July 2005 - New York Mets Wiretap

The Mets have been engaged in ongoing talks with the Devil Rays about reliever Danys Baez, but, according to multiple baseball sources, those discussions could bloom into a blockbuster four-team trade scenario in which Manny Ramirez winds up at Shea and similarly disgruntled slugger Miguel Tejada lands in Boston. According to sources, both the Red Sox and Orioles have resigned themselves to accommodating the trade requests of Ramirez and Tejada, who want off of their respective teams. But since the Orioles have signed Jeromy Burnitz to complete their outfield, they may not have a match with the Red Sox in a straight-up Tejada-for-Ramirez deal, so several baseball executives said they'd have to get other teams involved. That's where the Mets and Devil Rays come in. The basics of the four-team deal that had the baseball executives buzzing yesterday and would appear to satisfy the needs of all four clubs would have Tejada and Tampa Bay's Joey Gathright going to the Red Sox to fill Boston's holes at shortstop and center field. Ramirez and Baez would go to the Mets, giving them one of the game's best sluggers and a setup man. The Orioles would satisfy their need at shortstop by getting Julio Lugo from Tampa Bay and add pitching by getting Matt Clement from Boston and possibly Kris Benson from the Mets. The Devil Rays, who have always been difficult to deal with, especially in complicated transactions, are seeking top prospects and young pitching and would be satisfied in that regard by getting third baseman Andy Marte from Boston and Jae Seo and Aaron Heilman from the Mets. In addition, the Mets would send Kaz Matsui to Tampa to give the D-Rays a stopgap shortstop replacement until prospect B.J. Upton is ready. An executive with one of the teams called the four-team scenario far-fetched, but an official with another of the teams said he expected to broach such talks. The Mets and GM Omar Minaya long have coveted Ramirez, a nine-time All-Star. Ramirez has said he wants to leave Boston and the Mets are one of the few clubs in baseball that could take on all or part of his monster salary - Ramirez is due $57 million over the next three seasons. Money, of course, could complicate the deal. In addition to Ramirez's hefty price tag, Tejada is owed $48 million and part of a $12 million signing bonus for the next four years. Independently, the Mets have been talking for weeks with the Devil Rays about Baez, who was 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA and 41 saves as a closer last season. Seo and Heilman have been mentioned as possible matches in a potential one-for-one deal, but two Mets sources said yesterday they would "absolutely" not part with Heilman for Baez. However, if talks expand and include bringing Ramirez to the Mets, Heilman might have to be sacrificed. If the Mets got Baez, he would set up for new closer Billy Wagner. But Baez doesn't seem to want to switch jobs. In an interview yesterday with the St. Petersburg Times, he said, "I don't know if I want to be a setup guy. I want to be a closer. "But if they trade me, I don't have a choice. If they want me to be a setup guy, that's what I'll do."

The New York Mets signed center fielder Endy Chavez to a one-year contract on Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chavez, 27, split last season with Washington and Philadelphia after being acquired by the Phillies for outfielder Marlon Byrd. Chavez led the Phillies with 11 pinch-hits, including two pinch-hit triples, tops in the majors. "Chavez is an athletic player with excellent defensive skills in all three outfield positions," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. "He gives us another outfield option as we approach spring training."

The Mets say they are currently monitoring the Manny Ramirez situation with the Red Sox. That's another way of saying there is absolutely nothing brewing ? for now. But Boston's bungling of the Johnny Damon negotiations has made Ramirez, the Red Sox left fielder, even more angry, a source said yesterday, and he's now open to a trade to the Mets. However, the Mets haven't engaged in serious talks with the Red Sox since Boston's new front-office structure was announced earlier this month, and the two teams didn't talk yesterday. The Mets believe it will be more difficult to pull off a trade now that Damon is out of Boston. If the Mets were highly interested in making a deal, they could approach Ramirez's agents beforehand and ask if he would waive his no-trade clause. However, they haven't done that this winter, sources said. That's because the Mets weren't sure whether Ramirez truly wants to play for them, but he would strongly consider waiving his no-trade clause and coming to New York, a source confirmed yesterday. Earlier this year, Ramirez made it known he prefers to be traded to the Angels or Mariners. He also would be willing to go to Baltimore, according to a source. Now the hard part is making the deal. Ramirez is one of the few remaining run producers in Boston's lineup, so it would be hard to let him go. However, there are other glaring holes the Red Sox desperately need to fill; Damon's exit leaves Boston without a center fielder. The Red Sox already were missing a shortstop and first baseman. Before Damon's exit became official, co-GM Ben Cherington addressed the issue Tuesday afternoon. "Our position is the same as it's been all along," Cherington reportedly said during a conference call. "I think we have a pretty good idea of what Manny's value to our team is. "We're trying to accommodate his request by listening to teams in terms of what they would offer for Manny. We haven't gotten to a point where we feel that we're getting something that was of equal value in return. "In our perception we're not getting equal value in return, so therefore nothing's happened. We also continue to talk to Manny and his representatives and continue to work on flushing out the issues that he has. That's an ongoing process."

Pedro Martinez's right toe still hurts after nearly three months of rest. The New York Mets' ace said Monday night that he has used a protective shoe but still feels a little pain. "This worries me a little because generally by this time of the year I'm already throwing," he said at a dinner held for major league players by Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez. The 34-year-old right-hander went 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA last season, his first with the Mets. Martinez still hopes to pitch in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. "I want to participate and, if were up to me, I'm 100 percent committed to the classic and to the Dominican Republic, but it will depend on my health," he said. Martinez was pleased with the offseason moves made by Mets general manager Omar Minaya. "Now, more than ever I'm proud to play for Omar Minaya because he's managed to strengthen the team and helped us get the opportunity to win," he said.

The Mets have been linked to disgruntled Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada in numerous reports ? a development that one team official refused to comment on last night. But if the club regards its bullpen as a priority, there is at least one other trade the Mets could make immediately. Granted, they'd be showing the same disregard for money and/or prospects they showed in the Paul Lo Duca and Carlos Delgado deals, but they could swap righty Aaron Heilman for Tampa Bay closer Danys Baez if they wished. However, Mets officials have continuously stated that Heilman is very unlikely to be moved this winter, a stance that has shifted almost 180 degrees over the last year. Though Mets GM Omar Minaya talked with the Devil Rays repeatedly during last week's winter meetings, he remains unwilling to move Heilman for Baez. The reluctance to trade the Mets' 2001 first-round pick is worth reviewing.

Frustrated by the complexity of a megadeal for Manny Ramirez, the Mets have ramped up their discussions involving Barry Zito, and the club already has inquired about the possibility of signing him to an extension as part of any trade with the Athletics. With that in mind, the Mets continued their efforts last night to move Kris Benson, discussing a trade with the Royals that would bring a relief pitcher, Jeremy Affeldt or Mike MacDougal, to Flushing. A baseball official with knowledge of the talks described the trade as "imminent" at one point, but another said a deal was not close as of late last night. Finding a taker for Benson hasn't been easy. The Mets considered shipping him to the Orioles last week for reliever Jorge Julio but scrapped that proposal in about 24 hours. The benefit of trading Benson is twofold. The Mets not only would get a chance to upgrade their rotation at the No. 3 spot with a former Cy Young winner in Zito, but they would get to clear Benson's salary off the payroll. He is due $15 million in the next two seasons. If the deal eventually gets done with the Royals, the Mets will receive a quality arm for their bullpen, which is another area of concern. When general manager Omar Minaya was asked earlier in the day if the Mets will seek to bolster their rotation, he said, "We would like to add a guy. In our ballpark, we like to have pitching as a priority. If there's an opportunity to get a front-line guy, you have to explore it." Zito would appear to be that guy. He will earn $8.5 million this season in the walk year of his contract, and the cost-conscious Athletics have a habit of trading their most expensive players rather than paying to keep them.

Mets GM Omar Minaya has crossed catcher off his holiday shopping list, shunning the free agent market and turning once again to the Florida Marlins in a deal for Paul LoDuca, the Daily News has learned. In exchange for the 33-year-old Brooklyn-born LoDuca, Minaya sacrificed one of the Mets' top pitching prospects, 21-year-old righthander Gaby Hernandez, a Miami high school product, and another minor leaguer pitcher to be named. But LoDuca, who hit .283 with six homers and 85 RBI last season, is regarded as one of the top offensive catchers in the game as well as a team leader and positive clubhouse presence. When the offseason began, Minaya cited a closer, a middle-of-the-order first baseman and a catcher as his top three priorities and he has now satisfied all of them, having previously obtained Carlos Delgado in a trade with the Marlins and signed closer Billy Wagner as a free agent. It was not until a trade to send LoDuca to the Arizona Diamondbacks fell through last week that Minaya went back to his Florida counterpart, Larry Beinfest, to land a first-string catcher to replace Mike Piazza.

The Mets are believed to be close to a deal in which they would send a minor-league prospect to the Marlins for catcher Paul Lo Duca, according to a major-league source. The identity of the Met prospect was not immediately known ? but it's hard to envision it being Lastings Milledge, the jewel of their minor-league system. Getting Lo Duca would give the Mets a starting catcher and continue their extremely aggressive offseason so far. They have already added star free-agent closer Billy Wagner and slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado, the latter coming in a trade with the fire sale Marlins two weeks ago. Lo Duca batted .283 with six homers and 57 RBIs this past season and threw out 21 percent of runners trying to steal. The backstop, 34 in April, is owed $12.5M over the next two years.

Omar Minaya is very much looking forward to his meeting with Red Sox officials next week in Dallas, and the Mets' GM is still hopeful he can put the ultimate flourish on an already sparkling offseason by working a trade for Manny Ramirez. The Mets are not the only team interested in Ramirez, but their biggest competition is expected to be the Angels. The Phillies did have dialogue with Boston about a Ramirez-for-Bobby Abreu swap, but several sources said such a deal was a longshot since the Phillies would prefer a starting pitcher in return for Abreu (they were hoping to get Javier Vazquez from Arizona but that seems unlikely) and also aren't interested in taking on Ramirez's bloated contract. If the Mets were in the market for another outfielder, they actually might be the best fit for the Phillies since they've got starters to burn and have received numerous calls about Kris Benson. Although there were preliminary conversations between the Mets and Orioles about a deal that would send Benson to Baltimore for reliever Jorge Julio, it now appears several other teams could offer a more attractive package in exchange for the Mets righthander, and Minaya is expected to gauge his best move next week.

The New York Post reported on Thursday that at least two sources said the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets are talking seriously about trading reliever Jorge Julio for starter Kris Benson in a move that could help both teams. The paper said that a deal could be finished at the Winter Meetings in Dallas next week. The Orioles have been searching for an experienced starter since last winter to help anchor a staff of young pitchers. New York, meanwhile, needs some bullpen help, especially after signing closer Billy Wagner to a deal in recent days. Julio would likely fit into some form of setup role with the Mets. Julio struggled throughout last season in his setup role with Baltimore. He was 3-5 with a 5.90 ERA after being moved out of the closer's role in favor of B.J. Ryan, who had a breakout season before signing a deal as a free agent with Toronto earlier this week.