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The hot World Series rumor early in the week was that Alex Rodriguez had called the Players Association requesting four tickets for just the three games at Shea, prompting one NL GM to comment: "That sure sounds like he's sending a message to the Mets." Scouts abounded at Shea last night, but none more prominent than A-Rod, who was obviously checking out the surroundings and the baseball atmosphere in Flushing.
It is an open secret the Mets plan to be big players in the Rodriguez free agent sweepstakes next month. The biggest players, they hope. Their competition figures to come from the Braves, White Sox, Rockies and, of course, the Mariners. Rodriguez' rep, Scott (Avenging Agent) Boras, will undoubtedly float the Dodgers, the team he pretty much runs, as bidders, too. But with no-trade commitments of $15 million to Kevin Brown, $14 million to Shawn Green and $11 million to Gary Sheffield, plus another $20 million needed to secure Darren Dreifort and Chan Ho Park for their pitching, a $20 million-per-year investment in Rodriguez would give the Dodgers $80 million tied up in just six players. But what about the Mets? As one baseball exec mused last night: "Do they sign Rodriguez at the expense of losing (Mike) Hampton? That would be a huge mistake. At the same time, though, you have to ask yourself: 'Can they afford to sign both?' If Rodriguez gets his $20 mil, Hampton figures to command at least $15 mil. That's $35 million on just two players." Nevertheless, the Mets do have some payroll flexibility in that Derek Bell's $5 million goes away and their entire starting outfield of Benny Agbayani, Jay Payton and Timo Perez is not yet arbitration-eligible. What's interesting is their primary competition for Hampton may also be the Braves. It's shaping up as quite a nuclear offseason for the super-powers of the NL East.
Courtesy of the New York Daily News 10/26/00