There is one essential rule in order to survive the Major League Baseball offseason, don’t believe anything you hear. Especially this week during the Winter Meetings in San Diego, about 90 percent of the rumors you will hear are just that, rumors. A perfect example of how out-of-control the MLB offseason can get is the twists and turns of free agent starting pitcher Jon Lester. At one...
Read More
It was interesting to hear Sandy Alderson downplay the importance of defense on Tuesday which seemed to indicate the Mets are moving closer to the realization that Wilmer Flores could very well be the Mets Opening Day shortstop. “We’re going to have to score more runs than the other team, so that’s a combination of pitching and offense,” Alderson said. “We’re mindful of the importance of defense...
Read More
Free agent Jon Lester has agreed to a $155 million, six-year contract with the Chicago Cubs. The deal contains an option for 2021 that, if it becomes guaranteed, would make the deal worth $170 million over seven seasons. The $25.8 million average annual value of the deal is the second-highest for a pitcher behind Clayton Kershaw ($30.7 million). “It’s not often you get to win the...
Read More
Speaking with reporters at the Winter Meetings, Sandy Alderson shifted gears again and now says it’s more likely the Mets acquire a shortstop upgrade via free agency, rather than the original plan which was to execute a trade using the Mets’ pitching depth. This certainly changes a lot for the team, who had several high end, team friendly options to build a trade around. But the...
Read More
Mets manager Terry Collins said today that the Mets are interested in Japanese SS Takashi Toritani. Toritani, 33, has played the past 11 seasons for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball. In that time, he has hit at a .285/.372/.412 clip, and has appeared in 1,444 consecutive games, and thus being known as “The Ironman of Japan.” Toritani is now being represented by...
Read More
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times confirms what many already suspected that the White Sox are not trading shortstop Alexei Ramirez. White Sox GM Rick Hahn was never very motivated in trading Ramirez unless a team was willing to overpay. “It’s certainly not something we’re pursuing on our end.” Yesterday, the Cubs informed the Mets that Starlin Castro was not available. The 24-year old...
Read More
