Mets Hot Stove: Stop the Baez insanity!

For some reason, writers in western Florida think that the Mets are now more willing to trade Aaron Heilman...

Tampa Tribune: I can only hope this isn't true
Eduardo A. Encina is reporting that, despite the Seo trade for Duaner Sanchez, the Mets and Devil Rays are still discussing Danys Baez. Encina believes the Mets would now be willing to trade Aaron Heilman:

The Mets have denied the Rays' requests for a deal involving Heilmen. Sanchez, who was second in the National League in appearances with 79, was 4-7 with a 3.73 ERA in 2005 and became the Dodgers' closer in August. The acquisition of Sanchez could give the Mets enough bullpen depth to allow them to deal Heilman.

Heilman, the 27-year-old right-hander most coveted by the Rays, recently made it known through his agent that he wanted to be traded if he wasn't going to be a starter in New York. The Mets would like to place Baez in a set-up role for new closer Billy Wagner.

There have been some weird hot stove rumors so far, but this one gives me a headache. By all that is holy, what would be the advantage in trading Heilman now? Give up Heilman to rent Baez for a year? Heilman's versatility, either as a setup man or in the rotation, combined with his lower price tag and the simple fact that Baez isn't even an upgrade to Heilman, make this deal just insane. This one would make me angry. I haven't agreed with everything Omar has done, but you can defend every move he has made. Not this one, though. This would be pure Twilight Zone.

St. Petersburg Times: More Heilman
Damian Cristodero also reports that the Rays and Mets are still talking Heilman:

The trade by the Mets of pitcher Jae Seo to the Dodgers closed one door in the Devil Rays' efforts to trade closer Danys Baez to New York. But it could have nudged open another.

Seo was believed to be part of the negotiations with Tampa Bay. But with the right-handed starter out of the picture, and with the Mets' acquisition from Los Angeles of relievers Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll, New York suddenly has a few extra bullpen parts.

That could free the Mets to deal pitcher Aaron Heilman, the Rays' primary target. The right-hander, whom New York sees as a reliever, has requested a trade if he is not a starter.

Again, no one can really make a case that Baez is any upgrade to Heilman, and Aaron has exactly zero leverage to force a trade because he wants to start. And I remind everyone that Baez wants to close and we are looking at a one-year rental here. This is even more bizarre when you consider that a year ago you couldn't even give Heilman away.

Newark Star-Ledger: Sanchez gets the eighth?
Dan Graziano opines that newcomer Duaner Sanchez will actually move ahead of Heilman in the bullpen hierarchy:

In fact, based on his experience with the Dodgers the past two years, Sanchez is likely to be the primary eighth-inning setup man for newly signed closer Billy Wagner.

"He's proven that he can pitch in the eighth, and he even closed some games last year," Mets GM Omar Minaya said of the 26-year-old right-hander, who converted eight of 12 save chances last year while the Dodgers were without closer Eric Gagne. "We're more comfortable with (Aaron) Heilman and Sanchez where, before, Heilman was the guy in that role."

I think that remains to be seen, as Heilman actually posted better numbers last year. It's somewhat of a moot point, anyway, as it is likely there will be a relief pitcher pitching in the eighth inning of almost all Met games, given what their starters have done in the past. There will be a significant number of games where a reliever will be pitching in the seventh. There will be plenty of innings for setup men to pitch.

Graziano offers the following on Baez:

The Mets had been trying to get closer Danys Baez from the Devil Rays in exchange for Seo and second baseman Kaz Matsui. But they've been unable to do a deal with Tampa Bay because the Rays keep asking for Heilman, a pitcher the Mets don't want to trade. Baez remains a possibility, especially as the Mets continue to speak with the Rays about dealing Matsui and acquiring infielder Julio Lugo as his replacement, but currently, Sanchez appears to be the guy who will fill the role they had in mind for Baez.

I just can't see it at this point. I can't see the Mets bothering with this deal. I don't think that Lugo is that important right now, either.

The Journal News: Trying to get Pelfrey signed
Peter Abraham also reports on yesterday's happenings. He cites Omar Minaya that Victor Zambrano will likely be the fifth starter, replacing Jae Seo. He also offers the following tidbit:

After months of inactivity, the Mets are negotiating with Scott Boras to try to get right-hander Mike Pelfrey signed before spring training. Pelfrey was the team's first-round draft pick last June.

The second that he signs, Pelfrey becomes one of the Mets top prospects. After an off-season where so many have been traded away, it is crucial to get this kid signed.

New York Post: No Heilman for Baez
Joel Sherman and Michael Morrissey contradict what the two Tampa area papers were saying:

The Mets had worked to include Matsui in a trade with Tampa Bay for Baez and, perhaps, Julio Lugo. The Mets dangled Seo to land Baez, but Tampa Bay instead insisted on Aaron Heilman.

But Met officials say the club would only include Heilman in a package for a star such as Manny Ramirez, and that the Mets have no plans to use Heilman to acquire Baez.

...The Mets value Heilman because he is young, inexpensive and versatile. With Seo gone, Heilman offers rotation protection -- which is crucial, considering the fragile state of Pedro Martinez's right big toe [my emphasis].

...Heilman's ability to get lefties out is vital for the Mets, who have no certain southpaw set-up man. Heilman and Sanchez currently project as Wagner's main set-up men. Lefties hit .310 against Sanchez last year, just .208 against Heilman.

My point exactly -- except I could live without the Ramirez part.

New York Times: More on Sanchez
Ben Shpigel weighs in on the Sanchez deal, and he seems to like what he sees:

The Mets not only fortified their bullpen and eliminated a surplus in the rotation, they also became younger. Sanchez, 26, joins Billy Wagner and Aaron Heilman as the core of a revamped bullpen. He will compete with Heilman to become Wagner's setup man and can also close when Wagner is unavailable.

...The key to the deal is undoubtedly Sanchez, a younger, cheaper alternative to Tampa Bay's Danys Baez... Like Baez, Sanchez has a strong fastball, prefers to throw a splitter for his out pitch and has closing experience.

... The Devil Rays were reluctant to deal Baez unless they received Heilman; the Mets offered Seo and would not budge. When those talks fizzled, Minaya revisited discussions with the Dodgers that he had broached during the general managers meetings in November.

"I pursued other things, but this one was in front of me," Minaya said in a conference call yesterday. "The others that were out there never came to fruition. I had to make a choice: either wait for something else or get something that we've liked all along."

It's almost like that by acquiring Sanchez, the Mets no longer need Baez. Like maybe, just maybe, they might still be reluctant to trade Heilman. Shpigel quotes Omar on the state of the Mets bullpen:

I really think we can go with who we have now. I'm much more comfortable after this trade.

Shpigel also cites Omar Minaya that Pedro Martinez has begun to throw again, and still hopes to participate in the World Baseball Classic.

Daily News: A special shoe for Pedro
Anthony McCarron reports on the special shoe that Nike is making for Pedro to protect his troublesome toe.

Mets.com: Marty Noble looks at the Mets starting pitching
In what will be a regular Wednesday feature on Mets.com until spring training, beat writer Marty Noble previews a position on the Mets. This week's column was on starting pitching. After discussing Pedro's toe and Glavine's late season renaissance, Noble offers the following prognostication:

If the sum of Glavine's and Martinez's victories reaches 35 -- it was 28 last season -- the Mets ought to be well off, because the other three other starters should able to win 35 games, or perhaps 40 with the improved bullpen. Kris Benson (10 in only 28 starts) and the combination of Victor Zambrano (seven in 27), Steve Trachsel (one in six starts) and the since-departed Kaz Ishii (three in 16) combined for merely 29 victories in 91 starts last season.

...The offense, enhanced by the acquisition of Carlos Delgado, and the presence of closer Billy Wagner and setup man Sanchez ought to help increase the production of whatever sequence of starters manager Willie Randolph and pitching coach Rick Peterson create.

Marty also offers good news on Cuban import Alay Soler:

Alay Soler, the Cuban defector and still a relative unknown, could become an element in all this. The Mets have been delighted by his work in the Puerto Rican Winter League and are talking more about him as a Major League pitcher than they had been.

Next Wednesday, Noble will be previewing the bullpen.

Gotham Baseball: Multi-team madness
At GB, which has gotten a lot of mileage out of trade rumors the past few weeks, Mike McGann offers an interesting column discussing all of the rumors, and the complications involved in putting together a multi-team deal with big stars. He even offers one of the few honest reports in the media about how true Mets fans feel about Ramirez:

While some have humorously portrayed these trade discussions as the concoction of Mets' fans on the Internet, it seems a bit more like the worst nightmare for many of the team's fans. As a rule of thumb, I don't like taking on other team's problems -- rarely does it work out. To suggest that getting Manny is the wet dream of most Mets' fans is, well, like confusing soft-core porn with a slasher movie.

The Red Sox signed Manny Ramirez to a silly contract, at silly yearly rates and deferments reaching out seemingly into eternity — and they should live with it. They should find a way to keep their aging, mercurial slugger happy and start looking seriously, very seriously for some starting pitching. Manny or no Manny, unless the Sawks get some arms, they're going to have to do a lot of explaining to Red Sox Nation come October — especially if they finish behind Tampa Bay and just ahead of Baltimore.

To me, this is one of my biggest frustrations. I even have people come up to me that know I'm a Mets fan that say something like, "You must be really excited at the thought of the Mets getting Manny." Even Peter Gammons seems to believe that. How many ways can we say we don't want him, and believe the team to be much better off in the long run without him?