In case you missed it, Mike Francesa announced on his Monday radio show that he would, on Tuesday (today), be delivering news of a “major update” regarding the New York Mets.
Here are my top ten guesses at what that “major update” will be: Continue reading
According to several reports, superutilityman Mark DeRosa has agreed to a two-year, $12M contract with the San Francisco Giants. Seems like a lot for a 35-year-old coming off wrist surgery, doesn’t it?
Additionally, those pesty Washington Nationals have made another acquisition, signing veteran lefty reliever Eddie Guardado to a one-year, minor-league contract. “Steady” Eddie appeared in 48 games for the Rangers last season, posting a 4.46 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. The 39-year-old has spent most of his career in the AL. No word on the terms, only that it is a minor league, non-guaranteed deal. That said, a good move by the Nats to add a possible LOOGY without much risk.
The suddenly shrewd Nats also signed former Phillies utilityman Eric Bruntlett to a minor league contract. Again, not a bad deal, in that they get a versatile bench man on a non-guaranteed deal. He’s no Alex Cora but he’s not nearly as expensive, either.
Out on the Left Coast, the Mariners have signed catcher Josh Bard and reliever Chad Cordero to minor league contracts. I’ve always liked Bard for his switch-hitting ability, good discipline at the plate, occasional pop, excellent defense, and good reputation for handling pitchers. But, he’s not friendly with Johan Santana so Henry Blanco was a better choice on a guaranteed deal. Cordero is still recovering from shoulder surgery on his labrum — he hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2008, and threw only 14 minor-league innings last season. Ironically, the Mets latest signee Kelvim Escobar is coming back from similar surgery, and threw 15 minor-league innings last season (as well as another 5 in MLB before being shut down for the year).
A healthy reliever — Bob Howry — has been signed to a one-year deal by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Terms were not disclosed, but most are guessing it is in the $2M – $3M range. Howry appeared in 63 games, posting a 3.34 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Luckily the Mets aren’t in need of relief help, having already filled the ‘pen with Escobar and Ryota Igarashi.
NY Sports Day reported this from the “21 Days of Clemente”, where Omar Minaya was a special guest:
The GM was asked his opinion of the 2010 Mets starting rotation. He quickly answered, “[Johan] Santana, [Mike] Pelfrey, [John] Maine, [Oliver] Perez , [Jonathon] Niese and possibly a free agent.”
Though it wasn’t an official press event, and there is still time for the Mets to upgrade their rotation, seeing that in print is something of a splash of cold water in the face.
Think about it: the Mets’ starting rotation currently consists of four pitchers coming off injuries and/or surgery. One of their backup plans — Fernando Nieve — is also recovering from a major injury and surgery.
This may not seem like a big deal until you look back to the past few years, and remember the pitchers coming off injury that the Mets counted on. For example: Duaner Sanchez, John Maine, Orlando Hernandez, Scott Schoeneweis, Dave Williams, and Pedro Martinez. In fact, the only pitcher that comes to mind who had “minor surgery” and pitched effectively the next season was Aaron Heilman (elbow scoped after the 2006 season). Not a good history, and history is supposed to shed light on the future.
Keeping a rotation intact through an MLB season is enough of a crapshoot when you begin with relatively healthy arms, but in the Mets case, they’re counting on 4 or 5 men to a) come back from surgery on schedule; b) come back at 100%; c) return to their form prior to the injury; d) avoid any setbacks; and e) keep their stamina through a 162-game schedule.
Anyone else have doubts?
On behalf of Omar Minaya and the New York Mets, the MetsToday.com blog has officially pulled the 4-year, $60M contract offer to Jason Bay off the table.
After plenty of time and careful consideration, we Mets fans have determined that Mr. Bay’s inadequacies are too much to bear and that his positive attributes do not warrant $60M and a four-year commitment.
However, we are open to re-negotiating a shorter-term pact in the neighborhood of two years / $20M, including incentives and a team option for a third year.
Additionally, MetsToday has adjusted the offer to Bengie Molina. It is now a series of NBA-style 10-day contracts which are automatically renewable if the player’s OBP is higher than his weight.
A recent column from Boston.com claims that the Mets remain the team most interested in Orlando Hudson, but only if “they are able move Luis Castillo”. Granted, that tidbit may not be worth a hill of beans (heh heh), since it comes from Boston — and what do they know about the goings-on in Flushing? But we have heard that Omar Minaya spent a good chunk of time during the winter meetings trying to trade Castillo, and in fact moving the second baseman appears to be a priority. However, there are at least 10 more important things to do before the Mets need to worry about their 2009 MVP. Continue reading
This time it’s for real, we think: the Mets have reached an agreement with Kelvim Escobar on a one-year, minor league deal.
The news was tweeted by Joel Sherman and reported by ESPN.
According to the Daily News:
Minaya told the Daily News Friday, “With Escobar, we are looking at him as a reliever.”
This is a fine low-risk move for the Mets, but keep your expectations low. Escobar once had lights-out stuff, but has been marred by shoulder and elbow injuries his entire career. He missed all of 2008 and most of 2009 after shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum.
Generally speaking, pitchers don’t come back from labrum surgery with anywhere near the velocity they had before. Ask Jason Schmidt, Freddy Garcia, or Mark Mulder. It’s not impossible to make a comeback from the surgery — Jon Rauch, Curt Schilling, and Chris Carpenter all returned — but, the success stories are few and far between.
After almost two years of inaction, Escobar returned on June 5, 2009 and pitched five innings and 92 pitches. He suffered shoulder pain after the outing and didn’t pitch again.
*** UPDATE ***
There are conflicting reports regarding Escobar’s contract. Some say it is a minor league deal, while others now say it is an MLB contract with $1.25M guaranteed. If that’s the case I’m not sure this signing makes much sense, because Escobar could very well be as effective as Duaner Sanchez. Like Sanchez, Escobar needs 92+ MPH velocity in order to succeed.
For those of you checking in today, thank you for visiting and sharing your comments and making this blog a great time for everyone — not just today but every day.
Now get back to opening presents or eating the chinese take-out.
In case you missed the news of the past few days:
The Red Sox may be back in play for Jason Bay
The Angels signed Fernando Rodney
The Pirates are in talks with Continue reading