miguel olivo

Mets Fan Window Shopping: Catcher

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It’s clear the Mets need a catcher. Actually, they need two catchers — a starter, and a backup. Josh Thole is a really nice guy, and he works really hard, but he’s not an everyday catcher on a championship club, and he might not even be a backup on a championship club. Most second-string backstops offer at least one plus MLB tool; generally, it’s either a strong defensive skill or a power bat. Sometimes, a second-string catcher is just average all-around. Unfortunately, Thole meets none of these characteristics. Offensively, he offers zero power and has steadily regressed in every other batting skill. Defensively, he’s hit his ceiling as below-average all-around; some would argue that his game calling, lack of leadership, and inability to handle pitchers is detrimental.

The Mets might try to trade for a catcher, but right now we’ll do some window-shopping on the free-agent market.

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Mets Hot On Ronny Paulino

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According to ESPN’s Jorge Arangue, the Mets are close to signing free-agent catcher Ronny Paulino. If indeed this deal becomes reality, it gives the Mets a very good backup to Josh Thole — and one who, if motivated, can challenge Thole for the starting job. Of course, that’s a big “if”. Paulino has always had … Read more

Free Agent Evaluation: Catchers

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Despite already having a competent backup in Omir Santos, the Mets have signed two backup catchers — Chris Coste and Henry Blanco — and are in the market for a starting backstop. We know Omar Minaya has his eye on Bengie Molina, but he’s not the only one out there. Let’s go through the top targets.

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No Arb for Olivo, Polanco, Dye, Dotel

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Today is the last day for teams to offer arbitration to players who have filed for free agency.

If you are unaware, this is a big deal particularly in regard to free agents who are classified as “Type A” or “Type B”. When a team offers arbitration to those free agents, and the player signs elsewhere, the team receives compensation draft picks — one of which comes from the new team that signed the free agent. So for example, if the Mets sign a “Type A” free agent who had been offered arbitration by his former team, they would lose their 2nd-round pick in the June 2010 draft. Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors offers a more detailed explanation.

So when a “Type A” or “Type B” free agent is NOT offered arbitration, the eventual signing team doesn’t lose any draft picks.

Today, it’s been announced that, among others, Type A free agents Placido Polanco, Jermaine Dye, and Octavio Dotel, and Type B free agent Miguel Olivo have NOT been offered arbitration by their 2009 clubs. I highlighted these four because they all fit holes that need to be filled by the Mets.

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How Bad is Mets Power Outage?

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Quick, what do Miguel Olivo, Garret Jones, David Wright, Gary Sheffield, and Grady Sizemore all have in common? All four players lead their respective teams in homeruns, but have hit less than 20. Here’s where it gets scary — the season totals for these four: Olivo (Royals), 19 Jones (Pirates), 19 Sizemore (Indian), 18 Wright … Read more