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November 02, 2007
Mets Now My Fav To Ink A-Rod
From Buster Olney -
Before Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract with the Yankees earlier this week, the team was told that it would not be able to meet with the third baseman unless it presented an offer of at least $350 million, sources say.
The Yankees had hoped to meet with Rodriguez this week, and would have presented him with an extension offer close to five years and $150 million, to begin at the conclusion of his 2008-2010 contract, through which he would have earned $81 million. Through the Yankees' proposal, then, Rodriguez would have made about $230 million over eight years, and during the last five years of the contract, sources say, he would have earned the highest annual salary in Major League Baseball history.
But team executives were told, sources say, that in order to arrange a meeting with Rodriguez, they would have to be prepared to make an extension offer that would take the third baseman's deal up to a total value of $350 million. That means that the offer the Yankees intended to propose would have been more than $100 million short.
The Mets, Dodgers, Angels, Giants and Marlins are among the teams which have not publicly ruled out pursuing Rodriguez. Sources say it is highly unlikely that the Dodgers will seriously entertain the possibility.
If A-Rod wants that much money, you can probably forget about the Giants and the Marlins.
Looks like it will be between the Mets, Angels, and maybe the Tigers (or the Red Sox) as the teams with a shot to get Alex.
Since the Angels don't have a TV-network, and Boras thinks the world of the Mets, I'm now starting to think that A-Rod to the Mets will be a very likely possibility.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at November 2, 2007 01:46 PM
Comments
The Mets must have short memories regarding what went down last time they danced with A-Freud and Svengali Bora$$. The word 'used' comes to mind.
Anyway, no player is worth that many $$$$$$$$. Little Alex is already the highest paid player in MLB.
Posted by: Don ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 2, 2007 02:17 PM
From the same article:
"The timing of how this played out, . . . has led some baseball officials to surmise that a deal with another team may already be in the works. In an interview with ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick on Thursday, Boras said, "We have had no economic discussions regarding Alex Rodriguez with any major-league team."
"Economic discussions"? Boras certainly has a way with words.
Posted by: rbj at November 2, 2007 03:25 PM
I don't think that he's going to get anywhere near that.
Plus, I don't think that the Mets make sense. He has no position with the Mets. More importantly, as far as the Mets are concerned, he already has a tainted reputation with the press. If you're going to spend that kind of money, you want someone whom you can easily market. How would the Mets market A-Rod?
Posted by: jonm at November 2, 2007 03:52 PM
Why would you think the Giants wouldn't be involved?
Bonds is off the books and ownership may want someone in there who can *legitimately* break Aaron's record.
Posted by: Pete at November 2, 2007 04:55 PM
The Giants need too much in too many places. They just spent a fortune on Zito, who had an average to below average season. They can't afford to spend that kind of coin on one player. Sabean says he's going to kick the tires, but he won't be buying. He caught major crap for Zito this year already.
Posted by: Exit9 at November 2, 2007 06:30 PM