Plan A, Plan B, Plan C
The big topic the last few weeks has been the Mets catching situation. There’s been lots of speculation at to who will be the starting catcher for the Mets in 2008. General Manager Omar Minaya was quoted as saying “We have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C”. But what are those plans?
Obviously Plan A was Jorge Posada. Bit after he re-signed with he Yankees the other day he’s out of the picture. Minaya admitted that he wasn’t very confident he could get Posada saying “I thought that was going to be a long shot. It was a good chance he was going back all along….. My feeling was there was a good chance he was going back all along, but we had to at least keep an eye on it. And if that window had opened where we could then make an offer, we needed to be ready.”
Plan B appears to be a tandem of Ramon Castro and Yorvit Torrealba. It’s been reported in several outlets that Castro is close to signing a two year deal. It has likewise been reported that the Mets have made an offer to Colorado Rockies free agent Torrealba. The two would supposedly split the catching duties.
The Rocky Mountain News reported yesterday that Torrealba is looking for a three year deal and the Mets have only offered him two years. But in today’s New York Daily News Adam Rubin reports that the Mets have actually offered three years at three years at $5 million per season. Torrealba’s agent Melvin Roman has said that whatever offer the Mets give will be taken to the Rockies as a courtesy so they could counter offer. The Rocky Mountain News reported that a decision will be made as early as today.
So what’s Plan C? It’s hard to tell. One would think it would be Paul Lo Duca but there have been other rumors concerning the Mets interest in Gerald Laird, Ramon Hernandez and Jose Molina among others.
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ARod Talks With Yanks Without Boras
Several sources have reported that Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are talking about a new deal. Why are the Yankees talking with ARod after saying publicly and definitely that they will not negotiate with him once he hist the open market? Two words: Scott Boras. Boras is reportedly not involved in these talks. Interesting indeed.
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The Latest on Catchers
The agent for free agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba, Melvin Roman, said yesterday that he expected the Mets to make his client an offer. With Jorge Posada having agreed to a 4 year contract with the Yankees on Monday and the Mets apparently thinking of Paul Lo Duca as a backup plan it would seem that Roman’s expectations are very realistic.
Should the Mets not end up making a deal with Torrealba there are rumors that they may go after Texas Rangers catcher Gerald Laird in a trade. I’d rather see Lo Duca or another free agent signing if the team can’t get Torrealba and save the trade bait for pitching, a far more urgent need.
As far as a backup backstop goes there are strong rumors that the team is very close to a two year deal with Ramon Castro.
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Wright Ready For Third
David Wright said yesterday that he is getting ready to play third base in 2008. The questions of Wright changing positions has been broached in the media the last few weeks as a result of Alex Rodriguez being a free agent. But Wright said yesterday “When I spoke to Omar (Minaya), he told me, ‘Be prepared to be the third baseman in 2008.’ Alex Rodriguez’s name did not come up at any point.†This pretty much kills any speculation that the Mets will be signing the free agent third baseman.
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Next Move At Catcher?
The not exactly unexpected re-signing of Jorge Posada by the Yankees for four-years at $52 million occured last night. I like to think that Mets general manager Omar Minaya is smart enough to know that his odds of landing Posada were very slim and already has someone else targeted at catcher. Paul Lo Duca‘s agent said that he has not been contacted by the Mets leading him to believe his client is not very high up on the team’s wish list.
In the meantime Yorvit Torrealba‘s agent has said that his client will not sign with his former team, the Colorado Rockies. The agent said he has spoken with Minaya but was not allowed to talk money until today, the first day for free agents to talk money with teams other than their former team.
It also has been rumored that the Mets may try to make a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for Ramon Hernandez. Hernandez was rumored to be going to the Mets a couple of years ago as a free agent until the Mets got Lo Duca and Hernandez signed with Baltimore.
Minaya is hoping to keep Ramon Castro, also a free agent, as the teams backup catcher. It is not known what is more important to him: money or a starting job. It looks like we’ll find that out sooner rather than later.
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Wright and Beltran: Silver Sluggers
David Wright and Carlos Beltran are at it again. The two Mets who won Gold Gloves early last week were also awarded Silver Slugger awards for best offensive players at their respective positions.
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Don’t Call Them Devil Rays
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are no more. They are now just plain old Rays. Their new uniforms say so. Last time I checked it took more than a new name and uniform to become a winner but we all do what we can.
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Coaches Will Wear Helmets
Ronald Blum of the AP is reporting that baseball general managers have agreed that first and third base coaches will wear helmets next season. The move comes after the death of Mike Coolbaugh, a former Major League infielder who died after being hit in the head with a line drive while coaching first base for the Colorado Rockies minor league team in Tulsa. The form of the helmet will be decided next month.
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Glavine Visits White House
Today’s New York Post reports about (former?) Mets pitcher Tom Glavine‘s trip to the White House.
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Phillies Get Closer Lidge
The Philadelphia Phillies have traded for Houston Astros reliever Brad Lidge in a 5 player deal yesterday. This is a tremendous deal as it allows the Phillies to upgrade at closer as well as improve their starting pitching by allowing them to move Brett Myers back into the rotation. Myers notched a respectable 21 saves last year but is most effective as a starter.
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