Phillies 11 Mets 0

For a team whose offense is below par due to the loss of Jayson Werth and injury to Chase Utley, they sure score a lot of runs.

Roy Halladay was spectacular. Jon Niese was not. As a result, the final score was an unhappy one for Mets fans.

So glad the Mets aren’t the only ones in the NL East making unusual free agent signings.

The Phillies have signed Gold Glove second baseman Placido Polanco to a three-year, $18M contract to play third base.

I like Polanco — a lot. If the Mets didn’t have Luis Castillo, I would have loved to have seen them sign Polanco. But on a two-year deal, and to play 2B.

It’s a little surprising that the Phillies chose Polanco over Adrian Beltre — who is younger, a Gold Glove caliber third baseman, and has more power potential — but I suppose they have their reasons. Polanco generally has a better OBP than Beltre but that part of his game dipped in 2009. Beltre’s power dropped dramatically last year as well, but that was due to injuries. I wonder if the Phillies doubt Beltre’s birth certificate, and feel he’s going to break down?

*** UPDATE ***

An asking price of $10M per year now explains the Phillies’ passing on Adrian Beltre. Three years for Polanco, though, still seems like too much.

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.