Report: Torrealba's Deal With Mets Collapses

by Hizilla on Nov 17, 2007 3:15 PM MST

[editor's note, by Russ] Promoted from the diaries. Metsblog.com has more on this.

According to mlbtraderumors - the deal between Yorvit and the Mets has fallen apart and there are no ongoing talks. I assume that Mets fans will appreciate this. I would still be ok bringing him back for a couple years, but I would hope that the Rockies would give Ianetta a chance to win the job. Someone a few weeks back proposed letting Yorvit catch for the young guys and letting Ianetta catch for Francis, Cook and Hirsch. Anyway - thought some of you would like to hear this news.

Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).

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Possibilities

1. Yorvit failed his physical. His shoulder has been bothering him for some time, it might be in worse condition than what he or the Rockies have let on.

This seems most likely to me, and in which case we need to really reassess re-signing him as well.

He had a sudden last minute change of heart. This seems unlikely in that if this was the case you would expect the Rockies offer to have still been on the table and him to have switched back. This doesn't seem to be the case, and in fact, the finality of the Mets statements seems to rule this out as well.
It was leaked to the Mets that he's on the BALCO list and they were unaware of that before. Torrealba was in San Francisco from 2001 to 2005, and that seems to correlate well with the time frame being looked at by the feds there. This would also explain the Mets backing off so fast. A related one might be a pending positive PED test.

Any others?

by Rox Girl on Nov 17, 2007 4:45 PM MST reply actions

Those sum it up pretty well.

and at this point, it's time to tread very carefully around Torrealba until it's very clear what happened. While I'm sure O'Dowd and Co. have a pretty good understanding as to what might have taken place, you have to think there could be some type of issue associated with Torrealba that could spawn potential media/fan backlash. For instance, if he failed a physical, and the Rockies still hand him the same deal they originally offered, they look silly for taking the injury risk, and still adds scrutiny to the position. If there's a more serious concern, like a PED link, the Rockies' brass have no real gauge to how fans will react. Small cases like Piedra and Herrera offer no evidence to how the Rockies' fans feel about "cheaters," but would the Rockies lose credibility with its fans if they brought back a high profile player known to have association with PED's? (Again, this is speculation on speculation, I'm not insinuating anything). Also it may not be fan backlash the Rockies would fear if Torrealba was mentioned in the Mitchell Report or failed a test. They may instead feel pressure from Selig, and the Rockies, based on their draft budgets of late, seem eager to tow the line with the commissioner's office.

This just seems bizarre. If Torrealba had a real change of heart, why wouldn't he just go back and accept the Rockies old offer, instead of requesting that O'Dowd re-engage in discussions? The Rockies barely improved their offer in the first place, and now there's almost no incentive to increase it with the Mets out of the picture. A change of heart would be an expensive one...

...unless his agent received hints from another team that they'd be willing to come close to the Mets offer while guaranteeing more playing time. It's highly doubtful, but I think playing time may have been a bit of an issue. It's possible that Torrealba was never comfortable with the proposed 100-62 split we've been hearing with Castro, and he just wants to be the guy.

That's dangerous for any team, and my guess is Yorvit would have known his place with all suitors prior to reaching a tenative agreement with the Mets. This year seemed to be the peak of his offensive worth, and if his shoulder doesn't get better, any team would be crazy to give him major starting commitments. Even the Rockies should have spotted him more with Iannetta.

Any way you look at it, you'd have to figure his value has taken a slight hit thanks to the removal of a big money contender and the uncertainty surrounding the collapse of the deal.

by David OhNo on Nov 17, 2007 7:09 PM MST up reply actions

NICE JOB ROX GIRL......

# 3 makes a lot of sense and if it is, it will make for an interesting FA signing period. Iannetta need to play D, stop the running game, hit 10 - 15 HRS and hit .220. The Rox have plenty of offense and by the way Chris will top those numbers if he is THE guy. There must be one of the 12 Molina brothers available at a cheap price. I would sign a Bennett calibre back up.

by 86 wins in 07 on Nov 17, 2007 7:39 PM MST up reply actions

Metsblog commenters are hilarious

"Omar is making Hank Steinbrenner look like ML Executive of the Decade with this crap! I said this was all risky and there is game of musical chairs here that the Mets are in danger of losing."

I think the Mets are lucky, as they were way overpaying for Yorvit. Some other comments mention trading for Saltimacchia down in Texas. I'm not sure he is even a catcher, really. More like a 1B, DH type. The Rockies certainly have prospects they could trade. Any catchers available on the trade market?

by moomacher on Nov 17, 2007 6:52 PM MST reply actions