Stark On Mets, Wright, Reyes
Mets GM Omar Minaya tells ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that he will be "very creative and very open-minded" this offseason as he tries to improve one of baseball's most disappointing teams. Here are the details:
- A variety of executives don't believe the Mets are close to winning soon. One says "there's no quick fix" for the team and another believes they have to rebuild.
- One scout believes it will take more than restored health and minor changes for the Mets to compete with the Phillies, Braves and Marlins next year.
- One of Stark's sources says Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya could be fired if the team falls apart in September.
- More than one executive believes the Mets have a weak farm system. One exec says the prospects they do have are far from contributing in the majors.
- The Mets will need starting pitching, a catcher, a first baseman, at least one corner outfielder and a left-handed reliever after the season. They will have some money to spend, but it will be tough to meet those needs with dollars alone.
- One exec believes there's no chance they trade David Wright in an attempt to fill multiple holes.
- Three executives tell Stark the Mets have to trade Jose Reyes.
Odds & Ends: Scutaro, Hardy, Glaus, Giants
Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and link to something like this… and totally redeem yourself!
- MLB.com's Drew Davison mentions that Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston expressed his desire about having shortstop Marco Scutaro around next year. "Well, I hope we get him back," Gaston said. "I don't know, maybe we have got a shot. It's just one of those things." Scutaro projects to be a Type-A free agent, so the Jays could stand to gain two draft picks if they offer him arbitration and he signs elsewhere.
- Anthony Witrado of The Journal Sentinel has a quote from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who felt like his demotion to Triple-A was a punishment. Because of how long he was sent down, Hardy's free agency was delayed by a year until after the 2011 season. As you can imagine, he's upset about it.
- Meanwhile, Tom Haudricourt tweets that he's not "expecting any last-minute deals tonight involving the Brewers," and that "all is quiet" on their front.
- Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post Dispatch notes that one of the Cardinals first callups will be third baseman Troy Glaus, who's been out all season due to injury.
- After signing Brad Penny earlier today, Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News says that he's "told the Giants don’t expect any more moves this evening." There was some speculation that the Giants could be interested in one of the White Sox veterans that suddenly became available tonight.
- Last night we learned that the Mets cancelled fall instructional league in a cost cutting move, but today Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News noted that the team will instead have its minor leaguers work out at their academy in the Dominican because "there's not enough competition in Florida, especially with the Cards purportedly no longer fielding an instructional league team in nearby Jupiter."
Odds And Ends: Hardy, Johnson, Mets
More links as we await the next waiver trade…
- The Brewers put off J.J. Hardy's free agency until after 2011 by keeping him in the minors for 20 days, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out. This should boost Hardy's trade value after the season, when the Brewers will presumably listen to trade offers, now that Alcides Escobar is contributing in the majors.
- Randy Johnson expects to return to the Giants as a reliever, according to the AP (via FOX Sports).
- MLB.com's Marty Noble suggests Jayson Werth and Derrek Lee would be good fits for the Mets this offseason.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Halos, Skippers
Another batch of links as the Braves and Phillies prepare to get underway on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball…
- According to ex-Mets GM Jim Duquette, via Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, the Mets have canceled their fall instructional league "in an apparent cost-cutting maneuver." If they're making cutbacks in the minors, might they also have cutbacks in mind at the big league level?
- According to Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds general manager Walt Jocketty reaffirmed Sunday that he currently has no deals in the works. The deadline for waiver trades is tomorrow, August 31.
- Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Angels, who he ranks 10th among all MLB clubs with their impressive what-could-have-been roster.
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune discusses some MLB managers who may be on the proverbial "hot seat." Among the names? Cincinnati's Dusty Baker, Cleveland's Eric Wedge and Houston's Cecil Cooper. Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports goes more in-depth with the list.
Odds & Ends: White Sox, Twins, Mets
Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen. Odds and ends post!!!
- Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune writes that if White Sox GM Kenny Williams wants to make a move that could help his team, time is running out. Getting Jake Peavy back and healthy would be about as good of a pickup that a team could make this time of year.
- The Star Tribune's Patrick Reusse says that Twins GM Bill Smith should have been operating like Cleveland's Mark Shapiro at this year's trade deadline, "looking to the future rather than the present."
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post writes about the parallels between the current Mets club and the Orioles teams of the mid-to-late 90's. He also notes that the Amazin's should brace themselves for decreased ticket sales and a smaller payroll next year.
- ESPN's Peter Gammons explains how teams took advantage of their payroll flexibility at the deadline.
Odds And Ends: Royals, Mets, Marquis
More links for the early afternoon…
- ESPN.com's Keith Law argues there's no reason for the Royals to consider extending GM Dayton Moore now. It could impede them in the future, and they're in no apparent danger of losing him to a rival club.
- Author Erin Arvedlund told Ben Klayman of Reuters that the Wilpon family will be forced to sell the Mets.
- The Mets, however, say the author's claim is "false and irrespopnsible," according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- EPSN.com's Rob Neyer says MLB should change its draft if it makes sense to do so, but not just to make people feel better.
- Jason Marquis' team has made the playoffs every year of his decade-long career, as Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com notes. Marquis is in the midst of a career year and about to hit the free agent market this offseason.
Report: Chris Carter Claimed By Yankees
7:07pm: Buster Olney has some more color to this "he claimed, she claimed" story.
Olney writes in ESPN the Magazine, "The rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox burns strongly even when it comes to waiver claims.
"When the Mets and Red Sox worked out a trade for left-hander Billy Wagner earlier this week, Chris Carter, an outfielder-first baseman currently playing for Class AAA Pawtucket, became part of the deal as a player to be named headed to Boston. In preparation for the deal, the Red Sox placed Carter on waivers, with the intention of moving him on to the Mets.
"But the Yankees placed a claim on Carter — perhaps to create some 40-man roster discomfort for the Red Sox. In order to complete the Mets trade, the Red Sox are now pulling Carter back from waivers — and for the rest of the year, they must carry him on their 40-man roster.
"And Boston may struggle to squeeze bodies onto its 40-man roster in September. When Paul Byrd was a free agent, he informed teams that as a condition for signing him, he wanted a guarantee that he would be added to the 40-man roster for the final month. If Boston has made that same concession, the Carter claim by the Yankees might have made that just a little more difficult."
5:50pm: In what should come as a surprise to no one, Amalie Benjamin clarifies that the Red Sox have pulled Carter back, and will deal him in the offseason.
5:30pm: Because it wouldn't be a normal day without some bad news for the Mets, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports on her Twitter account that Chris Carter, the more significant of the two players rumored to be headed to the Mets in exchange for Billy Wagner, has been claimed by the New York Yankees.
It isn't clear that this hurts the Red Sox any, since the trade is not dependent on Carter passing through waivers. Instead, the claim prevents the Mets from getting a first-hand look at Carter until after the season. Presumably, the Red Sox will pull him back, though they also have the option of working out a deal with the Yankees (not likely) or letting the Yankees have him for nothing (see previous parenthetical statement). So much for city unity.
Worth noting: the Yankees have the best record in the American League, meaning that 1) no one else in the AL claimed Carter, 2) if they hadn't claimed Carter, the Red Sox could have traded him to the Mets without any problem had the National League followed suit, and 3) the Yankees, apparently, weren't willing to show pity upon their injury-shattered New York brethren.
Stark On Holliday, Lee, Yankees, Hoffman
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the Cardinals and Phillies may be better off letting their respective deadline acquisitions walk once they hit free agency. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:
- We know that Matt Holliday's interested in staying in St. Louis. But one AL exec doubts the Cards can afford to tie up $40-50MM per year in Holliday and Albert Pujols. It could work short-term, but could prevent the Cardinals from keeping Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Plus, the pair of sluggers may not be worth a combined $50MM in a few years.
- One team official believes Cliff Lee's agent will be looking for a $100MM payday once the lefty hits free agency after next season (assuming the Phils pick up his 2010 option). The official says the Phillies should consider letting Lee walk after next year, instead of committing long-term to him.
- The teams that considered dealing for Johan Santana after the 2007 season aren't surprised to hear that he's having elbow trouble now, though it's not something they anticipated with any sense of certainty. However, Mets assistant GM John Ricco says he doesn't regret the way the team handled its ace.
- There are increasing indications that the Yankees don't plan on being big buyers in the free agent market this offseason. The Yankees seem more likely to keep Johnny Damon and let Austin Jackson grow into a full-time player than pursue Matt Holliday or Jason Bay.
- Stark hears that the Red Sox were the only team to claim Billy Wagner. We heard the Angels had interest, but apparently they never made a claim.
- One executive believes AL teams would have very little interest in Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman has value because of his status as a Type A free agent, which could factor in to teams' claims.
- Rival clubs expect the Blue Jays to try dealing Edwin Encarnacion after the season. He makes $4.75MM in 2010, so it won't be easy.
- The Royals are still trying to deal Ron Mahay and at least one scout expects a team or two to have interest in ther veteran lefty.
Olney On Mets, Penny
ESPN.com's Buster Olney says Omar Minaya will keep his job as Mets GM. However, Minaya has developed an uncanny- and unwelcome- knack for turning ordinary events into P.R. disasters. Should the team decide it wants someone else to represent the organization, Minaya suggests seven candidates, some of whom would almost certainly not be available:
- Olney lists A's GM Billy Beane, Brewers GM Doug Melvin, former Mets manager Bobby Valentine, Cardinals manager and free agent-to-be Tony La Russa, former MLB manager Buck Showalter, Phillies exec Pat Gillick and Indians GM Mark Shapiro as candidates the Mets should at least consider inquiring about.
- Brad Penny is a free agent and the A's are looking for veteran pitching. That's one possible match, but Olney has an even better one.
- The Colorado Rockies could use another starter. Not only is Penny affordable, but he's had more success in the NL and it would give him the chance to compete against his former team, the Dodgers. As Olney shows, some bad blood may linger between Penny and the Dodgers.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Rangers, Injuries
Another round of links…
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro takes a more in-depth look at Marlins president Larry Beinfest's comments on the possibility of long-term extensions for pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson. "With a new stadium set to open in 2012," Frisaro writes, "the Marlins are in a better position to sign players to multi-year deals."
- Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Rangers' potential 25-man roster. Pouliot is now halfway through the interesting collection of columns.
- Bob Harkins, also writing for NBC Sports, suggests the Phillies are a good match for all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, who has reportedly been placed on waivers by the Brewers.
- Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post notes, via Twitter, that the payroll "just for Mets players on the DL would be higher than the total budgets of 17 other teams." Tough times in Queens.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith hosted his weekly live chat on MLBTR Tuesday afternoon. If you missed it, we've got it archived for your viewing pleasure.