Mets Rumors

Mets Talk: Cora, Catchers, Krivsky

By Tim Dierkes | December 1, 2009 at 10:43am CDT

Let's gather up the latest Mets hot stove links…

Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News, and Ken Davidoff of Newsday all trashed yesterday's signing of Alex Cora for $2MM. The basic premise is that every dollar counts when you're up against a payroll limit, and uninspired signings like Cora, John Grabow, and Ramon Hernandez for $2-3MM hurt.
In that same blog post, Davidoff says the Mets "like Matt Holliday, but it's pretty apparent that they're not going after him the way they pursued Carlos Beltran five years ago."
The Mets are poised to add Henry Blanco and Chris Coste as backup options, but Davidoff says their top free agent target is Bengie Molina. If he's offered arbitration today and turns it down later, Molina would cost the Mets' their #40 draft pick (unless they also sign a higher-ranked Type A who turned down arb, in which case their #40 pick would go to another team and the Giants would get #71). Davidoff notes that Gerald Laird and Chris Snyder were Mets trade targets in the past, and that other free agent catchers would not cost a draft pick. Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post says the Mets are interested in Type B free agent Rod Barajas.
Roch Kubatko of MASN talked to Orioles president Andy MacPhail about Wayne Krivsky leaving his special assistant position with the O's for a better position with the Mets. Knowing that Krivsky wants to be a GM again, does this put more pressure on Omar Minaya?

Odds & Ends: Blue Jays, Mets, Padres

By Howard Megdal | November 30, 2009 at 9:15pm CDT

The Winter Meetings motor is getting revved up…

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star lists three misconceptions about the Roy Halladay situation.
The Mets have added former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky to their front office, according to Ken Rosenthal's Twitter feed. Krivsky had been working with the Orioles.
Corey Brock of MLB.com answers fan questions. Among other things, he believes Tony Gwynn, Jr. is a fourth outfielder, while Mike Cameron would be a good fit in San Diego.
Despite the economic downturn, salaries went up league-wide in 2009.

Indians Will Look Within To Fill Roster

By Howard Megdal | November 30, 2009 at 6:00pm CDT

Buster Olney is reporting on his Twitter feed that the Indians' "preference might be giving their internal candidates a chance to play, instead of inking vet FAs to $800K deals."

It is fair to wonder if this will be a league-wide trend, though the Mets' decision to bring in Chris Coste and Alex Cora seems to argue against this.

Cleveland, unlike New York, also has more players at the upper levels of their farm system.

Mets Sign Chris Coste

By Howard Megdal | November 30, 2009 at 5:18pm CDT

The Fargo-Moorehead Forum's Jeff Kolpack has confirmed a report by New York Baseball Digest's Joe DeMayo that the Mets have signed Chris Coste, a Fargo native, to a contract.

Coste told the Forum that the Mets gave him a guarantee of being placed on the 40-man roster, though not a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster. If the Mets are happy with Coste, they can keep him beyond 2010 as an arbitration-eligible player.

Coste struggled with the bat in 2009, hitting just .224/.301/.317 in 230 plate appearances with the Phillies and Astros.

The former 33-year-old rookie will be 37 next season.

Mets, Alex Cora Agree To Deal

By Tim Dierkes | November 30, 2009 at 4:03pm CDT

4:03pm: The AP says an agreement has been reached on a $2MM deal with an additional $1MM in performance bonuses. A $2MM option for 2011 vests with 80 starts in 2010.

12:17pm: The Mets are close to a one-year deal with a vesting option with infielder Alex Cora, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford. Bradford believes Cora will again be guaranteed $2MM. The agreement is pending a physical.

Cora, a Scott Boras client, had his OBP slip from .371 in '08 to .320 this year with increased playing time (308 plate appearances, 599 innings in the field). With all of the Mets' needs this winter, I'm a little surprised they didn't fill Cora's role more cheaply.

Odds & Ends: Matsui, Cardinals, Arb Offers

By Tim Dierkes | November 30, 2009 at 2:02pm CDT

Links for Monday…

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders if Bobby Crosby could be a match for the Rangers as a utility infielder.
MLB.com's Mychael Urban has an update on free agent lefty Mark Mulder.
Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball analyzes Tim Lincecum's possible 2010 salary, and predicts the pitcher might submit $16.8MM against the Giants' $8MM figure.
ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Hideki Matsui's marketability is not a factor for the Yankees.
Alex Speier of WEEI examines the chances of Roy Halladay remaining a workhorse over the next several seasons.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch doesn't see geography as a big factor for Matt Holliday. Meanwhile, Bernie Miklasz of the P-D doesn't understand Albert Pujols' reasoning as to why he needs to wait to discuss an extension.
MLB.com's Brian McTaggart asks readers to predict the Astros' arbitration decisions for free agents. Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins are tough calls in that it makes sense but we're not sure if the Astros will. We'll have predictions on all Type A/B free agents later today.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explains why he feels only Felipe Lopez will get an arbitration offer from the Brewers.
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says the Marlins are leaning against offering arbitration to Type B free agents Kiko Calero and Nick Johnson. Calero might be worth it.
Jon Weisman of Dodgers Thoughts says the Dodgers' arbitration decisions won't necessarily be influenced by the McCourts' divorce.
Staying with this theme, FanGraphs' Dave Cameron looks at the factors that should influence a team's arbitration-offer decision.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports look at the market for Miguel Tejada.
Morosi suggests ten teams that should talk to the Tigers about Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, and Edwin Jackson.
Jacob Jackson of Athletics Nation has a detailed offseason plan for the A's.
Righty Miguel Batista told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he has a few contenders interested in his services.
Notes from NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman: the Orioles are eyeing pitcher Hisanori Takahashi, and Hideki Okajima would like a contract extension (he's under team control through 2012 as an arbitration-eligible player).
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the fates of Jeff Karstens, Robinzon Diaz, and Justin Thomas will be decided today.
Elmer Dessens doesn't have a contract with the Mets quite yet, writes Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.

Eight Teams Interested In Takashi Saito

By Luke Adams 2 | November 29, 2009 at 12:20pm CDT

The White Sox, Cubs, Braves, and Mets make up half of the eight teams interested in signing right-hander Takashi Saito, according to Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker.

Saito posted a 2.43 ERA in 55.2 IP for the Red Sox last year, in what was maybe his least effective MLB campaign. In 245.1 innings over four seasons in Los Angeles and Boston, Saito's ERA is a minuscule 2.01. Although he turns 40 before Opening Day 2010, Saito's track record should earn him an eighth-inning job, and perhaps even a chance to close.

The last rumor we heard on Saito was that the Red Sox weren't picking up the reliever's $6MM 2010 option, but were still open to bringing him back to Boston. So we can probably add the Sox to the list of teams interested in the veteran righty. Any speculation on who the others might be? Tigers? Phillies? Astros?

Odds & Ends: Johnson, Cabrera, Mets, Contreras

By Mike Axisa | November 27, 2009 at 2:22pm CDT

Here's some discount links on Black Friday…

ESPN's Keith Law notes that the Marlins have a history of moving players early, and says that they could land two big league ready players and two Double-A prospects for Josh Johnson.
There's no evidence to suggest that the Red Sox have approached the Tigers about a trade for Miguel Cabrera according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
Bob Klapisch of FoxSports.com writes that it'll take more than one offseason to get the Mets back on track.
Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says that next week's arbitration deadline will have a big impact on the Red Sox, and wonders if GM Theo Epstein has a trade for a shortstop in mind.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert says a marriage between the Diamondbacks and free agent Nick Johnson seems unlikely because the team has a little more than $10MM to spend and more pressing needs in the rotation.
Jose Contreras met with officials from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, according to the AP (via NBCSports.com).
SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that Jermaine Dye would like to go west, and suggests that he could be an alternative righty bat for the Rangers.
Heyman also hears that the Blue Jays like Jesus Montero of the Yankees and Casey Kelly of the Red Sox, referring of course to a potential Roy Halladay trade.
FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry takes a look at some free agents teams should avoid.
R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs chimes on three recent moves: Dallas McPherson to the A's, Tug Hulett to the Red Sox, and Radhames Liz to the Padres.

Holliday Would Play Anywhere

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 26, 2009 at 9:42am CDT

Like Jason Bay, Matt Holliday is choosing not to rule out any potential suitors. Holliday told Jody McDonald and Rob Dibble of SIRIUS XM Radio that he's open to signing anywhere; Newsday's Ken Davidoff has the transcript.

"I've been around, and I've lived in some big cities so I would say that I'm open to any sort of coast or city," Holliday said. "Obviously I've never lived in some of the big cities on the East Coast, but at the same time, I've spent some time there."

Davidoff writes that Holliday considers the Yankees his first choice and the Mets his second choice. The Yankees may simply bring Johnny Damon back, but Davidoff says the Mets consider Holliday a "serious" option for their left field vacancy.

Mets Close To Bringing Back Dessens

By Mike Axisa | November 25, 2009 at 4:10pm CDT

4:10pm: Dessens' agent says the two sides are "getting closer" to a deal, according to an update from the FoxSports.com duo.

3:13pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that the Mets are interested in bringing righthander Elmer Dessens back."We are talking," said Dessens' agent, Oscar Suarez.

The 38-year-old Dessens was actually pretty good for the Amazin's last year, posting a 3.31 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP in 32.2 innings out of the bullpen. The Mets are the ninth team he has played for in his 13-year career.

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