John Shea: Yankees can't resist free agents

It sounds like the Mets are leery of John Lackey due to his past history of arm issues. While Lackey is a great competitor and solid pitcher, what he will cost in his next contract and with the seasons the Mets had I can't blame them for being leery. Of course, I think Lackey would be a great addition but he has made 33 starts since 2007.#mets people seem concerned enough about lackey...

CHICAGO -- The world champion Yankees have top free-agent pitcher John Lackey on their free-agent shopping list, sources said. The Yankees aren't expected to be as aggressive this winter on the free market as last offseason and they haven't firmed up all their plans as yet, but one league source said of Lackey, "He's definitely on their radar.''

As the members of baseball's front offices convene in Chicago for the general managers' meetings, Jim Salisbury of the Inquirer reports that the Phillies are "in the running" for Roy Halladay [link]. Despite the fact that J.P. Riccardi is no longer running things in... ...

It wouldn't be the hot stove season without the two New York teams: Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that the Mets are "concerned about" John Lackey's past injury problems to the point that they won't pursue him. The Yankees, however, are "definitely interested." Newsday's Ken Davidoff believes the Mets will "check in on Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, John Lackey; they have to engage...

Now that No. 27 is in the books, it's time for the Yankees to seek their 28th championship with the help of John Lackey and Matt Holliday, and when do Roy Halladay and Joe Mauer become free agents again? Reports out of New York, one from long-time New York...

With all the controversy surrounding weather to bring back Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui, many fans have brought up the idea of signing outfielders Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. To me, when you win a championship, you shouldn't really try to change your team all that much, unless there's a guy like Mark Teixeira or CC Sabathia out there on the market, which this year, there isn't....

Jon Heyman of SI.com feels the Mets will not pursue free-agent RHP John Lackey, due to health concerns regarding his arm. …the way i understand it, like a lot of teams, the Mets have interest in lackey, but not if it means committing more than $60 million, or four years on a deal… lackey’s rumored to be [...]

The official Elias free agent compensation rankings were released earlier today. For those unaware, these rankings essentially determine the draft compensation (if any) a player’s previous team will recover based on a few criteria. For one, the former team must offer the player arbitration or have the player sign before the arbitration offering deadline. From [...]

Via Sports Illustrated: The world champion Yankees have top free-agent pitcher John Lackey on their free-agent shopping list, sources said. The Yankees aren’t expected to be as aggressive this winter on the free market as last offseason and they haven’t firmed up all their plans as yet, but one league source said of Lackey, “He’s definitely [...]

In a report in today’s St. Louis Post Dispatch, Derrick Goold says that re-signing Matt Holliday remains a “high priority” for the Cardinals, but indicates that no offer has been extended as of yet. …i think that bringing in Mark McGwire as the team’s hitting coach is a huge effort on the Cardinals part to retain [...]

In a report for MLB.com, Jordan Bastian says the Blue Jays might consider trading ace Roy Halladay. According to Bastian, new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said that the Blue Jays still want to keep Halladay but said: “…I think I have to be open-minded to anything that can make this ballclub better going forward and better [...]

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star believes the Mets are among 10 teams that come close to matching up with the Blue Jays, in a deal for Roy Halladay …i wrote the following in early October, and i still feel the same… …much like with the Johan Santana situation with the Twins a [...]

When defending one’s throne, it’s always important to check up on the enemy. From Jon Heyman (SI): • Some baseball people are speculating that the Red Sox will try even harder to keep up with the Yankees now and make a renewed push to try to acquire star Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay. Boston made perhaps the [...]