Mets Rumors

Jason Bay’s Negotiations With The Red Sox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 22, 2010 at 9:48am CDT

Jason Bay gives Rob Bradford of WEEI.com a blow-by-blow account of his contract negotiations with the Red Sox. The process was complex, frustrating and drawn out, according to Bay. Peter Gammons reported earlier in the week that the Red Sox pulled their four-year $60MM offer to the left fielder over health concerns last summer.

But as Bay tells WEEI.com, “That is just one-tenth of the story.”

Bay underwent numerous physical inspections after the Red Sox voiced concerns over the outfielder's knees and shoulder. Bay says his health checked out, but the Red Sox offered one deal that was contingent on Bay having knee surgery after the 2009 season.

“I was shocked, to say the least," Bay said. "Particularly since I wasn’t hurt.”

The sides continued to talk, but Bay ultimately signed for four guaranteed years with the Mets and has "no regrets" about his decision.

Mets Interested In Sheets, Wang, Tracy

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 22, 2010 at 8:53am CDT

The latest on the Mets' search for starting pitching:

Ben Sheets appears to be the team's top target, according to Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
The Mets have been in touch with Sheets since watching him throw Tuesday, according to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.
Alan Nero, one of Chien-Ming Wang's representatives, tells McCarron that the Mets are one of 15 teams interested in the former Yankee.
McCarron hears that the Mets have had discussions about Chad Tracy.
Remember, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog tweeted this morning that the Mets are close to making a deal.

New York Notes: Pineiro, Smoltz, Nady

By Zachary Links | January 21, 2010 at 10:01pm CDT

Some New York news and notes courtesy of Newsday's Ken Davidoff..

Davidoff's understanding is that the Mets' offer to Joel Pineiro was very similar to the Angels' offer of two-years, $16MM. While it would be natural to assume that the free agent hurler preferred the stability of the Halos franchise to the Metropolitans, he writes that he doesn't know that for certain.
The Mets would definitely like to sign John Smoltz, though it would cause a logjam of starting pitchers. Davidoff suggests that the team could move John Maine in order to create space for him.
Speaking of Smoltz, Davidoff hears that the Yankees were interested in the 42-year-old prior to landing Javier Vazquez.
As we've heard elsewhere, the Bombers are looking for one more outfielder and are considering right-handers Xavier Nady and Rocco Baldelli.

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Coffey, Nolasco, Vazquez

By Tim Dierkes | January 21, 2010 at 5:14pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that team sources have told him that the Cubs are looking at Jonny Gomes as a fourth outfielder. Gomes – who proved to be one of the best minor league deals of 2009 – confirms.
The Brewers signed arbitration-eligible reliever Todd Coffey for $2.025MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. That's just short of the midpoint.
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that a strong 2010 season would lead the Marlins to explore a multiyear deal with Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco is under team control through 2012, and will earn $3.8MM in his second arbitration year.
Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez spoke to Puerto Rican newspaper La Perla del Sur. MLBTR's translator Nick Collias supplies this interesting quote: "I don't have much playing time left…I go year by year, and I don’t know if it will be one, two or three years, but I'm definitely not going to play until 40." Vazquez is eligible for free agency after the season.
Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler switched to Scott Boras in November, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post wrote in a Monday blog post. Fowler's been added to our Scott Boras client list, which can always be found on the sidebar.
MLBTR missed this January 14th signing: the White Sox added Daniel Cabrera on a minor league deal. Cabrera, 29 in May, posted a 0.55 K/BB ratio and 6.00 ERA in 51 big league innings last year.
The Mets and Diamondbacks haven't had any new discussions for catcher Chris Snyder, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro examines the debate about whether to trade Snyder.
Luke Scott wants to play defense, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Scott says he's "taking one for the team" by serving as DH, and it hurts him in contract negotiations.
Slugger Jim Thome continues to keep the door open for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. However, in comments to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, manager Ozzie Guillen indicated a preference to avoid a permanent DH.

Olney On Lee, Pineiro, Orioles

By Tim Dierkes | January 21, 2010 at 9:53am CDT

A look at the latest blog post from ESPN's Buster Olney…

Olney believes the Phillies could have and should have kept Cliff Lee. He points out that they could've traded Joe Blanton and taken draft picks for Lee after the season, resulting in a similar prospect package to the one they received from the Mariners. It's not the exact same, partly since Blanton could yet net draft picks for the Phils, but I agree with Olney's point. The Phillies' decision to move Lee in tandem with the Roy Halladay trade just seems weird.
Consequences of the Angels' Joel Pineiro deal: the Mets could sign Jon Garland or Ben Sheets, and the Dodgers could bring Vicente Padilla back. Newsday's Ken Davidoff gets the sense the Mets "have prioritized Sheets over Garland."
Olney says the Orioles "are very comfortable letting the field of free-agent corner guys come to them, at their price." On a related note, O's second baseman Brian Roberts said to MASN's Roch Kubatko that he'd love to have Miguel Tejada back in Baltimore.

Odds & Ends: League, Bourgeois, Giants, Uggla

By Mike Axisa | January 20, 2010 at 9:54pm CDT

Some links for Wednesday night…

The Mariners signed reliever Brandon League to a 2010 contract, according to a team press release. He'll get $1.08MM, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. That's just below the midpoint.
Matt Eddy at Baseball America has this week's minor league transactions.
Matthew Carruth of FanGraphs wants you to vote on the worst contract in baseball.
Via Twitter, Alyson Footer notes that Jason Bourgeois, who was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Brett Myers, cleared waivers and accepted a trip to the minors.
Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the Giants are unlikely to sign any more players to Major League contracts. The Bengie Molina deal tapped them out.
Marlins' team president David Sampson said that Dan Uggla will be the team's Opening Day second baseman, writes Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald. We also heard that there was no chance of a long-term deal for Josh Johnson this offseason, so take it with a grain of salt.
Tom Haudricourt of The Journal News notes (via Twitter) that Brewers' GM Doug Melvin tried to trade for Doug Davis twice last season. Melvin got his man today.
Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News heard from a Mets' insider that the team could try to trade for Tim Hudson. That seems highly unlikely for a number of reasons, but mostly because Hudson signed an extension in November, has 10-and-5 no-trade rights, and the Braves already traded one veteran starter in Javier Vazquez this offseason.
Here's the up to the minute 2010 draft order. The only two unsigned free agents left that will bring their former teams compensation are Joel Pineiro and Rod Barajas.

Mets Rumors: Sheets, Pineiro, Molina, Torrealba

By Tim Dierkes | January 20, 2010 at 10:00am CDT

Here's the latest on the Mets, who still have significant work to do…

MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone hears Ben Sheets will seek "at least $10 million, plus lots of incentives, and a second-year, player-controlled option." He says that while the Mets' interest in Sheets is legitimate, they prefer Joel Pineiro. The Mets made an offer – probably two years – to Pineiro.
Cerrone writes about Bengie Molina, saying the Mets "offered at least $1 million more than the Giants, and also offered a player-controlled option for 2011." Cerrone believes Molina grew skeptical of playing in New York.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday writes of a "team-fan disconnect," in that a Mets official he spoke to expected the team to get hammered for not signing Molina, but most fans don't mind.
ESPN's Buster Olney writes of "signals being sent out on Tuesday night that the Mets are turning to Yorvit Torrealba." David Waldstein of the New York Times suggests the Mets would have to pay extra for Torrealba to settle the catcher's two-year-old grievance as part of a new deal. Rod Barajas is probably the only other starting-caliber free agent catcher remaining.

Sheets Impresses In Throwing Session

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 20, 2010 at 7:52am CDT

WEDNESDAY, 7:52am: Sheets topped out at 92 mph on Tuesday, writes Tabby Soignier of The News-Star. Mariners scout John Stearns' take:

"I was impressed. Ben was free and easy, throwing the ball really well with not too much effort. He had good velocity. I was especially impressed with his curve ball. He's got a plus Major League curve ball with a lot of depth to it."

Soignier noted the presence of the Giants and Pirates, two clubs not on our list below (via Twitter, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette already says the Bucs won't be bidding). Ed Price of AOL FanHouse adds the Phillies and Athletics, while adding more about Sheets' three throwing sessions. Click here to see video from the session, as well as Sheets' interview with MLB Network's Trenni Kusnierek.

MONDAY, 7:14pm: Ben Sheets will have quite an audience when he throws for interested teams on Tuesday. It's no surprise that clubs are curious about the 31-year-old. He has a 3.72 ERA and nearly four times as many strikeouts as walks in his eight-year MLB career. He missed last year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, so clubs want to see if Sheets is back in form before signing him. The right-hander told ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian that he feels "refreshed" and "fantastic." Here's a list of teams that will be on hand this week to see for themselves.

Reds
Nationals
Diamondbacks
Cubs (by the way, we're not on board with the rumor that Sheets is "all but signed" by them)
Rangers
Cardinals
Blue Jays
Dodgers
Brewers (Sheets appears too expensive for them)
Mets
The Angels will not be there this Tuesday.
The Yankees were not present.
The Astros currently have no plans to watch Sheets.

Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday

By Mike Axisa | January 19, 2010 at 8:24pm CDT

Noon ET today was the deadline for both the team and player to submit their salary figures for arbitration, however the two sides can come to an agreement at any point before the actual hearing. The hearings are scheduled for the first week of February.

We'll keep track of the players who avoid arbitration today by agreeing to deals here. Make sure you check back in for updates, and be sure to click the "Continue Reading" link to see today's full list of settlements. Yesterday's list can be found here.

Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits by signing the duo to one-year deals. Napoli will earn $3.6MM in 2010 with a $100K bonus if he makes 120 starts. Willits' contract is worth $625K.
Zach Duke's one-year contract with Pittsburgh is worth $4.3MM with no performance bonuses, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Padres and reliever Mike Adams have agreed to a contract, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). Brock's follow-up tweet says Adams' deal is worth $1MM, virtually splitting the difference between San Diego's $875K offer and Adams' $1.2MM demands.
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the Twins have agreements in place with all eight of their arbitration eligible players. In a follow-up tweet, Christensen reports that Francisco Liriano agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.6MM and Jesse Crain agreed to a one-year contract worth $2MM.
Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that the Mets avoided arbitration with reliever Sean Green (via Twitter). The one-year deal was worth $975K, according to the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron.
The Tigers avoided arb with Gerald Laird and Zach Miner as well according to James Jahnke of The Detroit Free Press. MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets the details on the one-year contracts: Laird will earn $3.95MM, Miner will earn $950K.
Christensen tweets that the Twins avoided arb with Brendan Harris, signing him to a two year deal worth $3.2MM with another $650K in possible incentives.
The Tigers and Bobby Seay avoided arbitration according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter), agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.475MM.
Thesier tweets that Matt Guerrier agreed to a one year deal worth $3.15MM with the Twins, avoiding arb.
Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox have avoided arbitration with Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen, with Delcarmen getting $905K plus incentives according to Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal. Boston avoided arb with Jonathan Papelbon as well.

Pat Neshek agreed to a one year deal with $625K with another $75K in incentives, avoiding arbitration with the Twins according to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier (via Twitter).
The Nationals have agreed to terms with Jason Bergmann, Jesus Flores, Wil Nieves, and Josh Willingham according to a team press release. All four players avoided arbitration. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez tweets that Willingham will make $4.6MM next season, while Bergmann will make $750K according to a tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman tweets that the Braves and Peter Moylan have agreed to a deal, avoiding arbitration. He gets $1.15MM.
Matt Garza avoided arbitration with the Rays, tweets Topkin. The two sides agreed to a one year deal worth $3.35MM,
MLB.com's Jim Street tweets that the Mariners and David Aardsma have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.75MM.
The Astros avoided arbitration with Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom, and Humberto Quintero according to a tweet from MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Bourn gets $2.4MM, Lindstrom $1.625MM, and Quintero $750K (via McTaggart's Twitter).
Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that the Rockies and Jason Hammel have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $1.9MM.
The A's agreed to a one year deal with Kevin Kouzmanoff, reports The Oakland Tribune. Oakland acquired Kouzmanoff from the Padres over the weekend.
Jered Weaver agreed to a one year deal worth $4.265MM with the Angels to avoid arbitration, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman.
Topkin tweets that J.P. Howell agreed to a one year deal worth $1.8MM, avoiding arbitration with the Rays.
According to the team's official Twitter feed, the Blue Jays avoided arbitration with Jason Frasor ($2.65MM) and Brian Tallet ($2MM) by agreeing to one year deals.
Delmon Young avoided arbitration with the Twins by agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.6MM, according to a tweet by Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune. Kelly Thesier of MLB.com tweets that Young will get $25K each for 575 and 600 plate appearances.
According to a team press release, the Royals have avoided arbitration with Alex Gordon and Robinson Tejeda. Terms of either deal was not disclosed.
Heyman tweets that Stephen Drew and the Diamondbacks agreed to a one year deal worth $3.4MM, avoiding arbitration.
The White Sox and John Danks avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one year deal worth $3.45M, according to ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Mets and Pedro Feliciano have agreed to a one year deal worth $2.9MM, avoiding arbitration. There's another $100K in performance bonuses.
The Star Telegram's Anthony Andro reports that the Rangers and Chris Ray have avoided arbitration. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says it's a one year deal worth $975K.
Russell Martin has agreed to a one year contract worth $5.05MM, avoiding arbitration with the Dodgers according to Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times (via Twitter)
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets that the Blue Jays and reliever Jeremy Accardo have agreed to a one year deal worth $1.08MM, avoiding arbitration.
Rafael Perez agreed to a one year deal with the Indians to avoid arbitration according to a team press release. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince tweets that Perez will make $795K in 2010.
The Orioles and Luke Scott avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $4.05MM according to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. He earned $2.4MM last season, hitting .258/.340/.488 with a career high 25 homers.
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat tweets that the Cubs have avoided arbitration with Jeff Baker ($975K). Mike Fontenot ($1MM,) Koyie Hill ($700K), Angel Guzman ($825K), and Tom Gorzelanny ($800K). Terms of the deals came from Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times (via Twitter).
Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that the Pirates and Zach Duke have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one year deal.
Mike Salk of 710 ESPN Radio reports that Mark Lowe and the Mariners have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $1.15MM salary for next season.
LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune tweets that the Twins and J.J. Hardy have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $5MM. He gets a small raise over last year's $4.65MM salary after hitting .229/.302/.357.
According to the Cardinals' official Twitter feed, the team has avoided arbitration with Ryan Ludwick by agreeing to a one year deal. Heyman tweets that he'll receive $5.45MM next year after earning $3.7MM in 2009.
The Rangers avoided arbitration with Josh Hamilton, giving him $3.25MM plus awards-based bonuses according to a tweet from SI.com's Jon Heyman. It was his first time eligible. Hamilton hit .268/.315/.426 in 2009, missing time with back trouble and a sports hernia.
Mark Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times tweets that the Rays and Jason Bartlett have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $4MM salary for 2010. He earned just under $2MM in 2009, hitting .320/.389/.490 with a career high 14 homers.
Casey Janssen agreed to a $700K deal for 2010 to avoid arbitration, according to the Blue Jays official Twitter feed. It was his first time up for arbitration.
Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter) that the Marlins and Jorge Cantu have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $6MM. Cantu hit .289/.345/.443 while making $3.5MM in 2009, his first year of arb eligibility.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets that both Carlos Gomez and Rickie Weeks have agreed to one year deals to avoid arbitration. Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel tweets that Weeks will earn $2.75MM next year, while Gomez will earn $1.1MM as a Super Two.
Heyman tweets that the Dodgers have avoided arbitration with both George Sherrill and James Loney. Sherrill gets $4.5MM plus incentives in his third year eligible, Loney $3.1MM in his first go around.
According to the Blue Jays official Twitter feed, reliever Shawn Camp has agreed to a $1.15MM deal for 2010, avoiding arb. He was eligible for the second time after posting a 3.50 ERA in 79.2 innings last season.
Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that Leo Nunez and the Marlins have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2MM salary for 2010. Sticking with the theme of the day, it was his first time eligible for salary arbitration.
MLB.com's Ken Gurnick tweets that the Dodgers and Hong Chih-Kuo have agreed to a one-year deal worth $950K, avoiding arb. It was Kuo's first time eligible.
Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Mets and Jeff Francoeur have avoided arb by agreeing to a $5MM deal. Francoeur earned $3.375MM in 2009 and hit .280/.309/.423 for the Mets and Braves.
Heyman tweets that Howie Kendrick and the Angels have agreed to a $1.75MM deal with incentives. This was Kendrick's first crack at arbitration.
Heyman tweets that the A's and Rajai Davis agreed to a $1.35MM salary for 2010, plus incentives. This was Davis' first year eligible for arbitration.
Heyman tweets that Jonathan Sanchez avoided arb with the Giants by agreeing to a $2.1MM deal, plus incentives. He posted a 4.24 ERA in 163.1 innings last year, and was up for arbitration for the first time in his career.

Mets Looking To Add Two More Pitchers

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2010 at 7:23pm CDT

Metsblog's Matthew Cerrone reports that the Mets are interested in signing John Smoltz and one of either Joel Pineiro or Ben Sheets. Cerrone notes that "all three have legit interest in pitching for the Mets on short-term deals," and that signing Pineiro or Sheets would indicate that Smoltz's role in New York would be as a reliever.

The Mets have been linked to this trio and several other starters this winter, but they have yet to make any significant additions to their starting rotation. It's possible that pressure from fans and the New York media might be starting to take a toll on the club. Cerrone cites a report from SI.com's Jon Heyman on The MLB Network in relation to Sheets, where Heyman said the Mets would like to make a "positive" signing in the wake of missing out on free agent catcher Bengie Molina.

Cerrone passed on more info from Heyman and Tom Verducci's discussion of Sheets' throwing session today. More than one scout told Heyman the pitcher looked like "the old Ben Sheets," and both Heyman and Verducci agreed that Sheets will sign a contract similar to Brad Penny's one-year, $7.5MM pact with the Cardinals. Heyman named the Mets, Cubs and Rangers as interested suitors, while Verducci named St. Louis and Seattle as "a likely destination."

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