Jose Valentin Hears the Call of Collier

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Valentin on his
way to Shea

Agrees to 1-year deal

BY ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Jose Valentin
DALLAS - Omar Minaya made splashes with Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner and Paul Lo Duca. Now the Mets GM is concentrating on less attention-grabbing moves, like the addition of Jose Valentin, who is expected to join the organization as soon as today.

Valentin, 36, took a physical yesterday and has agreed to a one-year deal, the Daily News has learned.

Originally slated to be the Dodgers' third baseman last season, he hit only .170 with two homers and 14 RBI in 147 at-bats. A ligament tear in his right knee, which he suffered May 3, hampered his production, agent David Elston said.

"He's got the body of a 30-year-old," the agent added. "He probably came back a little too quickly."

Valentin hit .216 with 30 homers and 70 RBI in 450 at-bats for the White Sox in 2004 and can play third base, second base, shortstop and in the outfield. He reached the 25-homer plateau five straight seasons from 2000-04, and could be a fallback at second base should Kaz Matsui remain with the team and falter early in the season.

Valentin currently is a player-owner for Manati in the Puerto Rico winter league, where the Mets scouted him to ensure his health. Carlos Beltran intends to play for that team to tune up for the World Baseball Classic in March. He put Mets special assistant Tony Bernazard in touch with Valentin.

"With his experience, he's probably in a lot lesser role here than with me," said Mets bench coach Jerry Manuel, who managed Valentin with the White Sox. "Jose, you would describe him like a 'gym rat' in baseball. He plays all year long. He loves to play. He loves to win. He should bring a lot to the clubhouse. He's a team guy. And in the National League, you get chances every day."

[MFS62]

My friend the Chisox fan says Valentin has a very good "baseball mind". If he did not catch on as a player, the Pale Hose were going to offer him a minor league managing job.

Later

[HahnSolo]

Maybe that "baseball mind" should think of a way not to swing and miss so often.

[metirish]

He has that porn-stache going...

[smg58]

We have all those infielders in AAA. I'm not sure I like the idea of one of them being blocked by this guy.

[Elster88]

I don't get the common belief that having a major league backup (which is necessary by the way) on your roster blocks the progress of some punk from AAA.

This will never make sense to me.

I would've though A. Hernandez's 1 for whatever performance would've disproven this notion. Would you like to take a chance on a AAA being your backup and then having that 1 for whatever happen?

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I'm not worried about that. A contending team, which is what the Mets plan to be, ought to have a few veterans on the bench. I would think that a role, different from the one that Valentin will fill, may develop for guys like Keppinger or Anderson Hernandez.

[Vic Sage]

]"He's got the body of a 30-year-old,"

Yeah, he's got the body locked in the trunk of his car.

Valentin sucked when he was good.

A warm body. whoop de damn doo.

[Elster88]

Vic Sage wrote: ]"He's got the body of a 30-year-old," Yeah, he's got the body locked in the trunk of his car. Valentin sucked when he was good. A warm body. whoop de damn doo.

Who would you prefer? Stud players don't usually agree to take a backup infielder role.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Any word on whether this is a major-league or minor-league dealie?

[Guest Rotblatt]

I'm fine with this deal if he's the new Cairo. He can play SS, 2B, 3B & OF and has got some pop. I'd be happier if his skill were getting on base rather than hitting the long ball, but hey, at least we'll have some power off the bench, right?

[Valadius]

This is a minor league deal.

DALLAS (AP) -- Jose Valentin and the New York Mets agreed to a minor league contract on Thursday with an invite to spring training.

The 36-year-old infielder will try to earn a backup role next year with the Mets. He hit .170 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 56 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Valentin was out from May 4 to July 31 with torn ligaments in his right knee after a collision at home plate with Washington catcher Brian Schneider.

Valentin hit at least 25 homers every season from 2000-04 with the Chicago White Sox. He is a .241 career hitter with 228 homers and 736 RBIs.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Here's a nifty little blurb from Rotoworld (bold added):

]Valentin hit just .170 in 147 AB for the Dodgers last season and he's now 36, but this is a very good addition for the Mets. If his knee is healthy, he'll likely be at least an average defender at short or third and he can play the outfield. And while it never gets mentioned, Valentin is one of the game's actual clutch hitters. He's hit .270/.366/.509 with RISP and .308/.349/.673 with the bases loaded over the course of his career.

Those are some pretty sweet numbers over a pretty long career. And since I was a little skeptical, I took a look myself.

2005 RISP (39 AB)
.154 AVG/.364 OBP/.333 SLG/.697 OPS

Now, that might not seem very good, but considering his overall line of .170/.326/.265/.591, it's a distinct improvement.

The trend continues

2004 RISP (105 AB)
.248/.347/.571/.918

compared to:
.216/.287/.473/.760

2003 RISP (118)
.229/.306/.466/.772

compared to:
.237/.313/.463/.776

2002 RISP (94 AB)
.351/.416/.670/1.086

compared to:

.249/.311/.479/.790

"I saw Jose's face
And I'm a believer
I saw Jose's face
Drive me out of my mind

I'm in love (ooh)
I'm a believer, I couldn't leave him if I tried."

He's a switch-hitter who's much better against righties (.800 OPS over the last three years compared to .570 against lefties--eesh).

So folk, we now have a power lefty on the bench. He's only had 20 PH AB in the last 3 years, but he put up a respectable line of .250/.348/.450/.798 when given the chance.

Defensively, he makes a lot of errors, but UZR rates him at +22 runs as a SS between 2000 & 2003, and his career RF is 4.44 (compared to the league average of 4.09). ESPN says the following:

]Valentin loved playing alongside Robbie Alomar in the second half of 2003. He had 20 errors but botched fewer routine plays than in recent seasons. He has only average range but throws well, allowing him to get outs on plays that could have gone for infield singles. Valentin has played the game hard for a long time, taking a toll on his legs. He's an aggressive baserunner who still takes chances as if he was as fast as ever.

The more I look at his stats, the happier I get. I mean, we may have the one guy who's demonstrably clutch.

And to top it off, he hits righties well and is decent defensively.

What's not to like?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, I guess the idea that his .170/.326/.265/.591 of last year was an irreversible trend is not to like.

I mean, we're still waiting for Jay Bell to bounce back, right?

[Valadius]

He's no spring chicken.

[MFS62]

Valadius wrote: He's no spring chicken.

You are a true master of the understatement.

Later

[Guest abogdan]

Could Valntin be battling Woodward for a roster spot? With Franco signed, Woodward's role as a backup 1B/RH hitter is spoken for. If both the Nady/Diaz loser and TIke make the team, that leaves only 1 spot for Valentin/Woody if the team breaks camp with 12 pitchers.