All along, the Mets and Rangers were considered the major players for prized free-agent left-hander Barry Zito.The Rangers appear to have bowed out of the race.
Texas pulled off a startling trade today with the Chicago White Sox, landing hard-throwing right-hander Brandon McCarthy for 21-year-old lefty prospect Jon Danks and two other minor leaguers. You'll recall the White Sox dealt Freddy Garcia to the Phils at the winter meetings for the sole purpose of clearing a rotation spot for McCarthy. Texas is also negotiating with free-agent left-hander Mark Mulder, Zito's former teammate in Oakland. It no longer seems the bullpen-rich Rangers have any interest in trading for Jon Lieber, the Phillies' superfluous right-hander.
"I don't want to get into specifics about our discussions [with Zito's agent, Scott Boras] other than to say that I'm not terribly encouraged about our chances," Rangers GM Jon Daniels said on a conference call. "Regardless of whether or not we felt we were going to be able to sign somebody like Barry, we would have made this deal. This is about the future with Brandon."
Zito likely will get a five- or six-year contract, worth at least $16 million per season. A few days ago, a Mets contingent led by GM Omar Minaya visited Zito in California.
1 comment:
Do you think now that Suppan has signed for as much as he has hurts the Mets chances for getting Zito at the price Minaya wants?
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