Mets closer hunt and other hot stove nuggets
Met-in-PR
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by Dan Graziano/The Star-Ledger
Thursday November 13, 2008, 12:16 PM
Oh no, I'm not gone yet...
We ran this free-agency primer in this morning's Star-Ledger, since
the free-agent signing period begins tonight at midnight, but I'm
planning to use this space over the next couple of months to dig a
little deeper into what the Mets are up to as the off-season rolls
along. And at the bottom, I may tack on some other National League
notes, especially as they pertain to Mets' fans questions/paranoia
about what other teams are up to. If you're interested in what I have
to say on the Yankees and/or the AL, we've got a blog for that too.
I spoke with an agent who's been in contact with the Mets and other
teams. As is the general rule with these things, this guy agreed to
give me information as long as I didn't use his name, since teams
don't dig on the idea of agents blabbing their plans to reporters.
Anyway, this guy's opinion on the Mets' closer search is, in his
words: "They're in a pretty good spot."
His read on it is that there are four big-name free-agent closers
available -- Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood and Trevor
Hoffman -- as well as a very interesting bunch of names available in
trade -- Bobby Jenks, Jose Valverde, Huston Street, J.J. Putz and
others. And while the Mets aren't the only team looking for a closer
(Tigers, Cardinals, Brewers, others...), this agent's belief is that
the Mets are the only team with a big chunk of money set aside to
spend on their closer this winter. So a guy like Rodriguez, for
example, isn't going to find a lot of teams willing to go four or five
years on their offers to him. And if Rodriguez's demands drop down
into the three-year range, then the Mets are interested in talking to
him.
Of course, they may not wait. The Mets have been in touch in recent
weeks with the White Sox about a number of players, including Jenks. A
Mets official I spoke with said the team was very intrigued by the
idea of acquiring Jenks, who'll turn 28 in March and is three years
away from free agency, and saving their money to spend on the starting
rotation. The White Sox have been scouting Mets prospects in the
winter leagues and the Arizona Fall League, and the Mets would be
fired up if the White Sox were interested in a package built around
Eddie Kunz.
Jenks, however, is not the only White Sox player about whom the Mets
are talking. The White Sox also are interested in trading outfielder
Jermaine Dye, who I think would be an incredible fit with the Mets --
think Moises Alou, only younger and he actually plays. From my
standpoint, the corner outfield is much more of a 2009 issue than the
Mets are making it out to be (as of now, their plan is Ryan Church for
RF and a platoon of Dan Murphy and Fernando Tatis in LF), and Dye
would deepen the lineup. This is no small thing. Please remember, on
the final day of the 2008 season, in a game the Mets needed to win,
Nick Evans was their No. 5 hitter.
So it'll be interesting to see how the White Sox thing shakes out. Do
the Mets deal their prospect package for Dye and then sign K-Rod,
Fuentes, Wood or Hoffman to close? Do they package lesser prospects to
Houston for Valverde? The basic point is that they have options, and
they're probably going to come up with somebody good to replace the
injured Billy Wagner for 2009.
As for that rotation, the Mets have decided that they would like to
bring back Oliver Perez, if possible. But that "if possible" means
Perez's demands are going to have to be sane. If he's looking for a
five- or six-year contract and $15 million per year (and if there's
another team out there willing to give it to him), they'll pass on
him, the way they did when the Giants blew away Barry Zito two years
ago. But they do need to get somebody, and they seem very interested
in right-handers Derek Lowe and Jon Garland and lefty Randy Wolf. For
some reason, they're down on A.J. Burnett as a possibility, and they
don't seem inclined to dive into the deep end of the bidding pool and
go after CC Sabathia, which probably means they think (as everybody
else does) that the Yankees are going to offer Sabathia a bazillion
dollars and he's going to sign there.
One name to keep in mind is that of Freddy Garcia, who came back off
of injury and signed with the Tigers in the middle of the 2008 season.
The Mets hosted Garcia and his agents at spring training last year.
They scouted his comeback before deciding he'd be a better bet to help
them in 2009 than 2008. He's good friends with Johan Santana, and he
won't cost what these other guy will cost, yet could have major
upside. Don't be surprised to see the Mets take a chance on him.
If they can't trade for Dye and they do go after a free-agent
outfielder, a name they've liked for years is Juan Rivera.
And if they can unload Luis Castillo and they go after second basemen,
you'll hear the Mets mentioned seriously in talks with Orlando Hudson,
who everybody seems to want. One idea I've heard floated for second
base is that of signing shortstop Orlando Cabrera and having him move
to second base. Cabrera's a neat player, and a winner, and Omar knows
him from their time together in Montreal. If he'd make the move, it
could be a nice arrangement. Provided, of course, somebody will take
Gimpy Castillo off their hands.
Oh, and finally, a couple of people have told me the Mets want to
upgrade their catching, but they're not sure how they will go about
doing that. Switch-hitting veteran Gregg Zaun has been mentioned, but
it's unclear how seriously they'd consider him.
In other NL notes...
-The delay in the Padres-Braves Jake Peavy talks prompted the Mets to
poke their noses in earlier this week, but they remain convinced that
deal will eventually get done and Peavy will be a Brave. Atlanta is
trying to rebuild its rotation and can't count on John Smoltz or Tom
Glavine to return. Getting Peavy wouldn't necessarily take them out of
the market for Burnett or one of the other free-agent starters.
-I keep hearing Bobby Abreu and Raul Ibanez connected to the Cubs, who
are looking for a left-handed bat. Either guy would fit nicely with
the Mets, but better if they hit right-handed. Which they don't.
jess2...@gmail.com
> Oh, and finally, a couple of people have told me the Mets want to
> upgrade their catching, but they're not sure how they will go about
> doing that. Switch-hitting veteran Gregg Zaun has been mentioned, but
> it's unclear how seriously they'd consider him.
Don't see the need for catcher upgrade if those other ideas fall in
line.
Adding Dye, Hudson and Jenks makes fro a great winter.
mrbrklyn
are you nuts? Dye is old and the pitching prospects are needed if
they are to rebuild their ballpen.
Ruben
CalC
Thank you. Dye serves as a marginal upgrade at best where IMHO
prospects SHOULD have been manning the bullpen last year vice the
tired retreads that continually blew game after game. This year there
is no excuse not to, and if Minaya trades them for Dye he should be
fired new contract or not.
Ruben
>> are you nuts? Dye is old and the pitching prospects are needed if
>> they are to rebuild their ballpen.
>>
>> Ruben
>
> Thank you. Dye serves as a marginal upgrade at best where IMHO
> prospects SHOULD have been manning the bullpen last year vice the
> tired retreads that continually blew game after game. This year there
> is no excuse not to, and if Minaya trades them for Dye he should be
> fired new contract or not.
The Braves gave up on 22-23 year old Dye for a 30+ year old Lockharte and
Mike Tucker...
figure that one out.
Ruben
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