Carlos Beltran signs with the New York Mets.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

NEW YORK -- The New York Mets have reached an agreement in principle to sign center fielder Carlos Beltran for $119 million over seven years to make him their centerpiece player.

The sides agreed that the deal will include an $11 million signing bonus, an Associated Press source said on on condition of anonymity.

New York and Beltran's agent, Scott Boras, still had to work out how to structure his salaries for each season and any deferred payments, the source and another person involved in the talks said, also on condition of anonymity.

Beltran is expected to take a physical Monday and sign the deal Tuesday. The press conference is likely to take place Tuesday.

Beltran, who helped Houston come within a victory of its first World Series last year, will became the 10th player in baseball history to agree to a deal worth $100 million or more -- and the first to switch teams for a nine-figure contract since Jason Giambi got a $120 million, seven-year contract from the New York Yankees in December 2001.

A source familiar with the negotiations told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney that the talks with Houston fell through Saturday night because the team would not give Beltran a full no-trade clause. Beltran and his agent, Scott Boras, were OK with the seven-year, $108 million deal from the Astros. But the offer included a "limited" no-trade clause -- a stipulation that turned out to be the fallout of those talks.

The source also told Olney that despite numerous calls from Boras, the Yankees never made an offer for Beltran, and they did not engage in serious talks for the center fielder.

The Mets, who haven't made the playoffs since 2000, were on the verge of pulling off their second coup of the offseason. They lured three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez from the Boston Red Sox last month with a $53 million, four-year deal.

Because Beltran became a free agent and rejected salary arbitration, under baseball's rules Houston had to re-sign Beltran by midnight Saturday or lose rights until May 1.

"The serious parts of this only happened in the last six hours," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. "Really, I think we ran out of time. Mostly, it's time and distance. Certainly I regret the fact that we didn't deal with some of these things earlier -- but we didn't control the pace of the negotiations."

Astros officials said an agreement was difficult to get in place Saturday night because of the logistics involved: Team staff was at the ballpark, owner Drayton McLane was at his home in Temple, Boras was at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., and Beltran was in Puerto Rico.

It's been a tough offseason for the Astros. All-Star second baseman Jeff Kent signed with the Dodgers, pitcher Wade Miller was let go and signed with Boston, and All-Star outfielder Lance Berkman severely hurt a knee playing flag football, an injury that will cause him to miss the start of the season.

Also, Houston is trying to persuade Roger Clemens not to retire. Clemens, 42, has said he would make a decision this month. But McLane said Saturday he believes Beltran's departure doesn't ensure Clemens' exit.

"I certainly hope not and I don't think so," McLane told The New York Post. "Roger said that we would get together. He's been in Hawaii and he's coming home this weekend. I feel very confident that we'll be able to reach an agreement with Roger.

"We'll move on to Roger next week."

"Certainly we will welcome Roger back," Purpura said. "We're not going to shift into a rebuilding mode because of this."

Clemens, who won his record seventh Cy Young Award in his first season with his hometown team, already has agreed to salary arbitration. If he exchanges figures with the Astros on Jan. 18, he could ask for a record amount, topping the $18.5 million request Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter submitted before the 2001 season.

Purpura said the candidates to replace Beltran in center will most likely be Jason Lane, minor-league prospect Willy Taveras or Craig Biggio, who held the position before Beltran joined the team. He also said Houston had not ruled out a trade to upgrade the spot.

 

[Chizip]

this guy sure made a lot of money off 1 great post season

the guy hit 30 home runs for the first time last year, yet he also only hit .267

thats a lot of jack for a .267 hitter

i cant believe how crazy the market has become again

 

[Got Philk?]

I can't believe how much the mets paid for this guy...I'm just happy the Cubs didn't waste this much money on him.

You said it best...
.267 hitter
possibly 30 hrs
I guess steals are worth the extra money???

 

[Hewson]

The guy has tremendous upside. That being said...if you told me I could have Beltran or Vlad, I would take Vlad in a heartbeat, so the market this year has gotten surprisingly out of control(cue song) again, fueled largely by Omar Minaya.

 

[Numb1075]

He's certainly an upgrade out in CF. He can do everything well, but is not a master of any. Vlad is a 5 tool player also...but will hit 40-50 points higher, hit 10 more HRs, drive in 20 more....if anyone is worth that money, Vlad is.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Carlos is the only player in Major League history to have 4 straight seasons with 20 homers, 100 RBIs, 100 runs scored and 30 stolen bases. He's a threat to the 40/40 club every year. He's hit 20+ homers, 100+ RBIs, stolen 30+ bases, scored 100+ times in every single season in the majors with the exception of 1998, when he was a september call up, and 2000, when he only played half a year due to injury.

his average major league season... per 162 games played... includes 113 runs, 180 hits, 32 doubles, 10 triples, 27 homers, 104 RBIs, 35 stolen bases.

he's put up the majority of those stats with zero protection in the lineup. he's a switch-hitter, he's only 27, and he's just entering the prime of his career.


the market isn't up this year... it's right about where it was 2 years ago. the market over the past couple of years was down.

a-rod makes 25.2 a year, ramirez makes 20, jeter makes 18.9, giambi makes 17.1, beltran makes 17, helton makes 15.7, mike hampton makes 15.1, kevin brown makes 15, pujols makes 14.3, vlad makes 11.

is vlad worth more than beltran? yes... of course he is. until carlos wins an MVP, you have to say that. but the reason why vlad's contract is smaller is because the market was down last year. this year's market is up considerably compared to last year, but it's actually STILL down compared to just 3-4 years ago. pujols and vlad just happened to sign/resign at a time when the market was down.

would beltran have made as much if boras wasn't his agent? no... he'd probably have gotten in the 14-15 per year range. if it was last year? he'd probably have gotten in around 10 per.

i'm more than willing to pay another 3 bucks per ticket to get carlos betlran in my outfield. and i'll bump that up to 6 bucks per ticket if omar can go out and get delgado next.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

His average salary of $17 million will tie Houston's Jeff Bagwell for the seventh-highest, trailing only Alex Rodriguez ($25.2 million), Manny Ramirez ($20 million), Derek Jeter ($18.9 million), Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds (both $18 million), and Jason Giambi ($17.1 million).

 

[Chizip]

a threat to the 40/40 club every year?

he's only hit 30 home runs once, and that was last year when he played in a joke of a park that is minute maid, aka the juice box

prediction for next year - .282 avg, 28 dingers, 111 rbi, 31 sb with great defense in center

is that worth 17 million? i guess thats open to debate

i do have to say, compared to the pedro signing this was a brilliant move

i have a feeling 4 years from now that these contracts will be more of a burden than an asset

 

[Numb1075]

gotta agree w/ Chizip. I like the move, but don't see 40/40 club playing 81 games in Shea....

i think his numbers will improve vastly if Omar can get Delgado...and I don't mean Wilson Delgado either.

 

[speedracer]

I can't believe how much the mets paid for this guy...I'm just happy the Cubs didn't waste this much money on him.

You said it best...
.267 hitter
possibly 30 hrs
I guess steals are worth the extra money???

Well, the steals are definitely worth something on the right team. The guy's SB percentage is around 90%.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

be played 1/2 a season with houston... meaning 1/4 of his games were played in minute made park, 1/4 of them were played in kaufman (which his similar dimensions to shea), and the other 1/2 were played "somewhere else." so yes... a guy who's just comming into what's supposed to be the prime of his career who hit 38 dingers last year? yea... i'd put him as a threat to be a 40/40 guy every year for the next 5. does that mean he'll do it? no... but it's deffinetly within the realm of possability, and wouldn't be shocking to anyone.


minya has set up talks with carlos delgado, and is still considering a deal involving cliff floyd and sammy sosa. they don't appear to be done just yet.

 

[popacrobat]

overpaid, but who isnt really when theyre a free agent?

they got the two top free agents so far this year in pedro and beltran, and whether you think pedro is washed up or not he was the #1 pitcher available via free agency.

whatever the case, the mets are doing their damnest to buy a championship and are doing a decent job so far. they need a bullpen.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

finally a voice of reason

 

[phanan]

I think Beltran is going to be worth it in the long run for the Mets. He's entering the prime of his career.

As for Pedro, well, the Mets can have him...my Sox don't need him anymore.

 

[popacrobat]

the sox dont need him any more?

schilling will be hurtin all throughout the year, curious the team doctor was fired no?

wells is not going to hold up the whole year

clements era will spike a bit going to the al

who knows how well miller will do

arroyo and wakefield are also unknowns

granted, if everything goes right, the staff will be good. but to say that they wont miss/need pedro is a bit assinine...maybe 3 years from now, they wont miss him, but i personally think dealing up with 1 or 2 shit years of pedro is worth having 2 good/solid years of pedro. but thats just me.

 

[popacrobat]

and by the way, assume the mets do sign delgado for a bit here...

they will then have piazza, delgado, reyes (assuming health), matsui, wright, floyd, beltran and cameron? correct me if i'm wrong with cameron. that is going to be one pretty good lineup...one of the best in the league up there with st louis, boston and texas...

 

[phanan]

the sox dont need him any more?

schilling will be hurtin all throughout the year, curious the team doctor was fired no?

wells is not going to hold up the whole year

clements era will spike a bit going to the al

who knows how well miller will do

arroyo and wakefield are also unknowns

granted, if everything goes right, the staff will be good. but to say that they wont miss/need pedro is a bit assinine...maybe 3 years from now, they wont miss him, but i personally think dealing up with 1 or 2 shit years of pedro is worth having 2 good/solid years of pedro. but thats just me.

Pedro is not the same anymore. If he was in Boston again this year, I bet his ERA would go over 4.00, as it has been going up each year the last three years. I don't think that is too far-fetched.

I think it's a good bet Clement could match that.

I believe Schilling will be OK, although I agree, why fire the doctor who essentially saved us in the postseason?

We agree on Wells, but come on, he can't be worse than Lowe was.

As far as Miller, who knows, but if he is fully recovered, he will be the steal of the year.

I'm quite optimistic...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

and what some of you who are bitching about how they overpaid to get him... you fail to realize that the mets HAVE to overpay to get him. they've had so many bad PR moments involving high profile free agents in the past 5 years... a-rod, vlad... that they're baisicly paying for past mistakes. it would have been a disaster if beltran wouldn't have gone to the mets after the astros were no longer an option. if it's you making the decision, and you have two options in town, one is steak, one is mcdonalds... you're goin' with the steak. if the mets had tried to underbid after the astros had dropped out, the yanks would've swept right in and taken him. they had to push the bid out to assure that they got him.

 

[Chizip]

why would the mets want sosa over floyd?

i wouldnt take sosa for free these days

its extremely risky to put so much money and 4 years into a pitcher who's shoulder is so banged up he'll refuse to take an MRI, they'll be lucky to get 2 good years out of him, then theyll be screwed the next 2 years

but i guess when you are a team in new york you can afford 15 million in dead money, while it would cripple other teams


i just know at times like this im glad walt jocketty is in charge of the cardinals. he saw the market was going absurd, and still was able to get mulder, the starting pitcher for the al in last years all star game and the most dominant lefty over the past few years, for less than half the price of pedro, and for even less than kris benson!

he was able to get an ace, and adequate substitutes for ss and 2b for less than the price boston paid for renteria.

every member of the cards 2005 rotation won at least 15 games last year, and the whole rotation costs just 2 million more than sosa.

in walt i trust.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

great... you're the friggin cardinals. you can under pay for people, you're only direct regional competition is kansas city... woo hoo.

the mets have to compete with the yankees. in order to compete with them, they HAVE to over-pay. there's no ifs ands or buts about it.

 

[Chizip]

but you werent even competing with the yanks for beltran

 

[Hewson]

Actually they were...in classic Boras fashion, after the Mets came in with their last offer, Boras contacted the Yanks Saturday night, and asked if they'd be willing to give Beltran $100mil over 6yrs. The Yanks said no, not wanting to tie up $140 mil($100 mil in salary plus $40 mil in luxury tax) in Beltran, though they liked him.

 

[Numb1075]

The Mets "should" have a fantastic lineup if everything falls in place. But remember, this is the Mets we are talking about here.

Remember, wayyyy back when, our line up consisted of Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, and Jeromy Burnitz? That was supposed to be an awesome lineup w/ each putting up amazing #s in previous years - but we all know how that turned out. I'm just the pesimistic Mets fan talking here.

Headache - give me a reason to believe !!

 

[Hewson]

What about Mo's big comeback?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

What about Mo's big comeback?

watch your tounge

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Headache - give me a reason to believe !!

a reason to believe? ok...

carlos beltran is 27 years old
david wright is 21 years old
jose reyes is 21 years old (although i'm still nervous about him and his leg issues)

there's reasons to believe... they went out and got a young star who's still on the way up, not a 34 year old guy who's obviously on the way down.

they finally went out and spent the money... all be it overspending a bit... to get the #1 free agent available, when in past years they'd tease ya' and then leave ya at the alter with your pants around your ankles.

and they might not be done...

the best off-season move the mets made this year wasn't signing beltran or signing pedro... it was signing omar, a man who's done the impossiable... reminded fred wilpon that his team plays in the biggest market in america, not milwaukee.

 

[Numb1075]

Ok, thanks. Jose Reyes scares me in that he can only play half a season because he is so fragile.....

Wright will be the cornerstone of this team in a few years - Beltran and Wright give me hope.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[popacrobat]

but you werent even competing with the yanks for beltran

maybe not, but if the mets didnt overpay and bite the bullet and held out a few more days, no telling if steinbrenner woulda made a few phone calls...

and yes im glad we have walt too. no doubt in my mind that he's the best gm in the game. does a lot with not too much...and is a brilliant trader.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

the mets are ALWAYS competing with the yankees... for everyone and everything. it's the nature of the beast when you're in a city with the winningest, most famous, most popular (and most hated) franchise in all of sport.