John Valentin’s was Better

Bruntlett already made two errors in the ninth, it was the least he could do.

Mets Offer Derek Lowe a Contract

The New York Mets have offered free agent pitcher Derek Lowe a contract according to a report in the New York Times.  The offer is reported to be 3 years for $36 million.  Agent Scott Boras, declined to confirm or deny the report and said “Obviously, we’ve taken offers from a number of teams.”  

Lowe, 35, is expecting a 5 year $90 million contract.  There isn’t a market for Lowe to get that contract, but the 3 year for 36 million is basically the same as he signed with the Dodgers after the ’04 season.

An interesting Lowe tidbit, he is one of 3 pitchers to win 20 or more games as a starter and save 40 or more games as a closer.  The others are John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley.

It’s Between The Red Sox And The Mets For Lowe

From Ken Rosenthal:

The Phillies almost certainly are out on free-agent right-hander Derek Lowe now that they’ve signed free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez, left-hander Jamie Moyer and righty Chan Ho Park. The Red Sox and Mets remain possibilities for Lowe, and the Yankees conceivably could re-enter the picture if they fail to re-sign free-agent lefty Andy Pettitte, though team officials downplay that possibility . . .

Jason Varitek

From Ken Rosenthal:

After fixing their bullpen, The Mets are focused on securing another starting pitcher, preferably free-agent lefty Oliver Perez.

The team, though, also could seek to improve its pitching by signing free-agent catcher Jason Varitek.

Club officials are divided on how strongly to pursue Varitek, sources say. Some view him as a potential difference-maker for their pitching staff; others are alarmed by his .220 batting average last season.

For the Mets to land Varitek, they would need to move catcher Brian Schneider — who is guaranteed $4.9 million next season. Such a move should not be a problem; several teams are interested in Schneider.

The Mets, though, would need to decide whether the additional cost for Varitek would be prudent. Varitek, 36, wants a multi-year deal.

Some executives remain convinced that agent Scott Boras will require any team that signs Teixeira to also take Varitek; Boras rejected the Red Sox’s offer of arbitration for Varitek, one exec says, only because he knew he could get a package deal.

Mets Bullpen – Worst to First??

On Wednesday the Mets added K-Rod with a team friendly 3 year $37 million contract and yesterday they acquired one to the other top closers in baseball JJ Putz.   The AL West closers have been raided by the Mets who have had epic collapses the past two seasons and the bullpen was largely to blame.  The Mets still owe Billy Wagner $12 million next season and it appears that his career will be over due to more elbow surgery. 

Ken Rosenthal from Foxsports.com breaks down the 3 team – 12 player deal. 

The Mariners receive reliever Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez, first baseman Mike Carp, and minor leaguers Maikel Cleto, Jason Vargas and Ezequiel Carrera from the Mets. They also get Franklin Gutierrez from the Indians.

The Indians get reliever Joe Smith from the Mets and infielder Luis Valbuena from Seattle.

From the Mets’ perspective, the deal is Heilman and Smith for Putz. Chavez and Reed are simply an exchange of backup outfielders, Smith and Green are an exchange of right-handed groundball specialists.