2011 Contract Issues: New York Mets
The Mets face two contractual options after the season:
- Jose Reyes has an $11MM club option with a $500K buyout. Reyes may be off to a slow start, but it's difficult to see the Mets declining.
- Alex Cora's $2MM for 2011 vests with 80 starts. He probably won't get there, but sometimes there's still a club option if it does not vest.
The Mets could free up Cora's $2MM, plus another $8MM or so for other departing free agents. They aren't big names – only Pedro Feliciano and Kelvim Escobar are earning over $1MM in 2010.
On the other side of the ledger, the Mets' increases to players under contract total $16.5MM. Jason Bay leads with a $9.5MM bump, while David Wright has a $4MM increase.
Expect non-tenders in the arbitration bunch, but the Mets' projected first-time players include Mike Pelfrey, Fernando Nieve, and Manny Acosta. Sean Green goes for the second time, while Jeff Francoeur, John Maine, and Angel Pagan are third-timers.
It appears that the Mets will have to raise payroll by over $10MM in 2011 just to cover raises to their current players. They might need to get back to the $140 millions to have room in the budget for quality additions.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Odds & Ends: Bell, Dye, Ortiz, Davis, Strasburg
Links for Monday…
- The MLBTR Forums are rocking with over 3,600 members. Join the discussion today! Just added a prospects section; we've also got areas to discuss trade rumors, free agents, the draft, general baseball, fantasy baseball, and every team.
- Tom Krasovic tweets that the Twins have a scout at tonight's Padres-Giants game, but it's just a routine visit. He adds that Heath Bell remains on Minnesota's radar, but the two sides haven't talked since Spring Training.
- The Giants have no interest in Jermaine Dye, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. The reasons are the same as they've been all winter: defense and asking price.
- More changes could be coming to the Dodgers' bullpen, says Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. Russ Ortiz was designated for assignment yesterday, and Hernandez thinks Ramon Ortiz could be next.
- Talking to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith, I learned that teams can now safely promote minor leaguers for their MLB debuts with no chance of the player amassing 172 days of service in 2010. By promoting '08 first-rounder Ike Davis today, the Mets ensured that he will be under team control through 2016 instead of 2015. In contrast, the Braves have Jason Heyward through '15.
- On that same topic, agent Scott Boras told MLB.com's Peter Gammons that Stephen Strasburg starting in the minors "had nothing to do with money."
- Joe Posnanski digs into Forbes' team revenue numbers, noting that the Yankees made $173MM more than any other team.
- MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch tells us Hayden Penn has accepted the Pirates' Triple A assignment in lieu of electing free agency.
- In a statement, Cal Ripken said he looks forward to continued talks with the Orioles about a position in the organization.
Odds & Ends: Davis, Cano, Athletics, Pirates
As today's games try to top Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter and the Mets' marathon victory, let's browse a few links….
- The Astros will likely make a roster room to clear the way for Lance Berkman's return, tweets Alyson Footer of MLB.com.
- A Mets official told Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated that the club has to "win now" (link goes to Twitter). Earlier today, Mike Jacobs was DFA'd in a move that could clear space for Ike Davis.
- Benjamin Kabak at River Ave. Blues looks back at the Alfonso Soriano–for-Alex Rodriguez trade, and how the Rangers had the opportunity to select Robinson Cano as a second player in the deal. Instead, they chose Joaquin Arias. Think they regret that one?
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post lists ten players and managers who are on the hot seat two weeks into the 2010 season, with Jerry Manuel and Dave Trembley earning the top two spots. Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that Mets' players have jumped to Manuel's defense, while Bill Madden of the New York Daily News thinks that Orioles' players have given up on Trembley.
- With Michael Wuertz nearly ready to come off the DL, the Athletics will have to clear a roster spot for him. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle runs down a few of the players whose status could be in jeopary, including the recently acquired Edwar Ramirez and the out-of-options Chad Gaudin.
- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic examines the Pirates' organization in search of pitchers with ace potential.
- In a mailbag, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer defends the Indians' signings of supposed "marginal, aging players." He also notes that if the Indians end up losing the Cliff Lee deal, they have no one to blame but themselves, since they scouted many of the same Phillies prospects when they discussed a potential CC Sabathia trade in 2008.
- Fantasy baseball season is in full swing, and saves are at a premium as always. Don't forget to follow @closernews to keep up with the ever-changing late-inning scenarios in Major League Baseball!
Odds & Ends: Anderson, Smoltz, White Sox, Ripken
Links for Saturday..
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs isn't quite sure why Brett Anderson (and his agent) would agree to the four year extension he signed, but he also notes that Oakland's side of the deal isn't exactly risk-free.
- Baseball color analyst John Smoltz won't completely rule out a return to baseball, writes Chad Finn of the Boston Globe. In March, Ken Rosenthal noted that the Phillies have shown strong interest in the soon-to-be 43-year-old as a possible mid-season addition.
- Ozzie Guillen stood up for White Sox hitting coach Greg Walker, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Orioles owner Peter Angelos said that he would be happy to sit down and talk with Cal Ripken Jr. if he is interested in a position with the club, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.
- Mets manager Jerry Manuel shot down rumors of a clubhouse rift, tweets David Lennon of Newsday.
- Outfielder Fred Lewis is happy to be a member of the Blue Jays, according to Larry Millson and James Hall of MLB.com. The Giants shipped the 29-year-old to Toronto earlier this week and will receive either cash or a player to be named later in return.
Largest Contracts In Team History
We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.
- Angels: Torii Hunter, five years, $90MM
- Astros: Carlos Lee, six years, $100MM
- Athletics: Eric Chavez, six years, $66MM
- Blue Jays: Vernon Wells, seven years, $126MM
- Braves: Chipper Jones, six years, $90MM
- Brewers: Ryan Braun, eight years, $45MM
- Cardinals: Matt Holliday, seven years, $120MM
- Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, eight years, $136MM
- Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson, four years, $53.4MM
- Dodgers: Kevin Brown, seven years, $105MM
- Giants: Barry Zito, seven years, $126MM
- Indians: Travis Hafner, four years, $57MM
- Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki, five years, $90MM
- Marlins: Hanley Ramirez, six years, $70MM
- Mets: Johan Santana, six years, $137.5MM
- Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, five years, $45MM
- Orioles: Miguel Tejada, six years, $72MM
- Padres: Jake Peavy, three years, $52MM
- Phillies: Chase Utley, seven years, $85MM
- Pirates: Jason Kendall, six years, $60MM
- Rangers: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $252MM
- Rays: Wilson Alvarez, five years, $35MM
- Reds: Ken Griffey Jr., nine years, $116.5MM
- Red Sox: Manny Ramirez, eight years, $160MM
- Rockies: Todd Helton, nine years, $141.5MM
- Royals: Gil Meche & Mike Sweeney, both five years, $55MM
- Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, eight years, $152.3MM
- Twins: Joe Mauer, eight years, $184MM
- White Sox: Frank Thomas, seven years, $64.4MM
- Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $275MM
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Odds & Ends: Ripken, Angels, Athletics, Lewis
Rounding up some Friday night links….
- The Braves released minor league right-hander Deunte Heath, writes Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Orioles owner Peter Angelos nixed the idea of Cal Ripken Jr. joining the organization in a baseball capacity.
- The Angels aren't actively shopping anyone, but they're receptive to the idea of trading a catcher, according to Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles. We looked at the club's catching logjam and Mike Napoli's potential availability earlier in the evening.
- Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group tweets that, following Brett Anderson's extension, Billy Beane will consider locking up other young Athletics to long-term deals. Stiglich says Kurt Suzuki probably tops that list, and, in a piece for CSNBayArea.com, Mychael Urban suggests Andrew Bailey is another possibility.
- According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), Suzuki and his agent haven't heard from the A's regarding an extension yet, but they're open to the idea. Recently, MLBTR looked at comparables for a Suzuki extension.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that the Nationals had no interest in acquiring Fred Lewis, since they consider Justin Maxwell to be their "own Fred Lewis."
- Bobby Valentine said on Sirius XM Radio that coaching the Mets isn't something he's considering, according to the New York Post's Dan Martin.
Heyman On Manuel, Fredi Gonzalez, Hunter
Managers Ken Macha, Dusty Baker, Trey Hillman, Ron Washington and John Russell are under varying degrees of pressure, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here are the details on two other managers on the hot seat:
- Mets people say it's "too early" to react and replace Jerry Manuel, so they aren't about to fire him. Some people around the Mets say former MLB manager and newly-hired Mets scout Bob Melvin is in line to manage the club if Manuel falters. Mets management seems reluctant to bring Bobby Valentine back for a second stint managing the club.
- If the Marlins fire Fredi Gonzalez before his contract expires after 2011, he could be a fit in Atlanta. The longtime Braves coach could return to replace Bobby Cox, who is in the midst of his final season managing the Braves.
- Torii Hunter won't try to extend his career by DHing. Hunter says defense got him to the majors, so he intends to play a couple more years and then spend more time with his family.
Joel Pineiro Vs. The Mets: Who Was Serious About A Deal?
We heard all winter that the Mets were interested in free-agent starter Joel Pineiro, and at one point it appeared as if New York had a two-year offer worth around $15MM on the table to the right-hander. Pineiro ended up signing with the Angels for slightly more money and it simply appeared that the Halos won a bidding war that also included the Dodgers.
John Harper of the New York Daily News, however, revealed a bit more to the story in an interview with the veteran right-hander. According to Pineiro, he had heard from neighbor Alex Cora that the Mets were going to make Pineiro a top target of their winter shopping, and the right-hander was more than willing to hear New York out. However, the club allegedly never made an offer to Pineiro until the Angels had already moved in and that $15MM offer "may well have been for the sake of appearance" since the Mets knew Los Angeles had made a bigger offer.
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York has the Mets' take on the situation, which is unsurprisingly different. According to team representatives, they Mets "were willing to meet or narrowly exceed" the contract that Pineiro got from the Angels, but the club felt that "Pineiro wasn't sincere" in his desire to become a Met.
Given that the difference between the Mets' purported offer and Pineiro's Los Angeles contract was only $1MM, it's hard to believe that the Mets couldn't have made up that gap if they were really serious about bringing Pineiro to the Big Apple. If "the sake of appearance" is as important to the Mets as Harper's article claims, then making the larger offer would've allowed the Mets to say offered the most money but the onus was on Pineiro for turning it down.
This kind of free agent gamesmanship no doubt occurs a dozen times over every winter, but in this case, it stands out given the small dollar amount involved and (as Harper points out) the major struggles of the Mets' pitching staff early in the season. It's also possible that both sides were playing a game of chicken with the other and, in this case, both blinked.
No Moves Likely For Mets Pitching Staff
Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes that the Mets are unlikely to make any moves for pitching via trade or free agency, and specifically adds that the Mets are not interested in Jarrod Washburn.
If it seems a bit early for such discussions, that is largely due to the travails of John Maine, whose fastball velocity is way down, while his ERA is way up. After allowing seven earned runs in three innings last night, Maine faces a do-or-die start on Sunday night against the Cardinals, according to Newsday's David Lennon.
Another reason for New York's reluctance to reach outside the organization is a lack of attractive external options, though should the team climb into contention, a partial-season deal with Pedro Martinez could be considered.
Clint Everts Clears Waivers
WEDNESDAY, 2:42pm: Everts cleared waivers, tweets ESPN's Adam Rubin.
SUNDAY, 10:56am: The New York Mets have designated right-handed reliever Clint Everts for assignment, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork. The team made the move to clear a roster spot for Cuban lefty Raul Valdes.
The 25-year-old Everts had spent his entire career in the Montreal/Washington organization, before signing with the Mets this winter. He posted a 1.65 ERA in 60 innings over three levels in the minors last season.