Hot Stove 11-1-12 – Hot Stove, Fall Stats, Dickey on OD

My 8am post will take a turn during this off season. The title will be ‘Hot Stove’ and it will include general information on players moving to and fro in the sport. Naturally, everything I pick up regarding the Mets will also be in the post.

Players opting for free agency:

          Joe Mather – OF – Chicago Cubs

Casey McGehee – 3B – NYY

Rafael Soriano – RP – NYY - $14mil

Don Kelly – SS – Detroit - $900K

Players Teams Have Declined an Option On:

          Matt Lindstrom – P – Arizona - $4mil - $200K buyout

          Mark Reynolds – 3B-1B – Baltimore - $11mil - $500K buyout

          Travis Hafner – DH – Cleveland - $13mil - $2.75 buyout

          Ubaldo Jimenez – P – Cleveland - $5,75mil - $1mil buyout

          Joakim Soria – RP – Kansas City - $8mil - $750K buyout

          Chris Snyder – C – Houston - $750K - $500K buyout

          Rod Barajas – C - Pittsburgh - $4mil

          Henry Blanco –  C - Arizona -  $1.24mil

Players Teams Have Picked Up Options on:

          Luis Ayala – P - Baltimore - $1mil

          Pedro Alvarez – 3B -  Pittsburgh - $700K

          Darren Oliver – P – Toronto - $3mil

          Jorge De La Rosa – P – Colorado - $11mil

Players Signed:

          Brandon League – LAD – 3-yr, $22.5mil        

Mike Ekstrom – Oakland -

Jake Peavy – P – CWS – 2-yr, $29mil

Rajai Davis – OF - Toronto - $2.5mil

Players on The Trading Block:

          Dan Haren – SP – LAA - $15.5mil option to LAA

          Ervin Santana – SP – LAA - $13mil option to LAA

(update – traded to Kansas City for minor league P Brandon Sisk + Angels will pick up part of Santana’s salary)

A few Mets minor leaguers are getting major play in the Latin fall leagues. 3B Wilmer Flores continues to dominate in the VWL (.321/.410/.453/.863, 1-HR, 3-RBI, 53-AB, 8-K, 6-BB). His BB/AB ratio continues to impress, but it would be nice to see a little more pop and risp hitting (3-RBI) here. SS Oswaldo Navarro got a lot of bat time early on in the VWL, but has cooled off (.162). IF-OF Jordany Valdespin has calmed down from his torrid start in the DWL, but his stat line is still impressive: .308/.419/.577/.996. Pitching wise, Armondo Rodriguez has thrown four scoreless outings (6.1-IP, 0.00) in the DWL, while Carlos Vasquez is still struggling in the LMP (7-G, 4.50).

Ed Leyro over at MMO brings up a real good point about who should be the opening day starter, Johan Santana or RA Dickey. Both have earned it in their own way; however, my job is to write about the future of the New York Mets, not the past. All having Johan Santana on this team has done is insuring a fourth place finish. Dickey won’t be around forever, but, because he throws a knuckleball, could easily pitch 3-4 more years for this team. Hey, I got an idea… sign a new 3-year deal and you get the ball!