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Carlos Beltran

NL East Notes: Beltran, Cox, Vazquez

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On this date five years ago, the Mets signed Pedro Feliciano, who had spent the previous season playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the NPB. He posted a 3.09 ERA from 2006-10, appearing in more than half of the Mets' games during that time. Feliciano and his durable left arm still play for a New York team, but he will now show up for work at Yankee Stadium. Here's the latest on the NL East…

  • Carlos Beltran says he'll move to right field to keep Angel Pagan in center. Beltran explained that Carlos Delgado and agent Scott Boras helped him make the decision, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Beltran, a free agent after the season, says he feels capable of playing center field, but wants to do what's best for the Mets.
  • ESPN.com's Jayson Stark details the transition from Bobby Cox to Fredi Gonzalez, explaining that the Braves were not looking for something "dramatically different from the previous administration." Gonzalez says the Braves model is "really not broke," so he isn't looking to make radical changes.
  • New acquisition Javier Vazquez was only throwing 88 mph yesterday, but the Marlins aren't concerned about his velocity, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Vazquez, who has consistently thrown 91-92 mph throughout his career, averaged 88.7 mph on his fastball last year.

Players Who Cannot Be Offered Arbitration

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Last offseason, agents negotiated four contracts known to include the bonus of prohibiting the team from offering arbitration if the player received Type A status.  Aside from Orlando Hudson, none of the four came close to Type A (Hudson was a B).  In general, none of the 14 Type As who were offered arbitration in November saw their market adversely affected, though Jason Frasor and Frank Francisco played it safe and accepted.  It was thought that Grant Balfour might have a hard time finding a deal, but the Athletics inked him for two years and $8.1MM.

Three contracts signed this winter prevent the team from offering arbitration if the player is a Type A at the end of the term:

  • Javier Vazquez, ACES.  The Yankees may have been counting on snagging a draft pick upon Vazquez's departure, but he slipped to Type B with a lousy 2010.  If Vazquez pushes himself back to A status with a strong season for the Marlins, they won't be able to offer arbitration.
  • Kevin Correia, Lapa/Leventhal.  This agency snagged the "no arbitration offer" clause for Justin Duchscherer last offseason as well.  Correia signed a two-year deal with the Pirates, so this clause applies to the 2012-13 offseason.  More importantly, Correia has a million bucks in incentives for '12.
  • Carl Pavano, O'Connell Sports Management.  As a Type B after the '09 season, Pavano accepted the Twins' arbitration offer and took the one-year deal.  He moved up to a Type A this winter, and the draft pick cost possibly did give a few teams pause.  After the '12 season, Pavano will not be saddled with that cost.
  • The contract was negotiated six years ago, but Scott Boras client Carlos Beltran can't be offered arbitration after '11.  Beltran was pretty close to Type A for 2009-10 despite playing in only 145 games over that span.  Given his $18.5MM salary the arbitration offer question is probably moot for the Mets anyway.

Mets Notes: Reyes, Alderson, Perez, Castillo

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Here are a few Mets items of note, as the Wilpons' lawsuit drama continues to unfold …

  • The Mets plan to let Jose Reyes play out the entire 2011 season to see if he can stay healthy before deciding whether they should re-sign him, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. Reyes, 28 in June, is an All-Star caliber shortstop when healthy (career line of .286/.335/.434), but he played in just 36 games in 2009 and was limited to 133 games last season due to a variety of injuries. The Mets picked up Reyes' $11MM option for 2011 earlier this offseason.
  • GM Sandy Alderson is maintaining that the Mets' baseball operations have not been hamstrung by the Wilpons' murky financial standing, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but the true test of that will be in the following months, when the team navigates the draft and the non-waiver trade deadline in July. Sherman wonders, will the Mets spend big on the 13th pick and in the international free-agent pool? If they're in contention, will they have the financial flexibility to add a pricey player? If they're out of contention, will they try to offload the big contracts of Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez?
  • With the Mets mired in a cycle of bad publicity due to the Madoff scandal, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez (particularly the latter) might be released in hopes of appeasing an angry fan base, writes Steve Popper of the Bergen Record. Alderson told Popper that new manager Terry Collins won't tolerate the "conduct that has existed in the past," and that the Mets and their players have a "responsibility to the fans."

New York Notes: Beltran, Garcia, Pettitte

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The Angels considered the possibility of trading for Carlos Beltran before they acquired Vernon Wells from the Blue Jays, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here are the details on the Angels' interest in Beltran and other notes from New York City:

  • Sherman hears that the Mets and Angels discussed Beltran, but the Angels preferred Wells despite the $86MM remaining on his contract. The Angels had more confidence in Wells' health and defense.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Sherman that he doesn't want to have to rely on pitching prospects Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances in the majors this season. “They shouldn’t be caught up in our major league problems,” Cashman said. But as Sherman points out, the Yankees have summoned prospects like Phil Hughes to the majors earlier than expected; once the season starts, it's tough to predict what will happen.
  • In conversations with Yankees people, Sherman never got the impression that they liked Freddy Garcia that much. The team agreed to a minor league deal with Garcia Monday.
  • There's "a pretty good likelihood" that Andy Pettitte returns and the Yankees trade for a starter during Spring Training, Sherman writes.

Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Pavano, Buehrle, Millwood

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names the winners and losers of the Winter Meetings in his newest piece, with the Red Sox, Nationals, and White Sox topping his list of winners. Cafardo also shares a handful of hot stove notes. Here are the highlights:

  • Before they signed Carl Crawford, the Red Sox "did a ton of work" on Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran.
  • Carl Pavano figures to wait for Cliff Lee to sign, so he can see the type of offers he receives as the top pitcher on the market. Cafardo thinks Pavano could be a backup plan for the Rangers if they don't land Lee, though the Twins still remain the favorites for the 34-year-old. Texas has also inquired on Matt Garza and James Shields.
  • The White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle, whose contract expires after the 2011 season. Buehrle earned ten and five rights this year, so he'd have the option of vetoing any trade.
  • Agent Scott Boras says a strong market is developing for Kevin Millwood.
  • Team officials that spoke to Cafardo had mixed opinions on free agent backstop Russell Martin. One opined that Martin "can't call a game," while another raved about the enthusiasm the catcher brings each day.
  • According to Cafardo, the Red Sox were the only team to discuss Justin Upton with the Diamondbacks, balking at Kevin Towers' insistence that Daniel Bard be included in a potential deal.
  • The Astros would have interest in trading Matt Lindstrom and Jeff Keppinger.
  • Grant Balfour is seeking a three-year contract. The Red Sox have looked into him, but are hoping Matt Guerrier will accept their offer. As Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston noted today (via Twitter), Guerrier is one of the top relief targets for Boston, along with Brian Fuentes and Jesse Crain.

Scott Boras Holds Court

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Agent Scott Boras is holding court at the Winter Meetings; here's the latest.

Carlos Beltran Rumors: Wednesday

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On Tuesday at the Winter Meetings, the idea of the Red Sox acquiring Carlos Beltran surfaced. For the remainder of the day, we heard a few pieces, culminating with a reported meeting between Boston and the Mets to discuss the idea. Here's your early edition of Wednesday's Beltran rumors:

  • A source involved in the discussions told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that nothing was close with Boston and Beltran (Twitter link). Sherman was told yesterday that the Red Sox see Beltran as a fallback.
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman spoke to one NL executive who estimated the Mets would have to eat about half of Beltran's salary in order to move him (Twitter link).
  • Newsday's David Lennon says a deal between the Red Sox and Mets has gained some traction. While a trade is still a long shot, Mets GM Sandy Alderson is not averse to eating salary to move him. Lennon also speculates on a Daisuke Matsuzaka-Beltran swap, as the two are owed nearly the same amount of money ($20MM vs. $18.5MM, respectively). Matsuzaka would need to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate such a deal.

Red Sox Considering Carlos Beltran

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10:49pm: The Mets and Red Sox met to discuss Beltran tonight, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).

6:14pm: The Red Sox-Beltran rumor was not grounded in fact, a team source told ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes (Twitter link).

12:20pm: The Red Sox are "at least talking internally" about a Carlos Beltran trade with the Mets, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin.  There is no potential deal at this point.  The Sox consider Beltran a secondary option if other outfield alternatives fall apart, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Beltran is set to earn $18.5MM in 2011, the last year of his seven-year deal, and he cannot be offered arbitration when the season ends.

The Red Sox have also been linked to Magglio Ordonez, Josh Willingham, and Matt Diaz in recent rumors.

Athletics Considering Vlad, Willingham, Derrek Lee

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The Athletics are looking for offense with Vladimir Guerrero and Hideki Matsui on their list, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The A's prefer free agents to trades, Morosi notes.  Lance Berkman turned down a two-year offer from the A's; Vlad may require at least that long of a deal to sign.

The A's are also in on Josh Willingham and Derrek Lee, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the Nationals' asking price for Willingham is said to be absurd.  Rosenthal feels that the A's could offer Lee more than the Padres or Diamondbacks.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that A's GM Billy Beane met with Matsui's agent Arn Tellem.  Tellem tells her the A's are not the only team in on him.  The Orioles are in, but Matsui prefers a contender.  She considers Nick Johnson and Lee "among the other potential options."  The A's don't find Carlos Beltran a realistic option, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  They don't believe he'd waive his no-trade clause to come to Oakland.    

Mets Notes: Carrasco, Beltran, Francis, Young

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A few Mets notes…

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