LAS VEGAS — In their pursuit of a closer, the Mets have become Scott Boras.
They are doing to their potential closer candidates what Boras does when multiple teams seek one of his free-agent clients. Boras is expert at making those teams uneasy by playing one against the other while using time as his ally. As the clock ticks, teams tend to go even edgier, imagining that they will lose the player and often react by blindly increasing their bid.
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Now here are the Mets as the lone big-market team clearly ready to spend significantly on a closer. But what they have done is let the candidates know they are interested in several of them, through either free agency or trade.
Meanwhile, they have let the clock tick, forcing each of the relievers and their agents to envision the Mets signing someone else. Then what?
Or, as one AL official said, “Where does Francisco Rodriguez get his money, if the Mets, say, sign Brian Fuentes.'”
When Boras uses these tactics, the prices usually rise. The Mets are using the strategy to make the top of their closer market drop.
“This is all leverage,” a major league official said. “This is like Scott. You know when Scott uses the three teams plus the mystery team this is what he’s going for. Now the Mets have three or four options and they are doing the same.”
The Mets put a human face on this hard sell Sunday night when Jeff Wilpon, Omar Minaya, Tony Bernazard and John Ricco took Rodriguez and his agents, Paul Kinzer and Arn Tellem, to dinner. The Mets made a contract offer at that get-together. It is believed it was for three years with an option.
Kinzer began the offseason talking about a closer-record five-year, $75 million deal for his client. But with the realities of the economy and the lack of other mega-teams beyond the Mets pursuing a closer, Kinzer has retreated from those demands. But how low will he go?
“I know Paul Kinzer and he is getting realistic about this market,” an NL official said. “And I think Fuentes’ people are scared and should be.”
If K-Rod is willing to accept their deal, the Mets have identified him as the best available option. However, in keep-the-pressure-on Boras-style, the Mets are scheduled to meet with Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman this afternoon at these meetings, with the hope of possibly meeting Kerry Wood, too. Plus, they will continue to talk to Seattle about J.J. Putz.
But where does K-Rod turn if the Mets go elsewhere? The Angels could re-enter the picture, but their top offer to retain him last year was in the three-year, $40 million range, and it is hard to imagine them exceeding that now. If the Brewers lost both CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets from their rotation, they may emphasize a closer. But essentially the landscape to get a big-time deal anywhere else beyond the Mets is not pretty.
“I do think K-Rod’s market is limited,” an NL executive said. “I’m not sure what series of events will get him to a four-year deal at this point.”