Let the Speculation Begin

[Farmer Ted]

Free agents-to-be, according to another website.
Age of player in ( ). All injuries should be healed by next spring thus 1B, LF, a few starters, and a reliever or two should be on the menu.


Catchers
Brad Ausmus (41)
Paul Bako (38)
Rod Barajas (34)
Josh Bard (32)
Michael Barrett (33) - club option
Henry Blanco (38)
Ramon Castro (34)
Sal Fasano (38)
Toby Hall (34)
Ramon Hernandez (34) - $8.5MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Jason Kendall (36)
Jason LaRue (36)
Victor Martinez (31) - $7.7MM club option with a $250K buyout
Bengie Molina (35)
Jose Molina (35)
Miguel Olivo (31) - $3.25MM mutual option
Mike Redmond (39)
Ivan Rodriguez (38)
Brian Schneider (33)
Yorvit Torrealba (31) - $4MM mutual option with a $500K buyout
Javier Valentin (34)
Jason Varitek (38) - $5MM club/$3MM player option plus incentives
Vance Wilson (37)
Gregg Zaun (39) - $2MM club option with a $500K buyout

First basemen
Rich Aurilia (38)
Russell Branyan (34)
Miguel Cairo (36)
Frank Catalanotto (36) - $5MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Tony Clark (38)
Carlos Delgado (38)
Nomar Garciaparra (36)
Ross Gload (34) - $2.6MM club option
Eric Hinske (32)
Nick Johnson (31)
Adam LaRoche (30)
Doug Mientkiewicz (36)
Kevin Millar (38)
Chad Tracy (30) - $7MM option with a $1MM buyout
Daryle Ward (35)
Dmitri Young (36) -$6MM option vests with 500 PAs in '09

Second basemen
Ronnie Belliard (35)
Jamey Carroll (36)
Alex Cora (34)
Craig Counsell (39)
Mark DeRosa (35)
David Eckstein (35)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (34)
Orlando Hudson (32)
Akinori Iwamura (31) - $4.25MM club option with a $250K buyout
Adam Kennedy (34)
Felipe Lopez (30)
Mark Loretta (38)
Pablo Ozuna (35)
Placido Polanco (34)
Freddy Sanchez (32) - $8MM club option with a $600K buyout; vests with 600 PAs
Juan Uribe (31)

Shortstops
Orlando Cabrera (35)
Alex Cora (34)
Craig Counsell (39)
Bobby Crosby (30)
Adam Everett (33)
Chris Gomez (39)
Alex Gonzalez (32) - $6MM mutual option with a $500K buyout
Khalil Greene (30)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (34)
John McDonald (35)
Marco Scutaro (34)
Miguel Tejada (36)
Omar Vizquel (43)
Jack Wilson (32) - $8.4MM club option with a $600K buyout

Third basemen
Rich Aurilia (38)
Adrian Beltre (31)
Geoff Blum (37)
Aaron Boone (37)
Craig Counsell (39)
Joe Crede (32)
Pedro Feliz (35) - $5MM club option with a $500K buyout
Chone Figgins (32)
Nomar Garciaparra (36)
Troy Glaus (33)
Mike Lamb (34)
Melvin Mora (38) - $8MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Pablo Ozuna (35)
Robb Quinlan (33)
Juan Uribe (31)

Left fielders
Garret Anderson (38)
Marlon Anderson (36)
Jason Bay (31)
Emil Brown (35)
Carl Crawford (28) - $10MM club option with a $1.25MM buyout
Johnny Damon (36)
David Dellucci (36)
Cliff Floyd (37)
Matt Holliday (30)
Jacque Jones (35)
Gabe Kapler (34)
Greg Norton (37)
Wily Mo Pena (28)
Manny Ramirez (38) - $20MM player option
Dave Roberts (38)
Fernando Tatis (35)

Center fielders
Rick Ankiel (30)
Rocco Baldelli (28)
Marlon Byrd (32)
Mike Cameron (37)
Endy Chavez (32)
Coco Crisp (30) - $8MM club option with a $500K buyout
Darin Erstad (36)
Ryan Freel (34)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (34)
Reed Johnson (33)
Andruw Jones (33)
Gabe Kapler (34)
Mark Kotsay (34)
Corey Patterson (30)
Scott Podsednik (34)

Right fielders
Bobby Abreu (36)
Jermaine Dye (36) - $12MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout
Brian Giles (39)
Vladimir Guerrero (34)
Eric Hinske (32)
Geoff Jenkins (35) - $7.5MM mutual option with a $1.25MM buyout
Gabe Kapler (34)
Austin Kearns (30) - $10MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Jason Michaels (34)
Xavier Nady (31)
Magglio Ordonez (36) - $18MM club/vesting option with a $3MM buyout
Randy Winn (36)

Designated hitters
Hank Blalock (29)
Jason Giambi (39) - $6.5MM club option with a $1.25MM buyout
Ken Griffey Jr. (40)
Aubrey Huff (33)
Hideki Matsui (36)
Gary Sheffield (41)
Matt Stairs (42)
Mike Sweeney (36)
Jim Thome (39)

Starting pitchers
Brandon Backe (32)
Miguel Batista (39)
Josh Beckett (30) - $12MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Erik Bedard (31)
Kris Benson (34)
Daniel Cabrera (29)
Chris Capuano (31)
Bartolo Colon (37)
Jose Contreras (38)
Doug Davis (34)
Justin Duchscherer (32)
Adam Eaton (32)
Shawn Estes (37)
Josh Fogg (33)
Freddy Garcia (34)
Jon Garland (30) - $10MM mutual option with $2.5MM or $1MM buyout
Tom Glavine (44)
Mike Hampton (37)
Rich Harden (28)
Mark Hendrickson (36)
Livan Hernandez (35)
Tim Hudson (34) - $12MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout
Jason Jennings (31)
Jason Johnson (36)
Randy Johnson (46)
John Lackey (31)
Cliff Lee (31) - $8MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Braden Looper (35) - option
Rodrigo Lopez (34)
Jason Marquis (31)
Kevin Millwood (35) - Rangers can decline $12MM salary for '10 unless he reaches 180 innings in '09
Brian Moehler (38) - mutual option
Brett Myers (29)
Vicente Padilla (32) - $12MM club option with a $1.75MM buyout
Chan Ho Park (37)
John Parrish (32)
Carl Pavano (34)
Brad Penny (32)
Odalis Perez (33)
Andy Pettitte (38)
Joel Pineiro (31)
Sidney Ponson (33)
Mark Prior (28)
Horacio Ramirez (30)
Jason Schmidt (37)
John Smoltz (43)
Tim Wakefield (43) - perpetual $4MM club option
Jarrod Washburn (35)
Brandon Webb (31) - $8.5MM club option with a $500K+ buyout
Todd Wellemeyer (31)
Kip Wells (33)
Randy Wolf (33)

Closers
Ryan Franklin (37) - $2.75MM club option with a $250K buyout
Mike Gonzalez (32)
Kevin Gregg (32)
Trevor Hoffman (42)
Fernando Rodney (33)
Rafael Soriano (30)
Jose Valverde (30)
Billy Wagner (38) - $8MM club option with a $1MM buyout

Right-handed relievers
Luis Ayala (32)
Danys Baez (32)
Joaquin Benoit (32)
Rafael Betancourt (35) - $5.4MM club option
Chad Bradford (35)
Doug Brocail (43) - $2.85MM club option with a $250K buyout
Chad Cordero (28)
Elmer Dessens (38)
Brendan Donnelly (38)
Octavio Dotel (36)
Kelvim Escobar (33)
Eric Gagne (34)
Tom Gordon (42)
LaTroy Hawkins (37)
Matt Herges (40)
Bob Howry (36)
Jason Isringhausen (37)
Jorge Julio (31)
Masahide Kobayashi (36) - $3.25MM club option with a $250K buyout
Brandon Lyon (30)
Gary Majewski (30)
Guillermo Mota (36)
Troy Percival (40)
J.J. Putz (33) - $9.15MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Juan Rincon (31)
Duaner Sanchez (30)
Rudy Seanez (41)
Russ Springer (41)
Julian Tavarez (37)
Luis Vizcaino (35) - $4MM club option with a $500K buyout
David Weathers (40)
Jamey Wright (35)
Yasuhiko Yabuta (37) - $4MM club option with a $500K buyout

Left-handed relievers
Joe Beimel (32)
Alan Embree (40) - $3MM club option with a $250K buyout
Scott Eyre (38)
Casey Fossum (32)
John Grabow (31)
Eddie Guardado (39)
Ron Mahay (39)
Trever Miller (37)
Will Ohman (31) - $2.2MM club option with a $200K buyout
Darren Oliver (39)
Glendon Rusch (35)
Scott Schoeneweis (36)
Brian Shouse (41) - club option
Ron Villone (40)
Jamie Walker (38)

[ashie62]

If the 30 million dollars coming off payroll is not going to be used on salaries would this mean payroll would be around 100 million? Making this list much smaller

I don't know how the Mets will evaluate what they need this off season as so many injuries may not be resolved, good or bad, til spring.

[Guest Kong76]

Are yougonna hang your hat on knowing what the final payroll figure
will be late August 2009 for the 2010 season?

[ashie62]

I am going on a Rubin piece a few days ago that suggested the 30 Million coming off payroll may not be reinvested in salary.

From a pure business point of view I would imagine the Franchise will turn a loss dollar wise..possibly a very large one.

Lotta holes to fill..If Omar comes back, and I believe he will it will take some true creativity over the winter because you really don't know where Reyes, Beltran, and Santana will be come March.

Having said that I would like Crawford and move Beltran to left and pick up the option on Frenchie.

The Rays have to pick up Crawfords option at a relative bargain of 10 million or work something out on him

[smg58]

The good news is that the corner outfield options are very good. Sure I'd love Holliday, but a good relative bargain is possible in that bunch as well.

First base... Well unless we can get Lyle Overbay from the Jays (preferably while also getting Roy Halladay), the best available guy is the one we currently have (assuming he's healthy). That's an ugly looking list.

Catcher... V-Mart won't be bought out, that's for sure. And that leaves basically nothing. Here's where some creativity is required.

[Guest Kong76]

A62: I am going on a Rubin piece a few days ago that suggested the 30 Million coming off payroll may not be reinvested in salary <<<

Yeah, I know. I asked you if you're hanging your hat on that.

Let's call it The Rubin Cap ... $100,000,000!

[bmfc1]

Bengie Molina would be a good 2 year pickup at catcher. Nothing more than 2 because he's 35. He could tutor Thole. And it's about time that the Mets had a Molina on their side.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Rubin hinted that not ALL of it would be reinvested. He didn't imply that NONE of it would be.

[Guest Kong76]

So I shouldn't look at that list and factor in The Rubin Cap? I'm confused.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, well, people are running with what they will.

[Guest Kong76]

I also kinda doubt the Mets will show a big loss for the year. Ticket sales were
pretty heavy duty early in the year. They may wish for more concessions and
some other revenue ... but I don't think they're all that strapped so as to base
a 30 mil here a 30 mil there good baseball deal on we can't do that.

Plus, Bernie's dying in prison ... things are looking up!

[Fman99]

Predicting now that the Madoff-Mets will go chizzeap for 2010. Not a single big name free agent will be signed, to play LF, 1B, or pitch. The roster will look something like this:

Santos/cheap 2nd C
Murphy (1B)
Castillo
Reyes
Wright
Beltran
Francoeur
Evans/Fartinez (LF)
Pagan (4th OF)
cheap MI option (Cora maybe? ugh)
cheap CI option (Tatis again? ugh redux)

Santana
Pelf
Maine
O-Perez
Niese/Nieve/scrub behind door #3 etc.

Frankie
Green
Feliciano
Stokes
Parnell
Dessens/Misch/etc. cheap bullpen filler

No Dunn trade, no Molinas, no Dye, no nothing.

This would bother me less, somehow, if they admitted they took a bath on the Madoff thing and that was restricting their ability to maintain their payroll.

Not that it matters -- they back up for the truck for the wrong guy, again and again and again anyway. The alternative, non-Madoff, is they sign Vlad for 4/50 or something even though he's got not much left in the tank.

[Guest Kong76]

Well, we'll see if The Rubin Cap � can hold any water.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I feel like I do whenever anyone talks about the Oscars-- are we talking about our best guesses at what will happen, or what should happen?

Should happen:

--Left field: All in on Holliday, who's great offensively, very good defensively. Think McReynolds with less dead eyes.

-- Right field: If Holliday, then Francoeur/Fartinez.

--First base: Davis/Evans platoon. (Or, alternatively, Evans/Murphy, with Davis marinating in Buffalo.) Apart from being cheap, it'll give Jerry something to do.

--Catcher: Torrealba, maybe. Depending on Thole's 'audition' this month, perhaps re-up Schneider to mentor/split time with Thole.

[dgwphotography]

The only one on that list I would want is Bay. Perhaps this is a good year to tighten the purse strings, because no one else on that list is worth overpaying for, which is what will eventually happen...

[metirish]

Two reports on the Mets the last few days have described the Mets as " the cash strapped Mets"......I do start to wonder how bad or not the club finances are.

[smg58]

They stretched the budget a bit the last two years and don't have much to show for it. At this point, though, it looks like their unwillingness to be buyers at the deadline had more to do with realism and less with money (i.e., they had to know that nobody on the DL was coming back quickly enough to justify taking on an expense). The combination of the economy and a struggling team probably left them with more empty seats in the new stadium than anticipated, but things are less bad on the economic front, and they know the fans will support a winning team if they put one on the field. Maybe they'd like something closer to $130M than $140M, but I see no reason for them to do anything drastic, or to believe that they will.

[MFS62]

, perhaps re-up Schneider [/quote:33g9idjg]

I'd rather give birth to a flaming porcupine.

Schneider may be the worst regular player in the major leagues right now, and might even be the worst regular to ever play for the Mets. Right now he makes Choo Choo Coleman look good.

The only thing that would make me sad if they don't get him back would be the major loss to the players' wives photo.

Later

[seawolf17]

Eff that, I'm tired of the cheap shit. Throw more money at it, Wilpons. Get me Victor Martinez for four years to play first, Miguel Olivo to catch, Carl Crawford in left (or, failing that, Bay), and Jermaine Dye in right. Then get Ryan "Super Joe" Freel to join Murphy, Reed, Santos, and Fernando Martinez on the bench.

Put them behind Santana, Bedard, Lackey, Pineiro, and Oliver Fucking Perez and let 'em fly, baby.

[Farmer Ted]

Torreabla will never be a Met. Not after Omar pulled his offer to work a deal for [cough] Schneider.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Did anybody ever get to the bottom of that?

[Piggiestomatoes]

Eff that, I'm tired of the cheap shit. Throw more money at it, Wilpons. Get me Victor Martinez for four years to play first, Miguel Olivo to catch, Carl Crawford in left (or, failing that, Bay), and Jermaine Dye in right. Then get Ryan "Super Joe" Freel to join Murphy, Reed, Santos, and Fernando Martinez on the bench.

Put them behind Santana, Bedard, Lackey, Pineiro, and Oliver Fucking Perez and let 'em fly, baby.[/quote:3a3iemew]

I like the way you think! Not grounded in any sense of reality but I still like it!

[smg58]

I'd rather give birth to a flaming porcupine.[/quote:tlgw4vlh]
Love it. Although there have been times this season where watching the Mets has actually felt like giving birth to a flaming porcupine.

The scary thing about Schneider is that his July and August are even worse than Cora's June and July were, and that is saying one hell of a lot. I have to assume that he too is playing hurt, because it's pretty damn hard to get that bad that quickly otherwise. Not that he was that good in the first place.

[ashie62]

Fman's scenario could be close..There's not that much talent out there among FA's

Holliday & Bay will most likely draw far more money than most teams would consider

Crawford also if the Rays foolish don't pick up the option.

[smg58]

I can't see the Rays declining Crawford's option. If nothing else he's still very dealable at that price.

I'm hoping Holliday's merely ordinary first half will discourage potential suitors in the AL.

[Vic Sage]

That FA list sux.

- forget Crawford; TB ain't gonna let him walk.
- I think Holliday was a Coors hitter, exposed in the AL, now on a hot streak hitting behind or in front of Pujols. I wouldn't sink $20m/yr into him, but he may be the only bat available, and we need one;
- Bedard is a permanent occupant of the DL;
- Lackey is the one SP i would pursue;

Ideally, we'd acquire power bats for 1b AND LF, but I'd settle for 1, and live with a platoon at the other. We also need a LHed catcher, unless they think Thole is ready. Mostly, however, we need 2 good starting pitchers, because we have nothing reliable after Santana. I'd settle for at least 1.

lineup
Reyes, ss
Castillo, 2b
Wright, 3b
Beltran, cf
Holliday or Bay, LF
Francoeur, rf
Murphy/Evans, 1b
Thole / Santos, C

bench: (6)
Evans / Murphy
Santos / Thole
A.Hernandez
Pagan
Tatis
Carter

SP:
Santana
Lackey
Pelfrey
Perez
Niese / Maine (if he comes back)

pen:(6)
F-Rod
Parnell
Feliciano
Stokes
Green
Figeroa / Nieve / Misch

[bmfc1]

I never want to see Anderson Hernandez again. He has no range, as evidenced by his misplay on the GW hit last night, can barely hit, and doesn't have a head for the game. I wonder if the Mets value Cora's leadership skills so highly that they'll bring him back.

[metirish]

I find few things more overrated than " leadership skills" , no more Cora please.

[Vic Sage]

i would suggest that, with the holes this team has, "utility infielder" should not be high on the list of concerns. That being said, i have no love for either Hernandez OR Cora, and would be grateful for any upgrade there. How about Jonny Lunchbucket's fave, Jerry Hairston?

[seawolf17]

Dammit, man. Ryan Freel.