The Mets are close to signing free agent catcher Bengie Molina to a two-year contract, according to 1050 ESPN Radio. It's been a busy day for the Metropolitans. Molina, 30, hit .265/.285/.442 this past season and reached the 20-homer plateau for the first time in his career. He is expected to receive a two-year deal in the $12 million range. The Mets had already loaded up on backup catching options this offseason and Molina was the top catcher on the free agent market
seems to be strong likelyhood .... http://www.amazinavenue.com/2009/12/29/1224438/mets-reportedly-sign-bengie-molina Projected Lineup: Reyes SS Castillo 2B Wright 3B Bay LF Beltran CF Francoeur RF Murphy 1B Molina C
Usually teams sign players to make their teams better but this one makes the team worse. I guess anytime you can sign someone with a (barely) worse OBP than Jeff Francoeur you HAVE to do it right? Especially for 2 years. After the 6th guy in the batting order the Mets could very likely not score a single run all year. By the way I am expecting to hear about a multi-year deal with Francoeur soon too, seems right up Omar's alley. Seriously though I'm starting to question if Omar Minaya isn't a complete idiot. It's almost like he pays zero attention to the actual game or numbers and just does things for the hell of it. The guy really shouldn't be a major league GM and if he didn't work for the Wilpons and didn't luck into the Johan Santana trade, he probably would have been fired a year ago.
Must have missed that Molina is holding out for a three year deal, the mets are offering 1 + a vesting option. I dont even want him for one. Just sign Barajas for half the price and a 1 year deal, same player. Then wait til midseason when hopefully Thole is ready to assume the starting role. Omar's strength and background has always been scouting and player development. He came up as a scout and held the position for about 15 years. I expect the Mets minors to continue to improve under his regime. We've had the Francoeur dispute already so im not going to rehash that. I respect your opinion just disagreed then and still do. There's been nothing mentioned of an extension though. Hes done fine as a GM, some moves great some not so great. Most of his great moves have come via trades, most of his dumb moves via FA...stuff like resigning Slapstillo (and conversely not signing hudson), signing perez (not wolf). His trades have been fine, got francoeur for an even worse player who cant even get tendered, got maine for nothing, santana for nothing etc. Minaya isnt the bigproblem. The Mets refusal to go overslot is a bigger problem and that goes to ownership which imo is the bigger problem. The wilpons do not believe in investing in a big way in their minors and they wonder why they have spend ridiculous amounts of money on payroll. Thats been the problem since they took over. I agree with you on Molina, not because of OBP but because I dont believe in giving 36 year old catchers multi year deals.
Oh god, there's no way I want to get into another Francoeur debate. I'm pretty confident that by mid-season if Fernando Martinez stays healthy he'll be the everyday RF for the Mets. Anyway I don't think Omar is a very good GM, yes he has made some good moves like getting Maine for nothing and the Santana deal (even if he lucked into it) you still have to give him credit. But like you said he's also overpaid for a lot of lesser free agents who the Mets were only bidding against themselves. Hey let's give Alex Cora 2 million bucks instead of paying a guy like Nick Green 500k who's a better all around player. I obviously give everyone a free pass for last year due to injuries but if the Mets don't make the playoffs this year I'm not sure how you can keep Omar on as GM. The fact that he's a terrible public speaker and embarrassed himself and the franchise attacking Adam Rubin (I believe that was the reporter's name) for the whole Tony Burnazard thing can't be overlooked either. Not to mention all of the crap with the medical staff. About Molina, yeah you should look at his OBP because that's a big deal because he fails to reach base safely 70% of the times he comes to the plate. As well as the fact that he doesn't do anything particularly well on defense, running or at the plate (and I don't want to hear about his 20 home runs because the guy isn't a good hitter). He really should be a back up but hey Molina is somewhat of a name right? That's why he gets overrated. And to over look the fact that the Mets' bottom of the line could feature Francoeur, Molina, Murphy and the pitcher is a HUGE problem. Because they're going to have trouble scoring runs after the 5th spot in the order because there won't be anyone on base ever. People like to dismiss OBP and say it's just a silly moneyball stat but there's a reason why teams that have high OBP % score more runs and have better offenses.
I'm a fan of Jason Bay, he was a very productive hitter during his time in Boston, he is a class act and I wish him nothing but the best in NY. That said, the Mets will end up regretting this signing. I understand they desperately needed to add some thump to the middle of their lineup, which is something I think they accomplished with the addition of Bay (I think he'll rake in the NL East against inferior pitching, though he still will not escape the wrath of Doc Halladay ). My problem with this deal is the defensive side of things. More specifically, he's going to be a disaster in LF at Citi. He was a disaster last year in Boston, and now he's moving to a much more spacious LF without the Monster backing him up. I would have been largely indifferent to the deal if it was coming from an AL team (I think Seattle will end up regretting their decision to pass), because when his defense becomes too much to take, you can move him into the DH role and he'll still continue to rake. But what can the Mets do when that situation arises? Tell him to grab a first baseman's glove? It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out over the life of this contract.
Its not only the fact that he doesn't get on base, he's also probably the slowest man in all of baseball. Let me rephrase that, Mike Lowell could potentially outrun him. So now you have a player who, when he actually gets on base at his 30% clip, is going to clog up the basepaths like no one else in baseball (aside from potentially Mike Lowell). Signings like these give the impression that the Mets are one of those organizations in baseball that simply don't get it.
The Diamondbacks and Kelly Johnson have reached agreement on a one-year contract worth a little more than $2 million, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Gilbert writes via Twitter that final details are being worked out and a physical is to come. Johnson becomes the heavy favorite to take over Arizona's starting second base job. The 27-year-old hit just .224/.303/.389 with eight home runs and 29 RBI this past year, but produced a .282/.362/.451 line in 2007-08 combined.
They don't get it, that's why Omar isn't a good GM for this team and why they're probably headed home this year after September again as both the Braves and Marlins on paper are probably better with the Phillies being the obvious choice to be repeat NL East champions.
According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the Dodgers have entered the hunt for free agent right-hander Joel Pineiro. The Mets and Angels have also shown a good amount of interest in Pineiro this winter but no offers have been made. The 31-year-old was 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 32 starts in '09, and his 60.2% groundball rate led the entire league. He is undoubtedly the best remaining starter on the free agent market and the Dodgers would be wise to put aside the McCourts' divorce proceedings for a second to get a deal done.
The writers are killing the Mets for the Bay deal, among many others that Omar has made: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_y...LYF?slug=jp-metsbay122909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/20091230jason_bays_new_team_a_nightmare
The Orioles made an eight-year, $130 million offer to free agent outfielder Matt Holliday, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com. It's a hefty offer, but Holliday is intent on signing a contract equal to or exceeding $18 million per season. According to Ringolsby, team president Andy MacPhail even discussed the possibility of arranging a meeting between himself, Orioles owner Peter Angelos and Holliday at the outfielder's offseason home in Texas. Ringolsby reports that the Cardinals also made an eight-year offer that could push $140 million, so while the Orioles are making things interesting, their pursuit will most likely fall short. Stay tuned.
LOL...that was fast! Orioles president Andy MacPhail "vehemently denied" a FOXSports.com report that the club made an eight-year, $130 million offer to free agent outfielder Matt Holliday, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. So it goes. Zrebiec writes that the Orioles spoke with Scott Boras during contract negotiations with Mike Gonzalez, and had brief discussions about Holliday, but they have no interest in the big-ticket outfielder unless his price tag drops significantly. "There's no validity to that report whatsoever," MacPhail said.
hey I've said for years that the mets organizational depth is a problem and that's why they got stuck signing guys like Castillo when they could have let him walk to Houston when they were offering 3/18. Omar isn't perfect but I don't think he's bad. He's gotten our farm to the middle of the pack when it was barren when he took over. We have some major league talent coming up within the next year or so. In a lot of ways I think we resemble the Duquette era red sox that had to take a Step back to take two steps forward. Cora isn't that good a player but I know the mets see him as a future coach and they value his leasership more that his play. He brings some accountability. Regarding Molina I think its going to happen where he's a met on. Two year deal though Molina wants three. But again the hardest part of giving a 36 year old catcher 2/12 is the fact that Chris Coste was just brought here to be Josh Thole's expensive private tutor and the kid showed he already has a major league ready bat. He should be ready by 2011. If Fernando is the Mets starting RF by midseason ill be estactic. He showed signs of being during his stay and if you study his first 200-250 Ab's on any level he's always started slowly and picked it up later. If he's ready coming off of knee surgery I think he will take the spot from Francoeur not because Francoeur is bad but because King Fernando has the ability to be a special plyer. In so many ways though this would be the best thing for the mets as francoer could net us a decent pitcher (Gil Meche of royals go dumping salary) or an Aaron haraang. One thing about the mets...we're never boring off the field
I've seen a lot of contradictorary stats regarding bays defense but I've always viewed defense as something that will vary by park. Remember citi is bigger but he's also got Carlos beltran patrolling CF. That will ease the defensive burden on bay. Fenway also is one of the trickiest parks to play in and it can help (manny) or hurt a players defensive metrics in a way few other parks impact. Bay should be about average IMO in citi. He reads the ball well off the bat but his reaction time is always a but slower than you would like.
Go back a month and you can find an article from the same yahoo writer saying the mets should sign bay. They guy is an indecisive writer who wants to play both sides of the fence. I can accept critism of my team for a bad trade or signing...I killed the mets for the Castillo signing I'd boo a Molina or a pineiro signing...I'm brutally honest about my teams moves because it helps me set expectations. People may not always agree with me regarding my opinions but the bay signing was. Very good one
Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports that the Cardinals' offer to free agent outfielder Matt Holliday is "believed to be" over $100 million. Scott Boras might not net an eight-year, $180 million contract for his client like he did with Mark Teixeira last winter, but the $100 million threshold is a significant one. With Jason Bay off the table, there's little reason for the Cardinals to increase their offer at this time, so the previously reported eight-year, $140 million offer sounds like a stretch.
I know it is mainly Boston writers who feel jilted that Bay wouldn't take the same deal for about $60 million. I know the Mets had to add a bat and someone who will give them more home runs. I just think Lackey would have been a better move, but he probably wants about $70-$80Million. I just hope nobody offers Holliday and Boras anything more then crumbs. Holliday turned down huge money from the Rockies about three years ago and now it is coming back to bite him.
Jilted is the wrong word. I think the writers think Bay and his agent made a bad move by rejecting the Red Sox offer. A lot of them think Bay's agent screwed him by playing chicken with the Sox. I mean when it comes down to it he's passing up 4 years with Boston to go to the Mets for 6 million more and let's be honest the Red Sox will probably be better than the Mets for the next 4 years so in the end was it really worth it for 6 more million? I'm not knocking the guy nor am I saying he went after the money but I do believe if he knew back in November that this would have happened he probably would have jumped at the Sox offer. I do agree that I think the Mets should have tried harder to sign Lackey too. Because their rotation is a disaster right now after Santana. And they really can't go into the season trusting Maine to stay healthy or Perez and Pelfrey to be any good this year.
The Rockies were playing footsies with Yorvit Torrealba earlier this month, reportedly close to a deal to bring him back to Colorado, probably as Chris Ianetta's backup, but maybe more as an 1-1A setup. Now, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, they appear to have moved away from him, and have signed Miguel Olivo to a one year deal. Where does that leave Torrealba? Kind of screwed, actually. Renck reports that the Rockies had offered him $6 million over two years, and that the only holdup was whether the money would be allocated in a buyout as opposed to base salary. Seems like a dumb argument to have from Torrealba's perspective, given that it doesn't seem likely that anyone out there would pay him that much money regardless of how you slice it up. Pudge got a contract like that. Jason Kendall got a couple of years and too much money too. With the Nats and Royals out of the equation, we're dangerously close to running out of teams who would make such a dumb decision.
The Cubs are close to a three-year deal with free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports. The Cubs haven't been alone in their pursuit of the 32-year-old outfielder, as the Yankees, Braves and Rangers have also expressed varied degrees of interest. Byrd earned $3.06 million last season with the Rangers, batting .283/.329/.479 with 20 homers, 89 RBI and 43 doubles. If a deal is completed, he would slot in as Chicago's starting center fielder. Expected to be $3 mill for 2010, $5.5 mill for 2011, and $6.5 mill for 2012.
Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports that the Phillies have come to terms on a two-year contract with free agent reliever Danys Baez. The agreement is pending a physical. Baez just finished a three-year, $19 million contract with the Orioles and you can bet he'll never see that type of money again. The 32-year-old Baez posted a 4.02 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 59 appearances with Baltimore this season after missing the entire 2008 season following Tommy John surgery.
You may get your wish... A source with knowledge of the team's thinking shot down a report that the Mets were close to a two-year contract with free agent catcher Bengie Molina, reports Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News. "Not true," said the source. It's a tiny victory for Mets fans, but the team is still pursuing the 35-year-old backstop for a one-year deal with a vesting option. Molina would prefer a three-year contract. Needless to say, the two sides are far apart, but the Mets have the decided advantage as the calendar flips to a new year.
Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the Mets have turned their attention to a pool of starting pitchers that includes Ben Sheets, Joel Pineiro and Jon Garland. The Mets are very close to officially securing the big bat they covet in the form of Jason Bay, and while they wait for Bengie Molina, they'll begin to address a starting staff that has Johan Santana and a bunch of question marks. Sheets, 31, has the most upside of the lot, but is believed to be commanding money similar to what he made in 2008 -- $12 million. He won't get it, even with incentives. With Pineiro coming off a career-year, Garland -- who has tossed over 191 2/3 innings in every season since 2002 -- could be a cost-effective solution for a rotation that sorely needs another durable arm
Padres general manager Jed Hoyer told Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe that he isn't looking to trade first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. "A number of teams have inquired about him. I think we’re obviously willing to listen on anything, but he’s a great player, he fits our team, he fits our payroll structure very well," said Hoyer. "So he’s certainly not a player we’re looking to move. I think that’s been the way we’ve addressed it all winter. Teams have inquired, but we’ve certainly said the same thing over and over: He’s not a player we’re looking to move." The 27-year-old Gonzalez has been a popular name in trade rumors this offseason, especially in Boston, but it may serve Hoyer to hold out to find a Mark Teixeira-like return around the trade deadline. Gonzalez is a bargain over the next two seasons, owed $4.75 million in 2010 with a $5.5 million club option for 2011.
Take it for whatever it's worth but WFAN's Mike Francesa is reporting that there will be more Met news this week (besides the Bay signing). Francesa was the one that broke the Bay to Mets signing. If I had to guess I'd say it's one of the pitchers the Mets have been linked to above (Piniero, Garland etc).
The Cardinals and Matt Holliday are closing in on a $98.5 million contract, according to FoxSports.com's Jim Bowden. The contract would be a sign of acquiescence from Holliday and agent Scott Boras, who were seeking over $100 million when the offseason began. If the deal is for five years, it would be worth about $19 million a season. If it's for six years, it would be for around $16 million per season. Stay tuned.
MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports that the Rockies have reached agreement on a one-year contract with a 2011 option for catcher Miguel Olivo. That officially ends Yorvit Torrealba's tenure in Colorado. Olivo, 31, hit .249/.292/.490 with a career-high 23 home runs and 65 RBI last season and will battle for starting duties with Chris Iannetta in 2010.
Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox are close to a deal with Adrian Beltre, it's a 1 year deal for 9 million with a player option for 5 million. If true than yes I like this move a lot and the Red Sox have to have the best infield defense in baseball with Beltre, Scutaro, Pedroia and Youkilis. The move also won't stop the Sox from getting Adrian Gonzalez at the trade deadline if need be. Kudos to Theo for getting it done for only 1 year and an option.
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports has confirmed that the Red Sox and third baseman Adrian Beltre have reached agreement on a contract. ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes the deal will be worth between $10-$10.5 million annually, which seems like a lot to give a player who hit just .265/.304/.379 and eight home runs in 2009. That said, he's an elite defender and the Red Sox have made shoring up their defense a priority this offseason. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that deal is likely for two years. ------ will have to see the details....
I love it, great job by Theo getting a Boras client to sign a 1 year deal when he was looking for 2-3 I am sure if not more. What a defense the Sox will trot out next year..
I don't like this signing at all. Beltre's an excellent defender, but I'm still wondering where the offensive production is going to come from? Beltre was miserable offensively last year (and he has absolutely zero plate discipline). Sure, you can hope that he gets a nice offense boost moving from Safeco to a hitter friendly park like Fenway but those rosey colored glasses don't account for the fact that his numbers don't seem to be trending that direction. I think there's little doubt that he benefited from PEDs earlier in his career. Either way, the Sox better pray that both Beltre and Ortiz have some good Dominican stuff to use, because if those two don't have bounce back years, the offense will suck. Its going to be interesting (hopefully not painful) to see how well Theo's run-prevention strategy works in the AL East. I don't see how this team, as presently constructed, can compete with the Yankees.
In fairness to Beltre he was hurt pretty much the whole year with a shoulder injury so that zapped his numbers a bit. But again the Red Sox offense isn't as bad as you, or others, think it is. Is it a great offense? No. But which teams have great offenses in baseball? Obviously the Yankees followed by the Phillies but after that then who? Which teams do you feel have a better offense? They probably have the 2nd best offense in the AL, unless you think the Angels or Rays are better. Besides the loss of production of Bay (which is a big offensive loss) the Sox gain a lot in the SS position and having Martinez behind the plate for the full year so that certainly helps. This team can compete with the Yankees by out pitching them as good pitching always beats good hitting. And don't look at this team as being finalized because I'm sure Theo is going to make a move to get another bat, if needed, by August 1st. I'm not saying this team is perfect because it's not but it's not as bad as people are making it out to be. And the run prevention strategy worked just fine for Tampa Bay in 2008 and the Mariners were pretty good in 09 with that strategy. Would you have rather used the money that went to Lackey, Cameron and Beltre for Bay or a Holliday and nothing else? It's clear that the Red Sox FO felt that going pitching/defense was a better way to go instead of trying to out hit teams since there were very limited offensive options available.
I'm sorry, I'm just not buying it. The Sox might have the second best offense in the AL IF (HUGE IF) Beltre and Ortiz bounce back offensively this year. The only time last year when the Red Sox offense was not completely horrendous was when Bay was in the midst of a prolonged period of raking. When he wasn't on another planet offensively, the team struggled to score runs. Great, the Sox can compete with NY by outpitching them. Again, you're assuming that the rotation stays very, very healthy and Buchholz continues to improve upon an encouraging half year in Boston. Well, the Sox better pitch the **** out of the ball because they're certainly not going to be scoring in bunches. Comparing this team to the '08 Rays is a complete joke. Not only did they get insane production out of their bullpen, but they had virtually no injuries to their staff and managed to outperform their pythagorean record by 5 games. Good luck trying to duplicate that feat. My biggest problem with how this team has been constructed is that everything has to go perfectly for them to just compete with NY. If Beltre or Ortiz **** the bed offensively, or they're not insanely healthy in the rotation, they won't finish within 10 games of NY.
And yet with all of the Sox offensive struggles (getting nothing out of Ortiz for 2 months, nothing out of the catcher & SS spot and 2 months of nothing from Bay), getting zero out of their #3 starter (Matsuzaka) and not to mention getting little to nothing from Penny and nothing out of Smoltz, the Sox still won 95 games, scored 872 runs which was the 3rd most in all of baseball (only 9 fewer than LAA) and were tied for the 3rd best record in baseball. Again I think you're overreacting about the offense and how good the team can be.
I think you're looking at this team through a pair of red glasses. We'll see what happens. Either way, I'm not sure I can handle watching Beltre hack away at the bottom of the order for 162 games straight. Lets hope he bounces back offensively to a certain degree.
Maybe it's a mixture of me looking through glasses and you thinking the worst. Either way the Red Sox offensive struggles in 2009 have been overblown or the rest of the 27 other teams just struggled a bit more. Weren't you willing to watch Alex Gonzalez hack away at the bottom of the order? I agree Beltre is a hacker and it will probably be painful to watch him swing at everything but hey who knows at least the guy will be motivated since he's on a 1 year deal to at least try to put up a monster year. Anyway isn't Beltre an upgrade over Kotchman? Shouldn't you at least be happy about that? Also you probably won't have to watch Mike Lowell get thrown out running to 1st by the LF or RFer, so that's a plus. Also take a look at Beltre's home/road splits. The Sox biggest offensive problems in 2009 was they couldn't hit on the road so he helps in that area.
