Yesterday it was reported the New York Mets were looking to move one of their starters because Matt Harvey will be returning in 2015. Who will they trade? As for relievers, Sergio Romo is garnering interest from the San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers.
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York noted on Monday that the Mets were "aggressively shopping" starter Dillon Gee for a few reasons. As the team prepares to free up space in the rotation for Harvey, they realized Bartolo Colon and Jonathon Niese, the other two tradable candidates, weren't worth letting go financially. Teams want New York to eat some of Colon's salary in a trade, which they aren't willing to do, and Niese is under contract through 2018 at a good price. That left Gee, who is under club control through the 2016 season and is expected to earn around $5 million in 2015 in his second year of arbitration eligibility.
The Texas Rangers were said to be expected to meet with the Mets to talk about a trade for Gee, and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports confirmed that on Tuesday night. Texas was pursuing a power-hitting outfielder for some time, but now it looks as if they've shifted their attention to the starting rotation. In the past week they re-signed Colby Lewis to a one-year deal, made a contract offer to starter Justin Masterson and are hoping to speak with the San Diego Padres about potentially acquiring Andrew Cashner in a trade.
However, the Rangers will have some competition because up to six teams are interested in the 28-year-old Gee (career record of 40-34 with a 3.91 ERA), including the Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants.
Speaking of the Giants, they're talking with reliever Sergio Romo, who is now a free agent after spending his seven-year career with San Francisco. Romo is also in talks with the Detroit Tigers, another team in need of bullpen help. Romo was an All-Star during the 2013 season after amassing 38 saves and a 2.54 ERA in 60 1/3 innings, but he was pulled from the closer role in 2014 after struggling in the middle of the season.
Nonetheless, Romo would provide a great bullpen option for a number of teams, whether as a setup man or closer. He owns a career record of 31-21 to go along with a 2.51 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 394 strikeouts in 351 2/3 innings. On top of that, he's 3-1 in the postseason with a 2.11 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, four saves and 20 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings during the Giants' three World Series title runs.
The Giants are seemingly desperate after losing out on Pablo Sandoval, Yasmany Tomas and now Jon Lester. They likely don't want to lose one of their best bullpen arms.
UPDATE: The Tigers HAVE NOT spoken to Romo.
