Mets Rumors

Odds And Ends: Mets, Mora, Peavy, Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 3, 2009 at 9:12am CDT

Some links to start the week off…

Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets are more likely to trade for a number two starter than sign a free agent like John Lackey or Jarrod Washburn this offseason. Sherman can see the Mets pursuing Jose Contreras, who will also be a free agent after the season.
Steve Melewski of MASN.com suggests it's time for the Orioles to move on from Melvin Mora, who has become unhappy in Baltimore.
Mora told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he'll play for "somebody else" next year.
Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune says it's "not in the best interest of baseball" that the Padres had to trade Jake Peavy.
There's a $7.3MM difference between what the Pirates will spend this year and what they expected to spend at the beginning of the season, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Mets DFA Robinson Cancel

By Mike Axisa | August 1, 2009 at 10:03pm CDT

Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post reports that the Mets have designated catcher Robinson Cancel for assignment, creating room on the roster for Gary Sheffield as he comes off the disabled list. Cancel hit .000-.000-.000 in one whole plate appearance with the Amazin's this year. He was hitting .218-.266-.259 in 209 PA with Triple-A Buffalo before his brief callup.

More Trade Reactions

By | August 1, 2009 at 2:14pm CDT

A few more trade discussions on a calm Saturday afternoon…

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer believes the Scott Rolen deal has left the Reds with no payroll flexibility heading into 2010. "That's not good," he writes, "when you need a shortstop and an outfielder with some pop — among other things."
Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post writes the Nationals "did absolutely the right thing" in shipping off left-hander Joe Beimel and first baseman Nick Johnson.
Longtime Padres beat writer Tom Krasovic has a look at the Jake Peavy trade: "This looks like a potentially big victory for the Padres and new CEO Jeff Moorad — if, and it's a big if, the club can parlay the $56 million saved into good investments throughout its baseball operations and future payrolls."
Michael Salfino of SNY thinks the Mets should have made a move or two at the deadline. "The frustrating thing for Mets fans," Salfino writes, "is that catcher Victor Martinez was there for the taking. The cost reportedly was one of two Double-A pitchers Brad Holt or Jenrry Mejia plus Jon Niese."
For all full look at the deals that went down Friday, check out MLBTR's transactions-only archive.

Deadline Roundup: Mets, Washburn, Nats, Rays

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 31, 2009 at 4:53pm CDT

Two Cy Young Award winners were traded this deadline and neither one of them was Roy Halladay. It's been a wild few days. Here's a recap of the action and here are some more details and reactions:

Omar Minaya told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post that the Mets couldn't find a trade partner because of what other teams were asking for.
MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo says Aaron Thompson is a pretty good return for Nick Johnson. it sure beats losing him for nothing after the season.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mariners told the Yankees they had to give up an Austin Jackson-type player for Jarrod Washburn, who was dealt to Detroit.
The Brewers were told they'd have to surrender Manny Parra, Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel for Washburn, Sherman reports.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Washburn is open to returning to the Mariners in the offseason, when he hits free agency.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Jason Beck that the Tigers were "not close at all" to completing any other moves.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays will look for help on the waiver wire in August.
Any bobblehead collectors? Tomorrow night is still Victor Martinez bobblehead night in Cleveland, according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
The Phillies, Cardinals, Red Sox and Tigers are Jon Heyman of SI.com's deadline winners. His losers? The Nats and Royals.

Victor Martinez Rumors: Friday

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2009 at 12:24pm CDT

12:24pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark: "The Rays continued to talk with Cleveland about Martinez Friday afternoon, but clubs they've spoken with say they're more focused on "under-the-radar" bullpen arms." San Diego closer Heath Bell is among those names, but the Rays didn't like the price.

11:49am: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo (via Twitter) finds a 50% chance of a Martinez trade.

7:44am: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports describe the Indians as "pessimistic" about their chances of trading Martinez.

6:36am: Yesterday ESPN's Jayson Stark brought up Victor Martinez as part of a possible three-way trade involving the Red Sox, Indians, and another club. Let's see what's cooking today…

SI's Jon Heyman writes of "brief talks" between the Mets and Indians for V-Mart. However, the Mets prefer to keep their top prospects and probably already turned down an offer from Cleveland. We know this because GM Omar Minaya admitted to turning down two offers for big-time players. Heyman still sees Boston as the favorite for Martinez. Joel Sherman of the New York Post expects some kind of big move out of the Sox today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports agrees.

Mets Are Buyers, Want To Keep Prospects

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2009 at 7:14pm CDT

Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog hears that the Mets are buyers, but may have to get creative in order to add to their current team because they don't want to give up top prospects like Fernando Martinez and Brad Holt. Cerrone hears that the Mets and Indians have been talking, but the Mets' level of interest in Victor Martinez is unclear.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Mets, Red Sox

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2009 at 12:30pm CDT

Thursday linkage…

La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Pirates wanted Aaron Hicks or Danny Valencia from the Twins for Freddy Sanchez. LEN3 has a few other hot stove tidbits as well.
ESPN's Keith Law finds the Giants' trade of Tim Alderson for Sanchez reasonable, due to "slippage in Alderson's stuff."
Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe talks about how major additions such as Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, or Victor Martinez would help the Red Sox. Via Twitter, ESPN's Amy K. Nelson heard from a source guessing that Gonzalez has a ten percent chance of being moved.
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports via Twitter that the Mets designated pitcher Elmer Dessens for assignment to make room for catcher Robinson Cancel.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say the Mets "do not intend to give up a significant prospect" in their quest to add a left-handed reliever.
Via Twitter, Ken Davidoff of Newsday informs us that the Blue Jays expanded their coverage of the Yankees' farm system. Davidoff feels that this coverage more likely reflects the Yanks' interest in relief help than in Roy Halladay.
The Pirates don't have anything serious going on with relievers Matt Capps or John Grabow, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They might be done.
Joe Smith and Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times find the Rays unlikely to make a major deal, with Cliff Lee off the table.
ESPN's Buster Olney lists all kinds of holes that could be filled via the trade market for various clubs.

Mets Interested In Lefty Relievers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 29, 2009 at 1:55pm CDT

Via twitter, Danny Knobler of CBS Sports confirms Jon Heyman's report that the Mets are looking for left-handed relievers. The Mets are eighth in the Wild Card race, 5.5 games back, but they've won four straight. Some thought Pedro Feliciano could be trade bait, but the Mets now hope to add, rather than subtract.

Heyman names John Grabow, Joe Beimel and Scott Downs as possible targets for the Mets.

Rays, Red Sox Talking Blockbusters With Tribe

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 28, 2009 at 4:33pm CDT

4:33pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hear that the Rays may be shying away from a blockbuster deal. They're 5.0 games behind Boston in the Wild Card race, so their next two games against the Yankees could determine the team's direction.

If the Rays are discouraged after the Yankees series, they could make Dan Wheeler, Chad Bradford, Grant Balfour, Joe Nelson and Lance Cormier available, according to the FOX Sports source.

12:59pm: The Rays have shopped Scott Kazmir to the Mets and Rangers, according to Joel Sherman. The Rangers turned down an offer from the Rays and the Mets just had initial interest. The Rays would consider dealing Kazmir, Carlos Pena and even Carl Crawford to free up enough salary to make a blockbuster deal for Martinez and Lee.

The Rays still have interest in Halladay.

TUESDAY, 11:16am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more dish on the idea of a team acquiring both Lee and V-Mart in a blockbuster trade. The idea has been considered in Cleveland but is considered very unlikely due to the magnitude of prospects required. While the Red Sox could technically pull it off, the Rays wouldn't have the payroll space.

MONDAY, 4:35pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse hears the Rays are still "in on" V-Mart and Lee. There's still a chance that they'll trade Scott Kazmir to the Angels, too.

1:35pm: The Rays and Red Sox are each discussing blockbuster deals with the Indians for both Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here are the details and the rest of Sherman's rumors:

The Rays would deal Wade Davis, but the Red Sox are hesitant to deal Clay Buchholz.
The Phillies, Brewers and Rangers have interest in Lee and the Giants have interest in V-Mart.
One executive is "1,000%" confident the Indians will move Lee and Martinez to free up money.
An AL executive says the Phillies will acquire Lee, Roy Halladay or Jarrod Washburn by Friday afternoon.
The Padres may be more willing to deal Heath Bell than expected. As one official says, Bell will be an expensive closer on a bad team if the Padres don't trade him.
The Yankees have been interested in Bell, whose value is higher than ever.

Odds & Ends: White, White Sox, Bard, Willingham

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 28, 2009 at 2:20pm CDT

More links as the rumors keep flowing in…

La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune "heard the Twins might be sniffing around Seattle reliever Sean White." White's best skill is a decent groundball rate; his strikeout and walk rates do not impress.
The White Sox inked second-round pick Trayce Thompson, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. The high school outfielder, chosen 61st overall, gets $625K.
Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe is fairly sure the Red Sox won't trade Daniel Bard this week.
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post believes the Nats should keep Josh Willingham because he's relatively affordable, powerful and plays well enough defensively.
ESPN.com's Keith Law says Ryan Garko is a small upgrade for the Giants at first base.
The Rangers believed they were frontrunners to acquire Garko yesterday, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They'd still like a right-handed hitting first baseman.
The Mets signed former big leaguer Adam Pettyjohn to a minor league deal, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

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