Bay Watch Redux
The Jason Bay saga continues for yet another day as both sides continue to hold firm on their positions. The Mets of course, are yet unwilling to budge from their original 4 year offer, while the Bay camp insists it will take a deal longer than 4 years for them to agree. Adam Rubin of the Daily News writes,
The Mets continue to hold to their position that they don’t need to significantly improve their offer of four years for approximately $65 million, at least not until they are convinced that the 31-year-old Bay has a better alternative.
My biggest fear is that as long as the Mets remain in this holding pattern, some team can still swoop in, make a substantially better offer, and pull the rug out from under the Mets. Ken Davidoff of Newsday reported that the Mets expected to hear back from Jason Bay today. Hopefully, this could lead to some sort of resolution.
Mets Get Their Setup Man
The Mets finally made it official and announced the signing of Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi to a two-year, $3 million dollar deal. Igarashi will essentially replace J.J. Putz and become the Mets’ setup man for closer Francisco Rodriguez.
The 30-year-old righthander went 3-2 with three saves and a 3.19 ERA in 56 games last season.
“We’ve had an interest in Ryota for two years,” GM Omar Minaya said in a statement “He’s got a power arm and an outstanding split-finger .”
From all accounts, this looks like a great signing for the Mets and at reasonable cost as well. Igarashi was considered the hardest thrower in Japan and features a mid-nineties fast ball among his repertoire.
A National Treasure?
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com believes the Mets and Phillies are among several teams who are interested in the recently on-tendered relief pitcher Mike MacDougal, formerly of the Nationals.
MacDougal, 32, was 20 for 21 in save opportunities last season after joining the Nationals. The right hander has a career ERA of 4.09 with 70 saves in 314 games.
He has a very heavy fastball that sits at around 96-97 mph, along with a plus slider, and an average change-up and curve ball. He has been plagued with control problems throughout his career.
I’m not sure what the interest is here… With Igarashi already on board, as well as right handers Sean Green, Brian Stokes and Bobby Parnell, I don’t see the logic in adding another RH reliever, especially one that will probably get a multi year deal averaging a minimum of $3 million annually.
Mets Still Interested In Cuban Free Agent
Jorge Arangure of ESPN says that 21 year-old Cuban free-agent Aroldis Chapman threw about 50 pitches for dozens of scouts representing about 15 MLB teams in Houston.
Arangue’s report suggests that the results of the exhibition were somewhat inconclusive. Due to bad weather the workout took place indoors. Chapman wore sneakers, and threw about 40-50 pitches off a wooden mound reaching as high as 97 mph, though mostly in the 92-93 mph range. He did not face any live batters.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN (via MetsBlog),
“Some evaluators view Chapman as a left-handed Stephen Strasburg, who was the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft last year.”
You had me at Strasburg… Chapman is young, has electric stuff and is left handed… All qualities that would keep me very interested and engaged. If he is really a “number one overall” caliber talent, the Mets should make every attempt to reel him in.
Oh man, this saga wit bay is crazy, 4 years no more.. He’s a good solid player but if he’s asking for 5 year I rather go the extra year for holliday.. Holliday wit reyes and beltran in front of him might get 130+ rbi’s.. And about chapman: “Chapman is young, has electric stuff and is left handed…” doesn’t that sound like the head case we sign for 3/36 last year? Ugh.. Those words r soo overused nowadays..
I do not think bay is a big time player. He wants big time money. If Bay keeps us from oging after somebody better at the trade deadline or after the season then I am against it. I know nothing about the Japanese pither. I hope the mets know more about him than they did about Kaz. mcDougal throws hard. They might be planniong to trade Parnell if they want to bring him in.
Remember, the Mets were 2nd in the Dice-K bidding and it took a ridiculous bid from the Sox to top us. I wouldn’t count the Mets out on Chapman.
Jason Bay is exactly what the Mets need, A slugger!, a batter who you want to see up at the plate with the game on the line, who else on this team falls into that category? Really? And although he may not get to balls other fielders can, I don’t remember Bay losing games for his teams with his glove.
I’d pursue Holliday almost to the exclusion of Bay. I have concerns that Bay’s bat speed will slow in years 3-5 of his contract. He had a high strikeout total last year. He hit .267 in the AL, albeit with solid power numbers.
Holliday, by contrast, is younger and more youthful than Bay, by which I mean he is more athletic and likely to remain close to his peak performance throughout the length of his contract. I see Holliday being a better fit in the clubhouse with Wright & Francouer as he is closer in age.
I wouldn’t be unhappy if we signed Jason Bay. I would be ecstatic if we signed Matt Holliday. That’s the difference.
At this point, we sorely need one of them and with the Cards bidding so heavily for Holliday, it is doubtful we can get him. So we really need to be careful that the Yanks, Angels or Mariners do not swoop in and take Bay before Omar even becomes aware of it. Omar, stay alert and get a key contract signed!
tommy, here’s the problem; stl has an 8y/120m offer on holliday’s plate, while bay for 5/70-75m isn’t as onerous. range? no problem with beltran covering lcf instead of both rcf & lcf. don’t know if adam rubin is grinding that revenge ax or not; but he’s the only one reporting “sticking to any guns” both si’s heyman & mlbn are reporting met’s indicated willingness for 5y at less per than the 4/65 orig one. i’m still not a holliday fan as looking at his lack of production in oak combined with some scarey def in col. i’d prefer returning bay to the franchise that once owned his contract(nym).
No way, Bay. No 5 years, Omar. If someone else offer 5, more power to them. We’ll trade with Cincy for Phillips and find someone to platoon in left with Pagan. And no three years for Molina, either. The madness has to stop.
What is interesting is the mets are trying to get him cheap. Just like they took their time because they wanted to negotiate with Lackey. The teams that swoop in always nail the mets. I am not the biggest Bay fan but if they really want him, they should do the swooping.
Mets had the same problem with Vlad a couple years ago. They had a need but wanted to low-ball the man to get him on the cheap. He signed with the Angels leaving the Mets holding the bag.
jdon, who’s swooping? According to most reputable sources. LAA is out by inking Matsui, SEA is out by getting Bradley. BOS out by securing Cammy. Uless u fear the Swallows or Yam. Giants, Who’s swooping? Aren’t u one of the major criticizer’s of signing Perez? When we ascertained he was our #1 choice? We swooped fearing the invisible mystery team. Can we al least try for some consistant thought here?
My reference was to the Red Sox swooping in and signing someone we want (Lackey). We did not swoop on Ollie. That dragged on and on and we still overpaid with no competition. The mets have slept on a lot of players over the years. If you want someone, and I do not want Bay, but if they want him, make sure you get him.
The yankees target someone and they make sure they get him quickly. see? teams like the red sox and the yanks, teams who win.
TEAMS WHO ACTUALLY HAVE NETWORKS & FANS CHEERRING WHEN THEY DO IT, NOT HALF CLAMORING & HALF SCREAMING “PAID TOO MUCH”. JDON WE BOTH KNOW THAT’S EXActly what will happen dhould they ink bay for 5 & bengie for 3 regardless of how badly the org believes they’re needed! Wait, don’t tell me,. you just read what i wroye re. 5 & 3 yS & already thinking neg thoughts. GOTCHA!LMAO!
jdon, re-read what u wrote because I want to use it as a perfect example of our biggest problem as fans. we lump every mistake together regardless of ownership, frontoffice,etc. we fail to separate & blur the lines. there are still people complaining about Seaver,Ryan,Kazmir as if they happened ubnder this owner & this gm combo! Perhaps if they had the ability to stop thinking in such groupthink we could actually start to have non-emotional on-point debates. So far, we’ve had little by way of missed F/A targets(Delgado) is the only tatrget Omar missed on & despite rectifying it 1 yr later for less $ some people still are critical of Omar for that. BTW Phillips owned A-Rod,VLAD failure to compete & stand by posture.
It’s certainly important to try not to force our personal choices upon the evaluation of mngt. Acoording to Jon Heyman Lacxkey was part of solution B and as such should not have been Omar’s top priority. He was the top priority for many nym fans, myself included; but I can’t fault Omar if Lackey is signed to a deal outside our franchise’s value system five years for pitchers over 30 is not within the realm of nym values. perhaps, it was knowing that Lackey required 5y that demoted him to
PLAN B. We know Holliday’s 100M prictag is why he’s PLAN C. ALL in ALL over the past few yrs, since his hiring in ’05, Omar has been singularly successful in “getting” his man within reason. I discount Lowe as a miss since he signed one of those “INSANE TO OUTBID” deals to go beyond 4/60 would’ve been unforgivable for Lowe.It would also be an absurd initial offer when none other existed, as ATL has found out 4/60 too rich for performance by a non-ace.
What are you waiting for Minaya? Go get’em. Don’t just sat there and wait for them to come to you. You already lost Lackey and Halladay in one day and the Mets faithful is losing patience pretty quick.
The thing is we wouldn’t want minaya to make a mistake and just sign someone for the heck of the fans.. He’s being preach patient now, which is something he should’ve did wit castillo, and now bay.. Small contracts r diff, the cora thing while it bother me is not a big deal compare to perez’ n castillos’s deal..
Alex, point of perspective, with lowe off the table for an unbeatable contract term/price; considering the positive effect Warthen’s mechanical alterations had on Perez’ last couple of starts. 3/36 was relatively affordable compared to what alternatives Wolf, Garland, Sheets were demanding at the time, with Perez & Mets “Out of the MKT” the prices significantly dropped on the remaining. NO PEREZ SIGNING, NO DROP IN DEMANDS. What if Perez had signed a 2y/20m offer from team x, used the Warthen changes, & had flourished. while exhibiting patience, Omar walked into ST without a proven mlb sp & a hole in the rotation?
While we’ll never know what Perez may have accomplished without discarding the Warthen changes in the WBC or hadn’t been overtaxed, abused & injured by TEAM MEXICO.
Perhaps my perspective is different since I usually hear the opponent’s broadcast team describing how uncomfortable their team is facing Perez, as opposed to SNY shills condemning his volotility & unreliability. Instead of expecting overwelming “stuff” usually reserved for frontend competitors, perhaps comparing Ollie to backenders everywhere. Here’s the rub fellow Met fans. Paychecks have no regard of talent/ability. Carlos Beltran, when we signed him, was a career .270ish hitter capable of 20-30 bombs & 20+ SB. We sign him in a highly contested contract battle for megastar bucks & expect megastar performances. BTW, life doesn’t play out that way. Regardless of your job title, your salary increase, raise, does not necessarily translate into higher production, more responsibilities maybe; but not necessarily higher production. Why do we expect it to change on a ballfield? Is the opposing pitcher going to think, “this guy’s making 20m so I better throw him a pitch he can handle better? (lol)
Why go after McDougal when he has control problems? The Japanes relief pitcher Mets just signed has had some control problems too. How many pitchers, especially relief ones, that have control problems do we need?
Imagine bringing him in after Ollie walks the park, then Iggy or McDougal do the same? We
We need pitchers and a pitching coach that can help the young guys focus on the strike zone and not have to worry about a relief pitcher with issues.
I say wait on Bay cause if he gets a better deal then he will come back to Mets so have a little patience and let the market come to you.
Agreed. The mets had a walk monopoly last year and were supposed to be trying to get away from that. more talk. I just hope they have really scouted this guy. They let bruce wilpon scout matsui and told us he was one of the best players in the world. as for bay, f they sign him he will make them better. I am just not sure he is worth that much.
jdon, that much? the price is the price. i recall the simple words attributed to the late JP Getty,” if u have to ask the price, you can’t afford it” While most baseball salaries are rediculous, see $400,000 minimum wage @ mlb level. exterapolate from there & it’s equally absurd on every player not destined for Cooperstown. Compared to Holiday’s 8y/120m on the table it’s a valuable offer if we get it done for around 5/75 or 4/65. Is Bay going to be a ‘Core Piece”? No, very doubtful. Can he be a Werth type contributor? quite possibly. Personally I see Bay+ Francoeur = Werth + Ibanez. Which is all i really need him to be.