Category: Latest News

Non-tendered List Includes Wang, Atkins, And Cust

{{w|Chien-Ming Wang}}, Taiwanese pitcher for t...

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The list of players not offered contracts for 2010 became clear today after last night’s deadline. The list is highlighted by Chien-Ming Wang, Garrett Atkins, and Jack Cust. Also closers Mike MacDougal and Matt Capps were let go. Ryan Garko was let go by the Giants as well after not fulfilling his potential in both Cleveland and San Francisco.

I wrote about the list of players that the Mets non-tendered today as well. There weren’t any major surprises there. But I do think that the Mets will be talking to some of the players that the other MLB teams cut loose.

Wang has a huge upside. He won 19 games in both 2006 and 2007 but has been beset by injuries for the last two seasons. So has John Maine and the Mets are holding onto him. And he has nowhere near the potential that Wang has.

Cust is a low-average, power-hitting RF/DH. I’m not sure where he would fit in with the Mets considering he’s an adventure in the outfield. But we all know that the Mets are in desperate need of some power. He could be a Matt Stairs-type of player for the Mets.

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Mets, Jason Bay Closer To Contract

BOSTON - JULY 05: Jason Bay #44 and David Ort...

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In a report for Foxsports, Ken Rosenthal writes that Jason Bay has officially turned down the offer that was on the the table from the Red Sox. It was widely reported at the end of the season that the Sox had offered Bay a 4-year/$60 million contract. Last week the Mets trumped that slightly with a 4-year/$65 million offer.

It appears that the Red Sox aren’t willing to move from their original offer. Rosenthal notes that the Mariners and Angels are both rumored to have some level of interest in Bay as well. The Mets are now in a stronger bargaining position than ever. That’s good news for those of us that would like to see Bay come back to the Mets organization.

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Mets And MLB Winter Meetings 2009

Jason Bay at a game between Orioles and the Re...

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We haven’t seen much from the New York Mets yet this offseason but it’s still early. None of the big free agents that the Mets should be interested in have come off the board yet anyway. It’s been in the news since yesterday that Chone Figgins signed a 4-year/$36M deal with the Mariners. As far as I’m concerned, that’s fine with me. I like Figgins but don’t see where he would fit in with the Mets roster. Maybe left field. But that’s a stretch for a guy with a long term contract at $9M/year.

At least the Mets are set at catcher. That was easy. Chris Coste will be the third string guy staying in shape at Triple-A Buffalo. And Henry Blanco should back up Omir Santos. Yahoo Sports wrote that the Mets are still in the market for a starter at catcher like Bengie Molina, Yorvit Torrealba, or Rod Barajas. But I think the Mets have bigger fish to fry than another catcher.

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NY Times: Mets Should Trade For Halladay And Wells

Vernon Wells

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A couple of writers that I’ve never heard of at the NY Times are touting the idea of the Mets trading for Roy Halladay and Vernon Wells. I hope that Elena Gustines and Jay Schreiber are only temporarily filling in for Ben Shipgel on the Bats blog there. We need the voice of reason back.

The writers touch on the idea of multiple needs on the Mets (and forgot to mention the Mets need a first baseman that can hit). They also only touch on the fact that trading for Halladay and Wells adds $36 million to the Mets payroll next year, which is the total amount that the Mets are likely to add based on the salaries that are coming off the books.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind the idea of bringing in Halladay and Wells. The problem that Gustines and Schreiber don’t address is how complicated it’s going to be to reconfigure the roster to address the existing shortcomings at catcher and first base within the $140 million payroll.

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Citi Field To Finally Celebrate Mets Past

Citi_Field The Mets are finally getting around to correcting the problem that jumped out at every fan on Opening Day 2009, the team forgot to celebrate their own history in their new stadium. In August, they announced that they would do some makeshift changes to address the oversight. Now, they are announcing some real modifications to Citi Field that will address the problem in a more permanent fashion.

They’ll rename areas of the field after Mets greats like Casey Stengel, Tom Seaver, Gil Hodges, and William Shea. They’re also re-forming the Mets Hall Of Fame committee and will open a Mets Hall of Fame and Museum at Citi Field.

These changes are all positive developments. But as Ken Davidoff properly notes, we won’t be talking about this 20 years from now. We’ll just be enjoying the Mets “vibe” at the park. But that’s not the whole story.

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Audio: Heyman On Hot Stove November 21, 2009

Roy Halladay

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Here’s the audio from WFAN’s Saturday morning show with Evan Roberts. SI’s Jon Heyman calls in to talk about:

 Jon Heyman audio on WFAN

As far as I’m concerned, Halladay shouldn’t even be on the Mets radar until they resolve some of the problems with their position players. As Heyman says, it’s unlikely that the Mets want two starting pitchers making #1 starter money. It’s not the right allocation of resources unless Halladay falls into their lap.

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New York Mets 2009 Offseason: All About The Bats

Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies hits aga...

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After the 2008 season ended, the Mets went looking for pitching. More specifically, they were looking for bullpen help coming off 29 blown saves. Mets GM Omar Minaya made no secret about the fact that he was looking at pitching, pitching, and more pitching. He came away with a solidly revamped bullpen led by Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, and Sean Green.

Unfortunately, we ended up with Daniel Murphy manning left field and no depth among the position players. Minaya let the rest of the team go for the sake of solidifying the bullpen and re-signing Oliver Perez. It showed when the Mets suffered an abnormally long injury list and there were no replacements waiting in the wings, minor leagues or otherwise.

Although there are some serious question marks on the pitching staff, this offseason needs to be all about generating some offense. The 2009 Mets finished 25th in the majors with 671 runs. Teams like Kansas City and Washington scored more runs than the Mets. They were dead last in the big’s with only 95 team home runs. Sure, the new stadium played a part in that. But there’s no excuse for the team with the highest payroll in the National League to finish in dead last in all of MLB.

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