According to the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, the Mets offered a minor league deal to pitcher Kelvim Escobar. Although not published or confirmed by any mainstream source, it was posted via Twitter by Efrain Zavarce and was re-tweeted by Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.
Last week, the NY Post’s Joel Sherman tweeted that Escobar might pitch in the Venezuelan winter league to prove his health, and that both the Yankees and Mets had checked in on the free agent pitcher.
Escobar had labrum surgery on his shoulder in August of 2008 and is said that he will be ready to pitch again by spring training.
This story is a little underwhelming as compared to John Lackey being on the verge of signing with the Red Sox, but underwhelming is exactly what the Mets have been in the last three years.
The 33 year old Escobar, won 16 games for the Angels in 2007 while posting a 3.40 ERA in 30 starts. If the right hander can get back to the level he was at before the injury, this could be a significant addition for the Mets.
There are several other teams interested in Escobar including the Yankees.
