smg58

Did Trevor Bauer run over the D-Backs GM's dog?

Well certainly the Shields trade raised the bar for what the Mets need to ask for in return for Dickey -- especially since Dickey is not exactly asking for what an inferior pitcher just got from the Dodgers.

I think a healthy Ike Davis can protect Wright well enough, but I would agree that a solid righthanded complement is more of a necessity than a luxury.

The only issue is whether it helps the Royals enough in the short-term to justify the likely massive long-term expense. There's certainly nothing here that would warrant suspicion. The Rays got a far better haul than the Marlins did from Toronto. So now I don't think that the Mets can settle for noticeably less from any prospective suitors for Dickey. Sure Shields is younger, but that means nothing if they're both under contract for only one year. And if Dickey's contract demands are in line with what's being reported, he's asking for less than what he's worth. I officially expect him to stay.

It turns out that even the Yankees reached a limit to their ability to spend. (Special thanks to A-Rod for his actions in the best interest of competitive baseball; may he enjoy every penny of the $100M the Yankees still owe him.) At some point the new Dodgers owners are going to realize that they don't have as much money as think they do, and it will be awfully hard for them to get themselves out of the mess they're creating for themselves.

Koji Uehara signs with Boston for a year and $4M.

Wow. Greinke has only had one season that merits this kind of contract. He's been good otherwise, but, wow.

I said last year at this time that I thought whatever difference existed between Ross's and Hairston's numbers could be explained by their home parks, and I'm sticking with that. (Their 2012 seasons were close to identical, but Ross actually had the bigger platoon splits.) I'm a little disappointed that 2 years and $15M was more than the Mets would/could offer Ludwick; his numbers went to die in San Diego, and if you take out the seasons he began as a Padre there's no reason to think he's not worth that.

One possible destination if a trade materializes would be San Diego, where front-office deputy Omar Minaya is a longtime fan of Valdespin. The Padres have been looking for lefthanded bats, at least for the bench. I might take a flyer on Kyle Banks. He's struggled with strikeouts and injuries, but 20 HRs in less than 500 major-league ABs while playing his home games in Petco screams upside to me. And he's been fine in the outfield, especially as converted first basemen go. He'd definitely have to pass a physical, but the Padres would presumably have non-tendered him if that was really an issue.

The latest report is that Dickey would sign for 2 years and $26M. If that is indeed the price, there is no sensible reason to say no.

Ashie62 wrote: Napoli 3/39 Pagan 4/40 Makes you wonder why the Rangers didn't give Napoli a qualifying offer to get draft compensation. I'm also really not sure why teams would think that anybody capable of wearing catching gear is more valuable as a first baseman.

vtmet wrote: sharpie wrote: Angel Pagan re-upping with Giants. I can't believe that Pagan got 4 years and $40 Mil from the Giants...yes, he had a nice season, but this is a guy that has been extremely inconsistent so far in his career... He's had three nice seasons out of his last four, and even the fourth would have looked good in the Mets' 2012 outfield. Plus, I can't fault a team that just won a World Series for placing an extra premium on the guys that helped them do it.

There was something about his determination to win that made him my favorite Met back in the day. But he didn't know when to put that down, and he wound up cheating on the field an in real life. There's a moral in there somewhere.

New free agents thanks to non-tenders include: John Lannan LHP (unspectacular, but mostly at least adequate and has a local connection) Tom Gorzelanny LHP from the Nationals (curious to see him on this list as he was a solid lefty arm out of the pen; he could definitely help here but he might have quite a few suitors) Mark Reynolds 1B/3B (Dave Kingman with a much better glove at 1B; I'd be curious if I thought he could play the outfield) Ian Stewart 3B (Was awful this year but has talent; could be a useful reserve infielder on a team less loaded with lefty hitters than us) Rich Hill LHP (another capable lefty into the pool; he's fought his way back from injuries and still has some upside) Rafael Perez LHP (another lefty fighting his way back) And from us: Pelfrey, Acosta, and Torres. No surprises there. I'd consider bringing Pelfrey back at a discount. As awful as Acosta was for the first six weeks of the season -- there's no understating it, and he should have been demoted long before he was -- he's generally been much better than that (and was in August and September) and would be worth a minor-league deal. I generally prefer offense over defense with NL reserves, especially in the outfield, so I don't see any benefit to bringing Torres back.

Each year seemed worse than the previous with Hanson. I certainly agree that trading a starter for a reliever is not usually a good idea, but the Braves thinking on Hanson might have moved past "sell high" to "sell while you can." Something tells me one of these teams will wind up regretting this deal.

Nice job by Sandy to get the first priority taken care of before December.

Ceetar wrote: smg58 wrote: Ernesto Frieri had a 2.30 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 68 innings, but why settle for him when you can pay for a more "experienced" closer coming off an injury? Both LA teams are hoping that a seemingly infinite amount of cash can overcome a very finite amount of baseball sense. It hasn't happened yet. if they're thinking about madsen as closer, I hope Sandy's on the phone with the Angels about Frieri right now. They've put Jordan Walden on the block. There might be a good buy-low opportunity there.

$15M a year for a guy who can be counted on for a .750 OPS? Better them than us.

Ernesto Frieri had a 2.30 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 68 innings, but why settle for him when you can pay for a more "experienced" closer coming off an injury? Both LA teams are hoping that a seemingly infinite amount of cash can overcome a very finite amount of baseball sense. It hasn't happened yet.

The Royals are shopping OF Wil Myers (.314/.387/.600 with 37 HR and 109 RBI in AA and AAA last year, turns 22 on Dec. 10) for a front line starter. They've apparently inquired about Jon Lester and James Shields, neither of whom won a Cy Young last year. I'm not saying the Mets should necessarily trade Dickey for Myers, but it's imperative that they either re-sign Dickey or get at least as much value in return for him as Myers would provide.

I noticed this one too. Some scout must have seen something that justified a flier. The results don't show it, but it's not like the team is mortgaging their future over this.

Jonny Gomes gets 2 years and $10M to aim for the Green Monster. Generous for a righty platoon player whose natural position is DH. That might set the market for Hairston uncomfortably high.

Chone Figgins, whose performance post-signing made the Mariners wish they got Jason Bay instead, is DFA'd. Also DFA'd is Bryan LaHair, who was actually an All-Star for the Cubs last year. LaHair slumped after the midway point, but he was already getting pushed out of the way by Anthony Rizzo and then by Brett Jackson. He still finished with a .784 OPS last year, which makes it puzzling that he's apparently looking to latch on in Japan.

I'm not convinced that that the Mets couldn't get Napoli if they offered him that contract and a full-time catching job. In other news, the Marlins signed Juan Pierre for a year and $1.6M. I've never been huge on the guy, and the Mets are saturated with left-handed hitters, but for that price I'd have given him a look.

Very memorable, very quotable, exactly what you want in a classic comedy.