Yorvit. Yorvit all to hell!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

]November 14, 2007 Mets Set to Make Torrealba an Offer He Can�t Refuse By BEN SHPIGEL The last time the Mets needed a starting catcher, after the 2005 season, they went hard after the top two free agents, Ram�n Hern�ndez and Bengie Molina. General Manager Omar Minaya visited both players the first day he could and soon offered what the team believed were generous three-year contracts. Almost attached, however, was this caveat: If you take too long to decide, the Mets would move on. That led the Mets to trade for Paul Lo Duca. Two years later, they seem inclined to use the same strategy to obtain his potential replacement. The Mets are interested in the free-agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba and are willing to make him an offer they do not expect him to refuse. But if he does, or if he dawdles, the Mets will have no problem proceeding with backup plans to plug their catching vacancy. The Mets have zeroed in on Torrealba, who played for the National League champion Colorado Rockies, and should offer him a multiyear deal worth perhaps as much as $5 million annually, which would be a hefty raise from the $1.075 million he was paid last season. The Rockies remain interested in retaining Torrealba � the Florida Marlins are suitors, too � but have reportedly capped their offer at $7 million for two years and would not match what the Mets would give him. Torrealba, 29, broke into the majors in 2001 with the San Francisco Giants and was given a chance to be the full-time catcher with Colorado in 2006. But he missed the first two months of the season after straining his right shoulder. Healthy in 2007, Torrealba posted career highs in nearly every offensive category, batting .255 with 8 home runs and driving in 47 runs in 113 games. As Colorado stampeded to 21 victories in 22 games and a berth in the World Series, Torrealba helped lead the charge, batting .320 in the first two rounds of the postseason and blasted the go-ahead three-run homer in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against Arizona. He stumbled in the Series, going 2 for 14 in Boston�s four-game sweep. He excels at blocking balls. During the postseason Colorado pitchers raved about his ability to call a game, crediting him for guiding them past a potent Philadelphia team in the opening round. The Mets� pitchers were just as complimentary of Lo Duca, too, but he will turn 35 in April and the team is looking to bring in someone younger behind the plate. Still, Torrealba is hardly an ideal fit. His offensive performance was dramatically better at Coors Field, where he hit .292, posted an on-base percentage of .353 and slugged .424, compared with what it was on the road, where he batted .212 with a .292 on-base percentage and a .326 slugging mark. The Mets, however, would not be improving their ability to throw out potential base-stealers. Torrealba ranked 21st among 29 qualifying catchers, according to Stats LLC, throwing out 17.6 percent (13 of 74). Lo Duca ranked a notch above him at 19.1 percent (17 of 89). If Torrealba signs elsewhere � or waits too long to choose � the Mets have been working to identify other options. They could turn to Baltimore, where they could possibly acquire Hern�ndez and reunite him with Rick Peterson, his former pitching coach at Oakland. The Rangers, should they want to relieve their catching logjam by dealing Gerald Laird, may find an interested target in the Mets. The Diamondbacks� young catcher Miguel Montero could be a possibility, too. The Mets may find that they could even expand those potential deals to add help at second base or in the bullpen. Under Minaya, the Mets have shown a penchant for working quickly in the off-season. In 2005, they traded for Xavier Nady, Carlos Delgado and Lo Duca and signed Billy Wagner before the winter meetings started in early December. By the same time last season, they had re-signed Jos� Valent�n and Orlando Hern�ndez, signed Moises Alou and Damion Easley and completed four-player deals with San Diego and Florida. The Mets have not added any new players yet, but in their recent history, they have not waited around too long.

[metirish]

Newsdy reporting that this should be done in the next few days, I guess there's not much out there to be had.

[nymr83]

Unless he is great defensively Torrealba is a downgrade from either LoDuca or Castro.

[Guest Edgy DC]

LoDuca set to replace Piazza in Oakland.

[nymr83]

can we have piazza back?

[Guest martin]

i dont understand this unless yorvit is being signed as castro's backup.

what does castro have to do to win a starting job? 11 HR in 144 AB last year. 31 years old, experienced, rumored to handle the pitchers well, what more can we ask for?

[Guest Edgy DC]

A few things Castro can do is (1) stop getting hurt, (2) reveal a career batting average over .237, and (3) throw out folks at a higher rate than the Piazzariffic perecentage he had last year.

'Til then, he's the backup quarterback, his rep benefitting from never throwing a game-turning interception.

[Guest martin]

he did reveal a new batting average last year, .285

torrealba hit .255 last year and his career average is .251

i can see castro staying a backup behind an all-star, but torrealba? i think castro has earned a shot.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Castro's health makes him unreliable. It'd be very foolish to expect him to be a No. 1 guy.

[Fman99]

martin wrote: he did reveal a new batting average last year, .285 torrealba hit .255 last year and his career average is .251 i can see castro staying a backup behind an all-star, but torrealba? i think castro has earned a shot.

I agree.

However Torreabla may be the greatest player in the history of MLB whose name was "Yorvit."

Better than ol' Yorvit Uhmelmuhhay of the '33 Giants, that's right.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Let's do what the Times article sez is a possibility and trade for this Miguel Montero fellow. He's 23, bats left and crushed the ball in the minors. 10 HRs last year in 200-some ABs. Sounds also like he could be a complement to a RH masher like Castro.

Don't know what he brings behind the dish. But check this guy out!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/montemi01.shtml

[metirish]

This bold move should shut Kevin Kernan up for a while.

[Guest sharpie]

Yorvit does have the chance to become the Mets' greatest player with a first name that beings with Y. Yorkis Perez is worried.

[Guest Edgy DC]

martin wrote: he did reveal a new batting average last year, .285

And his career numbers are still what they are. One thinga bout backup catchers is that they have their spots chosen for them, and don't perform under the daily wear and tear of starters. So a good season in select appearances isn't necessarily an indicator that he's the best man.

martin wrote: i can see castro staying a backup behind an all-star, but torrealba? i think castro has earned a shot.

I adovocated more time for him --- something like 50/50 or 60/40 --- from the moment he began backing up LoDuca. And I'll likely advocate him this year. But I don't want to go to into a season with him as our primary catcher. Certainly not this one.

Playing Yorvit against righties and Castro against lefties? I'm all over that. But we'd still need a third pro in the system, because Castro gets hurt a lot.

[Guest martin]

i dunno how much i believe that some players are much more injury prone than others. it may be a factor, but i think it is overstated. i rmember when reyes was considered too fragile. and nobody thought magglio ordonez could stay on the field last season.

i wouldnt be worried about castro much more than anyone else. although i guess he is a bit fat so there is that. but for non-old in-shape players, i think injuries are mostly random.

someone should write a paper on it.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, he's (1) kind of old, (2) kind of fat, (3) kind of a catcher, and (4) dealing with back issues, which certainly do tend to recur.

Nobody should go into a season with a backup at at catcher that they would feel uncomfortable playing fulltime, so signing JoeJessica certainly won't be curtains for Castro.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It took me a minute to get the JoeJessica reference.

Torrealba, by the way, means Tower Dawn. And that would be a good name for a racehorse, if Lo Duca wants to name a pony after the guy who replaces him.

[smg58]

Yorvit's dependably mediocre. He'll downgrade the offense.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well (and I got confused when I adovocated a platoon), he's got a career line of .281 / .346 / .502 // .848 against lefties, so maybe he can complement this Miguel Montero fellow.

[Centerfield]

Other than age, I don't see any advantage to him over LoDuca. I'd rather go short term to LoDuca rather than long-term to Torrealba.

[smg58]

="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]Let's do what the Times article sez is a possibility and trade for this Miguel Montero fellow. He's 23, bats left and crushed the ball in the minors. 10 HRs last year in 200-some ABs. Sounds also like he could be a complement to a RH masher like Castro. Don't know what he brings behind the dish. But check this guy out! http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/montemi01.shtml

He doesn't strike out a lot, and he's hit at every minor league level, so you'd have to think his average would improve with a steady stream of AB's. I like this option. And you could ask about Hudson (or even Alberto Callaspo) while you're at it.

[G-Fafif]

Centerfield wrote: Other than age, I don't see any advantage to him over LoDuca. I'd rather go short term to LoDuca rather than long-term to Torrealba.

Omar/Willie/somebody must really not want Lo Duca around. One senses the organization believes there is a fine line between fiery leader and reckless troublemaker (the gambling, the young ladies, the "they speak English", the ejections, the silence when asked if Willie was supporting his players properly). Less than five months ago they were campaigning to excess to get him on the All-Star team. Now they can't be bothered to look at him, going so far as to replace him with somebody who doesn't bring much more besides relative youth to the position.

Whatever Yorvit Torrealba's strengths, they must really not want Paul Lo Duca around.

[Valadius]

If we do sign Torrealba, I'd want to probably platoon him with Castro, considering his numbers away from Coors Field last year. I am encouraged, though, that he gets rave reviews from his pitchers.

[metirish]

That's the thing though, can you pay a guy millions to platoon him, I think not.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Millions ain't what millions used to be.

[metirish]

No they are not but I can't see him coming here to platoon.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I can't see them staying married to Yorvit if they acquire Montero to be a third option and he comes on strong.

[smg58]

I can't see them trading for Montero to be a third option. So I'm hoping Yorvit is really enamored with the school system in Denver.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Why not? They have no real prospects above Brooklyn, and he has an option year. If he comes on strong, the Mets can move Torrealba next year.

[smg58]

Edgy DC wrote: Why not? They have no real prospects above Brooklyn, and he has an option year. If he comes on strong, the Mets can move Torrealba next year.

Montero was BA's #63 prospect last year, ahead of Humber and only three behind Gomez. His stock may have dropped a little over the season, but not as much as Humber's has. Arizona already has a high-level minor league outfielder with no place to put him, but they can use ML-ready pitching. Pelfrey might get Montero and a little bit more, but Humber won't be enough. Could you trade Pelfrey for somebody you'd put in New Orleans to start the year?