Odds & Ends: Dye, Mets, Lincecum, Vazquez, Colon
Some links for your Friday afternoon…
- Jermaine Dye mentioned to Frank Thomas that he's considering retirement, according to a tweet from CSN Chicago's Chuck Garfien.
- Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News tweets the Mets' players that are out of options: Pat Misch, Anderson Hernandez, Nelson Figueroa, and Fernando Nieve. All four seem to be on the bubble.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Tim Lincecum left "a lot of money on the table" this morning when he agreed to a two-year $23MM deal.
- A number of unnamed GMs tell ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that they haven't figured out how to find good middle relief consistently.
- Javier Vazquez tells Carlos Gonzalez of Primera Hora that he doesn't see himself playing until he's 38 or 39. Vazquez, 33, doesn't expect to retire this year or next year, though. (Translated by Nick Collias).
- Bartolo Colon's agent tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the former Cy Young Award winner wants to pitch this coming season (Twitter link).
- Tom Glavine tells David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he won't rule out a future as a pitching coach. Now it would be too much of a time commitment for him.
- Ryan Rowland-Smith says via Twitter that he's glad the Mariners re-signed Mike Sweeney.
- The Rays signed infielders Angel Chavez and J.J. Furmaniak to minor league deals and invited the pair to Spring Training, according to a team press release.
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News shows that the Phillies have already made major commitments for 2011. They may not be able to re-sign Jayson Werth.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that Russ Springer intends to pitch this coming season.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has details on Khalil Greene's deal with the Rangers. The infielder makes $250K if he spends one day on the team's roster.
- Neftali Feliz leads USA Today's list of 100 names we need to know.
- Like most, Jack Moore of FanGraphs finds it hard to imagine 2011 free agent Derek Jeter finishing his career with a team other than the Yankees. One reason Moore believes Jeter's a fit in the Bronx: the shortstop's inside-out swing is perfect for Yankee Stadium.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy guesses that Corey Hart's reps successfully compared their client to Jeff Francoeur and Josh Willingham. Hart won his arbitration hearing with the Brewers.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Giants and Tim Lincecum went right to the door of their arbitration hearing this morning before settling.
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Jose Reyes?
In true Mets fashion, Jose Reyes injured himself again during rehabilitation from a different injury, suffering a torn hamstring as he tried to run in an effort to move past the torn tendon that has sidelined him since June.
As odd as this may sound, the injury may open the door for Reyes to become a 2011 free agent. The Mets have Reyes signed through 2010, at $9MM next season, and a club option for 2011 at $11MM.
While it has long been considered a no-brainer for the Mets to pick that up, should Reyes suffer through similar injuries in 2010, the reverse conventional wisdom may quickly take hold.
And just how flexible the Mets can be at the position will largely be decided by the progress of prospect Reese Havens, who the Mets are sending to the Arizona Fall League. Havens, who turns 23 on October 20, hit .247/.361/.422 in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League this season, with 14 home runs. It is commonly assumed that Havens will move to second base at higher levels, principally because of Jose Reyes.
Now, Havens has had his own injury problems. But who is healthy in 2010 could go a long way toward determining who is the shortstop at Citi Field in 2011. Mets fans just pray that it's one of these two, and not Anderson Hernandez.