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Yo, GM meetings are over.
Lotsa gossip in tomorrow's Times today. I prefer trades to Free Agent signings as a matter of taste. Trades take more guts. Trades are more interesting.
I kind of like the ground covered in this article. I'm hopeful we can make a few interesting trades this winter.
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Monitoring Rodriguez, Mets Look for Trades
By BEN SHPIGEL
David Wright is one of the few Mets who spend the off-season in New York, which, naturally, makes it easier for him to attend the team’s promotional events, oversee his charitable foundations and embrace the community endeavors that have helped to cement his status as the team’s most visible player.
After appearances on a morning television program and on talk radio, Wright arrived yesterday morning at a local hospital, where he dealt with the other side of being the face of the Mets. It was he (or Mr. Met, but he was not saying much) who was left to face the tape recorders and television cameras and discuss, among other things, his role in the Mets’ long-shot pursuit of Alex Rodriguez. He said he came away from a conversation with General Manager Omar Minaya expecting to play in 2008 where he played in 2007 — at third base.
“That’s what I took from it and that’s how I’m going about my business,” Wright said at New York University Medical Center, where he was visiting children in the Acute Care Pediatric Unit. “I wanted to let him know that in no way, shape or form does he have to go through me about anything. His job is to make the trades, sign the free agents, and I told him that I want to win, first and foremost. But as far as talking about changing positions, talking about Alex Rodriguez, his name did not come up once in the conversation.”
For now, the Mets are only monitoring Rodriguez and have no plans to move Wright or shortstop José Reyes to accommodate him. With the free-agent signing period beginning in earnest today, the Mets are preparing to forge ahead on the more pressing issues of identifying a catcher and a second baseman and improving the pitching staff.
Rather than overpay in a weak free-agent market, the Mets say that they will try to resolve a majority of their deficiencies through trades. They feel that they have enough attractive trading chips among their pitching prospects and young outfielders to acquire a front-line starter, bullpen help and perhaps a catcher or a second baseman.
As always, Minaya is on the lookout for pitching, but there may be only one member of an underwhelming crop of free agents that he may seriously consider. That would be Liván Hernández, the half-brother of Orlando Hernández. Liván Hernández could offset the expected loss of Tom Glavine, who has pitched more than 198 innings in each of the last four seasons; the 204 1/3 innings Hernández pitched for Arizona last season were his fewest since 1999 (199 2/3).
He would pitch at the back end of the Mets’ rotation. A No. 1 starter like Minnesota’s Johan Santana or Baltimore’s Érik Bédard, or even Oakland’s Joe Blanton, would command some of the Mets’ top prospects.
Even if Jorge Posada did not re-sign with the Yankees before their exclusive negotiating rights expired last night, he is still expected to eventually return in pinstripes. The Mets remained hopeful yesterday that they could re-sign their backup catcher, Ramón Castro, but do not envision him as a full-time starter.
They are interested in Colorado’s Yorvit Torrealba, whose profile increased during the Rockies’ run to the World Series, and could pursue a deal for Baltimore’s Ramón Hernández, Pittsburgh’s Ronny Paulino or Texas’ Gerald Laird. They could also re-sign Paul Lo Duca, who, despite turning 35 in April and having his least productive full season in the majors, is a strong clubhouse presence and is well-liked among the pitching staff.
“Paul does not anticipate signing with the Mets anytime soon,” Andrew Mongelluzzi, Lo Duca’s representative, said in an e-mail message. “I don’t believe that Paul is a priority for the Mets at this time.”
The Mets are confident that Luis Castillo’s right knee, which required surgery, will not affect him much next season, but they intend to test the trade market before committing resources toward re-signing him. Castillo, who batted .296 and committed two errors in 50 games after being acquired from Minnesota, could receive a four-year deal, which may be too steep for the Mets.
If Arizona made Orlando Hudson available, the Mets would probably be interested. Minaya has a good relationship with Arizona General Manager Josh Byrnes; they collaborated on separate deals for Orlando Hernández and Shawn Green, and discussed a few possibilities at the trade deadline.
Wright said he could not help with the second-base vacancy.
“If shortstop opens up, I played shortstop in high school,” he said. “But no, no second base.” |
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