Mets Hot Stove: GM Meetings

After exhausting myself with the Manny talk from yesterday, I awoke today to a fresh crop of rumors from Indian Wells:

NY Times: Alfonso Soriano

In the Times, Ben Shpigel is reporting that the Mets are talking to the Rangers about Soriano. Shpigel says that the Rangers are looking for starting pitching, but when these teams talked during the summer, we heard that the Rangers were looking for Milledge and more. I also remember Willie Randolph on WFAN pointing out Soriano's lack of plate discipline. I know the Mets are desperate for a bat, I only hope they don't overpay for this one.

New York Post: More Soriano

This thing must have some legs as Mark Hale mentions it, too. Hale quotes "an American League GM" as saying the Mets were "very interested" in Soriano and that the Rangers are looking for "starting pitching and corner-outfield help" in return. Hale also points out that Soriano tied for the lead in errors among MLB second baseman last year, and is not considered to be the Mets first choice.

Newsday: Mets willing to trade starting pitching

This one, reported by Ken Davidoff, really seems bizarre. Davidoff quotes "a person familiar with the situation" saying that the Mets would move starting pitching (he mentions Trachsel and Benson specifically) to fill the needs at 1B and 2B, then sign free agents like A. J. Burnett, Esteban Loaiza and Kevin Millwood. I could see the Mets trading Trachsel, who at 2.5 million in salary would be appealing to many teams, but Trax has 10-5 veto rights for trades. As for Benson, I'm not sure he proved last year that he is worth what he is going to make over the next 2 years, and I would think teams would be somewhat leery of him. Finally, is it just me, or do the 3 names he mentions as free agents scare anyone else?

Daily News: Huff and Baez possible fallbacks

Bill Madden and Roger Rubin are reporting that Omar is discussing a trade for Danys Baez and Aubrey Huff if all the other players that the Mets want more slip away. Presumably, now that Chuck LaMar is gone, these players can be had in a trade that doesn't involve David Wright or Jose Reyes.

This stuff is giving me a headache. I wouldn't trade much value for Soriano, I think he's overrated as a player, and needs to be in a real offensive home ball park to make sense for anybody. On a team like the Mets, that needs a lineup with more plate discipline, not less, he can be a disaster. The item from Newsday just seemed bizarre for all of the reasons that I already mentioned. I guess this is just the reality of the hot stove season now -- where any rumor that can receive any sort of substantiation is reported, because there are people like me (and you, reader) that hang on this stuff.