TRADE RUMORS: Multiple teams in on Dillon Gee

     Sandy Alderson and his team have been received calls from multiple teams about the asking price for RHSP Dillon Gee. We will track the rumors here......

• According to Jon Morosi, The Texas Rangers are discussing a swap of hitting for pitching with the Mets. Specifically, the Rangers front office is interested in Dillon Gee, who is a Texas native and played his college ball in Texas.

• Jon is now adding that the Colorado Rockies and the Minnesota Twins have called the Mets about Dillon Gee as well.

• It's a busy day for Mr. Morosi as the San Francisco Giants are now interested in Dillon Gee and have contacted Sandy's group.

• According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, The Kansas City Royals are also interested in Dillon Gee.

• Andy Martino reports that Minnesota's interest in Dillon Gee is "very preliminary."

• Jon Heyman is the latest to chime in via Twitter stated the Rangers are interested but not "enamored" by Dillon Gee. He goes on to name the Royals and Twins as more likely destination points.

• In an ESPN update, Adam Rubin is now indicating that the San Diego Padres are "kicking the tires" on a potential trade for Dillon Gee.

• Joel Sherman adds, that the Minnesota Twins are interested in both Dillon Gee and RHSP Bartolo Colon and are willing to part with SS Eduardo Escobar. However, Mets talent scouts do not see Escobar as a significant upgrade to current SS Wilmer Flores.

• YES network's Jack Curry, hears that Sandy Alderson will trade Dillon Gee before this week is over.

• Martino feels that there is a 50/50 chance that Dillon Gee is traded within the next 24 hours.

• Ken Rosenthal adds that the Mets will likely not get a SS in return but could fill their other remaining roles in regards to a 2nd lefty reliever and a right handed bench piece. In addition the club could even get prospects in return for Gee.

• According to Adam Rubin, the Mets are interested in Colorado LHRP Rex Brothers.

Hot Stove: Team Targets Peralta, Aceves, Brewers/Astros Shying Away from Davis.

     According to Nick Cafardo via Twitter, the Mets are interested in Red Sox RP Alfredo Aceves. After closing and converting 25 saves for the Sox in 2012, Aceves began the 2013 as a starter replacing the John Lackey in the rotation for the first but relationships between him and the Red Sox front office soured as the season went on. In July, Aceves claimed he was suffering from some sort of injury that was unknown to manager John Farrell. The controversy led him to be outrighted to AAA and placed on the 7 day DL for the remainder of the season. In his 11 appearances last season Aceves was 4-1 with a 4.86 ERA and a near 1:1 K to BB ratio.

(Sounds like another version of Frank Francisco if you ask me. As with Chris Young, if you can sign him to a minor league deal then fine bring him on board. However, anything more then that is not worth the possible headache considering the large number of young pitchers we have now and in AAA that can contribute.)

     According to CBS Sports John Heyman, SS Jhonny Peralta was spotted in Orlando, Florida and the team secretly met with the free agent to discuss his interest in joining the Mets. However Buster Olney, via Twitter, reported yesterday that the shortstop's representatives are apparently seeking a 3 year deal for $45M or more.

(Aye aye aye....$15M a season is up on the high side for Peralta and could be too rich for my blood. Alderson would be wise to wait it out and see how the market responds to Peralta's demands. We have to remember that the longer Stephen Drew sits on the market the more his price will be hurt by the Qualifying Offer he received. No need to panic here, continue being patient.)

     The Milwaukee Brewers seem to have changed their stance and are now interested in bringing back 1B Corey Hart for the 2014 season. At this point in time, John Heyman believes, that the Brewers prefer to sign the free agent rather than give up the pieces needed to trade for 1B Ike Davis. The Houston Astros do not seem to be a fit either as a potential trade partner. However, Metsblog's Anthony Vazzano via Mike Francesca, caught wind of discussions between the Mets and the Baltimore Orioles surrounding a trade centered around OF Nick Markakis. 

(Yes!! This is where releasing who your meeting with and how many teams are interested in helps out tremendously. Here we are at the beginning of the off-season thinking Davis had 0 trade value. Then we hear about a potential Davis for Aoki swap, then its Davis for Fowler, all of a sudden 5 teams are interested, and now his price tag has been driven up so much that we're talking about Markakis, a consistent .290 avg, 15 HR, strong armed former Gold Glover OF who is coming off a "bad" season which he still hit .271.)

Hot Stove Report: THEY LIKE IKE!, Byrdman goes to Philly, Interest in Chris Young

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed OF Marlon Byrd to a 2 yr contract for $16M (AAV: $8M). Included within the contract is a vesting option for 2016 for $8M. If Byrd reaches 600 plate appearances in 2015 or 1,100 plate appearance combined during the life of his contract, the option will vest. If not, it then becomes a club option for the Phillies. There is no buyout known at this time.

(Good for him...He bounced back nicely after being suspended for PEDs in 2012 and deserved to get a nice pay raise. That said, while the $8M per season isn't too cumbersome, that 3rd year is. Everyday starters generally have 625+ PA per season and Byrd currently slots in as one of those starters.  Marlon will be playing next season at age 36 and early Steamer projections only anticipate him hitting .256 with 12 HR and 51 RBI as they expect his Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) and Isolated Power (ISO) to normalize back to career norms. )

According to John Heyman of CBS Sports, a bevy of teams have inquired on what the Mets want for 1B Ike Davis. He specifically list the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Colorado Rockies as confirmed suitors. Teams seem to view Davis as another potential Chris Davis change of scenery scenario.

(Sandy Alderson has to be salivating over the large number of teams that want Davis. Expect this to drag out for some time as Sandy goes back and forth from team to team trying to get more and more out of this deal. We may end up with a good OF'er or a MLB ready OF prospect when it's all said and done.)

Lastly, according to Marc Craig, via Twitter, the Mets are interested in CF Chris Young. Young played in Oakland last year and hit a measly .200 with a .280 OBP and 12 home runs.

(Meh...Am I missing something here? Young probably is no better than a AAAA OF  at this point in his career. If he can be had for a minor league deal then sure but we shouldn't sign him to be on our MLB squad. One could argue that he provides excellent defensive value but we already have a power hitting top notch defensive OF'er on our bench in Matt den Dekker.)

Hot Stove Report: Talks for Ike Davis Heat Up, then Cool Down

According to Kristie Ackert of the NY Daily News, word out of Orlando from other GM's seems to be that General Manager Sandy Alderson has come out aggressive to start the GM Meetings. The club's front office has already sat down and discussed a potential trade between the Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers for 1B Ike Davis. According to Andy Martino, No deal is imminent at this time as the Brewers will likely search the Free Agent market before the trade market. On the flip side, Alderson prefers to be patience and let the thin 1B free agent market increase Davis' trade value as the off-season wears on.

(Sounds like the same game plan Sandy had when he held onto Marlon Byrd at the trade deadline and then STOLE Victor Black and Dilson Herrera from the Pirates in August. This is the correct strategy and one that will pay dividends. The fact of the matter is that the 1B market is in fact EXTREMELY thin. Once you get past Napoli and Morales (both who require forfeiting a 1st round pick) the next best options are James Loney, Corey Hart, and Justin Morneau, all of which only possess 15+ HR power and/or are injury prone.)

On top of a potential Ike Davis trade, Adam Rubin reported that about 5-6 teams have inquired about fellow 1B Lucas Duda. American League teams view Duda as a wonderful fit to fill their DH role. Duda is arbitration eligible this off-season due to his Super 2 status and is expected to earn $1.8M which is still about half of salary that Ike Davis is expected to garner.

(This opens up an interesting scenario. If the teams receives offers for both Duda and Davis, do you trade them both and open up 1B for Wilmer Flores? It would save about $5.3M which could be used towards signing a front end pitcher looking to rebound such as Josh Johnson.)

Lastly, according to NY Daily News sources, RP LaTroy Hawkins is expected to return to the Mets for the 2014 season. The source states that "No numbers have been discussed, but Sandy Alderson made the call to Hawkins’ representatives.....Sandy usually makes the call when they are getting close to make a deal. Usually at the beginning they have other guys making the call. It’s a sign that they are serious about this.”

(This process is similar to what Mack stated yesterday so it sounds like Hawkins is a shoe-in for the 2014 bullpen as he should be. He'll bring extremely valuable experience to a 'pen that is  expected to have a lot of young guys in it.)

Hot Stove: Ike Davis Trade Rumors

The first true concrete trade rumor has flown off the Mets Rumor Mill last night. In his written article for the New York Post, Joel Sherman suggests that the team views Davis as a "change of scenery"" guy and a potential move could involve sending him to Milwaukee in exchange for Brewers RF Norichika Aoki. However would this trade make sense on both sides?

Currently the team has a logjam at 1B with Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, and potentially even Daniel Murphy and Wilmer Flores. After blasting 19 HR in his rookie campaign and 32 HR in his sophomore season, Davis went ice cold with only 9 HR in 2013 and was even demoted. His swing and plate approach seemed to change weekly and he looked lost in just about every plate appearance.

However, a 30+ HR hitter doesn't just disappear. This could be just as much of a detriment to the team's hitting coach Dave Hudgens for his failure to help Davis figure it out. A move to Milwaukee's Miller Park could also help Davis as the stadium is more favorable to HR hitters according to RotoGrinders. Citi Field was also ranked as the worst place for Left Handed Hitter last season with a 0.89 Park Factor, whereas Milwaukee was tied for 7th best with a 1.03 PF.

Norichika Aoki, meanwhile, is a consistent around above average RF. His stats for his 2 seasons with Milwaukee are below:

	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	SB	BB	K
2012	0.288	0.355	0.433	10	50	30	43	55
2013	0.286	0.356	0.370	8	37	20	55	40

This looks like your prototypical lead-off hitter  doesn't strikeout, has a healthy on base percentage, and steals bases. Even better, with his 2014 option being picked up, Aoki is only slated to make $1.5M this season. However the Brewers aren't exactly overstaffed in the OF.

With the return of LF Ryan Braun, the Brew Crew have a starting OF of Braun, Carlos Gomez, and Aoki and a bench of Logan Schaefer and Khris Davis. However Davis had an extremely strong performance filling in for Braun during his suspension and hit .279 with 11 HR in his rookie campaign.

Although it is a small sample size, He did hit .350 in the minors in 2012 though and, according to David Grant of ReviewingtheBrew.com, could have the potential to be a 30+ HR, 100+ RBI hitter with full time work. This leaves Aoki as the 4th OF on the team.

Lastly we have to look at the Brewers 1B situation. In 2013, Juan Francisco and Yuniesky Betancourt manned the corner and both were dreadful both offensively and defensively. After coming over from the Atlanta Braves, Francisco hit .221 with 13 HR and a -8.7 UZR at 1B. Betancourt meanwhile hit .212 with 13 HR as well and a -2.7 UZR. Betancourt is now a free agent which leaves the team with only Francisco and their catchers as the only listed 1B on the roster. Steamer projections estimate that Francisco will only hit .239 with 21 HR next season while continuing his bad play at 1B.

On paper, this actually looks like a good opportunity for both clubs. Minute Maid Park would be beneficial to Ike Davis' left handed power and fills a huge hole at 1B while only adding $2M in payroll, while Aoki, could slot in as a major leadoff Left Field upgrade over Eric Young Jr. (who only had a .293 OBP in the leadoff spot) while actually saving the team some money to use on a power hitting RF.

FLASH: Mets Making Some Moves in the Trade Market

(update- 12:03 PM)

Andy Martino ‏@MartinoNYDN7m

Typo before. Said Mets "worked" on several trades. Should be "working." Several balls in the air at the moment, is my understanding.

 

(update- 10:31 AM)

According to Jon Heyman via Twitter a National League team has claimed Marlon Byrd.

 

(update- 10:24 AM)

Prior to the trade deadline MLB Trade Rumors had linked Marlon Byrd to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Baltimore Orioles. The general consensus is that the unknown team could very well be the Cincinnati Reds.

 

(update: 9:52 AM)

Reports are stating that OF Marlon Byrd has been claim off of trade waivers. Not sure on whether or not this was a block by another team or if the team has begun negotiations with the claiming team.

 

(initial report- 8:48 AM)

According to reports from team insider per Adam Rubin of ESPN, At least 5 Mets including Pedro Feliciano, John Buck, and Marlon Byrd have been placed on revocable trade waivers. In addition, Matt Den Dekker, Robert Carson, and Anthony Recker are currently en route to NYC in preparation of a trade being made.

 

(Stayed tuned folks.....Looks like its going to be another busy reporting day for us.)