Mets baseball blog

Mets have some interest in Kazmir

The Mets' recent surge to .500, which they reached again Wednesday night with a 4-0 win over the Braves, has been built largely on the team's inexplicably successful starting pitching.

But that doesn’t mean GM Sandy Alderson isn’t still looking around — apparently everywhere.

Alderson confirmed the Mets could be interested in former Mets pitching prospect Scott Kazmir, who was released by the Angels on Wednesday.

"We talk about everyone on the waiver wire," said Alderson, who added Kazmir's history with the organization would play a role in any possible decision. "That's a factor in this particular case, but it all goes into making a good baseball decision." (continue)

Young could be a gem for Mets

Sit down Mets fans. This may come as a bit of a shock. Looks like the Mets got something right.

Consider this comment from one of the better scouts in the game who has watched Chris Young pitch several times this spring.

"If Chris Young stays healthy, he's one of the best signings of the winter," the scout told the Post yesterday. "He hides the ball in the way Sid Fernandez did and that makes him so effective."

The 6-foot-10 Young just happens to be a lot taller than Fernandez, the wide-load lefty.

Young threw against the Mets minor leaguers and Carlos Beltran yesterday because he didn't want to face the Marlins again and give away any trade secrets. He's hiding the ball better than ever and he's ready for the season. (Post)

Mets eat 12 million on Ollie, thank you Omar

The Mets’ long, national nightmare is over.

Oliver Perez is history with the Mets after receiving word Monday morning from general manager Sandy Alderson and manager Terry Collins he would be released.

The putrid lefty appeared in the team’s clubhouse at 8:15 a.m. and began shaking hands with players, ending a tumultuous run with the organization that gave him one of the worst contracts in baseball history.

“They told me they were going to let me go, and I think that is best for the team and best for me,” said Perez, who will collect $12 million this season. (Post)

Castillo cut loose by Mets

After nearly every game this spring, Jose Reyes went to Luis Castillo's house, and tried to help his mentor cope with looming unemployment, and wounded pride.

"He felt bad," Reyes said Friday, minutes after the Mets released Castillo, despite the $6 million still owed to the embattled second baseman. "I talked to him every single day. The energy level was kind of down, because of all the speculation about what was going to happen to him. It got in his head. I wanted to help him out, because it's tough on the field when all that stuff is in your head." (News)

Mets sign Dickey for two years

Hours after the Mets said that Friday's news about their finances would not affect baseball operations, they invested in their pitching staff, agreeing to terms with knuckleballer R.A, Dickey on a two-year contract with a club option for a third year, a major league source told the Daily News.

The agreement, which enables both sides to avoid salary arbitration, is pending a physical, which is expected to take place Monday in New York. Once the deal is finalized, the Mets will have locked up an important rotation piece, and Dickey will have received the security he has pursued since 1996.

That year, the Texas Ranfers made Dickey a first-round draft choice, offered an $810,000 bonus, then reduced that figure to $75,000 after discovering that Dickey lacked an ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Dickey, now 36, struggled for years to .become an established pitcher, and eventually developed a knuckleball.

With that pitch finally honed, Dickey ascended last season from emergency starter to rotation stalwart for the Mets. (News)

Mets sign Chris Young

Sandy Alderson has made no secret of his interest in Chris Young. Now, after months of flirtation, the Mets finally appear to be closing in on the right-hander.

According to a source, the two sides have agreed to a contract, pending a physical for the oft-injured pitcher -- so the deal isn't expected to be finalized until later in the week.

"Things are moving forward" with the 6-foot-10 free agent, according to a team official.

The Mets have been talking to the 31-year-old since shortly after Alderson took over as the team's general manager, as both he and VP Paul DePodesta were executives in San Diego when Young -- who has had trouble staying healthy since coming up with the Rangers in 2004 -- pitched for the Padres. (Post)

 

Mets interested in injury prone Sheets

Ben Sheets hasn't pitched in the majors in more than a year, but that will not keep the Mets from keeping an eye on the former All-Star right-hander this winter.

The oft-injured Sheets, who last pitched with the Brewers in 2008, has been sidelined since February because of surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his forearm, but he expects to be healthy by spring training. Continue

Marquis on radar, behind Lackey and Pineiro

Jeff Francoeur wasn't kidding when he told The Post this summer that free-agent right hander Jason Marquis badly wants to be a Met in 2010.

Marquis backed that up this week, telling The Post he considers the Mets "a perfect fit" while expressing his admiration both for their lineup and Citi Field.

"It would always be nice to come back home and represent your hometown [as a member of the Mets]," said Marquis, who grew up in Staten Island and still lives there. "This is where I'm from, so to come back here and play in front of friends and family would be an honor." Continue

Mets serious about Chone Figgins

Though they are fixated on adding a power bat such as Matt Holliday’s or Jason Bay’s, the Mets are in the words of an involved party “absolutely in” on free agent Chone Figgins.

One Mets official said Figgins would be “hard to fit” into their current situation. Translation: It would be a whole lot easier if they could trade the two years and $12 million left on Luis Castillo’s contract to create money and a second base opening for Figgins.

“Castillo is definitely in play,” an NL executive said. For example, the Mets talked to the Diamondbacks about flipping Castillo for catcher Chris Snyder, a discussion that now appears dead. Continue

Mets release Livan

There was a time this season when Livan Hernandez was the Mets' most dependable pitcher aside from Johan Santana. Those times now seem like ancient history, and now, so is Hernandez.

To make room for former closerBilly Wagner, who was activated for the first time this season and pitched a scoreless inning in the Mets' 3-2 loss to the Braves, the Mets released the struggling Hernandez Thursday. (Daily News)