Mets' free-agency plans: Big-name hunting
Photo credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara | The Mets will be looking to add a top free agent, like Angels pitcher John Lackey.
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It's not exactly John Lackey or bust. But the Mets have made it their mission this offseason to sign a big-ticket free agent, a person familiar with the club's thinking said as the clocked ticked down to midnight yesterday.
Despite the price, the Mets understand they can't afford to come up empty, not after three straight seasons of missing the playoffs and then watching the Yankees win the World Series this year. Other than Lackey, the only marquee names are Matt Holliday and Jason Bay, so the choices are limited.
It just remains to be seen how many teams are as desperate as the Mets, who are eager for a quick fix - or at least the appearance of one. The good news is that the Yankees seem uninterested in the same players and that could keep the prices reasonable. The bad? The Red Sox are likely to be the main competition instead.
Bay reportedly turned down a four-year, $60-million offer Thursday from the Red Sox on the final day of exclusivity. But that may just be the jumping off point for Bay, and Boston is likely to stay involved in those discussions. Then again, that's a bargain compared to Holliday, with Scott Boras suggesting he could seek a $180-million deal for his client.
Of course, there's another piece to the pitching puzzle - Roy Halladay. A person familiar with the situation said that the Mets intend to be a player in those trade discussions just as they were in prying Johan Santana from the Twins during the 2007 winter meetings.
The Mets are leery, however, of dealing away too much young talent to the Blue Jays for Halladay and then having to give him a Santana-like extension. In 2007, the Mets were able to keep top prospects Mike Pelfrey and Fernando Martinez out of the four-player package.
But that isn't likely to happen again. That year, both the Yankees and Red Sox were involved early with Santana, then balked at the Twins' demands. If both AL East rivals go hard after Halladay this time, the price in prospects is likely to be too much for the Mets.
Which is what makes Lackey the more favorable choice. Not only do the Mets simply have to outbid teams in what could be a down market, they won't have to sacrifice their first- round pick, either, because of their woeful finish last season. That's a big factor as well.
