213 Miles From Shea

With the Winter Meetings wrapping up, what is left for the Mets?

Although the Mets didn't chase after Reyes, they didn't lie down and do nothing this Winter. They brought up their back up plan (or first plan, unclear at this point) which is to 1) have a competitive team in 2012 (basically a team that doesn't give up) and 2) prepare to make a run at strong contention in 2014 when the Mets farm system mature.

In accordance with that plan, they didn't sign any players to long deals (and probably more analysis on that later) and signed bullpen players that fortify the team for next year. They are also pursuing trades for players that will bring back prospects that will mature around the same time as Harvey, Wheeler, etc.

What do the Mets have left to do? Well for next year they either need or still could use:

– One Starter

– Back up Catcher (although they have internal options)

– 4th OF

– 2 or 3 Bench Players

The news out of Mets camp yesterday was that they are also listening to offers for Niese. I don't quite understand this, since he is a proven young pitcher, but if they are blown away from an offer, they would pull the trigger on the deal. The Mets want a starter they can use now, and then two prospects. One of the prospects will probably have to be a highly touted position player to help the pitching heavy 2014 Mets. There was also some news that were shopping Davis, but unless some is going to trade in their entire farm system, I just don't really see that happening (although since there are so few sellers this off-season, someone might trade their farm system for Davis)

(Side Note: Trading for Andres Torres basically puts a “Never Happening” stamp on the Aaron Rowand Plan I was supporting earlier this week)

Basically, for the Mets to accomplish their two goals, and fill their current needs within budget, I do wonder how much they will rely on the Rule V draft today. Last year we got Pedro Beato, so I have high hopes for this year.

Quick! How old is Lastings Milledge?

I had no idea that he is only 26. I thought he was 28 or 29 because it seems like he has been around for a while. Before we get to the news, let's catch you up on the Lasting Milledge saga so far:

– He made his debut at the age of 21 with the New York Mets in 2006

– In November of 2007, he was traded to the Nationals for Church and Schnieder

– In June of 2009, he was traded with Joe Hanrahan to the Pirates for Burnett and Morgan

– In December 2010 he entered Free Agency

– In February of 2011, he was signed by the White Sox. For the White Sox he had 4 AB's and 1 hit.

He reached an agreement with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (NPL) on a two year deal. It's important to point out that he will only be 28 years old at the end of the contract, and if he does well, he may come back to the majors.

In his Major League career, Milledge had a .269 Average with 33 homers over exactly 1500 AB's.

Very soon after signing Jon Rauch to a one year deal, the Mets completed two additional moves. If you are just waking up and have no idea what happened last night then here's a brief run down:

– Jon Rauch signed to a one-year deal for 3.5 Million

– Frank Francisco signed to a two-year deal for 12 million

– Angel Pagan traded to the Giants for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez

Rauch and Francisco, the two pithcers slotting to round out the bullpen, won't turn any heads in the closer department (especially in a division that has Papelbon, Bell, Kimbrel and Storen) but it is a much better situation then what the Mets currently have. As for the bullpen overall, it is considerably stronger now with these three pitchers than it was before (not saying that it is now strong). As reported last night, Rauch has an ERA of 4.85 with 11 saves for the Jays last year while Francisco has 17 saves with an ERA of 3.55.

I am very intrigued by Ramon Ramirez who had a 3-3 record over 68.2 innings with a 2.62 ERA. His career ERA is 3.16 and in the last four seasons, his ERA has been below 3.00. This seems like a good a addition, especially for the price.

Finally, the Mets acquired Torres, who is coming off of a dreadful 2011 where he batted .221 with only 29 extra base hits. In 2010 he was a .268 hitter with 43 doubles, 8 triples and 16 homers. In 2009 he was a .270 hitter with 6 doubles, 8 triples, 6 homers (400 less AB's then 2010). This trade is of course is to get a change of scenery for both players. It could be a very interesting development throughout this season.

Of course, I'm not getting my hopes up over these three relievers. They would be good final pieces to a puzzle, but the Mets are just not at that stage yet, and probably (almost definitely, barring a miracle season by several players) won't be there this season. The Daily News puts better words to it:

Pending a physical, the Mets have made their first major addition of the off-season by signing reliever Jon Rauch to a one year deal. The story of the Mets bullpen has been a committee situation. The Mets don't have the money, or the desire to sign a closer to a long term deal, which honestly makes sense. Instead of going for a budget closer pitcher, they decided to sign two pitchers to fortify the back end of the bullpen.

Part 1 of that occurred tonight as the Mets signed Jon Rauch, also known as the tallest player in baseball (Fun Fact: The Mets also have the shortest player in baseball). Rumor is right now that the contract is for 3.5 million. Assuming the Mets were going to spend 8-10 million on the pen, that leaves 4.5 to 6.5 left, which does sound just about right.

Rauch has saved games as recently as 2010 and 2011. Last year he saved 11 games for the Blue Jays and 2010 he saved 21 games for the Jays. On average you are looking at a pitcher who has an ERA in the upper 3.00 ERA. He is a contact pitcher, which isn't ideal for a set-up closer role, so I hope he gets paired with a Dotel type of pitcher.

Most recently in 2011 he had an ERA of 4.85 which was inflated by allowing 11 homers. Expect that number to drop because he is no longer in the American League, especially the AL East and he is now pitching in a more pitchers friendly park.

(Of course that previous statement doesn't necessarily hold true if the walls moved in at Citi have a really odd impact and if Pujols signs with the Fish.)

Aaron Rowand was released by the Giants and is looking for a job right now. If he could be signed for a very cheap price, he could provide an interesting solution to our OF problems.

Pagan right now is the question mark in the outfield. A possibly solution, if the market is right, would be to go through the arbitration process with Pagan and trade him for 5 million dollars worth of prospects (assuming that will be the price of Pagan's contract) and then bring in Rowand on a cheap contract.

Roward had one gigantic year in Philly, and several solid ones (similar to his time in Chicago). His hitting fell apart in San Francisco, but at age 33, he could be an interesting piece to bring into Citi. If anything, he is the type of player that Terry Collins likes (putting his body in every play) and he could be a good influence on Duda and Murphy.

Also, in San Francisco, he never really had a lot of line up protection. Even though the Mets lineup is significantly weaker without Reyes, one has to feel that still have Wright, Bay and Murphy provide some protection he didn't have in San Francisco.

One of a few downsides of Rowand over Pagan is Pagan can be a leadoff hitter, something the Mets need now. However if the Mets can get a useful haul for Pagan, and cheap price on Rowand, this could be an intriguing situation.

The Mets need a lot a lot for this upcoming season, and don't have a lot of money to spend on it. One of the key pieces they need is a Closer and possibly a set up man. Here is a quick update on the news surrounding pitchers the Mets have been connected to:

Matt Capps: Will Resign with the Twins, so not an option

Todd Coffey: Mets and Brewers have been connected in possible trade talks

Andrew Bailey: Nothing new on the Mets front, MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Red Sox have entered trade talks

Chad Quals: Mets have looked into the reliever

Dotel: Cardinals are pushing hard, and Dotel is interested. Reds and Brewers also entered into the discussion

The Mets price range is 8-10 million, which makes signing players like Frankie Rodriguez, Cordero, Lidge and Madson unlikely. We'll see how things break down today.

Today has been an oddly rough day.

Like all Mets fans, especially those who follow the team closely, we all had a feeling this day was going to come, so we had time to be prepared. Personally, I don’t think I was prepared. I didn’t realize today how much of an emotional attachment I had to Reyes in a Mets uniform.

Once I got beyond my befuddlement of, “Why am I depressed? Am I that crazy about the Mets? Should I see a counselor for my obvious Mets related problems”, I realized why I was upset.

Being a Mets fan for me has always been a personal journey. I have always have held that boyish, misguided dream that the Mets would have a dynasty in the NL East. In 2005 I was convinced it was coming. I saw the start of it in 2006. I convinced myself 2007 was just a blip. Then I convinced myself that 2008 was also just a blip. I blamed 2009 on injuries. And 2010. And 2011.

With Reyes gone now, and to another team in the division, it is now painfully obvious that we are knee deep in a rebuilding era. I’ve always found Reyes more fun to follow than Wright, so I came to the conclusion that part of the reason I’m down today, is as of now, I’m not sure what to look forward to with the Mets, which have always been something I’ve looked forward to.

In the end, I know this feeling will pass. Knowing myself, it will probably be sooner rather than later. My heart will convince myself that Tejada will bat .300, that Wright will hit 50 bombs, that Bay will be a savior and Murphy will be the MVP.

In all seriousness, I’m looking forward to Mets baseball. The Mets do have a lot of young promising arms in the system that I can’t wait to see. However, knowing Reyes is gone, and knowing those arms are at least a full season away (even 2013 seems early for most of them), this, right now, feels like a low point.

New York Daily News Cover:

Go to the New York Daily News homepage for more commentary.

Last night, Jose Reyes and Miami Marlins agreed to a six year deal worth 106 million. Before last night, the Mets looked to be competitive as they it looked like it was going to be just the Mets and the Marlins with the Mets offering 5 years between 75 and 85 and the Marlins offering 6 years at about 90. The Marlins made it really simple, greatly increased their offer, and now they have Reyes.

At this point, I don't blame either party.

I don't blame Reyes because that is a crazy amount of money. Loyalty is one thing, but for the well being of himself and his family, I understand.

I don't blame the Mets because as much as I love Reyes on our team, that would shut down our ability to do anything in any other area around this club.

There are many reasons that this, although a completely logical move by both the Mets and Reyes (but not the Marlins), still hurts. Reyes is almost like a friend. Before he went to Miami, he was the longest tenured Mets on the team. He was also, more so than Wright, in my opinion, an icon of how the Mets play small ball baseball by getting hits and pushing across the runs.

It always sucks when you know the people you think are loyal to a team have a price, and that the price it costs is so understandable that if the roles were reversed you would leave too. To me that's what sucks, that almost all of us in the same circumstance of being asked to stay or having an opportunity to leave for a guaranteed 30 million more would also go.

It just sucks that it actually happened.

To Jose, I wish you the best of luck in Miami.

For the Mets, if there is a silver lining here, at least this happened at the start of the Winter Meetings, so we have lots of time this winter to develop a team.

The Jose Reyes story to this point has changed a little today.

Early this morning, it looked like just the Mets and Marlins were in contention for Jose Reyes, with the Mets saying they would not guarantee more than 5 years and 80 million for the short stop.

Then. this afternoon, it was announced that the Brewers, who were thought to be out of the running, set up a meeting with Reyes's agents during the winter meetings.

However the more meaningful new news has come out tonight:

According to Enrique Rosa, the Marlins have offered Reyes a contract for 106 million over 6 years, plus a 22 million option for a seventh (and a 5 million buyout).

This, of course, is over the Mets thought to be offer in terms of years and money. However there is something else. There is no word yet about a no trade clause. The Mets would probably include one, as many of our free agent signings in the last half a decade have them. However, the Marlins have been not including them on their offers this year, which brings out shades of what they normally do, which is to win right now and then trade all of the pieces away and rebuild.

So the Marlins have the years and money in their side of the court, and the Mets have the security of being in New York and not being traded in theirs. To be fair, since I'm now including intangibles, the Marlins also have just signed a new closer and are looking to make more moves, so they have that in their court as well.

Well, I'm nervous now. And I'm also nervous that I'm nervous.

7:40 Update:

The Mets have essentially announced that barring a change of heart from Reyes, they are now out of the running for the short stop. I'll hold comments and further reporting until this is official (Alderson to speak later tonight)