Mets Sign K-Rod!

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Joe Janish

francisco k-rod rodriguez pitching for the angelsEven the Associated Press is reporting it, so it must be true — the Mets have signed Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez to a three-year, $37M+ contract.

Supposedly, the contract is two years guaranteed, with the third year vested based on appearances. Or something. Who cares? The Mets have their 2009 closer, and can now move on to more pressing matters. Such as, who the heck is going to pitch the first eight innings?

K-Rod may be in NYC tomorrow for a physical, with the official announcement to be made soon thereafter.

Nice, fair deal for both sides.

See more news and opinion over at ‘Ropolitans, to whom I owe a hat tip. Also hat tip to Mark Healey of BaseballDigest and GothamBaseball, who was twittering this from Vegas about 20 minutes before it was announced.

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Dodgers Sign Mark Loretta

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Joe Janish

MLB.com and the LA Times is reporting that the Dodgers have signed Mark Loretta, and the deal will be official pending a physical.

As many of you know, Loretta is a personal favorite of mine, and I’ve championed him as the Mets’ second base solution in each of the past three years. Oh well.

Loretta returns home, as he grew up in Pasadena as a Dodger fan. It’s a nice fit for both sides, as Loretta can either split time with Blake Dewitt at second base (if LA finds a third baseman) or can start at the keystone in the event Dewitt plays third.

In addition, this signing all but removes the possibility of the Mets dumping Luis Castillo on the Dodgers — if there ever was chance of that happening.

Good sign for the Dodgers, as they get a hard-nosed, veteran winner with a solid RH big-league bat, versatility, and a positive influence in the clubhouse.

Hmm …. sounds exactly like the kind of player the Mets have been looking for …

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Michael Young to Mets?

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Joe Janish

Jon Heyman is reporting that the Rangers are quietly shopping Michael Young, and the Mets are one of the interested teams.

Well, it’s not so quiet anymore!

Heyman concludes that the Mets would first have to move Luis Castillo (duh). Obviously, if the Mets acquired Young, Castillo’s already untradeable status would turn to impossible-to-trade.

A year ago, Young was one of the best all-around middle infielders in MLB. However, he had a down year in 2008 — his average dropped over 30 points — and he just turned 32 years old. He’s a gritty competitor who regularly plays through injuries, but those bumps and bruises seem to have affected his play in ’08. His best years came from 2003-2007, and one must wonder if he’s about to hit that downward spiral that often affects great players as they approach their mid-30s — i.e., Robin Ventura, Roberto Alomar, Jim Rice, etc. Further, Young has had the benefit of playing in hitter-friendly Ballpark in Arlington. It doesn’t help, either, that his bunting skills are poor — which could be an issue if he batted in the #2 hole. And although he came up as a second baseman, he hasn’t played the position in seven years — the transition may not be as easy as you would think.

As much as I love Michael Young as a ballplayer, I fear he’d be a disappointment. Plus, he won’t come cheap.

Still, if the Mets can somehow pull off deals to shove off Castillo and bring in Young, and not give up half their farm system in the process, I’d welcome Young with open arms.

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Francoeur for Greinke?

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Joe Janish

Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe is reporting that the Braves are discussing a deal with the Royals that would send outfielder Jeff Francoeur to Kansas City for righthander Zack Greinke.

From the article:

According to one National League executive, the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves have had serious discussions about a trade that would send outfielder Jeff Francouer to the Royals for pitcher Zack Greinke. The same source said he believed the teams were close to executing the deal, but that Atlanta was holding up any and all trade discussions until the Braves had a resolution of their pursuit of right-hander A.J. Burnett. Current Royals GM Dayton Moore (who interviewed for the Red Sox’ job during Theo Epstein’s walkabout in 2005-06) is a former member of the Braves organization who is eager to bring Francouer to Kansas City.

Hmm … while I would love for the pesky Francoeur to leave Atlanta, I simply don’t see it happening. Despite his mid-season slump and temporary demotion to the minors, the organization seems to love Francoeur and the home-grown, “local boy done good” story attached to him. But then, the Braves have been operating differently since John Schuerholz retired.

If A.J. Burnett spurns Atlanta’s contract offer, the Braves will be in a fairly desperate situation, so a trade of Francoeur to fill a rotation spot is not completely unrealistic. Further, Greinke reminds me a lot of a young, righthanded Tom Glavine — a poised, confident pitcher with sick command of a 90-MPH fastball and offspeed stuff.

On the other hand, how many more young pitchers can the Royals afford to trade?

******* UPDATE ************

Joe Hamrahi says (through Twitter) that the Francoeur – Greinke rumors are “false false false”.

Hamrahi is tweeting live from Vegas. You can read more on Baseball Digest Daily.

****** UPDATE 2 ************

Mark Healey, also tweeting live from Vegas, says this rumor is “half-true”, and that the Royals are targeting Yunel Escobar, not Francoeur. This makes a lot more sense from Atlanta’s POV, as they seem ardent to dealing the Cuban shortstop. Does that mean the Braves sign someone like Orlando Cabrera? Or bring back Rafael Furcal? This one is worth watching.

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Burnett Has Many Suitors

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Joe Janish

It appears that three teams are in the midst of a bidding war for A.J. Burnett.

The Braves, Red Sox, and Yankees have all reportedly made offers to the fragile but gifted righthander, who is seeking a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $75M+.

One must wonder if the Yankees and Red Sox really want Burnett, or is this deja vu all over again — in other words, a repeat of the chase for Carl Pavano several years ago. Back then, it appeared that the Red Sox were bidding for Pavano to keep him away from the Yankees, and vice-versa. If the two deep-pocketed clubs are serious about Burnett, that’s bad news for the Braves, who will have a hard time out-bidding the big boys.

If the Bosox sign Burnett, they likely will not pursue Derek Lowe — who has expressed a preference to return to Beantown. Such a signing would also free Boston to trade one of their young starters for someone like Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

On the other hand, if Burnett signs with the Yankees, then there’s a better chance of Lowe returning to Boston, but still no guarantee.

In either case, the Braves would need to get creative about filling their rotation needs. My guess is they’d get back into talks with the Padres about Jake Peavy — if he isn’t already a Cub.

One thing is for sure — the Hot Stove is close to breaking, with one move likely to ignite another ten.

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K-Rod Deal Nearly Done

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Joe Janish

Word from Las Vegas is that the Mets and Francisco Rodriguez are about to lock up a 3-year / $37M deal.

The Mets’ original offer was for two years / $24M, but Omar Minaya upped the offer in an attempt to get the deal done as soon as possible. The aggressiveness tells me that Minaya is on the brink of making a few more moves while at the meetings — methinks the Hot Stove is about to heat up.

Obviously, K-Rod will ably fill the Mets’ closer role, and a three-year deal is much easier to swallow than the five years Rodriguez originally demanded. It actually works to K-Rod’s advantage — assuming he stays healthy — because he’ll be just shy of 30 when the contract is done, and hopefully the economy will be in a better state by that time.

By the way, if you “Twitter”, you can watch what’s going on by using the hash tag “bwm”. A number of writers in Vegas are tagging their tweets to keep all the buzz organized. Even if you don’t Twitter, all you have to do is go to search.twitter.com and type in #bwm (or click on this link).

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Weathers, Oliver Off the Table

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Joe Janish

Darren Oliver and David Weathers have accepted arbitration from their respective teams. That means they won’t be available on the free agent market.

Too bad, as the Mets could have used either of the veteran relievers, and they might have come at fairly reasonable prices.

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Tigers Acquire Gerald Laird

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Joe Janish

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Texas Rangers have traded Gerald Laird to the Detroit Tigers for AA pitcher Guillermo Moscoso.

Per Rosenthal:

“The Detroit Tigers have filled one of their prime offseason needs, acquiring catcher Gerald Laird from the Rangers for Double-A right-hander Guillermo Moscoso and a second prospect, according to a major-league source. . . . The second prospect in the deal is a 17-year-old who spent last season in the Dominican Summer League, the source said.”

Not huge news, but if true this deal removes the Tigers from bidding on free agent catcher Jason Varitek. In addition, it may put the brakes on the Rangers trading Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

For those unfamiliar with Laird, he’s a strong receiver and a so-so hitter. A younger, righthanded-hitting version of Brian Schneider. There were some tepid rumors earlier in the offseason that the Mets were inquiring about Laird but such an acquisition didn’t fit with their desire to add more punch behind the plate.

Moscoso is an intriguing prospect — a 25-year-old Venezuelan originally signed by now-Mets scouting assistant Ramon Pena. He didn’t crack the Tigers’ top 30 prospects this time last year, but was #10 this winter according to Baseball America. His age, injury history (shoulder surgery in 2005, soreness in 2008), and underwhelming stuff (90-91 MPH fastball, so-so curve and change) make him a questionable return for a starting MLB catcher. Perhaps that mystery 17-year-old is another F-Mart?

Let’s wait to see the official word on this … something seems missing.

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