Tex4Mets is now Daily Mets!

I’m changing the site. It’s now http://dailymets.wordpress.com

If you were the Mets GM what pitcher(s) would you sign?

Now that the Mets have signed Tim Redding to a one year deal worth $2.25 million, if you were the Mets GM, Omar Minaya, what pitcher(s) would you sign next?

I prefer Lowe because of his consistency, but not at four years. In the end, though, I hope the Mets sign Derek Lowe, Pedro Martinez and Freddy Garcia. I really like the Red Sox signing of veterans Brad Penny and John Smoltz to compete for the last spot in the rotation and to fill-in in case of injuries to the rotation, and think the Mets can do the same with Martinez and Garcia.

2009 Mets Starting Rotation

Yesterday, Jack Curry of the New York Times reported that the Mets have made an offer to pitcher Derek Lowe for a three year contract worth $36 million.

Today, John Harper of the Daily News writes, “it seems it will only be a matter of time before the Mets sign Derek Lowe“.

If the Mets do in fact sign Lowe, they still need to fill another spot in the rotation. Phillies fan Eric Seidman of fangraphs.com takes a statistical look at next year’s potential starting rotation.
According to his analysis, if the Mets sign Lowe, their rotation, “places the Mets right in the thick of perhaps sporting the best rotation in the senior circuit.”

In an ideal world, I’d like the Mets to sign both Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf, giving them a +15.1 wins (compared to the Giants +15.4 wins) and a combined 96 quality starts (In 2008 Santana 28, Lowe 20, Pelfrey 19, Wolf 18, Maine 11). If Maine can return to his 2007 form, that’s an additional 6 QS.

The Evil Empire has Signed Mark Teixeira

ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the Yankees have signed Mark Teixeira to an 8 year deal worth $180 million dollars.

It pains me that Mark Teixeira has not signed with the Mets but it hurts even more to know that he’ll be playing for the Yankees, where he’ll be a constant reminder of what could’ve been. Let’s hope Omar has a plan.

Happy Tex Day!

The Mark Teixeira Hot Stove is on overdrive today. Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors has links to all of today’s Mark Teixeira news and rumors.

What it boils down to is that teams including the Red Sox have made offers to Mark Teixeira capping at around 8 years and $180 million. So it seems that within the next week Teixeira will be cutting the list down to a couple of teams to let them make their final offers before he decides.

With the Angels signing Juan Rivera, they now have 5 outfielders, making any further outfielder signings unlikely. They still need to add a bat to protect Vladimir Guerrero, so if they do not end up signing Teixeira, the Angels may have to look into trading for a first baseman or they can promote Kendry Morales to play first  base. I still believe this will come down to the Angels or the Mets. Either way, it’ll be interesting to follow this story and see how it effects the Mets.

Want to be a Guest Contributor?

Even though Tex-Gate might be over soon (no one knows how it will end ), I plan on keeping the blog up till the end of the hot stove. Therefore, I’d like to have a different Guest Contributor for every Tuesday. You guys have some great ideas that should be shared. Please leave a comment to let me know that you are interested.

Olney on Teixeira

ESPN’s Buster Olney discusses why the Nationals and Orioles shouldn’t be pursuing Mark Teixeira, adding “They should not be bidding. They should call Scott Boras, the agent for Teixeira, three minutes ago and tell him — like someone who accidentally raises his hand at an auction — Look, sorry for the misunderstanding, but we made a mistake. We really didn’t mean to make that $160 million offer.”

This is pretty much what I’ve written before about these two teams. It just does not make sense for them to go after Mark Teixeira; they have a long way to become a winning team. Frankly, if I were a Nationals or Orioles fan, I’d want the team to build from the ground up the way the Rays and Brewers have.

It may well be that the Nationals and Orioles will not get into a bidding war for Mark Teixeira and the Red Sox and Yankees are only “in” to keep each other away. So this might be the perfect situation for the Angels or a mystery team (hopefully the Mets) to come in and sign Teixeira.

Angels Make Eight Year Offer

Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times reports, “The Angels have offered an eight-year contract to Mark Teixeira” and it is believed to be worth around $160 million.” The Orioles have offered a seven-year contract worth $140-$150 million, while the Nationals have offered eight-years and $160 million. The Yankees and Red Sox are also rumored to be in the mix but there have been no reports of an offer being made from either team.

I’m interested to know what the Red Sox and Yankees have offered, if they have.  The Angels, Orioles and Nationals all need a First Baseman, while the Red Sox and Yankees have some options beyond 2009.

With the trades of Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith and Scott Schoeneweis and the addition of Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz, Omar Minaya may be done tinkering with the bullpen and likely will begin to focus on acquiring one or two starting pitchers. Then we will hopefully see the Mets get in the mix for Mark Teixeira or another bat for the lineup.

Slow Thursday

Will update in the morning. Not much happened on Thursday, except for rumors that Boras is spreading rumors. Nothing new there.

I did get a chance to update the projected roster after the Putz trade; check it out.

Teixeira Rumors: Day Three of Winter Meetings

Here’s MLBTradeRumors.com’s, Mark Teixeira rumors for today.

1. Mike DiGiovanni of the L.A. Times discusses the current market for Mark Teixeira, saying “The Boston Red Sox have emerged as front-runners, and the Washington Nationals, who appear willing to offer eight years and $160 million, could make the most lucrative bid.”
2. Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post says, “there doesn’t appear to be much chance of Mark Teixeira signing a contract on the premises of the Bellagio Hotel.”
3. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated believes Mark Teixeira will get his 10 year $200 million contract.
4. Jose Mota of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Nationals have offered Mark Teixeira a 7 year $150 million contract.
5. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports, “Teixeira, according to two major-league sources, would prefer to be on the east coast for family reasons.”

Things seem to be heating up, especially after the Yankees reported signing of C.C. Sabathia. That the Angels are pursuing Teixeira hard is not surprising, however it has not been reported that they have made an offer. It makes sense that Scott Boras would be trying to push Teixeira to Boston so that the other Big Market teams can pursue Manny Ramirez. As I’ve said, since the Mets are an East Coast winning team it makes sense that Teixeira and the Mets could be working on something. It hasn’t been reported, but I do believe that Omar Minaya is working behind the scenes to trade Carlos Delgado and sign Teixeira.