Mets Retain Jose Valentin
According to the New York Post, the Mets have re-signed second baseman Jose Valentin for 2007 and a vesting option for 2008. Valentin will make at least $3MM next year.
Valentin had always had great power, slugging 30 HR for the White Sox as recently as 2004. There’s always a chance of a complete collapse of his batting average and subsequently his OBP. Valentin is, after all, a career .243 hitter. Still, you can’t really complain about the signing. Minaya is now free to focus his efforts on adding a starting pitcher.
The second base free agent market now consists of Mark Loretta, Ray Durham, Ronnie Belliard, Adam Kennedy, Alfonso Soriano, and Todd Walker.
Kei Igawa: Plan B To Matsuzaka?
It appears that both the Mets and Yankees were scouting 27 year-old lefty Kei Igawa Tuesday night against the MLB All-Stars. He’ll be an option for teams looking overseas for pitching that are reluctant to break the bank. However, David Wright was not impressed:
"Asked if Igawa’s pitches were major-league quality, Wright hedged a bit.
‘I just don’t know,’ Wright said. ‘I’d have to see him when he’s in midseason form. You send a guy up there after a month layoff and you can’t get a handle on a guy. But as far as a lefty goes, he has a sneaky fastball. I thought he threw, for a lefty, an average to above-average fastball, an above-average changeup, and his slider was a little flat. But with a month off, who knows? Could be any number of reasons.’
Mets Interested In Edwin Jackson
Renewing an interest they’ve had for a while now, a source tells me the Mets hope to acquire Edwin Jackson from the Devil Rays for bullpen help. They feel that they can fix some mechanical flaws in the 23 year-old righty.
Not sure if the Mets would hope to acquire Jackson as part of a trade of Aaron Heilman. As you may have read in the papers, Tampa Bay has interest in Heilman as a starter.
Could Pedro Retire?
All the New York papers this morning had Pedro Martinez‘s quote to the AP:
"To go back, I have to recover. I have to be healthy. But if God doesn’t want that, then I would have to think about giving it all up."
Pedro also says the pain in his shoulder is the worst of his career. Whether he’s just talking out of frustration right now with the long recovery road ahead of him, it’s hard to say.
But what we know for sure is that the Mets won’t be entering 2007 relying on Pedro for much. While the Mets have put in a call to Mark Mulder‘s people, I doubt Omar Minaya would see Mulder as compensation for Martinez.
The Mets hope to retain Tom Glavine on a two-year deal and would still figure to make a significant bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka. In recent days Mike Mussina‘s name has come up as well. Right now the depth chart looks something like this without Pedro:
Tom Glavine
John Maine
Oliver Perez
Brian Bannister
Mike Pelfrey
Victor Zambrano
Dave Williams
Philip Humber
Alay Soler
That team can win, but it seems a lock that the Mets will bring in another guy at at least Glavine’s level. Maine’s not your #2 starter. The Mets have to end up with Matsuzaka, Mussina, Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, or Vicente Padilla. I think the second tier begins at Pettitte/Meche/Lilly. Honestly I’d put trade target Dontrelle Willis in that second tier.
Tribune: Cubs After Heilman
According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs have interest in acquiring Aaron Heilman to be their fifth starter in 2007. Heilman will be 28 next season.
Sullivan notes that Jim Hendry hopes to bring in one or two frontline starters not including Heilman. He doesn’t mention what the Cubs have that the Mets would want…Eric Patterson?
Sheffield And The Mets
Word from Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey is that the Mets might be a good fit for Gary Sheffield. Apparently the team’s COO Jeff Wilpon is quite fond of Sheff. There are several other reasons why this could work; check out Healey’s post.
On a related note, Newsday reports that Brian Cashman has a Sheffield deal in place but has yet to pull the trigger. A trade is described as "inevitable," with the Cubs, Phillies, Rangers, Indians, Padres, Giants, Braves, and Astros as possible suitors. The Cubs would have to find a new spot for Jacque Jones; perhaps he would be a component of the deal as the Yanks expressed interest in him last summer.
Healey: Red Sox Like Heilman, Milledge
Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball has a new but familiar trade rumor for us: it appears that the Red Sox would like to acquire Aaron Heilman to be their closer next year. In addition, Theo Epstein and Co. may have their eye on Lastings Milledge. It could be the makings of a Manny Ramirez trade, if the Mets want to pay Ramirez’s $39MM salary over the next two seasons.
Healey was not able to confirm this info from multiple sources, but has faith in his Boston source here.
Manny’s contract may be slightly less daunting than it looks. That’s because $8MM of the $31MM is deferred and will be paid out in $1.94MM doses over 2011-2026. I believe that is the first time MLBTradeRumors has referenced the year 2026.
Gotham Baseball: Mets and Yankees Rumors
Check out the latest from Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball. A summary is below.
Healey’s Cubs source indicates Mark Prior and Alex Rodriguez could be the main pieces of a trade. That’d be a tough sell for Brian Cashman so I’m sure the Cubs would have to spice up such an offer. Healey’s source mentions Mark DeRosa as a possible A-Rod replacement in New York.
A couple of names associated with the Mets include Ray Durham and Mark Mulder. Durham is a new one for me, though the Mulder info jives with what I heard last week. I also have strong indications from another source that a return to Oakland is "very likely" for Mulder, however. It’ll come down to the dollars: if Mulder takes injury/incentive type money, he goes to Oakland. Otherwise, the Mets should be the top suitor.
Healey and I are also in agreement on the Mets’ minimal interest in Julio Lugo and their intent to hang onto Lastings Milledge.
Finally, Healey’s sources call for a Tom Glavine/Greg Maddux reunion in Atlanta. I had heard the same about Glavine, though this weekend’s New York Post mentioned that Glavine doesn’t want to give the Braves a huge discount and Atlanta’s payroll is pretty tight as long as it includes Andruw Jones.
The Hot Stove hasn’t officially begun, but it’s going to be another exciting winter.
UPDATE: Today’s AJC indicates that the Braves would hesitate to pay Glavine even $10MM.
Mets To Deal Aaron Heilman?
With Aaron Heilman being named a goat in some New York papers, the idea has arisen that the Mets should look to trade him. Seems like shaky logic – if Heilman hadn’t allowed Yadier Molina to go deep, would that change everyone’s opinion?
Whether or not it’d be a "sell low" move by Omar Minaya, Heilman’s going to have some major value on the trade market. He’s got a 3.37 ERA over the last two seasons (195 innings, mostly in relief). Next year will be Heilman’s age 28 season.
The tantalizing thing about the 6-5 righty is that he seems capable of starting in the bigs. Heilman hasn’t been a full-time starter since ’04, and he struggled in the role. But it’s the plus changeup that seems to leave the possibility open. Heilman will throw it behind in the count, and if he can work in his slider he might be able to go six solid innings.
Many teams would have interest in Heilman. While the Mets have holes at LF and 2B, the consensus seems that they’d look to acquire the scarcest commodity, a starter. We hear a lot about Heilman as part of a Dontrelle Willis package. How about two other guys I keep talking about – Jason Jennings and Jake Westbrook? Both reach free agency after 2007. Doesn’t seem that Heilman alone would be enough, but it would be a good start. If the Mets are without Pedro and Glavine to start 2007, they’re going to need two good replacements.
Latest Mets Buzz
I spoke to my Mets source recently, so here’s the latest buzz around the team.
As has been reported in several places, Tom Glavine plans on returning to the Braves. I’m told a "handshake agreement" is in place. If the playoff excitement can’t change his mind, the Mets will take a look at Barry Zito and Mark Mulder. Orlando Hernandez may be re-signed and of course Steve Trachsel is a goner. Beyond that, the Mets have many in-house starting pitching options.
The Mets still like outfielder Lastings Milledge even with the problems he’s had in the clubhouse. The only way he’d be dealt is if Dontrelle Willis comes in return. Should Willis become available, the Mets will be all over it. If Milledge is traded to Florida, to team is high on David Dellucci for left field. Alfonso Soriano is not on the radar.
My source also tells me that there is a lot of consideration for Aaron Heilman to return to starting for 2007. They hope to re-sign Guillermo Mota but expect Darren Oliver to command too much money.
The Mets will probably pursue a trade for second base, as Valentin is not expected back. In-house options Ruben Gotay and Anderson Hernandez do not impress. Interest in Julio Lugo is minimal.
The team will take the payroll to the $105MM range. If Glavine leaves that could mean $20MM to play with.