Tom Seaver Fan Club

The Mets have finalized a deal with ex Angels pitcher Kelvim Escobar to a 1 yr deal worth 1.5 million if he makes the club out of spring training.  GM Omar Minaya sees him as an 8th inning set-up man for closer Francisco Rodriquez.

No word on OF Jason Bay, who was viewed as the Mets top free agent target. However with inactivity, you wonder how serious he is to coming to NY. Legendary baseball writer Peter Gammons claims Bay would rather play in Beirut than Queens(Radio interview on Christmas eve) while ESPN’s Buster Olney thinks the Mets will focus on SP Joel Pineiro in the pitching market. Olney also believes the team has between 15-22 million to spend and might sign 3-4 solid ML players instead of 1 or 2 big ticket items.