Buster Olney of ESPN rehashes the whole scenario of how Johan Santana was traded by the Twins to the Mets. He says that the Yankees and Red Sox both had concerns at the time about the health of Santana because he had lost velocity and wasn’t throwing his slider.
Category: Pitching
Mets News Aug. 25, 2009: Wagner, Sheffield, Minaya, Santana
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
For a team near the bottom of the National League standings, the Mets sure have a lot going on right now. You would think that they would be playing out the string and cruising into 2010. Did you know? There are only five teams in the NL with a worse winning percentage than the Mets; Nationals, Pirates, Reds, D-Backs, and Padres.
Here’s the news:
- Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports writes that Billy Wagner will exercise his no-trade clause to block a move to the Red Sox. The deal must be completed by 1pm today.
- Adam Bernacchio of The Ghost of Moonlight Graham writes about how several Mets players told the media that they expect Johan Santana to have season-ending elbow surgery
- Nick Kapur of Ump Bump writes about how the Mets have mismanaged Johan Santana by allowing him to pitch injured for the last two months
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports writes about Gary Sheffield’s future. He wants to play next year and beyond in his pursuit of 3,000 hits. Sheffield needs 311 more hits to reach 3,000.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com writes about Fred Wilpon’s vote of confidence for Omar Minaya and the Billy Wagner trade to the Red Sox scenario
- Jon Boise of AOL Fanhouse writes that the Mets injuries this year may be evidence that God hates the Mets
- Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports writes that Omar Minaya will have a difficult time turning things around in 2010
More Mets Injuries: Johan Santana, Jeff Francoeur
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
If you weren’t at work today and were watching the game, you noticed that Jeff Francoeur wasn’t in the lineup or the dugout. He was at the doctor getting his thumb examined after making a diving catch yesterday. The result is that he has a torn ligament in his thumb, the same injury that plagued Alex Cora for much of the season. Francoeur is day-to-day right now.
On a more serious note, Johan Santana will be the next victim patient of the Mets medical team for some pain in his left elbow. Apparently, he’s been feeling some pain since after the All-Star break. He won’t be in Florida for his scheduled start tomorrow. Nelson Figueroa will replace him in the rotation.
I haven’t been a proponent of sitting anyone for the rest of the season if they’re healthy enough to play. I feel that the Mets owe the paying fans something. And that something is putting some decent players on the field. But I have to say that Santana is the one guy they shouldn’t mess around with. He needs to be healthy for next season. So if he needs to call it a season now, they should err on the side of caution with him.
Video: Rosenthal On Billy Wagner Trade
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has a video posted about the Mets options for trading Billy Wagner. He mentions that they may even hold onto him, pick up his option for next year, then trade him. What he doesn’t mention is that the Mets could shoot themselves in the foot by doing that if Wagner exercises his full no-trade clause. Then the Mets are stuck with him next year at $8 million.
http://images.video.msn.com/flash/customplayer/1_0/customplayer.swf
Mets Billy Wagner Claimed By Red Sox
- Image by phillenium1979 via Flickr
The Mets have an opportunity to come out from under a total of $3.7 million of Billy Wagner‘s contract. The reports are that he was claimed on waivers by the Boston Red Sox. I’m sure the Mets were shocked that anyone would claim Wagner after coming off Tommy John surgery and only pitching in one game on Thursday night.
The Mets now have until Tuesday to: 1) work out a trade with the Red Sox 2) let Wagner go to the Red Sox for nothing 3) pull Wagner off waivers and keep him for the rest of this season. Of course, option 1 is ideal but it will depend highly on how much of Wagner’s remaining salary ($2.7 million) and next year’s option buyout ($1 million) that the Mets are willing to eat. It also depends on Wagner allowing a trade because he has a full no-trade clause in his contract. The reports are that he wouldn’t allow a trade back to the Phillies but would go to a contender.
The Mets should just let Wagner go for nothing and have the Red Sox pick up the rest of his contract. At this point, the Mets are bordering on becoming one of the worst teams that money can buy in the history of Major League Baseball at almost $2 million per win. The only worse team was the 2008 Seattle Mariners, and that cost almost everyone in the front office and the manager their jobs.
For the sake of his reputation and legacy, Omar Minaya needs to drawn down the Mets financial exposure as much as possible. He’s already responsible for one of the worst trades in MLB history and now he’s on the verge of spending the second most money per win in history. Minaya could very well become known as one of the worst general managers in baseball’s 140 year history.
Video: Billy Wagner Returns To Mets
If you were watching the Mets-Giants game last night you saw Billy Wagner back with the team in the dugout. He hasn’t pitched in a game since Aug. 2, 2008 when he had to have Tommy John surgery.
The plan is for Wagner to come off the disabled list on Friday and start throwing in games as an audition for a trade. Wagner has already told the Mets that he would waive his full no-trade clause to go to a contender.
Here’s some video from NJ.com:
| Update on Billy Wagner’s return to the Mets |
| http://tribeca.vidavee.com/advance/trh/embedAsset.js?width=470.0&height=265.0&wmode=transparent&skin=v3AdvInt_nj.swf&dockey=9FEFE577337233544E387FB620EA604F& |
Wagner also got feisty with a reporter while being questioned about the possibility of being traded.
| Mets’ Wagner fires back at reporter |
| http://tribeca.vidavee.com/advance/trh/embedAsset.js?width=470.0&height=265.0&wmode=transparent&skin=v3AdvInt_nj.swf&dockey=F45780C4E3C290B3B0D581B4234D4FCF& |
Mets In The News Aug. 9, 2009
- Image by pursuethepassion via Flickr
The Mets are playing to avoid a sweep in San Diego this afternoon and the piling on continues. Kevin Kernan of the New York Post writes that the team should fire GM Omar Minaya and hire Billy Beane. Beane was the Mets first round draft choice in the 1980 draft and played 13 games in the outfield for the Mets in 1984-1985. I find it extremely difficult to believe that the Wilpons would fire Minaya and keep him on the payroll for three more years. He just signed an extension before this season. I don’t see it happening for financial reasons more than anything.
The New York Post Mets Blog notes that Billy Wagner threw another scoreless inning during a rehab game in Florida yesterday. The target date for him to come back to the Mets is Aug. 21. Wagner is scheduled to pitch back to back games for the first time on Monday and Tuesday. I have a hard time seeing Wagner pitching anything but the ninth inning. The Mets don’t want him back. They’ve already told him that they’re not picking up his contract option for 2010. Let him pitch a game or two in the bigs and then see if he has any trade value before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline.
The Mets Report 