Mets Consider Offer For Molina
MONDAY, 7:44pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Mets are considering offering Molina a deal that would pay him $6MM next year and include an option for 2011. It's not clear what kind of option they're considering. The Mets would prefer not to offer Molina a two-year deal, but they haven't ruled such a deal out.
9:52pm: Newsday's Ken Davidoff says that the Mets are considering Rod Barajas as an alternative to Molina. What do you think: genuine interest, or a smoke screen to put some pressure on Bengie?
SUNDAY, 3:02pm: Jon Heyman says, via Twitter, that the Mets are trying to wait it out when it comes to Molina. According to Heyman, the Mets figure that other teams with catching needs, such as the Royals and Rangers, have less money than them.
Are the Mets wise to wait on Bengie? Or, are they running a risk of losing out on what seems to be their main target for starting catcher in 2010? Gregg Zaun already signed with the Brewers this week, eliminating one possible alternative from this year's free agent crop.
SATURDAY, 9:19am: Despite signing both Henry Blanco and Chris Coste recently, the Mets are still looking to add a catcher according to Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post. Manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen hold last year's catching corps partially responsible for the team's 4.46 ERA, though I think the fact that Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, Oliver Perez, Nelson Figueroa, and Pat Misch combined to make 71 starts is more to blame.
Hubbuch says the primary catching target appears to be Bengie Molina, whose 20 homers in 2009 was nearly double what the Mets got out of their catchers. Molina is a Type-A free agent, but he wasn't offered arbitration, meaning it won't cost a draft pick to sign him. Giants' GM Brian Sabean recently said that he believes Molina "probably has been offered" a multi-year deal by another team, though we haven't heard any more about that.
Minaya: No Pressure To Make Moves
Ben Shpigel of the New York Times writes that Omar Minaya arrived in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings and has said that he's not under any pressure to make moves, despite having issues to address at catcher, left field, the rotation, and the bullpen.
"I don't feel like I have to do something," Minaya is quoted as saying, and that includes signing Bengie Molina, as many expect the Mets to do. Shpigel backs up his tweet that we linked to earlier, stating that the Mets are more likely to make a trade at the meetings than sign a free agent.
Minaya feels that the Mets had more focused needs than last year, according to Shpigel. He quotes Omar:
“I remember coming here last year and we were trying to get Frankie Rodriguez… We knew that and we focused on that. Coming into the meetings we had meetings with the agent and we felt that we could get things done and address that last year. This year, it’s not as clear as it was last year. Last year we needed a closer and we ended up getting two closers. This year we have more parts that we have to fill in. Are we going to be able to fill all of them in here? I don’t know that."
The Mets would like to unload Luis Castillo in an effort to lure Orlando Hudson to New York, and they're very interested in Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham to fill their need for a slugging left fielder. Shpigel says that the Nats currently have a steep asking price though, as Willingham is in high demand.
If the Mets can't land Willingham, Shpigel suggests Marlon Byrd as a possibility, though he notes that the Mets are wary of the vast disparity between Byrd's home and road splits in 2009. Byrd hit a whopping .282/.336/.538 and clubbed 14 of his 20 home runs at home, but posted a much more pedestrian line of .285/.322/.419 away from Arlington.
Giants’ Talk: Catchers, Rotation, Howry
Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News and John Shea of The SF Chronicle have some notes on the Giants' for us…
- GM Brian Sabean said "nobody thinks [Buster Posey] is ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues," however they haven't made any "money offers" to any free agent catchers. He acknowledged that a multi-year deal for a backstop "wouldn't be wise."
- As for why they didn't offer Type-A free agent Bengie Molina arbitration, Sabean said the team didn't "need another arbitration case," and that they "have multiple needs and we want to spread the money throughout the roster."
- Sabean indicated that the team isn't comfortable paying Brad Penny or Juan Uribe what they want, and neither is likely to return. Both players declined one year deals last week.
- Shea says that if Penny leaves, the team probably won't move Jonathan Sanchez in a trade, while Baggarly says there is "less resistance to the idea of Madison Bumgarner beginning the season in the rotation."
- The team has informed reliever Bob Howry that they would like to bring him back, but they have not yet talked about money.
- The Giants will not forfeit a draft pick to sign a player, which rules out the Type-A's. They hold the 24th overall pick in next year's draft. However, Sabean said that Type-A's who weren't offered arbitration were "more sensible targets."
Mets Sign Henry Blanco
THURSDAY, 5:48pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post confirms the agreement and adds that an announcement will come tomorrow or Saturday (via Twitter).
5:46pm: Blanco agreed to a one-year pact worth $1.5MM according to a tweet from Francisco Blavia of Lider en Deportes passed along by Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.
8:58am: Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News passes on a report from the Venezuelan paper, El Nacional, that says Blanco is on his way to a physical with the Mets. Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com suggests the Mets will sign Blanco. He says the club maintains interest in Bengie Molina.
MONDAY, 2:58pm: The Mets are close to a deal with free agent catcher Henry Blanco, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Blanco would be brought on as a backup. The 38-year-old hit .235/.320/.382 in 232 plate appearances for the Padres this year, catching 508 innings and earning $750K.
Rosenthal notes that in terms of starting catchers, Bengie Molina "is believed to be" the Mets' top target. Molina's prospects will be greatly affected by the Giants' decision whether to offer him arbitration tomorrow night.
Giants Rumors: Penny, Uribe, Molina
Joan Ryan of MLB.com spoke to Giants' GM Brian Sabean about a variety of hot stove topics, so let's round 'em up…
- Sabean said the market "right now is as slow or slower than last year in developing."'
- The Giants made a one year offer to Brad Penny, and offered one year plus an option to Juan Uribe last week. Both were declined.
- Sabean added that catcher Bengie Molina "probably has been offered" a multi-year deal by another team, which would essentially guarantee he isn't coming back to San Francisco.
- Even though there might be some interesting "secondary free agents,'' as Sabean called them, he says they may not make as much sense as giving their own young players a chance.
- "In a perfect world, you'd love to have (Madison) Bumgarner and (Buster) Posey burst on the scene,'' Sabean said. "But you don't want to rush them. So you keep at it, at the grindstone, and be ready when the best opportunities pop.''
- Sabean mentions that they're "willing to go at the pace of the marketplace and show more patience," adding that people shouldn't read anything into it if nothing happens during the Winter Meetings next week.
Mets Rumors: Maine, Molina, Matsui
The latest on the New York Mets:
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Mets will definitely offer arbitration-eligible pitcher John Maine a contract.
- As Ben Shpigel of the New York Times points out, the Mets won't have to make concessions to Bengie Molina, even though he is one of the more appealing catchers available.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker reports that the Mets asked to see the results of Hideki Matsui's physical. I guess this means they'd consider letting him play the outfield.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wolf, Betancourt, Braves
Links for Wednesday…
- The Reds signed pitcher Jon Adkins to a minor league deal, according to the pitcher's Twitter (hat tip to The Hall Of Very Good). Adkins spent 2009 pitching in Korea.
- The Giants were right not to offer arbitration to Bengie Molina, writes Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles.
- Chris Pummer as well as our own Howard Megdal from The Perpetual Post weigh in on Andruw Jones, who recently signed with the White Sox for $500K.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News discusses the chances of the Giants signing Miguel Tejada, Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, or Hudson.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners are interested in Orlando Hudson, at the right price. The lack of an arbitration offer helps.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs looks at Ned Colletti's claim that the Dodgers' decision not to offer arbitration to Type A free agent Randy Wolf "was made strictly from a baseball perspective."
- No surprise here: Astros GM Ed Wade indicated that a reunion with Wolf is unlikely (MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reporting). Wade also downplayed the reports linking the Astros to Brett Myers and J.J. Putz, saying, "We've made contact with agents for about every player out there as a matter of course. I would not read anymore into it than that."
- ESPN's Buster Olney believes Rafael Betancourt "could be the player whose market is most affected" among the ten Type As offered arbitration.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday questions the Mets' Billy Wagner trade from August.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders if the Braves might now pursue a setup man such as Octavio Dotel or Fernando Rodney.
- Corey Brock and Steve Gilbert have Winter Meetings previews at MLB.com for the Padres and Diamondbacks, respectively.
- Diamond Leung links to stories indicating the Chiba Lotte Marines "are interested in purchasing the contract of Dodgers left-hander Eric Stults." Stults posted a 4.86 ERA in ten starts for the Dodgers last year, making another 13 starts in the minors.
Giants Do Not Offer Arb To Any Free Agents
The Giants did not offer arbitration to any of their free agents – Type A catcher Bengie Molina and Type Bs Bob Howry, Randy Johnson, and Randy Winn. It's a mixed result for Molina – he's more attractive to other teams (the Mets, for example) now that he will not cost a draft pick, but if he'd been offered and accepted arbitration he probably would've maximized his 2010 salary.
Mets Talk: Cora, Catchers, Krivsky
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?
Giants Rumors: Posey, Molina, Uggla, Johnson
Recently re-signed GM Brian Sabean has his work cut out for him this offseason. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle brings us the latest on the Giants offseason:
- Giants brass are discussing whether or not they feel Buster Posey will be ready to play in the majors at the start of the 2010. Even if they decide he's not, Bengie Molina isn't likely to be back in San Francisco. As we've heard elsewhere, the Mets are interested in the 35-year-old catcher.
- Sabean said that as of Thursday, the club wasn't close to a deal for Florida's Dan Uggla. However, Schulman notes that Sabean pointed out Freddy Sanchez's ability to play third base, which leaves open the possibility of acquiring someone to play second base.
- Sabean also said that he is looking at "second-tier" free agents who want to play at AT&T Park. One player to keep an eye on is Nick Johnson, who is beloved by manager Bruce Bochy. In 133 games with the Nationals and Marlins last season, the 30-year-old posted .291/.426/.405 with 8 HRs – his lowest total in any 100+ game season.