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Re: Report:: Beltran signing with Mets
#250046
01/09/05 02:37 PM
01/09/05 02:37 PM
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 7,950
DonMichaelCorleone
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 7,950
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Re: Report:: Beltran signing with Mets
#250048
01/09/05 03:11 PM
01/09/05 03:11 PM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 8,389 Staten Island / New Jersey
Just Lou
OP
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OP
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 8,389
Staten Island / New Jersey
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Mets reach Beltran deal BY JON HEYMAN STAFF WRITER
January 9, 2005, 2:05 PM EST
The Mets have reached an agreement in principle on a $119-million, seven-year deal with free-agent Carlos Beltran, Newsday has learned.
Beltran, a multitalented centerfielder who provides immediate credibility, is expected to take a physical Monday and sign the deal Tuesday. The press conference is likely to take place Tuesday.
The Mets and Beltran's agent Scott Boras put the finishing touches this morning on a deal that is worth $17 million annually. The Mets sweated out Beltran's intense but ultimately failed negotiations with his former team, the Houston Astros, late Saturday night. It is believed the Astros were offering at least $105 million.
Beltran is to receive an $11-million signing bonus, with interest, as part of the deal. The Mets also agreed to include a no-trade clause, which became a sticking point with the Astros. Houston would not give Beltran a no-trade clause. By getting the deal done before Jan. 12, when tax laws change, Beltran will reap additional savings.
Boras spoke several times throughout the week with Yankees people, including three times on Saturday. However, George Steinbrenner ultimately decided in the early evening that he could not meet Beltran's asking price. The Yankees were concerned about boosting their luxury-tax payments by an additional several million dollars a year.
The signing is a huge one for the Mets, signaling their determination to join the ranks of contenders. Beltran enhances their lineup and defense and provides credibility in a market that's been dominated lately by the Yankees. It caps an enormous winter for the Mets in which they also signed the top free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez.
Beltran hit .267 and had 38 home runs and 42 stolen bases in 2004 and played brilliantly in the postseason to lead the Astros within a game of the World Series. Beltran's big October enabled him to supercede the money paid last winter to to Vladimir Guerrero by $49 million in total.
The Mets made a lukewarm bid to sign Guerrero last winter but were ultimately concerned about his back condition, a decision that came back to haunt them when Guerrero won the American League MVP last year.
Going into the week, Mets people were uncertain whether Beltran would sign with them. But they had to feel better about their chances when Boras on Friday sent them a counteroffer to their then $112-million bid.
The Mets resumed serious talks after the Astros failed to sign Beltran by their midnight deadline. The Mets had been the highest bidder going into the day, but Boras had been hoping the Yankees would get into the mix. The Yankees surprised the Beltran camp with a 6 p.m. phone call informing him they wouldn't be players at that price.
Boras was in contact throughout the day with all three teams, the Astros, Mets and Yankees.
A person familiar with the Yankees thinking said that while they liked the player very much, they were concerned about the luxury-tax implications of a $112-million contract, and that the timing wasn't perfect since some big contracts, like Kevin Brown and Bernie Williams, don't come off the books until next year.
Steinbrenner held a 90-minute meeting in Tampa on Friday to discuss the Beltran situation, and while his baseball people expressed a concern about Bernie Williams' diminishing skill in centerfield, his "money men'' also had their say.
One person who talked to Yankees officials said that the Yankees might have considered re-evaluating things if they were able to make a favorable separation settlement with Jason Giambi. However, that could take until close to spring training, and would be an enormous gamble for Beltran to wait it out when he had other $100-million-plus offers on the table.
The Astros bid where few thought they would go to try to beat the large-market teams that vied for Beltran's services. It is believed they bid at least $105 million over seven years.
Astros owner Drayton McLane aggressively pursued Beltran all winter. McLane made it a personal goal to keep Beltran, who excited Astros fans with a monster postseason performance that brought them within one game of their first World Series. Most people never believed Houston would surpass the $100-million mark but it did in the final days, giving itself a fighting chance.
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Re: Report:: Beltran signing with Mets
#250061
01/17/05 04:11 AM
01/17/05 04:11 AM
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 15,058 The Slippery Slope
plawrence
RIP StatMan
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RIP StatMan
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 15,058
The Slippery Slope
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There's much more to what makes a guy like Beltran valuable to the Mets (or any player to any team, really) than a .280 batting average.
Power, speed, defense, showing their fans that they're willing to make the committment to signing the best players available, the Latin American market in NYC......
"Difficult....not impossible"
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