According to Mike Francesa of WFAN, Jason Bay will be wearing a Met uniform in 2010. The only hurdle left is the physical. The announcement should be made as early as next Monday or Tuesday.
Free agent Catcher Bengie Molina, meanwhile, is still holding out for a 3 year deal. The Mets have offered him a 1 year deal with a vesting option for a second year.
There is no news on any pitchers. The contract for Bay has not been revealed as of now.
Update
According to a Tweet from Jon Heyman, he can confirm this is true. Also, according to a tweet from Joel Sherman, the deal is roughly 4/$66 million ($16.5 per) with an easy vesting option
Hopefully the Mets will provide a better background on photo day
98 comments
mrose
12/29/2009-2:24pm at 2:24 pm (UTC -4)
if its true..i’m happy… lets freaking move on
dirtysanchez
12/29/2009-2:25pm at 2:25 pm (UTC -4)
Well, talk about playing it close to chest. Would be interesting to see the terms and if the Mets caved in with the 5th year
njstuckintx
12/29/2009-2:28pm at 2:28 pm (UTC -4)
Something just smells fishy with all this. Francesa holding onto this for a whole day and not expounding on it with any enthusiasm? No other reporter in the blog-o-sphere knowing anything about this? As I said in the other post, I’ll believe this when Bay is holding his new jersey up for all to see.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-2:33pm at 2:33 pm (UTC -4)
Good, that the Mets will get their homerun hitter, but for many reasons I don’t like this.
As I’ve said, Bay does not provide the pitching, speed or defense that Omar said he is building the team with.
Bay’s below average defense and hitting style aren’t condusive to Citi Field. Sure, he’ll pull a few into the LF corner, but what about the rest of the time, when he’s hitting flyballs for outs instead of getting on base or driving someone in w/ line drives.
Plus, w/ the market for Holliday being rather non-existant, thanks to the Red Sox and Yankees being close to their budget, the Mets are taking themselves out of the race. Holliday will likely get a 6/100 deal and Bay 4/64. Why let 2 years and a difference of $700K per year come in the way of getting a better all around player?
Ultimately, I’ll root for Bay and hope he does well. I just think the Mets could’ve done better.
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-2:41pm at 2:41 pm (UTC -4)
IMO, Boras was going to drag out Holliday signing anywhere for at least another month. Maybe it’s not unreasonable to think Omar didn’t want to take a chance on waiting and missing out on both, so Bay willing to sign now was the path he was taking.
If both offers were on the table now and he could be sure Holliday would accept or decline it now, maybe it would be different.
Omar was quoted as saying something to the effect at that charity function he was at over the weekend. Something about have interest in Holliday but signing Bay was going to be easier…
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-2:43pm at 2:43 pm (UTC -4)
That is certainly true.
saltygary
12/29/2009-2:50pm at 2:50 pm (UTC -4)
I would much rather be locked into a 4 year instead of a 6 year contract. Plus, going head to head with the Cards with Boras in the middle would never work out to any teams advantage.
I agree with your pitching and defense comment. If there was a choice between Bay and Lackey I would of taken Lackey in a heartbeat. Maybe we can spin Bay to the Sox for Lester and Bucholz.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:21pm at 3:21 pm (UTC -4)
I wouldn’t be too worried of year 5 and 6 from Holliday. Plus, Bay seems likely to have an easy vesting option for the 5th year, so it’s even less of an issue.
5 years of Bay or 6 years of Holliday. What’s the difference?
saltygary
12/29/2009-3:26pm at 3:26 pm (UTC -4)
Yea if the vesting option is easy then there really isn’t much difference at all.
darknova306
12/29/2009-2:34pm at 2:34 pm (UTC -4)
Heyman just tweeted:
“i can confirm, bay and mets do have agreement. good job by mike.”
Something still seems odd about the whole thing, though.
khmustache
12/29/2009-2:38pm at 2:38 pm (UTC -4)
AAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! why won’t omar EVER sign a latino player?????
njstuckintx
12/29/2009-2:42pm at 2:42 pm (UTC -4)
I think Bay speaks Latin. Does that count?
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-2:47pm at 2:47 pm (UTC -4)
Jason Sinus ero a Met mane tunc week
khmustache
12/29/2009-2:47pm at 2:47 pm (UTC -4)
hehe… close enough. i just figured that as a met fan posting on the interwebs, i needed to be outraged about something… and that was the first thing that came to mind
mikemattone
12/29/2009-3:42pm at 3:42 pm (UTC -4)
You could have went with “WHY COULDN’T THE NEWS HAVE BEEN THEY TRADED FOR JOE MAUER! THEY NEED A CATCHER!”
dirtysanchez
12/29/2009-2:56pm at 2:56 pm (UTC -4)
LMFAOOOO! Awesome!
prismo
12/29/2009-2:39pm at 2:39 pm (UTC -4)
Heyman has CONFIRMED on twitter.
QnsNative718
12/29/2009-2:41pm at 2:41 pm (UTC -4)
About Gad damn time…
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-2:44pm at 2:44 pm (UTC -4)
Not a bad OF at all to start the season: Bay, Beltran, Fcore (one of these days I’ll get the spelling of his last name…) and Pagan.
Moving on, I’d like to see at least one SP signed…..
QnsNative718
12/29/2009-2:46pm at 2:46 pm (UTC -4)
Pineiro for 3 yrs tops… Molina for 2 yrs… I like our chances.
khmustache
12/29/2009-2:48pm at 2:48 pm (UTC -4)
just call him frenchy… seems to fit
Hazmet
12/29/2009-2:46pm at 2:46 pm (UTC -4)
Good, now go sign Garland…
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-2:48pm at 2:48 pm (UTC -4)
I agree completely. Of the remaining FA pitchers, IMO he’s the best, most useful to the Mets one.
QnsNative718
12/29/2009-2:51pm at 2:51 pm (UTC -4)
Garland will pitch for a West Coast team in 2010.
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-2:58pm at 2:58 pm (UTC -4)
That’s too bad, because Pineiro will suck for the Mets for 3 years if he signs like you suggest above. Without Dave Duncan he is below average at best, how you would advocate the Mets signing him for 3 years is beyond me.
Hazmet
12/29/2009-3:18pm at 3:18 pm (UTC -4)
Ditto. In looking on mlbtr it did appear that Garland’s preference came out when the Nats were looking to make an offer. Money and years talk though so who knows. I too don’t want any part of Pineiro for the same reasons you stated. Too spotty a track record without Duncan.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:01pm at 3:01 pm (UTC -4)
Tough one.
Garland give you dependability. With all the injuries we had to the rotation last year, dependability would be nice.
On the other hand, unless we expect Pelf, Ollie or Maine to pitch like a #2, signing Sheets or Bedard, w/ Niese and Nieve ready in case of injury, would be another way to go.
Will adding Garland make the rotation playoff ready?
Will adding a Sheets type give you enough innings to make it into the playoffs?
Actually, maybe the best move is signing a Garland type and making a mid-season trade for a top tier pitcher.
prismo
12/29/2009-2:46pm at 2:46 pm (UTC -4)
Sherman says 4yr/66MM (16.5 per) with an easy vesting option for a 5th year. So unless he has a serious injury. sounds like a 5 year deal.
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-2:50pm at 2:50 pm (UTC -4)
Just read speculation from a poster over on MCs blog where they think the reason MF leaked this now is b/c those of you deciding on ticket plans only have until 12/31 to make a decision. So if the Mets didn’t announce Bay until next week, that deadline has come and gone.
I’m just cynical enough to believe that motivation.
saltygary
12/29/2009-2:53pm at 2:53 pm (UTC -4)
I would definitely believe that.
khmustache
12/29/2009-2:53pm at 2:53 pm (UTC -4)
that was actually the first thing that went through my mind when he announced it…
QnsNative718
12/29/2009-2:54pm at 2:54 pm (UTC -4)
They wouldnt dare.
charlie_s
12/29/2009-3:09pm at 3:09 pm (UTC -4)
That is completely plausible. In fact, I would put money on it.
mikemattone
12/29/2009-3:44pm at 3:44 pm (UTC -4)
Any possibility that people re-up tickets because of the Bay news, then he fails the physical over the weekend?
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:50pm at 3:50 pm (UTC -4)
classic, though if anyone re-ups season tickets because of Bay, that’s kind of dumb.
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-3:55pm at 3:55 pm (UTC -4)
Agreed.
MF made a comment further on in his broadcast that he didn’t expect any problems with the Bay physical.
mrose
12/29/2009-3:00pm at 3:00 pm (UTC -4)
RobCarlinMSG Dino Costa on Mad Dog Unleashed sat radio says his source tells him #Mets could sign Matt Holliday by end of day today
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-3:04pm at 3:04 pm (UTC -4)
That would be funny. So is the implication the Mets have jumped the shark and signed both Bay & Holliday?
If Holliday’s agent weren’t Scott Boras I might almost believe this.
mrose
12/29/2009-3:04pm at 3:04 pm (UTC -4)
we can dream
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-3:11pm at 3:11 pm (UTC -4)
Well this dream would sort of imply Francoeur is being traded for a pitcher since he would be rather expendable and they desperately need a pitcher, so it’s an OK dream to me.
darknova306
12/29/2009-3:12pm at 3:12 pm (UTC -4)
If this happens I’d be impressed, but still depressed because of our joke of a rotation.
dirtysanchez
12/29/2009-3:15pm at 3:15 pm (UTC -4)
well, that would free up fmart and frenchy as trade bait for an upgrade in the rotation if this is true…which i really dont think it is
darknova306
12/29/2009-3:25pm at 3:25 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, but how much payroll would we realistically be able to add through pitchers if we did this?
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-3:29pm at 3:29 pm (UTC -4)
About $18 mil if the unsourced Carlos Zambrano rumor comes true.
This would make Jeff Wilpon truthful when he said Omar had no budget.
I refuse to believe any of it ’til I actually see it, but like NJinTX says, after 8 or so signings, the highlight of which was giving just over a mil to a guy who’s thrown 5 ML innings since 2007, at least this is fun to talk about.
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-3:12pm at 3:12 pm (UTC -4)
Well, that would certainly be quite the coup.
I’d love this is for no other reason than I’d have something to do on this freezing cold night with my car in the shop.
I’d be thoroughly entertained reading the comments over on the Philly, Braves, and MLBTR blogs……
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-3:05pm at 3:05 pm (UTC -4)
So….what’s up with that?
As far as I know, the Mets hadn’t even made a formal offer to Holliday.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:06pm at 3:06 pm (UTC -4)
that’s another way to go.
Sign Bay AND Holliday, while going with Nieve or Niese as the 5th man.
Reyes-Castillo-Wright-Beltran-Holliday-Bay-Murphy-Molina.
Santana-Pelf-Perez-Maine-Niese/Nieve
Could work if you backloaded some contracts, but you have to get rid of Frenchy and figure F-Mart becomes trade bait.
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-3:13pm at 3:13 pm (UTC -4)
Screw Molina, leave him off. Frenchy, FMart & Pelfrey plus to Seattle for King Felix!
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:37pm at 3:37 pm (UTC -4)
throw in Mejia and you might have something.
mikemattone
12/29/2009-3:46pm at 3:46 pm (UTC -4)
Seattle nixed Bucholtz, Bowden, Masterson, Casey Kelly, Westermorland, and a sixth guy from Boston in exchange for Felix. He ain’t goin nowhere.
njstuckintx
12/29/2009-3:14pm at 3:14 pm (UTC -4)
We better hope Beltran has fresh legs for the whole season covering pratically the whole outfield.
That said, that would be some pretty good offense. Didn’t the Yanks try that a few years ago with Monster offense and no pitching? That didn’t work out too well.
Oh, and lastly, I hope they do swoop in and sign Holliday instead of Bay, just to stick it to MF.
saltygary
12/29/2009-3:06pm at 3:06 pm (UTC -4)
Stop it… I just put the channel on and he’s talking basket ball.
Hazmet
12/29/2009-3:22pm at 3:22 pm (UTC -4)
Sounds like the Mad Dog Crew trying to keep up with the Fat Man. That would be something though.
saltygary
12/29/2009-3:32pm at 3:32 pm (UTC -4)
Dina is now backing off his Holliday statement and is blaming his source.
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-3:15pm at 3:15 pm (UTC -4)
Then there’s this completely unsourced (not even anonymous, just unsourced) tidbit from Bleacher Report:
“Cubs’ pitcher Carlos Zambrano could also be headed to the Mets. A trade, perhaps involving a third team, is beleived to be in the works to bring Zambrano to Flushing.
The trade would involve the Mets parting with 2B Luis Castillo and another young player.”
njstuckintx
12/29/2009-3:19pm at 3:19 pm (UTC -4)
Man alive, from feast to famine. Weeks of news of Minor league signings and now a cluster bomb of news and rumors. It’s blood in the water and with all Mets nation scouring the interweb, any little tidbit will score some web hits!
njstuckintx
12/29/2009-3:20pm at 3:20 pm (UTC -4)
stike that, revesrre it. Famine to Feast. Long day at the office…
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-3:23pm at 3:23 pm (UTC -4)
It was your avatar of Spinal Tap that kept me going through the minor league signings…Whenever the Mets signed another marginal AAAA player I just cranked my stereo up to 11!
njstuckintx
12/29/2009-3:30pm at 3:30 pm (UTC -4)
How much more black could the Mets off season get? None. None more black.
Hazmet
12/29/2009-3:49pm at 3:49 pm (UTC -4)
They have been teetering for a like review of the album Shark Sandwich;)
charlie_s
12/29/2009-3:23pm at 3:23 pm (UTC -4)
That’s insane…Castillo and Fmart for Zambrano?
Mets fans are pumped into insanity, myself included.
saltygary
12/29/2009-3:31pm at 3:31 pm (UTC -4)
It is currently 5 degrees with 30 mile per hour winds and I would have no problem going Will Farrell in old school and start streaking through the streets.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:34pm at 3:34 pm (UTC -4)
So, Pagan and Castillo, plus prospects for Zambrano. Then Frenchy becomes the 4th OFer, sweet. Plus Bay AND Holliday AND Molina.
Wilpon wasn’t joking when he said money wasn’t an issue.
mrose
12/29/2009-3:56pm at 3:56 pm (UTC -4)
that would be yankee-esque though
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:36pm at 3:36 pm (UTC -4)
Oh, forgot about Chapman, too.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-3:48pm at 3:48 pm (UTC -4)
Still have to wait for the physical, there’s always the possibility that Bay gets Torrealba’d next week.
charlie_s
12/29/2009-3:59pm at 3:59 pm (UTC -4)
How much is Boras hoping for that?
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-4:03pm at 4:03 pm (UTC -4)
yup, but then Bay becomes Cards’ cheap option and leaves Omar to bid against himself for Holliday
charlie_s
12/29/2009-4:08pm at 4:08 pm (UTC -4)
Exactly! LOL.
dirtysanchez
12/29/2009-4:01pm at 4:01 pm (UTC -4)
lol….
SI_JonHeyman
#redsox found some “physical issues” with #bay. #mets are believed to be aware of this. med. exam could be a marathon
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-4:07pm at 4:07 pm (UTC -4)
sounds like Putz
gonzowill
12/29/2009-4:48pm at 4:48 pm (UTC -4)
How much do you think that’s true? Why would the Red Sox offer him a contract then?
charlie_s
12/29/2009-4:41pm at 4:41 pm (UTC -4)
From ESPN’s Crasnick:
Bay has been maligned in some quarters for his subpar defense, but the Mets analyzed the metrics and found that he suffered in Boston from the “Fenway Park factor.” They believed his perceived lack of range in left field was accentuated by the minimal area of ground he had to cover in Fenway.
Okay, so having less ground to cover exposed his lack of range?
wannybackstra
12/29/2009-5:22pm at 5:22 pm (UTC -4)
It might explain lower statistical range computations.
charlie_s
12/29/2009-5:30pm at 5:30 pm (UTC -4)
Then math has failed, I guess. We all know the guy is not a speedster. But, hey, Endy Chavez was incredible and I don’t want him to start. The guys that give 30/100 production tend not to be so fast.
wannybackstra
12/29/2009-5:35pm at 5:35 pm (UTC -4)
Indeed. And if he does that, as he consistently does, we will live with anything more than awful defense.
And I think 5/80 is very reasonable for a guy who is fifth among outfielders in home runs over the last four years or so.
Also, Fenway is not as power hitter friendly as many people think. Line drive hitters like Boggs, Greenwell, etc. benefit most from its odd dimensions. I think his power will stand up to Citifield.
charlie_s
12/29/2009-6:38pm at 6:38 pm (UTC -4)
Exactly! Produce at the plate and all will be fine.
wannybackstra
12/29/2009-5:27pm at 5:27 pm (UTC -4)
Zambrano at his worse is still the Mets second best pitcher. He’s a bit of an injury risk (sharp innings decline over the last three seasons) but if he’s only $12M this season and next then he is worth the risk (the difference being Castillo’s subtraction). And if he is injured, his $19.2 2013 option won’t vest.
One thing with Zambrano, he won’t reduce the teams’ walk total.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-5:59pm at 5:59 pm (UTC -4)
Do the cubs have enough pitching to trade away zambrano?
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-6:14pm at 6:14 pm (UTC -4)
I know you didn’t ask me but I’m gonna jump in here anyway.
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: 10:$17.875M, 11:$17.875M, 12:$18M, 13:$19.25M vesting player option. If they want to get rid of his contract enough they’ll worry about that later.
They have Dempster under contract for 3 more years, they just acquired Silva who is under contract for 2 more years, they have Gorzellany, Wells, Marshall and Samardzija who all started games for them last year still under contract, and Lilly coming back sometime late spring from injury. Plus depending on how much money they save in trading Zambrano they have plenty left over to get a scrap heap free agent SP later if they think they need one.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-6:23pm at 6:23 pm (UTC -4)
I’m okay with that, if he performs ace like.
GravediggerHebner
12/29/2009-5:51pm at 5:51 pm (UTC -4)
For fun, here are some reactions on Boston WEEI radio website comments page:
-”Hahahahaha, later Bay. You wanted your last big pay day, well here you go. You just kissed your chances at winning a championship before you retire goodbye. But I’m sure that contract will bring you many years of happiness and appease your competitive hunger when you’ve long put down the bat and glove.”
-”Bay went for the money. You can’t blame him- that’s why they call it money. The Mets had a perfect storm of injuries last year – but with health (a big IF) – a lineup that adds Bay to Reyes, Beltran, Wright, and probably Delgado will be damn formidable.”
-”Wow I never would have believed that Jason Bay would be a greedy pig when he showed up here from Pittsburgh. Go chase those low and away curve balls in New York, you stiff.”
-”we will see how he hits in that big ball park…and I am very disappointed in bay…saying all along how much he loved playing in boston and every game was like a playoff game…and then runs…the money wasn’t even that far off either…guess there aren’t many true ball players out there anymore who would rather place the city and team above the money…bay will make headlines in 2010…when they talk about how he just didn’t deliver…guess a WS ring wasn’t that important to him either…but you know what?…guess he couldn’t live up to the hype in Boston…the NL is where he belongs…just another NL player who couldn’t hack it in the AL…so CYA!!!”
-”Enjoy futility Jason. I hope that extra 6 million keeps you warm at night. Bay is the first player in history to actually want to jump ON a sinking ship.”
-”you left us over 6 mil$$$$$$$$$. you’ll be a dh in 2 years. oh yea they don’t have one. another bone headed signing for the mets. ha ha ha ha ha”
-”Headlines; Bay and Wright combine for 25 home runs in 2010, Mets finish 25 games behind Phillies.”
charlie_s
12/29/2009-6:27pm at 6:27 pm (UTC -4)
Translation: oh my god, what are we going to do with him?
charlie_s
12/29/2009-6:31pm at 6:31 pm (UTC -4)
argh…
Translation: oh my god, what are we going to do withOUT him?
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-7:59pm at 7:59 pm (UTC -4)
Rolling my eyes…
Reading some of the comments over on MLBTR, I’m beginning to get the impression those Red Sox fans are actually worse than some of the Yankee fans when it comes to that entitlement mentality.
rustyjr
12/29/2009-6:04pm at 6:04 pm (UTC -4)
ok so I guess i cant totally piss and moan anymore lol btw i couldnt find anything on the mets going after holliday – where did yas see that? also if we are able to swing a 3 way deal that will net us the good zambrano and all it costs us is slappy and nick evans plus a kunz – that would be a potentially good 1-4 rotation if pelf gets his head screwed on right and maine can revert back to form
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-6:22pm at 6:22 pm (UTC -4)
No faith in Ollie?
mikemattone
12/31/2009-9:45am at 9:45 am (UTC -4)
To quote Keith Law “Ollie wouldn’t make the Triple-A rotation if not for his contract”.
trs86
12/29/2009-7:52pm at 7:52 pm (UTC -4)
So as usual, Omar signs at least one big name. Patience may have paid off.
Now lets see if we finish the deal by getting a decent pitcher, guy who can replace Tatis, and another SP reclamation project. LGM.
metsfan4decades
12/29/2009-8:02pm at 8:02 pm (UTC -4)
I still don’t understand why we aren’t taking a look at F. Lopez.
And Tatis? I’m probably going to get bombarded for saying this but I really wouldn’t mind him back for the bench. As a bench player, Tatis can play the corner OFs, all all 4 infield postions. Not saying he’s a defensive whiz at all of them but in a pinch, he’s serviceable. And his bat in 2008 was more than serviceable coming off the bench.
fongy2
12/29/2009-8:18pm at 8:18 pm (UTC -4)
Lopez would be nice but omar cant move his
boy castillo, Soooo???
And at this point, I
agree about Tatis….
Wecould do worse.
DNDJohan aka kistics
12/29/2009-9:01pm at 9:01 pm (UTC -4)
It seems that Molina will be a Met regardless what happens. So what’s the lineup like? Assuming Castillo stays…
Reyes
Castillo
Beltran
Bay
Wright
Frenchy
Murphy
Molina
That’s not a bad lineup at all… Rotation is another story
trs86
12/29/2009-9:07pm at 9:07 pm (UTC -4)
Shake it up some. LOL (I think your’s will be correct)
Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Frenchy, Murphy, Molina, Castillo
Maybe seeing a ton of FB would help Wright and having Castillo in front of the pitcher instead of Molina might clear the pitcher more often.
CaseStreet
12/29/2009-11:30pm at 11:30 pm (UTC -4)
Wright 3rd
Beltran 4th
Bay 5th
Wright is the best hitter on the team, followed by Beltran and Bay.
You could also flip Frenchy and Molina.
trs86
12/30/2009-10:09pm at 10:09 pm (UTC -4)
I can’t say that Wright is the best hitter on the team. Beltran is pretty damn good.
CaseStreet
12/30/2009-11:11pm at 11:11 pm (UTC -4)
Past 3 seasons:
Wright .311, .399, .512
Beltran .290, .375, .510
Wright 2065 PA, 549 H, 347 1B, 123 2B, 6 3B, 73 HR, 316 R, 303 RBI, 262 BB
Beltran 1699 PA, 425 H, 251 1B, 95 2B, 9 3B, 70 HR, 259 R, 272 RBI, 208 BB
I’m still leaning towards Wright being the best hitter.
trs86
12/30/2009-11:26pm at 11:26 pm (UTC -4)
Not sure right now you can go by past 3 seasons for those 2 but fine. Wright may need to hit 3rd because even if his power numbers did not come back his high OBP would still greatly benefit. I mentioned letting him hit 2nd for a while behind Reyes so he would see more FB and gain confidence.
trs86
12/29/2009-9:25pm at 9:25 pm (UTC -4)
Been doing some reading and perhaps Wanny can help me out here. So UZR is based on yearly averages of all fielders for that position for that year. Assuming that, if a guy like Beltran moved to LF and was great then other LF’s numbers would fall. Also there is some discussion about using range because of OF positioning and field dimensions.
Thus my question is, is it possible that his decrease in RngR from Pittsburg to Boston has to do with any of the above?
Interesting that Manny also seems to have improved defensively since leaving Boston but what is stranger is that his RngR is much better.