Turkey Hangover

The Metropolitans is sad to learn that Grant Psomas has been included into the deal for Carlos Delgado. If you are a loyal reader, you were aware that he was one of my favorites in the system. He knew how to take a walk and was very versatile and could have played a few different positions. He probably will not amount more than a backup of course, but I thought he was a sleeper in the Mets system. Still, the deal needed to get done and still we have to keep on trucking.

That means a Met offer to Benji Molina. The offer could come as early as today and I have pointed out how Mike Piazza played more games than Molina and Hernandez over the past two seasons. We could argue the point as to whether they should ride with Castro or look at a cheaper and better defensive guy like Brad Ausmus, but one thing is clear. If they are going for Molina or Hernandez, the guy they should be extending an offer to is Ramon Hernandez.

* * *

Straight out of the holy shit department, the Cubs signed yet another middle reliever to a crazy contract. A guy I wanted on the Mets, Bob Howry, just inked for three years and twelve million dollars. That is $23 million committed to two relievers for three years between him and Scott Eyre. Anyone think BJ Ryan will be substantially cheaper than Billy Wagner? I don't. The reliever market is absolutely nuts right now. Also, someone might be desperate enough to sign Roberto Hernandez and give the Mets a first round pick for him with what is happening on the reliever market since he may prove to be a bargain.

Looks like we all dodged a bullet with not giving up Milledge for Carlos Delgado and the Mets may be closer than we think to inking Wagner. Oh, and the Mets still might go for Soriano and we can be sure that would cost Lastings Milledge.

Mr. Bondy has nothing but nice things to say about Mr. Delgado and those are the things that I read back when the Mets first pursued. him. Basically, he will not be a clubhouse problem, but will in fact be a good clubhouse presence that the Mets have been lacking in terms of professionalism and being a vocal leader in a player of Delgado's stature. This trade was a solid one.

Omar sent me (and millions of others) a personal letter about the deal. In case you didn't get it, here it is.

Dear Mets fans,

I am pleased to announce that we have concluded a trade with the Florida Marlins that will bring left-handed slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado to the New York Mets. The acquisition of one of the game's top stars, a proven "big bat," brings us closer to our goal of fielding a championship caliber team in 2006.

Carlos is a true impact player. His offensive numbers and consistency speak for themselves:

• .301 AVG., 33 HR, 115 RBI in 2005, finishing among the top 12 National League players in slugging percentage, RBI, HR, 2B and AVG.
  
  
• .286 AVG., 35 HR, 113 RBI, .561 slugging percentage and a .404 on-base percentage over the last five seasons.
  One of nine players in Major League history to hit 30+ HR in nine consecutive seasons.

In the weeks ahead, we will continue our aggressive pursuit of quality players to fortify our strengths, address our needs, and field the team that Mets fans deserve in 2006. The acquisition of Carlos Delgado is an important first step, and we hope to bring you more exciting announcements as the off-season progresses.

On behalf of the entire Mets family, we wish you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday.

Sincerely,

Omar Minaya
Executive Vice President & General Manager
New York Mets

Just chew at that five year average. It just might taste better than yesterday's dinner.

Happy Meleagris Gallopavo Day

Happy Thanksgiving and I hope everyone has a fucking swell Thanksgiving.

Met fans have a great reason to give thanks these days. Lastings Milledge is still on track to take over in right or left field later this year or in 2007, Carlos Delgado is here to help the Mets streaky and sluggish offense from last year gain some consistancy, and Bill Wagner has declared the hunt for his services a "one horse race".

"The addition of Delgado is a big move for the Mets," Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, said to The Post yesterday in an e-mail.

"It further demonstrates what Omar and the Mets have said repeatedly: That they are going to do everything possible to win a championship."

Of course the obvious and exasperating thing about Delagado is that he could have come here last year and the Mets would have retained Yusmeiro Petit, but that is neither here nor there. He is a Met, it's a good thing, and he is going to help this team immensely. The Mets offered Wager a three year $30.25 million contract with a $10 million dollar vesting option if he has sixty appearances in 2008. As the cherry on top, he gets a full no trade clause in case he is worried about getting the Carlos Delgado treatment after his first year in New York. The Phillies moving Thome frees about $8 million a year, but the Mets made a big statement. A bigger statement than the Phillies possibly matching their offer. Have the Mets become the front runners if all deals are equal? They have new slugger, they are not in a bandbox, and they actually have a starting rotation. I think so. The last obstacle here is whether or not the Red Sox can match the Mets offer.

Either way, the Mets are still on the right track. Despite people getting antsy that they are going to turn into the Yankees, trade away every prospect for aging stars, and spend until their payroll far eclipses everyone else's, I say relax. Take some alium or xanax. The Mets still have Jose Reyes, David Wright, Aaron Heilman, Jae Seo, and Victor Diaz that are all bargains and big parts of this Met team. Combine that with the Mets still poised to hand an outfield position to Lastings Milledge in the not so distant future with some pretty solid ones outside of Lastings on the horizon as well.

* * *

If this doesn't tell you how large the divide is between human beings and David Sloane, I don't know what does.

The Mets find it hard to believe Delgado would still hold a grudge a year later, if for no other reason than the $48 million he'll earn at Shea over the next three years. There's no guarantee that kind of money will be available to Delgado if he reenters the market. One Met official said Wednesday, "We consider this water under the bridge."

That is the obvious answer even if you are concerned about things because it has to work.

When asked if there was any leftover hostility between Delgado and the Mets, Sloane replied via e-mail: "We're waiting to see how the Mets want to handle it. No comment until then."

Huh? The Mets did nothing wrong last year. You handled it like a douchebag. Maybe you should just rip out one of the standard lines.

"Carlos is a consummate professional and is excited about the team they are putting together over in Queens. Whatever happened in the past will stay there and Carlos is flattered that the Mets had such an interest in him and the high regards they have for him. He wants to win and it is clear the Mets have a great chance in achieving that."

Was that so hard? To prove it is not hard, the only guy who got mud slinged in his eye took the high road.

"I'm sure everything will have a happy ending for us," was the way Ton Bernazard, Minaya's special assistant, described the Delgado trade to Puerto Rican radio station WIAC yesterday. Even if everything falls into place the next few weeks, that's no guarantee, because no happy baseball endings happen in late November.

Brian Giles will have a new address in 2006.

The likelihood of Brian Giles returning to the Padres next season took a severe hit yesterday when the club rejected a three-year proposal that the right fielder's agent said was "significantly less" than what Giles can get elsewhere.

That offer seemed pretty fair given with the ugliest man in baseball got, but it remains to be seen who really will step up to the plate and give Giles the kind of money he wants outside of the Yankees.

Ian Powell has the read of the day.

If Minaya was in place way back when, Alex Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero would've been dueling for MVP honors in the colors of the Mets. You really think Minaya would've let some half-baked concern about Guerrero's back wipe out a potential deal? And remember that non-courtship of A-Rod? Steve Phillips couldn't convince Wilpon to even make an offer, leaving Phillips to hold one of those phony news conferences he stages for ESPN.

Give thanks for the Mets having Omar.

Times and circumstances have changed. Minaya has made New York a two-team town again. Beltran was so sure he'd sign a free-agent contract with the Yankees, he was already considering a book deal that would center around his first year in pinstripes. Then Minaya came in and closed the book on that.

Further Clarification

Douchebag Extraordinaire

Deconstructing a douchebag.

A Mets deal for Carlos Delgado could happen quickly, reports Kevin Kernan; the Daily News concurs.

If, in fact, the Mets part with their top pitching prospect to get Delgado, while absorbing all of Delgado's financial obligations, they are insane. They could offer a bag of balls at this point and Florida will take a deal, so long as the Mets are taking the contract.

1) The Mets got seven million dollars.
2) That fact that you even used the word insane to describe this deal tells me you are a douchebag.
3) A bag of balls? That is simply not true. The Orioles wanted Delgado and the Marlins were not just going to give the Mets Delgado out of their own health. They needed to get something in return to justify the deal. You get paid for this drivel? Let us even say for agument sake the Orioles really were not interested, The Fish should just hand him over for nothing within their division tipping the scale in the Mets favor? They wanted to dump salary, but let's get real here.
4) Pitching is a position of depth for the Mets. Pelfrey, Soler, Gabby, Humber, Seo, and Heilman. Trading Petit will hardly be damaging. The aforementioned group is solid. Very solid with a few guys that could end up being much better than Petit.

Again, there is no question that the Mets are going to have the best off season, on paper, of any team in the majors: They're probably going to sign Billy Wagner, they could get Delgado very soon, and they're going to get a good catcher.

Best on paper? Best in reality too jackass.

But the trademark of Omar Minaya's dealings so far is that he overpays for everything. He can get Delgado, and that's great. But why overpay for him? Why not tell the Marlins, Look, you don't have teams beating down your door to take his contract. We'll do you a favor and take his contract, and you'll take one Grade B-minus prospect from this list of three, along with this backup Class A catcher, and you'll be thrilled with that.

Huh? You just need one other interested team. Not forty, but just one. A bidding war only needs two teams. Also, the Mets basically get Delgado for what they wanted to sign him for last year in terms of dollars. They should give up nothing for that? Even I, the one with unrealistic trade proposals that are slanted toward the Mets can see this deal was a good one.

Landing Pedro, Beltran, Wagner, Delgado, all good. But at some point, the bill is going to come due, and the Mets at least have to try to pay market value, rather than spending above and beyond that in each and every deal.

Umm...let's recap. A future Hall of Famer in Pedro Martinez being courted to come to a team that hasn't seen above .500 since 2001 and was 212 and 272 in the previous three seasons for a .438% winning percentage that still had not signed Beltran is an easy sell? The BoSox went to three years, and the Mets merely had to match that to get him here? I'm not sure you have a clue. Actually I'm sure you don't. Same with Beltran. He liked the Astros. He liked them a lot. Should of been easy to pry him away with equal deals, right? How you manage to put shoes on in the morning and get out of the house? Omar is creating an atmosphere that will allow them to not overpay. However, you need to win first.

As far as the Omar over spending? With Carlos Delgado's $13.5 million (we'll even ignore the seven million the Mets are getting from the Marlins), Billy Wagner in for $12 million a year (might not even go that high), Ramon Hernandez in for $8 million (might not even sign him), two solid relievers added for $4.5 million for '06, and three bench players for $4 (won't even cost that much), the Mets are at about $112 million for their Major League payroll when you guess the rest of the roster. Outlandish? Far from it. Omar actually has a great team in place for a reasonable amount of money, and if they choose to pass on Hernandez and go with Castro, the Mets are at about $104 million. Do us all a favor Buster and stop writing crap. Enough with the backhanded compliments when it comes to the Mets and you demonstrate such little knowledge of baseball it amazes me.

Fucking Swell

I love it! Delgado is a Met for Jacobs and Petit. Nuff said. Great deal. Omar also got back $7 million from the Marlins. The Mets are officially the best team in the NL East after they sign Billy Wagner and one of the top three teams in the NL. Life is good. Life is very good.

Discuss....good...bad...don't care? This is hands down an amazing deal. Petit was a nice prospect, but you had to give up a blue chippper to get a guy like Delgado and Lastings Milledge is still in the system. Throw on top no room for Petit in the forseable future and the Mets finally dealt from a position of strength as opposed to taking away from what little position prospects they have.

Pass That Sh*t

It seems the Rumor Monger (who I'm now officially dubbing Deap Throat) has been possibly toking on some of his finest shiba. Although he said Wagner will ink a four year deal sometime this week, Jayson Stark calls bullshit to his insider info.

"I want to go with the team where I think I'd be the most comfortable and a team that has a chance to win," Wagner told Rumblings. "And Atlanta always has a chance to win."

Lets get real. The Braves are not signing Wagner. They will not pony up $10 mill per year for three years. As far as a discount goes, Wagner is not taking one. As much as we have all been hard on Tom Glavine at times, he is really going to help the Mets chances of landing Wagner. The guy is a consummate professional and solid citizen and could very well help lure him here.

"I'd like to listen to what everyone has to say and then, by the 8th or 9th of December, say, 'This is where I want to go. But I'm also willing to sit there and wait to find out who does what with their team. So it could be later."

I'd also like to jam a rusty nail into David Sloane's eye, but we all can't get what we want. The teams talking to you need to keep moving and Omar waits for no man and like a good Deep Throat, Rumor Monger sticks to his guns.

It's tough to traffic in rumors, what's a good success rate? The trade wins change direction all the time.

As many have said, Stark makes it seem like Wagner said that to him today, as if he somehow took a phone call during his tour of NY. I guess it's somewhat possible...

Every indication I've seen is that the Mets want to move this thing along so that they can budget for other players. That's why they are going to push Wagner to decide now rather than in two weeks.

Omar will make him an offer he cannot refuse and much like when Mike Hampton chose to go to Denver because they had the best schools in the galaxy, it is about the money. Rumor Monger wins out here. He may not sign by "Tuesday" or even this week, but I think the Mets have Wagner wrapped up in neat little package.

* * *

Peter Gammons is sitting at home with a box of tissues and baby lotion.

Beckett has never started 30 games in a season, but he seemed to turn the corner in 2005, going 15-8.

Stuff? Unquestioned. He was in the top 10 in the NL in fewest home runs per 9 IP, strikeouts per 9 IP, hits per 9 IP, highest average fastball velocity (second to A.J. Burnett), with most pitches over 95 mph.

Three things here.

1) Sign fucking Mike Pelfrey when you get settled with these free agents. Get him pitching for the Mets soon. The Mets need to actually have one of these young pitchers contribute at some point.

2) Sign Burnett. He is a power pitcher in the truest sense, under 30, and straight nasty. Imagine, Pelfrey, Pedro, Burnett, Benson, and Humber/Petit/Seo/Hernandez in three years. When Pedro is in his fourth year, he could be the Mets #4 or #5 starter if he falls off in production and it would not matter. If he is still pitching like a #1 or #2, then the Mets will be sitting pretty anyway and possibly have three power arms in the rotation. When has that happened…..ever. Again. Sign Burnett this year. Give him five years if he wants it. He'll be 34 when his contract expires and still able to throw as hard as anyone.

3) Great move for Boston. Beckett can be a whiner, but Burnett and Beckett have the stuff to win Cy Young Awards and sooner or later, one of them will. AJ has sorted out his injuries it would seem and Beckett needs to stop being a whiny bitch and start whizzing on his hands.

"You don't want to shake my hand during spring training."
-Jorge Posada

Stay classy Jorge. Stay classy.

Fucking swell. Simply fucking swell. (I'm trying to modernize swell and the only thing I can think of was adding a 'fucking' before it.)

If the Mets' payroll inflates to, say, $150 million next season, how much luxury tax would they have to pay -- if the 2006 tax threshold is $136.5 million?

A) $3.04 million (22.5 percent)?

Omar Minaya
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Mets GM Omar Minaya could go on a real spending-spree this off season.

B) $4.05 million (30 percent)?

C) $5.4 million (40 percent)?

D) Way more than that, just because they're making Bud Selig really nervous?

E) Zero dollars (nada percent), because of a little-known technicality in the Basic Agreement?

(Instert jeopardy music...if you read the comments from yesterday, read ESPN yourself, or other blogs, you know the answer so don't go blurting it out and spoiling it for everyone.)

Ok, the answer is zero.

That clause says, essentially (in language way more complicated than this) that any team that didn't pay luxury tax in the 2005 season is 100 percent off the hook in 2006.

I agree with Andy from yesterday's comments though, I do not advocate it, but good to know the Mets do not have to worry about it. I do think it will end up being a moot point since I doubt the Mets are going to spend over $136.5 million this year when you take all of the cash from the players on the forty man, benefits, etc., but still noteworthy because Jayson Stark seems to think he has discovered uranium. Jayson, much like the stuff I write here and John Sickels' player projections, your article is pointless. Sure in theory it could happen, but the Devil Rays in theory could spend like $120 million and not pay taxes. Oh the humanity of it all.

From ESPN.com Insider:

Vazquez moving East?
Nov 22 - The Diamondbacks are close to facilitating Javier Vazquez's request for a trade to an East Coast team, The Arizona Republic reports.

"We've talked to a number of clubs, and we know where things stand, so it's very possible something could happen before or during the winter meetings (which begin Dec. 5 in Dallas)," GM Josh Byrnes told the newspaper.

Hmm....who can it be? Who can it be. Any guesses to where he ends up? I'm going with the underdog and saying the Phillies because that is the last team I think he is going to in the Eastern part of this lovely country. Well, not the last team. The Yankees are the last team, but the Phillies are the second to last.

Does anyone like this guy?

Agent Scott Boras has unveiled his 10-section binder filled with hundreds of stats on client Johnny Damon, The New York Times reports.

Why can't someone tell him to shove his binder up his rectum?...and

Gee, it's sure unlike Scott Boras to overplay his hand. But Boras has set a modest five-year, $60 million initial price tag on Kevin Millwood -- a pitcher who might be viewed as a slightly more dependable option than A.J. Burnett if he weren't being priced as if he were Pedro Martinez.

"I'm pretty sure that this is the same guy who last year had to sign a one-year deal with a give-back clause if he had an elbow or shoulder problem," said an executive of one decreasingly interested club. "Seems to me the same things that led him to a one-year deal last year didn't magically go away."

Stark wonders who will translate if needed between Johjima and the Mariner pitchers.

The Mariners, of course, do have a right fielder from Johjima's neck of the world (the honorable Ichiro). So maybe he can sprint in from right field to translate, without delaying the game for 20 minutes.

"He's quick enough," one AL executive said, laughing. "So maybe he can."

Or they can just trade for Kaz. Wait, he can't speak English either.

JP Riccardi on Burnett:

"There's going to come a point where we'll have a drop-dead date," Ricciardi said. "In order for us to conduct all our business, we have to be able to move on at some point. I would anticipate that timetable being before the winter meetings. I'm not going to say we won't be flexible. We'll just have to see where we're at. But if they want to go until the end of December, we're out."

Guess who can wait until the end of December because their rotation is chock full o' starters?

My blog is the best, but not because of my horrible grammar or repetitive information. It is the best because of fucking swell banter that goes on daily.

Billy Wagner is Omars Moby Dick.
steve neufeld | 11.21.05 - 5:25 pm |

--------------------------------------------------

Kind of like Kong Kingman's philosophy of hitting: swing hard and eventually you'll catch up to one.

I'll believe it when I see it (but when I see it, I'm going to be really, really happy!!!).

Oh and,... If Billy Wagner is Omar's Moby, then Carlos Delgado is Omar's Godot. Nah, check that. Delgado is Omar's Ulysses. Manny is Omar's Godot.
DG | 11.21.05 - 5:40 pm | #

I'm willing to bet the collective IQ of the commenters here (myself excluded, I'd pull down the average) has the highest collective IQ out of any sports blog in the contiguous US. Where else would you get a reference to Godot?

The Marlins will give the Orioles every chance to land Delgado for the obvious reasons of not wanting to help the Mets, but lets be realistic here. The Marlins lost Beckett and Burnett and are looking to deal Pierre, Delgado, and possibly Castillo. Let me repeat. The Marlins lost Beckett and Burnett and are looking to deal Pierre, Delgado, and possibly Castillo. One more time. The Marlins lost Beckett and Burnett and are looking to deal Pierre, Delgado, and possibly Castillo. Are they doing a bad thing? Not necessarily. Not if they keep getting great prospects. They are rebuilding and have a solid core of players already in their system, but they have no shot in the next three years. Yes, they would be helping the Mets, but it has nothing to do with them. They will be looking to compete with the Mets after Delgado's contract is up. Why can't Loria just help a brother out and let the Mets have him.

I went from almost not posting because I had stuff to do at work to making the longest post ever....I may get fired.

Food For Thought

For what it's worth, this dude was right about the Nady deal with Cameron despite expanding it to include Otsuka in some form later in day and kind of retracting what was originally said. The site is a rabid rumor site that posts a lot of stuff and should be taken with a grain of salt, but still interesting to say the least.

Thanks to John for the heads up.

Billy Wagner To Accept Four Year Offer Tuesday

A source in the Mets' front office is telling MLBTradeRumors.com that the club will make a four year, $40MM offer to Billy Wagner immediately following his tour of the city. The deal might be announced by Wednesday morning. Omar Minaya is eager to get a deal done early this week so that he can focus on numerous other player acquisitions.

Minaya will be employing the same bait he used to reel in Pedro Martinez: the guaranteed fourth year. The Phillies (smartly) refuse to pay Wagner $10MM for a season during which he'll turn 38.

Other sources close to the proceedings indicate that Wagner already had made his decision to join the Mets prior to his New York tour.

The moderator also posted a comment:

It was probably a little dangerous for me to put that "Tuesday" in the title, but it's still leaning towards being announced before Thanksgiving.

Now the only reason I'm even sort of believing this is because the Phillies failed to up their offer. It is possible they told him two guaranteed years is all you are getting, take it or leave it. If that's the case, then I believe it since the Mets are not going up against anyone else for his services and Wagner presumably wants to get it done.

That being said, if the Phillies will not improve their offer, why the fourth year? I'm not crying about the fourth if it needs to be included to get him, but did Wagner say fourth year or I'm going back to the Phillies to the Mets? Was the Philly option an easily obtainable vesting option? Not sure, but I hope this is true just so this is out of the way and the New York Mets will be a very, very attractive landing place for whatever free agents are left that the Mets are interested in.

Now if the Mets can start looking at Dotel to set him up the Mets could have a nice thing going between Dotel, Heilman, and Wagner that few teams would be able to match. I do not care how Dotel looked as a closer, he has one of the best sliders in the league.

Swell

Friday, I chastised Mike Lupica for using the word swell. Admittedly, I'm feeling a bit bad about that. I should have been embracing the fact he brought back such a...well, for lack of a better word...swell word. Swell pretty much sums up how things are going for the Mets. Things are not quite going great and things are certainly not bad so swell kind of lies in the middle. Omar is on the verge of having an even bigger off season than he had last year as there are plenty of reports that the Mets are actually pursuing a trade for not only Carlos Delgado from the Marlins, but Luis Castillo as well. The reports keep saying that the Marlins would require at least on top prospect and I'd be willing to kiss Yusmeiro Petit goodbye in a second in any deal that would bring back those pieces. Anderson Hernandez raised his value a lot as did Mike Jacobs so the Mets have some good pieces to supplant the jewel in Petit.

The Daily News says that the Baltimore Orioles are a more likely landing spot for Delgado, but that deal would be contingent upon the Marlins being able to get Adam Loewen or Hayden Penn and it is unclear whether the starting pitching starved Orioles would be willing to give up one of their two most promising pitchers for something that they have been able to generate of a lot of, and that is offense. Also, the Daily News mentions Paul LoDuca as a possible target of Omar, but that idea seems to be ridiculous. I am not high on LoDuca whatsoever. He is a below average catcher and his offense has never been close to what it was in his rookie season. For me, Castillo and Delgado should be the only ones of interest for the Mets along with Beckett, but we know Beckett is not coming here no way no how. The Rangers seem to have put together an great package of Hank Blaylock and either John Danks or Thomas Diamond. The deal could get done pretty soon and the Rangers would finally have that legitimate ace that they have been seeking and one of the best arms in the bigs would be taken out of the NL East.

Now the Mets will set into motion this week the wooing of the lynchpin of the off season. This stands to be the first deal to drop if all goes well with it being a two horse race and Phillies have still not improved their offer of two years with a third year option. If the Mets put their offer out and the Phillies with their new GM "Stand" Pat Gillick stand pat, the Mets will have arguably the best closer in major league baseball not named Mariano Rivera. This week will go a long way to shaping this off season and if the Mets could land Wagner, it sends a big message to the remaining free agents. The Mets are in it to win it. For the second year in a row, Omar went out and put Wilpon's money where his mouth is. With the Mets on the verge of being in the upper echelon of the league, the sell to come to New York and play in Queens should be a bit easier and with Wagner coming this week, Omar eyeing some offensive help from the Marlins, and Rafael Furcal's agent Paul Kinzer hopeful the Mets will make an offer next week, things could go from swell to amazing pretty quickly.

* * *

Omar is interested in Mark Grudzielanek as a cost effective and able replacement for Kaz Matsui. However, I am one of the few that wouldn't mind Kaz coming back if the other pieces are in place because I think he can play and I don't consider Grudz enough of an upgrade to justify eating so much of his salary.

Omar likes Mark Sweeney to bolster the bench and is believed to have offer him a one year deal between $800,000 to $1,000,000.

Minaya talks about the Cammy deal.

Brian Giles will accept a discount to stay in San Diego, albeit a small one, and is looking for $10,000,000 annually.

The Mariners may announce the signing of Kenji Johjima as soon as today.

Why is Omar not really talking much about Roberto Hernandez? Maybe because he knows the Mets will not have any draft picks in the first four rounds possibly and may be hoping to squeeze a first round draft pick out of the team that signs him if they do it before December 7th or after the Mets offer him arbitration. But given his age, I'm not sure a team would necessarily risk that but he may end up going to a team that would only have to give up a second round pick.