Mack Stuff – Frank Pastore,Travis D’Arnaud, RA Dickey, Mets 2013 Salaries

Former Reds pitcher Frank Pastore, who was injured in a car accident on Nov. 19, passed away Monday afternoon after four weeks in a coma. The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported last month that Pastore was driving a motorcycle when he was struck by a car. The driver of the car had lost control, according to California Highway Patrol Sgt. Aaron Knarr, and hit Pastore’s Honda Shadow in the car pool lane. The driver of the car wasn’t hurt and was not intoxicated. Pastore, 55, went 48-58 with a 4.29 ERA in an eight-year major league career that spanned 1979-86. He spent his first seven years with the Reds before finishing out his career as a reliever for the Twins. He had his best year in 1980, going 13-7 with a 3.27 ERA and a 110/42 K/BB ratio in 184 2/3 innings. Before the accident, he hosted a Christian radio show on KKLA in Los Angeles  http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/17/former-major-leaguer-frank-pastore-dies-after-four-weeks-in-coma/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

And all of this is without really tackling D’Arnaud specifically. The player himself provides one last possible issue: he’s a large man. At six-foot-two, there’s a chance that his size will limit his longevity. He’s 24 next year, and may see a drop-off in his ability to stay on the field before his years under team control are over, or so suggests that research from Jeff Zimmerman.  Prospects are iffy. Prospects whose best offensive seasons came in hitter-friendly parks might be more so. And (large?) catching prospects might even provide an additional layer of uncertainty. By all accounts, Travis D’Arnaud is an excellent all-around catcher and a great get for the rebuilding Mets. Given all those question marks, though, it’s still good news that there are other interesting names coming back to the Mets in the R.A. Dickey deal. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/travis-darnaud-las-vegas-and-catching-prospects

“I can’t tell you I was completely surprised. I knew, when the offers started coming in and I was negotiating with the Mets, I figured we were going to be in for a longer negotiation. At that point, the longer it goes, the more doubt can creep into your mind about, you know, ‘are they serious? Is this something they really want to do? Are we getting it going?’ All the human attributes start coming out. So, I’m not real sure if it was all just strategy, or if they really had an intention to sign me from the beginning. But I think, like all things, I think it grew into this. They started saying they might not be able to pay what I was asking for, and they thought they might get some good players in return. It just kind of grew into what it became. I don’t think there was ever an initial strategy one way or another.”

Cot has updated their Mets salaries, taking off Josh Thole and RA Dickey and adding John Buck. They list Buck as a $6.5mil add-on, but what’s not on there is the $4mil that Toronto will kick in to pay him. The total Mets salary is now $70.675, which includes $18.125 to Jason Bay. Take that $4mil off of the Buck number and you have a pre-ARB 2013 salary of $66.675. Seems to me there is plenty of money for an OFer.