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January 13, 2009 Rumors Joe Janish

Braves Make High Offer to Lowe

According to various sources, the Atlanta Braves have offered Derek Lowe a 4-year, $60M contract.

Seems just a tad bit higher than the 3/35 that “wasn’t offered” by the Mets.

Further speculation is that Oliver Perez was offered three years and $30M by the Mets (or, maybe they didn’t — one never knows), and that there are no other teams in bidding.

If that’s true, then the Mets look like geniuses. Though I like Lowe’s consistency, if the Mets can lock up Ollie for half the price, then it makes a lot more sense to “settle” for the inconsistent lefty. It boggles the mind, though, that there isn’t anyone else out there at least kicking the tires on Perez. It’s not like 27-year-old lefties with his stuff and the ability to handle NY, grow on trees.

From Ollie’s perspective, it’s a lot less than he was looking for, but he’ll have an opportunity to cash out with a CC-like contract three years from now — if he puts together the kind of seasons we all think he can. Three years from now, there’s a good chance the economy will be better, and he’ll be only 30.

Of course, if the Mets are able to get Perez so “cheaply”, I would assume that means they have enough money to go after a bat. A big bat. Manny’s bat.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. isuzudude January 13, 2009 at 1:25 pm
    The Atlanta JC is reporting the deal is done pending a physical. Rumors suggest Omar prefers to resign Perez while others of the Mets heirarchy wanted Lowe. Well, Omar better get Ollie signed pronto, because if he signs elsewhere, Omar is up shit creek with no paddle. Whatever the case, this is going to be a major blemish on Omar’s offseason report card after scoring high with the Krod signing and the Putz trade. Omar’s been otherwise steadfastly cheap when looking for additions (re-signing Tatis, Tim Redding, low-balling Lowe) and has been totally off the radar in trade discussions regarding Peavy, Swisher, Vazquez, or Willingham, all highly attainable players who would have fit in nicely on the Mets. If Ollie winds up signing a similar contract as Lowe, the spotlight will be on Perez big-time to outperform Lowe over the course of the contract. Because if he doesn’t, and Omar chose him over Lowe when he could have had which ever one he wanted, Omar’s head will be squarely on the shopping block, and I wouldn’t mind getting first swing of the meat clever. We might not even have to wait that long, as if Perez does indeed bolt elsewhere, I’d be surprised if Omar makes it through 2009 unscatched.
  2. wohjr January 13, 2009 at 6:01 pm
    I like this, PROVIDED, as you say, we now sign Ollie.

    I don’t want Adam Dunn– despite the reports that he is in great shape this offseason (take that with some salt) he just seems like the kind of guy who might not thrive in NY. Call me class-biased, but I get the sense that those huntin’ fishin’ 40oz drinkin’ kind of guys don’t always thrive in cosmopolitan New York. Kyle Farnsworth being the most recent example of that in my book. Then again, its hard to get more WT than Rick Reed and Turk Wendell, so what the hell do I know? The person I really wanted was Milton Bradley but now that he’s gone for the love of god, WILPONS:

    PLEASE SIGN MANNY. I’m begging you. I don’t ask for much and the big Mets fan in the sky knows these last few years have been tough…

  3. joe January 13, 2009 at 6:35 pm
    wohjr – I tend to agree with you on Dunn, but I would not be in the least bit upset if the Mets signed the big tree. It would be nice to see a guy who can take a pitch, for a change. And those monstrous homeruns are pretty cool, too.

    As for that …. er… “type” to which you refer … in addition to Wendell and Reed, don’t forget Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, Ray Knight, David Cone, John Stearns, Jerry Grote, Nolan Ryan, Mookie Wilson, and Tug McGraw, who all had a bit of “hick” in them.

    If the Mets were even a bit interested in Bradley, then there shouldn’t have been any hesitation to make an offer to Manny. Manny’s behavior problems are much less distracting and his upside is ten times that of Milton. Teams won with Manny, whereas Bradley has been known to drag teams down with him.

  4. sincekindergarten January 14, 2009 at 5:26 am
    I’m now tending towards getting Manny, too. Sure, he’d be a distraction in the fishbowl that is the New York press, but he’d take a lot of the heat off of, say, Luis Castillo. That would be a good thing, IMO. He’d also have some cover vor Carlos Delgado.

    Also, maybe Ollie cah be had for something near $11 mil/year. He’s a lot better than, say, Carlos Silva, and he deserves the money, but let him prove hnimself over the next three years. Throw in a bunch of incentives, too–make one of them throwing 200 innings in a season, for example–and with said incentives, make the potential value $15 mil/year. Four years.