Mets sign LHP Chris Capuano and RHP Taylor Buchholz

[Ceetar]

Seem like decent enough signings. Wonder what Capuano's velocity was last year?

I'm also surprised the Mets could get two guys signed to the point of press release without it being mass reported by the likes of Heyman. Suspect him to bash the signing because of it.

The Mets wrote: FLUSHING, N.Y., January 3, 2011 � The New York Mets today announced that they have signed lefthanded pitcher Chris Capuano and righthanded pitcher Taylor Buchholz to one-year contracts. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets designated righthanded pitcher Ryota Igarashi for assignment. Capuano, 32, went 4-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 24 appearances last year with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was 3-3 with a 4.14 ERA (21 earned runs/45.2 innings) in nine starts and 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA (eight earned runs/20.1 innings) in 15 relief outings. Buchholz, 29, split last season between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Colorado Rockies, combining to go 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA (five earned runs/12.0 innings) in nine games out of the bullpen. He missed all of the 2009 season recovering from right elbow surgery Capuano, a former All-Star, began the 2010 season at Brevard County (A) of the Florida State League and went 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA (two earned runs/14.2 innings) in three contests. He went 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA (five earned runs/25.0 innings) in four starts with Nashville (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League before the Brewers selected his contract on May 29. Prior 2010, Capuano last pitched in a major league game on September 27, 2007. He underwent his second Tommy John surgery on May 15, 2008 and had his first Tommy John procedure on May 17, 2002. Dr. James Andrews performed both operations. The 6-2, 225-pounder is 46-52 with a 4.35 ERA in 148 career major league games, 125 starts. He was named to the 2006 National League All-Star team, going 11-12 with a 4.03 ERA (99 earned runs/221.1 innings). He was tied for the NL lead with 25 quality starts that year. The Springfield, Mass. native�s best season came in 2005 when he won 18 games and struck out 176 in 219.0 innings. Capuano graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University in 2000 with a degree in economics Buchholz started the 2010 season on a rehabilitation assignment with Modesto (A) of the California League before the Rockies moved him to Colorado Springs (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League. The 6-4, 220-pounder was recalled to the big leagues on July 24, making his first appearance since 2008. He pitched in six more games before Toronto claimed him off waivers on September 9. Originally selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, Buchholz made his major league debut with the Houston Astros in 2006. He was traded to Colorado on Dec

[Frayed Knot]

MetBlog -- The Mets have signed free-agent LHP Chris Capuano and RHP Taylor Buchholz to one-year contracts.
The team has designated RHP Ryota Igarashi for assignment, to make room on the 40-man roster.

Capuano, 32, went 4-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 24 appearances last year with the Brewers, including nine starts. He missed the entire 2009 season recovering from his second Tommy John surgery.

Buchholz started 2010 on a rehab assignment, and made his return to the big leagues on July 24. He was eventually put on waivers and claimed by the Blue Jays in early September, and ended the year throwing just two innings, during which he did not allow a run.

[metirish]

Interesting signings, Capuano is the name I know here, always seemed to frustrate Brewers fans.

[G-Fafif]

Capuano's degree in economics tells him these are low-budget moves.

[Fman99]

The swallows return to Capuano and yet I have an itchy Buchholz.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

If Buchholz is fully recovered, he could be a good cheapo score. Climbing K-rates-- and, more importantly, K/BB rates-- with each year in the majors, until the elbow injury. And now he's a full year-and-a-half removed from the injury.

I've never been terribly enamored of Capuano.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I barely have an opinion of either of the guys they signed.

Any and all moves by this team are so strictly low-risk, I'm like, "uh, sure" to everything they do, but not really excited.

On the other hand, booting Igarashi is kinda interesting. I know Warthen wasn't a fan but for a time the organization really wanted us to like him.

[TransMonk]

I like both signings. Cheap pickups, both have had moderate success in the past.

very easyto swallow when you have zero expectations.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Igarashi will likely be back. He's got a salary over a million and an ERA over seven. That sounds like a guy who can clear waivers.

[Benjamin Grimm]

It sure does. I expect he'll land safely in Buffalo.

As for the two new guys, they both come, alphabetically, shortly after Jason Bay, so we'll soon have threads in which to discuss, in depth, our Expectations for them.

[smg58]

I like the Capuano signing. He's not spectacular, but he's been decent when healthy and had a strong finish in September when put in the Brewers rotation. He's biggest weakness is home runs, which should be less of an issue here than in Milwaukee.

Buchholz is likewise low risk, high upside. If he's healthy, he'll be valuable.

Both are very good pickups I think.

[Lefty Specialist]

Sandy in 'Catch Lightning in a Bottle' mode. Can't hurt, I guess.

[Vic Sage]

Here's my 11/17 post in the FA thread:

SP - Ill take Garland for the IP, and take a flyer on Capuano's upside. Harden? I'm not that crazy. C - Torrealba or Olivo, to platoon with Thole. LHRP - having lost 2 LHRPs, we need one from column A (Downs, Fuentes) and one from column B (Romero, DReyes, Beimel, Ohman) 2b - with Uggla gone, no obvious upgrades available, tho' i wouldn't mind Hudson for a year, or taking a flyer on LLopez as a general UT.

SP- Garland was too rich for our blood, so we're taking that flyer on Capuano. That's ok with me, if he's the 5th starter. But he's the 4th. So Ollie gets a legit shot in ST to win a slot over Buchholtz, Misch, Gee, Bonzer, Moe, Larry & Curly.

C - Again, apparently too much $$ for Torrealba or Olivo, so we went with Paulino, who is a decent platoon partner for Thole.

LHRP - we lost Feliciano and Takahashi and do not look poised to fill these holes thru FAs. The only internal option is O'Conner, who isn't yet on the 40man roster, and Misch, who can pick up the slack for Takahashi as a spot-starter long-man. We did pick up another RHRP in Bucholtz, who has decent upside potential. But, assuming F-Rod and Parnell are set, and we use a LOOGY, who does he bump?... Acosta? Carrasco? Beato? or a 2nd LHP, like Misch? I guess so. Maybe 1 makes the rotation and 1 in the bullpen, and we finally just cut Ollie. or just give back Beato.

2b- we traded for Hu. Who? Hu. His glove (especially at SS) will probably give him the edge over Luis Hernandez as a UT. So 2b looks to be addressed with an Emaus/Murphy platoon.

Again i say "oy".

Edited January 4, 2011 by Guest

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I get a little bit of a headache these days looking at the MI/bullpen situation. (I'm trying to cultivate a sort of focused denial about the rotation.)

But assuming Paulino's used as a lefty-masher... he's actually the best possible one of those to match with Thole. He's just this side of Pujols-- no kidding-- in terms of hitting lefties over the last three years.

[Vic Sage]

yeah, i don't have a problem with Paulino (outside of the whole PED suspension thing, which carries over into the opening weeks of this coming season). But focusing on that point is surely [insert denial metaphor here]...

[metirish]

Edgy DC wrote: Igarashi will likely be back. He's got a salary over a million and an ERA over seven. That sounds like a guy who can clear waivers.

$1.75 million to be exact

[Centerfield]

This marks the second time (the first being Zambrano) that the Mets picked up a pitcher and I mixed him up with a guy much better than the one we got.

[smg58]

Vic Sage wrote: Again i say "oy".

It's still early. And the team does look to be a few wins better today than they were this time yesterday.

[Vic Sage]

smg58 wrote: Vic Sage wrote: Again i say "oy". It's still early. And the team does look to be a few wins better today than they were this time yesterday.

agreed.
but since i had them down as 75-77 wins yesterday, and today i have them as maybe 78-80, and they are intent on not spending the money this year to make 90+ wins a likelihood instead of an outlier possibility, i still reserve the right to say "oy".

[Guest Edgy DC]

Reported terms of Capuano's contract:

$1,500,000 base salary. Plus: $125,000 for 15 games started $150,000 for 20 games started $75,000 for each game started from 21 through 31 $100,000 for 32 games started $100,000 for 20 relief appearances $100,000 for 30 relief apperances $100,000 for 40 relief appearances $100,000 for 50 relief appearances $100,000 for 60 relief appearances (A maximum of $1.2 million may be earned for games started and relief appearance bonus combined.) $50,000 for 90 innings pitched $100,000 for 100 innings pitched $100,000 for 110 innings pitched $100,000 for 120 innings pitched $100,000 for 130 innings pitched $125,000 for 140 innings pitched $175,000 for 150 innings pitched $175,000 for 160 innings pitched $200,000 for 170 innings pitched $200,000 for 180 innings pitched $225,000 for 190 innings pitched $250,000 for 200 innings pitched Plus: $50,000 for All Star; $150,000 for Comeback Player of the Year.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Rick Peterson (remember him?) approves:

New York Post wrote: Peterson says Capuano find for Mets By DAN MARTIN Chris Capuano's arrival likely does not have too many Mets fans thrilled, but Rick Peterson said the left-hander might change some minds. "If I were a Mets fan, I'd be very excited about him," the former Mets pitching coach said. "He's still evolving as a pitcher. He can absolutely succeed there." Peterson was Capuano's pitching coach with the Brewers last year, the southpaw's first since missing two seasons following his second Tommy John surgery. Despite the injury problems, Peterson is confident Capuano -- who went 18-12 in 2005 -- can be effective. "He's got all the fundamentals and his physical conditioning is phenomenal," Peterson said. "He's also mentally and emotionally strong. He's a fierce competitor. He wants to be the best." The Mets will settle for a solid back-end starter after signing Capuano to a one-year deal on Monday. The 32-year-old's final seven appearances with the Brewers last season were all starts, five quality showings bookended by a pair of bad outings. According to Peterson, Capuano's velocity down the stretch was better than it was before he got hurt. "His goal coming out of spring training was to become a viable starter again, and he did that," said Peterson, who was not retained by new Brewers manager Ron Roenicke and is waiting for another opportunity to become a pitching coach in the majors. In the meantime, he is consulting for Bloomberg Sports and 3P Sports, two companies that analyze pitching mechanics and data. "Chris made adjustments to his breaking ball and he understands what it means to expand his game," Peterson said. "He's incredibly receptive to coaching and very intelligent." And Peterson said he believes Capuano has the mentality to perform well in New York. "I think so, but you never know until you live it," Peterson said. "My sense is he'll handle it well."

[Guest Edgy DC]

And terms for Buchholz:

$600,000 base salary.
[list:9xb1ifjv][*:9xb1ifjv]$400,000 for making the 25-man roster and not getting immediately DL'd (sonder how that is actually worded[/*:m:9xb1ifjv]
[*:9xb1ifjv]$40,000 for appearaing in 40 games[/*:m:9xb1ifjv]
[*:9xb1ifjv]$40,000 for appearaing in 40 games[/*:m:9xb1ifjv]
[*:9xb1ifjv]$40,000 for appearaing in 40 games[/*:m:9xb1ifjv]
[*:9xb1ifjv]$40,000 for appearaing in 40 games[/*:m:9xb1ifjv]
[*:9xb1ifjv]$40,000 for appearaing in 40 games[/*:m:9xb1ifjv][/list:u:9xb1ifjv]

Potential value: $1,200,000.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Even leaving aside the veteran pitcher thing and the elbow issues... there's a little Dickey in this one. (Or maybe more Todd Zeile.)

"I like living Downtown," said Capuano, who lives in a condo near Lake Michigan and often does errands on his Segway scooter. "I'm single and I don't cook a lot, so I like to be near a lot of different restaurants and the night spots. And, I really like being near the lake." We spoke to Capuano last year about the closing of Prospect Mall, which was his one of his favorite spots to watch movies. At the time, he listed Sol Fire as one of his favorite restaurants. With Sol Fire closed, and soon to be replaced at 2014 N. Farwell Ave. by Pepe's Pink Taco, we decided to ask Chris to list his five favorite Milwaukee restaurants... Asked if his family and friends are surprised by Milwaukee's culinary choices, Capuano said, "People are surprised by Milwaukee in general; the restaurants; the museums; the lake. Pretty much everything about the city surprises them." Downtown dwellers shouldn't be surprised to see a major-league pitcher zip past them on a Segway. Although the personal scooters are becoming more common in bigger cities, they aren't exactly a fixture in Milwaukee. "I'm the only one getting yelled at," Capuano said. "People just yell "Segway!" really loud or they'll say "Nerd!" or "Nerd alert!" "People just don't understand. When I talk to people, I say "If you don't ride one, you don't understand how cool it is."

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm concerned all the same he'll play Good Cap, Bad Cap this year.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Wait. Pepe's Pink Taco is a restaurant? Afraid to google it here at work.

[TransMonk]

Damn, if he enjoyed the culture in Milwaukee then New York is going to make his head explode.

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: Damn, if he enjoyed the culture in Milwaukee then New York is going to make his head explode.

He'll fit right in segway'ing around Central Park past the lake and A-Rod sunbathing.

[seawolf17]

I think the Mets should sign a sponsorship deal with Segway where relievers Segway in from the bullpen, then Terry Segways back to the dugout after the new guy gets there. And they'd have to put an oversized hat on it.

[metirish]

seawolf17 wrote: I think the Mets should sign a sponsorship deal with Segway where relievers Segway in from the bullpen, then Terry Segways back to the dugout after the new guy gets there. And they'd have to put an oversized hat on it.

I like it....and really , nothing bad can happen, it's not like they'll fall of a cliff riding the things....

[Ceetar]

metirish wrote: seawolf17 wrote: I think the Mets should sign a sponsorship deal with Segway where relievers Segway in from the bullpen, then Terry Segways back to the dugout after the new guy gets there. And they'd have to put an oversized hat on it. I like it....and really , nothing bad can happen, it's not like they'll fall of a cliff riding the things....

They can have Ollie then Segway the thing back to the bullpen.