Stephen Drew is looking for a one year deal worth $9 to $10 million according to Joel Sherman of the Post. However, interested teams see that as too high and not in their price range.
Drew’s agent, Scott Boras, has emphasized the career .764 OPS the lefty swinger took into last season as representative of his client and not the .536 he posted in a disjointed 2014 campaign.
However, executives from interested clubs have expressed concern that 2014 was so bad, “there has to be worry that he has entered a steep decline phase.”
Both the Blue Jays and Padres are reportedly interested in signing Japanese shortstop Takashi Toritani who will soon be eligible to sign with an MLB team according to his agent Scott Boras. There’s been no reports connecting the Mets to him.
Toritani, 33, wants to be a starting shortstop and has no interest in being a part-time player. He has an active 1,444 consecutive games played streak. Over 11 seasons for the Hanshin Tigers, he has a career .285/.372/.412 batting line Last season, he batted .313 with a .406 OBP, 28 doubles, eight home runs, 73 RBI, and 96 runs.
There’s not much going on right now as far as the Mets are concerned. The last we heard from Sandy Alderson was two weeks ago when he said, “there is a very high probability Wilmer Flores is the Opening Day shortstop.”
I keep getting asked about shortstop Jordy Mercer of the Pirates lately. With Korean shortstop Jeong-ho Kang likely to be joining Pittsburgh once a deal is worked out, there seems to be a question as to where Mercer fits in.
Mercer established himself as a solid starting shortstop last season, posting a slash line of .255/.305/.387 with 27 doubles, 12 homers, and 56 RBIs in 149 games. There are some concerns about his defense, but the Bucs are happy with his production and he’s not going anywhere for now.
So… Heard any good Troy Tulowitzki rumors lately? Me neither. But don’t worry, there’s still seven weeks of offseason left, so hang in there, someone will dredge up something.
(Updated 12/30)
