Noble: Castillo To Take Physical
Marty Noble of MLB.com confirms that the only thing between the Mets and a four year, $25 million contract with Luis Castillo is a physical.
Noble also confirms the Mets interest in St. Louis shortstop David Eckstein as a second baseman. Noble suggests that Eckstein was actually the teams first choice at second base but I choose to believe they spoke with Eckstein to (a) show Castillo that they are serious about the position and (b) plan for the possibility that Castillo may sign elsewhere since he was on the open market.
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2007 MLB Awards
With the MVP awards scheduled to be announced this week I took a little time yesterday to put together a 2007 MLB awards page. The page documents all of the awards presented for the 2007 season and includes voting results for Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Cy Young. It will also include MVP voting once that’s officially announced. You can view the page by clicking here or clicking the “2007 MLB Awards” link at the top of this column.
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Rumor: Castillo Signed
There are reports this morning that the Mets have come to terms with second baseman Luis Castillo. The contract is for $25 million over 4 years and is pending a physical. Considering the bad knee Castillo was playing on after the Mets acquired him this past season a physical is not just a formality. This settles the top half of the lineup and puts the team in a situation where they are missing only one starting position player (catcher) to round out the lineup though I wouldn’t be surprised if something happens in right field.
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Glavine Gone
Word this morning is that Tom Glavine has left the Mets to return to the Atlanta Braves. The deal is for 1 year at $8 million. The nostalgic move to the team with which he made his name is a possible sign that this will be the last contract he signs in his playing career.
Glavine’s move leaves the Mets with another hole in the starting rotation. You can expect this to heat up rumors about Livan Hernandez and Johan Santana. I don’t think it the loss of Glavine actually increases the likelihood of the Mets acquiring either of these two pitchers as much as it guarantees the team has no choice but to do something (anything) with the rotation. There could be some desperation in the air at Shea as far as the rotation goes.
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What’s Plan C?
After reportedly having an agreement with Yorvit Torrealba pending a physical it appears the Mets are down to plan C on the catching front. Last night Jay Horwitz confirmed that there is no agreement with the free agent catcher and that there are no negotiations ongoing. So is re-signing Paul Lo Duca plan C? I guess we’ll find out in the coming days.
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Torrealba Almost A Met
It looks like plan B won out for the Mets catching situation. It’s been widely reported that Yorvit Torrealba has agreed to a three year, $14.4 million deal. When a guy who batted .212 away from hitter friendly Coors Field and only threw out 17.6% of the baserunners attempting to steal against him makes nearly $5 million a year I get the feeling someone is trying to tell me I made a wrong career move. Though the also rumored re-signing of Ramon Castro to a two year deal gives me confidence in the number 2 catcher (who is likely to get more playing time) I fail to see how this really improves the team at the position. I can only guess that outgoing starting catcher Paul Lo Duca had some differences with management that caused the team to take the opportunity of his expired contract to show him the door rather than re-sign him and deal with the issues directly.
About the catching situation manager Willie Randolph said “Paulie is the kind of player that knows how to win and gives me all he has every day. But at the end of the season everyone reevaluates where they are…. I thought he (Lo Duca) brought a lot to the table this year, but that doesn’t mean that you hold onto a guy because of that. You hope you can bring other guys in that maybe can pick up that slack. But each year is totally different.”
About Torrealbe Randolph had this to say: “I like the way he receives the ball. There are not a lot of catchers that really throw above average in the market, so everyone is in the same boat, basically. And he’s, what, a .250, .240 hitter? Really, you look at most of the catchers out there, they’re pretty much in the same boat. There are not too many Johnny Benches, that’s for sure.”
So Torrealba is headed to the Mets and Lo Duca will probably end up replacing him with the Colorado Rockies. If Lo Duca end sup in Colorado I look for him to have a career year.
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Bonds Indicted
One announcement turned the baseball world on end yesterday. That announcement came from a grand jury. The grand jury indicted Barry Bonds on perjury and obstruction of justice. The indictment comes as the result of a long investigation into the matter and does not include a charge of using an illegal substance. The indictments are based on a steroids test administered on Bonds by BALCO that came out positive. When asked about the test under oath Bonds denied having taken steroids. He also said that he unknowingly had used the cream and the clear. This case will have many implications in baseball regardless of if Bonds successfully defends himself.
Where will he play next year? Many general managers were probably staying away from him before the indictment because they didn’t want the circus that comes with Bonds. Now I can’t imagine anyone wanting him until the case is seen through to completion.
What about the home run record? Is it a real record or not? Before we bring out the asterisks (or erasers) let’s not forget that no matter how much Bonds is disliked he has not yet had his day in court. Many details will come out about Bonds now. We will learn much more about his alleged steroid usage. But now we will be better able to separate true fact from what we’d like to believe is fact. This is certainly a major step in the direction of banishment and record erasing but we’re not quite there yet.
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Mets “Talking” To Castillo
Omar Minaya on Luis Castillo: “Castillo is a guy that we said all we’re talking to but I don’t want to kind of say where. I just don’t want other clubs to kind of know who we’re targeting or as far as the level of interest because that would put me at a disadvantage.”
The strategy makes sense but I don’t know what to make of it. Does it mean they are targeting Castillo to play second base for them next year? Or do they have other interests and he’s plan b? But I guess that’s Minaya’s point. Don’t let anyone make anything of it.
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If Glavine Leaves
Omar Minaya not spoken with Tom Glavine. The free agent lefty is being wooed by his former club, the Atlanta Braves, to return home and end his career there. If Glavine makes the move, and from what I’ve read it looks like that will happen, the Mets pitching needs widen as they will need to find another starter. This puts them in a very unenviable position in dealing with free agents as well as possible trades because the agents and opposing teams know the Mets are desperate. But from the desperation comes the realization that Johan Santana may be something the Mets must get. There’s really no front line starter out there right now so if Santana becomes available you could see some crazy deal with the Mets.
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Arod and the Yankees Talk 10 years, $280 Million Discounted
The Alex Rodriguez plot thickens. It’s been rumored in several outlets that ARod and the Yankees are talking about a 10 year, $280 million deal. One of the sticking points is the $21 million the Yankees are responsible for from ARod’s last contract. The Texas Rangers would have paid that money if ARod had not opted out of his contract. But the opt out puts the Yankees on the hook. The Yankees are essentially asking for a $21 million discount as a result so if they are talking $280 million over 10 years you can expect that to work out to something less then $28 million the first few years followed by $28 million a year after that essentially making the contract worth closer to $260 million.
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