It seems that synthetic testosterone has
become the PED of choice in baseball today and, like some of its predecessors,
it’s difficult to detect. Word around baseball is that “everyone” is taking it,
though I do caution that the person you ask may simply be influenced by the
type of person they ‘hang’ with. One this is for certain… Wednesday is the day
baseball drops the bomb on the players by releasing the names of the stunards
that get caught. Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Ryan
Braun, and now, Yazmani Grandal, all go
down the baseball road of hell on Wednesday.
There are mixed signals
out there regarding the future of RA Dickey as a
Met. Dickey himself has told reporters that the negotiations are going along
well and, frankly, this is a brutally honest man. He would never say something like
this as a ploy. At the same time, multiple Mets beat reporters are writing that
the Mets are looking to move Dickey (wanting a 5-year deal isn’t helping
matters). There seems to be an advantage for the Mets here going down this
road. Dickey is 38-years old and has had some history of small dings. In
addition, there really is only one (Zack Greinke)
quality starter out there in the free agent market and he’s asking unheard of
dollars/years for a deal. I would wait until after the announcement of the CY Young
Award if I was Alderson. On the trade market, it’s really no big deal if he
doesn’t get it, but being winning it adds more to what comes available. You get
a two quality players here, be them a catcher, an outfielder, or another young
starter, make David Wright happy with a long
term deal, and sign Melky Cabrera to replace
Jason Bay (1-yr), and you can walk away from this off-season as a success.
The Mets announced that
they will return to the Gulf Coast League next season with a team housed at the
Port St. Lucie complex. That’s great. In my opinion, you can’t have enough
minor league players in your system trying to fulfill their dreams. This now
answers the question I’ve been asking why there are so many players still in
Extended Camp and why there hasn’t been the usual releases the week after the
season. Look for a ton of visas being handed out to last year’s DSL1 and DSL2
team members, and there is a better than good chance you’ll be able to see
players like Ahmed Rosario, Leon Canelon, Pedro Perez,
Adrian Abreu, Manuel Hilario, and Vincente Lupo.
Regarding J.P. Ricciardi’s new three-year extension, don’t
worry, there are plenty of escape clauses in these contacts if the Wilpons want
to rid themselves of the whole Sandy and Company thing. I see this more of an
affirmation by Alderson that he believes in Ricciardi, even though it doesn’t
seem like any other team thinks enough of him to offer him a General Manager
position this off-season. Regarding his overseeing the minors, I continue to be
highly under-impressed with his picks the past two years. I see no one as a
breakthrough star, though I like Michael Fulmer and Jack Leathersich from the
2011 crew. Last year, IMO, is a bunch of long shots. I just don’t see this guy
being some kind of minor league guru.
Hot Stove:
Trades:
Toronto receives P Jeremy Jeffress from
Kansas City - cash
Signings:
Blue Jays – IF Maicer Izturis -
3-year, $10MM – 32-yrs old - .256/.320/.315, 319-AB
DePo does the minors.
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