Interestedobserver

Not so much since I doubt he would have been offered arby. He's the difference maker this year and they're willing to eat salary, which ups the return. Plus, most of the contenders have a hole that Beltran fills. It's usually pitching that is the number one need.

If he wins a WS, no one will care. And pitchers with injury histories are tough to hold onto when a title is right there for the taking.

Beltran has a 911 ops in a pitcher's park with good D. I think he is Theo's number one target. Probably cost Ranaudo, a fringie, and split the salary. If the Red Sox go for it, I'm not so sure the Yankees stay out.

Reyes is not on the market. The Mets would have a fan revolt. He either resigns with them, or he leaves, but he won't be traded.

Francouer? You don’t want any part of him. Trust me. Beltran is the real deal and as a switch hitter you don’t have to platoon him. Every board has a thread on Pence, but he ain't moving.

The Mets financial problems are well publicized. However, to say a team cannot afford to pay a $6 million contract AFTER they sold a $200 million chunk of the team doesn’t account for the facts. Also, the Mets are being sued because they MADE MONEY off of Maddoff. If they had lost money, there would be no lawsuit. Apparently all the original reporting was wrong. However even after reporters discovered this fact, the stories never changed from Mets are in financial trouble. None of which changes some simple facts. Beltran has a trade value. They owe him $6 million. If a team wants to pay the $6 million, the price in prospects is less. If a team does not want to pay the contract, they need to come up with better prospects. Beltran has an ops near 900 and has been hot. He’s not going to be given away.

I have only one screen name. The Mets to my knowledge are a private organization. They do not publicize their finances. So, any financial data are conjecture. Their real problem is with the Maddoff lawsuit which alleges they MADE money from Maddoff. They took on debt to build a stadium, set up a TV station, and to buy out a co-owner. There were clauses in the sale contract that if they built a stadium, they had to make additional payments to the owner who was bought out. All of these moves made business sense. However the down economy together with the Maddoff lawsuits is making debt service difficult. The Wilpons also have substantial real estate holdings which are illiquid and which they don't want to convert to cash at this time. The fact they made a deal where they lose control of the organization could also indicate they are confident in two year’s time that this clause will not be used. However, there are conflicting reports whether that story on those conversion terms is even true. Be very careful of making statements about finances with no knowledge of either the underlying data or how those figures are calculated. They may very well have a clause that their new owner must share in any payroll expenses. At any rate, they are not behaving as if they need to eat Beltran’s contract. They may very well decide to do so in order to dispel rumors. Bottom line is they’re better off driving the best deal they can for Beltran and in this trade market he should cost a minimum of a B prospect.

IIRC, that $70 million figure is only for the team and does not take account of the TV station which they own a big chunk of and which is highly profitable. Most teams receive a check from a TV station, but the Mets don't since they're owned by the same owners. So, yeah $70 million may be true, although the books are private. But if need be, they can have an accounting clerk post a journal entry.

All GMs lie all the time. It's part of the game. However, the Mets just got a $200 million infusion of cash and they have $53 million in salary coming off the books. More if Reyes leaves. They're not behaving like a cash strapped team.

And yet you cannot assume the opposite with him and be correct.

Olney's take is Beltran would require an elite prospect. Doesn't mean the Red Sox would pay that price. •The Red Sox, Braves and Phillies would “undoubtedly” love to acquire Carlos Beltran, but all three clubs are distancing themselves from the teams behind them in the standings, so they could decide to acquire a second-tier bat instead of surrendering an elite prospect for Beltran. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

And Sandy has said he would prefer to eat salary and get a better prospect. That opens up the bidding quite a bit.

And career WAR 60.3 vs. 13.1. They are not equivalent.

And as far as WAR goes, Beltran is at 3.3 this season vs. 0.3 for Willingham.

Second tier teams don’t want second tier prospects back simply because they want to fill the market niche of being a sucky team. Organizational filler isn’t going to bring back a good return. Beltran is the premier bat available that at least 6-7 teams are interested in. Put him in Fenway with lineup protection and he’s 900+ ops. He’s also still pretty good in the field and on the bases. The knock on him was if he would be healthy. Since he’s played about every game, that question has been answered. The Mets will eat salary to move him, but they won’t do that to get back filler.

Melky is baseball's version of outfield malpractice.

Bay? Do you mean is he available? I would think Sandy would drive the limo to the airport or to Fenway if that's what Theo wanted.

I doubt Reyes is available at this point. They’d face a fan revolt if they moved him. Beltran is. Theo contacting Sandy, but only because he’s doing “due diligence” is GM speak for we want him. “But we’re not worried because we think we can fix this from within” means, we have a big problem and we know it. As for quibbling over $2-3 million, that’s what GM’s do. Sandy wants real talent back, and the Giants seem to need him bad. It sounds like Sandy is more interested in quality prospects than money. So from this point it’s all quibbling, and swapping lies. Come July 28th, they start talking for real.

From what I read, the Mets were more interested in prospects and would eat salary to get a better prospect. If Wells can be traded multi year for value, Beltran having a good season will cost talent.

That would be Beltran, but he won't come cheap. Back in March he was available for salary relief.

Reyes early numbers last year got dinged by a thyroid condition, which was a freak reaction to shellfish. Only in 2009 when he had hamstring issues was he hurt. So, I'd expect a rebound this year since he's healthy. The Mets would only move him for real talent and if he were put on the market, there would be a bidding war. He definitely wouldn't be moved for expensive contracts. I think it's likely he resigns with the Mets. They have $50 million in salary coming off the books this year, mostly in dead money. They need him to generate attendance.

Probably Roger Clemens looking back. Can you grandfather in later douchebaggery?