a New York native and attended Stony Brook University on Long Island.
  • Marlins president David Samson said Florida plans to have a busy but prudent offseason and raise its payroll in 2012, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. "We're going to be very aggressive, but we're not going to be foolish. That's the key. When you raise your payroll, you've got to do it smartly, because if you don't, you are losing 90 games at a higher payroll." Frisaro speculates the Marlins' payroll will be roughly $85MM in 2012, which would be a $27MM increase from 2011's $58MM.

Selig & CBA Links: Mets, Draft, Successor

By | at

Let's round up some links from the business side of the game…

  • Bud Selig told reporters, including Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, that the Mets are working on an "alternative financing plan." Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record adds that Selig said the Mets have yet to repay the $25MM loan from MLB, though he's "not worried." (Twitter links)
  • ESPN's Buster Olney says that changes to the draft system being discussed during Collective Bargaining Agreement talks involve a draft tax (Twitter links). It would work similar to the luxury tax, forcing teams to pay if they spend over a certain amount. There is also talk about giving lower revenue clubs additional picks, which some officials perceive to have little value.
  • "There isn't a mechanism in place," said Selig to reporters (including Passan) when asked about finding his successor (Twitter link). The commissioner continues to maintain that he will retire on December 31st of 2012.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top