Saturday, January 19, 2002
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NEW YORK >> The New York Mets have agreed to a three-team deal that would send Hawaii's Benny Agbayani to the Colorado Rockies. Rockies nearing deal
for AgbayaniStar-Bulletin wire services
The Mets, Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers have agreed on the players in the trade, two baseball officials told the New York Times yesterday.
The Mets would send infielder Todd Zeile and Agbayani, an outfielder from Aiea, to Colorado and pitcher Glendon Rusch and infielder Lenny Harris to Milwaukee. The Mets would receive slugging outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, pitcher Jeff D'Amico, infielder Lou Collier and outfielder Mark Sweeney from the Brewers. In addition to Rusch and Harris, the Brewers would receive outfielder Alex Ochoa from the Rockies.
The unresolved issue is whether the Brewers will send $750,000 to the Rockies to help offset Zeile's contract.
The Rockies want to make Zeile their third baseman but also want to keep their payroll around $51 million and cannot afford his $6 million salary. The Mets have told the Rockies that they would not pay more than $3.25 million of Zeile's salary, and Colorado wants $750,000 more.
Both teams believe the Brewers should pay that because of the large salary they are unloading by trading Burnitz, who will make $6.5 million next season and $11 million in 2003.
The Denver Post reports that Agbayani would be more than a throw-in to the deal. The Rockies have long coveted the former St. Louis School and Hawaii Pacific standout for his ability to hit left-handed pitching and would likely give him a shot to start in left field. Agbayani hit .333 against lefties in 2001 with three home runs in 72 at-bats.
Colorado views him as a cheaper, more potent replacement for Ochoa, who hit just one home run last season in 58 games. Agbayani hit six while battling injuries last season after hitting 15 in 2000 and 14 in 1999.
One sign that the Mets and the Rockies are ready to make the deal is that other options have begun to collapse. The Mets had discussed a deal for outfielder Bubba Trammell, but the Padres, who had hoped to get Agbayani and outfielder Jay Payton, instead signed Ron Gant yesterday.
Colorado considered pursuing Seattle third baseman David Bell, but he seems likely to be traded to the San Francisco Giants. Another option for the Rockies, Detroit's Shane Halter, was told by Tigers' manager Phil Garner yesterday that he would stay with the Tigers. Colorado also appears to have soured on free agent John Valentin.
Players avoid arbitration: Scott Rolen led a parade of 32 players in arbitration who agreed to contracts yesterday, and the Philadelphia Phillies third baseman got an $8.6 million, one-year deal.
Just 42 players exchanged figures with their teams from among the 93 players who were in arbitration earlier in the week. The other 51 already have settled.
Rolen, eligible for free agency after this season, refused Philadelphia's attempts to negotiate a multiyear contract.
"We'd still like to have him be a Phillie for his entire career," Phillies general manager Ed Wade said.
Other players who got big deals were Boston reliever Ugueth Urbina ($6.7 million), Phillies right-hander Robert Person ($6.25 million), Montreal right-hander Javier Vazquez ($4,725,000), Atlanta right-hander Kevin Millwood ($3.9 million), Seattle right-hander Freddy Garcia ($3.8 million) and Chicago Cubs right-hander Kerry Wood ($3,695,000).
Baltimore right-hander Jason Johnson got the only multiyear deal, a $4.7 million, two-year contract.
Among the players who exchanged numbers, the Yankees' Jorge Posada asked for the most, $7.75 million. New York offered $6.7 million to its All-Star catcher, who is negotiating a five-year contract at about $50 million.
Dodgers add vets: Looking to add outfield depth at the minor-league level and maybe hoping to find a hidden gem, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the signings of former major-leaguers Roberto Kelley and Mark Whiten to minor-league contracts and invited them to spring training.
Kelly, 37, batted .279 with 48 RBI for the Dodgers in 1995 and has a .290 career average in 14 seasons with eight organizations. He played in the minors last season. Whiten, 35, spent last season playing in Mexico. He played 11 seasons in the major leagues with six teams and is best known for hitting four homers and driving in 12 runs in one game for St. Louis in 1993.