Mets Unlikely To Offer Reyes Seven Years
The Mets remain highly unlikely to offer Jose Reyes a Carl Crawford-like contract in the seven-year, $142MM range, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Both the guaranteed money and the length of Crawford’s contract would be unappealing to the Mets, Martino reports.
Reyes, who has a case for a substantial free agent contract, could return to New York by agreeing to a five or six year deal or if the Mets change their current position. The Mets’ decision to hold onto Reyes at last week’s trade deadline does not reflect a change in thinking. “Nothing has changed,” Martino’s source said, adding that the Mets remain “nervous” about Reyes’ free agency.
The Mets will likely be able to obtain a pair of top draft picks if they offer the shortstop arbitration and he declines to sign elsewhere, since he projects as a Type A free agent.
Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart
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- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
- The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
- Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
- The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
- The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
- The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
- The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
- Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
- The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
- The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.
AL East Notes: Rays, Bedard, Hairston, Jimenez
The deadline has passed and the Yankees are the only team in the AL East that didn't make a deal. The Rays were pretty quiet, too, but there may have been a reason for that…
- Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman underwent an appendectomy last night, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, that didn't stop Friedman from conducting business from his hospital room this afternoon.
- The Red Sox and Mariners will each cover some of the incentives on Erik Bedard's contract, GM Jack Zduriencik told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox had interest in Scott Hairston, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). However, the Mets weren't interested in minor salary relief or a marginal prospect.
- Boston wasn’t the only interested team, by the way. The Braves talked to the Mets about acquiring Hairston as a bench bat, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Jack Curry of the YES Network hears that the Yankees wanted a shoulder MRI for Ubaldo Jimenez, but the Rockies declined (Twitter link).
NL East Trades
Here are the trades that took place in the NL East this month..
Braves
- Acquired center fielder Michael Bourn and cash from the Astros for center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu.
- Acquired catcher Wil Nieves from the Brewers for cash considerations.
Mets
- Acquired pitching prospect Zack Wheeler from the Giants for right fielder Carlos Beltran and cash considerations.
- Acquired two players to be named later from the Brewers for Francisco Rodriguez and cash considerations. The Mets will choose the players from a list of five Brewers minor leaguers by a date in September.
Marlins
- Acquired outfielder Mike Cameron from the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Nationals
- Acquired shortstop prospect Zach Walters from Arizona in exchange for right-hander Jason Marquis.
- Acquired Double-A outfielder Erik Komatsu from the Brewers for infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr..
- Acquired Jonny Gomes and cash considerations from the Reds for outfielder Bill Rhinehart and left-hander Chris Manno.
Phillies
- Acquired Hunter Pence and $2MM from the Astros for prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid, as well as a player to be named later.
Quick Hits: Brown, Tigers, Bourn, Mets
Let's take a look at some items as we close in on the 3:00pm (CST) deadline..
- Even though he received a number of calls on him, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. insists that Domonic Brown was never available, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Meanwhile, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says that he never considered trading Rick Porcello or Max Scherzer to the Rockies in a package for Ubaldo Jimenez, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com.
- Several teams, including the Braves and Giants, are interested in the Astros' Michael Bourn, but the outfielder would prefer to stay in Houston, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- Even though they're getting hits on several useful chips with expiring contracts, the Mets are likely done trading, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
D’Backs Working To Acquire Reliever
SUNDAY, 12:43am: The Diamondbacks have a list of 7 or 8 relievers they are still pursuing and they're almost certain to come away with one, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Meanwhile, Arizona doesn't like their chances of landing Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter).
SATURDAY, 11:07pm: D’Backs GM Kevin Towers says he’s looking at everything (bullpen, bench, starting pitching) and could take on salary under the right circumstances, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links).
9:13pm: The D'Backs are still working to acquire a reliever and it sounds as though they expect to complete a deal, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The D'Backs acquired starting pitcher Jason Marquis earlier tonight.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links) reported earlier this evening that Arizona remains interested in relief help, including Jason Isringhausen. However, Isringhausen has said the Mets have told him they won't trade him, according to Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger (on Twitter).
NL East Notes: Braves, Pence, Minor, Beltran, Marlins
The Phillies sent Bobby Abreu to the Yankees on this date five years ago. Now they're buyers and they have Hunter Pence to show for it. Here's the latest on Pence and his new division…
- The Braves are working hard to acquire an outfield bat, but there are "still no dance partners" according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- The Astros sent $2MM (not $1MM) to the Phillies in the Pence deal, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). The Phillies won't have to pay the luxury tax this way, Stark reports.
- Kevin Goldstein and R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus break down the trade that sent Pence to the Phillies.
- The Braves would have included Mike Minor in a deal for Pence, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- One executive tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Braves have six untouchable players (Twitter link).
- The Mets thought they were going to trade Carlos Beltran to the Rangers earlier in the week, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Texas was being more aggressive than other teams and even though they weren't willing to include elite prospects, the Mets considered a multi-prospect package. Finally, the Giants offered Zack Wheeler and the Mets moved on from the Rangers, who wouldn't budge on certain requests.
- The Marlins intend to keep Leo Nunez, Omar Infante, Ricky Nolasco and Randy Choate, according to Olney (on Twitter). They've gotten tons of hits on those players, Olney reports.
Mets Rumors: Available Players
The Mets are currently 6.5 games out of the wild card, with Dillon Gee opposing Chien-Ming Wang tonight in Washington, D.C. The latest:
- The trade front is now quiet with the Mets, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. He says R.A. Dickey is staying put, Jason Isringhausen probably will stay, and Chris Capuano, Scott Hairston, and Tim Byrdak are available but probably will also stay. Mets GM Sandy Alderson said yesterday that he doesn't expect more trades.
- Carlos Beltran's agent Scott Boras will seek a five-year, $70MM deal in free agency, reports Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog. I can see four years and $52MM if a team extends itself, but Beltran will be 35 in April of next year.
- New Mets prospect Zack Wheeler spoke to reporters today, noting that he found out about his inclusion in the Beltran trade by watching ESPN and he's happy about joining his new team.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Marlins, Reyes
The Braves and Phillies are both interested in Hunter Pence (latest rumors) and have interest in the same collection of right-handed hitting outfielders as alternatives. Here's the latest on a division led by two of the NL's three 60-win teams…
- The Nationals want interested teams to take on the $2.2MM remaining on Jason Marquis' contract and surrender a prospect, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Marquis' suitors don't love the idea. The Tigers discussed a deal for the righty last night.
- Rival executives tell ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is intent on finding a center fielder. "It's his Holy Grail," a rival GM said. "He's bound and determined to get an established guy.” Denard Span of the Twins is Rizzo’s current target.
- It looks like the Marlins won't make a deal before the trade deadline, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (on Twitter).
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson has seen firsthand that Jose Reyes makes an immense difference on the field, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Can the Mets afford the free agent to be after 2011? A surprising number of Mets executives expect to keep Reyes long-term, according to Sherman.
Quick Hits: Fister, Mets, Giants, Rangers
With less than three days until the trade deadline, here are the latest rumors and notes from around MLB…
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus introduced us to some prospects on contenders who should come with a "buyer beware" sign. Jonathan Singleton of the Phillies and Jesus Montero of the Yankees make the list, which is at ESPN.com.
- One team with interest in Doug Fister heard there's "zero" chance the Mariners part with him, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger hears that the Mets aren't likely to sign first round pick Brandon Nimmo until close to the August 15th deadline for teams to sign their draft picks (Twitter link).
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that the Giants still have interest in adding a catcher (Twitter link).
- The Rangers appear to be involved in serious talks with the Padres and A's regarding relievers, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). For the latest on Heath Bell and Mike Adams, click here.