Mets Meet With Boras
Mets GM Omar Minaya met with agent Scott Boras last night at the GM Meetings for 45 minutes, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman says Matt Holliday, Alex Cora, Jarrod Washburn, and Rick Ankiel were discussed.
Of course, the Mets' plans extend beyond Boras clients, and Sherman says Bengie Molina sits atop their list of catching targets. The Mets made a play for Molina four years ago. Another target might be Chone Figgins, as suggested by SI's Jon Heyman.
Sherman sums up the Mets' offseason situation:
The Mets' priority list in order is a slugging left fielder, a high-end starting pitcher and a regular catcher. But a Mets executive said that if the club cannot land a significant left fielder they could spend more on a starter such as free agent John Lackey. For now, the Mets more are contemplating a mid-rotation type starter such as Randy Wolf, Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis and Washburn.
In our recent Top 50 Free Agents list, we predicted the Mets will sign Holliday, Wolf, and Brad Penny. All speculation at the time, and there hasn't been any actual connection to Penny so far.
Mets Likely To Re-Sign Alex Cora?
The Mets are likely to re-sign Alex Cora as their backup infielder for 2010, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. Cora, 34 in October, hit .251/.320/.310 in 308 plate appearances for the Mets this year. The Scott Boras client earned $2MM for his efforts.
MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone appreciates Cora's intangibles, but would hate to see GM Omar Minaya overpay him with a two-year deal (see Marlon Anderson and Julio Franco).
Minaya: Mets Will Be Buyers, Not Sellers
Usually, getting shut out five times in 13 games as the trade deadline nears while falling ten games behind the division leader is a good excuse to get a team to waive the white flag.
But the Mets are no ordinary team, with executives challenging minor leaguers to fights, having altercations with closer Francisco Rodriguez, and an injury a day– this one to Alex Cora, who has been filling in for the injured Jose Reyes.
So it should come as no surprise that Mets GM Omar Minaya says New York will be buyers, not sellers at the trade deadline, according to the tireless Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
"Right now we do not envision [being a seller]," Minaya said. "If we're 6 ½ [back] in the wild card with a couple of teams in front of us, we are still kind of trying to find out how we can improve this team, if we can improve it through trades."
Not clear if Minaya also believes Lloyd Christmas should be a buyer at the trade deadline because he was told he has a "one in a million chance."
First Baseman? Mets Need a Shortstop
With Carlos Delgado out until at least late July, the rumors have swirled around the Mets and first basemen throughout the league.
But what the Mets may really need is a shortstop. Jose Reyes left Wednesday night's game against the Dodgers with what looked to be an aggravation of the calf injury that kept him out for five games. With backup Alex Cora out indefinitely with a thumb injury, the Mets are now left with a pair of shortstops: Ramon Martinez, who had two errors in his start on Monday night, and Fernando Tatis, who is a "break glass in case of emergency" kind of shortstop.
Even if Reyes returns quickly, the Mets need a credible backup. In house, the Mets have last season's backup middle infielder Argenis Reyes at shortstop, a decent glove who simply cannot hit. Jose Coranado is struggling so much with the bat, a .141 average at Triple-A, that he is an unlikely recall.
As previously reported, the Indians are fielding offers for Mark DeRosa. But DeRosa hasn't played more than 20 games at shortstop in a season since 2001-and over his last three seasons, he played a total of nine games there.
Mets Finalize One Year Deal With Cora
The AP reports that the Mets finalized their one year contract with Alex Cora today.
We heard last week that the deal was for $2MM, but there are also incentives for Cora based on games started. He gets a $250K bonus for each of 110, 120, 130 and 140 games started. Cora hasn’t started more than 100 games since 2004.
Mets Agree To Terms With Alex Cora
According to Ben Shpigel of the New York Times, the Mets have agreed to terms on a one-year, $2MM deal with veteran infielder Alex Cora.
Cora, 33, hit .270/.371/.349 in 152 at-bats for the Red Sox last season. He’ll provide some insurance at second base in case Luis Castillo continues to struggle. Cora has also played shortstop and third base in the past.
Mets Close To Deal With Alex Cora
According to Rob Bradford of WEEI, the Mets are close to a deal with infielder Alex Cora for one-year and $2MM. The 33 year-old hit .270/.371/.349 in 179 plate appearances in ’08 while playing both middle infield positions for the Red Sox.
Rosenthal On Dunn, Angels, Garland, Roberts
Let’s take a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal.
- The Dodgers won’t go after Adam Dunn until they exhaust their options with Manny Ramirez. Rosenthal likes the Dunn-L.A. match. Should Dunn opt for a one-year deal so he can try his hand at a weaker free agent market?
- Rosenthal wonders if Tony La Russa and/or Albert Pujols will depart if the Cardinals do not contend in coming seasons.
- The Angels are not in on any hitter currently, but could engage in trade talks this summer if necessary.
- Rosenthal drives home just how difficult it would be for the Mets to move Luis Castillo. He says the team wants to bring in a capable backup infielder such as Alex Cora, David Eckstein, or Craig Counsell.
- The D’Backs made offers for Jon Garland and Brad Penny, but Penny signed with Boston and they’re out on Garland. Rosenthal says the D’Backs still aren’t necessarily in the market for a starter.
- A Brian Roberts trade is said to be a "growing possibility."
Mets Make Offer To Lowe
TUESDAY, 7:03pm: It looks as though the first of the Mets’ offers has been issued.
According to Jack Curry of the New York Times, the Mets have offered Derek Lowe a three-year deal, worth a total of $36MM. I imagine half the teams in baseball would be willing to offer that amount to Lowe. The article maintains the current notion that Lowe is the Mets’ first choice to bolster their rotation. He had reportedly been seeking five years and $90MM.
MONDAY: MLB.com’s Marty Noble on the Mets:
They intend to make offers early this week to at least two and probably three free-agent pitchers — Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf — in hopes of signing one of them.
Noble says the Mets continue to rank the three in that order – Lowe, Perez, Wolf. The Mets haven’t shown any indication of wanting to sign more than one. Lowe and Perez should be ready to sign soon now that Scott Boras isn’t occupied with Mark Teixeira.
Noble adds that the Mets aren’t terribly concerned about having only one left-handed reliever on the roster (Pedro Feliciano). They’ll look for bargains rather than pursue a Joe Beimel type. Mets GM Omar Minaya does want to acquire a utility infielder, with Alex Cora atop the list.
Mets Considering Randy Wolf, Oliver Perez
10:14pm: Wolf told MLB.com’s Marty Noble tonight that the Mets have shown "some interest." Noble says the Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Braves, and Giants are also "thought to have interest."
7:58am: According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Mets have checked the bullpen off their list and will now look to upgrade the rotation. It seems that Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf are the top targets, with the pricey Derek Lowe a less likely possibility. McCarron notes that the Mets have a strong relationship with Wolf’s agent Arn Tellem, who brokered the Francisco Rodriguez contract.
With A.J. Burnett off the board, perhaps the market for Lowe will heat up this week. The free agent starting pitching options remain strong – look at what was available on this date a year ago.
Offensively, McCarron doesn’t see much more than an Alex Cora addition on the horizon for the Mets.