Mets Rumors

Athletics Sign Brett Tomko, Jason Jennings

By Luke Adams 2 | February 28, 2010 at 11:49am CDT

The Oakland Athletics have signed right-handers Brett Tomko and Jason Jennings to minor league contracts, according to Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter).

Jane Lee of MLB.com tweets that Jennings will report to the team's spring training camp, while Tomko will continue rehabbing an arm injury at Minor League camp. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser adds, via Twitter, that the Twins made Tomko a similar offer, but that he felt more comfortable in Oakland. Slusser also tweets that Jennings was close to a deal with the Giants at one point, while Stiglich adds the Cardinals and Mets to the list of teams spoken to by Jennings in a separate tweet.

Tomko was extremely effective in six starts for the A's in 2009, winning four games with a 2.95 ERA. Jennings, meanwhile, acted as a setup man for the Rangers, posting a 4.13 ERA in 44 relief appearances.

Discussion: Worst Move Of The Offseason

By Mike Axisa | February 27, 2010 at 8:33pm CDT

We've already talked about the best move of the offseason this evening, so now let's turn the page and discuss the worst move of the winter. Here are some candidates…

Dodgers sign Jamey Carroll to a two-year, $3.85MM contract.
Mets sign Alex Cora to a one-year, $2MM contract.
Adam LaRoche declines a two-year, $17MM offer from the Giants.
Astros sign Brandon Lyon to a three-year, $15MM contract.
Giants re-sign Bengie Molina to a one-year, $4.5MM contract.

There are plenty of more bad moves out there, but which one is the biggest head scratcher?

Discussion: Best Move Of The Offseason

By Mike Axisa | February 27, 2010 at 5:20pm CDT

With Felipe Lopez finally catching on with the Cardinals, essentially every big name free agent is off the market (no disrespect to Jermaine Dye and Jarrod Washburn). That allows us to sit back and reflect on all of the offseason's moves, and try to figure out which one was the very best.

Here are some candidates…

Mets sign Jason Bay to a four-year, $66MM contract.
Yankees acquire Curtis Granderson for three prospects.
Phillies acquire Roy Halladay for three prospects.
Red Sox sign John Lackey to a five-year, $82.5MM contract.
Mariners acquire Cliff Lee for three prospects.
Rays acquire Rafael Soriano for Jesse Chavez.

There's certainly no shortage of candidates, but one has to be the best of the best, right? What do you think it is?

Joe Beimel Considering Mets’ Offer

By Luke Adams 2 | February 27, 2010 at 11:19am CDT

SATURDAY, 11:19am: Joel Sherman of The New York Post tweets that Beimel is still seeking something similar to the $2MM he earned in 2009, but the Mets aren't going there.

FRIDAY, 5:20pm: Joe Beimel has confirmed that he is weighing a contract offer from the New York Mets, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. We heard earlier in the week that the Mets would like to add a left-hander like Beimel (or Ron Mahay) to their bullpen at an affordable price ($1MM or less), and it seems they've extended an official proposal to Beimel.

"We've been talking to them for a good part of the offseason. I am still just being patient, waiting for the right deal," said Beimel.

A patient approach to free agency is nothing new for Beimel, who waited until March 18th to sign with Washington last spring. The 32-year-old lefty pitched 71 games for the Nationals and Rockies in 2009, compiling an overall 3.58 ERA in 55.1 IP.

Arturo Lopez Designated For Assignment, Clears Waivers

By Tim Dierkes | February 26, 2010 at 4:32pm CDT

FRIDAY, 4:32pm: Rubin reports that Lopez has cleared waivers and will return to Mets' camp as a non-roster invitee.

WEDNESDAY, 3:48pm: The Mets designated lefty Arturo Lopez for assignment to make room for Rod Barajas, tweets Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. Lopez, 27, posted a 3.82 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 3.8 BB/9 while allowing just one home run in 61.3 Triple A innings last year. The Mets had claimed Lopez off waivers from the Padres in June.

Odds & Ends: Thames, Manzella, Royals, Marlins

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 26, 2010 at 4:03pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Chad Jennings of The Journal News reports that Marcus Thames can opt out of his contract with the Yankees if he doesn't make the team out of Spring Training. Thames signed a minor league deal earlier this month that would pay him $900K in the big leagues.
Alyson Footer, the Astros' Sr. Director of Social Media, tweets that the team has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with infielder Tommy Manzella worth $400K. He's expected to be the team's regular shortstop in 2010, and he has less than a month's worth of service time.
Mike Aviles and Anthony Lerew agreed to terms with the Royals according to a team press release. Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star tweets that both deals are expected to be worth less than $500K. Both players are not yet eligible for arbitration.
Meanwhile, the Marlins also agreed to terms with six of their pre-arbitration eligible players, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun reports that Orioles' lefty Brian Matusz has changed agents, and is now represented by CAA Sports. He had a 4.63 ERA in 44.2 innings last year, and is widely considered to be one of the two or three best pitching prospects in the game.
Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo spoke about the Livan Hernandez signing to MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling, and said that the righty isn't guaranteed a rotation spot.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports polled nearly 20 baseball people about Carl Crawford's next contract. Many of the agents and executives expect Crawford to command a five-year deal worth $12-16MM per season, but some think the left fielder could make as much as $18MM per year when he hits the open market, probably after 2010.
Scott Rolen was happy to restructure his contract so the Reds could "free up some money to go out and be more competitive," according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Nationals pitcher Rafael Martin tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he agreed to his deal on February 8th (Twitter link).
Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports that he wants his players to be driven by "more than money." O'Dowd also told Ringolsby that he did not shop Brad Hawpe this winter.
The Mets are still looking at lefty and righty relievers, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (via Twitter).
Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt tells Scott Lauber of the News Journal that he expects Placido Polanco to make a smooth transition to third base.
Marlon Byrd tells USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he's uncomfortable being compared to friend and former teammate Milton Bradley.
Big market clubs sent $433MM to small market clubs last year, according to Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball.
The Red Sox don't generally use insurance on their long-term deals. Principal owner John Henry tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that "it isn't always easy to get paid," even once players are injured.
Jose Julio Ruiz may be close to signing, but it won't be with the Nationals, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
Astros owner Drayton McLane, who has "a huge amount of confidence" in GM Ed Wade, would consider selling his team for $600MM or more, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Adrian, Howard, Jeter

By Mike Axisa | February 26, 2010 at 8:47am CDT

A year ago today, the Giants renewed reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum's contract for $650K. One year and a second Cy Young later, San Francisco bought out Lincecum's first two years of arbitration eligibility for $23MM. I'm sure they enjoyed paying him just six figures while it lasted.

Let's take a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

The Friarhood looks at what some other teams could offer the Padres in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez.
Crashburn Alley breaks down the possibility of the Phillies trading Ryan Howard so they could re-sign Jayson Werth.
Meanwhile, TAUNTR thinks it's going to be tough for the Phillies to retain their right fielder.
Statistician Magician says that letting Derek Jeter walk is an option for the Yankees.
Mets Paradise takes a look at the Mets' catching situation with Rod Barajas now on board.
More Hardball constructed a 25-man roster out of players that were signed to minor league contracts this offseason.
River Ave. Blues wonders what CC Sabathia will do with his opt-out clause following the 2011 season.
Baseball Bloggers Alliance challenges readers to put together Toronto's 25-man roster.
The Sports Banter ranks each team's offseason, with two AL East powers leading the way.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Brewers, Mets, Paulino

By Mike Axisa | February 23, 2010 at 9:07pm CDT

Some links for Tuesday evening…

In an appearance on Jim Bowden's XM-175 radio show, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman said the team never made an offer to Hideki Matsui, and that their offer to Johnny Damon was conditional (link goes to Twitter).
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets that the Brewers have agreed to terms with four of their pre-arbitration eligible players.
Chad Jennings of The Journal News mentions that the contracts of Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin are not guaranteed. The Yanks could cut them in Spring Training and would only be required to pay them 30-45 days of termination pay.
Luis Castillo spoke about all of the offseason trade rumors he was involved in, writes MLB.com's Marty Noble.
A Mets' official told Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News that the team would like to sign a lefty reliever like Joe Beimel, as long as the pitcher was willing to accept a contract worth about $1MM for just one year.
The Astros signed Felipe Paulino to a one-year deal that will pay him $415K if he makes the big league roster, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (via Twitter). Paulino is likely to be arbitration eligible for the first time as a Super Two next season.
SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Diamondbacks and Mark Reynolds have agreed to negotiate a contract extension until Opening Day, though talks will cease after that. Heyman spoke to some executives who think Prince Fielder's two-year, $18MM deal could be used as a comparison.
ESPN's Buster Olney hears from officials involved in the Felipe Lopez bidding that they think the free agent infielder is likely to end up back in St. Louis (link goes to Twitter).
Former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi is joining ESPN as a television analyst, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
Now that the Rod Barajas deal is official, the order for the 2010 draft is set. The Blue Jays, Barajas' former team, hold ten of the first 126 picks.

Mets Sign Rod Barajas

By Mike Axisa | February 23, 2010 at 3:42pm CDT

The Mets officially signed free agent catcher Rod Barajas to one-year Major League deal today. He's guaranteed $500K, with another $400K to come if he's on the team's Opening Day roster. Easily attainable games played incentives could put another $1MM in Barajas' pocket.

Since the Type B free agent agreed to a Major League deal, the Blue Jays will receive a supplemental first-round pick (#41 overall) as compensation. Barajas turned down an offer of arbitration earlier in the winter and it probably cost him. He made $2.5MM with the Blue Jays last year and it would have been a surprise to see the club offer a significantly reduced salary. The Blue Jays, who signed catchers Jose Molina and John Buck, would not have obtained the compensation pick if Barajas had signed a minor league contract.

Mets' catchers hit a league-worst .254/.305/.380 last season. The 34-year-old Barajas hit .226/.258/.403 for the Blue Jays in 460 plate appearances, hitting 19 home runs.

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com originally reported the deal, while SI.com's Jon Heyman added the details. Both links go to Twitter.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Minor League Transactions: Bierbrodt, Jimerson, Cintron

By Tim Dierkes | February 23, 2010 at 8:14am CDT

The latest minor league transactions, from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…

The Reds signed Aaron Harang's brother Daryl out of the Atlantic League.
The Rockies signed lefty Nick Bierbrodt, the Diamondbacks' first-ever draft pick in '96. Bierbrodt, 31, sat out the '09 season.
The Twins signed outfielder Charlton Jimerson out of the Atlantic League. He put up big numbers there in '09.
The Mets inked second baseman Alex Cintron, who hit .285/.303/.387 in Triple A last year.

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