According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds have re-signed OF Ryan Ludwick pending a physical. Contract details have not been released, but Ludwick had a two-year offer from the Reds believed to be in the $13 to $14 million range. Ludwick, 34, revived his career with Reds posting a slash of .275/.346/.531 with 26 home runs and 80 RBI in 422 at-bats this season. The Mets were said to have interest in Ludwick, but never [...]

Let’s assume for a moment – and this isn’t much of a reach – the Mets don’t do anything for the remainder of the winter. How then, can the Mets be competitive if another assumption that R.A. Dickey won’t be back? A lot of things must happen, beginning with David Wright regaining his power stroke. If he does, and Johan Santana has a good year, that’s only the beginning. So much else has to happen [...]

Mets outfielder Jordany Valdespin is tweeting photos of himself on his twitter account. This particular pic of him sporting a Miami Marlins cap is drawing harsh criticism from the Mets fan base this morning. Valdespin, who was recently suspended for insubordination while playing Winter Ball, has become a magnet for controversy. Despite his talent, the Mets may have to weigh whether or not he is worth the trouble he seems to create for himself on a much [...]

Updated Post 11:00 AM Ken Davidoff sums it all up like this: As we leave R.A. Dickey’s hometown, let’s rank his list of admirers, from big fans down to skeptics. 1. R.A. Dickey 2. The New York Mets 3. The 29 other Major League Baseball teams. That’s where things appeared to stand as the Mets and the rest of baseball packed up their laptops, slide projectors and blazers and headed home to their respective quarters. [...]

According to John Harper of the Daily News, the Texas Rangers would trade top hitting prospect Mike Olt for R.A. Dickey, but only if they first lose out on free-agent Zack Greinke AND are unable to trade for James Shields who is their top preference if they have to make a swap. Meanwhile the Royals and Blue Jays are not that interested in Dickey and and prefer the Mets young lefthander Jonathan Niese. They also have many other options [...]

Speaking at the Winter Meetings, Mets’ CEO Jeff Wilpon said GM Sandy Alderson would have an increased budget for 2013 and the team “will be competitive.’’ What exactly he meant by that, he wouldn’t specify. Does it mean the Mets will be a playoff contender or at least a .500-caliber team? Just exactly how much will the budget be increased? When Wilpon spoke of payroll flexibility, in the wake of the commitment to David Wright, [...]

Updated by Joe D. at 1:00 PM Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports that the Royals actually talked to the Mets more about Niese and Wheeler in trade variations involving Myers – not Dickey, and adds that either way it’s not happening. Since rumors first floated about R.A.Dickey for Wil Myers I shot down that notion as nothing more than wishful thinking by overly enthusiastic Met fans who see Dickey’s value as being more than [...]

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired centerfielder and leadoff man Ben Revere from the Minnesota Twins according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports says that the Twins are getting right-hander Vance Worley in return. Revere gives the Phillies a big stolen base threat as well as a tremendous defender with outstanding range in center. The 24 year old has some nice upside and could develop into a quality addition for the Phillies in the years to come. He [...]

The 2012 Winter Meetings at Nashville, Tennessee have come to a close and with that Sandy Alderson and the Mets’ entourage are heading back to New York. Two months of the offseason are now gone, with just two months left to go before Mets Spring Training Camp opens in Port St. Lucie. Those significant and marked changes that we were told to expect this offseason have yet to materialize, but maybe the Mets have some things in [...]

Surprise, surprise, the Mets did select someone in the first round and passed in the second and third rounds… A total of 15 players were selected in the major league phase of the draft. Here are my thoughts I shared on Twitter… David Groveman says that the Mets may have selected this player for the Miami Marlins. So there might be a small trade coming involving Lobstein. Jonathan Mayo also says he could be moved [...]

Readers of this blog and all of the other Mets-related sites have been speculating on what kind of return would make it worthwhile for the Mets to trade RA Dickey at the peak of his value. Some suggest one “super-prospect”.  Others suggest a package. I had my own thoughts that Dickey should bring back the kind of almost-major-leaguers-but still-prospects such as the Padres got for Mat Latos. But the more I think about it, I’m [...]