Your Tuesday morning dose of Mets news, links, and notes.
Meet the Mets
Starting with sour news; former Mets bullpen hero LaTroy Hawkins has signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Rockies. The Rockies offer reportedly "blew away" that which was presented by the Mets.
According to a group of MLB insiders, the interest between the Mets and Bronson Arroyo remains mutual, but the Mets have not made an offer to Arroyo.
Marc Carig explores the Ike Davis vs. Lucas Duda debate, but still says it will be a function of the marketplace.
The folks over at Mets Minors wonder how long of a leash will Travis D'Arnaud get? It's a question worth asking, however, much will depend on health and how the offseason goes.
The Mets announced their 2014 Spring Training schedule yesterday, which includes two games in Las Vegas and two games in Montreal. This should be a nice treat for Mets fans in Upstate New York, as they used to travel well to Olympic Stadium.
Around the MLB
The MLB has taken its first step in approving new replay rules. This is most certainly welcome news to many fans, and immensely inflammatory to some others.
The Giants have signed veteran pitcherTim Hudson to a two-year, $23 million deal. Hudson was coveted by some Mets fans as a potential option for the Mets but, alas, another free agent comes off the board.
According to Jeff Passan, former divisional rival Josh Johnson is on his way to being signed. Johnson was linked to the Padres and the Giants, and we can certainly hope the Mets never have to see him multiple times a year again.
Over on the other side of town, rumors have started to swirl that the Yankees may have interest in Jhonny Peralta. This would certainly be problematic for the Mets since the Yankees can actually afford a bidding war.
The good people at Baseball Prospectus looked into why we pay so much for free agents; something Mets fans won't have to worry about. (I kid, I kid)
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks will play an exhibition series in Australia, in March, at the famed Sydney Cricket Ground. This will be a good test to see to what degree baseball has taken root in Australia after the success of players like Peter Moylan.
Continuing on our Australia theme for today, the Canberra Calvary is the first Australian team to win a game in the Asia Series, after defeating the Samsung Lions in extra-frames on Monday.
Yesterday at AA
Aaron took a look at free agent catcher Kurt Suzuki.
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