Beltran Signs With Mets

[bosox]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1963185

NEW YORK -- The New York Mets have reached an agreement in principle to sign center fielder Carlos Beltran for $119 million over seven years to make him their centerpiece player, ESPN.com has confirmed.

The sides agreed that the deal will include an $11 million signing bonus, an Associated Press source said on on condition of anonymity.

New York and Beltran's agent, Scott Boras, still had to work out how to structure his salaries for each season and any deferred payments, the source and another person involved in the talks said, also on condition of anonymity.

Beltran is expected to take a physical Monday and sign the deal Tuesday. The press conference is likely to take place Tuesday.

Beltran, who helped Houston come within a victory of its first World Series last year, will became the 10th player in baseball history to agree to a deal worth $100 million or more -- and the first to switch teams for a nine-figure contract since Jason Giambi got a $120 million, seven-year contract from the New York Yankees in December 2001.

A source familiar with the negotiations told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney that the talks with Houston fell through Saturday night because the team would not give Beltran a full no-trade clause. Beltran and his agent, Scott Boras, were OK with the seven-year, $108 million deal from the Astros. But the offer included a "limited" no-trade clause -- a stipulation that turned out to be the fallout of those talks.

The source also told Olney that despite numerous calls from Boras, the Yankees never made an offer for Beltran, and they did not engage in serious talks for the center fielder.

The Mets, who haven't made the playoffs since 2000, were on the verge of pulling off their second coup of the offseason. They lured three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez from the Boston Red Sox last month with a $53 million, four-year deal.

Because Beltran became a free agent and rejected salary arbitration, under baseball's rules Houston had to re-sign Beltran by midnight Saturday or lose rights until May 1.

"The serious parts of this only happened in the last six hours," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. "Really, I think we ran out of time. Mostly, it's time and distance. Certainly I regret the fact that we didn't deal with some of these things earlier -- but we didn't control the pace of the negotiations."

Astros officials said an agreement was difficult to get in place Saturday night because of the logistics involved: Team staff was at the ballpark, owner Drayton McLane was at his home in Temple, Boras was at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., and Beltran was in Puerto Rico.

It's been a tough offseason for the Astros. All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent signed with the Dodgers, pitcher Wade Miller was let go and signed with Boston, and All-Star outfielder Lance Berkman severely hurt a knee playing flag football, an injury that will cause him to miss the start of the season.

Also, Houston is trying to persuade Roger Clemens not to retire. Clemens, 42, has said he would make a decision this month. But McLane said Saturday he believes Beltran's departure doesn't ensure Clemens' exit.

"I certainly hope not and I don't think so," McLane told The New York Post. "Roger said that we would get together. He's been in Hawaii and he's coming home this weekend. I feel very confident that we'll be able to reach an agreement with Roger.

"We'll move on to Roger next week."

"Certainly we will welcome Roger back," Purpura said. "We're not going to shift into a rebuilding mode because of this."

Clemens, who won his record seventh Cy Young Award in his first season with his hometown team, already has agreed to salary arbitration. If he exchanges figures with the Astros on Jan. 18, he could ask for a record amount, topping the $18.5 million request Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter submitted before the 2001 season.

Purpura said the candidates to replace Beltran in center will most likely be Jason Lane, minor-league prospect Willy Taveras or Craig Biggio, who held the position before Beltran joined the team. He also said Houston had not ruled out a trade to upgrade the spot.

[OMMF]

Thanks for the article.

We have a whole thread for signings though.

[bosox]

Thanks for the article.

We have a whole thread for signings though.

Yea. And now theres a thread about Beltran with the Mets.

[OMMF]

Thanks for the article.

We have a whole thread for signings though.

Yea. And now theres a thread about Beltran with the Mets.

Way to be different.

[CaolinaJoe]

It's good to see money is all that matters. Even with Pedro and Beltran the Mets still suck. Those 2 aren't gonna make up the 25 games the Mets need to win to make the playoffs.

Obviously judging by the fact that Boras wouldn't accept a limited no trade clause, the Mets were only the source for Beltran to get his money. Give him 2 years then he'll demand a trade to a winner. Just like ARod. Get your money where you can, than demand a trade so the contract goes with you. Beltran will be a Yankee before the end of 2006 or 07 at the latest.

[bosox]

Thanks for the article.

We have a whole thread for signings though.

Yea. And now theres a thread about Beltran with the Mets.

Way to be different.

Thanks.

I didn't remember seeing that other topic being updated. Oops.

[OMMF]

Thanks for the article.

We have a whole thread for signings though.

Yea. And now theres a thread about Beltran with the Mets.

Way to be different.

Thanks.

I didn't remember seeing that other topic being updated. Oops.

I shouldn't be such a nazi about it. In fact, why did I even care?

<---- lame

[LMU]

This is good news.

Take that evil empire!

[Breakwood]

How long till Delgado signs?

[thejroll]

The Mets still have way to many weak spots to be decalred favorites in the division. With what the braves have done this offseason its pretty clear they have a real good shot of making it 14 in a row. I can't believe they had enough guts (and money) to go and get both Pedro and Beltran. That shows commitment to winning. Hopefully i get a chance to see Pedro pitch at the Bank this year. Maybe the Phillies can rough him up a bit.

[bosox]

How long till Delgado signs?

I doubt they'll go for him now. I hope they do, but it was either Beltran or Delgado I think.

[jkrdevil]

This is good news.

Take that evil empire!

???

The Yankees weren't even in the bidding. They never offered Beltran a contract and they took themselves out of the negotiations. They chose not to sign Beltran. It's not like they were in the negotiations up untill he signed with the Mets.

To be honest with you I think the Yankees are coming to there senses when it comes signing free agents. Sure they got Pavano and Johnson but they needed pitching. Especially a big lefty. I think for now one they are onl going to get what they need and not what they want.

It is pretty ironic that the 2 players that were said to be coming to the Yankees (pedro and Beltran) both signed with the Mets. However as the Yankees took themselves out of the "bidding" it's not a take that.

[NJTank]

Mets baseball will be fun again.

Beltran is a terrific signing he can hit run and field, and at hsea fieldinga nd running are more improtant than power.

[jkrdevil]

Mets baseball will be fun again.

Will you be saying that when they are 5 games under .500 in June

[CaolinaJoe]

Like I said before, he's got his contract, he'll be with the Yankees in late 2006 or 2007 at the latest. Once Johnson's contract is up, here comes Carlos.

An absolute no-trade clause leaves all the power with the player. After 2 or 3 years of losing with the Mets he'll demand his trade. Sound familiar? Huge contract, no trade clause, losing team, and long term. Him and Alex will be together soon enough.

The reason he, Boras, didn't want a limited clause was it some power with the team. Carlos or the team does poorly, you have the option to move him for something. Absolute no trade means he dictates where you can send him, ala Randy Johnson. They over spent, and they'll end up with nothing but the egg on their face to show for it in the end, ala Diamondbacks.

[CaolinaJoe]

Mets baseball will be fun again.

Will you be saying that when they are 5 games under .500 in June

True. Even with Pedro and Beltran the Mets still suck. Those 2 aren't gonna make up the 25 games the Mets need to win to make the playoffs.

[jkrdevil]

They over spent, and they'll end up with nothing but the egg on their face to show for it in the end, ala Diamondbacks.

Well, maybe not like the Dimondbacks, they did win a World Championship. And if I remember Johnson won the MVP (Should have been the sole MVP, Johnson won 3 games that series and Schilling only won 1. The D-backs lost game 4 which Schilling pitched and most importantaly Schilling left game 7 losing and giving up the potential series winning HR. Yes, Schilling pitched well but how valuable are you if your team loses one of the games you pitch and you leave the decisive game losing). Anyways, it worked out for the D-backs in the short term, so I wouldn't say they have egg on their face.

Man the more I think about it I'm glad the Yanks have RJ now. Man has he been a Yankee Killer.

[KennyRock]

Mets baseball will be fun again.

Will you be saying that when they are 5 games under .500 in June

True. Even with Pedro and Beltran the Mets still suck. Those 2 aren't gonna make up the 25 games the Mets need to win to make the playoffs.

I'd be hard pressed to say the Mets suck. Their outfield, even if they didn't move Floyd, would be Beltran, Floyd and Cameron. Cameron, who will have a lot less ground to cover in right, should be an upgrade to a spot that had no one consistently playing there last season(I think Karim Garcia, Eric Valent, Shane Spencer and Victor Diaz made up the platoon there at different parts of the season). Beltran is both better offensively and defensively than Cameron.

Infield? David Wright, Jose Reyes, Kaz Matsui. If you have Reyes, Matsui and Beltran bat 1-2-3, you have 3 switch-hitters to lead off the order, each of which could steal 30 bases in a season. Wright can only get better. I'm not going to assume signings or tradings, so I'll just go with their roster now. Keppinger or Brazell could easily start at first with the tutalage of Eric Valent or Joe McEwing. Matsui will have a hard time at second, true, except that most of the balls coming to him now will be from Reyes in a double play, not from right-handed batters on the opposing team.

Starting rotation? Are their questions about all five pitchers? Yes. How deep can Pedro go into games? Who is going to give Glavine some damn run support? Can Trachsel even win a game on the road anymore? IS Benson really worth the contract he got? Will Zambrano even be ready to go? Show me a starting rotation that DOESN'T have questions, and I'll show you a fantasy rotation. This rotation is better than last year's by a long shot, and a lot of people considered the first three in the Mets rotation pretty damn solid THEN.

Then we have the bullpen. The Mets just signed one of Korea's top relivers Dae-sung Koo. And he happens to be left-handed, so thank god they won't need Heredia as a left-handed setup man. Looper was as good as can be last year, Yates proved excellent as long as he was held to one inning. Bartolome Fortunato proved to be more a tangible part of those Peterson and Kazmir trades than anyone imagined. Does the bullpen still need a righthy long-reliever and setup man? Definitely. But the Mets got rid of Ricky Botallico, Mike Stanton and John Franco, who, combined, blew right around 25 games for the Mets last year.

Let's not forget that right behind problem number one(the bullpen) was problem number two, the offense. And that is improved with the signing of Carlos Beltran alone.

Is this team a World Series contender? Nope, not at the moment. But unlike the NL Central Race last year, the AL East pennant race will extend way beyond July.

EDIT: All of this is assuming the team stays healthy, and with the Mets, that's a much bigger assumption than any signing or trade.

[CaolinaJoe]

They over spent, and they'll end up with nothing but the egg on their face to show for it in the end, ala Diamondbacks.

Well, maybe not like the Dimondbacks, they did win a World Championship. And if I remember Johnson won the MVP (Should have been the sole MVP, Johnson won 3 games that series and Schilling only won 1. The D-backs lost game 4 which Schilling pitched and most importantaly Schilling left game 7 losing and giving up the potential series winning HR. Yes, Schilling pitched well but how valuable are you if your team loses one of the games you pitch and you leave the decisive game losing). Anyways, it worked out for the D-backs in the short term, so I wouldn't say they have egg on their face.

Man the more I think about it I'm glad the Yanks have RJ now. Man has he been a Yankee Killer.

I was referring to the no trade clause RJ had, not his performance. In the End he wanted, would only go to NY, and everyone knew thereby limiting his value to the DBacks. I don't think got near what RJ was worth, exactly because the Yankees knew they had no competition.

[Survival79]