Dotel Signs with Chi Sox

According to Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports, The White Sox have signed RP Octavio Dotel to a 2-year $11 million dollar deal. Last season with the Royals and Braves, he went 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA and 11 saves in 33 appearances. Dotel is the second major addition to the Whtie Sox bullpen this off-season. The Sox earlier signed right-hander Scott Linebrink for $19 million over four years. Thats $30 million for over-the-hill-relievers. I still think Dotel has a little left in the tank, if he can stay healthy, but Linebrink won't do as good as he did when he was in the National League Central.

In other news, the Cardinals and 25 year-old catcher Yadlier Molina agreed to a contract extension worth approximately $21.5 million over the next 4 seasons. Molina is said to be one of the best defensive catchers in the majors, and Tony La Russa praises his work ethic. Last year, Molina hit .275 with six homers and 40 RBIs in 111 games. Yadlier is the youngest of the Molina catching family, with Jose on the Yankees and Bengie with the Giants.

Sosa interested in Mets

I know it seems like the Mets have alot of outfielders and they don't need anymore, but according to Eli over at MLB Rumors had this to say in his latest post...

Shea Hello Sammy?: One agent who asked to remain anonymous believes that Sammy Sosa would take a minor league deal from the Mets if it was offered. I haven't heard if the Mets were interested, but I am sure they would dish out a contract to Sosa if he was willing to take a pay cut.

Sosa can still hit home runs and drive in runs, there is no doubt about that... but I just can't see where the Mets can find a place for him unless he is willing to take a pay cut, and play in the minors for a while until there is a need at the MLB level... and according to Eli, only Sosa has expressed interest in the Mets. So far the Mets have not shown interest in Sosa, but our ears and eyes should be listing and looking for more details soon.


.....I wonder why Eli's sources are ALWAYS anonymous....

Possible Moves for Omar

We have reached the slowest part of the off-season and well, there is simply nothing to write about unless the signing of Matt Clement and Josh Towers.. but that has no effect on the Mets... but I've been thinking, what smart moves could Omar make? Well, here is a few suggestions from me...

Trade for Johan Santana...

I love our prospects but we need to get an edge. I would perfer that Omar waits until he becomes a free-agent next off-season but if we can pull a trade off that doesn't include Fernando Martinez, then I'm fine with it. Although most fans would haunt Omar Minaya for years if one of those prospects backfired in our faces, just like Scott Kazmir.


Sign Freddy Garcia to an incentive-laden contract with an option for 09'...

Freddy Garcia won't be ready until near the All-Star break but we need options. Gracia seems interested and there just simply aren't any better options. Unless you count Bartolo Colon, but he isn't even touching 90 MPH in the winter leagues. If Garcia would come back to form, the fans would love Omar Minaya again.



Sign Octavio Dotel to a 1-year contract with a vesting option for 09'...

Dotel is a very good reliable reliever out of the pen, when he is healthy. The thing is, he can't stay healthy.. but when he is, he can be a Duaner Sanchez type of pitcher. We need depth in our bullpen and that is what we lacked last season. Adding Octavio to the mix would definitely help solve that problem.



Sign Kevin Mench to a 1-year deal...

The recently acquired RF Ryan Church, is a very light hitting outfielder against left-handed pitchers.. so we need a platoon partner that can absolutely mash left-handers. Kevin Mench is our man. Last season, in 156 at-bats against Left-handers, Mench hit .314 with 8 homers and 26 RBI's. Combine that with Ryan Church vs right-handers, and we have a two headed monster in RF for 2008.

Sign Jason Jennings to a 1-2 year deal...

I know most of you are totally against him but in 2006 he was very good for the Rockies... and in the first half of 2007 he was decent with a 1-4 record and 4.07 ERA in 10 games started. The reason his record is so bad is because the Houston Astros offense was anemic all of last season... but he did blow up in the second half of the season, but thats the risk that your going to have to take.


Trade for Huston Street, and Joe Blanton...

Bullpen help? Check. Starting Pitcher? Check. Lets kill two birds with one stone. I would be more than willing to give 4-5 good prospects for a very good young closer and an innings eating SP. All I ask is that we do everything in our power to keep Fernando Martinez in a Mets uniform. Any prospect beyond him is as good as gone if we can get a package of both Huston Street and Joe Blanton.

I think all of these moves would be smart, but some would be risky. Either way I still believe that Mike Pelfrey should start for a full season in Flushing. If one of these starters were to be signed, we would just simply put Orlando Hernandez in the bullpen and keep Pelfrey as our #5. In my opinion, Kevin Mench would be a very smart signing for the Mets, and we should wait for Santana to be a free-agent at the end of the season... but if Omar pulls the trigger, I'll be fine with that too, just as long as we still have Fernando Martinez.

Mets sign Andy Cavazos

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, via Metsblog, the Mets have signed 26 year old minor league free agent RHP Andy Canvazos. He has been in the minors since 1999, and has had some major league experience. Last year with the Cardinals, Andy went 0-0 with a 10.05 ERA in 17 games. in 20 innings pitched, he gave up 16 walks while striking out 15. This signing is most definitely a low risk high reward type. Omar is trying to find cheap options for the bullpen and he was probley looking at Canvazos's AAA stats from a year ago:

2-5/3.21 era/44 games/47.2 innings pitched/48 k's/ 26 walks.

It seems to me that he walks to many hitters and that is what comes back to bite him in the rear. Maybe in February when pitchers and catchers report, Rick Peterson and Brian Schnedier can work with him and get his control back.

The Mets, Call to Arms...

So far the Mets have been unable to land that much needed front-line starter. So like last season when we saw the likes of Dave Williams and Jose Lima, it again looks like Minaya will take the same approach in 2008. Several free-agent pitchers are being considered as fallback options, and the list is not pretty. Jon Lieber has joined Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon as the Mets look to add a starting pitcher with an incentive heavy contract. Add Kyle Loshe another below average pitcher to the mix and the scrape heap keeps growing...I don't like any of these options but when it came to free agent pitchers, Livan Hernandez may be Omar's best bet. The question is, Is he really only 32 years old? If the Mets are going to take on an injury risk pitcher may I suggest Jason Jennings.

Mets Are Front Runners For Lohse

George King at The New York Post writes about Kyle Lohse and the Phillies backing out:

The Mets' primary competition for free-agent pitcher Kyle Lohse has dropped out of the bidding.

According to Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro, Philadelphia's refusal to go beyond three years for the right-hander ended their pursuit of Lohse, who finished last season in Philly.

It's believed the Mets have made an offer to the 29-year-old for four years, but it's not known if it is for the $10 million Per he is seeking.

Mets Kick The Benson Tires

From Shea Nation:

Barry M. Bloom at MLB.com writes about the teams who went to see Kris Benson throw 60 pitches in Arizona on Monday. Among the many teams were the Mets:

It was 60 degrees and sunny on Monday in Phoenix as scouts gathered to watch Benson take his surgically repaired arm out of mothballs. Among the group were members of the Yankees, Mets, Astros, Nationals and Phillies, all looking for pitching help.

Reports were good, as Benson showed little wear and tear after missing the 2007 season in Baltimore because of surgery to repair a torn labrum. Benson felt no pain, said his agent, Greg Clifton.

....Added by Ty Flo....

I really don't think that Kris Benson will want to return to the Mets. In his last tenure with the team, his wife messed it all up for him. He was the #3 starter on an up and coming team. She wanted out, so he got dumped to Baltimore. Anna Benson wears the pants in his household, not Kris. Now im not complaining that we dont have him anymore, we have John Maine. Ill take Maine over Benson anyday.. that was by far the top trade Omar Minaya has made with the Mets.

Silva Market heating up

According to Shea Nation, MLBTR, and Charley Walters, the Royals have made an offer to free-agent SP Carlos Silva. The offer is supposed to be for $30 million over 3 years. Silva is long compared to the Royals last year free-agent signee, Gil Meche. Lets Compare these two pitchers in their walk years..

In 2007 Carlos Silva was 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA. He pitched in 202.0 innings last year and gave up 229 hits while striking out 89 batters.

In 2006 Gil Meche was 11-8 4.48 ERA. That year, Meche pitched 186.2 innings while giving up 182 hits and striking out 156 batters.

Meche's ERA and Innings pitched improved by a lot in '07 while pitching for the below average Royals. During the off-season of '06, Meche signed a 5-year $55 million contract.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Mariners are also after SP Carlos Silva. Rosenthal notes that the Mariners are in "serious negotiations" with Carlos Silva for a deal worth at least four years, $44MM. If Silva can be a second coming of Gil Meche, then I'm all for the Mets offering him a deal.. but by the numbers, Meche and Silva are totally different pitchers. Meche strikes out more guys and gives up less hits. So if i was Omar, I'd pass. It seems as though he won't sign Silva but Kyle Lohse isn't a better option either, in my opinion.

Houston offers deal to Prior

According to ESPN News and MLB.com, the Houston Astros have offered a deal to SP Mark Prior. The right-hander was not tendered a contract from the Cubs earlier this month and he has garnered interest from approximately 10 teams, maybe even more. The Astros offer is rumored to be a 1-year deal with incentives. Prior will not be ready to pitch until late May, maybe even later. The Mets have expressed preliminary interest in Prior earlier this week. As I have said before, this is a low risk, high reward type of move. The Astros are definitely in the market for pitching.. they really have no one behind RHSP Roy Oswalt in their rotation. If Mark Prior could return to form, the Astros would have a very good 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation. Omar should really consider Prior because of the low risk, high reward factor. Just imagine a rotation of...

Pedro Martinez
Mark Prior
John Maine
Oliver Perez
Mike Pelfrey

To have a guy go 15-10 with an 3.56 ERA in your #3 or #4 spot would be very good for the Mets. Not to mention that Mike Pelfrey is still only 24 years old and has time to mature into a star.

Did you know that Oliver Perez is listed as the Mets #1 starter on their depth chart? The depth chart on Mets.com is as follows:

1. Oliver Perez
2. Orlando Hernandez
3. John Maine
4. Pedro Martinez
5. Mike Pelfrey

That is very interesting.

Mets offer contract to Kyle Lohse

.....Woo Hoo 100th post....

According to Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports, RHSP Kyle Lohse is considering offers from both the Mets and the Phillies 'both of which could go to four years.’ Last year,with the Phillies and Reds, Lohse pitched to a tune of 9–12 with a 4.63 ERA. Lohse is a very durable #5 starter but he is also very hittable. Spacious Shea Stadium would help his ERA a little bit, but id rather see Philip Humber or Mike Pelfrey in that rotation spot. Maybe the Mets are actually thinking about bringing Pelfrey up to the Majors to pitch in the Bullpen for a year?.. That way, he can get more time with Rick Peterson to work on his secondary pitches.. I'm still very hopeful that both Humber and Pelfrey can live up to the hype and become serviceable Major League starting pitchers.

Omar must make this phone call.

Omar, call John Boggs. If you don't know who that is, thats the agent for RHP Mark Prior. The former All-Star, 18-Game Winner, and #2 overall pick in the draft. Call Mr. Boggs and let him know that the Mets could use him and offer him a 2-year deal for $7 million with incentives. Prior has compiled a 42-29 record and 3.51 ERA since he made his big league debut in 2002, but his career has been interrupted by injuries. Including all of the 2007 season and possibly half of the 2008 season. It shouldn't matter. Even if he doesn't return to the majors in '08, you have a good-great starting pitcher, depending on if he can get back to his '02-'03 form, with very good stuff for the '09 season. While at Wrigley Field in September, Prior said:

"The goal is, obviously, to come back, I expect to come back. This day and age playing, we're fortunate to have medicine and technology that gives us a second chance."

I have to agree with him on that one. Omar should take a risk here. This is a Low-Risk, High-Reward type of deal. Just think of a possible rotation of:

1. Pedro Martinez
2. Oliver Perez
3. John Maine
4. Mark Prior
5. Orlando Hernadez

Mark Prior would be higher in the rotation if he re-claims his command and form that once gave the Cubs hope in winning a World Series. I think he can do it. Take a Chance Omar, Take a Chance.

Oh yeah, while your at it, take a gander at 3B Dallas Mcpherson. Maybe he could be a good bench player for the Amazins.

Rowand Agrees with SF

Former Phillidelphia Phillie, Aaron Rowand, has agreed to a 5-year approx $60 million deal with the San Fransisco Giants. Last season with the Phillies, Rowand batted .309 with 27 home runs and 89 RBI. This really doesn't make sense to me because the Giants are a few years away from contending again. Why would he want to go there? But I'm happy he's not in Philly anymore, one less bat that we have to worry about. Philly fans must be bummed that the Giants #5 overall pick in the draft is protected, so as compensation, the Phillies will receive a second round pick and a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds. That is still significant though, because our very own 3B David Wright was a sandwich pick back in 2001.

Japanese Market Sizzling...

With SP Hiroki Kuroda, OF Kosuke Fukudome, 2B Tadihito Iguchi, and RP Kazuo Fukumuori all signing with MLB clubs today, the Japanese market is heating up. Lets take a closer look..

• SP Hiroki Kuroda it headed to Los Angeles to meet with his agent. When he arrives in LA, he and his agent will discuss the four offers that they have recieved. It has been reported that he will sign with the Dodgers. Not really sure on that one yet.
  

• OF Kosuke Fukudome has signed with the Chicago Cubs for 4-years and $48 million. Though, the Rangers offered the most money and the White Sox weren't outbid, Fukudome was just simply intrigued by the Cubs and liked the idea of being their first Japanese born player.
  

• 2B Tadihito Iguchi has agreed to a 1-year $4 million deal with the San Diego Padres. This is the second year in a row that the Padres have dipped into the free-agent market for a second baseman.
  

• RP Kazuo Fukumuori is on the verge of signing a 2-year deal worth approx 3 million with the Texas Rangers, According to Evan Grant of the Dallas News. 10 teams were in on Kazuo, including the Yankees and Red Sox.
  

Nats' agree to a 1- year deal with Lo Duca

According to the Washington Post and Metsblog.com, Free-agent Catcher Paul Lo Duca has agreed to a 1-year deal with the Washington Nationals. Paul has expressed his displeasure with the way the Mets handled his contract situation. Paul really wanted to come back to the Mets and I sense that most fans wanted him back too, including me. Why couldn't we offer a 1-year deal? Thats retarded. I get the feeling that Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph, and Fred Wilpon all don't like players with a firey side to them. To me, I love the excitement that those players bring. That being said, the Nationals got two good 'firey' former mets'. Expect the Nationals to be solid this year.

Projected Nationals '08 lineup:

• C Paul Lo Duca
• 1B Nick Johnson or Dimitri Young
• 2B Ronnie Belliard or Felipe Lopez
  
• SS Christian Guzman or Felipe Lo[ez
  
• 3B Ryan Zimmerman
• RF Austin Kerns or Elijah Dukes
  
• LF Willie Mo Pena
  
• CF Lastings Milledge or Nook Logan

That looks pretty good and with solid depth.. not to bad for a team owned by the league and a very low budget.

Milton Bradley

By the end of the Winter Meetings, most people believed that Milton Bradley would return to the Padres on a 1-year deal worth $4 milion. Well, those people were wrong. Today, the Texas Rangers and OF Milton Bradley have agreed on a one-year contract worth approximately $5 million plus incentives. Bradley injured his knee in an argument with umpire Mike Winters on Sept. 23, had surgery on Sept. 27 and was expected to be out at least six months. That would take him right up to Opening Day and he may end up needing more time to get ready. Either way the Rangers are satisfied with this signing. Last year, Milton hit .306 with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs in 61 games and 209 at-bats for the Padres and the Athletics. Multiply that production to 162 games, and thats a pretty darn good middle of the order presence.

In other news, the Yankees are close to signing reliever Latroy Hawkins to a one-year deal worth $3.75 million dollars. The Rockies and Rangers were also in on Hawkins who was 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA in 62 games last season.

The Brewers have agreed to a deal with Free Agent CL Eric Gagne. The deal is rumored to be for 1 year and $10 million dollars with incentives.

Report: Brewers closing in on Gange

With the loss of CL Fransisco Cordero to the Reds and SU Scott Linebrink to the White Sox, the Brewers bullpen is in a flux. The Brewers GM has been working hard to build a solid bullpen for his team by trading for RHP Guillimero Mota, Salomon Torres, signing RP David Riske, and now close to signing former All-Star CL Eric Gagne. Gange has expressed his desire to closing and the National League. Well. this deal makes all the sense in the world for Gagne and the Brewers are now forming a good bullpen for the '08 season. Heres a look at the Brewers '08 pen' as of today (assuming Gagne signs with the Brew Crew):

• CL Eric Gagne
• SU David Riske
• SU Derrick Turnbow
• MR Salomon Torres
• MR Guillimero Mota
• MR Matt Wise
  
• LR Brian Shouse
  

Not too shabby considering you lost your closer and #1 set-up guy via free agency. But if, for some reason, Gagne doesn't sign with the Brewers, this bullpen will be just mediocre again.
Gange was 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 16 SV with the Rangers, and 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA and 0 SV with the Red Sox. Thats an overall of 4-2 3.81 ERA and 16-20 in save opportunities.

Lo Duca, Green on the move?

The Blue Jays have contacted the agent for C Paul Lo Duca. Paulie made around $6.25 Millionllast year and the Jays only have approx $2.5 million to offer. Also, The Rays are considering offering OF Shawn Green a contract for the 08' season. He would be a leader in that clubhouse but would be a bad addition if they were looking for a power bat.

Chacon, Dotel?

According to the Bergen Record, The Mets are set to meet with the agents for SP/Reliever Shawn Chacon and SU Octavio Dotel... Glad to see that they remembered about the bullpen. The Mets are also believed to have missed out on Johan Santana and Erik Bedard.. maybe Joe Blanton is still in the mix....

Winter Meetings- - Day 2

I have a cyst on my eye, the room is spinning and The Mets still haven't made any deals. Though, every name on every team has been talked about, only one major agreement has been reached so-far today.. that is RF Jose Guillen and The Royals agreeing to a 3-year deal worth $36 Million. Here is the rest of the trades and signings of the day...

• The Braves have acquired reliever Will Ohman and OF Omar Infante in exchange for minor league pitcher Jose Ascaino.
• The Tigers have sent reliever Jose Capellan to the Rockies for reliever Denny Bautista.

Mets rumors...

• The Nationals have interest in SP Mike Pelfrey and C Johnny Estrada.
• According to sources, the Mariners, Mets, Dodgers and D’Backs are all offering free agent SP Hiroki Kuroda three years and $30 million. He could sign with the first team to offer him 4 years.
• There is belief that The Mets have interest in Giants SP Noah Lowry, should he become available for trade.
• The Mets are also believed to be the "front-runners" for free-agent SP Freddt Garcia. He will not pitch until atleast June of 2008.
  

Other Rumors around the league...

• The Braves have offeres SP Chuck James to the Royals for OF/3B David Dejesus.
• The Twins and The Red Sox are "close" to a deal that will send Johan Santana to Boston.
• The Orioles and Dodgers are in talks concerning SP Erik Bedard.
• The Twins are shopping CL Joe Nathan around the league.
• According to the New York Post, the Indians have talked about trading SP Cliff Lee and Franklin Gutierrez to the Blue Jays for Alex Rios.
• The Dodgers and Brewers are in serious talks about 3B Scott Rolen and SP Chris Capuano.

Thats all for now. Hopefully, I'll post regularly for the next few days. Thanks for the support.. if there is any..

Random Rumors.

According to Amy Nelson at ESPN, The Red Sox have emerged as a potential suitor for Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes, and Colorado could ask for 2B Jed Lowrie in return. Nelson also reports that..

"The agent for Johan Santana was on the same flight from New York as Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Mets GM Omar Minaya. All that was missing were Twins GM Bill Smith and Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, and a deal might have been hammered out."

Also, The Reds are listening on third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and center fielder Josh Hamilton. The Cubs seem like potential suitors, and the Marlins have inquired on OF Josh Hamilton.. Remember when he was available last year in the Rule 5 Draft? Yeah, any team could have bought the #1 pick in that draft for $100,000.