Rumors for New York Mets
New York Mets willing to talk extension with R.A. Dickey in offseason
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According to a source close to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Mets are willing to talk with R.A. Dickey regarding a contract extension this off-season.
Dickey is arbitration-eligible for one more season, so the Mets are not pressured to commit to a deal. However, the team could save money by buying out that final year of arbitration and signing him to a longer-term deal. This route provides players the long-term financial stability while the team usually benefits because they get the player at below market rate.
Dickey, 35, was 9-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 20 starts this season with the Mets. People familiar with the Mets’ thinking says Dickey’s performance this year is not a fluke.
Update – Texas Rangers acquire Jeff Francoeur for Joaquin Arias
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8/31 19:42: According to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Texas Rangers have acquired Jeff Francoeur. He adds per team press release that the Mets have acquired infielder Joaquin Arias.
“When looking at the composition of our 25-man roster, specifically our outfield, we are relatively left-handed,” assistant GM Thad Levine said via Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. “It gives us an opportunity to pick our spots and platoon with guys like Murphy and Borbon rather than expose them to every left-handed pitcher.”
| Team | Acquires |
| Texas Rangers | OF Jeff Francoeur |
| New York Mets | INF Joaquin Arias |
8/31 16:43: Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman says there are discussions involving Rangers’ infielder Joaquin Arias in exchange for the Mets’ Jeff Francoeur.
8/31 14:11: Sources close to ESPN’s Adam Rubin says the Texas Rangers are considering New York Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur.
“His name has definitely been talked about,” one source said.
Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman adds, “rangers and mets are indeed talking about francoeur. would give rangers OF flexibility, extra righty bat”
Yesterday, Richard Durrett of the ESPN.com said the team is looking for a right-handed bat via the waiver wire, and at the time suggested Francoeur as possible candidate at the time.
Francoeur, 26, is hitting .236/.293/.369 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs in 123 games for the Mets this season.
Bobby Valentine to return to New York Mets as manager?
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MLB Network’s Peter Gammons told WFAN that he thinks Bobby Valentine will be the next manager of the New York Mets. Here’s the transcript via Matthew Cerrone’s MetsBlog:
“I think there are two things: 1) He has a history and a good working relationship with Omar Minaya and 2) he is one guy that, though Jeff Wilpon will not always like what he hears from Bobby, I think they can have a relationship where Bobby could say to Jeff, ‘No, we’re not doing this, that’s the wrong thing,’ and in the end they’ll win out together, because they have a mutual respect. I just think now is the right time to bring Bobby back.”
Earlier this month, friends of Valentine said that he would be interested in the vacant Seattle Mariners’ job, and Ichiro lobbied the team’s ownership about hiring Valentine. Valentine has not publically said anything about his interest in the Mariners.
Texas Rangers NOT likely to acquire Boston Red Sox Mike Lowell
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8/31 15:22: A club official close to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan said “Nothing is happening with Lowell.”
8/31 14:26: MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says the Texas Rangers are in talks with the Boston Red Sox for Mike Lowell. Sullivan says the conversations “have heated up.”
The talks between the Rangers and Red Sox for Lowell started last winter. At the time, the two teams agreed to a deal that would have sent Lowell to the Rangers for catcher Max Ramirez. However, because Lowell needed surgery to his thumb, the deal was called off. The two teams revisited the deal this summer, but they are becoming more serious as the deadline approaches.
Earlier today we heard the Rangers are talking with the Mets for Jeff Francouer, but Sullivan says the Rangers main target appears to be Lowell.
In his limited play this season, Lowell is hitting .234/.309/.373 with 4 home runs and 20 RBIs.
Colorado Rockies sign RHP Luis Ayala to Minor League contract
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According to the Pacific Coast League transaction page, the Colorado Rockies have signed right-handed pitcher Luis Ayala to a Minor League contract and assigned him to the Colorado Spring Sky Sox.
Ayala was with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization earlier this season when he signed a Minor League deal in May, but he never made it to the big league club.
The right-handed relief pitcher, 32, has not pitched in the Major Leagues in 2010. He has a career 29-39 record with a 3.67 ERA in 6 seasons with the Expos, Nationals, Mets, Twins and Marlins.
Former Mets and Royals pitcher Ambriorix Burgos forces ex-wife to eat rat poison
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Former New York Mets and Kansas City Royals pitcher, Ambiorix Burgos, was charged with kidnapping and attempted murder after Dilenia Reynoso, his ex-wife, said she was forced to eat rat poison, according to the Associated Press.
A Dominican Republic judge, Freddy Frias ordered Burgos to remain in jail for three months while prosecutors prepare the case.
This isn’t the first time Burgos got in trouble. In 2008, he was accused in a fatal hit-and-run involving two women, but the charges were dropped. A New York jury found Burgos guilty of assualting his girlfriend in a hotel near Shea Stadium. He was sentenced to nine months in jail.
Burgos, 26, pitched for the Royals in 2005-2006 and with the Mets in 2007. In 144 career Major League games, he was 8-10 with a 4.60 ERA and 20 saves.
Join PRO Rumors on ESPN 1420am with The Sports Animals
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Join PRO Rumors on ESPN 1420 AM Honolulu, Hawaii tonight at 8:35pm PST (5:35pm Hawaii Time) with The Sports Animals Chris Hart and Gary Dickman. You can listen live at http://www.espn1420am.com
Jose Reyes wants to remain with Mets beyond 2011
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Earlier this month, a Mets source close to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News said the Mets are willing to engage in negotiations with infielder Jose Reyes about a contract extension in lieu of exercising the option. Yesterday, Reyes confirmed his desire to be with the Mets long-term.
“I want to be here,” Reyes said on Thursday to the New York Daily News.
Still, the shortstop is happy as a Met. “I love it here,” he said. “My family is here, I love (living) on Long Island, I want to stay.”
League sources said the parties have not yet opened discussions for a contract extension, and they would likely wait until early in the off season to start negotiating.
Martino adds that there could be a change in culture within the organization with the likelihood of the club missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Martino speculates the Mets could trade a core player such as Reyes or David Wright. Read More→
New York Mets want to unload Carlos Beltran
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According to an organization source close to Mike Puma of the New York Post, Mets’ COO Jeff Wilpon wants to unload Carlos Beltran and his $18.5 million that he is owed next season. This is assuming that Beltran would waive his no-trade clause.
Earlier this month, a longtime baseball executive close to Jayson Stark of ESPN said, “But a guy like that, in his final year, I think they can move. They pay $8 million and I go $10 million? I think they could move him if it was something like that.” Another executive said, “Trading Carlos Beltran is impossible. Impossible. Maybe if they eat $16½ million, but you’d have to really eat it down to have any shot, just because this guy hasn’t played.”
Beltran, 33, is in his next-to-last year of his seven-year, $119 million contract. He was out most of the season due to knee surgery that he underwent this past spring. In 37 games this year, Beltran is hitting .223/.240/.339 with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs.
LHP Oliver Perez wants to be with the New York Mets in 2011
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Left-handed pitcher Oliver Perez wants to be with the New York Mets in 2011 despite several sour incidents that he had with the team this year.
“I want to be back here,” Perez told ESPNNewYork.com. “I want to have a championship because I know the fans want it and I want it, too.”
Perez, 29, has one more year left on his three-year, $36 million contract, so the Mets will have a hard time finding a team to take on such a large salary for someone who has poorly performed this season.
Perez refused an assignment to Triple-A earlier this season since he has a right to do so from his contract. His refusal cause friction within the Mets’ clubhouse prompt one player to say, “You tell him you go to Triple-A or that’s it, you are finished.”
It’s unknown what the Mets want to do with Perez for next season. “We have him,” said Mets’ GM Omar Minaya.
“I know the people, they are not happy,” Perez said. “I just tell the fans I’ve been working hard to get back. I didn’t sign here to sit here and just wait. I signed here because I think we have the opportunity to try and win a championship. That is why I signed here.”
The left-hander has pitched 4 1/3 innings since the middle of May. He’s 0-4 with a 6.70 ERA in 14 games (7 starts) this season for New York.
