Mets Rumors

Odds & Ends: Mets, Royals, Dodgers, Lowe

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2009 at 7:38pm CDT

Multiple Teams Eyeing Matt Capps

By Tim Dierkes | December 15, 2009 at 6:47pm CDT

6:46pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic doesn't think the Diamondbacks will give Capps the two-year deal he is seeking.

2:30pm: The Mets are interested, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Kinzer tells Crasnick that 16 teams have inquired on Capps and four of them see him as a closer. The Cards aren't interested, but the Pirates still are.

TUESDAY, 10:40am: Kovacevic hears that the Yankees are interested. Agent Paul Kinzer told Kovacevic that the interest in his client is "enormous."

MONDAY, 3:42pm: ESPN's Bruce Levine adds the Nationals, and notes that Capps would like a multiyear deal.

2:33pm: Kovacevic adds the Rangers, Rockies, Marlins, and Cardinals to the list of known suitors.

12:20pm: Kinzer's estimated number of suitors for Capps has risen to nine or ten, and he confirmed to Roch Kubatko of MASN that the Orioles expressed interest. Kinzer noted that the opportunity to close "will be a major factor" in Capps' decision.

10:37am: The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro talked to Matt Capps' agent Paul Kinzer, who said the recently non-tendered reliever has already drawn interest from seven or eight teams. Piecoro says the Diamondbacks are one, and we learned yesterday from Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that the Cubs and Capps have mutual interest. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote today that Kinzer told the Pirates they were planning on submitting an arbitration figure around $3.4MM for Capps' 2010 salary. The free agent market is a different beast, but that amount could still be a jumping-off point for discussions.

The Cubs and D'Backs both have closers for 2010 in Chad Qualls and Carlos Marmol, but Capps could be slotted in for eighth-inning duty with incentives for games finished. Other possible suitors? The Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Angels, Mets, Phillies, and Cardinals would make sense.

Jason Bay Rumors: Tuesday

By Zachary Links | December 15, 2009 at 2:35pm CDT

2:35pm: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News hears that the Yankees have no interest in signing Bay long-term. They don't have confidence in his ability to play the outfield in a few years. Another source tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney that there's no chance the Yankees bid on Bay or Matt Holliday.

12:42pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Yankees did contact Bay's representatives. However, one source says the team isn't seriously interested in Bay right now.

Across town, the Mets are willing to offer a fifth year or increase their initial four-year offer. The Giants, Mariners and Angels have also shown interest in Bay according to FOX's sources.

8:38am: The Red Sox "officially" cut ties with Bay yesterday, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.

12:44am: The Yankees have reached out to Jason Bay's representatives, a source tells Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. While the Mets, Angels, and Mariners are said to be the frontrunners for his services, the article says that the Bombers are "lurking in the weeds."

Silverman stresses that the Yanks are not believed to have made an offer at this point and their level of interest is currently unclear.

Also, while it appears unlikely that there is a place for Bay in Boston, it should be noted that the club has yet to inform him that he is no longer in their plans.

As for the Yankees, do you think they're legitimately interested in Bay or just doing their due diligence?

Cards Offer Most Lucrative Deal In Team History To Holliday

By Zachary Links | December 15, 2009 at 1:30pm CDT

1:30pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Cardinals don't believe many teams are competing for Holliday on the level they are. Olney says the Cards intend to stand by a five-year offer – that's considerably short of the eight-year deal hinted at yesterday.

The Yankees have no intention of bidding on Holliday, according to Olney's sources.

TUESDAY, 11:19am: A source familiar with the talks tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that "nothing is imminent." The source says Boras and Holliday "are still looking for something that they're not finding."

MONDAY, 11:10pm: The Cardinals have offered Matt Holliday a deal which would pay him $16MM per year and could extend through eight seasons, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It's unclear at this point how many of the seasons are option years – if any. As St. Louis is anxious to reach a resolution, those familiar with the talks believe it possible that Holliday could reach a verdict before Christmas.

This proposal dwarfs the average value of the 7-year, $100MM contract Albert Pujols inked in the winter of 2004. Of course, the average value of Pujols' next contract will likely overshadow the pitch made to Holliday.

Strauss writes that the Yankees may be the most dangerous variable to the Cardinals, despite their insistance that they are not pursuing Holliday. With Jason Bay pointed towards signing with the Mets and the Red Sox inking Mike Cameron, two potential suitors are presumably off the chase.

Do you believe that the Yanks are seriously considering throwing their pinstriped hat into the Holliday ring? Could Scott Boras be overplaying his hand on what seems to be a titanic offer? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Nady, Holliday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2009 at 12:33pm CDT

Some links for your Tuesday morning…

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says there's no guarantee the Dodgers will spend the money they saved in the Juan Pierre deal.
Newsday's David Lennon says Omar Minaya had plans to speak with John Lackey today and concludes that the pitcher wasn't interested in joining the Mets.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says there's speculation that the Jays will deal Lyle Overbay now that they're set to obtain Brett Wallace.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Red Sox are looking at righty outfielders such as Xavier Nady to contribute in a utility role.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff doesn't expect the Yankees to commit to another nine-figure salary and sign Matt Holliday, especially since they need pitching.
Rob Neyer of ESPN.com says the $130MM or so the Cardinals have apparently offered Holliday is "too much risk for too many years."
The Marlins signed Clay Hensley to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 30-year-old righty didn't pitch in the majors last year.
Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Marlins, who will watch Aroldis Chapman throw, have "legit" interest in the 21-year-old lefty.
Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston points out that the Red Sox have tons of cash, even if they like to downplay their wealth.
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe likes the Lackey signing for the Red Sox.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Kelvim Escobar will pitch in front of teams this week in Venezuela. We know the Mets recently offered him a minor league deal.
Lots of people have said the Brewers are a threat to sign Mark Mulder. GM Doug Melvin confirmed on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he thinks the Brewers are the "frontrunners" to sign the lefty (Hat Tip: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner says the Mariners could use a player like Luke Scott.
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun wonders how seroiusly the Orioles are interested in Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. The O's met with his agents at the Winter Meetings.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are glad to see Roy Halladay leave the AL East. I'm sure Yankees fans agree.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yanks would be comfortable playing Melky Cabrera in left and using Johnny Damon as the primary DH.
The A's sent three people to watch Aroldis Chapman throw in Houston, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Odds & Ends: Torrealba, Rangers, Damon

By Zachary Links | December 15, 2009 at 12:04am CDT

Some evening links…

Yorvit Torrealba's pending grievance hearing against the Mets will take place Wednesday, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. Torrealba contends that back when he was a free agent in 2007, the club falsely created the impression that he was an injury risk. Interestingly, the article notes that despite this, the Mets could still sign Torrealba this time around if they are unable to sign Bengie Molina.
The Texas Rangers could sell for as much as $530MM, according to Maury Brown of BizOfBaseball. Brown indicates that the group led by Jim Crane holds the highest bid at the moment.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweeted earlier today that the signings of Mike Cameron and Hideki Matsui could improve the chances of Johnny Damon returning to the Bronx. Not just a good point but one that many of us have probably overlooked in the chaos of today.
All of the player movement of today puts a great deal of pressure on Mets GM Omar Minaya, writes Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
With Lackey and Halladay seemingly off the market, the Yankees can now focus on whittling down a list of available second-tier starters, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger. Carig suggests that Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer are possibilities.
Steve Gilbert of MLB.com has a list of possible non-tenders who could land with the D'Backs. We've heard the other names already, but Gilbert suggests Ryan Church as a fit, noting that Arizona has an uncertain interest level.
A person familiar with the Mets' thinking tells Marty Noble of MLB.com that the team has interest in two pitchers: starter Chien-Ming Wang and a lower-profile name in reliever Mike MacDougal.

Mets, Phillies, Orioles Interested In Rodney

By Zachary Links | December 14, 2009 at 5:17pm CDT

The Mets, Phillies, and Orioles are all "in" on Fernando Rodney, tweets Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com. However, Arangure adds that nothing appears imminent at this point.

What kind of contract offer would you extend to Rodney, who will turn 33 before Opening Day?

Jason Bay Rumors: Sunday

By Luke Adams 2 | December 13, 2009 at 10:09am CDT

In yesterday's round of Jason Bay rumors, we heard that Bay had rejected the Red Sox' offer and was exploring other options. Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, took this news one step further, saying that his client is prepared to "move on," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Regarding negotiations with the Sox, Urbon added:

"We’ve got to a point where, based on the offers we’ve received from other clubs, we needed to make it clear where we stand, and they’ve made it clear where they stand. If they want, they can reengage at some point in this process, but we’re not going to wait. We can’t wait. We have to go at the pace of the other clubs."

Articles by John Tomase and Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald and Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post both point out that this stance could just be a negotiating tactic by Urbon. Even so, Hubbuch notes that it should only improve the Mets' chances of landing Bay, though Bill Madden of the New York Daily News is skeptical about Bay coming to New York. SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets seem more concerned about Seattle's involvement than Boston's.

Jason Bay Rumors: Saturday

By Mike Axisa | December 12, 2009 at 9:02pm CDT

9:02pm: Urbon tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that nothing will be decided this weekend (via Twitter). Earlier today, Jon Heyman tweeted that he believes the Mets would be willing to give Bay a five-year deal if neccessary.

4:46pm: A major league source told WEEI.com that one club has "extended past" a five-year deal for Jason Bay – which could mean a five-year deal or a four-year deal with an option. Meanwhile, Ian Browne of MLB.com says that it's "starting to appear unlikely" that Bay will remain with Boston.

2:55pm: Bay has rejected Boston's latest proposal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Bay's agent Joe Urbon told Rosenthal there are "other offers on the table that are of greater interest" to his client.

The last known offer from the BoSox was a four-year pact worth $60MM. It has been said that Bay is seeking the security of a five-year contract.

10:14am: A team source indicated to The NY Post's Bart Hubbuch that the Mets' offer to free agent Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, starting out with a $10MM salary in the first year before ballooning to $20MM in the final year. Hubbuch notes that this is common practice for the Mets under Omar Minaya, citing Carlos Beltran's similarly structured deal.

Yesterday we learned that Bay's agent countered Boston's original four year, $60MM offer by asking for six years at $16-18MM annually. The general belief is that a fifth year will land the free agent.

Odds & Ends: Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Cust

By Zachary Links | December 12, 2009 at 8:49pm CDT

Some Saturday links:

The Mets have yet to make an offer to John Lackey and continue to focus on Jason Bay, according to David Lennon of Newsday (via Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets would be willing to give Bay a five-year deal if necessary.
Braves GM Frank Wren said the club is open to retaining Kelly Johnson at a lesser salary, he said that he would be better suited to an opportunity where he could get more at-bats, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While Wren continues to explore other options on the open market, the club is leaving the door open for Jason Heyward to win the job in right field, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Prior to being selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 draft and sold to the Dodgers, Carlos Monasterios told Bravos de Margarita that both the Dodgers and the Tigers were in contact with him (passed along by Diamond Leung).
The Red Sox trade of Mike Lowell to Texas has not been officially completed as Rangers officials are looking over the third baseman's thumb, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Recently non-tendered Jack Cust could be a fit for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that the club still has room to spend this winter.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says that barring something that's not currently on the team's radar, the second baseman job will go to Blake DeWitt plus a veteran, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America brings us the latest minor league transactions. Most notably, former Seton Hall Prep standout and Yankees' first round selection Eric Duncan has landed with the Braves.

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