Mets have interest in long term deal for Michael Bourn

[Rio40]

I would really want Bourne but only for a 3 or 4 year deal and only if the Mets pick gets protected.

[YoungStuna28]

Yeah last time I looked this was a thread about Michael Bourn. Why are we once again throwing our tinfoil hats on and talking about helicopters, money, and the Wilpons money outside of baseball? Why are we talking about a plane that Omar Minaya took years ago?

The same people are allowed to derail every thread and nothing is ever done. The Mets forum should be thrown in the garbage because you can no longer have a normal discussion anymore.

Well until the Mets start winning again, this is the way it will stay. This is a disgruntled fanbase.

[GottaBelieve]

This was once a good thread, and for a while this forum was again a reasonable place to have a discussion without all the ridiculous banter.

Keep it civil, and please stay on topic.

[metsbulls1025]

Well until the Mets start winning again, this is the way it will stay. This is a disgruntled fanbase.

The rules on the forum shouldn't change. Topics about Michael Bourn shouldn't get derailed with that BS.

[Marty Mcfly]

Well until the Mets start winning again, this is the way it will stay. This is a disgruntled fanbase.

And we have EVERY reason to be disgruntled.

[The-rock-man]

I see the 2014 outfield outlook for free agency looks like a couple former Mets, Beltran and Gomez! I would hope MLB rules in favor of us maintaining the pick and allows us to sign Bourne with no penalty. IF the quality outfielders who are free agents are limited to a mere few picks in 2014, then we are gonna have some serious competition for those picks. Bourne makes more sense for 2013. I just think to wait for a Gomez type player, might cost way too much in the long run. Tough call.

[Marty Mcfly]

I see the 2014 outfield outlook for free agency looks like a couple former Mets, Beltran and Gomez! I would hope MLB rules in favor of us maintaining the pick and allows us to sign Bourne with no penalty. IF the quality outfielders who are free agents are limited to a mere few picks in 2014, then we are gonna have some serious competition for those picks. Bourne makes more sense for 2013. I just think to wait for a Gomez type player, might cost way too much in the long run. Tough call.

It won't matter the Mets have already put in place a secondary defense against spending money by saying they won't go to 5 years.

[metswon69]

If they don't get Bourn, there are a host of other FA OF out there next year.

Be aggressive and spend the money necessary to acquire those guys.

They can also use the added minor league depth we have to acquire a very good OF like the Braves did with Upton. If they acquire two impact OF next year, they could right the ship quickly.

It comes down to money with 99.9% of these free agents, if the Mets spend it, they will come.

[GottaBelieve]

I've been a proponent of signing Bourn but I wouldn't give him 5 years either.

I think 3-4 years is ideal, and ultimately I think that's his market value. Sure, someone can swoop in and give him 5 years, but I don't think that would be a mistake.

He's a solid player and can really help this team in the next few years. But he's not someone I would overpay significantly for in years.

[eltwo]

Is there any time frame for a ruling on the draft pick issue?

[Marty Mcfly]

Always next year...

When next year gets here and the reality of a weakened market with fewer options and all of them wanting 'Too much', people will be saying 'Wait till next year, and get so and so'.

This is how it always plays out, I remember people elsewhere telling me 'wait til 2011'...

[Marty Mcfly]

Is there any time frame for a ruling on the draft pick issue?

Don't think so, this has the look of another Mets time-wasting wild-goose chase, undertaken so they can say to the fans 'We tried'.

[metswon69]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/#i6JroCtlq6JYQFO4.99

I thought that was an interesting article on Bourn.

Michael Bourn entered the offseason as one of the most sought-after free agents in baseball, considered by all authorities (including MLBTR's Tim Dierkes) to be one of the top players available this winter. February is just a few days away, however, and not only is Bourn still unsigned, but he's lacking in obvious suitors that have both the need and the available finances to make a deal.

Bourn's and agent Scott Boras' demands for a contract in the neighbourhood of five years/$75MM haven't helped open up the market, nor has the fact that signing Bourn would cost a team a high draft pick due to Bourn's rejection of the Braves' qualifying offer. While the Mets may appeal to MLB in an attempt to sign Bourn and still keep their 11th overall draft choice, it seems unlikely that the league will acquiesce.

Besides the compensatory details, it may be that teams are simply unwilling to commit that much money to a 30-year-old player whose value lies in his speed (257 steals over the last five years) and defense (a +22.5 UZR/150 in center field in 2012), no matter how much Bourn may excel in those categories. The Mariners, for example, have been linked to Bourn this winter but it is believed that Seattle isn't keen to sign another speed-and-defense oriented free agent given how the Chone Figgins signing backfired on the club. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith listed a number of possible suitors for Bourn last month, a list from which we can probably remove at least the Phillies, Indians, Yankees, Braves and Dodgers in the wake of subsequent moves.

You would think that Bourn's demands would drop given such a seemingly limited market...but this is Scott Boras we're talking about, an agent who has made a career out of getting his clients big deals when none seem available. That said, Boras could also explore a shorter-term or so-called "pillow contract" for Bourn so the outfielder can re-visit the free market next winter. Will Bourn take a short-term deal, lower his asking price, or will Boras pull another rabbit out of his hat?

[GottaBelieve]

I doubt there's a rabbit in his hat.

A team with a protected pick will probably be offered Bourn on a 1 year deal if the Mets don't get their pick protected and Boras doesn't lower his demands.

I think it's crazy for Bourn to risk a move like that, but with Boras anything is possible.

[metsbulls1025]

I wish we could just get confirmation from the league either way about our pick.