Pedro to the Mets?
Mets deliver Pedro's pitch
Source
BY ADAM RUBIN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Coming off a world championship, Pedro Martinez has to decide where he wants to wind up.
Pedro Martinez now has leverage in his dealings with the Red Sox.
The Mets offered the free-agent righthander a guaranteed three-year contract, a baseball official said yesterday. Boston brass has been unwilling to guarantee anything to Martinez beyond two years.
The Mets' offer is believed to average roughly $12.5 million a season.
Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said GM Omar Minaya would have no comment on any free agent dealings this week.
Martinez's agent, Fern Cuza, similarly declined comment. Minaya tried having a hush-hush dinner with Martinez on Thanksgiving night in the Dominican Republic, but word leaked out.
Martinez met with George Steinbrenner in Tampa earlier this month, and subsequently dined with Alex Rodriguez in Miami. It's widely believed that flirtation mostly had to do with driving up the price tag for the Red Sox to re-sign Martinez. In the Mets' case, there appears to be genuine interest from the organization, with Minaya seemingly determined to make a splash this winter. Whether the interest is mutual or a negotiating ploy by Martinez with the Red Sox isn't clear.
The Mets ultimately may be willing to guarantee 2008 money, the kind of overwhelming offer it might take to lure Martinez from the Red Sox, even if it further disrupts baseball's salary structure. Boston reportedly has offered a two-year, $25.5 million contract with a vesting option for 2007, which would kick in if Martinez remains healthy.
In Flushing, Martinez would anchor what quickly would become one of the NL's top rotations, joining Kris Benson, Tom Glavine, Victor Zambrano and Steve Trachsel. The wisdom of a three- or four-year contract is debatable, given red flags with the 33-year-old Martinez, including losing 5 mph off his fastball. Still, the three-time Cy Young Award winner was ranked ninth in the AL in ERA (3.90) last season, sixth in wins (16), third in fewest hits allowed per innings (8.0), second in strikeouts (227) and sixth in innings (217).
Martinez made $17.5 million in 2004, in the final season of a seven-year, $90 million contract. Boston figures to need a resolution before next Tuesday's deadline, when it seemingly must decline arbitration to the ace and give up negotiating rights. The Red Sox could delay the cutoff date for two weeks by offering arbitration to Martinez with a handshake agreement that he would later decline. Regardless, the Mets appear prepared to forfeit a draft pick to sign Martinez if necessary. The Mets have the ninth overall pick in '05. Teams drafting in the top 15 aren't required to surrender their first-round pick, even to sign a Type A free agent like Martinez, but they would relinquish a second-round spot.
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