Relief pitcher Junior Guerra tested positive for Nandralone according to multiple media reports. He’s 24 years old and is coming off an excellent 2008 season in which he pitched to a 1-1 record with a 2.12 ERA at four minor league locations.
He’s currently on the Triple-A Buffalo roster, but now he’s out for the first 50 games of the season. It’s a shame that his season will be cut nearly in half because of this.
I’ve just about completed redesigning The Mets Report. There have been several issues that always nagged at me about the design of the site that I wanted to change. First and foremost, I wanted the color of the site to reflect the orange and blue of the Mets… Check.
I’ve wanted to make the reader comments more prominent on the site… Check. I also wanted to support Gravatars and threaded comments on the site…Check.
There are some improvements for me as well that will allow me to increase the speed with which I post to the site and improved photo posting.
I’m excited with the improvements that I’ve made for the 2009 season and I hope that you are too. If you find any bugs on the site please report them to me at my contact page. I appreciate your support.
I’m almost as happy as that dog in the picture. Flickr photo courtesy of Emery_Way
It’s been reported on several media outlets today that the following Mets filed for salary arbitration today:
The Mets got beat in arbitration last season by Oliver Perez for $6.5 million but that was the first time they couldn’t agree on a contract with an arbitration-eligible player since 1992. So it’s reasonable to expect the Mets to work out the numbers with these six players for the 2009 season before hearing are held late next month.
The Atlanta Braves went where the Mets wouldn’t, four years for Derek Lowe. Multiple media reports have the Braves agreeing to a deal with Lowe for 4-years/$60 million. That’s way beyond the Mets reported offer of 3-years/$36 million so I have to assume there were other teams bidding for the Braves to go that high.
The Mets are left to work on Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf, and Ben Sheets. I don’t mind seeing Lowe sign somewhere else, I just wish it wasn’t in the Mets division.
var iamInit = function() {try{initIamServingHandler(234,150,496826,”http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Css/css2.css”)}catch(ex){}}()According to the NY Post and a report on MLB TV, the Mets have offered a 3-year contract to free agent pitcher Oliver Perez. The offer is reported to be in the $30 million range.
We know all about Ollie and I can’t say that I’ve ever been a huge fan of his. He’s maddeningly inconsistent. Although he did seem to find himself a bit under the tuteledge of pitching coach Dan Warthen.
I’m still not sure why the Mets haven’t been linked to Ben Sheets at this point. Sheets and Derek Lowe are better pitchers than Ollie. But Sheets has such a bad injury history, the Mets must’ve been scared off.
We’ll see if this rumor pans out and Ollie ends up coming back to the Mets for three more years.
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There are a couple of minor stories out there now in the hot stove world. I try to keep these updated as much as possible but so many of these stories never pan out to mean anything. So I pick and choose the most logical stories to post here.
First, Pedro Martinez’ agent is talking to the Marlins this week according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes. That would be a great fit for both parties. Pedro would put some badly needed fannies in the seats in Florida. And Pedro could help the younger pitchers on the Marlins’ staff. He’s always been good about that, which isn’t always the case with veteran players.
Second, the Atlanta Braves are in serious talks with Scott Boras about Derek Lowe. Although it would be tough to see Lowe go to a division rival, the Braves need to do something after losing John Smoltz to the Red Sox this week. I’ll be shocked if the Braves offer Lowe a fourth year in his contract when the Mets wouldn’t go there. Other than that, Lowe is a good fit for the Braves. And there’s been talk that Chipper Jones called Lowe with a sales pitch for the Braves this week.
The Mets could always move on to Oliver Perez or Randy Wolf if they lose Lowe to the Braves. I’d be more comfortable if Lowe went to another division or the American League but that’s out of the Mets control.
Several media reports today state that the New York Mets have offered free agent pitcher Tim Redding a contract. Redding was 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA for the Washington Nationals last season. Redding is a 30 year old right-hander who was non-tendered by the Nationals after last season.
I have to believe that Omar Minaya offered him a one year deal, the thought being that he could compete for the fifth spot in the rotation. Hopefully, he’ll accept a minor league contract. If he doesn’t make the majors he could keep working in Buffalo at Triple-A and come up if a spot start is needed. This is another guy that I’d have to think would have more value to another team. He could certainly take a spot in the rotation of a smaller market team.
The Mets Report 