Hubbuch: Escobar offered minor-league deal with Mets [Update]

Update – 8:11 p.m.: Hubbuch has edited the post.  It now only says that Escobar was offered a deal, not that he signed one.

Original Post: According to Bart Hubbuch, Kelvim Escobar has signed a minor-league contract with the Mets.

Escobar missed all of 2008 and nearly all of ‘09 with shoulder injuries.  His last full season came in 2007 with the Angels.  He went posted a 3.40 ERA and 1.267 WHIP.  He struck out 160 and walked 66 in 195 2-3 innings.  He surrendered 11 home runs.

Escobar will likely work out of the bullpen due to his injuries.

Twitter Poll: Mets fans react to Halladay in Philly

With Roy Halladay-to-Philly looking more and more like a definite, I asked my Twitter followers for their reaction to the deal.

Here are some responses…

soxanddawgs (A Red Sox fan): very happy he's out of the AL East

JeffWilponNYM: When did this happen?

darknova306: It makes them slightly better, but they already had the NL East wrapped up before the trade. If they get a short extension…

darknova306 continued: for Halladay, then they've come out a little more ahead. Either way we wouldn't have gotten him, so meh.

gmo418: Phillies 2010 NL East champs (again) and citi will be fairly empty this year.

ncampione: I didn’t think we are gonna win the division anyway so this move just ensures that we will not win

TheRealHoov: upgrade from Lee, but is it minimal? could be great, but its risky to an extent

scratchbomb: seems worse than it is. the trading off of Lee in the same deal makes it a lateral move, in my opinion

YaGottaBKiddnMe: All the Phillies basically did was rename Cliff Lee. This season he'll be called Roy Halladay. So what...

dances_w_vowels: Over a single season, Halladay is probably more consistent but Lee can be a damn good pitcher. It's almost a wash.

Your thoughts?

Potentially bad day for the NL East [Image]

Ugh.

Bay’s decision coming soon

Both Ed Price and Ken Davidoff report that a decision from Jason Bay is expected sometime this week, possibly in the next few days.

If he agrees to a deal with the Mets, this gives them a lot of time to focus on the rest of the holes they need to fill.  If he declines or signs elsewhere, I guess that means they still have a lot of time, but with another hole.

Report: Mets make offer to Kelvim Escobar [Twitter]

Arangure went on to quote Kelvim Escobar as liking that Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez and Henry Blanco were all Mets and that he wants to play with fellow Venezuelans.

As a bullpen arm, Escobar could be a good low-risk, high-reward player, something the Mets will probably see a lot of in spring training.

Lackey to Boston? What it means for the Mets

As Ed Price first reported, John Lackey will be undergoing a physical with the Boston Red Sox.  This, as I’m sure you can deduce, means that they are close on a deal.

What does that mean for the Mets?

Obviously, this throws a wrench into the possibility of signing the top-tier pitcher for the Mets.

As I wrote today, the Mets shouldn’t be counted out of Lackey and Jason Bay, so it should be the same for the Red Sox.  Though they could so it, they probably won’t.

This leaves the Mets as the top suitor for Bay.  A mystery team has supposedly offered a five-year deal to Bay.  Some say it’s the Mariners.

If Bay is being bid on by only two teams, that might mean it won’t cost a bidding war over Bay and he might be able to sign for a “bargain.”

But if Bay goes elsewhere, and Lackey signs in Boston, where does that leave the Mets?

Pelfrey, the head case?

A few people are calling for a psychiatrist to take a look into Mike Pelfrey’s cranium.

But this isn’t news.  If you may remember in early September…

"I was so upset, I had to get outside," Pelfrey said Wednesday afternoon. "I had to get some fresh air. I had to breathe."

Once he found himself standing in the middle of the parking lot, Pelfrey began running laps, each about 13 blocks long, as his teammates struggled through the late innings of an 8-3 loss to Colorado.
---
"If you had talked to me in the sixth inning," Pelfrey said, "I would have done something I would have regretted."

Am I worried?  No, not at all. 

Are you?

Bay and Lackey?

As you likely know, the Mets have extended a four-year, $65 million deal to free agent Jason Bay.

I don’t love the deal and I really hope the Mets are not the rumored team that have offered Bay five years.  (Is that you, Seattle?)  But, with the offered deal, the Mets might be able to swing another free agent on the market.

Not that I’m condoning it, but with the money the Mets save on the deal (by going for Bay over Scott Boras-client Matt Holliday), it is in the realm of possibility they could also sign John Lackey.

Yes, the Mets want to stay within a reasonable distance of their payroll from 2009.  Yes, adding Lackey and Bay would probably be silly, devoting so much of the payroll to these two players (and add in Johan Santana for an even bigger chunk).

Likely? No. Plausible? Slightly. Going to happen? Doubt it.

But as JP said in Angels in the Outfield, “It could happen!”

Link: Johan’s home

Head over to The New York Times to read a fascinating story about Johan Santana’s annual pilgrimage back to his hometown in Venezuela.

SNY was on hand to tape the events, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing it at a later date.

I love Johan more and more each day.

Poll Results: Do you trust Omar Minaya?

My latest poll shows that fans don’t trust Omar Minaya much at all.  But are you really surprised?

Next poll: What ticket plan will you get next season?