The Mets will begin business in the new year where they left off in 2005, trying to conclude a trade for Tampa Bay closer Danys Baez to serve as Billy Wagner’s primary set-up man.
The Mets are viewed as the front-runner among about a half-dozen teams attempting to land Baez. And the Mets did not want to stop there. They were still hoping to expand the trade to include Kaz Matsui and cash as part of their package in order to also obtain shortstop Julio Lugo, whom the Mets would play at second base.
The Red Sox have been asking the Devil Rays to hold onto Lugo until Baltimore resolves what it is going to do with Miguel Tejada, and the Orioles have told interested teams they need their best offers for the star shortstop this week. The Red Sox and Cubs are the most serious suitors for Tejada, who has demanded a trade. Boston would like to obtain Tejada, perhaps in a deal that would include its disgruntled star, Manny Ramirez.
But if the Red Sox are unable to land Tejada, they consider Lugo their top fallback position over free agent Alex Gonzalez, formerly of the Marlins. The Devil Rays, however, have let all interested clubs know they are not waiting for other teams to do business. Therefore, the Mets are trying to close a deal quickly by including a third team in trade talks with the Devil Rays, but that team is neither the Orioles nor the Red Sox.
There have been reports that the Mets, Orioles, Red Sox and Devil Rays have been working on a four-way deal that would ultimately bring Ramirez to the Mets. However, at least one top official from each of those teams denied four-way trade talks. One of the executives went as far as to call it “bogus bull[bleep].” Another executive said yesterday this was the first he was hearing of the four-way possibility.
In fact, Met officials have not spoken with their Red Sox counterparts since the winter meetings. Mets GM Omar Minaya is clearly infatuated with acquiring Ramirez, and tried to obtain Tejada so he could turn around and deal him to Boston to obtain Ramirez. But the Orioles have told the Mets that if David Wright or Jose Reyes are not included in the discussion, they will not move Tejada to the Mets. And the Mets told the Orioles that those players are off limits.
The Orioles, at present, are adamant that they must receive a star-level player, such as Ramirez or the Cubs’ Mark Prior, in return for Tejada. In none of the four-team scenarios reported would Baltimore receive a star-level player. Minaya also has made it clear to officials outside of the Mets that he loves Lugo’s game and does not intend to use Lugo in a deal with the Red Sox. Besides, Boston officials say that once the Mets traded Mike Cameron, their chances of creating a package for Ramirez all but disappeared, even if they were to obtain Lugo.
The Post on Friday reported that Minaya was trying to finalize a deal in which the Mets would send either Jae Seo or Aaron Heilman as the main component in a package for Baez.
