Injury Bug Bites F-Mart, Again

Reports came out yesterday that Mets 20-year old prospect Fernando Martinez is again suffering from the injury bug. This time, a sore elbow prevented him from continuing to participate in the Caribbean World Series. 

He is in New York getting more tests done. Let’s hope this is minor, because A. this year was a real chance for Martinez to prove himself with potential holes in the outfield after the 2009 season and B. if he keeps getting injured, how much longer is he going to be considered a top prospect?

Manny, Boras to Negotiate With Dodgers

This just coming out of ESPN.

Scott Boras is ready to sit down and negotiate with the Dodgers today. This comes a day after Manny Ramiriez rejected the Dodgers one-year, $25 million deal, and after the Mets upper management made it clear they would make no more big moves.

I think Boras was holding out for Mets management to cave under public pressure, but now that it’s been made clear it won’t happen, L.A. is likely Manny’s best option. He’ll probably sign for a little more than the original two-year, $45 million deal.

Cold Stove Getting Warm

After the Mets signed Oliver Perez, the remaining big names left in the market are all hitters. Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, and Manny Ramirez are all looking for teams as spring training quickly approaches.

Despite the impact one of these players could have on a team, the process has been slow. Manny is waiting for a bigger offer. Abreu is waiting for Manny to sign. And Dunn apparently has been generating much interest. However, all those players have been involved in the news today.

By now, everyone knows Manny rejected a one-year, $25 milion offer from the Dodgers this morning. Everyone expects the Dodgers to continue to pursue the slugger, but FOX has an article about the Dodger’s Plan B. For the same $25 million it takes to sign Manny, the Dodgers could have Dunn, second baseman Orlando Hudson, and starting pitcher Randy Wolf.

This makes more sense to me. I wrote in The Case Against Manny Ramirez that if the Mets were to spend all their money on Manny, they’d be worse off than last year. The same thing applied to the Dodgers. We saw in the playoffs how the Phillies neutralized L.A. by pitching around Ramirez. The same thing would happen this year. Plus, the Dodgers rotation is minus Derek Lowe. If the Dodgers do sign Manny, are they as good as last year?

• Meanwhile, Dunn has an offer waiting from the Nationals. It’s been reported that he’d rather play for a conteder, but a one-year deal with Washington might be what he ends up getting.
• MLB Trade Rumors has the latest on Abreu, which includes a one-year, $8 million deal. The rumor has been dismissed by Scot Gregor, but it’s still worth noting that if it were to happen, Jermaine Dye could possiblely be traded.

Yesterday, the New York Daily News reported the Perez signing means the Mets are out of contention for Ramirez and Abreu. Today, Jon Heyman’s quotes a source that says the Mets chances for Abreu and Manny are slim and practicly none.

TBD Spin

That’s a funny way to phrase the Mets chances of signing Ramirez. “Pracicly none.” I just keep thinking how the Mets chances of trading for Johan Santana were practicly none. I’m getting my hopes up that the Mets will upgrade the offense somehow, but not holding my breath for Manny. Still, if the Mets do want to upgrade their offense, they better act fast.

Now What? Part I: Orlando Hudson

Now that the tunnel visioned Omar Minaya is done setting the Mets 2009 starting rotation, the Mets can continue to pursue other ways to improve this years team. Although the New York Post says the signing of Oliver Perez means no Manny Ramirez or Bobby Abreu, there is still a huge hole in the offense, and too many cheap (and expensive) options to fix it. 

The Manny talk is hot right now, and there is an ongoing debate of who will help the Mets more: Abreu or Adam Dunn. But in part one of this [short] series, let’s look at the option that’s probably the easiest to dismiss.

MLB Trade Rumors has the latest on Orlando Hudson, in which he says he’s in talks with the Mets. The only problem is the Mets have a second basemen, even if he stunk last year. Hudson would be a nice upgrade, but the Mets aren’t going to pay Luis Castillo $6 million to play for Buffalo.

Unless they dump Castillo, Hudson is not coming to New York. Besides, if there was a team that wanted Castillo, wouldn’t it make more sense to just sign Hudson?

But… what if Hudson was signed to play left field? He could fill that hole, and if Castillo went down, Hudson can just slide right on in. But I still have two problems with that.

Perez Reaction

Whether or not there was a deadline, we’ll never know. But after a long, dragged out negotiation, Oliver Perez will return to the Mets for three more years, costing the team $36 million.

Mets fans know what they’re getting. Perez can either be the dominants ace, or throw batting practice to the other team. Ted Keith thinks the Mets are taking a gamble on Perez, with his potential being the upside. Here is what he has to say:

Perez is still searching for a level of consistency to match his talent level that once made him one of the game’s brightest prospects. He was alternately good enough to toss gems like a 7.2 IP, six-hit, one-run, 12-strikeout masterpiece against the eventual world champions Phillies in one start and a 3.1 IP, eight-hit, seven-run three-strikeout disaster against the lowly Nationals in another.

Omar Minaya targeted Perez all along for that potential. Sure, they made a low end offer to Lowe, but not enough to get him consider. Then, when the Braves gave him the money and years he wanted, it was a no-brainer.

Minaya said that he didn’t want to give four years to a 36 year-old. He said that kind of contract had never been handed out before.

In hindsight, he was making sure the Mets didn’t appear desperate. The same contract that Perez received was the same one offered to Lowe. Think about it, how could the Mets offer four-years, $14-16 million to Lowe, lose out, and then tell Perez, ‘We want you, but only $12 million dollars worth.’

This was the Mets plan all along. And while they may have liked to sign him for a little less, they got their guy. And not a moment to soon.

Headlines: Weekend Edition

I spent most of yesterday on the road, so here’s a quick look back on what happened, and what’s developing today, with my comments where appropriate.

• More and more sources, like this one, are beginning to suggest Oliver Perez will be a Met by this weekend, or he won’t be one in 2009. According to speculation, if the Mets fail to sign Perez by this weekend, their focus will immediately turn to Ben Sheets and Randy Wolf.
• Citi Field may no longer be. Two congressmen want Citi Group to cancel their $400 million sponsorship with the Mets new stadium, and instead, use that money to “repay their debt to taxpayers.” When you take government money, the government thinks it can tell you what to do.
• John Maine and the Mets agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million deal to avoid arbitration. Good. Some people have pointed to Maine as a break down candidate. I think he’s going to be a bounce back candidate.
• Mets Blog reported on Jayson Stark’s latest Rumblings & Grumblings, and quotes a source saying, “signing Manny Ramirez is not going to happen” for the Mets.
• If the Mets pass on Manny, but end up wanting another free agent bat, they may have to wait. Ken Rosenthal suggests that it makes more sense for players like Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu, among others, to wait until mid-season to sign a deal. By then, teams will have gotten more desperate, and their demand will go up. I wonder which New York team might be scrambling for a bat come June or July?
• Newsday says Omar Minaya’s sit down with Pedro Martinez was more of a courtesy than a contract negotiation. 
• The Mets signed four more players to minor league deals this week. Mack’s Mets has the breakdown.

B-Mets Preview: Dillon Gee

Mack’s Mets has a preview of Mets prospect Dillon Gee. Lee made 21 starts in St. Lucie last year, going 8-6 with 3.25 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He struck out 94 and walked only 19 in 127.1 innings.

He was eventually promoted to AA Binghamton, and made four starts. He went 2-0 and gave up four runs and 18 hits in his 27 innings there. This off-season, he played winter ball in Puerto Rico, as Mack reports:

He went 4-0, 2.22 in 48 2/3 innings, finishing third in the circuit in ERA. He struck out 43 and issued 13 walks as he showed a 92-93 mph fastball and a slider with a short break. “I know Ian Kennedy is a bigger prospect, but I liked Gee more in Puerto Rico,” an AL scout said. 

Gee is set to return to the Binghamton starting rotation in 2009, according the Mack.

Garland Reaction; Wolf and Looper

Yesterday, Dave Cameron at Fan Graphs questioned the Diamondbacks decision to sign Jon Garland. He said that for a short term deal, Arizona should have just kept Randy Johnson.

Deciding that you want Jon Garland instead of Randy Johnson is a disastrous decision. Yes, Johnson is old, but he’s still an excellent major league pitcher. Garland is a #5 starter whose best skill is not getting hurt.

Today, Eric Seidman compared Garland to remaining free agents Randy Wolf and Braden Looper, suggesting that all three offer the same production, but at different costs. He also suggested that Looper would have made more sense for the Mets #5 than Tim Redding

The Mets signed Redding for $2.25 million, with 750K in incentives. Looper probably would have cost a little bit more, but also had slightly better numbers in 2008, posting a better ERA and WHIP. However, Looper has a poor track record in New York, which is why his name was never mentioned.

Is Pedro Coming Back?

SI reports that Omar Minaya has stated his interest in bringing back former Met Pedro Martinez. Pedro went 5-6 last year with a 5.61 ERA, and had trouble in the first in inning, and getting to the fifth.

TBD Spin

I commented earlier about the Mets spending their money on one-year deal type guys, and Pedro would certainly be one of those. However, Martinez isn’t in the same class as them. A healthy Martinez who is struggling is going to be on the Mets, and not AAA Buffalo. Tim Redding and Freddy Garcia could be healthy, but if they aren’t getting the job done, nothing on their resume says they can’t be sent down.

In that case, Pedro is more trouble than he is worth. What do you do if Pedro is healthy, but pitching like last year? Meanwhile, Redding or Garcia is doing a bang up job in the minors. What then?

With Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and most likely Oliver Perez taking the first four spots in the rotation, I’d say the Mets have all they need for a complete rotation.

Wednesday Headlines

A lot of news, features, and opinions out there today. Let’s get to them.

• A deal with Oliver Perez seems to be imminent. NJ.com reports the two are still far apart, but the Mets are now willing to up their offer. I speculate the final numbers will be around four-years, $48 million.
• One pitcher the Mets were still talking to, Jon Garland, has come to terms with the Diamondback. Nick Piecoro writes the deal is one year with an option for 2010, worth between $6-8 million.
• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick’s reports the Mariners traded Aaron Heilman to the Cubs for Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson. The Hardball Times looks at Heilman’s recent moves.
• Jon Heyman has the latest on the best remaining free agents.
• Jerry Manuel says it’s time for Jose Reyes to assume more responsibility as a team leader.
• Starting to look at the 2009 season, Amazin’ Avenue has a 2009 preview for Daniel Murphy, and Mets Merized compares Manny Ramirez to Carlos Delgado, with Delgado getting the love.
• Another Met getting a good review is Luis Castillo. Alex Fagen writes what a healthy Castillo would do for the Mets in 2009. I like the comparison for Carlos Beltran in 2005 and 2006.