Mets Offer Five Years To Bay, Will Pursue Holliday
According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Mets "tweaked their offer to Jason Bay," offering five guaranteed years as an alternative. This five-year contract is at a "slightly lower" salary than the $16.25MM featured in their four-year, $65MM offer. Heyman says the Mets are willing to go to five years and $75MM for Bay, which would be a $15MM salary.
Heyman says the Mets focused on Bay in hopes of signing him more quickly than Matt Holliday. However, GM Omar Minaya will now jump in on Holliday and may talk to Scott Boras today. If the Mets have their sights set on one of the two big-name sluggers, competition could come from the Angels for Bay and the Cardinals for Holliday.
ESPN's Buster Olney feels differently – he says the Mets are currently at four years for Bay but could go to five eventually, and are monitoring the Holliday talks but not actively involved.
Heyman adds that the Mets' talks for Bengie Molina are at a standstill, due to Molina's demand for a three-year deal in the $20MM range. Hopefully the Mets are not that desperate. Heyman believes the Mets might do two years and $10MM for the 35-year-old. With all the lousy catchers getting two guaranteed years, Molina certainly has a case.
Discussion: Mets Offseason
Earlier today Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post wrote that there is pressure on Omar Minaya after the Mets missed on Roy Halladay and John Lackey. The Mets have yet to make a significant move this offseason and Minaya spoke about the Mets plans. Minaya said that so far "the timing of the deals have not been there." He also confirmed that the Mets did make a trade offer for Halladay.
Jeff Francoeur added that the offseason is not over and that the Mets "need three or four different pieces to make [the Mets] a playoff team."
Recently we have heard the Mets linked to Jason Bay, Fernando Rodney, Ryota Igarashi, Matt Capps, and Yorvit Torrealba.
With several of the big names already off the board, what do the Mets have to do this offseason to once again be a playoff contender? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments.
Mets Near Deal With Ryota Igarashi?
8:42pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post spoke with a Mets official who is still confident the Mets will sign Igarashi. Hubbuch adds that the two sides are "still in talks" and that "nothing is imminent."
4:36pm: Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker points us to a Japanese report that says the Red Sox are the leaders to sign Igarashi. They're apparently willing to offer a two-year deal worth $2-3MM in total.
2:51pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post confirms that the Mets are in serious talks with Igarashi.
2:07pm: The Mets are close to signing Japanese pitcher Ryota Igarashi to a two-year deal, according to David Waldstein of the New York Times. The 30-year-old righty attracted interest from a number of teams. He'll have the chance to set up Francisco Rodriguez, now that J.J. Putz has signed with the White Sox.
ESPN.com's Keith Law says Igarashi is a "slightly wild power reliever" who will throw 93-96 mph. He recovered from Tommy John surgery to take on a regular workload last season.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Royals, Dodgers, Lowe
More links for Tuesday…
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal writes about the efforts of some players to find work during the off-season. Joe Nelson, who made $1.3MM with the Rays last season was at the winter meetings and said he is "just trying to put food on the table.”
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic is now on Twitter and reports that the Diamondbacks looked into bringing back Jose Valverde but his price was not within their budget.
- Mets GM Omar Minaya tells Newsday's David Lennon that he had hoped to sign John Lackey.
- Minaya tells Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post that he has interest in bringing Carlos Delgado back.
- Minaya tells Hubbuch that the Mets asked about Roy Halladay before the Blue Jays moved on to other options.
- The Royals accepted cash from the Red Sox to complete the Tug Hulett deal, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Dodgers are expected to target pitchers with the money they freed up in the Juan Pierre deal. Could they target Joel Pineiro? They saved $8MM in the trade and that may not be enough for a single year of Pineiro's services. I'd be surprised to see the Dodgers sign him.
- The Mariners hope to bring the recently-non-tendered Ryan Langerhans back, according to Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Braves aren't necessarily looking for a right-handed bat in exchange for Derek Lowe. They'd accept prospects, too.
Multiple Teams Eyeing Matt Capps
6:46pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic doesn't think the Diamondbacks will give Capps the two-year deal he is seeking.
2:30pm: The Mets are interested, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Kinzer tells Crasnick that 16 teams have inquired on Capps and four of them see him as a closer. The Cards aren't interested, but the Pirates still are.
TUESDAY, 10:40am: Kovacevic hears that the Yankees are interested. Agent Paul Kinzer told Kovacevic that the interest in his client is "enormous."
MONDAY, 3:42pm: ESPN's Bruce Levine adds the Nationals, and notes that Capps would like a multiyear deal.
2:33pm: Kovacevic adds the Rangers, Rockies, Marlins, and Cardinals to the list of known suitors.
12:20pm: Kinzer's estimated number of suitors for Capps has risen to nine or ten, and he confirmed to Roch Kubatko of MASN that the Orioles expressed interest. Kinzer noted that the opportunity to close "will be a major factor" in Capps' decision.
10:37am: The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro talked to Matt Capps' agent Paul Kinzer, who said the recently non-tendered reliever has already drawn interest from seven or eight teams. Piecoro says the Diamondbacks are one, and we learned yesterday from Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that the Cubs and Capps have mutual interest. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote today that Kinzer told the Pirates they were planning on submitting an arbitration figure around $3.4MM for Capps' 2010 salary. The free agent market is a different beast, but that amount could still be a jumping-off point for discussions.
The Cubs and D'Backs both have closers for 2010 in Chad Qualls and Carlos Marmol, but Capps could be slotted in for eighth-inning duty with incentives for games finished. Other possible suitors? The Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Angels, Mets, Phillies, and Cardinals would make sense.
Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday
2:35pm: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News hears that the Yankees have no interest in signing Bay long-term. They don't have confidence in his ability to play the outfield in a few years. Another source tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that there's no chance the Yankees bid on Bay or Matt Holliday.
12:42pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Yankees did contact Bay's representatives. However, one source says the team isn't seriously interested in Bay right now.
Across town, the Mets are willing to offer a fifth year or increase their initial four-year offer. The Giants, Mariners and Angels have also shown interest in Bay according to FOX's sources.
8:38am: The Red Sox "officially" cut ties with Bay yesterday, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
12:44am: The Yankees have reached out to Jason Bay's representatives, a source tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. While the Mets, Angels, and Mariners are said to be the frontrunners for his services, the article says that the Bombers are "lurking in the weeds."
Silverman stresses that the Yanks are not believed to have made an offer at this point and their level of interest is currently unclear.
Also, while it appears unlikely that there is a place for Bay in Boston, it should be noted that the club has yet to inform him that he is no longer in their plans.
As for the Yankees, do you think they're legitimately interested in Bay or just doing their due diligence?
Cards Offer Most Lucrative Deal In Team History To Holliday
1:30pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Cardinals don't believe many teams are competing for Holliday on the level they are. Olney says the Cards intend to stand by a five-year offer – that's considerably short of the eight-year deal hinted at yesterday.
The Yankees have no intention of bidding on Holliday, according to Olney's sources.
TUESDAY, 11:19am: A source familiar with the talks tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that "nothing is imminent." The source says Boras and Holliday "are still looking for something that they're not finding."
MONDAY, 11:10pm: The Cardinals have offered Matt Holliday a deal which would pay him $16MM per year and could extend through eight seasons, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It's unclear at this point how many of the seasons are option years – if any. As St. Louis is anxious to reach a resolution, those familiar with the talks believe it possible that Holliday could reach a verdict before Christmas.
This proposal dwarfs the average value of the 7-year, $100MM contract Albert Pujols inked in the winter of 2004. Of course, the average value of Pujols' next contract will likely overshadow the pitch made to Holliday.
Strauss writes that the Yankees may be the most dangerous variable to the Cardinals, despite their insistance that they are not pursuing Holliday. With Jason Bay pointed towards signing with the Mets and the Red Sox inking Mike Cameron, two potential suitors are presumably off the chase.
Do you believe that the Yanks are seriously considering throwing their pinstriped hat into the Holliday ring? Could Scott Boras be overplaying his hand on what seems to be a titanic offer? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Nady, Holliday
Some links for your Tuesday morning…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says there's no guarantee the Dodgers will spend the money they saved in the Juan Pierre deal.
- Newsday's David Lennon says Omar Minaya had plans to speak with John Lackey today and concludes that the pitcher wasn't interested in joining the Mets.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says there's speculation that the Jays will deal Lyle Overbay now that they're set to obtain Brett Wallace.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Red Sox are looking at righty outfielders such as Xavier Nady to contribute in a utility role.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff doesn't expect the Yankees to commit to another nine-figure salary and sign Matt Holliday, especially since they need pitching.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com says the $130MM or so the Cardinals have apparently offered Holliday is "too much risk for too many years."
- The Marlins signed Clay Hensley to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 30-year-old righty didn't pitch in the majors last year.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Marlins, who will watch Aroldis Chapman throw, have "legit" interest in the 21-year-old lefty.
- Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston points out that the Red Sox have tons of cash, even if they like to downplay their wealth.
- Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe likes the Lackey signing for the Red Sox.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Kelvim Escobar will pitch in front of teams this week in Venezuela. We know the Mets recently offered him a minor league deal.
- Lots of people have said the Brewers are a threat to sign Mark Mulder. GM Doug Melvin confirmed on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he thinks the Brewers are the "frontrunners" to sign the lefty (Hat Tip: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner says the Mariners could use a player like Luke Scott.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun wonders how seroiusly the Orioles are interested in Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. The O's met with his agents at the Winter Meetings.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are glad to see Roy Halladay leave the AL East. I'm sure Yankees fans agree.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yanks would be comfortable playing Melky Cabrera in left and using Johnny Damon as the primary DH.
- The A's sent three people to watch Aroldis Chapman throw in Houston, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Odds & Ends: Torrealba, Rangers, Damon
Some evening links…
- Yorvit Torrealba's pending grievance hearing against the Mets will take place Wednesday, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. Torrealba contends that back when he was a free agent in 2007, the club falsely created the impression that he was an injury risk. Interestingly, the article notes that despite this, the Mets could still sign Torrealba this time around if they are unable to sign Bengie Molina.
- The Texas Rangers could sell for as much as $530MM, according to Maury Brown of BizOfBaseball. Brown indicates that the group led by Jim Crane holds the highest bid at the moment.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweeted earlier today that the signings of Mike Cameron and Hideki Matsui could improve the chances of Johnny Damon returning to the Bronx. Not just a good point but one that many of us have probably overlooked in the chaos of today.
- All of the player movement of today puts a great deal of pressure on Mets GM Omar Minaya, writes Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
- With Lackey and Halladay seemingly off the market, the Yankees can now focus on whittling down a list of available second-tier starters, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger. Carig suggests that Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer are possibilities.
- Steve Gilbert of MLB.com has a list of possible non-tenders who could land with the D'Backs. We've heard the other names already, but Gilbert suggests Ryan Church as a fit, noting that Arizona has an uncertain interest level.
- A person familiar with the Mets' thinking tells Marty Noble of MLB.com that the team has interest in two pitchers: starter Chien-Ming Wang and a lower-profile name in reliever Mike MacDougal.
Mets, Phillies, Orioles Interested In Rodney
The Mets, Phillies, and Orioles are all "in" on Fernando Rodney, tweets Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com. However, Arangure adds that nothing appears imminent at this point.
What kind of contract offer would you extend to Rodney, who will turn 33 before Opening Day?