Off-Season Signings

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Now we just need someone named Bernstein to pull a Costello.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Aubrey Huff, not even high-profile enough to be included in the Free Agent Prediction Contest, goes to Baltimore for three years and $20 million.

[DocTee]

Mark Loretta to Houston: 1 year, 2.5 million

[DocTee]

MLB.com reports the Bosox signing P Joel Piniero (1 year, $4.5 million) and are looking at him to close. Cross another one off the Mets list.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Hello, Jeff Weaver

Tony Armas, 28
Bruce Chen, 29
Roger Clemens, 44
Shawn Estes, 33
Rick Helling, 36
Jason Johnson, 33
Brian Moehler, 35
Mark Mulder, 29
Tomo Ohka, 30
Ramon Ortiz, 33
Russ Ortiz, 32
Chan Ho Park, 33
Joel Pineiro, 28
Mark Redman, 32
Aaron Sele, 36
John Thomson, 33
Steve Trachsel, 36
Jeff Weaver, 30
David Wells, 43
Jerome Williams, 25
Jamey Wright, 32
Victor Zambrano, 31

[nymr83]

i have a weird feeling that Weaver would get it done here. I'd rather take a shot on Mulder, yes he was horrible last year, but he's 29 and has more upside than anyone but the rocket on that list. I'd avoid talking to Clemens on principle (of course I'd have avoided Mota on principle too.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

Mike Piazza's Head: Where Principle Begins.

[Guest sharpie]

ESPN reporting that the Yankees lust for ex-Mets continues as they sign Doug Mientkiewicz.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Him they can have.

The Daily News speculated that Mientkiewicz' presence on the roster may cause there to be no room for Bernie Williams.

[HahnSolo]

Rick Helling is only 36? Feels like he should be around 47.

[metirish]

Oliver Perez signs for 1 year at $2.3 million..

[metirish]

Dontrelle Willis reached agreement Monday on a one-year, guaranteed $6.45 million contract with the Florida Marlins, a day before he was scheduled to exchange salary arbitration figures with the club.


Willis' deal includes $50,000 in incentives, a "sizable" advance on his salary, and bonuses if he makes the All-Star team or wins the Cy Young Award, Silver Slugger or National League Most Valuable Player Award, according to his agent, Matt Sosnick.

If Willis stays healthy, he will be in position to surpass the $6.5 million salary earned by the Chicago Cubs' Carlos Zambrano in 2006. That's the most money ever for a starting pitcher in his second year of salary arbitration.

"I'm very happy," Willis told The Associated Press on Monday night. "How can you not be? I'm very appreciative to go out and have the opportunity to play baseball."

Willis is Florida's franchise leader with 58 victories and 15 complete games, and ranks second on the team's career innings pitched list behind A.J. Burnett. He won 22 games and was runner-up to St. Louis' Chris Carpenter in the 2005 NL Cy Young Award race, and went 12-12 with a 3.87 ERA for the Marlins last season while ranking fifth in the league with 223 1/3 innings pitched.

[metirish]

Ramon Castro signs for one year $850,000.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Floyd Is Close to Signing With the Cubs
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: January 22, 2007
The free-agent outfielder Cliff Floyd is close to signing a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, a person with direct knowledge of the contract confirmed yesterday.

The Mets had made it clear that they had little interest in re-signing Floyd, 34, who is known for his powerful bat and upbeat personality. Floyd was hindered by injuries in his four years with the Mets. He played only 97 games last season, hitting .244 with 11 home runs and 44 runs batted in.

Floyd will return to his native Chicago to play for a team that struggled for the past two seasons. The Cubs, however, hired Lou Piniella as manager and signed Alfonso Soriano as a free agent this off-season. With Derrek Lee, Aramis Ram�rez and Soriano, the Cubs are loaded with powerful right-handed hitters. The addition of the left-handed Floyd would give Piniella more flexibility with his lineup. Floyd would probably share time in left field with Matt Murton.

The Chicago Sun-Times first reported the deal yesterday.

Floyd, who spent time on the disabled list last season for ankle and Achilles� tendon injuries, returned to the Mets at the beginning of September. He caught the last out of their division-clinching game against the Florida Marlins on Sept. 18.

The Mets signed Moises Alou to a one-year contract Nov. 20. Alou, who played right field in 81 of his 98 games with San Francisco, last season, will probably fill Floyd�s spot in left.

[Guest cleonjones11]

Is Moises Alou an upgrade over Cliff Floyd?

[smg58]

I really don't see how anybody who's looked at their stats over the past three years could ask that question. At the very least, the Mets will get significantly more offense from left field than they got last year. I'm not certain the Mets can get more than 350 AB's from Alou, but I don't doubt that he'll hit when he plays.

[metirish]

So the J.D. Drew deal is still not completed,WTF is going on with that?

Murray Chass on Drew and Bonds

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I don't expect it to happen, but I'd really love to see the Bonds deal fall through.

[Frayed Knot]

Some question about Drew health (shoulder, I believe) cropped up and so there's still talk about the wording of the deal and installing certain "outs" for the Sox if this thing proves chronic.

I suspect the Drew deal will still get done as the alternate choices - particularly for Drew/Boras - are much more limited now than they were back when he first scored that offer.
The inevitability of Bonds deal I'm not so sure about. They're feuding over how much "freedom" Barry will get in the clubhouse; freedom meaning how many personal trainers and other hangers-on will get carte blanche. And, with the tide of public opinion in SF reportedly starting to turn against him (esp with the recent positive test for anphetamines), I could see the Giants finally deciding it's all not worth it and backing out.

[nymr83]

I read somewhere that another problem in the negotiations was over how much (if anything) the Giants would owe him if he became unavailable at any point during the season do to legal proceedings stemming from the whole BALCO mess.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Tomo Ohka + Blue Jays = TL4A (or one year + an option)

[Guest Edgy DC]

The Red Sox finally close with Drew.

[Guest Edgy DC]

One year, $15.8 million.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Looks like Sammy Sosa's minor-league deal has been finalized also.

[Guest sharpie]

Jeff Weaver, one year with the Mariners.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I guess the 2-3-year guesswork that we had on Weaver fell short.

I'm thinking that the Mets signings of Sosa and Sele may have swung back the runaway sellers market.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Tony Armas gets one year and $3 million from the Pirates plus a $5 millon option for 2008.. That puts him and Shawn Chacon (at $3.8 million) competing for the fifth rotation slot.

I think one of the minimum wagers among the first four gets bumped.

[Frayed Knot]

Former StL & SF catcher Mike Matheny won't be signing with anyone as he retired due to lingering problems associated with concussions.
Not sure that I've ever heard of that before with a baseball player (plenty in football & hockey). It probably has happened before - particularly in the pre-helmet days - but was never called that as, until recently, concussions were left either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

[metirish]

Did Piazza ever have any mild concussions,I seem to remember some talk about a possible concussion....maybe after the Clemens thing?

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Yes - he did after that incident.

Or should I say assault?