LAS VEGAS – According to Newsday, the Mets, Indians, and Mariners are going over medical records and the deal may be announced soon.

Ken Rosenthal, who first reported this, wrote the deal will look something like this:

Under terms of the deal, the Mets would get Putz, outfielder Jeremy Reed and reliever Sean Green from Seattle. The Mariners would receive reliever Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez and first baseman Mike Carp from the Mets. They’d also get Franklin Gutierrez from the Indians and minor leaguers. The Indians would get reliever Joe Smith from the Mets and infielder Luis Valbuena from Seattle.

All in all a good deal for the Mets, because they lose no one of consequence and get back equal value.

Posted under Hot Stove, Trade, Winter Meetings

LAS VEGAS – Both the Star-Ledger and MLB.com are reporting the Mets are in serious discussions to acquire closer J.J. Putz to pitch in the eighth inning.

The 32 year-old lost his closer job last season when the Seattle Mariners elevated Brandon Morrow to the ninth.

The names be tossed around on the Mets end are Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith and Mike Carp and there could be a third team [Cleveland] involved as well.

If consummated, this would be a great deal for the Mets as Putz only makes $5.5 million next season, which is perfect for an eighth inning guy. He also has a team option in 2010 for $9.1 million [or a $1 million buyout]. Also the Amazins will get a setup man with closer experience which is something they are looking for, since they got burned last season when Bill Wagner went down with an injury.

Last season Putz went 6-5 with a 3.88 ERA and 15 saves in 47 games for the Mariners. But in 2007, he had a banner year with a 6-1 record, a 1.38 ERA and 40 saves in 68 games.

Posted under Hot Stove, Trade, Winter Meetings

LAS VEGAS – Alright, the Mets have gotten their closer and if nothing else happens during the next day at the Bellagio, the Winter Meetings have to be considered a success.That said, there’s still more work to do to make this a successful off-season. Besides their bullpen makeover, which includes an eighth inning setup man, the Mets need at least one starter.With both Pedro Martinez and Oliver Perez free agents, there are obvious holes in the Mets rotation. As of right now, the team seems content to allowing Jon Niese a spot, one that Jerry Manuel said may be bestowed upon him based on his September, rather than earned in Spring Training.

«FULL STORY»

Posted under Commentary, Free Agency, Hot Stove, Nysd, Winter Meetings

LAS VEGAS – Just moments ago, Omar Minaya officially announced what everyone at the Bellagio knew for the last 36 hours: Francisco Rodriguez is now a Met.

“We have come to comepleted terms in filling our No. 1 need in signing Francisco Rodriguez to a three year contract with the New York Mets,” Minaya said. “Our goal, from day one, was to improve our bullpen and I can not think of a better reliever than Francisco Rodriguez.”

K-Rod set a Mjor League record in 2008 with 62 saves. He also converted 23 saves when entering the game with a one-run league and 22 more with a two-run cushion. He went 2-3 with a 2.24 ERA.

“I am thrilled to join the Mets,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Mets fans are very passionate and playing in a new ballpark is going to be great. I am going to do everything I can to help bring a championship to Citi Field.”

Rodriguez, who wore Johan Santana’s No. 57 with the Angels, will switch the number around and go with No. 75 in Queens.

Posted under Free Agency, Winter Meetings

Rich Coutinho in his latest blog post, discusses the K-Rod deal.

To quote:

“So, here were the Mets and K-Rod in Las Vegas to put a capper on this beautifully orchestrated Omar Minaya waiting game and just to catalyze the process a bit, the team’s initial offer was a 2 year pact. That contract was officially presented to the K-Rod camp on the very same day the Mets were planning to meet with Brian Fuentes knowing that would make the guy they wanted all along just a little bit antsy. They also knew that they would eventually have to add a 3rd year to the deal but they did so at precisely the right time.”

Posted under Commentary, Free Agency, Hot Stove

LAS VEGAS – Based on a number of reports and sources, Francisco Rodriguez will sign a three-year, $37 million dollar contract with the Mets tomorrow after a physical in New York.The Mets have seemingly reached this deal after two days of talk between the club and agent Paul Kinzer.”He’s a tremendously skilled closer,” said manager Jerry Manuel during his media session. “I was impressed with the energy he had when he came out and with that energy came confidence.”With Rodriguez, the Mets are signing one of the top closers in the game, who went 2-3 last year with a 2.24 ERA and a Major League record 62 saves for the Los Angeles Angels. Over his six year career, the righthander went 23-17 with a 2.35 ERA and 208 saves.

«FULL STORY»

Posted under Free Agency, Hot Stove, Nysd

LAS VEGAS – After meeting with closers Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman yesterday, the Mets seem to be close with free agent reliever Francisco Rodriguez.

After offering the bidding Sunday night with a 2-year deal for around $24 million, the club has upped the offer guartanteeing the third year to make it a $36 million contract.

With Mets COO Jeff Wilpon on the trip with Omar Minaya, the Mets seemed determined to come away with a closer and Rodriguez is the best one on the market. Originally the former Angel wanted a five year contract worth about $75 million, but because the closer market was satuated, the Mets seemed willing to wait as the money dropped.

Now after two meeting with Rodriguez and agent Paul Kinzer, the price seems to be in the Mets comfort zone and by getting him so cheaply, it opens up doors for the club to revamp the entire bullpen, which was one of the worst in the National League last season.

Last season, the free agent reliever went 2-3 with a 2.24 ERA and a Major League record 62 saves.

A deal may be announced later today.

Posted under Commentary, Free Agency

LAS VEGAS – Mets manager Jerry Manuel arrived at the Bellagio late last night [around 11:30 p.m.] in advance of his conference with the media at 4:00 p.m. today.

- The Yankees will reportedly offer Ben Sheets a two-year offer today.

- The Mets will meet with free agent reliever Chad Cordero today. They met with closers Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman yesterday. They will probably want Cordero in a set-up role.

- The Red Sox seem to be interested in Brian Schneider.

- Adam Rubin reports in the Daily News, Fuentes could also recieve a two-year deal.

- There seems to be a lot of clubs asking the Mets about Aaron Heilman.

Posted under Free Agency, Hot Stove

LAS VEGAS - According to reports, the Mets have offered K-Rod a three year deal. Although we have gotten no word yet.

Omar Minaya will be speaking with the media in a few hours. If there’s an announcement, it will probably happen then.

Other than that, I arrived at the Bellagio a few hours ago and will be having reports here, as soon as they come in.

Stay tuned and tune into Pro Baseball Central tonight at 10 p.m.

Posted under Free Agency, Hot Stove

Not much to report here, except the Mets are increasing their deliberate ways to get a free agent closer, be it K-Rod or Brian Fuentes.

It should get interesting come Monday, since general manager Omar Minaya wants to set himself up for the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas on Dec. 8, where he will have dicussions with K-Rod’s agent Paul Kinzer.

Of course, no one can blame the Mets for not doing anything, yet, because they don’t want to bid against themselves. In fact, they rather wait for the market to come to them and sign a closer on their terms.

Posted under Hot Stove, New York Mets