Dodgers Interested in Murphy

According to MLB.com, when Dodgers GM Ned Colletti stated during the Winter Meetings that a trade for a “mystery” player fell through, that player was Daniel Murphy. Coletti also stated that the trade talks were terminated when the “other team” received what they were looking for from another team; this likely points to the Mets’ acquisition of Andres Torres.

Murphy had a solid year last year--especially toward the end--batting .320 overall. As of now he’s slated to be the club’s starting second baseman for the 2012 season, and should he be traded that title would probably go to Justin Turner.

I believe that the Mets should keep “Murph” unless they receive something pretty good in return. In last years inconsistent season, he was a consistent base-hit threat, and upheld his always-good defense. Unless the Dodgers are willing to give up a quality young player, then I think the Mets should keep Murphy. 

Sandy's Brief Shopping Spree

During a period of a few hours on Tuesday night, Sandy Alderson managed to acquire 3 relief pitchers and a center fielder. These additions will help bolster the Mets bullpen.

Big man Jon Rauch was signed to a one year, $3.5 million deal. The 6’11, 33 year old will likely compete with Bobby Parnell for the Mets’ closing job, and the two will

 probably be interchangeable in the set-up man and closer roles.

The club also inked relief pitcher Frank Francisco to a 2-year, $12 million deal. Francisco is 32 years old, and spent last year in Toronto with Rauch while notching 17 saves and recording a 3.55 ERA. 

Both big signings, the additions of Rauch and Francisco weren’t the biggest Mets news of the night. The club completed a trade with the Giants that sent Angel Pagan to San-Fran, bringing relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez and center fielder Andres Torres to New York.

Ramirez has posted a 2.07 ERA since moving to the Giants in 2010, and Sandy Alderson has said that he will become the team’s seventh inning man for next season.

Since they were losing the club’s starting center fielder, the trade sent Torres --an excellent defensive player-- to become Pagan’s replacement; this clearly addressed Alderson’s desire to improve the club defensively.

Overall, this total revamp of the bullpen was a bargain; the total damage was a mere $9 million dollar hole: $14 million in acquisitions minus the $5 million contract of Pagan. Putting financials aside, any number of the new additions could become a breakout, bargain player, the type the Mets have had success with over the past few years, and they will all certainly bolster the club’s bullpen.

After the loss of Jose Reyes, this shopping spree signals the Mets moving on and entering an era of rebuilding. Though I do not believe the team will end up being as bad as many people seem to think, they need to slow the pace down and focus on forging the team for the years to come. 

Jose Reyes Signs with Miami

MLB.com on top of many other sources has confirmed that Jose Reyes has agreed to a 6-year $106 million contract with the Miami Marlins. Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman has reported that the deal does not include a no-trade clause. The previous thought of moving Hanley Ramirez to third base appears to be the plan for Miami.

Sandy Alderson stated earlier, in his first press conference of the Winter Meetings, that the Mets lost $70 million this past year--a fact that likely affected the club's low offer.

This is a huge blow for the franchise and will likely send the Mets into rebuilding mode. For New York to have a chance this upcoming season, Alderson would have to make some big moves during the Winter Meetings. Sandy implied earlier tonight that he would not pursue any outside second-basemen, and instead would stick with Daniel Murphy.

Regardless of how they move forward, the Mets suffered a huge blow tonight. This adds to their list of holes which already is an impossible list to fill. This is a very severe blow, and a very somber night for Mets fans.

Reyes Update

For the past couple days, the Jose Reyes rumor mill has been re-ignited.  Reports yesterday from Sports Illustrated’s Joel Sherman said that the Milwaukee Brewers will meet with Reyes’ agents sometime this week. Early signs have made it appear unlikely that the Brewers are seriously pondering a Reyes signing, and up until now the Mets and Marlins have been the only two teams seriously in the running.

The Marlins have also upped their game and, according ESPNDeportes, increased their offer $111 million over 6 years. This offer had many sources saying that an official Reyes-Marlins signing is extremely imminent, and could come as early as tonight. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York has stated that when questioned about rumors of the Marlins’ new offer, Sandy Alderson responded that if the Marlins’ reported offer is accurate, then the Mets are out of the bidding. Not long thereafter, Buster Olney of ESPN said that the Marlins have finalized a deal with Jose. 

Many other sources have come forward reporting a Marlins-Reyes agreement, but as we’ve seen before nobody can be %100 trusted in this business.