Tag: free agents

The Best Free Agents Left on the Market

Yesterday Dayn Perry from FoxSports wrote a list of the top free agents left on the market. As you know, I’d like to see the Mets find out what kind of contract that Barry Bonds is looking for. If he wants one or two years at a reasonable price, there’s no reason that the Mets shouldn’t sign him.

You’ve probably heard that the Mets have been talking to Scott Boras about Kyle Lohse for quite some time. Apparently, his contract demands exceed his pitching skills by a wide margin. But Bartolo Colon might be worth a look as a fifth starter for a one year contract. He’s had way too many cheeseburgers and had a bad year last year. But there’s potential there as his Cy Young Award will attest to.

Santana Rocks!

He’s here… and at a reasonable price. The Mets didn’t have to give up Fernando Martinez or Mike Pelfrey. This could work out to be Omar Minaya’s crowning achievement. Obviously, having the Wilpons checkbook helps but he still had to work the Twins down to four promising young players.

The Twins won’t know if this deal worked out for them for a few years. They have a new stadium coming too, but Carl Pohlad doesn’t empty the safe for players like the Wilpons do. Carlos Gomez should start in centerfield and Phil Humber should get more than a look for a spot in the rotation. I’m still surprised they couldn’t get more out of the Mets though.

I’ve read that the Mets are hesitant to offer Santana more than a five year deal. I think they have to look at the Barry Zito deal with the Giants, and then up the ante a little. The Giants set the bar pretty high but the Mets can exceed anything the Giants can do financially. Zito got 7 years for $126 million.

You’re in luck if you have tickets for opening day… Johan Santana vs. the Marlins in Florida. I’m sure tickets are available for that one. Maybe not for long though.

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Your 2008 right fielder is…?

Shawn Green’s departure to free agency has left an opening in right field for 2008. I would love to see some combination of Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, or even Fernando Martinez (if he’s ready) take over the position successfully. There’s nothing better than farm system talent taking over a position and producing. I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

There are some intriguing possibilities on the free agent market. Jose Guillen from the Mariners is free. He’s also a major league loose cannon, and has a history of causing major disturbances with management, teammates, opposing teams, and anyone else that he encounters. He’s also a serious offensive force. Last season for the Mariners he hit .290 23HR 99RBI’s and he’s got a big time arm in right field. That would be a huge improvement over Shawn Green. Green could barely hit the ball out of the infield and stumbled around defensively for most of the season. Of course, Guillen has also allegedly purchased steroids illegally. But that’s never stopped the Mets before (Guillermo Mota).

My choice for a free agent right fielder… Barry Bonds. That’s right, I said Barry Bonds! Yeah, he’s old and another alleged steriod user. He also appears to be a real jerk. The question that you have to ask yourself is: do you want to win a championship or not? Bonds is a free agent, he hasn’t been suspended for anything. I guess that could happen depending upon the results of his federal indictment. But this guy can hit like nobody ever has before except maybe Babe Ruth and Alex Rodriguez.

Sign Bonds to a one or maybe two year contract. It still leaves plenty of playing time for Milledge/Gomez because Barry won’t play every day. Even on the days that Bonds doesn’t start, wouldn’t you like to see him coming off the bench to pinch hit against right handers?

If you think that you’re taking some moral high ground by disagreeing with me, you’re wrong. Were the 1986 Mets a bunch of Boy Scouts… Gooden, Kevin Mitchell, Strawberry? No, but you loved them anyway. And you’ll love the way Bonds can knock the lights out of the scoreboard in right field too.

Bonds

Hot Stove Report

Omar Minaya Omar Minaya

I haven’t posted to the site in quite a while. I started a new job in July and didn’t really have a chance to regularly update the site. That’s changed now! It’s time to get back to Mets business.

The off-season leaves some holes open in the Mets roster. Primarily, second base and catcher. The possibility of Glavine not coming back leaves a spot in the starting rotation open as well.

Second base: News reports have it that the Mets have been wining and dining David Eckstein in Greenwich. He would move from short to second and most likely hit number two behind Reyes. Keep in mind that the Mets already signed Marlon Anderson and Damien Easley, both of whom shouldn’t play every day but would be fine for short periods of time. I’ve never been a fan of David Eckstein, and the talk is that he wants a four year contract. That’s too much in my opinion. I’d rather see the Mets look at Mark Loretta for a one or two year contract. He could hit behind Reyes and with a little more power than Eckstein. I saw enough of Luis Castillo last season to know that he isn’t close to the player he was with the Marlins. The Mets shouldn’t even consider signing him again.

Catcher: Ramon Castro signed for two years. I love that signing. He’s a fantastic bench player! Yorvit Torrealba seems to be the Mets top choice to handle the majority of catching. There really aren’t any great free agent catchers out there this off-season. I don’t want LoDuca back, and I don’t think the Mets do either. LoDuca talks too much and produces too little. He’s also in his mid-thirties, the typical decline years for catchers. Jason Kendall, Michael Barret, and Jason LaRue are the other free agent possibilities. The Mets could probably get Ramon Hernandez in a trade from the Orioles if they wanted to go that direction. It would depend on how much the Orioles want for him.

Starting Pitcher: I have a feeling that the Mets might be thinking about trading for a SP. The free agent list isn’t great. Assuming that Glavine doesn’t come back, and I really hope he doesn’t, the logical possibilities would include: Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Livan Hernandez, Kyle Lohse, and Jon Leiber. There are some stretches that we could look at too. We know how Rick Peterson likes to work with “project” pitchers. The fee agents that come to mind are: Tony Armas, Matt Clement, and Wade Miller.

The bottom line is that last season is finished, forgotten, and the historic season ending collapse is over. It’s time to think about who will be reporting to camp in February.