Somewhere, Paul Lo Duca must be smiling, knowing that his Mets career isn’t necessarily finished, and that his price tag just increased.
This comes after yesterday’s acknowledgement from the Mets that the deal for free-agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba is dead.
“We didn’t reach an agreement with Torrealba and there will be no ongoing negotiations,” Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said last night, declining to provide further details.
Thursday the sides had reached agreement on a three-year, $14.4 million contract, contingent on the 29-year-old passing his physical. Melvin Roman, who represents Torrealba, had no comment on the situation.
Torrealba has battled right shoulder problems in recent seasons, but it is not known if that contributed to the deal’s demise. Last season Torrealba threw out 17.6 percent of the runners who attempted to steal against him, but one National League scout said Torrealba would have been a defensive upgrade over Lo Duca.
“[Torrealba] catches and throws freely, his lateral movements are terrific – he smothered a lot of balls in the dirt,” the scout said.
If Torrealba’s shoulder is a major issue, why did the Rockies – for whom Torrealba spent the past two seasons – make him a two-year offer with a team option? Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd reportedly hasn’t ruled out trying to retain Torrealba.
Now the Mets have a starting catching vacancy and face a lean market. First choice Jorge Posada re-signed with the Yankees before Mets GM Omar Minaya had a chance to make an offer, and Torrealba was Plan B.
That could lead the Mets back to 35-year-old Lo Duca. Efforts to reach Lo Duca’s agent, Andrew Mongelluzi, were unsuccessful last night.
Last week the Mets re-signed backup catcher Ramon Castro to a two-year contract with the idea he would see increased playing time to provide some offensive pop at the position. But it remains to be seen if that plan changes should Lo Duca, a superior hitter to Torrealba, return.
The Mets could face competition from the Rockies and Marlins for Lo Duca, who earned $6.25 million last season.
mpuma@nypost.com