Mets Rumors

Cubs Looking At Several Veteran Starters

By Mark Polishuk | November 27, 2010 at 5:54pm CDT

The Cubs have five starters tentatively pencilled into their 2011 rotation, but given the number of question marks on that staff, it's understandable that the team is looking to add a veteran innings-eater to the fold. ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill reports that Chicago has "shown interest" in Jeremy Bonderman, Aaron Harang, Kevin Millwood and Javier Vazquez, and also cites a Chicago Sun-Times item connecting the team to Vicente Padilla. Churchill says the Cubs "kicked the tires on" Jon Garland before the right-hander signed with the Dodgers.

All five starters would make sense as low-cost additions; Vazquez has reportedly turned down a two-year, $20MM offer but it seems like he's more likely to end up in Florida or Washington than in Chicago. The Cubs are probably looking for a short-term deal, and Garland's $5MM pact with L.A. would likely be a good comparison point. That $5M salary (plus incentives and a 2012 vesting option) would likely be enough to land Millwood or Harang, and Bonderman would leap at that offer given his injury-riddled recent history.

Padilla is coming off the most solid season of the group and could command a bit more money or a second year, though he made only 16 starts in 2010 due to various nagging injuries. Churchill cites the Mets, Padres and Pirates as other teams that could use a starter that fits Padilla's profile.

Bonderman, Millwood and Vazquez all landed on Luke Adams' list of free agent pitchers that could benefit from a move to the NL, though pitching in a hitter-friendly park like Wrigley Field might not be what they had in mind. As we saw with the Garland signing, teams that play in pitcher's parks will have an advantage in finding extra arms for their rotation, especially when it comes to a pitchers like Bonderman or Harang who are trying to rebuild value.

Speaking of rebuilding value, there's also a chance that the Cubs could look at a higher-ceiling starter such as Brandon Webb. Fanhouse's Ed Price hears from a source that Chicago is "seriously considering" Webb. The former Cy Young Award winner has also drawn interest from several other teams, but the Cubs could be helped by the fact that Chicago is relatively close to Webb's home in Kentucky.

Pedro Feliciano Considering Accepting Arbitration

By Mike Axisa | November 27, 2010 at 9:33am CDT

Melvin Roman, the agent for lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano, says his client is "seriously considering" accepting the Mets' offer of arbitration according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (Twitter link). Players have until Tuesday to either accept or decline arbitration.

Feliciano, 34, is a Type-B free agent. He earned $2.9MM in 2010 and would likely see his salary climb north of $3.5MM through the arbitration process. The Yankees are one team known to have interest in Feliciano, but as a highly durable left-handed reliever with a good track record, the suitors are likely lining up behind-the-scenes.

I broke down Feliciano's free agent stock just two days ago.

Odds & Ends: Rasmus, Gilbert, Nishioka, Hoffman

By Mark Polishuk | November 24, 2010 at 9:33pm CDT

MLBTR wishes all of its American readers a very happy Thanksgiving. For those readers not from the USA…uh, happy Thursday! Onto some news items:

"Three contending clubs" have a "persisting interest" in Colby Rasmus, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss noted in a follow-up tweet that these are teams with a "new interest," so presumably that eliminates past suitors like the Braves, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and White Sox. The Rasmus rumor mill seemed to have petered out, with the most recent report stating that there was a 99% chance that Rasmus would still be in St. Louis next season.
Dennis Gilbert will not try to buy the Houston Astros, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Gilbert led a group bidding for the Rangers earlier this year and has been rumored to be a potential future ownership candidate for the Dodgers.
The Twins are "very much in on" Tsuyoshi Nishioka, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman. We heard last week that Minnesota had an interest in the Japanese infielder.
When Kevin Towers was general manager of the Padres, he planned to eventually bring Trevor Hoffman back to San Diego so the future Hall-of-Fame closer could retire as a Padre, tweets Fanhouse.com's Tom Krasovic. Though Towers has moved on to Arizona, Krasovic says there's a chance Hoffman could still return to San Diego now that Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta are no longer with the organization.
Bill James talks to CBSSports.com's Evan Brunell about a variety of topics, including the new Mets front office, the Justin Upton trade rumors and what the Royals should do with Zack Greinke.
Joe Pawlikowski of the River Ave Blues blog wishes the Derek Jeter negotiations moved as smoothly as Mike Mussina's contract talks with the Yankees after the 2006 season.

Mets Rumors: Jeter, Lee, Alderson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 24, 2010 at 9:16am CDT

Now that the Mets have hired a GM and a manager, they're set to begin a quiet offseason. Here are some details on their winter plans:

In case there was any doubt remaining, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News makes things clear: there is "absolutely no way" Derek Jeter becomes a Met, according to a source with direct knowledge of the team's thinking.
As Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog notes, GM Sandy Alderson repeated on WFAN that the Mets won't be pursuing "top end" free agents like Cliff Lee this offseason.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Alderson risked shortening his own honeymoon period when he chose Terry Collins as manager.

National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

By Tim Dierkes | November 23, 2010 at 11:01pm CDT

11 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.

The Padres offered Jon Garland (B), Yorvit Torrealba (B) and Kevin Correia (B) arbitration, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). They did not offer Miguel Tejada (A) and David Eckstein (B) arbitration.
The Reds declined to offer Orlando Cabrera (B) or Arthur Rhodes (A) arbitration, according to the team (on Twitter).
The Dodgers declined to offer arbitration to Scott Podsednik (B), Rod Barajas (B) and Vicente Padilla (B), according to the team (on Twitter).
The Giants offered Juan Uribe (B) arbitration, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
In a surprising move, the Brewers decided to offer Trevor Hoffman (B) arbitration, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that Hoffman has agreed to turn the offer down (Twitter link).
The Diamondbacks announced that they offered arbitration to Adam LaRoche (B) and Aaron Heilman (B).
The Rockies will offer arbitration to Jorge de la Rosa (A) and Octavio Dotel (B), according to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post.
The Braves will not offer arbitration to first baseman Derrek Lee (A), according to GM Frank Wren via David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Twitter.
The Nationals offered arbitration to first baseman Adam Dunn (A), reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
The Mets will offer arbitration to lefty Pedro Feliciano (B), tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
Yesterday, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki learned that the Phillies will offer arbitration to Jayson Werth (A) but not Chad Durbin (B).

Mets Notes: Collins, Wright, Davis, Bay, K-Rod

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 23, 2010 at 5:10pm CDT

The Mets formally introduced Terry Collins as their new manager today. Here's the latest on Collins and the team he'll take over (all links go to Twitter):

Collins' deal runs through 2012 with an option for 2013, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson told Jim Bowden of Siruis XM Radio that the Mets don't have untouchables, but aren't likely to trade David Wright, Ike Davis or Jason Bay.
Alderson also said the Mets could spend over-slot on the draft if necessary.
The Mets expect Francisco Rodriguez to be the closer in 2011, Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. K-Rod has a 2012 option that vests based on games finished and health, but Alderson says that won't affect the way the team handles him.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Collins, Minaya, Pirates, Rays

By Steve Adams | November 21, 2010 at 10:49pm CDT

Some links on a Sunday evening:

SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Chip Hale will be on Terry Collins' coaching staff after losing out on the Mets' managerial job. Meanwhile, Andy Martino of The New York Daily News tweets that both Mookie Wilson and Dave Wallace will "definitely be considered" for the coaching staff as well.
ESPN's Adam Rubin offers up ten tidbits about new Mets' manager Terry Collins.
Omar Minaya is in no hurry to accept one of the many offers he's received, writes ESPN's Enrique Rojas. The former Mets GM says he's received offers for various positions from several teams, including some to be an assistant general manager.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tells us that the Pirates are set to hire four coaches for Clint Hurdle's new staff: Ray Searage as the pitching coach, Gregg Ritche as the hitting coach, Jeff Bannister as the third base coach, and Nick Leyva as the bench coach.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times feels that the Rays will hang onto B.J. Upton this offseason and likely won't trade a pitcher (candidates include James Shields, Matt Garza, Jeff Niemann, or Wade Davis) until July, unless the offers get "crazy good" once Cliff Lee signs. He does believe, though, that Jason Bartlett will be traded by Spring Training.
Bartlett's availability will likely have a negative impact on the market for Marco Scutaro, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at Ruben Amaro's five best and five worst moves, and says the jury is still out on the Philly GM.

Mets Hire Terry Collins

By Steve Adams | November 21, 2010 at 5:58pm CDT

5:58pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Collins is getting a two-year deal.

4:30pm: The Mets have hired Terry Collins as their next manager, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Collins, 61, has a wealth of experience as a minor league and major league manager as well as managing experience from Japan. He managed the Astros from 1994-1996, as well as the Angels from 1997-1999, but resigned with 29 games left in the season. He spent the 2010 season as the Mets' minor league field coordinator.

Other candidates for the job included Bob Melvin and Chip Hale, but Rosenthal first tweeted that Melvin was out of the running, and SI's Jon Heyman followed that up shortly after with a tweet saying that Hale was out of the running as well. Fanhouse's Ed Price tweets that Melvin is unlikely to remain with the club in a different role.

Sherman’s Latest: Rivera, Jeter, Mets

By Steve Adams | November 21, 2010 at 2:35pm CDT

Joel Sherman's latest column for the New York Post touches on some issues relevant to both New York teams. Let's take a look:

Sherman wonders why Derek Jeter's contract situation has garnered such overwhelming amounts of attention, while Mariano Rivera's has drawn significantly less. Sherman opines that Rivera may be the most irreplaceable pitcher in baseball over the past 15 years, and that his contract situation is equally important and deserving of attention.
The Mets know their flexibility is lacking this offseason, and may have as little as $3MM-$5MM to spend on free agency.
The Mets' managerial search will likely be over no later than Tuesday, according to Sherman.
Sherman expects the Mets to wait until later in the offseason (after January 1 perhaps) for free agent prices to drop. He says the Mets will try to sign a reliever, possibly two, and possibly an affordable second baseman and reclamation project starter.

New York Notes: Jeter, Rivera, Mets Manager

By Luke Adams 2 | November 21, 2010 at 10:43am CDT

Here are the latest rumblings out of New York, with an emphasis on Derek Jeter's contract discussions and the Mets' managerial opening….

Jeter's agent, Casey Close is baffled by the Yankees' negotiating tactics, writes Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News. "There's a reason the Yankees themselves have stated Derek Jeter is their modern-day Babe Ruth," Close said. "Derek's significance to the team is much more than just stats."
Jeter "has every right to battle the Yankees," says Newsday's Ken Davidoff.
Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork discusses the future of the Yankee captain with Jeter's trainer, Jason Riley, who thinks the 36-year-old could have another seven good years left in him. I can't say I share Riley's optimism, though a bounceback 2011 season from Jeter wouldn't surprise me.
Jon Heyman of SI.com reported on Friday that Mariano Rivera has told friends he'd like a two-year deal with the Yanks. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch doesn't expect that to be a problem for the team.
Former Mets skipper Davey Johnson tells Mike Puma of the New York Post that, as much as he likes Wally Backman, Terry Collins should be the club's next manager.
According to major league executives that spoke to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Mets are placing a high value on past major league managerial experience, making either Collins and Bob Melvin the likely choice.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Mets Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect