Phillies Interested in Reyes, Takahashi

According to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, The Philadelphia Phillies have shown interest in the 33-year old left-handed reliever, Dennys Reyes. 

This is the first interest in Reyes we have seen so far this offseason, but he’s not the only one the Phils are interested in. They also are looking at former Mets reliever Hisanori Takahashi to add to their bullpen.
Last season, Reyes appeared in 59 games and posted a 3.55 ERA with a 5.9 K/9 and a 5.0 BB/9.

Souce: Dodgers sign Jon Garland

According to the L.A. Times, the Los Angeles Dodgers added their fifth starter this afternoon with the signing of free-agent RHP Jon Garland.

Last season, the Dodgers struggled to identify their fifth starter almost all year. According to the Times, their set rotation for the spring will be Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilley, Hiroki Kuroda, and Jon Garland. 
The Dodgers signed him to a one-year option, with a club option for 2012. The option becomes vested if he pitches 190 innings next season.
“We’re very pleased to have Jon [Garland] join this group and give us five, very strong starters going into spring training,” GM Ned Colletti said in a statement. “We saw what Jon was capable of down the stretch in 2009 and again last year within our division. Year after year, he takes the ball 30-plus times and gives his team a chance to win every time out.”
Last year with the San Diego Padres, Garland went 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA and pitched in 200 innings.
…This guy eats up innings every time he’s out on the mound. If he remains healthy, he should 190 innings with no problem…

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Twins Win Rights to Negotiate with Tsuyoshi Nishioka

According to Joe Christensen, who covers the Minnesota Twins for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Twins have won the right to negotiate with Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

Nishioka, 26, hit a Pacific League leading .346 and had 206 hits while scoring 121 runs in 2010 and can play both middle infield positions.

The Jose Reyes Situation

This past weekend, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle said that Jose Reyes is available in a trade, but the Mets want a “boat load” in return for him.

Last week on the radio, GM Sandy Alderson said that no player is considered “untouchable,” but he’s less likely to trade David Wright, Jason Bay, and Ike Davis.
From what I heard, the Mets are not aggressively trying to get rid of Reyes but for some reason, Alderson doesn’t see Reyes in his future plans. Maybe he feels that he will leave for another team, but in that case I can understand looking at offers for him. If Alderson is seriously hearing offers for Reyes, we better get some good pitching in return.
Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog made a very interesting point: How many teams need a shortstop and can afford to pay $11 m, knowing he is going to test the market once the season ends? And, of those teams, who is willing to give up a “boat load” for him?

Murphy is Fine

There is no need to worry about Daniel Murphy being out of Aguilas’ lineup in the Dominican Republic since Tuesday, according to the winter league GM, Luichy Sanchez.

“Murphy has tired legs,” Sanchez told ESPN’s Enrique Rojas. “Aguilas and Mets trainers agree he needs five consecutive days resting. Murphy will be back Tuesday. He doesn’t have injuries — only fatigue — because he played all of Aguilas’ games. He’s the most consistent Aguilas player this season in all ways.”

Murphy, who is fighting for to get the second base position for the Mets, “will be important to us next season,” according to someone with the Mets.

Murphy is hitting .320 with 4 HR and 22 RBIs in 103 at-bats over 28 games with Aguilas.

Starting Pitching Market

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Now that the Mets know that LHP Johan Santana will not be available for the start of the season, the Mets really need to add an established starting pitcher from outside the organization, even if young Dillon Gee joins Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey, and Jon Niese. 
Below is a list of available free-agent starters, sorted by their 2010 salaries. Remember that GM Sandy Alderson has already told us that the Mets will not be aggressive bidders, so take away some of the bigger names:
Jeremy Bonderman, 28, Detroit, $12.5 million 
Aaron Harang, 32, Cincinnati, $12.5 million 
Kevin Millwood, 35, Baltimore, $12 million 
Andy Pettitte, 38, NY Yankees, $11.75 million 
Javier Vazquez, 34, NY Yankees, $11.5 million 
Ben Sheets, 32, Oakland, $10 million 
Brandon Webb, 31, Arizona, $8.5 million 
Cliff Lee, 32, Texas, $8 million 
Carl Pavano, 34, Minnesota, $7 million 
Chris Young, 31, San Diego, $6.25 million 
Brad Penny, 32, St. Louis, $6 million 
Jeff Francis, 29, Colorado, $5.75 million 
Jorge De La Rosa, 29, Colorado, $5.6 million 
Jon Garland, 31, San Diego, $4.7 million 
Doug Davis, 35, Milwaukee, $4.25 million 
Dave Bush, 31, Milwaukee, $4.215 million 
Vicente Padilla, 33, LA Dodgers, $4.025 million 
Kevin Correia, 30, San Diego, $3.6 million 
Justin Duchscherer, 33, Oakland, $1.75 million 
Erik Bedard, 31, Seattle, $1.5 million 
Freddy Garcia, 34, Chicago Sox, $1 million 
Kris Benson, 36, Arizona, $650,000 
Bruce Chen, 33, Kansas City, $650,000 
Rodrigo Lopez, 34, Arizona, $650,000 
Mike Hampton, 38, Arizona, $400,000 
Jeff Suppan, 35, St. Louis, $400,000 

…I already suggested pitchers like Aaron Harang and Chris Young, but you need to remember that less expensive pitchers hit the market December 2nd, at the nontender deadline. Those pitchers have between three and six years of major league service time, making them arbitation-eligible, and their clubs do not want to pay those salaries and cut them loose. That is what the Mets plan to do with John Maine who is arbitration-eligible…


Bad News for Martinez

After having a very good first game with Escogido, Fernando Martinez said he is feeling discomfort in his knee. He is unsure if he will continue playing Winter Ball.

Martinez last played for Triple-A Buffalo on August 25th before injuring his knee, the one that is giving him trouble right now.
Last week, Terry Collins said if Martinez is healthy, he could compete in Spring Training for a job on the 25-man roster.
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