Broadway a Blue Jay and Other News
In a twist of irony, Lance Broadway has signed with the Blue Jays.
Broadway was non-tendered by the Mets seven months after acquiring him in a trade with the White Sox for Ramon Castro. Castro agreed to terms with the Blue Jays a few days ago.
Meanwhile, free-agent righthander Jason Marquis announced he is a “perfect fit” for the Washington Nationals. Hmm, where have I heard that before?
In other news, the Mets may or may not have upped their offer to Jason Bay. I’ve chosen to avoid any Bay buzz until things sound more serious and/or “real” — there’s a lot of hot air. The Cardinals seem intent on signing Matt Holliday, having offered him either a 5- or 8-year deal, depending on the source.
Additionally, the Mets have reportedly made a two-year offer to Ryota Igarashi, a relief pitcher from Japan. However, Patrick Newman of NPBTracker hears there are at least three offers from other teams on the table. I know nothing about Igarashi other than what Newman has on his blog (which is excellent, by the way).
So hard to comment on the Mets when it comes to Japan. On the one hand, you want them to be “in” on anything that could be fruitful, but on the other hand, their history with Japanese imports has been less than fulfilling. Remember it was the Mets who chose not to listen to Bobby Valentine when he recommended Ichiro Suzuki, but later brought in Kaz Matsui to move Jose Reyes out of shortstop. But then again, Ken Takahashi worked out nicely. /sarcasm
About the Author
A Mets fan since birth, 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. Oh, and he's often a bit cranky.
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At this point, the Mets could use all the help they can get in the bullpen. Espeically if that help isn’t asking for $10M per year (cough, cough Fernando Rodney) or has a history of health issues (JJ Putz, Takashi Saito, Matt Capps). Igarashi’s ‘only’ 30 and apparently has dynamite stuff, though control could be an issue. But the same can be said for Octavio Dotel, Rodney, and Kiko Calero, who are probably the cream of the remaining setup-man crop and are going to cash in on their reputation. Therefore, I see Igarashi being a good bargain bin target, since he doesn’t figure to make as much as the ‘known’ alternatives, but still has a solid chance at contributing nicely. I understand the Mets have been burnt routinely by Japanese imports in the past, but, much like how FMart is not to be labeled a bust because most OF prospects before him were, the same applies to Igarashi.
BWAHAHA! MUTT$ FANS ARE ALWAYS STUCK IN THE TOILET WITH BARNEY ‘LOVES TO EAT’ FRANK!
BWAHAHAHAHAH!! Enjoy your third tier free agents, lowlives!
WOW. Lowlives? Thats a bit too much. Who is your team. Please dont say the Yankees either. That’s to easy. Worry about your team not ours. The Mets will be fine this season and we got some good young guys coming up in 2011. Ike Davis FMart and Neise. A good trade and a couple of freeagent signings paired witht he health of its core guys the Mets will be fine in 2010. The Phillies dont have Lee anymore and Boston got Lackey. So if your a Yankee fan I would worry about Boston and their awesome rotation of Beckett Lester Lackey Buckholtz and Wakefield and Dice Kay. As well as the Mariners King Felix and Cliff Lee. Enjoy your World Series while you can. Boy is it easy to be a Yankee fan. All you have to do is wait for October which is what 60 percent of your fans do anyway. Let the yankees spend 250 million heck spend 300 million who cares. Its easy when money is no object. The Mets office has a budget not similar to the Yankees but a good budget. We still have to be very careful how we spend our money and make sure it helps the team. We cant hide our mistakes like the yankees. We are still living with Oliver Perez and Castillo and it is hurting us bad. The yanks would jus trade them eat their salary and move on. I hope the Mets could do that with at least Castillo.