Verducci On Hamels, Shields, Lowe, Manny
Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Tom Verducci.
- Interesting line: "One journeyman reliever, for instance, turned down a $2 million offer, saying he would retire before taking that kind of money." Many veterans will choose between swallowing their pride and retiring this spring.
- Verducci makes a comparison between Cole Hamels and James Shields, who were called up 19 days apart. The extra service time for Hamels gave him Super Two status, meaning he became arbitration-eligible four times instead of three. That decision probably cost the Phillies more than $10MM.
- The Mets were willing to give Derek Lowe $14MM per year.
- The Giants don’t believe Manny Ramirez is anywhere near a decision right now. He’s a special case for them (they’re not in the market for an outfielder) but they won’t enter a bidding war.
- The Blue Jays aren’t interested in Orlando Cabrera; they’re content with Marco Scutaro.
Mets Sign Cory Sullivan
According to Troy Renck, the Mets signed outfielder Cory Sullivan to a Major League deal worth $600K with $300K in incentives. Sullivan is known as a strong defender, but his plus/minus numbers in 1123 center field innings don’t support it.
Mets-Sheets Chatter
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone transcribes some comments from SI.com’s Tom Verducci, and also provides his own insight into Ben Sheets‘ possible demands. The Mets like him, but they want to do a heavily incentive-based deal similar to Brad Penny‘s. Sheets, having had a much better season than Penny, is apparently seeking two years and $18MM or so with a third-year option.
I’m surprised Sheets would want to lock himself in for multiple years given the down market. If he’s confident in his health, a straight one-year deal could be best. Sheets did already turn down such an offer from the Brewers (their offer of arbitration), but that was back on December 7th.
Mets Sign Two Minor Leaguers
Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News reports that the Mets have agreed to minor league deals with infielder Argenis Reyes and left-handed pitcher Tom Martin. The transactions were also listed on Baseball America’s Minor League Transactions page.
Reyes, 26, hit .218/.259/.245 in 110 major-league at-bats last season. Martin, 38, was released by the Dodgers during spring training last year. He pitched just 5 1/3 innings for the Independent Atlantic League in ’08.
Freddy Garcia Close To Finding A Team
Scot Gregor of the Arlington Daily Herald expects free agent pitcher Freddy Garcia to make a decision sometime this week.
The White Sox, Mets and Rangers appear to be the only serious suitors. Gregor provides some analysis on the White Sox’ interest:
"There has been some speculation that the White Sox are no longer interested in Garcia after they signed another injury-prone veteran Bartolo Colon last week. That’s not necessarily true. Given Colon’s physical troubles over the past three seasons, there is still plenty of interest in Garcia on the South Side. And even if Colon does manage to stay off the disabled list, they still need a No. 5 starter… If they get Garcia, that buys more time to develop promising left-hander Aaron Poreda."
Mike Gonzalez, Duaner Sanchez Avoid Arb
According to the AP, relievers Mike Gonzalez and Duaner Sanchez have avoided arbitration and signed for ’09.
Gonzalez, closer for the Braves, will earn $3.45MM. He’ll join Jose Valverde, Billy Wagner, and others on the free agent market after the season. Sanchez will make $1.6875MM with the Mets.
Mets Sign Fossum
James P. McCoy of the Buffalo News is reporting the Mets have signed Casey Fossum to a minor-league deal. Fossum, 31, was 3-1 with a 5.66 ERA for the Tigers in 2008.
The Mets also gave a minor-league deal to outfielder Jason Cooper, Buffalo’s modern-era leader in games played.
Mets Considering Sheets, Not In On Pettitte
David Lennon of newsday.com reports the Mets are keeping Ben Sheets on their radar as the market for starting pitching begins to thin. However, even in this thin market, they are apparently not considering Andy Pettitte:
"As for Pettitte, a person familiar with the club’s thinking said the Mets are not involved with the former Yankee."
Their primary focus still remains on Oliver Perez; however, should that fall through, Sheets is being looked at as a viable alternative.
"For his part, [Mets GM Omar] Minaya has played it cool, suggesting that he has other options… Two of the most intriguing names still available are Ben Sheets and Andy Pettitte, with the Mets only recently showing interest in the former Brewers ace. A person familiar with the situation said yesterday that Sheets is now being discussed, but it’s unclear what the parameters of such a deal would be."
John Harper of the New York Daily News makes his case for Ben Sheets here. And here, Tom Haudricourt clarifies the implications of a Sheets/Mets deal for the Brewers:
"If Sheets signs with the Mets, the Brewers would get their second-round pick next June, not their first. The Mets already have surrendered their first-round pick to the Angels for signing closer Francisco Rodriguez. Sheets’ ranking among Class A pitchers is 79.038; Rodriguez’s is 87.196. Thus, because Rodriguez is ranked higher, the Angels would get the Mets’ first-round pick, not the Brewers. That’s the way the system works."
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Saturday
Free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez is still looking for a team, and several outlets are writing about him today.
- The New York Mets aren’t looking back at him.
- Money and the length of contract are causing the San Francisco Giants to remain on the sideline, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports.
- Bill Madden of the N.Y. Daily News has a list of teams in his column. He notes the Los Angeles Dodgers have no reason to bid against themselves. Madden’s list of teams? Dodgers, Mets, Giants, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers.
Mets Rumors: Andruw, Manny, Perez
Peter Botte of the New York Daily News has a handful of Mets rumors to pass along:
- One Mets official says the team is "probably not" interested in Andruw Jones, even if he comes cheaply.
- Botte did hear from one person familiar with the team’s thinking who believes the Mets could check in with Jones if he’s still available when Spring Training begins.
- One baseball official said the Mets "are not even in on" Manny Ramirez.
- The Mets don’t expect to come to any sort of agreement with Oliver Perez in the next few days.
- They’ve been in regular contact with the representatives for Randy Wolf and Jon Garland, who are considered fallback options if they don’t sign Perez.
- The Mets have talked with Freddy Garcia.