MetsCitiBlog

Mets sign Kelvim Escobar to Minor League deal

According to Rotoworld, the Mets have signed Kelvim Escobar to a minor league deal.  Prior to 2008, Escobar was a decent pitcher.  He was durable, tenacious, and was an 18 game winner.  Then, all hell broke loose.  He has pitched only 5 innings since 2007. 

Sounds like a great deal for the Mets.  It is a minor league deal so there is less pressure on the team.  Escobar could start in the minors and get himself going if needed and give Perez a chance to blow it.  Also, it is not a big money deal so there is a lot of upside here.

Finally, a deal to be happy with.  Even though it isn't a big splash, I consider this a good signing for Minaya.

Justin Duchscherer leaning towards the NL, Mets maybe?

This is just wishful thinking I think but we'll see.  Rosenthal is tweeting that Justin Duchscherer is leaning to an NL team, although he doesn't know which.  Personally, if it was me, I would definitely go with an NL team.  Why deal with a DH if you don't have to. 

Duchscherer is 32 years old and right-handed.  He doesn't walk a lot of guys and had some decent numbers with the A's before an injury and he was diagnosed with depression.  The Mets would be wise to take a shot at this guy.  He has to give you what Marquis would if he is healthy.  Also, it should be at less money.  Duchscherer made $3.9 million last year.  I say offer the guy $3-$4 million and give him some incentives like a vesting option, number of starts made, etc. 

By the way, I still want Ben Sheets.   

Building up the Mets farm system

In light of the Yankees, Phillies and others making trades from their farm system depth this off season, I am left wishing the Mets had some depth.  Thankfully, we do have the seventh pick in the upcoming draft.  I have read across several different blog sites the idea of signing Aroldis Chapman, thereby buying another strong arm in the system. 

Chapman is widely considered a great commodity as he throws gas, is left handed, and young with upside galore.  As has been stated at all levels in baseball, "You can teach secondary pitchers, mechanics, and mound intelligence, but not sheer velocity." 

I like the idea of signing Chapman and having the seventh pick as you can immediately add two good pieces to your system.  Is this the answer to saving the team depth?  No, but its a start.  Omar seems inclined to save the prospects this winter and I think it is a smart choice.  It also seems that with some of these minor deals, Minaya is trying to build up the minors unconventionally as well. 

I don't think we will pay Chapman what he will get, but I think it would be wise to investigate and take a stab.  He seems to have offers from Boston and the Marlins in the $15 million range.  I do not see this as breaking the bank and top draft picks are asking for similar money.  See what you can do Omar.

Yankees closing in on Vazquez

All the top guys (Rosenthal, Sherman, et al.) are tweeting that the Yankees are close to getting Javier Vazquez from the Braves for Melky Cabrera and others.  Vazquez is a solid vet with a track record for throwing lots of innings and keeping his teams in ball games.  This would be a great catch for the Yanks to save their bull pen and secure the strongest 1-4 starters in the league.  Also, this allows them to keep one or both of Chamberlain/Hughes in the pen.

The problem for the Mets with this deal is it frees up cash for the Braves to get the big stick they need.  Is this why Bay and Holliday are waiting?  Sure, the Braves represent another team to bid, and force the Mets to decide whether they are going to pony or or wave goodbye to them.  Not good.

Yankees working hard on pitching pickup?

Buster Olney is tweeting the Yankees are working very hard on an acqusition tonight regarding pitching.  He eludes to the possibility of Aaron Harang since he was looked at by the Bombers last summer.

As long as its not Ben Sheets, Cliff Lee, or someone's ace, fine.  I am really hung up on Sheets and if the Yankees trade for like Zambrano, or Josh Johnson out of the blue, I will go nuts.  I know what you are thinking, that's crazy.  But in the back of your mind, you cannot rule it out since we are talking about the Yankees.

Stay tuned

P.S.   I don't even like that color blue on my site, it makes me sick.

Marquis sign with the Nats, does it matter?

The Nationals have signed Jason Marquis.  Several agencies reported it, I read it here first.  A two year deal for $15 million and the Nats have themselves a solid, middle of the rotation guy that should win his 13-15 games and lose his 10-12 games. 

Mets fans everywhere are not happy.  Another guy they wanted, gone, and this guy wanted to play in New York!  But, before we jump to conclusions and hang Omar, let's take a look at the facts.  First, yes, I think this guy has a good makeup for pitching in New York.  He doesn't shy away from taking the ball, is relatively healthy, and throws 200 innings a year.  However, he is a mediocre pitcher that, although he has made it to the playoffs every year for like nine or ten seasons, never gets to pitch in the post season.  He has 23.2 innigs total in post season pitching.  Andy Pettite had 30.2 this year alone.  Not a fair comparison, Carl Pavano has 26.1 in only 2 seasons worth of post season pitching. 

Marquis would have been fine in the back end of the Mets rotation, I would have been o.k. with him throwing 200 innings for us.  Why spend $15 million on him though when there are several more so-so pitchers out there that you could possibly land for $5-7 million?  I am fine with this too. 

If the Mets want to save a few bucks to drop on a big ticket, sounds good to me.  Doug Davis, Jon Garland, Joel Pineiro, Ben Sheets, and Justin Duchscherer to name a few.  Some will get more, some will get less.  At the end on 2010, the discussion will be who picked the winner and who picked the dog, and all the  rest will be in the middle.

Mets contemplating Pedro's return to Queens

Jayson Stark is reporting that the Mets are having internal discussions about whether or not to bring back Pedro Martinez on a one year deal.  Pedro has made it known that he wants to beat the $7.5 million deal that Brad Penny signed.

I am really confused by what the Mets are thinking.  I truly believe that this is probably just a situation where the Mets are going through the board and talking about everyone that is available.  I cannot see Minaya spending this much on Pedro.  Although he certainly has something left in the tank, it isn't much.  If Pedro was looking for a couple million dollars, I would see Omar as being interested.  I wouldn't but I could see organizational interest popping up. 

Pedro is a charismatic guy that used to be lights out.  That said, later in his career, he has had to transform himself into a changing speeds, deception guy.  This has only really worked for 1-2 trips through the batting order for Pedro, not much more.  The problem immediately becomes that he is a five inning, maybe six on a good day, pitcher. 

It is no secret the Mets need a 200 inning guy.  At this point, with Marquis signing with the Nats, I feel more and more that the Mets are leaning towards trading for a starter.  The Reds seem like an obvious choice (Arroyo, Harang), but who else?

What I want for Christmas from the Mets

So, I have been writing about transactions, signings, rumors, and the occasional league news for the last couple weeks.  We, in the Mets blogosphere, have been waiting and waiting for something of substance.  Something we can wrap our hands around.  Something to tell us, "2009 is behind us, we are going forward."

So far, it hasn't happened.  Minaya tells us to be patient, and he signs some small guys to fill the bench and give Jerry Manuel options for the bullpen.  There are only a couple free agents that anyone even considers above average.  Everyone seems to be in a holding pattern, just waiting for the shoe to drop, and Jason Bay to sign with the team.  If not, then move on to Matt Holliday, (who clearly wants to be a Cardinal but has Borass trying to squeak every dollar and year out of St. Louis) and see if he can be lured to the big city.

• So, what do I want? I've  seen old footage from the SNY Mets Yearbook programs and from the Baseball Seasons (1986) show on the MLB Network, and I have come up with some basics that I want from the Mets for next season.  None of which focuses on one signing or player specifically. I  want to not feel like the little brother.  I want the Mets to come out from behind the shadow, drop the hand me down attitude and go for it.  That doesn't mean I want them to sign 10 free agents and spend $1 billion.  When you do not sign the big free agent, make it because it was your terms, your decisions, not others.  Omar should never have said he met with Lackey, and the , "oh, I guess he wasn't really interested." attitude.  Be in front and take charge, if you overpay, so what. Make it on YOUR terms. 
• I want to see the shaved head smiles of Mets players from 2006.  Or moustaches, or goatees, or something saying this is a team enjoying baseball.  Too many times in the last 3 seasons, it looked miserable for them.  Winning is more fun, I know, but having more fun, can help you win as well.
• I want to enjoy turning on the channel 77.  I don't want it to be painful.  That being said, I am fully aware that even good teams lose around 60-70 games a year.  However, please remove the painful, dropped pop up, blown save, horrible base-running blunders that feel like I am getting a staple inserted under my finger nail.
• I want to see triples, the apple popping up (even if they ruined it by not using the old one), curtain calls, wild hand shakes, fights, Santana & co. hitting batters, jawing at opponents, running the catcher over (PLEASE D.WRIGHT ONCE!), and some swagger like you play in the best town on earth!
• I want Spring Training to be here now.

Wow, I feel like Clark Griswald in Christmas vacation just after his rant about Ed Shirley.  So, if its not to much, can someone get this e-mailed over to the boys in Blue and Orange so they have time to get ready for the new season?  Thanks, Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays.

Cubs finally dumping Milton Bradley

Larry Stone is reporting by Tweet that the Cubs and Mariners have agreed to swap Carlos Silva and Milton Bradley.  Silva was a pitcher that showed flashes here and there and never has put it together over the course of a season.  Somehow he managed to get the Mariners to pay him a ton of money a couple years ago and it did not work out.  Bradley, if he could just shut up & play hard, would do very well.  The problem is, he is always a problem.  He hits and gets on base well. 

I like this trade more for the Mariners, as Bradley can perform pretty well even while being a D-Head.  Silva on the other hand is not much.  Maybe the switch to the NL will do him good.  Seattle gets another good bat, does this take them totally out of Bay?  Where does Chicago go now for a hitter?  Although they got rid of Bradley, the salary was not dumped since Silva is owed roughly the same over two years.  Perhaps they go after Marlon Byrd.  I don't see them entering the Bay/Holliday sweepstakes, as they are still looking to spend on pitching/relievers.

Mets hoping to hear from Bay today

According to SI.com, the Mets are hoping to hear from Jason Bay today.  It is likely that a deal is a bit away, but hopefully doable.  Sources say that the Mets expect a counteroffer and I would expect it would be a deal looking for 6 years and around $90 million.  I am thinking the Mets meet somewhere in the middle then and give him the 5th year, around $75 million and sign Bay.

It is widely assumed that the deal will take longer than the upcoming holiday break.  Early next week, there will be vacations and work stoppage so a deal before then, although it could happen, seems unlikely.  

The Mets remain open with Scott Boras regarding Matt Holliday, but I just don't see that happening.  St. Louis is going to sign him, he is just trying to squeak every dollar, year, and incentive possible.  Can you say, "out clause in 2 years?".  Holliday looks like a good fit for the Mets, he just brings too much agent baggage.