NYC Magazine » Mets

Molina Spurns Mets, Signs With Giants For Less Money

Igor Derysh — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:00:52 +0000

It isn’t often that you will see an over-the-hill catcher with little left in the tank turn down a potential two-year offer to stay on a team that that is only offering one year for less money but that is exactly what Bengie Molina did after two months in which the Mets were the only team talking to him and seemed to have him locked up.

The Giants had given up on signing Molina around the time of winter meetings. Molina was reportedly seeking a three-year deal worth $6 million per year, much more than anyone was willing to give him.

The Mets were the only team interested in the veteran backstop and seemed to have locked him up when Molina reportedly dropped his request for a third-year and appeared close to signing a one-year deal with an option for a second worth over $5 million per year.

Not so much. Out of nowhere, Molina signed the contract that San Francisco had on the table for him since the beginning of the offseason: one-year, $4.5 million.

With Molina off the table, the Mets have turned their attention to fellow veteran catcher Rod Barajas, who is a poor man’s Bengie Molina all around, and Yorvit Torreabla, a more likely choice for the Mets.

Molina had hit 20 home runs and drove in 80 runs last year where as Torreabla has failed to live up to any of the potential that he had ever since he came up around nine years ago. Ironically, the Mets will likely offer him the same kind of deal as they offered Molina.

Mets Sign Jason Bay to a 4-Year, $66 Million Deal

Igor Derysh — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:02:27 +0000

After months of stalling, the Mets finally filled one of their many lacking positions and signed a guy who they hope will be a huge force in the middle of the lineup as they inked former Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay to a four-year deal.

The contract guarantees Bay $65-66 million over the course of four years and has an option for a fifth year that kicks in if Bay stays healthy and meets the milestones for plate appearances over the course of his deal.

The deal makes the 31-year-old one of the highest paid outfielders in the league, along with his new teammate Carlos Beltran.

Bay, who had a stint in the Mets’ farm system in his early days, has hit over 30 home runs if four of his last five years including a 36 home run, 119 RBI season last year when Bay had to fill Manny Ramirez’s spot in the outfield and lineup for the Sox.

Overall, Bay is a guy who has consistently hit for power and around a .280 batting average his entire career and the Mets hope that they can rely on him to produce runs in 2010 after the team hit less than 100 home runs in 2009 (no one had more than 12 home runs).

While the Mets have finally pulled off a big move, their offseason is far from over. Very high on the Mets to-do list is the acquisition of a starting pitcher and catcher.

The Mets are believed to be the only team interested in signing Bengie Molina (who hit 20 home runs and drove in 80 RBIs in 2009) but Molina has been pushing for the team to offer him a third year, something that isn’t very likely to happen.

With most “good” pitchers off the market, the Mets have turned their attention to back-end starters Doug Davis and Jon Garland who the Mets should be able to get pretty cheap.

Mets Sign 2 Pitchers, Still Haven’t Landed a Big One

Igor Derysh — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:00:27 +0000

Kelvim Escobar

Mets General Manager Omar Minaya continued to tinker but refused to make any big moves this past week as he signed two relievers to small time deals.

First came the signing of a rare knuckle baller R.A. Dickey who got a minor league contract and a shot at making the team out of spring training. Dickey spent his last year in Minnesota where he a 4.62 ERA in 64 innings of relief. The year before that he put up a 5.21 ERA as a starter and reliever in Seattle.

Later in the week, the Mets scooped up injury prone starter and reliever Kelvim Escobar.

The 33-year-old right-hander has pitched just one game in the last two seasons but was a star for the Angels before that. Between 2006 and 2007, Escobar went 29-21 with a 3.50 ERA and better than a 3-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Escobar received an incentive laden deal that guarantees him $1.25 million while offering a number of bonuses for staying healthy and performing well.

Despite the Mets need for a starting pitcher and both pitcher’s starting experience, both Dickey and Escobar are expected to be used as relievers if either one makes the team.

The Mets have made a number of small moves like this to add players who aren’t guaranteed to make the team this year but have yet to land a big get at any of the posititions on their shopping list: starting pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman (if they can trade Castillo), and power hitting outfielder.

The Mets spent a lot of time looking at pitchers like John Lackey, Randy Wolf, and Jason Marquis but all three and most other higher end pitchers have already signed with new teams.

The Mets have also offered contracts to outfielder Jason Bay (four-year deal worth $65 million) and Bengie Molina (two-year deal worth $12 million) but neither one has been too eager to take the deal.

Mets Go After Bay, Yankees Lose Matsui

Igor Derysh — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:00:51 +0000

After a busy week that saw a blockbuster trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners and Roy Halladay to the Phillies as well as signings that sent John Lackey and Mike Cameron to Boston, the New York Mets have begun getting into the action and are reportedly close to signing former Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay.

Though Boston had been the favorite to re-sign Bay until he rejected their offer and the team decided to just sign Mike Cameron. Although the Angels and Mariners remain in the race for Bay, the Mets appear to be on the verge of their first big move of the offseason.

Bay is reportedly looking for a $75 million contract and the Mets appear to be close to meeting that figure though it is uncertain if the team will sign him for four or five years.

At the same time, Bay has been holding out for so long that the team could be considering making an offer to top free agent outfield Matt Holliday who has reportedly already received an eight-year offer from the Cardinals.

Bay is coming off a year in which he batter just under .270 but hit 36 home runs and drove in 119 runs. He would be a huge get for the Mets who had no one hitting home runs last season.

The Mets also signed Japanese relief pitcher Ryota Igarashi who is expected to be the set up man for closer Francisco Rodriguez.

Meanwhile, the Yankees saw World Series MVP Hideki Matsui sign a one-year deal with the Angels and the team is uncertain if fellow outfielder Johnny Damon will return next season.

Mets Get Busy After GM Meetings

Igor Derysh — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:58:44 +0000

Jason Bay

After a slow start, the New York Mets are very busy wheeling and dealing and are on the verge of signing outfielder Jason Bay.

According to ESPN, the Mets have made an offer to former Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay worth somewhere between $60 and $65 million, slightly more than Boston offered the star left fielder earlier in the offseason.

The Mets are also reportedly close to signing All-Star catcher Bengie Molina. According to ESPN, Molina has been looking a for a two year deal but the Mets are rumored to have only offered him a one-year contract worth around $6-$7 million.

Earlier this offseason the Mets signed backup catchers Chris Coste and Henry Blanco to small deals.

The Mets are also still looking for a starting pitcher, most likely a top of the rotation guy who can be a great number two behind ace Johan Santana.

Although the Mets were reportedly going to be frugal in their spending this offseason, the market has pushed them to become spenders.

Seeing Randy Wolf receive less than $10 million per year and Rich Harden sign for less than $7 million, the Mets are now confident that the market price for an all-star pitcher like John Lackey is reasonable enough to go after him.

The Mets have already spoken to Lackey and are also considering signing Jason Marquis, Joel Pinero, and Ben Sheets.

The Mets need to sign at least one starting pitcher, a power hitting outfielder, a catcher, and a first baseman. They are also looking to trade second baseman Luis Castillo, possibly to sign Orlando Hudson, the best fielding second baseman in the league.

Mets Begin Busy Offseason

Igor Derysh — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:00:08 +0000

Mets GM Omar Minaya

While their crosstown rivals were celebrating their 27th World Series Championship, the New York Mets were busy planning how they were going to fix a team that just wrapped up its third straight disappointing season.

The Mets came into the season as arguably the best team in the league. After a comically ridiculous amount of injuries to the team’s best players and role players alike, they would finish the season with one of the worst records in the league.

Feeling the pressure from Mets fans who have been gravely disappointed with their team over the past three years, General Manager Omar Minaya intends to be aggressive in his pursuit of free agents as he looks to fill holes in the outfield, the rotation, first base, and catcher.

So far, the Mets have seen many of their players file for free agency, including Carlos Delgado, Gary Sheffield, J.J. Putz, and Brian Schneider. None of the four is expected back next year.

Looking to add a second good arm behind ace Johan Santana, the Mets are looking at former Angels ace John Lackey, Rockies standout Jason Marquis, and former Phillies pitcher Randy Wolf.

For the outfield and the middle of the Mets lineup, Minaya is focused on Matt Holliday and Mike Cameron if they can’t sign the former MVP candidate.

The Mets may go after someone like Troy Glaus to platoon with Daniel Murphy at first base and are looking at veteran catchers Bengie Molina and Rod Barajas to replace Brian Schneider as the everyday backstop.