I think the Mets would probably do that; Byrnes fulfills their quest for a right handed bat, and can play all three OF positions pretty well, which will come in handy when Ryan Church inevitably gets injured. And of course, there's the ubiquitous "hustle n' heart" that makes old-timey baseball announcers get erections. I believe that's comically overrated, but whatever. It's better than being a ****head with a bad attitude. I don't know if the D-Bags would do it, though. If they want to open some salary breathing room by trading Byrnes, taking back Castillo isn't a huge help. 2 years at $11M per (Byrnes) vs. 3 years at $6M per (Castillo) isn't much of a long term savings. I guess if their concerns are strictly for the 2009 payroll it makes sense, especially since it would fill the hole they're going to have at 2B when Hudson walks. If Fuentes is willing to take 6 or 7M per season, the Mets should pounce.
I know the Mets want another outfield bat, but I am not really sold on Byrnes. Hey, if it can help move Castillo... maybe. Byrnes, while a guy that plays in an all out hustle, isn't a guy that is gonna stay healthy for all 162. I know hes only been on the DL twice in his career (both last season for hamstrings), but that doesn't mean he doesn't miss games. He also gets in a mode where he wants to lift every swing he takes, leaving many runners stranded. I just have a feeling I might be booing him more than cheering for him if he were a Met.
I have always been a Byrnes fan. He doesnt walk at all, its like a dirty word, but I still like him. I believe grit is underrated not overrated; ask philly fans how much someone like Shane Victorino meant to them. Byrnes is a comparable player. 5 mil per is still a savings. If I have to toss in Parnell to get it done or eat a mil or two to get rid of slapstillo then Id do it in a New York minute. The Feuntes part they prefaced by saying that Putz has been made available and he seems to clearly be the Mets #1 target. K Rod could still accept arby if he doesnt get an offer he likes. Personally, I do like Putz and then go get Street as your 8th inning guy and possible future closer. Either way the entire relief market is waiting on the Mets according to what these guys said to see what they are going to do. Basically what they said is that if the mets get Putz then K Rod and Feuntes arent getting the big multi year deals they thought they were. Where this leaves Kerry Wood could be interesting. Having him and Putz or Putz and Street would be solid and leave us plenty of money to go get a bat and a SP.
Youre really not sold on Byrnes being better then Slapstillo? I mean I know Byrnes is flawed but come on, for Castillo? I would take a turd in a hot dog bun at 2b over Castillo. It would stink equally as bad.
Oh, I am not saying Louis is any better than Byrnes by any stretch... I am just not that sold on getting him instead of another outfield bat. It might just have to do with watching him every night over here... Hes pretty much shoved down our throats because the Dbacks wanted to make him the face of the franchise (his own TV show, billboards, commercials). I just think a lot of his flaws are hidden by the fact that his uniform cannot stay clean past the 1st inning. I also think you really really really want to get rid of Mr. Castillo (cannot say I blame ya). Oh, and the turd in a bun image is pretty F'n priceless.
Very nice Boik. Seriously I didn't even know Castillo was a trading chip. Then again I saw Rentreria just racked up 19 million for 2 years. WOW.
Said on Sportscenter that CC is waiting to see what happens w/ the Angels and Teixeira before he signs w/ anyone. Guy just doesnt want to be a Yankee lol.
Not so much a rumor as it is comicly stupid: Murray Chass (NY Times Baseball Writer and I believe HOF voter) was on YES yesterday and said he would take Jack Morris in the HOF over Rickey Henderson. Now, I would put Morris in, but definitely not over Rickey. Thats just crackheadedly dumb. Morris is one of the most underrated pitchers in my opinion though and the fact that Chass recognizes that Morris belongs in definitely saves him in my opinion from a downright fireable statement like that. Morris is a 3x 20 game winner, 3x cy young winner, 3 world series rings, best pitcher in his decade (over the full decade), recognized as the hired gun of his era and an elite big game pitcher...The era and peripherals are a bit higher then you would like but I think that was a product of the era he played in and the fact that the American League became such a hitters league after the DH came in. Anyway, I figured the first statement was pretty funny.
Murray Chass is a hack and is completely wrong about Morris and in fact should probably get his HOF vote taken away but then again 98% of the writers who vote for this stuff are clueless. I completely disagree with Jack Morris being in the HOF, he was a nice pitcher but is in no way a HOF pitcher. He's been living off of his 1991 WS Game 7 performance his whole career. Yes that game was amazing, however you don't get into the Hall for one game, just ask Don Larsen. If Morris got in he'd sport the highest ERA out of anyone in the HOF at 3.90, his ERA is almost 4. People will also bring up saying he was a great post season pitcher but again look at his stats (he's living off of that Game 7) again he was a good pitcher but nowhere near what he's made out to be, he is in no way an elite post season pitcher (he really only had 3 good series out of 7 and the other 4 were down right awful). And he never won a Cy Young award, best he did was come in 3rd two times. And I wouldn't even say he was the best pitcher in his decade because Roger Clemens was by far better from 1985 on. Really other than his win total of 254, nothing really jumps out at you, as he didn't have a high K total, and his best ERA year was 3.05, he had a lot of years in the 4.00s and that was before the juice players/ball era. I really don't get why everyone is in love with Morris, he's simply not a HOF pitcher. But then again maybe I just have a high standard when it comes to the HOF. I just think it would be wrong to let Morris in, he doesn't deserve it.
another offseason-more disappointments okay i know seattle isnt the worst ran franchise, but its gotta be up there
I wonder if the Angels offer is still on the table. I imagine they'd want him back at that price. Especially when there are rumors of them going after Fuentes possibly if Frankie does leave.
I wouldn't be all that annoyed if we went into the year with: - Frankie (paid barely above last year) - Teixeira - Paul Byrd, Pedro, or another veteran for the five spot Then we can maybe make a deal like Erick Aybar for Kouzmanoff. Kouzmanoff could thrive outside of Petco and he'd be an upgrade over GMJ/River last year (combined .690 OPS). Morales can easily replace Garret Anderson's production. We'd be at least as good as the 100 win team that barely lost to the Red Sox last year. After that the possibilities are quite good to improve even more since we did not have Escobar last year, nor did we have Lackey the whole season. 100 wins would be within reach to be sure just by keeping key components together. So yes if Frankie accepts a 3/34m deal then why not? I'm sure he'd rather stay with his guy for that low of a sum difference.
Imagine having Teixeira for an entire season, too. 100 wins is definitely possible if all we do is keep him. The market for closers the way it is atm I'm thinking bringing Frankie back with a deal along the lines of what he turned down before is possible.
It's very possible. How much it improves us over having Arredondo there I'm not sure, but it can't hurt really. Frankie is a fair bet to continue at a solid pace. Nothing Rivera like but it's a good investment. To be entirely honest with you I'd like nothing better than to see the team have a chance at redemption.
There's a rumor going around that Dye was traded to the Reds for Homer Bailey. If true I think it's a bad deal for the Reds. Dye has 1 year left on his deal and although Bailey has been pretty bad he was a year removed from being a top pitching prospect in all of baseball, not to mention that the Reds aren't close to being a playoff team so this hurts them big time in the future. If Bailey goes to Chicago I bet he rebounds as he clearly needs a a fresh start and Cooper is a pretty good pitching coach with a good track record of turning pitchers around (Danks, Floyd etc).
Wonder how high they'll go. I assume they'll have to come in higher than the 3/36ish that the Angels offered last offseason.
As MLBtraderumors.com put it, would you rather 1 year or Dye or 6 of Bailey...Id take my chances on Bailey being fixed/
I'd go 7-8 with no problem to get it done. Angels may need to decide soon between Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia - Los Angeles Times 6/140 range for CC or 8/180 range for Teixeira; they better get Tex.
Rotoworld says deal is not finished. White Sox want more than Bailey, and the Reds are re-thinking it if they have to pay Dyes full salary. Fantasy Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey - news, projections, cheatsheets, depth charts, draft guide - Rotoworld.com
8:51pm: Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says "a source familiar with the talks" rejected the report below. The Sox want more than just Bailey. Gonzales' source adds that talks with the Mets for Bobby Jenks fell apart over Omar Minaya's unwillingness to include Bobby Parnell. From MLB traderumors. I like Parnell but if this what I think it is (Parnell and Church for Jenks - and I have no confirmation that it is that) theres no way that Parnell should hold up this deal.
The Mets have already met face-to-face with Francisco Rodriguez in Las Vegas, according to MLB.com. There was nothing to suggest that an offer was made, but even if it wasn't, it will probably happen soon. "In the next four days, we will probably be more aggressive with dialogue with agents," GM Omar Minaya said before the meeting. "And at the same time, we have some potential trades that are out there that we might be able to get done." Source: Hot Stove Blog Related: Trevor Hoffman, Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes Jake Peavy-S-Padres Dec. 7 - 11:36 pm et According to BP's John Perrotto a "wild rumor" making its way around the winter meetings has the Rays jumping in as a third team in the Jake Peavy-to-the-Cubs deal. Making it especially far fetched is that it involves Brian Giles going from San Diego to Tampa Bay. Presumably, if Giles was willing to waive his no-trade clause to play in Florida, the Rays could work out their own deal with the Padres and wouldn't need to get involved in the Peavy talks, which don't appear close to a resolution. The Padres would likely be all over an Andy Sonnanstine-for-Giles deal. Source: Baseball Prospectus Related: Jake Peavy Jermaine Dye-OF-White Sox Dec. 7 - 11:05 pm et Reds GM Walt Jocketty said he hasn't had any discussions with the White Sox regarding Jermaine Dye or anyone else since before Thanksgiving. Everyone is denying that there's any truth at all to Hal McCoy's report of a done deal involving Dye and Homer Bailey, and there's no reason to think they're all bluffing. McCoy was pretty clearly working off some bad info. Source: Hot Stove Blog Related: Homer Bailey Brandon Lyon-R-Diamondbacks Dec. 7 - 10:42 pm et Free agent Brandon Lyon has decided to decline the Diamondbacks' offer of arbitration. Lyon looked like the lone question mark remaining. Of the 24 free agents offered arbitration, it now appears that only Darren Oliver will accept. Lyon stood to make around $4 million or so had he chosen to stay with the Diamondbacks. He'll probably do about as well elsewhere, but it will be a fully guaranteed contact. The Diamondbacks could have released him in spring training and owed him only a small portion of his awarded salary. Source: Arizona Republic Related: Darren Oliver Gerald Laird-C-Rangers Dec. 7 - 10:38 pm et The Detroit Free Press reports that the Tigers and Rangers are moving closer to a deal that would send Gerald Laird to Detroit. The Rangers reportedly would get pitching prospect Guillermo Moscoso, a talented righty with middle-of-the-rotation potential. If the Rangers do trade Laird, it wouldn't necessarily take Jarrod Saltalamacchia off the table. However, the youngster would become that much more difficult for the Red Sox or another team to pry away. Source: Detroit Free Press Related: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, Dusty Ryan
Per rotoworld, the laird trade is official: A source told FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal that the Rangers have agreed to trade Gerald Laird to the Tigers for Guillermo Moscoso and a second prospect. It looks like a nice trade for the Tigers. Moscoso could be a No. 3 starter, and the Tigers can scarcely afford to give up pitching. However, he's already 25, he's yet to pitch above Double-A and he has a history of significant shoulder issues. The second prospect is a 17-year-old who spent last year in the DSL, according to Rosenthal. Laird gives the Tigers the reliable regular catcher they weren't going to find in free agency. He's under control for two more years and will likely make about $3 million in 2009.
Glad to have DO back. Which I cant believe I'm saying after the way he pitched his few months in Anaheim.
I do NOT understand the fascination with Parnell. Niese, I like very much, but Parnell's upside is Edwin Jackson. And no, that's not a compliment. Be that as it may, I'm not sure I'd do Church and Parnell (or any decent prospect) for Jenks. Jenks' falling K rate is a major concern for me, especially in light of the fact that they want more strikeouts in the bullpen. I know Church fell off dramatically last year, and I'm not opposed to moving him, but I just can't get on board with Jenks. Package Church and Parnell and JJ Putz, and I'm okay with that.
Wow, I really thought Boston had the inside track and would have made this trade. Laird would have been a perfect fit for RSox @ C.
The Mets seem to think they can sign K-Rod by the end of the week. There's buzz about a 2 year deal with a third year as a player option. I'll believe that when I see it, but I'd love to see the Mets sign him to such a contract.
Negative about the Sox and Laird as he has a poor OBP and has trouble staying healthy. The Sox are/were after Teagarden or Salty.
I know you have other choices, but I think from a D and game calling standpoint he is the best of those 3.
I want to see the money on any 2 year deal he signs. Angels seem to have offered a pretty fair 3 year deal. Not sure why he's so eager to leave and go to the Mets.
I want to know what the money is. Surprised the Angels would deal Napoli. Guess if the deals good enough you'd move anyone.
If you can deal a guy who has had an amazing year why not do it. Fair compensation would be required though.
I wouldnt view Napoli as untouchable by any means. But he showed a lot of power last year on a team that is desperate for a some power. Wonder what we asked for though.
Mets, Jays discuss B.J. Ryan? The Blue Jays and Mets discussed the availability of Toronto closer B.J. Ryan, according to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger. New York is in the market for a closer and Toronto might be willing to shed payroll via trade in order to pursue some of its offseason goals. According to the report, the Blue Jays have interest in Mets outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, but New York doesn't want to deal him. And why would the Mets, when there are plenty of closer options on the free-agent market? Ryan, who is owed $10 million in each of the next two seasons, saved 32 games this past season. But, the 32-year-old lefty battled through an inconsistent campaign after returning from Tommy John elbow surgery on his throwing arm. The Jays' bullpen is deep enough that Ryan could be expendable.
Good news for Bedard, Mariners Left-hander Erik Bedard on Monday received the green light to begin a throwing program that conceivably would have him ready for the start of Spring Training. Bedard, who missed most of last season with a variety of ailments, was examined on Monday morning by Dr. Lewis Yocum, the physician who removed a cyst from Bedard's throwing shoulder. Later in the morning, Bedard met with club officials before returning to his offseason home in Canada. A healthy Bedard would make it easier for general manager Jack Zduriencik to trade another starting pitcher, possibly left-hander Jarrod Washburn, to further bolter and the offense, which is the Mariners' top priority this offseason.
Cards interested in Burnett? The Cardinals have acknowledged they're shifting the focus of their offseason shopping, and on Monday morning a report surfaced that indicated where they might be turning their attentions. FOXSports.com reported on Monday that the Cardinals are a "serious bidder" for free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett. St. Louis pursued Burnett the last time he was a free agent, in the winter of 2005-06, when he signed with Toronto. Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told reporters on Thursday that the club is seeking pitching over hitting after trading for shortstop Khalil Greene. Perhaps more tellingly, Mozeliak also acknowledged the possibility that St. Louis might use all of the remaining $15 million available in its 2009 payroll on a single player. There are reasons to believe the fit, and reasons to be skeptical. It's little secret that Burnett is a player of interest to the Cardinals, and the Arkansas native would likely find some appeal in pitching close to home. On the other hand, St. Louis has a long-standing reluctance to guarantee five years to any pitcher, especially a pitcher not already within the organization. It was the Cards' unwillingness to go beyond four years and with an option that caused them to fall short with Burnett last time around. That deal included an opt-out clause that is the reason Burnett is a free agent once again.
With catcher signed, Tigers move on to short Now that the Tigers have filled their need for a catcher, they'll now turn their attention to their other needs, primarily to find a shortstop. At this point, however, that need is not likely to be filled by Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson. After talks last week that eventually led to a premature report of a deal, the Tigers have moved on from the Wilson talks and turned their attention to free agent Adam Everett. With Everett in town, a deal could come together quickly. A report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggested the Tigers were set to sign Everett, but agent Keith Grunewald said Monday that he had yet to meet with Detroit officials for discussions here.
Peavy: The Cubs or he stays in San Diego LAS VEGAS - There appears to be some finality on the horizon regarding Padres pitcher Jake Peavy. San Diego general manager Kevin Towers said Monday that he's essentially dealing with just one team for the 2007 Cy Young Award Winner and that if a deal cannot t be struck at the Winter Meetings he will effectively pull Peavy off the trading block. Towers indicated that he's talking with just one team about Peavy - the Chicago Cubs - though a "third or fourth team," could essentially be roped in to ensure the Padres of the compensation package of players they're looking for. "It's the one ball club we're talking to," Towers said, "... there's no secret there." But Towers said that if a deal can't be consummated by the time he leaves Las Vegas on Thursday, he will, for the sake of the team, the fans and even Peavy himself, take him off the market and he'll be the Opening Day starter on April 6. "My hope is that by Thursday, there's a deal to be had. If we haven't made progress, if it is not going to work out, we need to move on," Towers said. "If we weren't to make any progress in the next 2-3 days, we would likely come out and make a statement that he's going to stay.
