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The Newark Star-Ledger reports that the Mets have spoken with the Blue Jays about B.J. Ryan.
It sounds like a rumor without much substance. The Mets have their focus on the free agent closer market right now with a strong desire to land Francisco Rodriguez. Brian Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman and Kerry Wood are also on the team's radar.

(Yeah, Blue Jays are new on that list. I heard late last night that the Mets and Jays had had some discussions about B.J. Ryan. Not sure it's realistic, though, since the guy the Jays want more than any other is Fernando Martinez, and the Mets don't want to deal him.)

Milton Bradley declined the Rangers' arbitration offer Sunday night and has already drawn the interest of a few teams.
The Blue Jays have made Bradley their top priority of the offseason and the Cubs may also throw their hat into the ring. Bradley, who hit .321 last season with 22 HR and 77 RBI, is looking for a multi-year deal. The Rangers will try to keep him in Arlington, but will receive a supplemental first-round pick if they're unable to.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports the Cardinals are taking a serious run at A.J. Burnett.
The Burnett-to-St. Louis rumors have been floated since 2005, the last time he was a free agent. The Cardinals would likely have to outbid the Braves, who have offered a four-year, $60 million offer with a vesting option for a fifth. The Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles are also in the hunt.

Burnett, who turns 32 on Jan. 3, recently received an offer from the Braves, believed to be $60 million over four years with a vesting option for a fifth year. He is seeking a five-year, fully guaranteed deal, and the Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles are among the other teams that have shown interest in signing him.

And the prices in the corner outfield market are collapsing. There had been talk during the summer of Adam Dunn's getting $15 million a year this winter, but now his salary range might be little more than half of that. Pat Burrell might be looking at a situation where he could take a one-year deal with a good team, like the Rays. If the Giants ever got serious about Ramirez, they might balk at the talk of the $25 million salary, because as one GM said Wednesday, "For that, the Giants could probably sign Abreu and Burrell and have money left over

"I don't see us trading B.J., to be honest with you," Ricciardi said on Monday at the Winter Meetings. "He's good at what he does, No. 1. No. 2, we've got him for two more years. I think as you keep looking down the road, we've still got a good club, and we're going to have a good club next year, too. It's tough to fill that spot."

"It was a great meeting," said O'Connell, referring to his discussion with the Jays. "I think they have significant interest in Carl, so we'll see how it all plays out. We're still at the stage where I want to meet with all the teams that have interest. We don't want to leave any stone unturned in this process."

Given Toronto's financial situation, Pavano appeals to the Jays. Toronto doesn't have an excess of money to spend this offseason and is willing to consider a low-risk, high-reward possibility like Pavano.

Mak wrote:Looks like BJ wont be going to the Mets. Looks like they will sign Francisco Rodriguez.

Relentless88 wrote:I agree, I would love to have Furcal.

Duncanfan wrote:Assuming we don't resign Burnett, which is becoming very likely, we won't be able to reallocate that money to any other signings. However, if we can dangle Overbay for starting pitching, spend around 4 million per on a Milton Bradley, a minimum deal for Pavano and perhaps a reasonable 7-8 mill per for Ibanez, we could have a pretty solid lineup

Marco SS / McDonald (Backup)
Hill 2B / Inglett (Backup)
Rios RF / Snider (Backup)
Wells CF / Rios (Backup)
Bradley DH / Snider (Backup)
Ibanez LF / Snider (Backup)
Lind 1B / Bautista (backup)
Rolen 3B / Bautista (backup)
Barajas C / Thigpen (backup)

That gives us enough pop in the batting lineup.


The pitchng rotation could look like:
Halladay (God Bless Him)
No. 2 starter via trade of Overbay
Litsch
Purcey
Cecil / Richmond / Romero / Pavano / Jensen

Bullpen:
BJ Ryan
Carlson
Accardo
Downs
League
Tallet
Frasor
Wolfe
Camp

Griff83 wrote:Why even sign anyone? This team isnt going anywhere next year regardless of a Furcal/Bradley/Ibanez signing or not.

This team needs to rebuild badly. Time to trade Halladay and attempt to peak in 2010.

With major injuries to their starting rotation, Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is writing off 2009 and looking towards 2010 instead.

As reported in Thursday's Toronto Sun, Gaston rcognizes that with injuries to starters Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan, it is unrealistic to expect much success this coming season.

"We're not moving backward, we're moving forward, we'll have a good team in 2010 and for a long time," the Blue Jays manager told reporters on the day the New York Yankees landed free agent starter CC Sabathia.

"We'll have Shaun Marcum back (in 2010, he'll miss all of 2009 because of elbow surgery) and we'll have Dustin McGowan back in May or June this year and we have some good kids like Travis Snider and Adam Lind," Gaston said. "But right now ... today ... we have three starters."

Gaston projected the Jays to have a "good team" for four or five years starting in 2010.

"I might not be here, but there is a foundation for a good club in 2010 ... of course we'd have to talk about signing Roy Halladay to a long-term deal again."