Henry Blanco C – The Mets made the Henry Blanco signing official last night, signing the 38-year old catcher to a one year deal worth $1.5 million dollars. It’s a significant raise for Blanco who was only paid $750 K last season with the Padres. When San Diego signed Blanco, he was coming off a season in which he hit .292. Last season, Blanco batted a woeful .235 which begs the question… WTF? Of course the bigger [...]

On Wednesday evening I had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing current Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher, Seth McClung. Now before I begin, I’d just like to express my gratitude to him not only for doing the interview but also for his speedy responses. For the past few weeks all the buzz around baseball has been focused on Hot Stove talk. So I figured why not change things up a bit and talk to a player [...]

Jayson Stark of ESPN, is reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies are targeting Placido Polanco as their next third baseman, according to a source familiar with their thinking. Before Wednesday, the Phillies appeared to be locked in on three potential free-agent third basemen — Polanco, Adrian Beltre and Mark DeRosa. But talks intensified with Polanco’s agents Wednesday, a day after his old team, the Tigers, declined to offer him arbitration. Polanco is a Type A free agent, so [...]

The reigning National League champions are attacking this off season much in the same way they did last year after they become World Series champs. According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the Philadelphia Phillies have signed Placido Polanco to a reported 3-year deal worth $18 million dollars. The Phillies announced Placido Polanco has signed a three-year, $18 million contract. The contract also includes a fourth-year mutual option for 2013. Polanco is expected to meet with reporters [...]

I wrote on this site a month or two ago that I had a bad feeling that Omar Minaya would not come away with any prize free agents or make any significant trades to improve the Mets heading into 2010.  I am closer to realizing that after reading this article on Mets.com about Minaya moving at his own pace during the winter meetings next week. Sure, the free agent pool is sort of thin this [...]

According to several reports including Jon Heyman via Twitter, and the original story from Adam Rubin of the Daily News, free agent catcher Henry Blanco could become a member of the New York Mets as soon as today. The Mets appeared to be closing in on a deal with free-agent catcher Henry Blanco. The Venezuelan newspaper “El Nacional” reported Blanco had left that country Sunday for a physical with the Mets. Blanco, 38, hit .235 with [...]

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi over at FoxSports.com are reporting that numerous teams have been discussing Angel Pagan to be their potential starting center fielder. Outside of the Kansas City Royals, it is not yet clear who exactly is pursuing the 28 year-old outfielder although the article suggests that the Brewers, Rangers and Cubs could all have some interest. Last season in 88 games, Pagan hit .306 with six home runs and 32 RBIs [...]

Here’s a round-up of the day’s Hot Stove rumors and transactions. Rich Harden SP – Several reports today suggest that Rich Harden is drawing heavy interest from the Red Sox and the Mariners. Harden was not offered arbitration and the 28-year old righthander has become much more desirable in the eyes of many. Of the second tiered free agent starters after John Lackey, I consider harden to be the best and most talented of the [...]

Last week, Kevin Kernan of the NY Post caught up with Ron Davis, the father of Mets first base prospect Ike Davis. In this candid interview, Ron talks about what he envisions for his son’s future in the game, but also shares a touching story that reveals the caliber of Ike’s character. Michael Lio, a close friend who played second base alongside Ike in travel ball and at Chaparral High School — where the team [...]