New York Mets Hot Stove Report

[soul train]

According to reports in two New York newspapers -- Newsday and the Daily News -- the financially-strapped Marlins have dealt Delgado to the Mets for first baseman Mike Jacobs and pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit. In addition, the Marlins have agreed to pay $7 million toward the remainder of Delgado's contract.

In January, Delgado signed a five-year, $52 million contract that paid him $4 million in 2005. The Mets are assuming all but $7 million on the remaining $48 million owed to Delgado.

Dealing Delgado came on the heels of the Marlins announcing they have been granted permission to seek relocation. On Tuesday, Florida president David Samson said the club is exploring options for a new stadium.

Samson added the Marlins are in the process of slashing payroll.

Moving Delgado had been expected. The Marlins had discussions with the Mets and Orioles for the left-handed hitting slugger.

Delgado, 33, belted 33 home runs while driving in 115 runs and batting .301 in his only season with the Marlins.

Newsday reported the deal would be finalized pending completion of physicals.

Jacobs, a left-handed hitting first baseman, hit .310 with 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 30 games last season. Petit, who turned 21 on Tuesday, is considered the Mets' top pitching prospect, going 903 with a 2.92 ERA at Double-A Binghamton.


Great move by the Mets...I love it!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[soul train]

Hopefully Billy Wagner is next :mj14:

 

[Clem D]

He has to hit 40 this year because his fielding is that bad. I hate the move.


But we will see

 

[Clem D]

Cant keep giving away these top pitching prospects for old fat guys

 

[soul train]

He has to hit 40 this year because his fielding is that bad. I hate the move.


But we will see

About time we got a stud player..I am as die hard as they come and for me this is a no brainer.Who would i rather have at 1st mike jacobs,Doug Mientkiewicz or Carlos Delgado of course carlos.He is not that bad with the glove.14 errors last season in 144 games not bad at all.In 2000 he played 162 and only commited 13 errors and in 2001 161 games with 9 errors.He is an offensive machine and he does not get hurt.He has had over 100 ribbies in 8 straight seasons and he has hit 30 plus homers 9 straight.This is just the beginning with the moves in this off season for Omar. Look for Billy Wagner to be signed in a couple of days.I would say that is a upgrade from Looper.When the new season starts the Mets will be picked to win the east..Bring Manny to Queens then i will be talking world series...Yes i will :clap: :clap: :clap:

Lets go Mets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mj14:



Big Apple bound!!!!!

 

[Clem D]

See Im diehard also.

I think this will prevent us from getting Manny. I hate giving up these young stud arms. As for wagner, I like getting him but why not talk to Bj ryan. Younger and cheaper with more upside at this point of his carear.

 

[soul train]

See Im diehard also.

I think this will prevent us from getting Manny. I hate giving up these young stud arms. As for wagner, I like getting him but why not talk to Bj ryan. Younger and cheaper with more upside at this point of his carear.

Yes clem it is either or..they are talking to ryan,if wagner says no then they will sign ryan from what i understand.But for me i will go with the 100 mph heater and the experience.Yes ryan is 30 and wagner is 34,but i got to go with the vet and the 1.51 era.Omar has the check book and he is a solid GM this move for Delgado was a great move.Dont get me wrong if it is ryan i will be happy,anything opposed to Looper closing.

 

[2muchchalk]

i don't think they should give him that fourth year on a deal. They might have to in order to get him in NYC. His wife says she loves NYC so we shall see

 

[agentjmw]

Did you guys read the report about the tax? Almost all the teams this year can spend as much as they want on players without a tax.... While I love Piazza his defensive skills suck. Its 50/50 he could throw out Big Papi... Hopefully the Mets get Molina or someone else behind the plate...
Im going to go to NYC sometime in the spring to see the Mets, I hope some of you guys can meet me there for a few beers and a dog. And of course Clem the ticket and the beer would be on me!

 

[Clem D]

I would love to meet you just give me a little notice.

 

[soul train]

NEW YORK -- Now that they have Carlos Delgado, the New York Mets are turning their attention to Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez.

General manager Omar Minaya said Friday the team had made offers to the pair of free-agent catchers. He also refused to rule out trying to acquire Manny Ramirez from Boston, although he wouldn't go into specifics.

"We will have conversations sometime this week, hopefully not this weekend," Minaya said during a telephone conference call. "It's been two Thanksgivings now that I've been working every day."

With Mike Piazza leaving, the Mets have made it a priority to get a catcher, especially one with better defensive skills. Going after both Molina and Hernandez is somewhat unusual.

"I was honest. I let them know I have two offers out there. They're both very good catchers," Minaya said. "We might possibly go the trade route, also."

Alan Nero, Molina's agent, said no decision was imminent.

"We got an initial offer from them. Because of the holidays, we haven't had a chance to go over it," he said. "It's an initial offer. We're expecting offers from several other teams, and we have lot of work to do."

Last year, Minaya had Thanksgiving dinner with Pedro Martinez. The three-time Cy Young Award winner signed with the Mets, a move that helped New York persuade center fielder Carlos Beltran to join them a few weeks later.

Delgado, the other major free agent Minaya went after, spurned New York to sign with the Florida Marlins. But with Florida slashing payroll, the Marlins sent the first baseman to the Mets on Thursday for first baseman Mike Jacobs, right-hander Yusmeiro Petit and infielder Grant Psomas. The Marlins will give the Mets $7 million to offset part of the $48 million Delgado is owed over the next three years: $1 million next season, $2 million in 2007 and $4 million in 2008.

Minaya wanted to get the deal done before a decision was made by Paul Konerko, the top power hitter on the free-agent market. He figured teams that failed to land Konerko might get involved in talks to acquire Delgado.

"Any time a cleanup hitter, a guy that hits 30 to 40 home runs and 125 RBI [is] out there in the marketplace, you better not be too slow," Minaya said.

New York hopes Delgado, David Wright, Cliff Floyd and Beltran will combine to provide a consistent offense threat.

"When you look at championship teams, they usually have a presence," Minaya said.

Minaya, Mets owner Fred Wilpon and team chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, spoke with Delgado, who is scheduled to be at Shea Stadium for a news conference Monday. Last March, Delgado told the Toronto Star that he didn't like the way Minaya and assistant Tony Bernazard focused on his Hispanic heritage when trying to recruit him.

Minaya said reports of friction between Delgado and Bernazard were overblown.

"Tony and Carlos have spoken," Minaya said. "Tony and Carlos go way back."

In another potentially touchy subject, Delgado protested the U.S.-Iraq war by refusing to stand when "God Bless America" was played at major league ballparks. Balancing Delgado's free-speech rights and the patriotism expected from players by some fans in New York could be a delicate balancing act.

"I don't have an answer to that question right now," Minaya said. "At some point in time, we will sit down with Carlos and talk about those issues."

The 33-year-old Delgado, a two-time All-Star, hit .301 with 33 homers and 115 RBI in his lone season with the Marlins, reaching 30 homers for the ninth consecutive year. His defense, however, is shaky.

"The bottom line is his offensive production," Minaya said. "We've seen him play. He holds his own over there."

 

[agentjmw]

Piazza is gone? Im a Met fan but its tough here keeping up.. In Alabama its only Braves baseball. Id kill to get the NY Post every day (we still friends Clem?). I was at Shea for Piazza's first game. It went wild when he came onto the field. I met my quota of 1 large beer per inning. I was a friggin mess by the 7th inning. Any of you guys near a Pastosa's?

 

[soul train]

I put these 3 guys on my xmas list..... :Yep:

 

[s_dooley24]

Study Hall
Nov 28 - In addition to negotiating with free-agent catchers Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina, the Mets also have been talking with the Devil Rays about acquiring Toby Hall, Newsday reports.
Tampa Bay wants pitcher Aaron Heilman; the Mets have offered a package headed by second baseman Anderson Hernandez, the newspaper reports.


The Mets are idiots if they trade away their second base prospect (one of the areas they lack big time) or any pitcher for Toby Hall. When they can sign/get Hernandez or Molina for nobody. Granted they would be paying those guys more, but they're also better catchers imo. They already gave up their best pitching prospect for a guy they tried to sign last year and the Marlins were going to unload anyway. To make the deal even more skewed Delgado's contract is back-loaded so the Mets are basically paying him what they would've had they signed him last year (but that free agent signing wouldn't have cost them Petit).

I love the Mets, but Minaya is getting carried away with this free spending and giving away their better prospects. Granted I like the Delgado deal b/c it addresses the Mets biggest need (outside of the bullpen) in a 1st basemen who can bat 3rd or 4th. I just don't think that the Mets got Delgado for as cheap as people in the NY press are making it out to be. Everyone knew the Marlins were going to move Delgado and only the Orioles had mild interest outside of the Mets. So, the Mets had the upperhand in the discussions and yet they still parted with their best pitching prospect. Sounds like a push at best for the Mets.

Anyone remember the Kazmir-Zambrano deal?
Not comparing Delgado to Zambrano, but I believe the Mets are crazy to keep trading away their top pitching prospects. The Yankees have finally realized this doesn't work and a perfect example of a team that keeps its young power arms and develops them would be the Athletics.

 

[soul train]

Study Hall
Nov 28 - In addition to negotiating with free-agent catchers Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina, the Mets also have been talking with the Devil Rays about acquiring Toby Hall, Newsday reports.
Tampa Bay wants pitcher Aaron Heilman; the Mets have offered a package headed by second baseman Anderson Hernandez, the newspaper reports.


The Mets are idiots if they trade away their second base prospect (one of the areas they lack big time) or any pitcher for Toby Hall. When they can sign/get Hernandez or Molina for nobody. Granted they would be paying those guys more, but they're also better catchers imo. They already gave up their best pitching prospect for a guy they tried to sign last year and the Marlins were going to unload anyway. To make the deal even more skewed Delgado's contract is back-loaded so the Mets are basically paying him what they would've had they signed him last year (but that free agent signing wouldn't have cost them Petit).

I love the Mets, but Minaya is getting carried away with this free spending and giving away their better prospects. Granted I like the Delgado deal b/c it addresses the Mets biggest need (outside of the bullpen) in a 1st basemen who can bat 3rd or 4th. I just don't think that the Mets got Delgado for as cheap as people in the NY press are making it out to be. Everyone knew the Marlins were going to move Delgado and only the Orioles had mild interest outside of the Mets. So, the Mets had the upperhand in the discussions and yet they still parted with their best pitching prospect. Sounds like a push at best for the Mets.

Anyone remember the Kazmir-Zambrano deal?
Not comparing Delgado to Zambrano, but I believe the Mets are crazy to keep trading away their top pitching prospects. The Yankees have finally realized this doesn't work and a perfect example of a team that keeps its young power arms and develops them would be the Athletics.

About time they are spending money,spend,spend and spend some more.Heilman is a bum,get rid of him.He is a #1 draft pick out of Notre Dame and he is a bust.Yes i wish we had Kazmir that was a terrible deal.2nd base is a problem.Matsui stinks you cant win with him.Give me Soriano or Grudzielanek.About time the Mets open up the check book.Delgado is the first of many signings.Omar will make this team a solid CONTENDER in 2006.This team wont win with Mike Jacobs at 1st,Matsui at 2nd and Piazza behind the plate.Also the Mets have plenty of solid pitching arms on the farm.

 

[s_dooley24]

I'm all for the Mets spending. That isn't the problem at hand. With the Mets new TV network upcoming they'll have plenty of money to burn and burn they will. My concern is that Minaya seems to get tunnel vision for certain players (i.e. Manny) and I think he becomes obsessive to the point where he'll give up whatever to get them because he doesn't want to "fail" in the eyes of the NY media.

Heilman pitched very well for long stretches out of the bullpen and even closed some games. The Mets need help in middle relief just as much as they need help at closer. I just think that Heilman could be an asset in the middle relief role and why would you even think about trading him for an average catcher when you can have your pick of 2 above-average catchers for the right price?

 

[s_dooley24]

I agree with the second base problem and think that Grudzielanek again is the better option because you only give up money for him and not prospects. Like you said Soul, the Mets have money to burn so burn it on free agents and keep the farm intact.

 

[soul train]

:director: We have a special annoucement

The New York Metropolitans just signed the flame thrower Billy Wagner to a 4 year deal worth 43 million buckaroos.The radar gun will be popping in Queens this season.

Keep those xmas presents coming Omar. :clap: :clap:

 

[soul train]

I put these 3 guys on my xmas list..... :Yep:

1 down :mj07: :mj07: :mj07: :mj14:

 

[soul train]

Fresh off announcing the arrival of Carlos Delgado, the New York Mets struck again, reaching agreement with free-agent closer Billy Wagner.

The deal is for four years, $40 million and could worth as much as $50 million as it includes a fifth-year option for $10 million. The fifth year also includes a buyout of $3 million, bringing the guaranteed total to $43 million. The deal is expected to be finalized on Tuesday.

Wagner was 4-3 with 38 saves and a 1.51 ERA last season for Philadelphia. After spending most of his career with Houston, his two seasons with the Phillies showed the left-hander he could handle pitching in a tough city.

"I think if I had an opportunity to play in New York four or five years ago, I probably wouldn't have been as receptive to it," Wagner said. "After the trade of going to Philadelphia and playing there, I believe that's made it that much easier to handle the media, the pressures."

The Mets' initial offer was believed to be a three-year contract worth just more than $30 million, a deal containing an option for 2009 that could increase the package to $40 million