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Mets Notes: Wilpon, Wright, Payroll

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The 65-75 Mets are heading for a fourth consecutive losing season, but their long-term outlook could improve considerably with a successful offseason. GM Sandy Alderson figures to look for answers in the outfield and ways of keeping David Wright and R.A. Dickey in Queens beyond 2013. Here's the latest on the team from its newest beat writer, Newsday’s Marc Carig (links go to Twitter)…

  • Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon declined to speculate about contract talks with Wright or the team’s 2013 payroll. New York’s payroll is expected to stay in the $90MM range for 2013, but Wilpon said it’s too early to get into detail. "I think it would be premature to talk about it until we have a full conversation," he said.
  • Wright said there’s “nothing new” to report regarding extension talks, according to Carig. The third baseman’s current contract includes a $16MM option for 2013 with a $1MM buyout. He recently told Jon Heyman he’s “extremely optimistic” about signing a long-term deal with the Mets.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Mets, Profar

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The Braves defeated the Rockies 1-0 this afternoon behind one unearned run and another strong start from Tim Hudson. Atlanta now has a 78-60 record and their chances of making the playoffs exceed 90%, according to Baseball Prospectus. Here are today’s links, starting in Colorado…

  • There are still no winners in the trade that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland for Alex White and Drew Pomeranz, Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes. White and Pomeranz have been disappointments in the year-plus since the 2011 trade and both must improve the command of their secondary pitches to start seeing better results, Renck writes.
  • The Mets are expected reduce their losses from the $70MM range to $23MM this year, Josh Kosman of the New York Post reports. The Mets cut their payroll considerably last offseason and it currently sits in the $94.5MM range, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Their payroll is expected to stay in the same range for 2013.
  • Jurickson Profar belongs at the MLB level even if he isn't as physically imposing as some of the sport's other young stars, Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes. Profar, the 19-year-old shortstop prospect who was recently called up by the Rangers, has impressive makeup at a young age, Passan writes.

Wright Optimistic About Extension Talks

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David Wright said he’s “extremely optimistic” about the chances of signing a long-term contract with the Mets, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Wright said he doesn’t have a single complaint about the organization, which drafted him 11 years ago. He added that he’s a loyal person who’d like to follow the path of one of his childhood heroes.

“My favorite player was Cal Ripken,'' Wright told Heyman. “The biggest reason for that was I like that he stayed.''

Wright’s current contract includes a $16MM option for 2013 with a $1MM buyout. At the very least the Mets will exercise the option, but GM Sandy Alderson has said the team has interest in keeping Wright in place long-term. The 29-year-old ACES client told the Mets he wasn’t interested in discussing an extension during the 2012 regular season and the same guidelines would apply in 2013, which means the Mets’ best chance at agreeing to an extension will be this offseason.

Rival executives suggest Wright is worth $20MM per season, according to Heyman. However, Mets ownership seems undeterred by Wright’s leverage and doesn’t have anything negative to say about him, Heyman reports ($160MM over eight years could work for both sides in Heyman’s view). Wright declined to discuss a potential extension in detail, saying only “you'd like it to take you to the end of your career.''

Non-Tender Candidate: Andres Torres

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The Mets have kept mum on their payroll situation heading into 2013 but several reports have indicated that the club won't ratchet it far beyond the neighborhood of $90MM.  There are a number of multi-million dollar contracts coming off of the books including $5.69MM for the very likely non-tendering of Mike Pelfrey, Jon Rauch's $3.5MM deal, and Ramon Ramirez's $2.65MM pact.  However, much of those savings will be eaten up by 2014 buyouts for Johan Santana and Jason Bay and pay raises to David Wright, Frank Francisco, Jonathon Niese, and others.  On top of that, Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell, and Josh Thole will all be headed to arbitration this winter.  General Manager Sandy Alderson will be working with an extremely tight budget, which will make it difficult for the club to justify also going to arbitration with outfielder Andres Torres.

Torres has started 79 games for the Mets in centerfield this year but has not been able to return to 2010 form when he hit .268/.343/.479 with 16 in 570 plate appearances with the Giants.  Instead, Torres owns a .227/.330/.320 batting line across 105 games with a career low -2.6 UZR/150.  Torres avoided arbitration with the Mets last season for $2.7MM after coming over from the Giants and would probably net something near $3MM for 2013. 

Looking ahead to next season, the club could install Kirk Nieuwenhuis as the full-time starting centerfielder.  That would position Torres as the club's fourth outfielder and at ~$3MM they would likely prefer to put that money into their bullpen and other areas of need.  Even if Torres can no longer deliver the kind of offensive production that he did in San Francisco in 2009 and '10, he can still be an attractive option to clubs looking for a veteran with experience at all three outfield positions.  However, he's not likely to see something in the range of $3MM and it would seem to be even less likely to be with the Mets.

East Notes: Ellsbury, Red Sox, Valentine, Mets

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Here's a look at items out of the AL and NL East..

  • Agent Scott Boras told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that a contract extension is possible between the Red Sox and client Jacoby Ellsbury.  Boras noted that Ellsbury likes playing in Boston and would be happy to continue playing there, but the agent will be looking for superstar money in a new deal.  “The only thing I can say about Jacoby is that there are few players like him. He is a proven successful player in Boston and in the American League East environment, and he plays a premium position at Gold Glove levels. He is a franchise player," Boras said.
  • Now is the time for the Red Sox to move on from Bobby Valentine, opines Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  Speier writes that it is now clear that Valentine is not the right manager to guide the club going forward and there is little sense in having him in place for the final month of the season.
  • The Mets should consider trading R.A. Dickey, Jonathon Niese, and David Wright this offseason, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  With the club financially handcuffed in the short-term, Sherman writes that it would make sense for them to replenish their system with eight-to-ten prospects that can help them build for the future.

Quick Hits: Swisher, Utley, Hamilton, Hairston

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Chris Corrigan of the High-A ball Palm Beach Cardinals made history tonight by throwing a perfect game in his start against the Charlotte Stone Crabs.  Corrigan, 24, was a 30th-round selection for the Cardinals in the 2009 amateur draft and carried a career 4.04 ERA in 102 minor league games (25 starts) entering tonight.  Corrigan's gem was the first minor league perfect game since Jeanmar Gomez threw a perfecto for Double-A Akron in 2009.  As for the Stone Crabs, they're an affiliate of (who else?) the Rays, who have been perfecto'd three times in the last four years at the Major League level.

Some news and notes from around the baseball world…

  • “Every team needs a guy like [Nick] Swisher,” an AL executive tells Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.  “You watch him play every day and you can see how much he cares. I wish every player cared that much.”  Feinsand suggests that the Yankees could re-sign Swisher and move Brett Gardner to center field, thus creating room to trade the more expensive Curtis Granderson.  MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently looked at Swisher's free agent stock.
  • Chase Utley took some groundballs at third base before today's game and he told reporters (including MLB.com's Todd Zolecki) that he had approached the Phillies about getting some reps at third in order to "create some more flexibility as far as the organization is concerned."  Utley spent a season playing third in 2002 in Triple-A before but hasn't played at the hot corner since.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. commented on Utley's trial, noting that "in a perfect scenario," Utley could hold down third base until prospect Cody Asche is ready, theoretically for the 2014 season.  Amaro cautioned reporters (including Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer) that it's hypothetical since Asche has yet to play above Double-A.
  • Billy Hamilton will "probably not" be called up for September, Reds general manager Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.  Jocketty noted that the decision wasn't finalized yet, however, and that he was going to watch Hamilton play in person this weekend.
  • Mets outfielder Scott Hairston believes the Diamondbacks claimed him off waivers, he tells Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link).  The Giants were known to be interested in outfield help and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports speculated earlier this month that the D'Backs would likely try to block Hairston or Juan Pierre from getting to their NL West rivals.  Rosenthal also reported that the team that claimed Hairston did so as a blocking maneuver.
  • Roger Clemens is planning to start again for the Sugar Land Skeeters on September 7, according to a text the pitcher sent Mark Berman, sports director of FOX 26 KRIV (Twitter link).  Clemens, 50, threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in his first start with the Skeeters on August 25.
  • Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston suggests a few moves the Red Sox should make this offseason, including re-signing David Ortiz and Cody Ross and trying to add Justin Upton and a top-tier starting pitcher.
  • Major League Baseball is investigating whether agents Sam and Seth Levinson arranged for former client Paul Lo Duca to meet with PED distributor Kirk Radomski, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Scott Hairston Claimed On Waivers

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5:10pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the winning team made the claim as a block, and Hairston is not likely to be traded (Twitter link).

4:41pm: Mets outfielder Scott Hairston has been claimed on waivers by an unknown team, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (all Twitter links). The Dodgers did not win the claim and neither did the Giants, Heyman writes.

The Mets placed Hairston and Andres Torres on waivers over the weekend. They now have two days to select one of three options. They can let Hairston (and his contract) go to the claiming team, they can complete a trade with the claiming team, or they can pull him back off of waivers. National League teams had waiver priority on Hairston, beginning at the bottom of the standings.

Hairston, 32, earns $1.1MM this year — just $200K between now and the end of the season. He has a .272/.312/.512 batting line this year and a history of hitting left-handed pitching well.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Terry Collins’ Job Appears To Be Safe

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There’s “no chance” the Mets will make manager Terry Collins a scapegoat for the team’s disappointing second half and fire him this offseason or before the regular season ends, a team source told Mike Puma of the New York Post. An extension is possible for Collins, who’s under contract through 2013.

Mets officials would like to finish ahead of the Phillies and Marlins in the NL East standings to build a positive perception of the 2012 season, Puma writes. Interest in extending Collins will depend in part on the way the team plays between now and the end of the season. 

The Mets now occupy fourth place in their division with a 59-69 record, but they're 13-29 since the All-Star break. They have played to a 136-154 record in two years under the 63-year-old Collins. It wasn’t until late last September that the Mets exercised his 2013 option.

NL East Notes: Mets, Braves, McCann, Wright

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It has been a tough year for the Mets and it doesn't seem like the club is in position to back up a Brink's truck to reload in 2013.  Recently, it was reported that General Manager Sandy Alderson will basically working with the same payroll next year with the lid being in the neighborhood of $90MM.  Here's more out of Queens and other items from the National League East..

  • Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said that he expects David Wright to be with the team for the future at a Q&A session for season ticket holders, tweets Matt Ehalt of ESPNNewYork.com.  Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) notes that it takes two to tango, however, and the question isn't whether the Mets want Wright back.
  • During that same gathering, Alderson also said he expects R.A. Dickey to be with the Mets "long-term," writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Dickey and Wright have options for 2013 that will be exercised by the club, but Alderson will not wait until the pair hit free agency to negotiate. "It's not our intention to simply rely on those options and go into next season and deal with their free agency after 2013," the GM explained.
  • The Red Sox-Dodgers blockbuster underscores the tough situation that the Mets are currently facing, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman wonders why the Mets never looked at the Dodgers' need at third base and pitch them on Wright plus a bad contract or two in exchange for payroll relief and prospects.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Brian McCann is playing his way out of a big contract as he struggles to fight through a pair of injuries in his right shoulder.  The Braves hold a $12MM option on McCann for next season, making this winter the ideal time to discuss a new deal.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Mets Place Scott Hairston, Andres Torres On Waivers

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The Mets have placed Scott Hairston and Andres Torres on waivers, a major league source told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  The Mets have said that they want to be competitive in the month of September but may be willing to part with Hairston as they sit with a 58-69 record heading into this afternoon's game against the Astros.

The club has yet to have contract extension talks with Hairston, though he recently indicated that he would be open to the discussion.  The 32-year-old has a slash line of .272/.312/.512 with 14 homers in 104 games this season for the Mets.

On the other hand, Torres has been viewed as a possible non-tender candidate for 2013.  The centerfielder is earning $2.7MM this season and would see something in the neighborhood of $3MM in arbitration this winter.  For the Mets, it wouldn't make a great deal of sense to dole out such a deal for a fourth outfielder.

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