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Looper And Mientkiewicz Bought Out, Option Exercised On TrachselCloser Braden Looper's $5.5 million option was declined Monday by the New York Mets, who will pay the reliever a $250,000 buyout. New York also exercised right-hander Steve Trachsel's $2.5 million option and declined a $4 million option on first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who gets a $450,000 buyout. "Even though we declined Braden's option, we still plan on having conversations with his agent,'' Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. Looper went 4-7 with a 3.94 ERA and 28 saves in 36 chances and had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder on Oct. 3, the day after the season ended. The Mets might decide not to re-sign Looper and land another closer. Trachsel missed most of the season following back surgery in March and went 1-4 with a 4.14 ERA. Mientkiewicz, acquired from Boston last winter after the Mets failed to sign free-agent Carlos Delgado, hit .240 with 11 homers and 29 RBIs. New York Mets Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Mets Back In Manny ChaseManny Ramirez reportedly wants out of Boston, and that should come as welcome news to the Mets, who have pursued the slugger for at least a year. Ramirez's agent, Greg Genske, has said Ramirez would want no part of the Mets if he were traded. But that won't stop the Mets from pursuing Ramirez, according to someone familiar with the team's thinking. Given Ramirez's oft-changing stances, it seems plausible Ramirez could be convinced by Omar Minaya and Pedro Martinez to join the Mets if the teams could strike a deal. Ramirez, who has three years and $57 million left on his contract, has threatened not to report to spring training if he remains with the Red Sox. Gene Mato, a representative for Ramirez, informed the team on Friday, The Boston Globe reported. "Manny, his representatives and the Red Sox have open lines of communication and will throughout the offseason," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told the newspaper. "I think we all want whatever is in the club's best interest and Manny's best interest. Those conversations are private and completely confidential. For anyone to reveal the nature of those talks would be ridiculous. We have no comment." Ramirez, with 10 years of major-league service and five as a Red Sox player, can veto any trade. The Mets and Red Sox worked on a three-team deal at the July 31 trading deadline that would have shipped Mike Cameron, Aaron Heilman and Aubrey Huff to the Red Sox, landed Ramirez, Danys Baez and Julio Lugo in Flushing and shipped both teams' top prospects to the Devil Rays. New York Mets, Boston Red Sox Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Oakland Could Make Zito AvailableOmar Minaya said he does not believe they will find a top-notch pitcher in the upcoming free-agent market. He does believe it could be had in trades. Oakland might make Barry Zito available if it could find an affordable, young pitcher that fits its strike-throwing, homer-reducing philosophies. Aaron Heilman might fit that mode. New York Mets Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Mets Oct 2005 Archive
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