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Yorvit Torrealba

Odds and Ends: Jenkins, Piazza, Kuroda

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Random rumors for this evening…

  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Rays have contacted Geoff Jenkins’ agent.  They’re eyeing him to replace Delmon Young in right field.
  • Cubs lefty Scott Eyre exercised his $3.8MM player option for 2008.
  • Terrmel Sledge never quite caught on in the U.S., so he’s headed to Japan.  I thought he was a sleeper entering 2007 as he’d posted a .985 OPS in Triple A in ’06.
  • The Yorvit Torrealba deal is official at two years and $7.25MM with a $4MM mutual option for 2010.  Mutual options never get exercised by both sides so that doesn’t mean much.  Michael Barrett and Paul Lo Duca are the two remaining free agent starting catchers.
  • It’s true, Mike Piazza does have some interest from a Japanese team.  But he also has three MLB teams interested, and he’s much more likely to stay in the U.S.
  • Could Yasuhiko Yabuta lead the Royals to sign Hiroki Kuroda?  It’s a possibility.  The D’Backs are after him as well; Nick Piecoro has some in-depth info about Kuroda.

Rockies Sign Torrealba, Herges

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The Denver Post is reporting that the Rockies have re-signed catcher Yorvit Torrealba and middle reliever Matt Herges.  They’re currently in town for physicals.

It’s believed that Torrealba will sign for a reasonable $7MM over two years with an option for 2010.  Contrary to previous reports, he did not fail a physical with the Mets earlier this month.  Wonder why they pulled out of that one.

It sounds like the Rox got Herges on a one-year deal, maybe for slightly more than the original $2MM they offered.

These signings aren’t spectacular.  They’re both low-risk, low-upside deals.  If Torrealba is only making $3.5MM a year it will be OK to allow Chris Iannetta to work his way into the starting role.

Rockies Rumors: Torrealba, Herges, Chacon

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Time for a Rockies update, courtesy of the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders.

  • The Rox appear to be making progress with Yorvit Torrealba, though they’re leaving the door open for Michael Barrett or Paul Lo Duca.  So things are creeping along there.
  • Matt Herges will decide where to pitch within a day or two.  It’s down to two teams – the Rockies and perhaps the Brewers.  He’d like to stay with Colorado but would prefer a two-year deal.
  • Shawn Chacon continues to surface on GM Dan O’Dowd’s radar.  O’Dowd will only consider Chacon in a relief role, though Chacon’s agent seems to indicate other teams may toss some starts his way.

Rockies Rumors: Herges, Torrealba

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Troy E. Renck has the Rockies hot stove buzz, as usual.

  • The Rockies are close with reliever Matt Herges, but other teams remain in the mix.  It’s known that Herges wants a two-year deal and the Brewers are interested.
  • The Rockies are also making progress on a deal with catcher Yorvit Torrealba.  The Mets saw something they didn’t like in Torrealba, so he’s come back to the Rockies to talk.  Renck says the Rockies had previously offered two years and $7MM with a vesting option for 2010 (seems reasonable).  Now they might be able to get him without guaranteeing that third year.
  • Renck says Kaz Matsui may sign with the Cubs or Astros next week.  Matsui has priced himself out of the Rockies’ range.

Odds And Ends: Cordero, Torrealba, Koskie, Clement

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Just browsing the web this morning:

  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post speculates that the Mets deal with Yorvit Torrealba might have fallen apart because of the catcher’s shoulder issues. This is based on Torrealba having missed time in 2006 with two shoulder injuries. The deal fell apart when it was thought to be complete, with only the physical remaining.
  • The Rockies have also inquired on Matt Clement. Renck mentions the Diamondbacks as also having interest in the 33-year-old righty, adding them to the aforementioned Padres and Royals. Clement has thrown just 65.1 innings in the past two years.
  • The Yankees have identified Francisco Cordero as their Plan B closer, should talks with Mariano Rivera fall apart. It should be moot, though, as Rivera is expected to sign this week. Cordero has not made any significant strides in talks with the Brewers.
  • The Twins, who could use an upgrade at third base, aren’t interested in Corey Koskie, who was drafted by the team in 1994 and played with them until he reached free agency after the 2004 season. Koskie missed 2006 with symptoms related to post-concussion syndrome.
  • It is unclear whether the Marlins are still interested in Yorvit Torrealba, writes Joe Capozzi. The price tag could be prohibitive. If the Marlins gave Torrealba the same three-year, $14.4 million deal he was to get with the Mets, he would become their second highest paid player. A catcher was the Marlins highest paid player last year, but they look to be severing ties with Miguel Olivo. I’m not sure Torrealba is much of an upgrade, though. At least Olivo has some pop, having hit 16 homers in each of the last two years.

    Remember, Torrealba hit just .212/.292/.326 away from Coors Field. Then again, Olivo had some pretty severe home/road splits: .247/.277/.493 at home, .228/.249/.325 on the road. You can decide for yourself what that could mean.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Mets Deal With Torrealba Falls Apart

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It seemed pretty official, but it appears that Yorvit Torrealba will not be behind the plate for the Mets next year. Sources started whispering this morning that the deal was falling apart, and the Mets brass confirmed it this afternoon.

"The Mets did not reach an agreement with Yorvit Torrealba," Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said, "and there are no current negotiations."

Torrealba’s agent, Melvin Roman, declined to comment on the situation. Looks like Omar might be getting on the phone with Paul LoDuca sometime soon. Yorvit was looking at a three-year, $14.4 million deal with the Mets.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.

Latest On Torrealba/Castro Situation

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UPDATE, 11-16-07: As expected, Torrealba has inked a three-year deal with the Mets.  Newsday reports the deal is worth $14.4MM.  Since Torrealba was a Type B free agent, the Rockies will get a supplemental pick for their loss.

FROM 11-15-07:

One half of Omar Minaya’s desired catching tandem seems set: Ramon Castro has signed a two-year, $4MM contract.  It’ll be announced after he has a physical.  Honestly I thought Castro could’ve done better and marketing himself as a starter, but I guess he’s happy in New York.

The other part is waiting to see if Yorvit Torrealba will accept the Mets’ aggressive three-year, $15MM offer.  Adam Rubin’s source speculates that the Mets could even make it four years with an option for 2012.  How is Torrealba such a hot commodity?  David Lennon and Ken Davidoff say Torrealba is now also mulling a three-year offer from the Rockies.  We should know one way or another today.

Torrealba and Castro don’t make for an ideal platoon; the idea is more to keep each well-rested.  Over the last three years Castro has significantly better numbers against both lefties and righties than Torrealba, but he’s the backup.  It sounds like the Mets want Torrealba for less tangible reasons – his passion and his gamecalling.

The Rockies, by the way, may turn to Paul Lo Duca.  They don’t expect to retain Torrealba.

Odds and Ends: Kendrick, Uggla, Haren

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Another random collection of rumorage…

  • The Braves have "many millions more" to spend on players this winter.  One emailer suggested that maybe the Braves will offer arbitration to Andruw Jones and he’ll accept. 
  • Corey Patterson and the Nationals have mutual interest.  Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan considers him a possible bargain, noting that he is only 28.
  • We figured the Padres and Matt Clement had mutual interest.  Now it’s official.  Clement wants a one-year deal with incentives.
  • Tracy Ringolsby confirms that Yorvit Torrealba wants a three-year deal.  He says the Rockies are at two years, $7MM, the Marlins are in the same range, and the Mets are at two years, $9MM.  UPDATE: The Denver Post says Torrealba will have a decision Thursday.
  • Interesting Miguel Cabrera stuff from the L.A. Times.  Howie Kendrick is not considered untouchable, but the Marlins might have to include Dan Uggla.  Basically if the Marlins are to get four players back, they’ll have to add Uggla or Dontrelle Willis to the deal.   
  • Our friends at Gotham Baseball say if the Mets were to acquire Dan Haren, the package would start with Billy Beane favorite John Maine.  Mark Healey figures Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman would have to go also.
  • Ken Rosenthal thinks a one-year, $8MM offer from Atlanta would be enough to secure Tom Glavine.
  • The D’Backs’ main trading chip is outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.  It appears that the team explored what they could get for Conor Jackson and decided to keep him.

Mets Close To Deals With Torrealba, Castro

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UPDATE, AFTERNOON OF 11-14-07: Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog suggests that the Mets are offering Torrealba a three-year, $15MM deal.  Yikes.  He’s barely more than a backup to me.

UPDATE, MORNING OF 11-14-07: Ken Rosenthal agrees, it looks like a Torrealba/Castro tandem for the Mets.  Interestingly they’re expected to split playing time about evenly.  Creative!

FROM 11-13-07:

The Associated Press is reporting that the Mets are close to re-signing catcher Ramon Castro.  I’d figured Castro would ask for starter money, but maybe not.

The Mets also plan on making an offer to free agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba, according to ESPN Radio (hat tip to MetsBlog).  Torrealba currently has a two-year, $6MM offer on the table from the Rockies.  If he’s a man of his word, he’ll give the Rox a chance to match the Mets’ offer. 

Torrealba and Castro could combine to really shut down the running game, though both had off years in that department in ’07.  Torrealba’s problem can be attributed to a lingering strained shoulder.  Castro’s, I have no idea.

Mets Targeting Livan Hernandez?

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Ben Shpigel of the New York Times has some new Mets info for us today.

  • Surprisingly, Shpigel believes the one free agent starter the Mets will seriously consider is Livan Hernandez.  That is odd because I had read Livan wasn’t high on Omar Minaya’s list.  We’ve seen the Mets connected to free agents Byung-Hyun Kim, Carlos Silva, Hiroki Kuroda, Kyle Lohse, and Jason Jennings so far this offseason.
  • As far as some unsung trade opportunities, my Mets guy says Ervin Santana, Chris Capuano, Claudio Vargas, and Noah Lowry are being considered.
  • According to Shpigel, the Mets hope to re-sign Ramon Castro as their backup catcher.  I don’t see that happening, as he’ll probably be able to snag a starting job elsewhere.  Options the Mets are considering to start at catcher include Yorvit Torrealba, Ramon Hernandez, Ronny Paulino, Gerald Laird, and Paul Lo Duca.  A source tells me the D’Backs’ Miguel Montero may also be on the radar.
  • Shpigel says Luis Castillo might command a four-year deal.  Say what?  The Mets may yet re-sign Castillo but want to see what the trade market offers first.  Shpigel names Orlando Hudson, while I’ve also heard Alberto Callaspo.

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