Mets Daily Notes

[DravenX]

The Mets and Willie Randolph have agreed to a new three-year contract, according to The Associated Press.
The deal is set to be announced Thursday. Randolph was entering the final year of his original three-year deal.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

Mets signed RHP Aaron Sele to a minor league contract.
After four straight sub-par years, Sele was relatively effective for the Dodgers in 2006, going 8-6 with a 4.53 ERA in 103 1/3 innings split between the rotation and bullpen. However, he was awful in the second half and a non-guaranteed job with the Mets is likely the best offer he had. He should be a long shot for the rotation.

Carlos Delgado said he had begun hitting soft-toss pitches and would soon resume his normal workout routine.
Delgado had a torn tendon repaired in his elbow on Oct. 30. "I don’t anticipate any problems from now to spring training," he said. "I have to get stronger. The muscles haven’t been used for 10 weeks."

Paul Lo Duca would like an extension to remain with the Mets, but the team wasn't ready to discuss a deal back at the winter meetings.
Lo Duca's agent is likely to bring up the issue again this spring. Since Lo Duca is turning 35 in April and there will be plenty of catching available next winter, the Mets will want to be careful here. Lo Duca probably wouldn't agree to a one-year extension, and the Mets should have little interest in locking him up through 2009 or beyond.

Mets designated RHP Jason Standridge for assignment.
Standridge was claimed off waivers from the Reds back in November. Maybe he'll be claimed again now, but better pitchers have made it through waivers this winter.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

Although he has a player option for 2008, Tom Glavine doesn't know if he's pitch beyond this season.
"If I had to guess right now, I think I'm 50-50. Knock on wood, if I stay healthy and I win my 300th game, I think it becomes really hard for me to pitch next year," Glavine said. "But if I do that -- like last year, if I win 15 games -- it's going to be hard to walk away." Glavine is currently 10 wins away from 300.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

Mets sent RHP Jason Standridge outright to Triple-A Norfolk.
Standridge, who was originally claimed off waivers from the Reds in November, has rejected the assignment and opted for free agency. He'll sign a minor league deal with a team he thinks will present him with more of an opportunity for a bullpen spot.

Mets signed outfielder Ruben Sierra to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
The 41-year-old Sierra will be stashed away in Triple-A just in case the Mets need an extra bat later. Ideally, he won't see the majors again until September.

Dave Williams underwent surgery Wednesday to a repair a herniated disc in his neck.
Williams began feeling pain after beginning his preparation for the season. The Mets will have a better idea next week of how much time he's going to miss. They'd like to see him step up and take over Darren Oliver's role in the bullpen this year. If Williams has to begin the season on the DL, Jason Vargas, Jon Adkins and Alay Soler will get longer looks this spring as the Mets try to find a long reliever.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

The Astros are talking to free-agent right-hander Steve Trachsel, but no deal is close.
"It's not hot and heavy; we're still kind of flirting with it," Astros GM Tim Purpura told FOXSports.com. "We're up against our payroll number. We're sitting right in the mid-90s." As mediocre as the Astros' alternatives are at the bottom of the rotation, bringing in Trachsel would make a lot of sense. Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz are gone, and Fernando Nieve, who might otherwise be the top candidate for the fourth spot in the rotation, is a question mark because of his elbow. The Nationals are the only team known to have made an offer to Trachsel. The Mets don't want him back, and Trachsel's agent wasn't able to interest the Twins in his services.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

The Nationals aren't one of the three teams in the running for free agent Steve Trachsel, according to MLB.com.
While the Nationals made Trachsel an offer last month, the two sides broke off negotiations long ago. The Astros are the only team known to be interested in Trachsel.

Agent David Pepe said that the current assumption is that it will be three months until Dave Williams he can "be ready to pitch in games."
Williams underwent surgery last week to repair a herniated disc in his neck. If he's three months away from pitching in games, then there's a good chance he won't see action in the majors before June.

Source: RotoWorld

[bwitty24]

the pictures of the new "Mets Ballpark" or Citi Park look very nice

[DravenX]

I've seen them. The new stadium looks pretty nice. Not sure how Chipper Jones will like it though since he loves to hit in Shea.

[DravenX]

The Padres made free agent Chan Ho Park an offer to remain with the team, but he's likely to sign elsewhere, GM Kevin Towers said.
It's unclear who else is interested, but the Marlins might want to take a chance of him as a closer candidate. He'd also be a better bet for the Reds than Dustin Hermanson.

Free agent Chan Ho Park is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Mets.
Reports out of Korea put the deal at $3 million. If that's what Ramon Ortiz is worth, then Park deserves $3 million, too. Still, it'd be a mistake to guarantee him a rotation spot. He'd likely be more effective working out of the pen.

The New York Daily News believes David Newhan has an edge over Ben Johnson for the final spot on the Mets' bench.
It'd be a downgrade if true. Newhan has the obvious edge when it comes to versatility, but Johnson's power would be useful on a team whose top two pinch-hitters -- Endy Chavez and Julio Franco -- combined for six homers in more than 500 at-bats last year. We're already skeptical about the trade with the Padres that brought in Johnson, as Royce Ring could very well outpitch Scott Schoeneweis over the next three years for about one-tenth of the money.

Chan Ho Park will be guaranteed $600,000 in his deal with the Mets and can earn an additional $2.4 million in incentives based on innings pitched.
That's better. Park is taking a physical in Los Angeles today.

Mets signed RHP Chan Ho Park, who had been with the Padres, to a one-year, $600,000 contract.
He can earn an additional $2.4 million in incentives. We'd still like to see what he could do as a short reliever, but Park becomes the favorite to open the season as the Mets' fifth starter. A strong spring would make him an option as a $1 pick in 5x5 leagues. He's not going to help in ERA, but he can still post decent strikeout numbers and the Mets offense would get him some victories.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

SI.com's Jon Heyman confirms that the Orioles are talking to free agent Steve Trachsel as they look for a replacement for Kris Benson.
Trachsel had a higher ERA than Benson while pitching in the National League last year, but it wouldn't necessarily a big downgrade if the Orioles plugged him into their rotation. Still, Mark Redman would probably be a slightly better pickup.

In a rule change, teams this year will be able to change their postseason rosters if their series opener is postponed.
The way it should have been all along. The Mets last year were prevented from going from 11 pitches to 12 after Game 1 of the NLCS against the Cardinals was rained out, eliminating one of the two off days in the series.

Steve Trachsel and the Orioles have agreed to terms on a one-year, $3.1 million contract with a $4.75 million option for 2008, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
That didn't take long. Trachsel will replace Kris Benson in the rotation, putting Jeremy Guthrie back in the bullpen mix and making it likely that Hayden Penn and Garrett Olson will open the season in Triple-A. It's unlikely that he'll have any fantasy value.

Shawn Green said the Mets have declined their half of his $10 million mutual option for 2008.
The Mets never had any intention of picking it up from the moment they acquired him from the Diamondbacks in August. He'll get a $2 million buyout instead. The 34-year-old Green, who isn't promised a starting job this year, said he expects to continue his career in 2008.

Duaner Sanchez, recovering from a separated shoulder, began throwing weeks ago and is currently up to 120 feet.
He's expected to resume throwing off a mound in early March. If all goes according to plan, he'll be available on Opening Day. However, it would only take a mild setback to necessitate that he begin the year on the DL.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

Pedro Martinez, whose four-year deal with the Mets expires after 2008, intends to still be with the team when Citi Field opens in 2009.
"I'll be part of the new stadium and a championship team," he said. "But at 39, I'll be hanging it up. I'm not going to play until I'm 40." Martinez is 35 now. While he still hasn't been allowed to pick up a baseball, he says his rehab from rotator cuff surgery is ahead of schedule and he expects to return during the second half of the season.

Mets designated second baseman Ruben Gotay for assignment.
Now both Gotay and Jeff Keppinger have been dropped from 40-man rosters since being swapped for one another last July. This wouldn't have been necessary if not for the decision to give David Newhan a major league contract, but Gotay wasn't at all in the Mets' plans anyway. If the 24-year-old clears waivers, he'll have to report to camp as a non-roster player.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

Mets claimed RHP Marcos Carvajal off waivers from the Devil Rays.
Carvajal is a bigger loss for the Rays than either of the two prospects the team actually traded for Jae-Kuk Ryu. The 22-year-old had a 3.86 ERA and a 69/39 K/BB ratio in 72 1/3 IP for Double-A Montgomery last season and a 2.19 ERA in 37 innings in Venezuela over the winter. While he hasn't made as much progress as hoped since spending 2005 in the majors with the Rockies as a Rule 5 pick, he still could be a fine short reliever in time. The Mets will have him begin the year in Double- or Triple-A.

Paul Lo Duca said his damaged thumb, which required surgery in October, hasn't bothered him while playing catch this spring.
Lo Duca is 100 percent and ready to talk contract with the Mets. The free-agent-to-be is hoping to receive an extension this spring. The Mets will engage him in talks, but they don't figure to be quick to make a deal. Lo Duca is turning 35 in April, and there should be plenty of catching available in free agency next winter.

Aaron Heilman, who already knows he won't get a chance to contend for a rotation spot this spring, has another reason to be annoyed with the Mets -- he wasn't one of 12 players granted a parking spot at the club's complex.
Carlos Beltran, Julio Franco, Carlos Delgado, Tom Glavine, Billy Wagner, Moises Alou, Paul Lo Duca, Shawn Green, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Jose Valentin and Pedro Martinez got the 12 assigned parking spots. "I've already told [equipment manager Charlie Samuels]," Heilman said. "Everyone whose been here and some guys who haven't have spots." Heilman has to feel ill-treated after pitching well enough to make the rotation last spring and getting sent to the bullpen anyway. He'd still prefer to start games, but the Mets have no intention of moving him out of the pen.

Mets designated RHP Steve Schmoll for assignment.
Schmoll, part of the Duaner Sanchez-Jae Seo trade, didn't pitch in the majors last year after spending much of 2005 with the Dodgers. The sidearming right-hander likely has a future in a major league bullpen, but he doesn't have the upside of the man who is replacing him on the 40-man roster, Marcos Carvajal.

Mets sent second baseman Ruben Gotay outright to Triple-A New Orleans.
Gotay, 24, was dropped from the roster to make room for Chan Ho Park. He'll be in camp as a non-roster player, but he has no real chance of making the team.

Tom Glavine made it sound like 2007 would be his final year in an interview on Friday.
"If I don’t win 300 games this year for some reason, then I will play next year," Glavine said. "Unless my arm blows out and that’s the end of it. Barring something crazy, assuming I have a good year and I win 300 games, I’m not going to sit here and say that I won’t play. But it would take an awful lot for me to play next year, and I don’t mean monetarily. I just mean it would really have to be some unfinished business or some tremendous burning desire for me to go out there and play another year at this point." Glavine is 10 wins away from 300.

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

Mets signed catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
It seems like the Mets are mostly doing Alomar a favor. He's not going to beat out Ramon Castro for a backup job, but maybe he'll have a decent enough spring that someone else will want him. If not, there's always coaching.

Mets sent RHP Steve Schmoll outright to Triple-A New Orleans.
Schmoll was designated for assignment to open up a spot for Marcos Carvajal last week. He'll be in Mets camp as a non-roster player.

Carlos Beltran said he expects to do more running this season after stealing just 18 bases last year.
"I know that if I'm healthy and I have no pain in my knees and all of that, I'll be able to do that," he said. Beltran peaked at 42 steals in 2004, but he's swiped only 35 bases in his two years in New York. 12 of his 18 steals last year came in the first three months, before he began really battling leg problems.

The New York Times reports that Lastings Milledge has "packed on 13 pounds of muscle after lifting weights and giving up red meat."
When asked about his new physique, Milledge said: "I’m glad you noticed. I’ve been working hard in the off-season."

Source: RotoWorld

[DravenX]

Carlos Delgado said Tuesday that he may not be available to play on Opening Night because his wife is scheduled to give birth to the couple's first son on April 1.
"If you can tell me, let me know because I'd love to book that flight," Delgado said. "Whatever is the day, I'm going to go." The Mets open up with the Cardinals, in St. Louis.

Source: RotoWorld

[brewersfan19]

I feel that is a legit reason for an athlete to miss a game. Plus, it is only one and it is early in the season. I think the Mets can manage one night without Carlos.