Padres Trade Seth Smith To Mariners

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Joe Janish

The San Diego Padres have addressed their outfield surplus by trading Seth Smith to the Seattle Mariners for righthanded reliever Brandon Maurer. Continue reading →

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Asdrubal Cabrera Off the Table

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Joe Janish

According to reports, free-agent shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera has agreed to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays. Continue reading →

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Braves Sign Jason Grilli, A.J. Pierzynski

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Joe Janish

Troy Tulowitzki did not appear under the Christmas tree in Flushing. However, the Atlanta Braves have agreed to deals with reliever Jason Grilli and catcher A.J. Pierzynski. There were a few other transactions over the past few days, as well. Continue reading →

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Would the Rockies Trade Tulowitzki for this Package?

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Joe Janish

According to Jon Heyman via the MLB Network, the Mets should offer Noah Syndergaard, Dillon Gee, Rafael Montero, Kevin Plawecki, and Wilmer Flores, in return for Tulowitzki and about $30M.

Sure, Jon, the Mets SHOULD make that offer. And then be prepared for the Rockies to mildly chuckle prior to slamming the phone down. Continue reading →

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Mets Will Not Sign Jung-ho Kang

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Joe Janish

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won the right to negotiate with Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang, bidding $5,002,015.

That doesn’t mean Kang will be in Pittsburgh next season — only that the Bucs have exclusive negotiating rights with him. If the two sides do not come to terms, Kang can return to Korea and the Pirates get their money back.

The Mets did not place a bid, so there wasn’t a possibility that Kang would be on the club in 2015.

For those unaware, Kang hit .356 with 40 homeruns in 117 games last year. However, scouts are split on whether he can handle shortstop on an everyday basis; they’re also split on whether he’ll hit big-league pitching. The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) is considered to be an inferior league, and somewhere between AA and high-A ball.

The Mets reportedly had some interest in Kang earlier in the winter, but that waned after Continue reading →

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Marlins Trade Casey McGehee to Giants

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Joe Janish

A decade later, Luis Castillo finally returns to the Marlins.

Oh, wait, it’s not THAT Luis Castillo … Continue reading →

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Marlins Acquire Martin Prado

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Joe Janish

The Miami Marlins have made a trade with the New York Yankees to acquire veteran infielder Martin Prado. Continue reading →

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Mets Trade Gonzalez Germen To Yankees

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Joe Janish

After designating him for assignment (DFA) to make room for John Mayberry, Jr., on the 40-man roster, Gonzalez Germen has been traded to the New York Yankees for cash considerations.

Good deal for the Yankees, who can use all the pitching depth they can find, and were able to acquire a decent arm in return for something they have in surplus — money.

Will the Mets miss Germen? I don’t know. He showed flashes, but I never saw him as anything more than 6th-inning filler. We saw that he is a sinker/slider guy who can be effective in short spurts; he kind of reminds me of Jorge Sosa or Fernando Nieve. At the age of 27, Germen probably “is what he is.”

But was it worth it to drop Germen to make room for Mayberry? Hmm … I guess I’d do that, straight-up. The only other players on the 40-man that the Mets might’ve DFA’d instead, I’d guess, would’ve been Wilfredo Tovar, Cesar Puello, Cory Mazzoni, Erik Goeddel, or maybe Eric Campbell. I can understand why all of those players were kept. Puello and Campbell are the backup plans to Mayberry; Mazzoni and Goeddel have options, are a bit younger, and possibly more upside than Germen; and Tovar is the only true , defensively MLB-ready shortstop in the organization behind Ruben Tejada.

What say you? Will you miss Germen? Would you have preferred the Mets drop someone else? Sound off in the comments.

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